Rituals and Practices

Many Hindus practice Hinduism in different ways depending on their stage in life. Hindus believe that they should complete four stages during the course of their life. The first stage, brahmacharga takes place during schooling and is focused on obtaining knowledge and developing character. During the teenage years they are required to focus on their family, developing a career, and finding a life partner. Once the children become adults, in the vanaprastha stage, they increase their focus on religious practices. At the final stage, sanngasu, they focus entirely on their religious practices.

The basic principles of Hinduism revolve around personal cleanliness, eating habits, family relations, marital practices and manner in which they choose to interact with others.

Many other rituals and practices include:

-Funeral Rituals, the body is cremated and their is disposal of ashes which is supposed to remove the pollution of death.

- Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine and healing.


- Yoga, Hatha Yoga is the practice of meditation that provides physical and breathing exercises and helps complete the ultimate goal of achieving a complete focus of the self. Karma yoga is the yoga of work or action. Bhakti yoga is the yoga of devotion or love to God, and is full of religious practices.

-Namaste Greeting, the gesture is attained by putting your palms together and holding them in front of the heart.


-Puja, a religious ritual that is performed every morning after bathing and dressing but before mealtime. The ritual includes gazing at an image, and supplying an offering such as food or flowers, and sometimes lighting a candle or incense.



Resources used: http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/practices.htm
Patterns of Religion

Art

Hindu art represents unity and expresses culture, beliefs, and way of life. Their art is found everywhere with in the India Civilization. Artists proclaim the beauty of human beings through art. Unlike Buddist art, Hinduism represent the human figure curved. Any knowledge that you can obtain about Hinduism gives you a better insight into their art and values. Leading you to understand and appreciate the Hindu way of life. The following are examples of a few very inspiring pieces of art that have been influenced by Hinduism.

Cave Carving: "Ellora" This cave was carved out of a large mountain. It took artists and architects many years to construct. Ellora is a very unique monument to India.

Sculpture: "King of Dance" This sculpture is representing the Lord Shiva. "The dancing Shiva is the dancing universe, the ceaseless flow of energy going through an infinite variety of patterns that melt into one another". There is a lot of symbolism in this sculpture. Such as the flying hair which shows how fast our universe is turning. The empty space represents our sky. And Lord Shiva's four arms each are holding a different object showing various strengths of power.

Painting: "Lord Ganesha"Lord Ganesha is the god who removes obstacles and is knowledgable. His elephant head symbolizes intellegense and wisdom. He also, like Lord Shiva, has four hands. One of the hands holds an axe which is used to cut attachments from devotees. Another one holds a rope which is to carry the truth of others. The third hand holds a dessert ball to reward others of their good deeds in spiritual activity. The last hand always is out to bless others, regardless of who they are.

Temple: "Kandariya Mahadeva Temple" This temple was dedicated to the god Shiva. This one of a kind temple was once the capital of Chandela Rajputs, India. Today the temple is a hot spot for tourists because of its detail (646 statues decorate the sides!!!).

Sources: http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/madurai/ala09.html, http://www.exoticindiaart.com/paintings/Hindu/, http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Hindu_Art.ht, http://www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/India2.htmm ,
http://www.hindunet.org/god/Gods/ganesh/ , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandariya_Mahadeva_temple

Beliefs

Hinduism is a monotheistic religion that recognizes Brahma as God and the cause and foundation of existence. However Hindu communities may have their own divinities whom they worship yet still is a way of worshipping Brahma.

Hindus recognise three principal gods:

-Brahma, who creates the universe.
-Vishnu, who preserves the universe.
-Shiva, who destroys the universe.

Because Brahma is the creator. he is not worshipped in the same way as other gods or incarnates because his work is done, so Hindus worship other forms of Brahma. While Brahma is still the most important figure in Hinduism the religion is broken down into three sects based upon which form of Brahma they choose to worship.

-Those who worship Vishnu(Also known as the preserver of the world).
-Those who worship Shiva (Also known as the destroyer).
-Those who worship Shakti.

Moksha

Hindus believe that the soul passes through three parts; cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. What happens to your soul during this process is dependent on karma. Moksha is the end of the death and rebirth cycle and is reagrded as the ultimate goal.



Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/beliefs/

History

Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion with around 837 million followers! Hinduism is also known as Vaidika Dharma (religion of the Vedas) and Sanatana Dharma (eternal religion).Hinduism is considered the oldest religion of time. The origins of Hinduism are vague since there was never a specific founder of the religion. It developed from religious practices of Aryan tribes. The Aryan society created a caste system, consisting of the following:

Brahmins-priests

Kshatriyas-soldiers, king warrior class

Vaishyas-merchants, Sutras laborers, craftspeople, and farmers

Harijahns (untouchables)-discriminated against and incredibly poor people


Hinduism has been the primary religion in Nepal and India. Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Transendental Meditation have been highly influenced by Hinduism. These religions share similar philosophical views and values.
Hinduism has played a big role in the past and is continuing to be a critical and important religion in society.



Sources: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm , http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/hinduism/history.html , http://www.experiencefestival.com/hinduism_today

Holidays

Holidays!

-It had been quoted that “Hindus have a holiday for everyday of the year”, but some scholars say there could be even more. There is not an exact amount of holidays celebrated in the religion but one scholar says there could be over 1000 different Hindu festivals
a holiday for every day of the year, but even that may be an understatement! Exactly how many Hindu festivals are celebrated is not known, but one scholar of Hinduism has listed more than a thousand different Hindu festivals

Major festivals likely to be observed by most Hindus are:

"Holi - festival of colors and
spring (February-March)


Mahashivaratri (Shiva Ratri) -
night sacred to Shiva (February-March)


Rama Navami - birthday of Lord Rama (April)


Krishna Jayanti - birthday of Lord Krishna
(July-August)


Raksābandhana - renewing bonds between brothers and
sisters (July-August)


Kumbh Mela - pilgrimage every 12 years to four
cities in India (July-August; last one 2003)


Ganesha-Chaturthi (Ganesha Utsava) - festival of
Ganesh (August-September)



Dassera - victory of Rama over demon king Ravana
(September-October)


Navaratri - festival of Shakti (in Bengal) or Rama's
victory over Ravana (South India)

(September-October)


Diwali - festival of lights and
Laksmi (September-October)"

-Direct Quote From Link


To check my sources Here!

(editing does not make sense on a Mac-computer, Here is the URL for my sources http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/holidays.htm it should lead to the correct site)

Sacred Texts

The Sacred Texts

-There are 4 Vedas. Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Arthava Veda.
-All books had a very large influence of other religions like Buddihsm, Jainism, Sikhism.
- The Rig Veda, the oldest of the four Vedas, was composed about 1500 B.C
-Rig Veda was given a name about 600 BC
-The Vedas contain hymns, incantations, and rituals from ancient India

-There are two categories of sacred texts. The Sruti (heard) and the Smruti (remembered).

Sruti art and text are held in the highest regard and considered devine, while Smruti are considered products of the great minds.

-Both books carry the same ammount of authority

-Sruti shows very little resemblence to the modern Hinduism

-Sruti helps explain and decifer art and sclupture

-Smrti texts are the Itihasas (History or Epics), Puranas (Mythology), Dharma Shastras (Law Codes), Agamas and Tantras (Sectarian Scriptures), and Darshanas (Manuals of Philosophy).

Sources found at http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/index.htm and here!