HinduBy, Allan Ng

Beliefs

Hinduism is one of the largest religions in the world today. Religions are a way of life, an answer, and beliefs tie it all together, Beliefs circle around gods, religion circles around gods, making deities the greatest belief.

The Hindus are a widely spread, and greatly believed religion. They have come to this, because of their beliefs, that the Hindus honor greatly. If any religious person were not to believe in their studies, they would not be considered religious. Although many do believe. This is because it gives you an answer for the unknown. What makes a religion is the fact that it is not proven to be true, but yet it is an answer for our existence and the way life happens. Religion is hope and answers, yet it is the beliefs that tie it all together. And it is these upcoming beliefs that make Hinduism so successful.

A reason that Hinduism is so popular is because it is reasonable and not extremely strict. In Hinduism, you may worship in your own way, praying as much, or as little as you wish.

The Hindus beieve that when you die, you are reborn either as a human or animal. This cycle of death and rebirth is called samsara

If you’ve led a good life and you’ve been a good person, you’ll be reborn in a better form and life. This is the effect of Karma, which is the theory of what goes around, comes aroundWhen you have finally broken free of samsara, you have reached moksha (salvation). This can be achieved if you continuously lead good/better lives Moksha is also known as the time when your atman (single soul) merges with Brahman (the supreme spirit)

The River Ganges fell from heaven, making it sacred to the Hindus, and bathing in it will wash away your sins. Plus, it would have shattered (destroyed) the earth on impact, if Lord Shiva had not broken the earth with his hair

To do a pilgrimage is not mandatory in Hindu laws, but many believe it will bring you closer to Moksha. On a pilgrimage, you would go to 1 of the 7 Tirthas, Varanasi being the holiest, and hosting the Ganges River

When you have finally broken free of samsara, you have reached moksha (salvation). This can be achieved if you continuously lead good/better lives Castes-Brahmans (not meaning the supreme spirit) are the priests, Kshatriyas (nobles, soldiers), Vaishyas (traders) and Sudras (servants)

Your job is considered dirty or menial if your not in the “caste system” Like the street sweepers.

The ones not worthy enough for the caste system used to be known as the “untouchables”, but now they are called the “scheduled castes”

There was a time when people used to never mix with those of a lower caste, but the caste system is less strict now

Hindus are divided into four main groups

Most of the people who followed Hinduism, were vegetarian

This is because the Hindus believed in ahimsa, which means non-violence. So they can’t kill any living beings, even for food, yet you are not forced to be vegetarian

Hindus eat with mainly just their fingers, but with their right hand, because the left is considered to be dirty or unclean

Cow’s are sacred animals to the Hindus, so even the non-vegetarians would not eat beef

Many of the Indian states allow cows to roam freely, even in the middle of where traffic is, and the cows are not to be harmed

A typical vegetarian meal consists of either rice or chapatis (rounds of flat bread), several spicy vegetable dishes, dhal (lentils), dahi (yogurt), and pickles

During festivals, people would exchange gifts of homemade candies, made from mainly milk, nuts and sugar

Brahman, the supreme spirit is not just one god, because hundreds of gods, and goddesses represent different aspects of Brahman

Hindu Gods and Goddesses often have several heads or arms holding sacred objects to symbolize their aspect of Brahman

The three main gods are Brahma, (not Brahman) , the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer of evil. Shiva and Vishnu having many temples dedicated to them.

Brahma has four heads (faces), facing each corner of the earth, as he rides on a giant swan, or sits on a lotus blossom. His wife Saraswati of art and learningVishnu is merciful to humans and either rides a giant eagle, or sleeps on a giant serpent, and his wife is Lakshmi, goddess of beauty and wealthShiva carries the symbol of destruction, the trident, and has the third eye of knowledge on his forehead. He rides on a giant bull named Nandi, and his wife is Parvati, who is often known as the kind, gentle mother goddess, but at other times can be cruel and terrible

Krishna is also popular, being mischievous and fond of performing miracles . He is also key in the Bhagavad Gita, which is part of the Mahabharta Poem

Hanuman, the monkey god is also found in the Ramayana, and is considered by some to be the 11th incarnation of Shiva

The warrior goddess rides on a tiger, as she holds a weapon in all ten arms. Her name is Durga, but Durga is not the one who wears a skull necklace. That would be Kali, the deity who conquers the ugliness of evilLastly, Ganesh, son of Shiva and Parvati. Shiva had cut of Ganesh’s human in rage, then later replaced it with a wise elephant’s head. He is prayed to when you’re starting something new, like a new job or school. This is because he is the God of solving difficulties

Rama, one of the most popular gods, is the hero of the Ramayana poem that represents virtue and courage, and his wife is Sita.

There is so much on Gods and Goddesses, because everything about religion is centered around Godly beliefs. Religion is how people interpret the Gods’ laws. And

every religion has a different interpretation

http://www.success.co.il/knowledge/images/Supernatural-Hinduism-Aum.jpg

http://bluechipgoa.com/images/goa/goa_food.jpg

http://www.agreatgiftidea.com/BirthAnn/Scroll.jpg

http://posneg.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/samsara2.jpg

http://r6xx.com/images/uploads/DSCN3860.JPG

Kanitkar, V. P. Hinduism (Religions of the World). London: Hodder Wayland, 1986. Print.

Symbols and Architecture

The symbols and architecture of Hinduism are amazing. All the symbols have a story which explains why they are so important, and all the temples are unique. The caste system and wheel of life are very interesting. A couple of the symbols are even used in other places and religions. For example, the swastika is used in Hinduism and the Nazis used it for their symbol during World War II. The caste system is also used in at least two other religions. All of the symbols originated in Hinduism because Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world.

•This is the symbol of Aum, the most sacred symbol in Hinduism

•It is often used as the main symbol of Hinduism

•Hindus chant Aum (pronounced ah-oom) during prayer

•It is the symbol we chose as our background

•This is the swastika, a symbol of good luck and is extremely holy

•It is commonly used in house and church design

•It can also be drawn without the dots and the curves, which is how it was used in Nazism

•The caste system is the system of birth, death, and rebirth

•If you were good in your life, you might be reborn as someone higher than you in the caste pyramid (the left picture). For example if you were a merchant and you had a good life, you might be reborn as a warrior.

•If you were bad in your life, you might be reborn as someone lower than you in the caste pyramid.

•If you were good in your life and you were a priest, you might be reborn as some sort of god or avatar

•If you were bad in your life and you were a servant, you can’t be reborn lower, so you just stay the same

•Out of Caste means you are not a part of the system, so you can’t move up or down. It is also where the English word “outcast” came from

•The wheel of life (shown on right) represents birth and rebirth and how your soul never dies

•All temples, called mandirs, are different

•They can be massive, with tons of decoration, or small with almost no decoration

•Big mandirs would have a main shrine room for Vishnu or Shiva, other small shrine rooms for less important gods, rooms for the priests to live, and a river or other water supply.

•Small Shrine rooms would just have one main shrine room, and a room for the priest

Works Cited• "Google Image Result for http://fugato.net/wp-content/swastika.png." Google Images. Web.

18 Jan. 2010. <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://fugato.net/wp-content/swastika.png&imgrefurl=http://fugato.net/2005/11/&usg=__AsAu0xgUBU0o5GBGIUoQPxsmv7M=&h=204&w=200&sz=15&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=fYbrqocIJ_c30M:&tbnh=105&tbnw=103&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhindu%2Bswastika%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive>.

• "Google Image Result for http://www.success.co.il/knowledge/images/Supernatural-Hinduism-Aum.jpg." Google Images. Web. 18 Jan. 2010. <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.success.co.il/knowledge/images/Supernatural-Hinduism-Aum.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.success.co.il/knowledge/map/map-basic-tree.html&usg=__STAQXeaRRiMhqcL3o5BLs7DrYDg=&h=540&w=720&sz=13&hl=en&start=10&tbnid=40xxuNZ-Rt8DVM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhinduism%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DG>.

• Marchant, Kerena. Krishna and Hinduism. North Mankato, Minn: Smart Apple Media, 2003. Print.

• Penney, Sue. Hinduism. Print. Discovering Religions.• World Book. Web. 18 Jan. 2010. <http://worldbookonline.com/student/article?

id=ar257300&st=hinduism>.

Significant Hindu Religious Sites

By Sean Farley

The Ganges River

• The Ganges river is sacred to Hindu people, and is believed to be a place of purification.

• It is 2509 Kilometers long, and begins in the southern Himalayas 3,140 metres above sea level. From there it flows eastward into Bangladesh and empties into the Bay of Bengal, where it forms a vast delta, joined by the Brahmaputra river. This delta is the largest in the world.

A map of the Ganges River

The Ganges River and Hinduism

• The Ganges river is considered sacred to those who follow the Hinduism religion. In fact, the river is personified as the goddess Ganga. According to Hindus, bathing in the river will cause forgiveness for your sins. The river is also where people place the cremated corpses of their family members. If the ashes are spread in the water they are said to go to heaven.

The Delta of The Ganges River

A picture of the Ganges River

Varanasi

• Varanasi is a city situated on the banks of the Ganges river. The city is considered holy by Hindus, along with followers of two other religions. It is culturally associated with the River Ganges significance to Hindus. The Hindus believe the god Shiva once lived in this city. It is also believed that dying in this city will allow you to bypass rebirth.

The Holy City of Varanasi

Where Varanasi is Located Geographically

The Spread of Hinduism

Works Cited• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganga_in_Hinduism

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varanasihttp://www.shvoong.com/humanities/1715449-varanasi-holy-city-hinduism-ankur/

• http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/ganges_hires.jpg

• http://atlasbear.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/572px-bend_in_ganges_garhwal2008a.jpg

• http://sajablogs.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/06/ganges_map_200.jpg

• http://www.sacred-destinations.com/india/images/varanasi/ghats2-cc-taraonholiday.jpg

• http://www.topnews.in/files/varanasi_map.gif

By: Natalie Johnston

Introduction Paragraph

Hinduism is one of the world's oldest religions. It started around the area of the Indus River in India. It is, like all religions, the way of life or culture of the people who are members of a Hindu family. It has no founder or leader but it does have many holy books teaching the people how to live. According to historians, a start of Hinduism dates behind to 5, 000 or some-more years. There are now millions of Hindus all over the world today.

Facts

• Place of worship: At home to a shrine or at a temple.

• They believe in reincarnation • Date founded: Earliest forms of Hinduism date

back to 1500 BC or earlier• It is also called Sanatana Dharma.• It is thousands of years older than Christianity

and Islam

Population:

• Hinduism is followed by 13% of the worlds population.

• Thousands of religious groups have evolved in India since 1500 BCE.

• The Hinduism religion claims 837 million followers.

• In Canada there are 157,015 Hindu’s.

Locations of Hinduism

• Religion began in India and spread mainly to South East Asia.

• It also has got to Singapore, Fiji, Tobago, Guyana, etc.

• Also started in Arab countries • Some Hindu's have migrated to Canada and

the united states and have stayed there which has made this religion grow.

Worksites:

• http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/fastfacts.htm

• http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/index.htm

• http://www.diehardindian.com/demogrph/moredemo/hindu.htm

• http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2008/04/interesting-facts/