Lory Ice Religions of the WorldJournal 4 DATE @ &

Lory IceReligions of the WorldJournal 4DATE @ “MMMM d, y”February 5, 2017 The Hindu religion is the oldest religion of the five major religions, which are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism.Dating back more than 3,000 years.Itoriginated in India and is stillpracticed by most of the Natives as well as the people who haveleft India and moved on to other parts of the world. Eighty five percent of thepopulation in Indiatodayis Hindu.The word Hindu comes from an ancient Sanskrit termmeaning “dwellers by the Indus River.”Hinduism is uniquebecauseit has nofounder.There is not muchorganizationin the religion.Hinduismsuggests commitment to or respect for anideal way of life know as Dharma. Hinduism absorbs foreign ideas and beliefsmaking it have a wide variety of beliefs and practices.The Hindus own definition of their community is “Those who believe in Vedas.” Thebeliefs of Hinduism arenotspecific, but there are a few beliefs such astheCaste System, the Caste System is the ideal way of life. Itis referred to as the “duties of one’s classand station”.Class is changed tothe wordCASTE. There are four great classes.The Brahmins, or priests,theKsatriyas, or warriors and rulers,the Vaisayas, or merchants and farmers; andthe Sudras, or peasants and laborers. A fifth class, Panchamas, or untouchables,arepeople whose jobs make them touch unclean or unholy objects. In the past the caste was verystrict and kept different people in different classes very distinctly. There are also fourstations of life, each withits own duty. The first stage is studentship, orbrahmacarya. This stage lastsfrom initiation into thereligionat the age of five untilmarriage atthe age thirteen. The second stageis householdership, orgrihasthya. This is the time during amarriage, raisinga family, and taking part in the society. The third stageisforest dwelling,vanaprasthya. Itis after the kids have grown andmoved on with their lives.The fourth and finalstage is renunciation, orsamnyasa.This iswhen one gives up attachment to allworldly things and seeks spiritual liberation.There are also general duties,sanatanadharma. Thisincludeshonesty, courage, service, faith, self-control, purity, and nonviolence.Theseclasses and stations only apply tothemale Hindus.Animportant beliefof the Hindusis the theory of karma, whichsaysthat all beings, human or animal,karma determines which soul is for which body and the birth attribute of each soul. Thisreligion is for the soul to move upward to the most sacred level through the reincarnation. In other words if a person liveda good life, done good deeds, and had good faiththeywill achieve a good karma.Theirsoul will move up maybe toaking or a scholar, meaningthe soulwill have a much better position in thenextlife.however if they didbad things in their livesthesoul will move downto worse position in life, for example,maybe a filthy animal or instinct.TheJains see karma as very fine matter that interacts with the soul and causes great changes. Karma is material to them.Philosophy Hinduism has six philosophical systems. The systems called Nyaya, Vaisheshika,Samkhya, and Yoga emphasize the understanding of basic principlesof metaphysics and epistemology. Nyaya is also included asan analysis of logic.The systems called Mimamsaisidentified asthe performance of ritual. The many Vedantasystems emphasize understanding of the relationship between the self andtheultimate reality.The Hindus believe the universehas manyGods.TheseGodswhere a lot likehumans,and are related like humans.It is very similar toGreekMythology andtheories. The supremeGodswhere,Brahma,Vishnu, and Shiva. They whereoftenrelated tofemaledeities. The females are called Shakti.