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Explain what Hinduism means and its strengths and weaknesses as a name. Hindu first appeared around 500 B.C.E. as a name for the Indus River and its valley. Muslim rulers of India used Hindu for all non-Muslim Indians. Beginning in the 1500s, European colonizers first used it in its current sense to mean the members of the supposedly single religion to which

all Indians other than Muslims, Christians, and Zoroastrians belonged. From about 1800 on, Hinduism gradually became accepted by most Hindus in India as a valid name. Hinduism is a vague umbrella term, but it is fitting for a religious tradition that has so much internal diversity.

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Agnihotra [ahg-nee-HOH-trah] Ancient Hindu prayer to the sun (p. 65)

Aryans [AIR-ee-unzs] “Noble ones,” Indo- European peoples who migrated into India (p. 63)

atman [AHT-muhn] Person’s innermost self or soul (p. 67)

Bhagavad Gita [BAH-guh-vahd GEE-tuh] “Song of the Lord”; a poem on duty in the Mahabharata (p. 68)

bhakti [BAHK-tee] Devotion, particularly in a devotional movement or group (p. 69)

Brahman [BRAH-muhn] “World soul,” the foundation of all physical matter, energy, time, space, and being itself (p. 66)

Dravidians [druh-VIH-dee-uhnz] Dark- skinned peoples who now live mostly in south India, perhaps descended from the Indus Valley Civilization (p. 63)

Hindutva [hihn-DOO-tvuh] “Hindu-ness” of India as promoted by the BJP (p. 71)

Indus Valley civilization Culture of northwest India before the coming of the Aryans (p. 63)

Laws of Manu [MAH-new] Main Hindu law code (p. 68)

mantra [MAHN-truh] Short sacred formula used in prayer or meditation (p. 69)

reincarnation Cycle of rebirth of one’s atman after death (p. 67)

rishi [REE-shee] “Seer” of the divine and writer of the Vedas (p. 65)

sadhus [SAH-doos] Renunciants, also known as “holy men” (p. 68)

Tantras [TAHN-truhs] Writings in the Tantric movement of Hinduism (p. 69)

Upanishads [oo-PAHN-ih-shahds] Philosophical scriptures at the end of the Vedic period (p. 66)

Vedas [VAY-duhs] Hindu “books of knowledge” consisting of Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas (p. 64)

yoga [YOH-guh] Ancient practice that yokes the body and mind for religious deliverance (p. 67)

dharma [DAHR-muh] Righteousness, law, duty, moral teaching, order in the universe (p. 74)

jiva [JEE-vuh] Individual, personal soul that collects karma and is subject to reincarnation (p. 74)

karma [KAHR-muh] Deeds or acts that influence reincarnation (p. 74)

lingam [LING-gahm] Symbol in Shiva’s shrines, probably of erect phallus (p. 72)

moksha [MOHK-shuh] Liberation from rebirth and samsara (p. 75)

samsara [sahm-SAH-ruh] Cycle of reincarnation (p. 74)

yoni [YOH-nee] Symbol probably of the human female genitalia representing the feminine power of the cosmos (p. 73)

Encountering Hinduism: Many Paths to Liberation

Explain how the main periods of Hinduism’s history have shaped its present, especially its unity and diversity. In Hinduism, new developments update past practices rather than end them, increasing Hindu diversity. The main periods are the foundational Vedic age (1500–600 B.C.E.), the Upanishadic

age in which yoga and asceticism arose (600–400 B.C.E.), the Classical period in which caste and other religious laws were added (400 B.C.E.–600 C.E.), and the Devotional period of worshipful attachment to the main deities (600 C.E.–present).

Outline the essentials of Hindu teachings in your own words. Each of the three devotional movements in Hinduism has its special deity: Shiva, Vishnu, and the goddess Shakti. In turn, each of these has incarnations by which the deity’s presence and power are known to humans. Dharma represents the overall teaching or

law of Hinduism, samsara is the cycle of reincarnation that people are caught in, karma is the process of impersonal reward and punishment for human acts that directs reincarnation, and moksha is liberation or release from reincarnation.

Om [OHM] Spoken syllable symbolizing the fundamental hidden reality of the universe (p. 64)

swastika [SWAHS-tee-kuh] Indian symbol of good luck (p. 64)

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Encountering Hinduism: Many Paths to Liberation

Outline the ways Hindus worship, at home and in temples. Worship and meditation in Hinduism are diverse. Worship is a daily event for observant Hindus, whether performed at home, at a temple, at an outdoor shrine, or on a pilgrimage. Worship is called puja, a word suggesting honor and veneration.

Ritual is important and much of it is ancient, although with regional and devotional-group variations. Individuals go to the temple on their own, usually for private worship and devotion; Hindu homes and businesses typically have a shrine to their favorite Hindu gods.

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3-6 State the main aspects of Hindu life around the world today, especially in North America. Hindus migrated to many parts of the world during the 1800s, particularly in the British Empire. Hindu movements arrived in North America in the 1800s when a few progressive gurus came here to make converts. A

recent guru who has gained wide popularity in North America is the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of TM. Hindu migration to the United States increased significantly in the 1960s, and Hindus in the U.S. built temples and cultural centers to accommodate different Hindu devotional movements.

artha [AHR-thuh] Material prosperity, the second goal of life in Hinduism (p. 80)

bindi [BIHN-dee] Forehead mark of a married Hindu woman (p. 81)

Brahmin [BRAH-minz] The top priestly class in the varna system (p. 77)

caste [kast] System of social organization (p. 76)

Dalits [DAHL-its] “Oppressed ones,” the outcastes below the four Hindu castes (p. 77)

forest-dweller stage Third period of life, in which a Hindu man retires (p. 79)

householder stage Second period of life, in which a Hindu man marries and raises a family (p. 79)

jati [JAH-tee] Caste into which one is born (p. 78)

kama [KAH-muh] Spiritual, mental, and physical pleasure, the third goal of Hindu life (p. 80)

Kshatriyas [kshuh-TREE-yuhz] The warrior and princely varna class (p. 77)

Outcastes Members of the lowest social class, outside the caste system; also called “Dalits” (p. 77)

sannyasin stage [sahn-YAH-sin] stage Fourth period of life, in which a Hindu man becomes a renunciant (p. 79)

Shudras [SHOO-druhs] Fourth varna class, “servants” (p. 77)

student stage First period of life, in which a Hindu male gains knowledge for caste duties (p. 79)

suttee [suh-TEE] Burning of a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband (p. 82)

Vaishyas [VIGH-shuhs] Third varna class, “common people” (p. 77)

varna [VAHR-nuh] “Color,” a system of classification of people into four main classes (p. 76)

Kumbha Mela [KOOM-buh-MEHL-uh] Festival held every twelve years in Allahabad, India (p. 84)

murti [MUHR-tee] Image of a deity (p. 83) puja [POO-juh] Devotional actions of wor- shiping a god or venerating a human (p. 82)

diaspora [dee-ASS-pohr-uh] “Spreading,” in this case of Hinduism outside of India (p. 89)

Transcendental Meditation (TM) Meditational system, popularized by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, emphasizing knowing one’s divine identity (p. 89)

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Relate Hindu ethics to essential Hindu teachings. The caste system is the foundation of ethics. The four stages of a man’s life—student, householder, retiree, and renouncer—are designed to support caste values and prepare one for a better reincarnation.

The four goals of life are dharma (following the teaching), artha (material prosperity), kama (approved pleasures), and moksha (liberation from reincarnation). Religion plays a leading role in everyday life—class, family, and career.

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