Hinduism

• Religion is a system of faith and worship
• Religion is a belief in a god or gods and the activities connected with it
• Religion includes the designated behaviors and practices, morals
• The word “hindu” originates from the Sanskrit word for river Sindhu
• The Persians designated the land around the Indus river as Hindu
• In history, this also refers to the followers of Hinduism or those living in the Indian subcontinents
• Hindus called their religion Sanatan Dharma (Eternal faith)
• The most important Hindu gods are Brahma, the creator ; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer
• Each can take many forms human or animal, to represent the various aspects of Brahman
• Brahman is an ancient Indian religious tradition that emerged from the earlier vedic religion
• Brahmanism focused on Brahman, is the concept of ultimate reality the embodiment of the universe and force that is in all things
• Hinduism originated as a set of rules or regulations to help people lead a disciplined life
• In hinduism this set of rules adhered to the fulfillment duties, moral values, and the importance of self-realization thru meditation
• Hinduism is polytheistic in the practice of worshipping innumerable gods.
• The goal of Hinduism is The ultimate goal of existence, Hindus believe, is achieving moksha, or union with brahman. To do that, individuals must free themselves from selfish desires that separate them from brahman
• Reincarnation allows people to continue to work toward moksha thru several lifetimes
• Hindus believe, a person can come closer to achieving moksha by obeying the law of karma
• Karma refers to all the actions of a person’s life that affected his or her fate in the next life. To hindus existence is ranked
• People who live virtuously earn good karma are reborn at a higher level of existence
• To escape the wheel of fate, Hinduism stresses the importance of dharma. the religious and moral duties of an individual
• These duties vary according to class, occupation gender and age
• Another key moral principle of Hinduism is ahimsa or nonviolence
• • To Hindus, all people and things are aspects of Brahman and therefor deserve to be respected