Hinduism beliefs Flashcards
three main aspects of trimurti :
brahma - the creator
vishnu - the preserver
shiva - the destoryer
three aspects of the divine :
Brahman - non-personal, existing everywhere
Antaryam - within the heart
Bhagavan - through deities, living in the spirtitual worlds
Nirguna :
God as a spiritual presence
Saguna :
God in a specific form
Aum/Om :
The sound and symbol of brahman
Brahma stories : poor behavior
- Brahma created a female deity called shatarupa and fell in love with her. Shiva thought this obsession was wrong so he punished him by making him no longer be as worshipped as other gods.
- Brahma was too busy listening to the music of Saraswati to pay attention to a high-priest who wanted him to lead a fire sacrifice so he was punished.
Vishnu : importance
- represents the soul of the entire universe
- he gave birth to brahma who created the universe
- he enters the heart of every living being to become ‘the lord within’
- worshipped through avatars
Vishnu Stories :
- Disguised as a dwarf, Vishnu tricked the demon world-ruler, Bali, into giving him everything he could cover in three strides. Vishnu covered the earth and skies in two strides. The third strides was to rest his foot on Bali’s head, acknowledging Vishnu’s supremacy as God.
- Prahlada was a devotee of Vishnu but the son of a demon king who thought he was the
greatest. His father repeatedly tried to kill him, but Vishnu saved him every time and remained devoted to Vishnu. He was rewarded with eternal bliss in heaven.
Male and female deities : importance
- suggests equality
- havving a ‘favoured’ deity helps hindus decide who to worship.
Saraswati
- consort of brahma
- goddess of learning
Lakshmi
- consort of vishnu
- goddess of beauty, prosperity, wealth
Shakti : parvati, durga, kali
parvati = caring goddess
durga = warrior goddess
kali = fierce goddess of death
Cosmology : ideas about the world and how it works
-Time is cyclical
-The material world is repeatedly created
-The universe is one of many bubbles floating in space
-There are three tiers of our universe: the heavenly planets; the earthly realm; the lower
worlds
-There is not a single account of creation; instead, there are many interrelated stories. -There are two realities: spirit (purusa) and matter (prakriti)
Yugas : Four ages
gold
silver
copper
iron
Atman : scripture
‘Atman, the spirit of vision, is never born and never dies’
4 goals of life :
- Dharma: To act virtuously and righteously
- Artha: To gain prosperity
- Kama: To gain enjoyment/delight in the senses
- Moksha: To reach enlightenment
Vanashrama dharma : scripture
‘far better do ones duty ill then anothers better’
Vana : caste
brahmin - priests/academics
kshatryia - warriors
vaishya - merchants
shudras - peasants
Sanatana dharma :
eternal truth/law
ashramas : stages of life
student
householder
retiree
renunciate
Scripture about gurus :
‘the guru is a skillful helmsman’ - helps you on the right path
‘the pearl is found in the oyster and the oyster in the sea, the diver brings it up’ - refers to the oyster as moksha and the diver as the guru
the virtues :
Ahimsa
Respect
Empathy
Mind/sense control
Humility
Love
ahimsa scripture :
‘in truth brahman is all’
respect scripture :
‘the earth is our mother and we are all her children’
empathy scripture :
‘the earth is our mother and we are all her children’
mind/sense control scripture :
‘far better do ones duty ill, then another dutys well’
‘there is a path of joy and there is a path of pleasure… the fool takes the path of pleasure’
Humility scripture :
’ the gift derived from god seeks no returning grace’
Love scripture :
’ a leaf, a fruit, a flower… a devotee in love may bring’
why do hindus suffer?
- karma
- lack of relationship with god
- imbalanced trigunas
trigunas :
Prakriti has three qualities or stages, called the three
gunas (or trigunas). These are ‘created’, ‘remaining’ and ‘destroyed’.
Hindus believe that all nature will go through the three gunas, or stages.
scripture about moksha :
‘moksha is liberation from samsara’
why do hindus believe in the spirit world?
- brought up to believe it
- the atman moves on to another life
scripture about maya:
’ the atman never dies”
sacred plants :
- Belief in God everywhere
- use plants in worship –> lotus flowers as offerings, symbolises truth, good fortune and
moksha - sacred plants are valued for their medicinal qualities eg holy basil (tulsi), believed to be the consort of vishnu
sacred animals
- Belief in God everywhere
- ## Cow protection is enshrined in Hindu law as Krishna was a cowherd —> hence encouraging the belief that the cow is important
environment scripture
‘tread carefully on the earth’
ways the enviroment is cared for/ why the enviroment is cared for
- The Vrindavan Forest is important to
Hindus as they believe that Lord Krishna
(the avatar of Vishnu) lived in the forest in
northern India. This means that it is a
place of pilgrimage for devotees of
Vishnu and Krishna. - The Chipko movement was inspired by
women who hugged tress in the 1700s to try
and stop them being cut down for fuel.
-In the UK, there is a Hindu centre for cow protection that is run by the Hare Krishna
movement in the fields around their temple. It is called the Bhaktivedanta Manor Cow
Protection project. It stops cows being slaughtered unnecessarily, has a dairy farm and
visitor centre, and acts as a goshala shelter for cows.
charities
- Sewa International works to improve the status of women in India
why do hindus support environmental problems??
- krishna –> defeated a poisonour serpent that had infected the waters and so used as a metaphor that you should fix the damage that has occured as ‘brahman is in all’
- green pilgrim network –> used to ensure sustainable pilgrimage e.g. kumbh mela, once everyone fufils their pilgrimage it may be polluted as so the networkhelps clean the sacred site
ganesha beliefs
- ‘o lord ganapati you are brahman’
- son of shiva and parvati
- remover of obstacles
