Symbol This is the symbol for hinduism. It is the sacred word "Om". It is a sound-symbol, or mantra, for Brahman, the supreme hindu God.It is recited over and over again and can also be sung.

History

Hinduism is the world's oldest living religion. It is at least 4,500 years old. The religion started in India. This is why we see the hindu symbol on the Indian flag. The name Hinduism comes from the Persian word for the river Indus, and the people who lived on its banks were called "Hindus". In the beginning the word "hindu" did not  indicate or mean a religion. There are over 500 million hindus in the world today and hinduism is the religion of 85% of the nearly 700 million people of India.

Beliefs

To be a Hindu, two beliefs are essential :

1. To seek for truth
2. To practise ahimsa or harmlessness.

Hinduism perceives that humans are truth-seeking animals. However, to find truth, human life must be free from untruthful things such as violence, cruelty, meanness, etc. Harmlessness is a good, positive value; if one does not  go out and take steps to help a needy person then one is responsible for harming them. A Hindu need not necessarily believe in God. Hinduism is a very varied religion because of the way it developed over a long period of time. It has no founder. It has no fixed doctrines, beliefs, no foungations , no common worship. There is no central authority. This  story is told to give an idea of its variety.

The Elephant & The Five Blind Men.

A mysterious beast appeared in the Laand of the Blind. The King sent his courtiers to investigate. They waited until the beast was asleep and then they carefully touched it. "It's like a wall." said the man feeling the elephant's side. "It's like a spear." said the man touching the tusk. "It's like a fan." said the man touching the ear. "It's like a tree." said the man touching the leg. "It's like a snake." said the man touching the trunk. "It's like a rope." said the man touching the tail. The blind men, are of course, all describing the same thing. In the same way, the different types of hinduism can sometimes seem so different as to be different thing altogether.

For many Hindus, however, beneath all variety there is one unchanging reality. This is called Brahman. Hindus do not try to convert others to their religion becauase they accept all religions. Most Hindus believe in monism. This means that everything is part of the one deity, Brahman. 

Brahman.

Brahman permeates everything, the world, and all animals and people. Therefore, to kill anything is to attack Brahman. Brahman is the absolute, unchanging ultimate reality which many Hindus believe exists beyond the everyday world of appearances. Some Hindus see Brahman as God. Others see Brahman as an impersonal power beyond all description. Legend has it that a wise man taught his son about Brahman by asking him first to put some salt into water and then to take it out again. Of course, the salt dissolved and the son could not take it out. His father then told him that the presence of Brahman in the world is like the salt in the water : invisible but everywhere.

Hindu Gods.

Some Hindus are polytheists. This means that they worship many Gods. Up to 330 million Gods are worshipped by Hindus. Hinduism teaches that the each person has a soul, called Atman. Many Hindus see Atman (self) as part of Brahman(the Absolute). For others, Atman is not part of Brahman; Atman and Brahman are not identical: they are one and the same. In general, there are three forms of Brahman-Atman(God):

Brahma-the God of creation.

Vishnu-the God of preservation

Shiva-the God of destruction.

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Worship

Worship can take place in the home or a t the temples called mandirs. Unlike other religions, Hindus don't have to go to the temple. Hindus only attend the temples at set times on holy days and at festivals. Otherwise they go to the temple as they please.Hindu temples are very colourful and decorative both inside and out. Inside there are colourful pictures and statues of the different Gods.

Puja

Most Hindu worship takes place in the home. This is called Puja and it brings the whole family together. It is focused on a shrine like in the pictures below.Which God is in the shrine will depend on the family background, the region the Hindu family live in and individual preference.The shrine contains objects which match the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. the aim of Puja is to involve the whole person in the worship. Befor worship, hindus wash and put on clean clothes. They ring a bell to wake the God and then they offer him milk or water. a murti is a statue or picture of a God. hindus wipe it with water before they worship. The light is a symbol of goodness. The flowers and fruit are offerings to the God. The incense makes it a pleasant smell and its smoke rises like a prayer. A dot of sandalwood or kum kum powder on the forehead is a symbol of good health.

Samsara  

Hindus believe that all living things do not have just one life but are all trapped in an endless cycle of life, death and rebirth. this cycle is called samsara. Another word for rebirth is reincarnation. Samsara is seen as pointless and difficult. Hindus hope that eventually they will be freed from it. The symbol of a wheel, known as the wheel of life stands for samsara.

Karma

The power that keeps the wheel of life spinning is called karma. Karma is the name given to the actions performed by each individual during a lifetime. A good action takes the person to a better rebirth, while a bad action takes the person towards a poorer rebirth. Hindus believe that it is possible to be reborn as an animal. It will be much harder for them then to gain the knowledge  they need to escape from samsara.

Moksha

Moksha is release from the cycle of rebirth and suffering(samsara). Someone can achieve moksha only when they replace their ignorance with wisdom.What prevents people from doing this is called maya. Maya is the tendency to see things the wrong way, as in this story.

A man thought he saw a snake in his room. In his panic, he didn't examine it closely. Instead he rushed about trying to escape and warning other people. If only he had examined the "snake", he would have found that it was just a piece of rope.

What people fail to notice when they look at the world is the way it really is beneath the surface. For many Hindus the only truly real things are Brahman and Atman. The rest is an illusion.

Dharma

Hindus try to live according to their dharma, which is their code of behaviour that governs a person's life. An individual's duty is determined by their position in society and by the stage of life they have reached.

Varnas

This is the four main social groupings in society as described in Hindu scriptures. These are : 

1. Brahmans - Priests and teachers
2. Ksatriyas - Rulers/Chiefs and military/warriors
3. Vaisyas - Merchants, farmers and atrisans
4. Sudras - Servants/manual workers

In the past, there was confusion between the religious idea of varnas and the political idea of the caste system. According to the caste system, people were divided up into thousands of different groups and different groups were discriminated against. Under the caste system, there was another, lower group called the untouchables which Ghandi called the Harijans(children of God). The caste system was domineering and suffoctaing. It determined what work you do, what you eat, who you marry, how you dress and how others treat you. If you were born into the highest caste(Brahman) then you'd have a private guru(teacher) and wear golden thread to suggest that you are twice born and superior to all others. If you were born into nthe lower caste as an Outcaste or Untouchable, you'd have to perform sanitation duties that nobody else would do for low wages.This caste system is now illegal in present-day India

Sacred Writings

The sacred books of Hinduism are all written in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India. It is unknown when they were compiled or by whom because it was so long ago. All that is known is that they were written before the  start of the Common Era, some over a period of several centuries. The main books are :

1. The Vedas- This book was passed on by word of mouth before being written down. The most sacred and oldest of the four Vedas is the Rig Veda, which contains over a thousand hymns.
2. The Upanishads - this book is about the philosophical and the struggle to achieve moksha.
3. Ramayana - This means the story of Rama and it describes the adventures of Rama and Sita.
4. The Mahabharta - This is probably the longest poem in the world, containing over 100,000 verses. It tells the story about the stuiggle between two related ruling families. The most popular part of this epic tale is the Bhagavad Gita.

Stages of Life

The stages of life in Hindu scriptures are the student, the family man, the hermit, and the wandering holy man who cuts free from all family ties, owns nothing and simply lives by begging. the aim of this final stage is singlemindedly to seek union with Brahman. These four stages are how people ought to live but are very much an ideal.

Yoga

Yoga is the name given to a severe form of self-discipline described in Hindu scriptures. Yogi is the name given to the holy person who practises yoga. The yogi should sit with his mind fixed on one object alone, keeping his head, his neck and body steady without motion, his eyes fixed on the point of his nose. There are four main types of yoga in Hinduism. Individualls can choose which one best suits their temperament.

1. Karma yoga - Is the didsipline of action. it involves the person working hard to fulfil their dharma.
2. Bhakti yoga - Is the discipline of devotion. It means offering wholehearted love and prayer to a personal god.
3. Jnana yoga - Is the discipline of knowledge and involves study.
4. Raja yoga - is the discipline of the mind. It involves practising techniques in mental self-control, including meditation.

Sacred Places & Objects

The River Ganges, along with other rivers in India is considered sacred. People often have their ashes scattered in the river after cremation, their burial rite. It is an important place of pilgrimage. The cow is also sacred to Hindus. The cow is especially precious because of the milk it provides and it provides butter which is then clarified to make ghee.

Did You Know???

The Hindu calendar is different from the Christian calendar. There are twelve Hindu months. Each monthe has two halves of 15 days. The first half of the month is called the "bright half" abd the second half is called "the dark half". As the start and finish of the month is determined by the appearance and disappearance of the moon, the dates of festivals vary from year to year.