Hinduism
Origin of Hinduism
Origin
Basic Religious Beliefs
Dharma (ethics and duties) Samsara (rebirth) Karma (right action) Moksha (liberation from the cycle of Samsara)
Most Hindus believe there is a huge force that unifies them and that it governs all humanity but cannot be fully understood by humans. Each god and goddess is a personification of this force. Each individual worships the gods they think directly influence their life. They worship and try to contact these gods/goddesses to become one with this underlying force.
Branches and Divisions
There isn’t really a sort of division in Hinduism, but if you were to classify them you could do so by creating a different branch for each deity.
Classification
Hinduism is an ethnic religion
Unique Features
Key Figures
Ramanuja taught devotion to a personal God, Vishnu, and proposed that the universe is the Lord's body. Salvation is earned largely by grace and entails entering Vishnu's abode (Vaikunthaloka) where one receives a body almost identical to the Lord. A representative of Kashmiri Shaivism and is perhaps its most prolific writer, Abhinavagupta propounded a form of Advaita Vedanta and wrote the multi-volume Tantraloka.
Holy Texts
There are four Vedas, the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The Vedas are the primary texts of Hinduism.
Religous Symbols
The om symbolizes the essence of the entire universe. Traditionally, the bindi is worn on the forehead of married Hindu women. It symbolizes female energy and is believed to protect women and their husbands.The lotus symbolizes beauty and non-attachment.
Place of Worship
Impact on Social and Family Structures
Hindu families demonstrate firm ties of affection, strikingly different from many Western families. Hindu scripture has elaborately defined the dynamics of the various relationships within families. For example, a grandchild can tease and joke with a grandparent in a familiar way, not permissible with the father or mother.
Impact on Cultural Belief and Expectation
Hindu values and morals have made India a place with a culture greatly centered on family. They idolize not celebrities, nor athletes, but those who have clean spirits and pure hearts.
Distribution
How it Diffused
Hinduism has not spread very much in large amounts because it is an ethnic religion. They don’t have missionaries that try to convert people. The diffusion of Hinduism has stayed in the Southwest Asia part of the world.
Holy Places
Hinduism has not spread very much in large amounts because it is an ethnic religion. They don’t have missionaries that try to convert people. The diffusion of Hinduism has stayed in the Southwest Asia part of the world.