Hinduism

1. Hinduism & Christianity

2. The Numbers Hinduism is the World’s 3rd Largest Religion There are 850,000 – 1 Billion Hindus in the world – 13-14% of the World’s Population Nepal and India have the world’s largest Hindu populations at 80-81% There are currently 1.5 Million Hindus in the United States. .5% of the U.S. Population. 24% of Americans say they believe in Reincarnation Hindus have the highest education and income and lowest rate of divorce among American Religious groups Less than a half a percent of the population of the Nashville Metropolitan Area are Hindus (8,000 or less). The closest Hindu temple is in the Bellevue area of Nashville on Old Hickory Blvd. called the Sri Ganesha Temple. San Jose, CA has the largest number of Hindus per capita.

3. History The origins or Hinduism can be traced back to 1500 B.C. in what is now India near the Indus River, which flow from modern day Pakistan. It began as a polytheistic and ritualistic religion. 3,000 years before Christ there was a civilization called the Mohendo-Jaro people who flourished. They were dark skinned Dravidians who practiced a polytheistic fertility religion centered on the worship of nature, use of rituals, merging sexuality with the hope of abundant harvest. In 2,000 B.C. a group of light skinned Aryans came over the Causcus mountains and conquered the Dravidians. .

4. History Aryans renamed the popular Dravidian gods and wrote down hymns, prayers, mythic stories, and chants into the Vedas, Brahamans, Aranyakas, and Upanishads which made up the Vedic Literature or sacred writings. These two groups of people laid the foundation for what would become Hinduism. The religion began as a largely ritualistic religion, but there was a revolt by the people because of their inability to perform the rituals correctly and a priestly class was formed to instruct the people on how to perform the rituals. This later led to a move away from ritual toward individual meditation.

5. History In 500 B.C. more writings were added to the Hindu scriptures. Purpose was to establish Varna – a rigid caste system or social hieracrchy. 1 book tells how the 4 classes of people came from the head, arms, thighs, and feet of the creator god Brahma. 4 Castes: 1. Brahmin – priests. 2. Kshatriyas – warriors and nobles. 3. Vaisyas – merchants and artisans. 4. Shudras – slaves. Castes eventually divided into thousands of sub-castes. Shudras could not use the Vedas or try and find savlation through them. There is 1 non-caste group called the “untouchables” who are considered to be so low that they are outside the caste system and subhuman. They are denied food, property, education, and dignity. They are left to die.

6. Beliefs No known Founder No credal statements of faith No agreed upon authority Believe there are 330 million gods. Life is an illusion (maya). You can be a good Hindu, believe in 1 god, many gods, or no god at all. All reality, contradicting or not, is seen as “one.” All Hindus believe in Reincarnation and Karma.

7. Beliefs Hinduism is extremely diverse but most hold to the following beliefs: 1. The impersonal nature of Brahman. Brahman is reality. Hindus see reality as being an impersonal oneness that is beyond all distinctions, including personal and moral distinctions. Universe extends from the Being of Brahman. 2. The Brahman, Atman Unity. Most Hindus believe that they are in their true selves extended from and one with Brahman. They are trying to get back to being in that state which is spiritual in nature. 3. The Law of Karma. Humanity’s primary problem is that we are ignorant of our divine nature. We have forgotten that we are extended from Brahman and that we have mistakenly attached ourselves to the desires of our separate selves, or egos, and thereby to the consequences of its actions. The Law of Karma is the moral equivalent of the natural law of cause and effect. In essence, we reap what we sow. The effects of our actions, moreover, follow us not only in the present lifetime but from lifetime to lifetime, which is why there is reincarnation.

8. Beliefs 4. Samsara (Reincarnation). Samsara refers to the ever-revolving wheel of life, death, and rebirth. We are reaping in this lifetime the consequences of the deeds we committed in previous lifetimes. A person’s karma determines the kind of body, whether human, animal, or insect – into which he or she will be reincarnated in the next lifteime. 5. Moksha (Liberation). The solution in Hinduism is to be liberated from the wheel of life, death, and rebirth. Such liberation is attained through realizing that the concept of the individual self is an illusion and that only the undifferentiated oneness of Brahman is real. 6. The Way of Enlightenment. Hinduism offers 3 paths by which to attain enlightenment: Karma Marga (the way of ritual), jnanamarga (the way of knowledge and meitation), and bhaktimarga (the way of devotion). This is all based on one’s own effort. Goal is to lose your individual self in the universal Self.

9. Beliefs 7. Maya = illusion - Under the influence of the three gunas, the soul is (1) misled by matter, and (2) subsequently entangled and entrapped. Under maya's influence, the atman, (the soul) mistakenly identifies with the body. He accepts such thoughts as "I am white and I am a man," or "This is my house, my country, and my religion." Thus the illusioned soul identifies with the temporary body and everything connected to it, such as race, gender, family, nation, bank balance, and sectarian religion. Under this sense of false-ego (false-identity) the soul aspires to control and enjoy matter. However, in so doing he continuously serves lust, greed, and anger. In frustration he often redoubles his efforts and, compounding mistake upon mistake, only falls deeper into illusion. In ignorance (tamas), he is fully convinced that right is wrong and wrong is right. In passion he is unsure, hesitant, sometimes enjoying and at others times repenting. Only in goodness does the soul begin to develop wisdom – to see things in the real light. Thus enlightenment means moving away from tamas towards sattva. By so doing, the soul gradually escapes the clutches of maya and moves towards liberation.

10. Beliefs Reincarnation – belief that the “atman” or soul is uncreated and eternal. You must repeatedly be recycled into the world in different bodies. Some Hindus believe souls can be reincarnated as animals, plants, insects, or inanimate objects. Reincarnation is a process that takes a human through the great wheel of “Samsara” millions of times. All lifetimes are full of grief and suffering. Each “atman” must endure these lives before attaining “Moksha” or liberation from suffering and union with the infinite. All souls are 96.4 million years old and one must be reincarnated at least 8 million times before one can reach oneness with Brahman. We are all gods who live eternally.

11. Beliefs Karma – “action.” Has to do with the law of cause and effect. For the Hindu, Karma means merit or demerit which attaches to one’s atman according to how one lives. Karma from past lives effects a persons present life. Karma from this life will effect the next.

12. Karma and Sin Compared & Contrasted

13. Scriptures The earliest of the Hindus scriptures are the Vedas. Veda means knowledge. There are 4 Vedas: the Rig, the Sama, The Yajur, and the Atharva. Each Veda is divided into 4 parts: The Mantras (basic verses or hymns sung during the rituals, also called Samhitas), The Brahmanas (explanations of the verses), the Aran-yakas(reflections on the meaning), and the Upanishads (mystical interpretations of the verses).

14. Scriptures These scriptures are called shrutiwhich means “that which is heard.” Shrutiliterature is the Hindu equivalent to scripture that is revealed. There is also secondary scripture like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. These are epic stories that tell of the main character Krishna. These are not authoritative but have major influence on Hindus. There are also Vedangas(codes of law) and the Puranas(the genealogies and legends of the gods), the Darshanas(philosophical wirtings), Sutras (rules of ritual and social conduct), and the Tantras(writings on attaining occultic power).

15. Hinduism and Christianity Compared

16. Salvation Paths to MOKSHA = the great spiritual challenge is that the soul, is separated from Brahma (ultimate Reality) and trapped in Samsara , the seemingly endless process of being reincarnated over and over. MOKSHA – liberation from Samsaraand reunion with Brahma is the goal. 3 Paths to MOKSHA = 1. Works – dharma, 2. Knowledge – inana. 3. Passionate Devotion – bhakh Dharma – set of goals – specific social and religious obligations that must be fulfilled. You are to follow your caste system – occupation, marry within the caste, eat or not eat certain foods, produce and raise a son who can make a sacrifice to the ancestors as well as perform other sacrificial and ritual acts. This will either achieve better reincarnations or eventually MOKSHA.

17. Salvation INANA – more difficult to achieve. For men only of highest caste. You have to self-reincarnate and meditate on the supreme pantheistic reality of Hinduism. This is all described in the Upanishad and teaches that the world is more illusion and that Brahma is the only thing that really exists and has meaning. Path of Knowledge includes yoga. Yoga attempts to control one’s consciousness through bodily posture, breath control, and concentration. Point is to try and understand one’s true self and undying soul.

18. Quotes “We know not what God is. God himself does not know what he is because he is not anything. Literally God is not, because he transcends being.” – Charles the Bold 840A.D. “Many faiths are but different paths leading to the one reality, God.” – Sri Ramakrishna “It is perfectly possible for people to remain good Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims, and yet to be united in full agreement on the basics of doctrines of the Perennial Philosophy.” – Aldous Huxley author of A Brave New World “A Hindu would find it easy to accept Christ as a divine incarnation and to worship Him unreservedly, exactly as he worships Krishna or another avatar of his choice. But he cannot accept Christ as the only son of God.” – Swami Rabhavanda “It was more than I could believe that Jesus was the only incarnate Son of God. And that only he who believed in him would have everlasting life.” - Ghandi

19. Show Conversion Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyUB3cZxTkY