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REPORT ON HINDUISM

Students

CAROLINA ORTIZ FERNÁNDEZ

c. c. 1017129268

YEISION DAVID MEJIA MONCADA

DC 1033647985

teacher

John Alarco

Martin Contreras

Theological Culture

UNIVERSITY SANTO TOMAS

HUMAN SCIENCES
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MEDELLIN

CONTENT

i. Introduction.
ii. Origins of Hinduism.
iii. Founder of Hinduism.
iv. Geographic location.
v. Philosophy of Hinduism.
vi. important characters.
vii. Rites, customs, structure, etc.
viii. Hinduism today.
ix. Bibliography.
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INTRODUCTION

ORIGINS OF HINDUISM

Hinduism was born approximately 4,000 years ago, through the fusion of two currents of

thought from two different peoples. These people are called the ARIAN race and the

DRAVINIAN race. The story then begins in the Indica Peninsula, in Asia; originally inhabited by

a black race, which was located in the valley of the Indus River, and whose civilization would

flourish in the year 2,500 BC It was a river civilization comparable to any of the great

civilizations of that time: the Egyptian on the banks of the Nile and the Sumerian along the Tigris

and Euphrates. This culture in the year 2,000 BC It is invaded by a civilization called Aryan, who

spoke a language from which Sanskrit would later come.

The penetration of migrations of nomadic Aryan pastoral tribes into northwest India, which was

not an armed invasion, but was carried out gradually over several centuries. The belief systems of

both cultures came together, giving rise to what is known today as Hinduism. Although many

believe that it was created by the Aryans, it is actually a product of cultural fusion. India appears

to be a center of union of many tendencies that has had the courage to bring them together and to

have a body of extremely varied and complex beliefs.

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FOUNDER.

Hinduism does not have a historical founder who is based on divine inspiration, because it was

born from several different religions, to which the same name is erroneously applied. It is a set of

metaphysical, religious beliefs, cults, customs and rituals that make up a tradition that arises from

ancient Hindu texts (the Veda). Hinduism, more than a religion, is a lifestyle in which one has a

relationship with a god, but without a single center of belief. And as for authority, instead of

depositing it in a priest, they do so in a person they call “teacher.”

It is a conglomerate of beliefs from different regions along with those brought by the Aryans who

settled in the Ganges River basin and which were written as revelations in the various Vedic

writings and other Hindu sacred books.

They call that religious tradition “sanātana dharma = eternal religion” according to Hindus

because they believe that it has no beginning and will have no end, they consider it to be the

oldest religious tradition in the world.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.

Hinduism exists in three states: India, which is its birthplace, Nepal (where it is the official
religion) and the African island of Mauritius. In Pakistan an Ondu minority remained there. After
the secession of East Pakistan (Bangladesh), the former British colony was left in three states,
there are also Hindu minorities in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, in much of Western Europe such
as Great Britain and the United States. In Latin America especially in Panama.
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PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUISM.

We can summarize Hindu philosophy in some ideas.

• It does not attribute capital importance to the idea of God.

• It has no dogmas about the nature of God.
• It lacks a unanimously accepted sacred scripture.
• He seems to worship many gods, but deep down he believes in one God as the essential
reality of everything that exists. This essential reality of everything is “Brahmin”.
• It does not worship a founder.
• It lacks obligatory liturgical worship.
• There is no single moral code.
• It does not consider religion separate from life, since “Dharma” (Order) encompasses the
entirety of life. What's more, in Sanskrit there is no specific term to designate religion.
One does not belong to the Hindu religion because the person converts to it, but rather by
the mere fact of being born into a Hindu society.

IMPORTANT CHARACTERS

Hindus recognize a creative force called Brahman, which has no face but is the creator of
everything that exists, including the gods; As mentioned above, these recognize several gods, but
the best known are: Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.

Shiva : He is known as a paradoxical combination of destructive and reintegrative aspects at the

same time and a symbol of sensuality, which is why he is known by various names such as:
Natajara (lord of the dance), Baraiva (the terrible), sundaresvara ( Mr. Beautiful), all of them
depending on the goal sought, which can range from violently destructive to tirelessly erotic.
Powers it has over the cosmos. The Sivaites, as the Hindus who worship this god are called, are
called to live in a simple and puritanical way, rejecting pilgrimages and the worship of images.
Since its bases are “Its bases are love and activity.
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Vishnu: is the second god. For Hindu followers it represents the energy of the universe which it
protects. This god incarnates in ten avatars to find the balance between good and evil in the
world. Among the most important are Rama and Krishna. This god represents, among many
things:

（ … ） “ the Om; a mallet or gada, Kaumodaki that shows that its power is the source
of the mental and physical spiritual force with which the god destroys the illusory
passions of man and a lotus flower or Padma, image of divine perfection and the
development of consciousness spiritual. His six divine glories are gñāna or knowledge,
aishwaria or supernatural powers, shakti or potency, bala or strength, viria or virility
and teyas which is radiance. （…）
（http://co.tuhistory.com/dioses/pantheon/hindu/Vishnu.htm） .
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Brahma : He is the third of the gods and for his Hindu followers he represents creation.

（…）According to the Puranas, ancient Hindu religious texts, Brahma was

generated by himself from a lotus flower, although other traditions account for his
birth from a golden egg that emerged from a seed and from which the universe also
emerged. whole after Brahma. The Brahma Purana account maintains that he was
the father of Mānu and that all humanity descends from him. （…）.
（ http://co.tuhistory.com/dioses/pantheon/hindu/Brahma.html）

RITES, CUSTOMS, STRUCTURE.

Sacred Texts:

Hinduism is founded on a set of hymns, called Veda, which were transmitted orally. Two other
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works were added later: the Mahabarata and the Ramayana. The Mahabarata is one of the basic

texts of Hinduism. It contains 200,000 verses and ends with a long poem in which the god

Krishna teaches right conduct. The Ramayana contains 40,000 verses and its hero is Rama,

incarnation of the god Vishnu.

Social organization:

The constant evolution of life marks the customs of Hindu society. One of its manifestations is

found in the social and religious grouping in the following castes:

Brahmins: Represents religious and intellectual power. He has great privileges and important

obligations, such as learning and teaching the Vedic books and praying three times a day.

Noble warriors: Composed of noble, rich people. They are required to have physical strength

and the defense of the weak.

Merchants: They must be generous and noble.

Shudras: It is the broadest caste. It is made up of 3,000 subcastes that make up a large part of the

population. They engage in body work. The outcasts would remain apart from everyone.
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Temples and Offerings.

There are many Hindu temples scattered throughout India and dedicated to different deities.

Every day, priests (brahmins) perform offering ceremonies. Offerings of water, fire, light,

incense, even food are made, which are then distributed to all those gathered.

Religion in India is practiced primarily at home. Hindu families set up a small domestic temple in

a room or corner of the house dedicated to prayer and offerings to the gods.

Every day, in the presence of the family, the father or mother lights a small oil lamp and makes

an offering of light and incense to the gods, represented in small statues or images.

Festivals and pilgrimages

The entire Hindu year passes under the rhythm of festivals and pilgrimages. Among the most

famous is the festival of Divali, which commemorates the return of Rama to his kingdom. It is the

festival of light. All houses are decorated with oil lamps. It is celebrated on New Year's Day.

There are also other more local festivals, such as the one that takes place in southern India to

celebrate Siva's marriage. When the person dies, the cremation ceremony of their body is held.

Very few Hindus bury their relatives, but rather burn them on a funeral pyre made with wood,

perfumes and flowers, depending on the wealth of the person. Cremation is a solemn ceremony

that sometimes lasts up to ten days. Hindus firmly believe in life after death and reincarnation,

and that is why the cult of ancestors occupies a very important place in their lives. They are

convinced that each person does not live just once on Earth, but many times, because when they

die they are reincarnated into another living being and thus can live again. They believe that this

is the only way to achieve the perfection to which they are destined. Each life is like a

continuation of the previous one and many of the things that happen to you in this life are related
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to what you did in previous lives.

HINDUISM TODAY

In the S. XIX and as a reaction to the Western and Christian influence that the British Empire

represented, different attempts to reform classical Hinduism emerged in India that gave rise to a

“Hindu renaissance”, whose greatest representatives is Ram Mohan Roy. The main characteristics

of this Hindu rebirth would be the following:

• Attempt to base the truth of the Vedas on reason

• Rejection of the veneration of images as idolatry

• Attempt to reform or eliminate practices such as the caste system, child marriage and
widow immolation (sati)

• Highlight the spiritual and ethical character of Hinduism

Hinduism as a global religion was born, therefore, in the 19th century. XIX and with a marked

nationalist character that today gives a fundamentalist bias to its political version in parties that

have resurrected the confrontation of Hinduism against other religions, especially Islam.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
• http://hinduismo.idoneos.com/
• http://iluterana.cl/index/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/El-Hindu%C3%ADsmo.pdf ).
• http://co.tuhistory.com/dioses/pantheon/hindu/Vishnu.htm
• http://www.mundodescargas.com/apuntes-
jobs/religion_beliefs/download_hinduism-and-buddhism