HINDU Terminal...!

The Hindu Cosmos Classical Hinduism takes its form from the uniting of two different (and indeed opposing) worldviews. This unification is the result of a long religious and intellecutal confrontation (roughly 500 to 300 bce) between the Vedic Religion and the worldviews of Jainism and Buddhism. From the Vedic Religion, it took the life-affirming perspective ("life is good") and from Jainism and Buddhism, along with the late Upanishads it developed a life-negating view ("life is bad"). Both of these views were fit into the understanding of the cosmos that Hinduism developed out of the Vedas. To explain how this works, we must start with two intertwined descriptions of the cosmos, from which we will then move to the life-is-good and life-is-bad approaches to the human problem. The Hindu Cosmos #1: The Real Estate and its Inhabitants. A) The Vedic Gods The sacrifices and rituals of the Vedas involve a number of gods and goddesses. There is Indra, for exam...

Time and Worship Time In Hinduism, time follows the life of Brahma . The age of the world is reckoned in terms of one day in the life of Brahma, which is equivalent to 4,320,000,000 years. This period of time is divided into four yugas, which are reckoned in multiples of 432,000,000 years. Together these four yugas are called the Great Cycle. The world is now in the fourth and most degenerate stage, the Kali Yuga, which started in 3102 bce. The following two sites provide a fuller explanation: The Vedic Concept of Time and Brahma . The annual calendar is lunar. But unlike the Moslem calendar, it is regularly adjusted to retain a rough equivalence with the solar year by adding an extra month. The numbering of the years goes according to two different systems called Vikram Samvant and Saka. The Vikram Samvant is more widely used. For a fuller explanation of the years, months and weeks, go here . It is important to note that popular Hinduism holds that certain times are bette...

Sacred Texts and Traditional Tales The Vedic Literature The Vedas The plural term Vedas has two related meanings in Hinduism. First, it refers to the four Veda texts: the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda. Second, "Vedas" may also to the literature of the Vedic period which are based upon the four Vedas ; the term thus includes the Brahmanas , which are commentaries on each Veda, and the Upanishads, which are philosophical treatises based upon them. Sometimes the term may also include the Sutras, books which are rules and regulation codified according to different schools, even though these texts were written later in the period of Classical Hinduism. The Vedas proper were composed and then transmitted orally beginning around 1400 bce and probably recorded in writing about 1000. The first three Vedas are collections of material for sacrifices. The Rig Veda contains 1028 hymns to the various gods (Indra, Agni , Soma, Rudra, etc.) which a p...

Hinduism Glossary for Introduction to Religion Agni The Hindu god of fire. ahimsa In Sanskrit, literally, "noninjury." It is the principle that a person should do no harm. In Jainism, this restriction includes all living creatures because they all contain a jiva . ajiva All the material, non-spiritual aspects of the cosmos. The opposite of jiva . A term Hinduism borrowed from Jainism. Ashram (1) A place where devotees live, often the house of a guru. (2) It can also refer to the four stages of Hindu life: student , householder , retired person , and sannyasin . Artha* Artha literally means "success." It is one of the four main religious goals of Hinduism. The idea is that in addition to following dharma (virture) and kama (pleasure), Hindus should also strive to be successful in the the activities of their lives. It should be seen in contrast to the goal of moksha , which is to strive for liberation ...

Terminology for Hinduism In the west, we call the traditional religion of the Indian subcontinent Hinduism . For example, "Hinduism is followed throughout India." The Hindus themselves call it Sanatana Dharma --the "eternal virtue" or the "eternal religion." Hindu is the term used to designate followers of Hinduism. For example, "Many Hindus worship Shiva." Hindu also functions as an adjective. For instance, "The hindu belief in the four goals of life is central."

Hinduism: Living the Religious Life The Four Goals of Life Classic Hinduism promotes four different goals. Like other aspects of Hinduism, the goals are split between those emphasized by the "life is good" perspective and those emphasized by the "life is bad" perspective. The three life-affirming goals are Dharma (virtue), Artha (success) and Kama (pleasure), while the life-negating goal is that of moksha (release). The three "life is good" goals can be pursued all at once or at different times in one's life. Some goals seem more suited to different stages of life than others. Dharma is the practice of virtue, the living of an ethical and ritually correct life. The definition of what is virtuous, however, varies, depending on a person's caste and jati membership. The primary virtue is to fulfill the duties assigned to one's caste. Thus a brahmin should offer sacrifices and do them to the best of his ability, while a Vaishya s...

The Four Stages of Life Hinduism recognizes four main stages of life. Like the goals of life , these can be divided into three plus one, with the three deriving from the "life is good" strand of Hinduism, and the one deriving from the "life is bad" strand. The first three are the student , the householder , and the retired person , while the fourth is the ascetic (also known as a sannyasin or a sadhu ). Progressing through Life: The Three Stages The three stages of life that come from the life-affirming, Vedic side of Hinduism, were intially designed with the caste system in mind (of course). In particular, they were set up to apply to members of the three Twice-Born varnas: the Brahmin , the Kshatriya and the Vaishya . Other castes and jati s have adopted them in different ways, transforming them to meet their needs. The first stage is that of the student, during which a boy traditionally is expected to go to live and study with a teacher (a guru...