hinduism concepts

8/18/2019 Hinduism Concepts

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Hinduism Concep

By Paige Dame and Grace Petraglia



AtmanLoose definition: ‘Eternal self’ ‘spirit’

‘soul’

If you were stripped from all the vanitiesand material items in your life you would

be left with your atman, your “true self”.

In Hinduism, the belief is that you have

a spiritual soul that is inhabiting your

temporal body and it’s beneath your

“ego” and “false self.” Your atman is

who you are at your most primitive and

primal state of being. In the Hindu

culture, through your life your “spiritual

self” is having earthly or humanly

experience.



Dharma

Loose definition: ‘Duty’ ‘virtue’ or ‘morality’

Dharma is the power that allows the people to behave morally in corrto who you are: caste, age, and gender all play a role. For example, w

behavior for a teacher, might not be proper for the students. This is r

one’s sva-dharma. Behaving in opposition to one’s sva-dharma is ca

adharma. Acting according to personal dharma also means serving

humanity or God.



Varna

Loose definition: A person’s responsibility regarding class.

FOUR CLASSES

● Brahmans/Brahmins: intellectuals and priests

● Kshatriya: nobles or warriors

● Vaishyas: commoners or merchants

● Shudras: workers who serve the higher classes

○ Examples: artists, musicians, clerks

FOUR STAGES

● Brahmacarya: males learn the Veda

● Grihastha: twice born males experience responsibility, wealth,

sexual pleasure

● Vanaprastha: twice born males ‘retire from life’ and pilgrimage

and make religious observances with their wives.

● Samnyasa: twice borns put aside the world in order to develop

devotion–moksha.

Representatio

system.



Varna: Social Hierarchy



Karma and SamsaraLoose definition: ‘Action’

The Hinduist view of karma is for each and every

action you make you will be the recipient of good

karma or bad karma. Your karma stays with you

through your life times. Samsara is the hindu belief in

reincarnation; you can be reincarnated into an animal

or a “divine being”. It can also be thought of as the

continuous cycle of life, death, and suffering. When

you are reincarnated your karma from your previous

life will transfer to your new state.

Five Stages of Samsara:

1. Rebirth into a caste

2. Receiving dharma

3. Accumulation of karma

4. Death

5. Rebirth into the cycle

Hindu symb

Hindu symbol for Reincarnation



Purushartha

Loose definition: ‘Goals of a person’

THREE GOALS (as of the ‘Laws of Manu’)

● Dharma

● Artha: Worldly success

● Kama: Pleasure (sexual or more broadly aesthetic)

(The goal of moksha, or enlightenment, was added many years after the establishment o

aforementioned goals)

These goals recognize the complexity of human nature and needs.



Brahman is described as the “transcendent power beyond the

universe” which pervades everything but is not actually worshipped.Hindus have split beliefs over whether Brahman is part of one’s self

(atman) or unmistakably separate.

Hinduism cannot be solely classified as polytheistic or monotheistic.

Their belief is that one almighty God is the condensed product of an

abundance of deities representing his qualities and forms therefore

God is expressed in varying ways. Hindus relate to God in a form

that is pleasing to themselves: a parent figure, friend, child. Thethree most popular forms are:

Vishnu: incarnations of different forms in order to spread dharma

Shiva: the actions of creation, maintenance, destruction, and the act

of concealing and revealing himself.

Lakshmi: Goddess, who has gentle forms and ferocious forms.

Recognizing th Although some

certain deities asBrahman, the co

itself is not worshare worshipped p

concept of God.

Brahman and God

Vishnu

S



Guru

Loose definition: Teacher or master of a

tradition

A Guru has a responsibility to pass on

the traditions of Hinduism to his disciple.

The disciple is the student of the Guru.

Through this discipleship the student will

learn of the wisdom and knowledge the

Guru has obtained. Once the Guru has

passed away the disciple will take the

place of the Guru. This cycle protects

and helps maintain the Hindu traditions.Guru Nanak D



Works Cited

"Dharma - Karma - Samsara: The System Of Cosmic Justice." VEDA. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2002. Web. 28

Display of caste system in India. Digital image. BBC. BBC, 24 Aug. 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Painting. Digital image. Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Truth and the Shabd Guru. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 M

Hinduism Depiction of the Soul; Atma. Digital image. Hindu Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Hindu symbol for Karma. Digital image. Meaning of Symbols. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Hindu symbol for Reincarnation. Digital image. Meaning of Symbols. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Representation of the Caste System in India. Digital image. AwHistorySprayregen. Tangient LLC, 7 Feb. 2013. W

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