HinduismBy: Olivia Carter

Hinduism• Originating in India• Dating back to 1400 to 1500 B.C.• Early Hinduism history is up for much debate

for 3 reasons.• First, there was no 'Hinduism' before modern

times, although the sources of Hindu traditions are ancient.

• Second, Hinduism is not a single religion but contains many traditions.

• Third, Hinduism has no definite starting point. The traditions which flow into Hinduism may go back several thousand years and some practitioners claim that the Hindu revelation is eternal.

Hinduism Scriptures• Hindu literature is split into two

categories.Shruti: that which is revealed.Smriti: that which is remembered.

• The shruti are considered divinely revealed and so they are sacred scriptures.• All shruti scriptures are made in

Sanskrit.

Hinduism Beliefs• Hinduism likes you have an

absolute and complete freedom of belief and worship.• Hinduism thinks of the whole

world as a single family that deifies the one truth, and so it accepts all forms of beliefs and dismisses labels of distinct religions which would say a division of identity.

Devas and Avatars• The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial

entities called Devas, "the shining ones", which means "gods" or "heavenly beings“.• Hindu epics and the Puranas relate

several episodes of the descent of God to Earth in corporeal form to restore dharma to society and to guide humans to moksha. This is called an Avatar. The most prominent avatars are of Vishnu and include Rama and Krishna.

Karma and Samsara• Karma means action, work, or deed, and is

described as the "moral law of cause and effect".

• The linga sharira, a body more delicate than the physical one but less delicate than the soul, retains impressions, carrying them over into the next life, establishing a unique path for the individual. Therefore, the concept of a universal, unbiased, and never-failing karma basically relates to reincarnation as well as to one's personality, characteristics, and family. Karma binds together the notions of free will and destiny.

• His cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth is a range called samsara.