Monday/Tuesday

1. Monday/Tuesday

2. Title: The Origins of Hinduism • Do Now: • On this day in history in 2003 Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, died. What was your favorite tv show as a small child? Who were your favorite characters?

3. Agenda • Do Now • Origins of Hinduism Lesson • Hindu Skit

4. Objective • Students will read a Hindu story and write a script for a skit which will be performed on Thursday Rewrite this on the left side of your notebook in your own words

5. Vocabulary • Hinduism: the religion of the peoples of India • Brahmanism: the Vedic age religion which refers to a single spiritual power which lives in everything • Guru: thinkers and teachers of religious ideas • Brahman: one supreme God

6. Road Map • For this entire week we will be looking closely at the religion of Ancient India: Hinduism • Today: we will look at the origin or start of Hinduism • Wednesday: we will look at the belief system of Hinduism • Thursday/Friday: we will look how Hinduism spread and became a major religion.

7. Roots of Hinduism • For more than 2,300 years, Hinduism has been the major religion of India. • The word Hinduism means “the religion of people of India.”

8. Vedic Age Beliefs and Practices • The Vedas are India’s oldest religious texts • Priests memorized the Vedas and passed them on orally, later they were written down • The Vedas contained hymns to many gods and rituals designed to keep the gods happy • They also included sacrifices and the god of fire, Agni, would “eat” the sacrifices offered to the gods

9. Brahmanism • Scholars called the Vedic age religion Brahmanism • Brahmanism was a religion ruled by priests and rituals. • Their “sacred” knowledge gave the Brahmins great power and influence in Indian society • Only Brahmins, or priests from the highest caste, could perform rituals.

10. The Evolution of Hinduism • About 500 B.C. the ways of worship began to change. • Old gods became less important and some people began to doubt that carrying out the rituals perfectly was not as important. • They began asking questions like “Why are we born? How should we live? What happens when we die?

11. Upanishads • To answer the questions, Gurus left their homes and spent their days thinking and talking about religious ideas • Some were written down in the Upanishads

12. Upanishads • These writings introduced 2 core beliefs of Hinduism • The belief that there is 1 supreme God • Other gods are just different forms of this god • Every person is born with a soul that is part of Brahman • The soul is known as atman

13. Mahabharata and the Ramayana • These new ideas became two great epic poems, the Mahabharata and Ramayana • The Mahabharata and Ramayana explained Hindu religious ideas to all people and set the standard for how to live

14. Mahabharata • The Mahabharata contains over 100,000 stanzas making it the longest poem • The best loved section is the Bhagavad Gita or “Song of the Lord”

15. Four Goals of Life • Hindus believed that people are born wanting four basic things. • All four goals are desirable, but not all people achieve all of these goals in a lifetime.

16. 4 Goals of Life: Pleasure • 1.Pleasure: People begin their lives by wanting pleasure • This may be very simple such as eating or a deeper pleasure such as falling in love or having a family

17. 4 Goals of Life: SUccess • 2. Success: gaining fame, wealth, or power, or becoming important in the community

18. 4 Goals of Life: Dharma The Bhagavad-Gita, says “it is better to do one’s own duty imperfectly than to do another's well.” • 3. Dharma: Hindus believed in living an ethical or moral life • They must fulfill the duties assigned to their caste to the best of their abilities • People who do not follow their proper dharma threaten the social order.

19. 4 Goals of Life: Moksha • 4. Moksha is the release from life where a person’s soul is united with the universal soul • A persons soul, Atman, and the Brahman become one • They believed becoming one with god meant the end to suffering, pain, fear and want.

20. Hinduism Skits • You will be divided up into small groups • I will give you a traditional Hindu story which you need to read and then write a short skit to teach the rest of the class the message • Each group member must have a speaking part • Be sure to include all the characters • Each skit should only be about 3 min long…We will present these on Friday!

21. Wednesday

22. Title: Beliefs of Hinduism • Do Now: Create a compare/contrast diagram to show what you already know about Hinduism, we will add to this throughout the week. . We will complete the right half next week after we learn about Buddhism.

23. Objective • Students will understand the basic Hindu beliefs and how karma influenced their place in the religion Rewrite this on the left side of your notebook in your own words

24. Agenda • Do Now • Beliefs of Hinduism Lesson • Karma Project

25. Vocabulary • Reincarnation: the rebirth of a soul in a new body • Karma: the sum of a person’s actions and consequences, words and thoughts http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/india/religion/hinduism.htm

26. Reincarnation • Hindus believed that few people can achieve moksha in one lifetime • They also believed that when most people die, their souls are reborn in a new body • They can be reborn in a higher or lower class and can even be reborn as an animal or insect OR

27. The Bhagavad-Gita states “As a man discards Worn-out clothes To put on new And different one, So the embodied self (soul) Discards Its worn-out bodies To take on other new ones.”

28. Law of Karma • How a person is reborn is determined by the law of Karma • Hindus believed that bad karma would bring rebirth in a lower class • Good karma brought rebirth in a higher class • Based on your behavior, attitudes and thoughts, where do you think you would be reborn…higher or lower and why?

29. 3 paths to god • Hinduism lays out 3 paths to moksha • They may choose to follow only one or up to 3 at a time • They would spend their entire life trying to reach moksha

30. 3 Paths to God: Way of Knowledge • This was traditionally chosen by Brahmins • 1. Way of Knowledge: they must fully understand atman and Brahman

31. 3 Paths to God: Way of Works • 2. Way of Works: carrying out religious rituals and duties which would improve their karma • This path was chosen most by Hindus • They offered prayers and food to the gods at temple ceremonies • They do good deeds without expecting anything in return • The Bhagavad-Gita says “he who does the tasks dictated by duty, caring nothing for the reward of the action”

32. 3 Paths to God: Way of Devotion • Also known as the path of love • 3. Way of Devotion: People achieve moksha by devoting themselves to loving God • The Bhagavad-Gita suggests that the way of devotion is superior to the other ways • People on this path may repeat their god’s name all day long or present gifts at their god’s temple

33. Skit Practice • You need to finish writing your skit today. Use the rest of the time to practice. • For HOMEWORK: you need to practice your part so you don’t let the rest of your group down • You will be graded individually for this so you need to do your part

34. Thursday/Friday

35. Title: Spread of Hinduism • Do Now • On this day in 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established. Write about one of the following: Your favorite camping, hiking or backpacking trip. Where you would like to go camping, hiking or backpacking

36. Objective • Students will understand the spread of Hinduism and how it became a major world religion • Rewrite this on the elft side of your notebook in your own words

37. Agenda • Do Now • Spread of Hinduism Lesson • Skit final practice • Skit presentation

38. Vocabulary • Pilgrim: someone who travels to a shrine or sacred place

39. How Hinduism Spread • Because the subcontinent of India is in a vast region, many people belonged to different ethnic groups • These ethnic groups all had their own language, rulers and religion • Still, most adopted Hinduism

40. The Growth of Hinduism in INdia • Hinduism is very flexible and easy to adapt • People did not have to give up their old deities or ways or worship • Instead, they would just add them on to the deities and rituals of Hinduism

41. Hindus also did not form organized groups or worship together • They prayed and made offerings at shrines in their homes or local temples • No matter where Indians went, they could easily carry the religion with them.

42. Hindu Sects • As Hinduism spread, different sects developed • Three Hindu sects attracted large numbers of followers and each followed a specific deity • Vishnu • Shiva • Shakti

43. Hinduism in Other parts of Asia • Over time, Hinduism spread • Indian merchants set up trading posts throughout Southeast Asia. Wherever they settled, Hindu priest traveled with them • Also, migrating people from northern India took Hinduism in to Nepal

44. Worldwide Hindu communities • Recently, Hinduism spread around the world and is practiced in about 150 countries

45. Legacy of HInduism • Hinduism today is the world’s third-largest religion • More than 800 million people follow its faith • However, India is still the spiritual and cultural center of Hinduism

46. Religious traditions • Hinduism has shaped Indian life • Placing flowers or food at a shrine is a daily ritual • Each year, the entire country takes part in Hindu religious festivals

47. Many rivers, mountains, rocks and forest are connected with legends of gods and gurus • The Ganges River is India’s holiest site • Each year thousands of pilgrims flock to the Ganges to bath in its waters • Some pilgrims believe the waters will wash away bad karma • Others believe it will heal diseases or a disability http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXRup4_ZnAo

48. Intellectual traditions • Thinkers in ancient India asked questions about life and death that still concern Hindus today • Because the early Hindu texts were written in Sanskrit, that language became India’s first language of learning

49. Aesthetic traditions • Hindusim inspired India's’ first great works of literature • Today, people all over the world still read the Mahabharata and the Ramayana • These epic poems are retold in comic books and movies!

50. Hinduism also encouraged the development of arts • Hindu temples are designed around religious ideas • Detailed carvings of gods and goddesses decorate temple walls • Hindu temples are centers of art, music, and dance as well as places of worship.