Principles in Hinduism

Today you will be responsible for everyone's learning (under my guidance).

I will assign each of you a different part of Hinduism and you'll have 5 minutes to prepare a quick note for the class - as you present I'll take notes to post on the blog here.

Atman - the human soul, inseparable from the universe, in fact part of the universe.  Christians, Jews and Muslims believe that the soul will enter Heaven (or Hell) after death, while Hindus believe that the soul will live on as part of creation. 

Reincarnation - Hindus believe that the soul does not cease to exist after death.  Rather it lives on in another life form after death.

Samsara - Hindu belief that reincarnation happens over and over again - this endless cycle is called Samsara

Maya - the temporary and imperfect nature of the physical world.  Because matter in the universe is constantly recycling through different forms, all life is caught in this endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth . . .

Moksha - liberation from the endless cycle of birth, death, rebirth (Samsara) and to reunite Atman with Brahman.  This is the ultimate goal of Hindus.

Karma - balance between good and evil in one's life.  A person's actions on earth will affect the reincarnation of a person - a person who lives a good life (on balance) will be reincarnated in a "higher" life form, and vise versa.

Paths to Salvation - the way to "salvation" - how one attains Moksha - is to follow at least one of these paths.  These ways of life all contain good deeds, meditation, understanding holy scriptures, etc.

These are the FOUR paths to Salvation

Bhakti Yoga - path of DEVOTION.  A simpler path, it involves showing love towards personal deities, providing a lifetime of opportunity to worship Bramah in a concrete way. This is not an abstract way of life lived in one's mind, but a way of life involving regular worship of deities as a way towards Brahman.

Karma Yoga - path of ACTION.lifestyle of good deeds and good thoughts should lead to good Karma.

Jnana Yoga - path of WISDOM.  This is a challenging path requiring a guru to guide.  The nature of Braham and the nature of the Universe are what followers will gain.  This understanding should lead to the insight needed to achieve salvation.

Raja Yoga - path of MEDITATION.  Hindus can achieve salvation by thinking deeply about Brahman, particularly if you are able to reach a trance-like state - it requires years of training and discipline to achieve.

Dharma - code of moral duty.  The idea of living a "good life" towards other people, in two ways: 
Two types - Sanatana Dharma - eternal religion, applies to all people on earth regardless of group that they may be a part of.
Varnashrana Dharma - applies to people specific to their status in society or specific to the group to which they belong.

Caste System - how Indian society has organized itself into several classes (castes).  Once born into a caste one cannot move up or down to a higher or lower caste. 

Brahmin - the highest class containing priests, religious elders, teachers of rituals and spirituality.  Goals are knowledge and education.  Elites in society are often Brahmin.

Kshatriya - Warrior and Ruling class.  Often run society, maintaining and leading society.  Known as physically courageous and showing traits of leadership.

Vaishya - Merchant class, including farmers, focussing on wealth creation and business.  Often thought of as entrepreneurs.

Sudra - lowest class, servants class, farm workers, basic tradespeople, working class.

Untouchables - outlawed in modern society so there is no longer an "untouchable" caste, they were considered the lowest of the low classes doing jobs of butchery, cleaning, jobs that no-one else would consider.  Because they were committed to a lifetime of poverty it was considered too unfair to keep untouchables in that caste so it was outlawed.

Caste System Today - there are legal bans on discrimination based on caste, class, religion, gender, etc. in the modern India of today, so the Caste system has fallen out of practice and favour.

Four Stages of Life - represents the social aspect of Karma, in a general sense.  These cover actions and responsibilities of living a good life.
Stages are:
Student - learn discipline and knowledge and respect
Householder - to marry and have a family and to provide for them
Forest Dweller - give up duties to the rest of the family and participate in religious pilgrimages
Ascetic - to give up worldly, material life and to live a life of meditation consuming only a bare minimum

Four Aims or Goals of Life - as way of life, Hindus follow a personal value system to meet their spiritual and material needs.

Dharma - conducting one's life with the absence of greed, compassion towards all living things. People are supposed to act with humility in all of their actions.

Artha - earning money honestly to provide for one's family.  To acquire wealth and power is fine but it must be done honestly and without harming others.

Kama - pursuing love and physical pleasure, meeting basic human needs.

Moksha - leading a life towards salvation through honesty and morality.