Life Orientation Grade 9 Hinduism

History The name “Hinduism” comes from the river called Hindu and the people that lived there, the “people of the Indus”, or the “people of India”, the Indians. The name of Hinduism is not really the name for one religion, but of a collection of religions bounded together. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions. No one knows exactly when it started, but it dates back at least 4500 years. The people who practice it call it Sanatana Dharma, which means “Eternal Religion”. They believe that God revealed spiritual truths to holy men during periods of meditation. These spiritual truths were first handed down to later generations by word of mouth.

Basic belief Hindus agree in general that there is one Great Power, namely God. The Great Power is not a person, neither male, nor female, but it. The name of this Great Power is Brahman, who is everywhere and in everyone all the time, and who is all-powerful and all-knowing. Hinduism does not have a creed or statement of faith in the same way that Judaism, Christianity and Islam do. All Hindus honour more than one form of God (nothing more than different views of the same God), but they usually focus on either Vishnu, Brahma or Shiva, and their wives, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kali (Kali is also known as Durga or Parvati, the mother goddess).

Different forms of the Hindu God Brahma – the creator Vishnu – the preserver Shiva – the destroyer Hindus believe that these gods work together in an ongoing pattern, namely: - everything is made; - everything lasts for a time; - everything is destroyed. Sometimes these 3 gods are illustrated as one god with 3 heads, to show that they work together

Brahman Vishnu Shiva

Lakshmi (wife of Vishnu) – goddess of beauty and wealth Kali (wife of Shiva) - both gentle and peace-loving, but also fierce (often pictured with a necklace of shells and a skirt made of cut-off hands). Outsiders often think that Hindus worship cows, because they are considered sacred in India. In fact, all living things are seen as manifestations of God and are treated with respect Saraswati Lakshmi

The four aims of human life: Dharma – life involves a series of duties, for ex. Obeying rules about being honest, worshipping the gods, not hurting other people or animals etc. Artha – another duty which means earning money honest and lawfully. Karma – work or action. The law of Karma is that the life we lead now is the result of the good and the bad things we have done in our previous lives. The good and bad things we do now will affect our rebirth or the life we live after death (see reincarnation). Moksha – the end of the law of rebirth is Moksha, which means spiritual liberation, when the soul joins with Brahma.

Times and places of worship Hindus are not expected to go to a temple on a regular basis. Many of the ceremonies are practiced by the family at the shrine (prayer room) in the home. Special worship takes place in the morning and the evening in front of the statue or picture of the family god. These ceremonies involve the lightning of the candles and incense, as well as small offerings of fruit and flowers. It is important to remove their shoes and wash before they worship. Their religious scriptures is called the Vedas.

Special festivals or celebrations The most important festival is Deepavali (meaning “a row of lights”), the Festival of lights. At these festivals several stories are retold, including the story of the holy beings Rama and Sita overcoming the demon king. Candles and clay lamps as well as strings of electric lights are used to celebrate the driving out of the darkness. It’s a time for old quarrels to be forgotten, and for people to renew their commitment to fair business practices. Lakshmi, always shown wearing red, is an important part of the festival. Another important festival is Navarati, the festival of the Mother. This dedication to the female forms of the deity is one of the important aspects which differentiate Hinduism from most other major religions. At this time they will give up eating meat if they are not already vegetarians, and also other worldly pleasures such as alcohol, to focus on the spiritual.

Hindu weddings are a time of great celebration, and the bride in particular will take a long time to get ready, including having designs drawn on her hands in henna. The bride and bridegroom are bedecked with flowers, and special prayers and offerings are made. Hindus believe that when their bodies die, their souls do not die, but move to other bodies; and their souls are reborn in other persons. This is called reincarnation. The kind of person the soul move onto is determined by the so-called law of Karma. If people have performed good works in their last lives, their souls will move to a good life; if they have not done so, they move to a hard life. If you have done something very bad in your last life, you will be re-born as an animal. Hindus call this being reborn the law of samsara. The end of samsara is called moksha. This is the fulfillment of the hope which all Hindus are looking for, namely that their souls will join with Brahma. This happens when their souls have become completely pure. Only then they can go back to Brahma and again become part of the God, where they began. The earthly body is burnt rather than buried in a coffin.