1. Aley Blanchflower, Morgan Taddeo, & Tanvi Patel

2.   Hindu religion first developed in India over 5,000 years ago  The religion of the Aryans, the people living in northern India between 1500 and 1000 BC, influenced many of the present beliefs of Hinduism (reincarnation)  Has no single prophet or founder of the religion  The term Hinduism means “the religion of India”  Hinduism is made up of a variety of traditions of belief and social custom  Is very tolerant of other religions  Indian saying: There are 333 million gods, and Hindus are free to worship whichever god they please. History on Founding http://www.kingston.ac.uk

3.   Belief in reincarnation, the rebirth of the soul over many lives  Belief in caste system, a social structure in which Brahmans were on the top, and laborers were at the bottom  By 500 BC, many Hindus begun to practice ascetism, self denial for religious reasons  Ex; fasting, removing oneself from society, lying on thorns, hanging upside down for trees, standing on one leg for a long period of time  Belief in Dharma, duties that each person is bound to perform  Belief in Karma, destiny or fate as a result of a persons actions  Belief in karma and reincarnation strengthened the idea of the caste system  This meant that there were more divisions in the classes of India  Spread of Hinduism across India unified the religion. Core Beliefs & Impact on Societies

4.   Brahma : creator of everything, but did not involve himself in the world after creating it.  Had four heads, each head was supposed to have produced one of the four Vedas, ancient sacred writings of Hinduism.  Vishnu : preserver and protector of the world, a friend to humanity.  Comes down to earth in different forms whenever the world was threatened  Shiva: destroyer- he regularly destroyed the world only to recreate it again.  Sat in Himalayas storing up energy, and released energy by dancing Gods

5.  http://www.420mp3.com Shiva http://www.indianhindunames.com Vishnu http://www.usefulcharts.com Brahma Gods

6.  Ram (or Rama) was the oldest of four brothers- Bharat, Laxman, and Shatrughana. Each of these four brothers shared the same father (King Dashrat), but different mothers. King Dashrat decided that he wanted to give the throne to his oldest son, Rama. But, the third and youngest wife of the King, was jealous and wanted her son, Bharat to have the throne. A long time before, the youngest Queen had saved the King’s life, so she was granted two wishes. She decided that it was finally time to claim her wishes so she demanded that Rama and his wife Sita be sent away to a forest and that her own son, Bharat, has the throne. The King could not break his promise so Rama leaves the holy town of Ayodhya with Sita, and brother Laxman. There, the three gods face a series of conflicts including running into the villain, Ravaan several times, and Sita getting kidnapped. When they came back after 14 years, the town celebrated by lighting candles to welcome the couple and Laxman back after 14 years. The Ramayana, is a detailed book explaining the events that happened in Rama’s life. Story of Rama

7.   Diwali, which can also be spelled as Divali or Dipavali, is an important holiday in the Hindu belief.  Diwali can be celebrated anywhere from two to five days. It is celebrated in the Hindu month of Kartika (October to November)  Diwali is also known as the Festival of Lights because it occurs during the darkest period of the monthly lunar cycle.  Like during Christmas for Americans, Hindus during the celebration of Diwali receive a holiday bonus at work.  Tradition of washing coins and performing prayers for goddess of wealth, Laxmi.  Diwali is the day when Ram, a Hindu god, returned from the jungle after 14 years Diwali

8.  http://www.northjersey.com http://spiritualityireland.org Diwali

9.  Where Hinduism Is Practiced Today  In South Asia, between 60 and 70 percent of the population practice the Hindu religion  Approximately 900 million adherents world wide  Hinduism is the third largest religion practiced behind Christianity and Islam  Most Hindus live in India and the neighboring countries in South America  Most Hindus are of South Asian ethnic but the religion has emerged in North America and Europe  Nepal, located between China and India is the only Hindu kingdom in the world

10.  Hinduism Maps http://www.pluralism.org http://ru.wikipedia.org

11.  Works Cited "Hinduism." Exploring Ancient Civilizations. Marshall Cavendish Digital, 2012. Web. 12 December 2012 "Hinduism." Exploring the Middle Ages. Marshall Cavendish Digital, 2012. Web. 12 December 2012 Clothey, Fred W. "Diwali." World Book Student. World Book, 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Jones, Constance A. "Diwali." Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Ed. J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann. 2nd Ed. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. 895-897. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Dec. 2012. "Festivals, Religious." Exploring the Middle Ages. Marshall Cavendish Digital, 2012. Web. 15 December 2012.