The History
Of all the religions in the world such as Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Christianity, Hinduism is the oldest living and still practiced religion, but only the third largest. Hinduism originated in India located between the Himalayan Mountains (north), Sri Lanka (south), the Arabian Sea (west), and the Bay of Bengal (east). When looking at a map of India it is shown that this subcontinent is isolated. Due to this isolation, India has created a culture that is rare and fascinating (Experiencing the World’s Religions). The word ‘Hindu’ does not belong to Indian language; it is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which is a local name for the Indus River that flows throughout India.
The Saraswati-Indus civilization developed in India and eventually became the world’s largest and most advanced civilization. They outranked civilizations such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China with how advanced they were for their time. The civilization was named after the two greatest river systems in the area called the Saraswati and Indus Rivers. This was deemed the Harappa culture after the site of its first discovery by archeologists in 1920 and the Vedic Period (2000 to 500 BCE) is named after the earliest ancient Hindu scriptures called Vedas (The History of Hindu India). The Beliefs Hinduism is not a single, unified religion; it is more of a family of beliefs that unite the worship of different gods into a single divine reality (Experiencing the World’s Religions). …show more content…
Hindus do not follow a single set of rules, it is a collaboration of thoughts and ideas passed down by groups of individuals such as philosophers, scholars, and lay people who came together to create an understanding of moral beliefs. They are open-minded and tolerant, thus respecting all other religions. Hinduism is the only major religion that worships God in male and female forms.
The original Sanskrit name for Hinduism is Sanatana Dharma which means “eternal religion” (The History of Hindu India). The Supreme God, Brahman, is known to be all powerful, knowing, and loving, immanent, and transcending. God is believed to exist within each person as atman, the divine soul. The ultimate goal in life is a profound encounter with God through an experience of the divine within oneself (The History of Hindu India). It is taught that every human being can know God personally, but Hindus also worship other divinities. Each Hindu can choose which deities he or she wants to worship. Dharma is a very important concept in Hinduism meaning “that which upholds.” Some aspects include righteousness, truth, scared law, duty, religion, and laws of nature. The dharmic principle of ahimsa, non-violence, is very important as well. Karma is a common belief that anything a person does, whether good or bad, will return to him or her in this life or the next. Hindus also believe in reincarnation, it is said that the soul, atman, is reborn in a new body repeatedly to grow and mature through all experiences life has to offer (Suffering, Rebirth, Law of Karma). Eventually, every soul achieves salvation by becoming one with God and is no longer reborn. My Experience September 20th, 2016 was unlike any regular Tuesday for me. Usually, I would be in class listening to a lecture or trying to finish some type of homework. Instead, that evening my Comparative Religion class, taught by James O’Briant, was slightly different. We meet around 6 p.m. at the Shirdi Sai Florida Center, a Hindu temple located at 4707 South Pleasant Grove Road in Inverness, Florida. Turning onto the road, the first thought that came to mind was “how many times have I passed this temple and not even noticed it?” Then my attention was drawn to the structure of the building. On the outside it was painted white with a red shingled roof, nothing very extravagant. To me, the simplicity of the architecture was beautiful and a little less overwhelming because I was not sure what to expect. One aspect that I loved about the exterior of the temple was the white steeples on the roof of the building; they reminded me of the building’s religious setting. There was a patio room on the side of the temple where our group was supposed to
Of all the religions in the world such as Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Christianity, Hinduism is the oldest living and still practiced religion, but only the third largest. Hinduism originated in India located between the Himalayan Mountains (north), Sri Lanka (south), the Arabian Sea (west), and the Bay of Bengal (east). When looking at a map of India it is shown that this subcontinent is isolated. Due to this isolation, India has created a culture that is rare and fascinating (Experiencing the World’s Religions). The word ‘Hindu’ does not belong to Indian language; it is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which is a local name for the Indus River that flows throughout India.
The Saraswati-Indus civilization developed in India and eventually became the world’s largest and most advanced civilization. They outranked civilizations such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China with how advanced they were for their time. The civilization was named after the two greatest river systems in the area called the Saraswati and Indus Rivers. This was deemed the Harappa culture after the site of its first discovery by archeologists in 1920 and the Vedic Period (2000 to 500 BCE) is named after the earliest ancient Hindu scriptures called Vedas (The History of Hindu India). The Beliefs Hinduism is not a single, unified religion; it is more of a family of beliefs that unite the worship of different gods into a single divine reality (Experiencing the World’s Religions). …show more content…
Hindus do not follow a single set of rules, it is a collaboration of thoughts and ideas passed down by groups of individuals such as philosophers, scholars, and lay people who came together to create an understanding of moral beliefs. They are open-minded and tolerant, thus respecting all other religions. Hinduism is the only major religion that worships God in male and female forms.
The original Sanskrit name for Hinduism is Sanatana Dharma which means “eternal religion” (The History of Hindu India). The Supreme God, Brahman, is known to be all powerful, knowing, and loving, immanent, and transcending. God is believed to exist within each person as atman, the divine soul. The ultimate goal in life is a profound encounter with God through an experience of the divine within oneself (The History of Hindu India). It is taught that every human being can know God personally, but Hindus also worship other divinities. Each Hindu can choose which deities he or she wants to worship. Dharma is a very important concept in Hinduism meaning “that which upholds.” Some aspects include righteousness, truth, scared law, duty, religion, and laws of nature. The dharmic principle of ahimsa, non-violence, is very important as well. Karma is a common belief that anything a person does, whether good or bad, will return to him or her in this life or the next. Hindus also believe in reincarnation, it is said that the soul, atman, is reborn in a new body repeatedly to grow and mature through all experiences life has to offer (Suffering, Rebirth, Law of Karma). Eventually, every soul achieves salvation by becoming one with God and is no longer reborn. My Experience September 20th, 2016 was unlike any regular Tuesday for me. Usually, I would be in class listening to a lecture or trying to finish some type of homework. Instead, that evening my Comparative Religion class, taught by James O’Briant, was slightly different. We meet around 6 p.m. at the Shirdi Sai Florida Center, a Hindu temple located at 4707 South Pleasant Grove Road in Inverness, Florida. Turning onto the road, the first thought that came to mind was “how many times have I passed this temple and not even noticed it?” Then my attention was drawn to the structure of the building. On the outside it was painted white with a red shingled roof, nothing very extravagant. To me, the simplicity of the architecture was beautiful and a little less overwhelming because I was not sure what to expect. One aspect that I loved about the exterior of the temple was the white steeples on the roof of the building; they reminded me of the building’s religious setting. There was a patio room on the side of the temple where our group was supposed to