Lecture 1: General Introduction + Defining Hinduism and Indus Valley

Question 1

Approximately how many Hindus are there world wide and what is the international distribution of Hinduism?

Answer 1

• Approximately 1.1 billion worldwide

- Distribution: 98% live in South Asia but also Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, North America and Europe.

Question 2

What were the principal historical periods?

Answer 2

• Indus Valley Civilization 6000-1300 BCE (Vedas Composed)
• Epics and Purāṇas composed 500 BCE – 1000 CE
• Rise of bhakti and temple building 600-1600 CE

Question 3

Who were the founders or leaders in Hinduism?

Answer 3

No founder but many important teachers

Question 4

How many gods/deities do Hindu’s believe in?

Answer 4

Hindu philosophy recognizes a supreme being (Brahman), who is not limited by gender or number and can take countless forms (330 million in classical rhetoric). Supreme deity differs by sect and individual.

Question 5

What are the authoritative texts in Hinduism?

Answer 5

Vedas, Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata (including the Bhagavad Gītā), Purāṇas, local texts in regional languages.

Question 6

What is Hinduism?

Answer 6

• Attempts at definition often fall short.
• Loosely defined term used to describe the vast array of the beliefs and practices of the people of South Asia.
• No founder.
• No single text that is accepted by all Hindus as authoritative.
• No one set of religious beliefs and practices.

Question 7

What are the different views on who a Hindu is?

Answer 7

• A Hindu is one who was born to Hindu parents and who has not openly rejected Hinduism
• One who holds the original Veda as the generator and sustainer of the Hindu tradition
• A person who holds certain implicit beliefs (i.e., Brahman as ultimate reality, ātman as the real self. Rebirth (samsāra) according to one’s actions (karma) and the notion of final release (moksha) as the ultimate goal.)

Question 8

What 8 interlinked elements does the Hindu tradition contain?

Answer 8

1) Religious community
2) Ritual
3) Ethics
4) Social and political involvement in wider society
5) Scripture/sacred texts
6) Concepts
7) Aesthetics
8) Spirituality

Question 9

What is included in the religious community element of hindu tradition?

Answer 9

• Includes many traditions that focus upon different objects of worship.
• Many Hindus belong to no religious community as such
• Others follow gurus

Question 10

What is the ritual element of the hindu tradition?

Answer 10

• Varied
• Main rituals include birth, initiation, marriage, death
• Daily worship at home (pūjā)
• Hindus can attend festivals associated with different deities.
• May visit many temples, or none.

Question 11

What is the ethics element of the hindu tradition?

Answer 11

• Encourage good actions.

- Support the maxim of the Bhagavad Gita – one should do one’s duty because it is right and without thought of reward.

Question 12

What is the social involvement element of the hindu tradition?

Answer 12

• Relies upon caste.
• Caste has provided social stability and security.
• Also raises questions about the role of Dalits and women in grand scheme of things.

Question 13

What is the scriptures element of the hindu tradition?

Answer 13

• Views of scriptures flexible.
• • Vedas
• • Bhagavad Gita

Question 14

What is the concept element of the Hindu tradition?

Answer 14

• Key concepts, but might be differently interpreted
• Brahman as ultimate reality, ātman as the real self
• Human life as a round of rebirths (samsāra) according to one’s actions (karma) and the notion of final release (moksha) as the ultimate goal.

Question 15

What is the aesthetic element of the Hindu tradition?

Answer 15

• Various aesthetic approaches utilized to represent diversity of truth within Hindu world-view
• Architecture and sculpture
• Music and dance
• Painting and movement

Question 16

What is the spirituality element of the Hindu tradition?

Answer 16

• Extremely varied
• • Yoga
• • Devotional trust in a personal deity
• • Unselfishly serving one’s fellow man and God

Question 17

What is important to remember about the 8 interlinking elements model?

Answer 17

• Not chaotic and separate jumble but interlinked.
• Meaning.
• Different Hindus will participate in different ways at different levels.
• Behind the model is an important element- transcendence or transcendent reality. Transcendence is not observable.
• Other important element is persons and their intentions.

Question 18

What is the first problem with the term hinduism?

Answer 18

1 ) “Hinduism” is not indigenous

• “Hindu” derived from Sindhu (“ocean”) river.
• Used by Persians by 6th c BCE as a name for the people that lived east of the river.
• Greeks named the river Indus in the 4th century BCE, “India” comes from this.
• “Hindu” as a religious designation developed with the spread of Islam into India
• In the 18th and 19th centuries British continued to use “Hinduism” as a blanket term for the religion.

Question 19

What is the second problem with the word Hinduism?

Answer 19

2) Hinduism suggests one entity
- Misleading.
- There is not one way to be a Hindu.
- Vast array of beliefs, practices and traditions

Question 20

What is the third problem with the word Hinduism?

Answer 20

3) Historically equated with high-castes
- Orientalists (19th c. scholars) studied high-caste tradition (Brahmanism) and its texts, the Vedas.
- This became the hallmark for Hinduism.
- Popular practices were dismissed and overlooked.

Question 21

What is the Fourth problem with the word Hinduism?

Answer 21

4) “Hinduism” (and other modern words for religions) makes religions into things that can be studied like objects.
- ‘Religions’ not abstract entities.

Question 22

What is the fifth problem with the word Hinduism?

Answer 22

5) No equivalent term within any Indian language

- Dharma or Sanātana Dharma (eternal faith) alternative indigenous designations.

Question 23

What is the defense for the word “Hinduism”?

Answer 23

• Generally unproblematic outside of academia.
• Very widely used way of self-identification.
• Commonalties can be found within traditions that come under the “Hinduism” umbrella.

Question 24

What are the important dates associated with the indus valley civilization?

Answer 24

• Dates from 3000-1900 BCE.
• Could have begun as early as 6000 BCE.
• Flourished around the Indus River from 2500 BCE to 1500 BCE.

Question 25

What remains have been found from the indus valley civilization?

Answer 25

• Great urban culture.
• Writing has been unearthed but has yet to be deciphered.
• In addition to the ruins of the cities themselves many artifacts have been discovered including: Stone seals, Weights, Pottery, Jewelry, Toys

Question 26

When were the ruins of Harappa discovered?

Answer 26

• Harappa was a major city

- Ruins of Harappa discovered in 1820s

Question 27

When was Mohenjodaro discovered?

Answer 27

Mohenjodaro discovered in 1922.

Question 28

What was the indus valley religion?

Answer 28

• Difficult to know with any certainty.
• Ideas surrounding belief system open for debate.
• Dead buried in wooden coffins and were accompanied by jars that possibly contained food (suggests they may have believed in an afterlife)

Question 29

What kind of images, ornaments and sculptures have been found and what do they suggest?

Answer 29

• Terracotta images of men, woman and animals have been discovered
• Seated male figure, “Priest King” from Mohenjodaro.
• Ornament on head and upper arm.
• Back of head is flat.
• Eyes half shut. Meditation?

Question 30

What are the five problems with the word hinduism?

Answer 30

1 ) “Hinduism” is not indigenous

2) Hinduism suggests one entity
3) Historically equated with high-castes
4) “Hinduism” (and other modern words for religions) makes religions into things that can be studied like objects.
5) No equivalent term within any Indian language