1 / 16

Hinduism

Hinduism . Part One - The Hindu View of the World. Reincarnation . Circular View. Cycle of Time. Life as a river . Life had no beginning, and will have no end. . The only change possible is within your own soul . Part One - The Hindu View of the World. F ocus on life as a “middle world”.

cheri
Download Presentation

Hinduism

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Hinduism

  2. Part One - The Hindu View of the World • Reincarnation • Circular View • Cycle of Time • Life as a river • Life had no beginning, and will have no end. • The only change possible is within your own soul

  3. Part One - The Hindu View of the World • Focus on life as a “middle world” Ultimate goal – Moksha • “What kind of world do we have?” • From a Hindu Perspective: • Multiple world, Moral world, Middle world • “A training ground on which people can develop their highest capacities” (Smith 72)

  4. Part Two – What do we want? • Pleasure – The Path of Desire • This is an acceptable desire in life • Pleasure will produce temporary happiness, but will eventually fade as a source of happiness

  5. Part Two – What do we want? • Pleasure – The Path of Desire • Sometimes following what brings immediate pleasure will not bring long term happiness • Examples? • Impulses that will hurt others must be curbed • Pleasure involves only one’s self

  6. Part Two – What do we want? • Success– Wealth, Fame, Power • The desire for this is neither good, nor bad. It is merely a stage. • Success is a social achievement • Unlike mental and spiritual values, success does not multiply when shared

  7. Part Two – What do we want? • Success– Wealth, Fame, Power • When success is one’s chief ambition, this person can never be satisfied • Wealth, fame or power with you when you go

  8. Part Two – What do we want? • The Path of Renunciation • This is often why people believe Hinduism is about denying one’s happiness • Hindus believe this is about following the suspicion that there is more to life than that which appears on the surface • The successful completion of one step leads to the next path

  9. Part Two – What do we want? • Duty (dharma) to the community and self • The rewards of fulfilling one’s duty to the community are substantial • Respect from the community is gained, as well as self-respect • After fulfilling one’s duty, a person still longs for more

  10. Part Two – What do we want? • Liberation – Moksha • “There comes a time when one asks even of Shakespeare, even of Beethoven, is this all?” (what does this question mean?) • The first three steps may be enough for people for many lifetimes. • Eventually one will ask “Is this all?” • What do we really want?

  11. Part Two – What do we want? • Our essential self – Atman • Human already possess the ability to be infinite • What is a human being? • A body? • A personality? • What else?

  12. Part Two – What do we want? • How to explain horrors? • Our essential self – Atman • There are many distractions in the world that keep us from being in touch with our infinite Self • The problem becomes: how can we overcome the distractions of the world to get in touch with our infinite Self

  13. Part Two – What do we want? • Four Yogas – get in touch with infinite Self • Purpose: The four yogas are designed to unite the human spirit with the God who lies in the deepest recesses • The Path of Reflection • The Path of Emotion • The Path of Work • The Path of Psychophysical Exercises

  14. Part Three – Experimenting with Yoga

  15. The Stages of Life (The Caste System)– • Origins • Perspective Rules: • Development of subcastes among the four castes; people are different • Intermarriage forbidden • Privilege of upper castes at the expense of lower castes • Caste became hereditary

  16. The Stages of Life (The Caste System)– • Caste System: • Brahmin – seers • Kshatriyas – administrators • Vaishyas– Producers • Shudras– servants • Untouchables – the worst perversion that developed

More Related