REL 133 week 2 rewriting

Hinduism overview

Hinduism is the oldest religion in the history of the world. Hinduism dates back about four thousand years ago. Hinduism is the third largest religion behind Christianity being the largest religion and Islam being the second largest. Hinduism has been a difficult religious tradition to find out any information about because Hinduism has no founder. Hinduism doesn’t have the makeup of the tradition has been on the scene for several thousands of years even though there is no clear start date on record. Hinduism is not a traditional religion, in fact, Hinduism isn’t considered a religion at all. Hinduism is considered a way of life that consists of but a compilation mixture of many traditions and philosophies. Hinduism is a henotheistic religion, who worships the supreme god who is responsible for the creation of the world and all living things. Hindus believe in the cycle of life, death, and reincarnation and both good and bad karma. Hindus believe that karma is a reaction to all behaviors to compensate for blessings to be received in the next life. One of the key concepts of Hinduism is “atman,” or the belief in the soul. This means that living creatures have a soul and a subject to the entities of the supreme god. The goal of Hinduism is to achieve “moksha,” or salvation, which ends the cycle of rebirths to become part of the absolute soul. The most important sacred text to the Hindu tradition is the Veda. The Vedas is an ancient text that is made up of different verses and hymns by ancient followers of Hinduism. There are two commonly known symbols of the Hinduism tradition. One of them is the OM, which is symbolic to the supreme god. The other is Swastika, which means good luck and prosperity. The Hindu tradition celebrates and honors many special days throughout the year. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights and a victory between light and darkness. Navaratri is the Hindu celebration of the harvest and good versus evil. Holi is a spring festival that celebrates new life and energy and the coming of a new season. Janmashtami is a birthday celebration to Lord Krishna. Rakhi is a celebration of bonds and love between families. Maha Shivaratri honors and celebrates the day Shiva saved the world from destruction. To Hindus, rituals are meant to be a form of devotion and religiosity as well as to bring God and spirituality at the center of one’s life. There are several rituals that are performed daily, weekly, and monthly in the Hindu tradition. “Nitya rituals are performed daily and consist of offerings made at the home shrine or performing puja to the family deities” (Hinduism, 2009). Naimittika is rituals that are performed on special occasions, such as the birth of a baby. Kamya are rituals that used to achieve good karma or one’s specific wishes.

Compare and contrast Hinduism and Jainism

Similarities

Both Hinduism and Jainism originated in India. Jainism and Hinduism both accept the existence of the soul, and they believe in its immortality. Both religions celebrate holy days such as Diwali. between Hinduism and Jainism is the support and beliefs of reincarnation and karma. In the Hindu religion, they believe that karma is a reaction to the experiences and actions one makes during their lifetime. The goal of karma to the Hindu religion is to do the right thing amongst people and spiritually while on Earth so that the universe can payback their souls with good karma in the afterlife. The Jainism religion also believes in karma. Jainism believes that karma attaches itself to one's soul during each phase of life. Jains are in the habit of following specific practices that are to cleanse their souls of any negative aspects as they come so that one can experience positive karma. Both religions practice vegetarianism, meaning that neither religion consume food that is produced or made up of any type of animal.

Differences

Hindus believe in both a god and a soul and Jains believe in a soul and no god. The number followers of Jainism have decreased throughout the years. Hinduism has grown to be the third largest religion in the world. The Hindus are a henotheistic religion and believe that a god created the universe. The Jains don’t believe in god and that the universe is more powerful than god’s power. The Jains practice nonviolent values all forms of life The Hindus have allowed the concept of violence to can help one reach enlightenment. Hindus attempt to build positive karma and pray the Gods take favor on them and that they are chosen to be released to the reincarnation stage of their souls. Janis do not believe the gods choose who may be liberated. Jains believe it is the responsibility of the individual to cleanse themselves of bad energy.          

References

Chapple, C. K. (2009). Jainism. In J. B. Callicott & R. Frodeman (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy (Vol. 2, pp. 2-5). Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.

Deming, W. (2015). Understanding the religions of the world : An introduction. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu

Eastern Family Part I: Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism. (2003). In J. G. Melton (Ed.), Encyclopedia of American Religions (7th ed., pp. 195-200). Detroit, MI: Gale

Hinduism(2009). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/hinduism

Hinduism(2018). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism