World Religions Hinduism Buddhism Judaism Christianity and Islam

World Religions Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

In this unit we will discuss the belief systems of the “big 5” ▪ We are looking at the “big 5” not from a standpoint of who is correct or who is stupid for believing this stuff, but as a way of understanding ▪ I encourage you to keep an open mind, I do not what you to change your beliefs, believe me, I don’t have a dog in this fight. ▪ Feel free to ask questions, and we will try to help your understanding

Before we get started ▪ All religion’s followers are divided up into three levels of practice ▪ 1 st- Orthodox- these are the people that believe every aspect of the religion and live their life expressly by their religious texts, doctrines, and tenants. To stray from this would be an unforgivable sin.

A group of Orthodox Jews in their daily dress. Note the dark clothing, head coverings for outside on top of their yamakas, and have their distinctive payots (side curls)

Before we get started ▪ All religion’s followers are divided up into three levels of practice ▪ 2 nd- Conservative- this is the largest spectrum of the groups. These are people who identify themselves very closely to the religion running to those that identify but don’t live every aspect of their lives around the faith.

Before we get started ▪ All religion’s followers are divided up into three levels of practice ▪ 3 rd- Liberal- these are the people who loosely identify with their faith. They may say that they are a part of the religion, but really don’t follow too closely at all. However, if pressed, they will maintain that they are, in fact, a member of the faith.

Before we get started ▪ Additionally, there are some other terms associated with religious beliefs ▪ Agnostic- are people who say that there is no proof for or against higher beings. ▪ Deists (modern)- are people who believe in a higher being but not in organized religion. ▪ Atheist- are people that do not believe in any extraterrestrial (nonearthly) beings or systems that created things.

Religion - world distribution Chart Title 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Category 4

Hindu

First a little history/geography ▪ Hindu was founded in India ▪ India is a Sub-continent- that means that it was originally part of another continent and moved into the position it is today. ▪ India broke off of Antarctica and sped (9 eographically) through the Indian Ocean to crash into the Asian land mass millions of years ago. ▪ This created the largest fender-bender in world history and resulted in the Himalayan Mts. ▪ As a result, India now became a part of Asia

India

First a little history/geography ▪ Now lets listen to John Green explain the first civilization in India

Religion - world distribution

First a little history/geography ▪ So no one knows what happened to the first Indian cultures but we know that they came up with the beginning doctrines of Hindu ▪ The Dravidian culture was the next to take over ▪ They were peaceful people that concentrated on farming ▪ As such, they did little to prepare for warfare ▪ Eventually, they were taken over by a more warlike group called the Aryans, who hijacked the Hindu faith and added to it to make it more conducive to their rule.

First a little history/geography ▪ The biggest impact of the Aryans was the Caste System ▪ The Caste System is a social system, that despite modern Hindu interpretations is actually still in effect although not talked about as much. ▪ It consisted of: – Four main classes, that one was born into and there was no upward social mobility. – The only way to move socially except downward if you married beneath you or stopped worshipping Hindu

Caste System

First a little history/geography ▪ The top two classes consisted of the Aryans and they could marry ▪ The bottom two classes consisted of the Dravidians and they could marry ▪ If any of the two classes married, the top would drop down to become a member of the lower class. ▪ Untouchables (Harijans) were people who had not followed Hindu or rejected it and as such, were not to be a part of society. They have to exist on the fringe and rely on handouts, etc. ▪ Technically, any non-Hindu would be in this class, but traditionally, you would have had to been a part of Indian society for it to be really enforced.

Hindu- the belief system ▪ Lets look at Hinduism 101 from hip hughes and afterward we will look at some highlights of it.

Hindu

Hindu- the belief system ▪ Most believe that Hindu is a polytheistic system (many gods), but really it is a hybrid. ▪ The main Diety is Brahman ▪ Brahman is the creator-omnipotent-cosmic-everywhere all the time entity ▪ Brahman can take any form ▪ There are two chief forms that Brahman exists in on the earthly plain – Vishnu- the Preserver – Shiva- the Destroyer

Hindu ▪ These are considered separate entities but are a part of Brahman. In other words, Brahman still exists separately but can also manifest as any other god at any time that exists separately at the same time. ▪ To make things more complex, each of these gods also is genderless and may appear as either male or female. ▪ However, each of them is considered to be a male dominated figure and as females, they are considered to be the wives of the male gods. ▪ These wives are collectively called the Shaktis- Parvati (Brahman), Uma (Vishnu), and Amapurna (Shiva). ▪ Together, they then created all the next tiers of gods-Krishna, Gnesh, Rama, Skandra, Hanuman, Sikita, etc. - which, of course, all the same as Brahman.

Hindu ▪ Hindus may worship any of the forms of the gods and it is considered to be as if you are worshipping Brahman. ▪ Each person gets to pick their god and they then make a shrine to it as they see fit. Although the father of the household makes the overall god for the home, each person within may still have their own shrines. ▪ How each entity is worshipped is explained in the Vedas, which are the original holy texts of Hindu.

Hindu ▪ Look at the Hindu idea of creation from the Rig Veda, Mandala 10, hymn 129, Creation (PASS OUT THE READING) ▪ Answer the following questions about this reading: – Why do you think that the author mentions water in both the 1 st and 3 rd stanza (hint: what does every living thing need to survive) – What does stanza 3 suggest brought forth the ONE – When stanza 5 says the cord was stretched, what do you think this is referring to (hint: what do most religions think is up and down) – Stanza 6 says that the gods came later to this world, what do you think this means? (remember what you looked at earlier in regard to Brahman and his creation of other gods) – What do you think the last line means in Stanza 7 in relation to Hindu creation?

Hindu ▪ Later on, there were two other significant texts created to go along with the Vedas, the Brahmans and the Upanishads. ▪ Both were commentaries on the faith and consist of hundreds of volumes. ▪ In them, we see the details of how the Hindus view the cosmic relationship of everything

Hindu- the Cosmic system ▪ Hindus know exactly where we are in the Cosmic system of the universe and man ▪ It all revolves around Brahman and his existence ▪ Brahman is eternal but goes through periods of alertness and rest – Brahman’s cycle is measured in Cosmic Cycles known as Yugas – There are four Yugas in a Mahayuga ▪ ▪ ▪ Krita Yuga= 1, 728, 000 human years Tetra Yuga= 1. 296, 000 human years Dvapara Yuga= 864, 000 human years Kali Yuga= 432, ooo human years 1000 Mahayugas = one day in the life of Brahman (311, 040, 000, 000 human years)

Hindu- the Cosmic system ▪ Brahman’s years are made up of 360 of his days ▪ He goes in 100 year cycles of alertness and rest ▪ When he reaches the end of his 100 years, he will rest for the next 100 years, during which everything will fall into nothingness. ▪ And at the end of the 100 years of rest, he will re-emerge to bring everything back into existence and the whole thing starts again. ▪ We are presently in the 1 st day of the 51 st year of Brahman. Today began on Friday, February 18, 1302 bc. (so today is Brahman’s birthday and it will be for the next several million of our years)

Hindu- the Samsara system ▪ Now what does this have to do with anything, well lets get to the heart of what Hindu faith believes in ▪ Hindus believe in a system of re-incarnation called the Samsara System ▪ In essence, you have to achieve certain goals to be able to get out of the system ▪ What follows is an explanation of it

Hindu- the Samsara system ▪ First we must remember that Brahman is everything and everything exists within Brahman ▪ So, everything has a soul called an Atman ▪ Your soul has a record-a kind of notebook-called a Karma ▪ Your Karma is carried with you throughout all of your existences. ▪ While you are alive, you are supposed to live in a Hindu way and abide by its tenants and also you are supposed to achieve the four goals of Hindu. They are:

Hindu- the Samsara system ▪ Artha- wealth and power-relative to your social position. Meaning you must get enough within your class to be successful at your level. ▪ Kama-pleasure and satisfaction of desires. Meaning take advantage of the good times in life. ▪ Dharma-right conduct. Within the constraints of Hinduism ▪ Moksha- release. Eventually the goal of all Hindus is a release from Samsara.

Hindu- the Samsara system ▪ So you live your life and when you die, your Karma is read by Dharma. Your entire life is revealed- all sins and virtues. Practically everyone falls short and has to re-enter the system. ▪ Depending on how bad you failed, you may be sent back to the bottom of the food chain. In other words, you may have to start over as an insect. You then must live out an existence as an insect and when that insect dies, you transmigrate into the next plain of existence-maybe a mouse, then a dog, then a monkey, then a cow, then a human once again. ▪ Only humans can have a choice in how they live and thus make it to Moksha

Hindu- the Samsara system ▪ Most are stuck in this system over and over. ▪ It is only through discipline, withdrawal, and meditation that one can attain the proper lifestyle and thus get release. ▪ So you finally live the right life and do everything correct. What happens now. – You get MOKSHA – This means release to blend with Brahman – Once released, you become a part of god and the feeling is NIRVANA, which means complete sensation- thus why the band picked it.

Transition to Buddhism ▪ In India, there once was a prince named Siddhartha Guatama ▪ He was raised under Hindu but did not find it fulfilling, so he searched for other answers ▪ His search brought him to the idea of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism ▪ Lets watch some of this film about the life of the “Buddha”

Buddhism

Buddhism ▪ Story of the White Lotus ▪ Old , Sick, Dying ▪ The cold reality ▪ The Great Renunciation

Buddhism ▪ 3 Characteristics – Impersonality- you are not born alone, unsubstantiality you are not special over anyone else. – Impermanence- nothing lasts forever, chance is always present – Imperfection- there is no such thing, to hold out for it is to bring sorrow

Buddhism ▪ 4 Noble Truths – – Life is subject to sorrow This this sorrow is caused by ignorance, which results in desire/attachment That this sorrow can be eliminated by the elimination of desire/attachment The way to eliminate desire/attachment is to follow the 8 Fold Path

Buddhism ▪ The Middle Way-avoid Austerity and Sensuality – Right Views- see life as it is, in accord with 3 characteristics, appreciate the 4 noble truths – Right Mindedness- have friendly thought toward everything – Right Speech- speak kindly, truthfully and accurately – Right Action- act skillfully and sympathetically, not in vain or violently – Right Livelihood- have a living that does not infringe on others – Right Endeavor- seek self perfection by rejecting ignoble qualities and acquiring and fostering noble qualities – Right Mindfulness- self-awareness and compassion resulting in self-reliance and equanimity – Right Concentration- contemplation culminating in intellectual intuition and wisdom

Buddhism ▪ 5 precepts – – – Do not kill Do not steal Do not lie Do not misuse sex Do not consume alcohol and drugs

Buddhism ▪ 3 practices – Sila- practice virtue, good conduct, and morality ▪ All living entities are equal ▪ Golden rule – Samadhi-concentration, mediation, and mental development – Prajna- discernment, insight, wisdom, and enlightenment

Buddhism ▪ Later on other Buddhas come around and they begin to change what Siddhartha Guatama had originally said ▪ The 9 th Buddha was the one who introduced the ideas of Hinduism into the mix ▪ He said “ Truth is eternal, Brahman is Truth and Reality, The Vedas are the ultimate authority, Everyone should strive to achieve Dharma, Individual souls are immortal, and the Goal of the individual soul is Moksha. ” ▪ This turns Buddhism from a life philosophy into a religion

Buddhism

Judaism

Buddhism ▪ 3 practices – Sila- practice virtue, good conduct, and morality ▪ All living entities are equal ▪ Golden rule – Samadhi-concentration, mediation, and mental development – Prajna- discernment, insight, wisdom, and enlightenment

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