hinduism Flashcards
Hinduism differs from Christianity and other Western religions in that
that it does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization.
It consists of thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in India since 1500 BCE.
Hinduism facts
3rd largest religion
13 percent of the worlds population
. It is the dominant religion in India, Nepal, and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka. estimated 766,000 Hindus in the U.S. in 2001.
Hinduism is regarded as the worlds
Oldest religion
Most forms of Hinduism are
henotheistic; that is, they recognize a single deity, and view other gods and goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God.
Origins of the name of Hinduism
- It may be derived from an ancient inscription translated as: “The country lying between the Himalayan mountain and Bindu Sarovara is known as Hindusthan by combination of the first letter ‘hi’ of ‘Himalaya’ and the last compound letter ‘ndu’ of the word `Bindu.’” Bindu Sarovara is called the Cape Comorin sea in modern times.
- It may be derived from the Persian word for Indian.
- It may be a Persian corruption of the word Sindhu (the river Indus).
Classical theory about early history of Hinduism
traces the religion’s roots to the Indus valley civilization circa 4000 to 2200 BCE.
The development of Hinduism was influenced by
many invasions over thousands of years.
The major influences occurred when light-skinned, nomadic “Aryan” Indo-European tribes invaded Northern India (circa 1500 BCE) from the steppes of Russia and Central Asia. They brought with them their religion of Vedism. These beliefs mingled with the more advanced, indigenous Indian native beliefs, often called the “Indus valley culture.”
Classical theory continued
This theory was initially proposed by Christian scholars in the 19th century. Their conclusions were biased by their pre-existing belief in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). The Book of Genesis, which they interpreted literally, appears to place the creation of the earth at circa 4,000 BCE, and the Noahic flood at circa 2,500 BCE. These dates put severe constraints on the date of the “Aryan invasion,” and the development of the four Veda and Upanishad Hindu religious texts.
A second factor supporting this theory was their lack of appreciation of the sophisticated nature of Vedic culture; they had discounted it as primitive.
The classical theory is now being rejected by increasing numbers of archaeologists and religious historians. The originators of the theory were obviously biased by their prior beliefs about the age of the earth and the biblical story of the flood of Noah.
Emerging theory
there is no racial evidence of any such Indo-Aryan invasion of India but only of a continuity of the same group of people who traditionally considered themselves to be Aryans. The Indo-Aryan invasion as an academic concept in 18th and 19th century Europe reflected the cultural milieu of the period. Linguistic data were used to validate the concept that in turn was used to interpret archeological and anthropological data. There was no invasion by anyone.”
The Aryan Invasion view of ancient Indian history has been challenged in recent years by new conclusions based on more recent findings in archaeology, cultural analysis, astronomical references, and literary analysis.
Archaeological digs have revealed that the Indus Valley culture lasted from about 3500 to 1800 BCE. It was not “destroyed by outside invasion, but by internal causes and, most likely, floods. The “dark age” that was believed to have followed the Aryan invasion may never have happened. A series of cities in India have been studied by archaeologists and shown to have a level of civilization between that of the Indus culture and later more highly developed Indian culture, as visited by the Greeks. Finally, Indus Valley excavations have uncovered many remains of fire altars, animal bones, potsherds, shell jewelry and other evidences of Vedic rituals.
Sacred texts
Hindu sacred texts are perhaps the most ancient religious texts still surviving today. Some appear to be millennia older than the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) which conservative Christians date to circa 1500 BCE and liberal scholars date to circa 900 BCE.
Primary sacred texts of hindus
Vedas: the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The Vedas contain hymns, incantations, and rituals from ancient India. Rig Veda is the oldest, made 1500bce to 4000 BCE
Rest of Vedas dates are unknown but around 600 to 300 BCE
Hindus beliefs and practices
Categorizing the religion of Hinduism is somewhat confusing.
However, many rural Hindus worship their own village goddess or an earth goddess. She is believed to rule over fertility and disease – and therefore over life and death.
The priesthood is less important in rural Hinduism; non-Brahmins and non-priests often carry out ritual and prayer there.
Transmigration of the soul
. This is the transfer of one’s soul after death into another body.
samsara
continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth through their many lifetimes. It is called
