1. Exit Slips socrative.com (room = 205LIONS) OR
just use a half slip of paper on middle desk
Focus Question:
How are religion and culture connected in India?
Use SPECIFIC examples from what you learned today.

2. FQ – “How are religion and culture connected in India?”
Hinduism

3. Basics of Hinduism
religion of the majority of people in India and Nepal (80%)
over 900 million people practice Hinduism
oldest living religion – origins Indus/Aryan
closely linked to other Indian religions like Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism
no single founder, no single holy book, and no commonly agreed set of teachings

4. A central part of Indian culture!
Pakistan and Bangladesh are Muslim – why they are separate
Sri Lanka is Buddhist

5. How does a Hindu Creation Myth compare to others we have seen?
Watch the Hindu creation myth:
What similarities and differences do you see between the Hindu myth and the myths of the Middle East (Mesopotamia, Egypt, O.T.)?
What might the myth tell us about the religion of Hinduism?
ALL begin with darkness, water, and a creator god
ALL use the gods to explain nature and the origins of life
In Hindu and O.T., god speaks the “word” and life is created
Difference: this myth begins with an egg
Polytheistic, etc.

6. What are Hindu beliefs about God?
Many Hindus believe in a supreme spiritual force, Brahman, the “universal soul”.
Brahman is one, but has many incarnations.
Many Hindus believe that all the gods are different aspects (forms) of Brahman.
“God is one – but wise men know it by many names.”
Every living being has a soul that is part of Brahman.
Polytheism or Monotheism?

7. What do other Hindu gods look like?
Describe another Hindu god:
What do Hindu gods remind you of?
Hindu “trinity”:

8. Other Hindu Gods Video on the gods – 3 minutes Incarnation
Myth is important
Animal gods (monkey and cow)
Mahabarata – sacred epic AND Ramayan
Aryan origins of Hinduism

9. What do other Hindu gods look like?
Describe another Hindu god:
What do Hindu gods remind you of?
Hindu “trinity”:
Ganesh/a = elephant god of wisdom and new beginnings
Cows are sacred in Hinduism (goes back to their use as an importance resource)
Hindu gods might remind of us super heroes with their powers and appearance, Egyptian gods that also had animal features, etc.
Brahma – creator
Vishnu – preserver
Shiva - destroyer

10. Identify the symbols and their meanings!
Hindu “Trinity”
Identify the symbols and their meanings!
symbols
Brahma
“creator”
Vishnu
“preserver”
Shiva
“destroyer”

11. Brahma Vishnu Shiva “creator” “preserver” “destroyer” Symbols:
Many hands = power
Sun disc/halo = holiness
Blue skin = symbol of the infinite like sky or water
Lotus flower = nature and creation
Prayer beads = substance of the universe
Crown = supreme authority, god of creation
4 heads = the four directions (N, S, E, W)
4 hands = the four Vedas
Book = knowledge
Brahma
“creator”
Vishnu
“preserver”
Shiva
“destroyer”

12. Primary Source: the Soul
Hindus believe every living thing has a soul, “Atman”.
debate over whether the soul is separate from or a part of Brahman
Read the excerpt “Isha”, from The Upanishads (a Hindu holy book). Think deep…. Describe the “self” (soul, Atman):
If you were to draw a picture/symbol to represent the “self”, what would it be?
Self = one, constant, in motion, LIFE, ALL, pure/white, contradictory, requires meditation, immortal, bodiless, perfect, paradox
Symbol might be the infinity symbol, a circle, air, cloud, space, etc.

13. Beliefs about Life
Hindus believe in reincarnation: a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, governed by karma.
karma: Hindus believe that the soul is reborn based on your behavior in your previous life, “consequences”.
You can be reborn in human, god, or animal form.
moksha: your GOAL = freedom from the cycle of reincarnation, become one with the universe (Brahman)

14. Caste System caste = fixed social class you are born into
jati - occupation
varnas - religion
*outlawed in India today*
Brahmins
“Priests and Scholars”
KARMA
Kshatriyas
“rulers and warriors”
Vaisyas
“farmers and merchants”
Sudras
“laborers, crafts workers, servants”
Dulits/Pariahs  Untouchables “impure” jobs

15. Beliefs about Life cont.
Read “Hindu Beliefs” in the readings packet and answer the questions..
Do you have a sense of dharma in your own life? Explain. – dharma = ultimate moral balance of all things, rules you live by, sense of right and wrong, ethics
Does our society have a sense of dharma? If so, how is it maintained? – sense of right and wrong that agreed on in laws, norms, etc.
How is the story, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”, and example of karma? Can you think of any other examples? – his wrong doings come back to haunt him
Describe a book, movie, song, event, etc. that contains the idea of samsara. - samsara = reincarnation, Justin Timberlake song, In Xmas Carol Scrooge learns about karma

16. “My karma ran over my dogma…”
What goes around,
comes around!

17. Holy Books: The Vedas one of many Hindu holy books
written from BCE in Sanskrit
included in the Vedas:
hymns and poems
religious prayers
magical spells
lists of the gods and goddesses
Other Hindu Holy Books

18. Sanskrit Writing
ancient language in Hindu holy books read by Brahmin (priests)
“language of the gods”
no longer spoken today, but many Indian languages are based on Sanskrit
English and Sanskrit are even related!
Sanskrit Video – 5 minutes

19. What are some Hindu festivals/celebrations?
Ganges River:
Holi:
Diwali:

20. Hindu Festivals
Hindu Festivals Video

21. What are some Hindu festivals/celebrations?
Ganges River:
Holi:
Diwali:
Ganges River = over one million people, you can wash away the sins of a lifetime during the festival
Holi = celebrates the arrival of Spring, throw colored powders originally thought to protect against disease
Diwali = triumph of light (good) over dark (evil), end of fall and beginning of winter

22. What do Hindu places of worship look like?
puja = worship
may take place in a temple or at home with a family shrine
many families have their own deities that they like best
no strict rules about when you go to temple, dedicated to different gods also, may bring offerings

23. What do Hindu places of worship look like?

24. Hindu Symbols
Choose one of the “Hindu Symbols” to draw and describe its significance.
Cow: origin myths: celestial cow of Krishna, born from ocean, etc.; sacred animal; milk/butter used in rituals of atonement

25. Compare/Contrast Chart
Use #8 and #6 to fill in the #4 add on “Hinduism/Buddhism Compare and Contrast Chart”.