Hindu beliefs

• Fate

  Definition: the idea that life is pre-destined and one’s independent choices are irrelevant to life’s end result.

  Belief: the idea of fate means that Brahman must control the cosmos and hindus lives.

  Quotation: ‘Draupadi prayed…to find a husband five times…Draupadi must marry all five brothers.’
• Free will

  Definition: the ability to make your own choices in an independent manner.

  Beliefs:

  • karma demands free will in order to make decisions that can be punished or rewarded.
  • only humans have free will
  • free will does not exist as Brahman controls Hindus lives (fate)

  Quotation: ‘to acquire freedom we have to get beyond the limitations of the universe‘

  Linking to Hindu story: (Rama & Sita) Ravana exercises his free will by kidnapping Sita but by doing so causes evil and suffering.
• Dharma

  Definition: the duty a hindu must perform in their life

  Significance:

  • creates a productive society
  • forfilling one’s dharma can cause personal and universal happiness (ananda)
  • ones dharma impacts their karma and therefore there samsara and determining when they can achieve moksha
• Sanatana dharma

  Definition: a code of ethics and a way of living whereby one can achieve moksha

  Significance: promotes the consideration of what’s right and wrong helping Hindus become more morally aware
• Varnashrama dharma

  Definition: following your dharma according to your varna and ashrama

  significance: creates the framework to living a balanced and purposeful life
• The caste system 


  Knowledge: A way of organising a Hindu society according to a Hindus assigned Varna. Hindus are born and will die in the same Varna and must marry into the same varna.

  sections & job examples:

  Brahmis - priest

  kshatriyas - warrior

  vaishyas - merchant

  shudras - servant

  then Dalits (outcasts below the caste systems) aka ’untouchables’ - street sweepers

  extra info: Ghandi campaigned against poor treatment of Dalits
• The 4 ashramas


  meaning: stages of life

  • Brahmacharya (student stage)

  = learn good values, live a simple life, study the Vedas

  • Grihsta (household stage)

  = make money, teach your children, give to charity

  • Vanaprastha (retired stage)

  = traditionally Hindus moved into the forest to be in nature to make a better connection with god, don’t own much, go on a pilgrimage

  • Sannyasa (renounced stage)

  = teach others about God, fully control the mind, cut off all contact with friends & family
• Evil & suffering

  Evil: profoundly immoral

  Belief: it is every Hindus dharma not to be ignorant towards suffering as it is equivalent to exercising evil itself, this creates good, influential Hindus.

  Quotation: ‘non-cooperation with evil is as much duty as is cooperation with good’

  linking to Hindu source: (Rama & Sita story) - Ravana exercises his free will by taking Sita , but in doing so caused evil and suffering.
• Personal virtues

  • Ahimsa - non-harm/non-violence (being vegetarian)
  • Respect - to feel or show regard for a person (respect all aspects of creation - antaryami)
  • Empathy - the ability to identify with another’s situation or feelings (Ghandi, who was not a Dalit, campaigned against the poor treatment of Dalits)
  • Mind/sense control - controlling our desires so that they do not dictate us (meditation)
  • Humility - modest opinion of one’s own importance (Ghandi is humble and never violent to win his cause)
  • Love - a strong feeling of affection (worshipping Kama deva - Hindu god of human love)
• The 4 yugas


  • Satya yuga (time of purity & righteousnes, average lifespan = 100 thousand years)
  • Treta yuga (time of virtue & wisdom, average lifespan = 10 thousand years)
  • Dwapara yuga (time of discontent & disease, average lifespan = 1 thousand years)
  • Kali yuga - current era (time of darkness & ignorance, average lifespan = 100 years but declines to 20 years towards the end of the yuga)

  Features of Kali yuga:

  greed & avarice will reign supreme and violence will result (wars for land), rulers will become aggressive & unreasonable (dictatorships e.g king jong un)
• Cosmology

  Meaning: study of the universe

  Beliefs: Bhrama grew a lotus flower out his belly button and that’s how the universe was made or the creator made the universe from timber found in veidas, Hindus also believe we are made up of prakriti & atman

  The cycle of the 4 ages:

  Throughout the eras height declines, lifespan declines, mortality declines, hindu timeline says the Big Bang didn’t begin everything but instead is just the beginning of the present cycle, each cycle consists of 4 yugas and together these are called ‘Maya yuga’ meaning great age, infinite number of universes
• Prakriti & Maya

  Definitions:

  prakriti - matter

  maya - illusion

  Beliefs:

  • From prakriti comes the 3 primary gunas (qualities also known as the triguna)
  • when one’s soul reaches enlightenment the world no longer has substance and is shown to be an illusion (maya) Significance of prakriti: the potency that brings about evolution and change in the empirical universe. Significance of maya: encourages Hindus to avoid the ways in which a person's existence and self-centredness stop them from seeing the truth.
• Triguna 


  The triguna is said to explain the way human behave.

  Tamas ➡️ ignorance

  Rajas ➡️ passion

  sattva ➡️ goodness

  importance: understanding the balance of the gunas can help individuals take proactive steps towards achieving optimal mental and emotional health & satisfaction in life.
• Core concepts involving the purpose of individuality & life (pt1)

  Atman - the soul (invisible)

  (significant as it is eternal alike Brahman therefore gives life sacred quality)

  ‘no one can cause the destruction of the imperishable soul’

  Karma - the way in which actions in current life receive reward/punishment in the next.

  (In order to get what you want, you have to embody and be worthy of those things therefore promoting consideration of what’s right & wrong.

  ’he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds’
• Core concepts involving the purpose of individuality & life (pt2)

  Samsara - the cycle of birth, death & rebirth

  (helps Hindus recognise that justice & judgement comes from Brahman and they must behave accordingly to escape samsara)

  ‘the self throws the body aside to take hold of another support’

  Moksha - oneness with Brahman in vaikuntha

  (gives hindus aspirations in order to end suffering and be rewarded for hard work)

  ‘Moksha is the realization of the divine nature of the self’
• The 3 aspects of the divine

  Brahman - residing everywhere

  ‘everything is Brahman‘

  (closer to god as he is always with you because he’s everywhere & many forms of worship available)

  Antaryami - residing within

  ‘the controller within‘

  (acts as moral compass internally guiding them)

  Bhagavan - residing beyond

  ’God who lives beyond this material world’

  (makes Hindus more spiritual as oppose to wanting relationships with materialistic things)
• Nirguna & Saguna Brahman

  Nirguna Brahman -

  relationship with God is impersonal, God = unable to comprehend, concept supported by the idea that he has no attributes

  evidence: ‘he is within all and he is outside all’

  actions: trying to gain knowledge & meditation

  Saguna Brahman -

  relationship with God is personal, concept supported by the idea that Brahman has multiple forms (male & female deities)

  evidence: examples of deities include ganesha & hanuman.

  actions: creating shrines & worshipping in mandir
• The 4 purposes of life (purusharthas) - pt1

  Dharma - the duty a Hindu should perform in their life

  example: in ones final ashrama they should give up their possessions.

  importance: for filling religious duties causes personal & universal happiness (ananda)

  Kama - enjoying the pleasures of life

  example: respecting other living beings & enjoying food, music etc.

  importance: to gain the most from life and help achieve optimal well-being.
• The 4 purposes of life (purusharthas) - pt2

  Artha - gaining wealth in a lawful way

  example: working a legal job to earn money and provide for the family

  importance: with money resources to for fill desires (Kama) become more widely available

  Moksha - freedom from samsara & oneness with Brahman

  example: gaining good karma to try and break free from samsara

  importance: gives hindus aspirations in order to be rewarded for hard work & end their suffering
• Viakuntha

  meaning: the hindu spiritual place

  beliefs: vishnu is at the head of each planet in viakuntha, it has beautiful ladies, forests & flowers, the soul is free and there is no birth or death there

  evidence: teachings found in the vedas

  importation: encourages motivation to reach moksha, morally better people in order to reach viakuntha