hinduism

• god Is everywhere and non personal : brahman
• god exists within the heart : antaryami
• god is personal and loving : vaikuntha
• nirguna: god as supreme consciousness, spiritual presence
• saguna : god in physical form
• brahman is an ultimate ereality
• spiritual worlds :

  14 lokas

  7 vytharis

  7 patalas
• brahma: god of creation

  4 heads = all 4 directions

  book = vedas

  beads = mala

  lotus = purity

  split himself into 2 to create men and female

  consort = Saraswati (goddess of learning0
• vishnu: god of preservation

  represents soul of the universe

  worshipped through avataras

  consort= lakishmi (goddess of wealth, beauty, prosperity)
• shiva: destroyer
• Ganesha: remover of obstacles
• hanuman: devotion to others (in Ramayana)
• rama: 7th avatara of vishnu - prince who rescued his wife Sita from the demon king
• krishna: 8th avatar of vishnu - cowherd boy who provided and example of personal devotion and brought peace
• Prakriti: matter
• the world is made of spirit and Prakriti. some hindus believe they exist separately (and spirit must conquer matter), and some believe they exist together.
• triguna - matter goes through 3 stages: creation, maintenance and destruction
• triguna is seen in human life through passion, goodness and ignorance
• Maya: when a soul reaches enlightenment, the world is shown to be an illusion (Maya)
• cycle of the 4 ages:

  yugas:

  gold, silver, copper, iron
• the universe: clusters of bubbles in space - created by Vishnus breath.

  in each bubble, there's an upper realm of heavenly planets and a lower world with less pleasant beings.
• samsara: birth and rebirth cycle
• moksha: release from samsara
• upanishad 391: 330 million gods
• Hindus think that suffering happens partly because of the sum of all the bad karma in people's previous lives. Another type of suffering is due to moral evil', or the bad things humans do. Hindus try to break free from the suffering in this world and reach moksha where there is no suffering. They believe inner peace is achieved by changing self rather than simply changing material circumstances.
• They also believe it is part of their dharma to relieve the suffering of others. They must never deliberately cause someone to suffer and most Hindus extend this idea to animals as well as ocher humans.
• personal virtues:

  ahimsa: non-violence - to gain good karma to achieve moksha

  respect: for all living things - sanctity of life (because brahman is in them "the truth is brahman is in all"
• personal virtues:

  empathy: considering how others are feeling and how they would feel if they were in the same situation. They should then try to do things to help others.
• personal virtues:

  mind/ sense control: considered essential morality

  humility: which means not doing things in a boastful way but for the right reasons. 

  love: caring way through giving help when needed. This might be giving to charity or giving to those who do not have enough food or water.
• aims of human life:

  dharma: duty or path in life

  artha: Artha means prosperity. To Hindus this means the pursuit of wealth. Many Hindus believe that there are only a few people who do not require material wealth. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that Hindus attain material wealth as part of attempting to achieve moksha. However, they must not become attached to this wealth.

  kama: love, desire and pleasure

  moksha: to be saved (salvation)they break free from the cycle of samsara, by doing good deeds to gain good karma.
• sanatana dharma: 'eternal truth' - doing what is right
• varnashrama dharma: 'duty of caste' - duties hindus follow depending of their stage of life