Mid Term Lesson Plan # 3 : History And Beliefs

Hinduism: Universally viewed as a polytheistic religion and one of the oldest. Its 900 million followers’ spiritual goal is to merge as one with Brahma, its supreme God. This achievement is through reincarnation determined on karma, depending ones past deeds coinciding to one’s future.

The Hindus call their supreme reality “Brahman,” a God of infinite being, infinite awareness, and infinite bliss. “Utter reality, utter consciousness, and utterly beyond all possibility of frustration is the basic Hindu view of God” (Smith 1991). Hinduism sees their God as an archetype of supremacy with the noblest crown, a parent, loving, merciful, almighty, eternal salvation, and an understanding companion. There is also a distinction between personal (ramanuja) and transpersonal (shankara) notions of God in Hinduism; “God so conceived is called Saguna Brahman, or God-with-attributes or God-without-attributes, Nirguna Brahman” (Smith, 1991). Also, it is important to realize that God’s relation in Hinduism varies on symbolism and what is embraced: the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer who resolves all finite forms of life. They view the world as “God-dependent.” A personalist in Hinduism “will see little religious availability in the idea od a God who is so far removed from our predicaments as to be unaware of our very existence” (Smith, 1991). Were as a transpersonalist sees God serving as a master in their life to guide them through their struggles and becomes possessed by this

Since the beginning of civilization many religions and cultures have come and gone. One of the few that has stood the test of time is Hinduism. Hinduisms base flourishes from the practical view of human life, belief in eternal truth and it’s ability to make small adaptations to it without compromising its core values. Hinduism is the oldest known religion in the world and also the third largest in the world. Most of its one billion followers live in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Even with its immense amount of followers and lengthy existence, many non followers are unaware of its history, beliefs, and practices.

Before I read Stephen Prothero’s God Is Not One, I did not know much about Hinduism. For me, Hinduism conjured the images of bright colors, richly adorned statues, and jovial worship and dance. When we visited the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, that is exactly what I saw. Yet, now I know the reason for all these things. Although Hinduism is a largely varying tradition, it is namely about love and celebration. Given the evidence from Prothero’s book and my observations at the Ganesh Temple, Hinduism is a tradition that aims to gives purpose to human’s wandering souls through devote worship to deities and rituals.

Hinduism is a part of worldview Pantheism. They would state that we all are a part of the universe and no God created us. We are all gods in our own kind. They would say we are a part of atman. Ataman is a part of brahma “an impersonal force of existence that is without separation” (Halverson, 2014). We all will be reincarnated, and the life we live now will determine our next life. In other words, they highly believe in karma. “The effects of our actions, moreover, follow us not only in the present lifetime but from lifetime to lifetime” (Halverson, 2014). Nonetheless, we are all to be born, live, die, and then have a rebirth. Known as the samsara, a wheel of life (Halverson, 2014). A cycle of life that continues over and over. According

     Many people believe Hinduism to be a polytheistic religion. This is due to the fact that there is so many gods that they can worship in. But in all actuality it is really a monotheistic religion that spawns off of one god to form many different gods or ideas to worship. The entire religion of Hinduism is based off of Brahman. Brahman is the idea that all reality is a unity. I will explain the concept of Brahman and four others and hopefully make Hinduism easier to comprehend.

Hinduism is a combination of religion, culture, and philosophy that saw its beginnings in India (Molloy, 2009). Followers of Hinduism have a strong belief in a cycle of reincarnations, virtue, and karma. Unlike other belief systems, followers of Hinduism are not held to a particular set of beliefs. They live a particular way of life that governs all that they do and is governed by their own traditions, ethics, philosophy and theology. Within the Hindu faith there are several themes that govern their way of life and are all related in one way to each other. The prominent themes in the Hindu faith are karma, moksha, samsara, Brahman and yoga. Of these themes, samsara stands out the most to me as the most essential of the Hinduism themes and is also one of the most prominent themes for all religions that originate from

The religion Hinduism has quite a big impact on the world, and with approximately eight hundred million practicing it, there is no question that the impact is widespread. Yet, to those who practice it, Hinduism is a way of life, not simply a religion. Unlike many other religions around the globe, Hinduism has no sole founder and no assembled churches or organizations. As there is no single organization, there is no single way to practice Hinduism; the rituals and practices depend on one’s personal beliefs held by them.

of the Upaniṣads. This rejection of ātman offers a path as a middle way, the Dhamma, between the

Hinduism is the name given to a family of religions and cultures that began and still flourish in India. The word “Hindu,” comes from the name of the river Indus, which flows from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the sea. It originally referred to the people living in that particular region of the world, regardless of their faith. Hinduism has no original founder and is one of the world’s largest religions following Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents. Hinduism is henotheistic, which is the devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods. Their god is present in everything, and they believe that their soul repeatedly goes through a cycle of being born into a body, dying, and then becoming reborn into another body, whether it is human, animal or spirit. Hindu’s also strongly believe in karma, which is a force that determines the quality of each life, depending on how well one behaved in a past life. Hindu’s do not separate religion from other aspects of their life. Hinduism in India dictates Hindu’s lives in that it involves a caste system which controls their position in society, assists them in earning a living, helps manage how they raise their a family and controls their diets. Hindu’s believe that freedom or liberation is the true goal in life. True freedom is the freedom from all external conditioning influences, whether of body or mind. This is the freedom of Self-realization,

Imagine a religion so old that it is said to be timeless and has always been there, even before humans set foot on the Earth. It’s mindboggling to think that the knowledge of everything is floating in the space of the universe and the mind is just a way of reaching it. Hinduism is a very complex religion, yet it still sets one ultimate goal for the soul. To deeper understand Hinduism we must reveal its origin, doctrines, customs, and culture.

Hindus believe in an everlasting soul (atman) that is reincarnated almost intact from birth to birth, and through spiritual practice Hindus seek release (moksha, also known as liberation) so that the soul can join with the Divine God, known as Brahmin.

In contrast to majority of devout religions, Hinduism participates in the worship of many gods – thus making it a polytheistic religion consisting of a Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The Brahma is the The Creator, and a member of the Hindu Trinity. Brahma intimately creates everything in the universe. In addition, Vishnu maintains the balance and harmony of the universe. Last but not least, Shiva perpetually destroys the universe: “it’s the necessary step to make renewal possible” (Hindu Gods and

Hinduism is a religion of religions; it is one of the first as we know it. It isn't just a religion however, it is a way of life. A culture that India has been known for having. I have discovered that Hinduism is so much more than a religion or a culture. As a matter of fact it is a way of being; a way of life. Hinduism has been a journey for me and it all came alive through the need to write this paper.

Hinduism is sometimes considered a polytheistic religion. To date there are an estimated 330 million Hindu gods (Cooper, 2013). More realistically Hindu’s believe that there is one god that reigns supreme with many facets that encompass all gods and even people. It is believed that god shares his body with all beings of the universe while still remaining their own identity. When studying Hinduism there is synergy between metaphysics and ontology (Brannigan, 2005, p.221). Metaphysics is a worldview. Everything that you are is connected to every other person in the world and everything other people, and the world, are connected to you. Because you are so connected to other people on a spiritual level there is a strong emphasis on treating others the way you would treat yourself. Who you are is also important. When studying Hinduism your view of yourself and understanding of your physical and emotional needs is ontology.