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My parents, who are both Christians wanted me to know about other religions so I wouldn't grow up thinking that Christianity was the only religion out there. At first I was quite perplexed by this religion with its multi-armed deities and what seemed to me cow worshippers. It didn't help that I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian church where we were taught that Christianity is "the only way", and that all other religions are wrong. As a result, I grew tired of seeing supposedly tolerant Christians belittle other religions but their own. I began to wonder if Hindus truly believed in one God. I don’t know much about what they actually believed in. I decide to ask my friend who is from Indian, who practices Hindi what are their beliefs. I have learned from her that what I thought was a religion of many gods turned out to be a religion that worshipped one God. Worshiping God in many different forms. I have learned that Hindus perform deity worship of pictures or statues of their gods, but they don't believe that these images and statues are God himself. They believe that the Gods are present in the statues, but they still differentiate. Perhaps to some like myself thought they were idol worshippers, but that is far from the truth. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about Hinduism that they are strictly polytheistic.
There are many Gods in Hinduism, but most Hindus see them as different representations and manifestations of the same absolute Brahman which is a little more analogous to the Christian God. Although there are many "Gods" in Hinduism ultimately there is only one true God Brahman. However, not all Hindus perform deity worship. They believe that since Brahman is impersonal and unknowable, there is no poin...
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...rshan, and it is an important element of the worship. The priest also offers the offerings that have been given by the worshippers to their deity. This offering is called Prasad which is normally food, like fruits and nuts. At the end of the service, the worshippers come forward and receives back some of the Prasad to take and eat. I was able to join in on worshipping, but I was only allowed to approach within a few feet of the altar there is a barrier in front of it that only the priest may cross. At the barrier there were colored and scented ashes that a worshipper could place on his or her forehead as a sign of devotion. The holy ash is smeared on the forehead, and the red powder called kumkum is placed as a dot between the eyebrows. This red dot, which is worn by many Hindus, is a sign that the person wearing it has recently visited a temple and worshipped there
Hinduism is made of many different religions and does not have one origin or single founder. The religion of Hinduism is very old, “300-100 B.C.E.--- The first trace of temple worship. Hindu people worship at the shrine, where Hindus make offerings to a murti. A murti is a statue of a god or goddess” (McMillan). In addition, other religions are based off Hinduism, “5000-10000 B.C.---Hinduism can be traced back to 5000-10000 B.C. Hinduism is a very old religion, many religions are based off of Hinduism, like Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism” (McMillan).
Many people believe Hinduism to be a polytheistic religion. This is due to the fact that there is so many gods that they can worship in. But in all actuality it is really a monotheistic religion that spawns off of one god to form many different gods or ideas to worship. The entire religion of Hinduism is based off of Brahman. Brahman is the idea that all reality is a unity. I will explain the concept of Brahman and four others and hopefully make Hinduism easier to comprehend.
Hinduism and Christianity are two religions that have been around for thousands of years. Both of these religions have developed many philosophies on different aspects that can be compared to show their similarities and differences. The Hindu and Christian religion agree on many things. Based on humanity, our society follows some of the rules also because of the religion and laws. From the holy literature, there have been many different concepts that have been pledged but they all are supposed to lead you to the same effects such as a happy, healthy life, contribution to the world around us humans, and some kind of freedom after death. Some of the main subjects that can be reflected upon after learning of the history and fundamentals of these religions are the paths to enlightenment and/or salvation, the style of treating women through religions aspects, and the afterlife. This paper will give an analytic comparison of these two religions relating to the topics.
Halverson, Dean C. Hinduism: A Religion Profile from International Students, Inc. : Colorado Springs, CO : International Students (1992): 8. Print.
Multiple Gods and Goddesses is what causes Hinduism to be known as a “polytheistic religion” (Naik par. 1). Furthermore, “some Hindus believe in the existence of three gods, some believe
With no known founder, Hinduism was developed thousands of years ago, according to Mary Fisher, author of Living Religions (Fisher, 72). While Hindus often deem their religion as eternal, or “Santana dharma,” Hinduism is not a uniform, or orderly system (Fisher, 72). For example, Hindus may take different stances on God or liberation while still following their respective religion, according to Mary Fisher (Fisher, 85). However, Hinduism incorporates fundamental beliefs such as reincarnation and karma, similar to Jainism. According to Fisher, Hindus may focus on devotion to a single God, or multiple Gods, unlike the views of Sikhism (Fisher, 98). In fact, some Hindus focus heavily on the practice of meditation, similar the ways of many Buddhists (Fisher, 100). Unlike Sikhism, which bars images or representations of God, Hinduism promotes images or figures of God in many rituals (Fisher, 98). Ultimately, Hinduism centers on the fulfilment of social aspects and stages of life.
Hinduism is both a monotheistic and a polytheistic religion, on some accounts, even atheistic. This all depends on how the practice is interpreted and exercised. Because it is the oldest religion, its specifics often get confused due to the followings of its old scripture.Hinduism is similar to Christianity with them each having around a billion followers. Also, they both seek a sort of salvation, and though Hindus do not have a set clergy, they both have priests. In contrast, worshipping for Hindus include meditation, unlike that of Christians, who engage in prayer. Christians worship but one God, yet with Hindus that is blurry margins. Salvation for Hindus is known as constantly worshipping until enlightenment, and reincarnation continues until
Although I am not a Hindu, or have ever practiced any sort of Hindu worship, I question an aspect of the religion because of what I have learned about it. The question is whether or not Hinduism is really a polytheistic religion; the belief in multiple gods. I believe that Hinduism is a monotheistic religion. The Hindus put their faith in one almighty God, who they call Brahman.
One of the most important elements of these religions is their history. The Hindu religion disputably began around 2500 years before the Common Era (B.C.E.) in India. It was geographically based along the Indus River, which was called “Hindu” by the Persians who had migrated there. They also called the land Hindustan and it’s inhabitants, Hindus. After that, the religion that followed was called Hinduism. Today, almost 800 million people practice the Hindu religion (Spodek, 261)
Hinduism has faith in the deity that is visualized in a triad. They are Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Siva, the destroyer. The article about Hinduism in the www.religioustolerance.org states that there are thousands of gods that Hindus believe, but generally there are two major sects in Hinduism; the Vaishnavaism – esteems Vishnu as the supreme god, and Shivaism – esteems Siva as the supreme god. Like other religions, Hinduism has books that give its followers directions for living. They are the Vedas and Upanishads, and epics such as Mahabarata, Ramayana, and Bhagwad Gita. The Vedas is the most fundamental book for Hindus. It was dictated by the god Syva's
In addition, what makes Hinduism even more complex, is that fact that it is also “viewed as a monotheistic religion, because it recognizes only one supreme God: the panentheistic principle of Brahman that all reality is a unity. The entire universe is seen as one divine entity who is simultaneously at one with the universe and who transcends it as well. [Still others] view Hinduism as Trinitarian because Brahman is simultaneously visualized as a triad - - one God with three persons” (Robinson, 1995):
Hindu’s believe that just as the traditional Christian God did, that all their Gods have taken a physical form to live here on Earth. There are many Gods and Goddess throughout Hinduism so I will focus on the three main ones. The most important of these Gods is Brahman. He is considered to be the one true God and the creator of everything. He is formless, limitless, and eternal, and is believed to be a real entity that encompasses everything, seen and unseen, in the universe (Srinivasan). The second member of the Hindu trinity is Vishnu. This God is the preserver, and he maintains the order and harmony to the universe, which is periodically created by Brahman and destroyed by Shiva (Srinivasan). He is worshipped in many forms and is an important, yet somewhat mysterious God. The third God of the trinity is Shiva who is the God in charge of destroying the universe to prepare for its renewal. Followers believe that any negative energy in the vicinity can be ridden by just the utterance of this God’s name. Devotion to specific Gods on based on the individual’s own life and growing up or needs they may need addressed. Although, even when only devotion of one God is given, the others are always acknowledged. Hindus believe that the Gods all exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments, and personal devotions create a closeness to them (Nine Beliefs of
...m others, there are many gods and the afterlife Hindus believe in is like non other.
In Hinduism there is one ultimate God, Brahman, who lives within each individual. Hinduism is a belief system that is followed to help one find Atman, which is your personal part of Brahman inside of you. There are 330 million God/Goddesses that people can choose...
In Hinduism some of the things I found most fascinating is that the idea of God in Hindu is compounded and how they worship. There is one Supreme God and his form is unlimited. The Supreme God’s qualities and forms are represented by the numerous deities that stem from him. The deities God can form can be either male or female, allowing Hindus to pray to a god or goddess.