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Transcript of Vedic Religion Male deities associated with the heavens Sacrifice-essential ritual Brahmin priest...
Vedic Religion
• Male deities associated with the heavens
• Sacrifice-essential ritual
• Brahmin priest controlled rituals and prayers– Rig Veda – thousands of poetic hymns– Brahmanas -descriptions of procedures
Hinduism Beginnings
• Evolved from Vedic Religion• Dates: 2000-1500 BCE• Founders: Arya Peoples
– No individual• Process=unknown
– Brahmin priests still at top– Sacrifice less central– More opportunity for direct
contact between gods and individual worshipers
HinduismHinduism• Where Practiced?:
• India
• Monotheistic?:
• No => Polytheistic: – 330 Million
Ganesh
• Religious Books:
• Vedas: collection of psalms, prayers, chants
• Upanishads: origin of the universe, Brahman
• Epic Poems:
• Ramayana: Life of Rama (Vishnu)
• Mahabharata: longest poem in the world– Contains the Bhagavad Gita
BRAHMA
• The Creator God• Four faces stand for the
four corners of the universe• Many Hindus believe that
all Gods originate from Brahma
VISHNU
• “The Preserver God”• maintain balance of good
and evil• returns to earth as different
forms (avatars) to bring justice/balance– Human and animal
Shiva
• The Destroyer God• “Cosmic Dance”• Dances in a halo of
fire • Fire in left hand• He crushes the dwarf
Shiva
• Left hand holds the flame of destruction, purification, and renewal
• Snake symbolize his power over evil
Rules and Laws
• Caste System: Social Classes
• Karma: good and bad actions
• Dharma: Duties
• Samsara: cycle of life – (birth, life, death and rebirth)
Samsara
• Samsara: People go through Cycle of birth, life, and death
• Reincarnated (reborn) at either a higher or lower level depending on how well they fulfilled their dharma
Karma• Karma• Actions performed by each
individual during a lifetime. • Good action = a step towards a
better rebirth• Bad action = step towards a poorer
rebirth• Can be reborn as an animal—it
will be harder for them to gain the knowledge they need to escape from samsara
Dharma
• Duties: set of rules to be followed
• Obligations to family and society.
• Determined by one’s position (caste) in society and by the stage of life that they have reached.
Moksha
• Liberation from samsara (cycle of life)
• Your soul (atman) becomes one with Brahman, the universal soul
• This happens when one’s karma (actions) continually fulfills their dharma (duty).– Replace ignorance with wisdom.
OM or AUM • Main symbol of Hinduism
• visual and verbal expression of god
• “a” = beginning• “u” = progress• “m” = dissolution
Miscellaneous Hindu Practices
• Cremated the same day you die
• Suttee / Sati
–“virtuous woman”
• Ganges = Sacred
• Cow = sacred
SRI YANTRA
• focal point for meditation
• 9 triangles intersect to form 43 triangles
• 3 concentric circles
• framed by a square
Hindu Meditation
SRI YANTRA
This form is the geometric expression of thedivine sound of creation... OM
Conclusion
• Successful transformation based on Vedic Oral Tradition
• Ultimate victory of Hinduism over Buddhism • Buddhism was driven from the land of its birth• Responded to needs of people for personal deities• Buddhism demanded too much of ordinary people• Absorbed Buddha as a God • Behind the diversity and multiplicity of Indian
religion lies an ultimate unity.