Terms to Know Hinduism Varnashramadharma Brahmacarya Grhasta Vanaprastha Sannyasa o Varnashramadharma is your duty based on where your born and your stage of life age 1 Varna Born a 4 Varnas i Brahmin ii Kshatriya iii Vaishya iv Shundra 2 Ashrama Stage of Life 3 Dharma Duty a Morality specific to the individual b Dharma order c Dharma duty o Ashrama Stages of Life 1 Brahmacarya 12 25 a Student Stage b Celibate c Devotion to teacher 2 Grhasta 26 49 a House holder 3 Vanaprastha 50 75 a Retired 4 Sannyasa 76 up a Not engaged in worldly activities b Attempt Liberation Purusharthas Kama Artha Dharma Moksha a Kama b Artha a Poetry of desire c Dharma d Moksha a Religious duty a Political or Monetary Success a Release from the cycle of birth and death b Samsara born again into any body c Break the cycle of life and death d Liberation from samsara e Never to be reborn or die Brahma o Brahma is the first god in the Hindu triumvirate or trimurti The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation upkeep and destruction of the world o Brahma s job was creation of the world and all creatures His name should not be confused with Brahman who is the supreme God force present within all things o Brahma has four heads and it is believed that from these heads came the four Vedas the most ancient religious texts for Hindus Some also believe that the caste system or four varnas came from different part of Brahma s body o He has four arms to show power Vishnu o The preserver of the universe o Vishnu is the second god in the Hindu triumvirate orTrimurti o His role is to return to the earth in troubled times and restore the balance of good and evil So far he has been incarnated nine times but Hindus believe that he will be reincarnated one last time close to the end of this world o o Shesha snake on which Vishnu lays o Vishnu does not come down to earth in regular form instead comes down as avatars Popular avatars Varaha pig boar o In this avatar Vishnu recovered the stolen Vedas Narasimha half lion half man o Vishnu managed to vanquish a demon who had gained immunity from attacks from man beast or god Rama greatest warrior ideal man o As Rama he kills the demon King Ravana who abducted his wife Sita Krishna mentally advanced man o Krishna is the hero of the Mahabharata an epic poem He also delivered his famous message known as the Baghavad Gita Buddha the all knowing one o who appeared in the 5th century BCE In some traditions Balarama replaces Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu o Vishnu is represented with a human body often with blue coloured skin and with four arms His hands always carry four objects in them representing the things he is responsible for The objects symbolise many more meanings than are presented here The conch the sound this produces Om represents the primeval sound of creation The chakra or discus symbolises the mind The lotus flower an example of glorious existence and liberation The mace represents mental and physical strength Avatar a Shiv a o the incarnation of a deity in human or animal form to counteract some particular evil in the world o Shiva is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate o The destroyer o Swallowed the eternal nectar that was poison to all others o Hindus believe his powers of destruction and recreation are used even now to destroy the illusions and imperfections of this world paving the way for beneficial change According to Hindu belief this destruction is not arbitrary but constructive Shiva is therefore seen as the source of both good and evil and is regarded as the one who combines many contradictory elements o Shiva always has a blue face and throat Strictly speaking his body is white but images often show him with a blue body too o Shiva is represented with the following features The extra eye represents the wisdom and insight A third eye that Shiva has A cobra necklace This signifies Shiva s power over the most dangerous creatures in the world The vibhuti The vibhuti are three lines drawn horizontally across the forehead in white ash o The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India The trident o Sanskrit word for deity Deva Devi o Female form of the word Deva Veda Rig Sama Yajur Atharva o Focus on sacrifice o Religion translated to words o Essence of the Universe o Vedas Rig 1700 1500BC Brahmins Agni Fire Soma Drug Sama Hymns for chanting 1200BC Yajur Notes for sacrifice 900BC Contains all the information for sacrifice Atharva Magic spell rituals Upanishads o 500 100BC Aryan o Dravidian Itihasa o Vedanta the culmination of the Veda o Sacrifice becomes internalized body o Nomads horsemen from modern day Kazakhstan From modern day India Migrated to South India when the Aryans traveled South o Historical accounts containing supernatural elements that are studied in the Hindu religion o Two epics 1 2 Mahabharata Ramayana Mahabharatha 300BC 300AD o The Great War 450BC o Controversy Some believe the Mahabharta happened millions of years ago while others believed it happened in BC o Vyasa narrates the story within the Mahabharata Told by Vyasa and written by Ganesha o Yudhishtira Pandava approached by Kauravas to play a rigged dice game Gambles away all brothers and kingdoms possession o Yudhishtira gambles away Draupadi the five brothers wife o Begins Great War Kauravas 100 cousins Pandavas 5 cousins Ramayana 400BC 600AD o Personalized by devotees o Ayodhya 1600th century mosque torn down by mob o By actions of Vishnu Rama born from Dasharatha and his wife along with three other brothers o Janaka finds Sita in the fertile land of his farm o Vishvamitra Trains Rama and Lakshmana o Rama breaks Shiva s Bow o Rama and Sita get married o Knowing Rama would become king instead of her son Kaikeyi used one of her boons to exile Rama o Rama Lakshmana and Sita are exiled to the forest o They meet Shurpanakha Ravana s sister o They picked on Shurpanakha so she told Ravana who kidnaps Sita o Rama makes alliance with Vanara o Rama slays Ravana o Thought Sita was not virtuous so he divorces her and exiles her and their two children o Sita tells story to Valmiki then returns to the earth Hanuman o Vanara Rama Sita Krishna o Mystical Vanara that grows to a great size and jumps over the ocean from India to Lanka o Was captured but not killed o Escaped and burned the city by his tail o Rama is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu in Hinduism and a king of Ayodhya in Hindu scriptures o Goddess Sita is the consort of Lord Rama Sita is
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