Hinduism
2000 bc
![Picture](/uploads/6/0/5/9/60596147/188406424.jpg?250)
Overview: Hinduism is the most dominated religion throughout South Asia. Hinduism has no single founder of the religion, it has been made up by many diverse traditions all mixed together. Some of its beginning roots can be traced back to the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India from the years of 1200 - 272 B.C. Hinduism is the known to be the oldest major religion in the world. The overall practices of Hinduism is based on the art of Karma.
Concept on God: Hinduism is so incredibly diverse that it has many traditional religious types including; monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, monism, and atheism. In other words, even the notion of how many gods one should worship depends entirely upon each particular tradition and belief. The overall belief of the Hindu faith is the true "self" of every person is internal. Hindus refer to this "self" or soul as the atman. In many Hindu traditions, the atman is from the Brahman (the Brahman is the supreme spirit). Many Hindus believe that when one reaches the point of supreme being he or she gains liberation or freedom.
Avatars and Devas: Devas-Hinduism scriptures refer to celestial entities which are called "devas". A "deva" can be translated and referred into English as a "god" or "heavenly being". Devas are a very important part of Hindu culture and are often depicted in art, architecture and mythical stories.
Avatars-Through Hindu epic poems, which are lengthy poems telling important ideas and events, in them are episodes of the decent of God to Earth are told. It is stated that this decent occurred to restore dharma (a path of righteousness) to society and to guide humans to moksha (a release from suffering involved in reincarnation). The incarnation of one of these gods to Earth is called an avatar. The four most important avatars are Shiva, Vishnu, Lakshmi, and Krishna.
Karma and Samsara: Karma can be described as the "moral law of cause and effect". The linga sharira is a Hindu concept for a body that is more subtle than the physical one but less subtle than the soul - retains impressions of the type of person one is and carries over into the next life. The term "Samsara" refers to the cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth.
Yoga: Yoga is the method that Hindus use to reach their goal of life. Different Hindu groups use different types of yoga, but the general process is the same. There are many Hindu texts that are dedicated to yoga and their philosophical and historical basis. Paths that one can follow to achieve the spiritual life (known as nirvana) include:
7 Elements of Hinduism:
Concept on God: Hinduism is so incredibly diverse that it has many traditional religious types including; monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, monism, and atheism. In other words, even the notion of how many gods one should worship depends entirely upon each particular tradition and belief. The overall belief of the Hindu faith is the true "self" of every person is internal. Hindus refer to this "self" or soul as the atman. In many Hindu traditions, the atman is from the Brahman (the Brahman is the supreme spirit). Many Hindus believe that when one reaches the point of supreme being he or she gains liberation or freedom.
Avatars and Devas: Devas-Hinduism scriptures refer to celestial entities which are called "devas". A "deva" can be translated and referred into English as a "god" or "heavenly being". Devas are a very important part of Hindu culture and are often depicted in art, architecture and mythical stories.
Avatars-Through Hindu epic poems, which are lengthy poems telling important ideas and events, in them are episodes of the decent of God to Earth are told. It is stated that this decent occurred to restore dharma (a path of righteousness) to society and to guide humans to moksha (a release from suffering involved in reincarnation). The incarnation of one of these gods to Earth is called an avatar. The four most important avatars are Shiva, Vishnu, Lakshmi, and Krishna.
Karma and Samsara: Karma can be described as the "moral law of cause and effect". The linga sharira is a Hindu concept for a body that is more subtle than the physical one but less subtle than the soul - retains impressions of the type of person one is and carries over into the next life. The term "Samsara" refers to the cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth.
Yoga: Yoga is the method that Hindus use to reach their goal of life. Different Hindu groups use different types of yoga, but the general process is the same. There are many Hindu texts that are dedicated to yoga and their philosophical and historical basis. Paths that one can follow to achieve the spiritual life (known as nirvana) include:
- Bhakti Yoga - the path of love and devotion
- Karma Yoga - the path of right action
- Raja Yoga - the path of meditation
- Jnâna Yoga - the path of wisdom
7 Elements of Hinduism:
- Experiential: moksha, samadhi
- Mythic: stories and descriptions of the 330 million gods and goddesses
- Doctrinal: monism, teachings of Sankhya and yoga
- Ethical: rules and ideals of dharma
- Ritual: various forms of worship practiced by followers of bhakti marga
- Social: the caste system; various Hindu holy figures, such as the sannyasin
- Material: the Ganges River, clay figurines of deities, sacred cows
Photos used under Creative Commons from IQRemix, tnitingopal