Hinduism

Branches:•Vaishnavites: 580,000,000 Worship the god Vishnu (part of Hindu Triad; “the Sustainer”)

•Shaivites: 220,000,000 Worship the god Shiva/Siva (part of Hindu Triad; “the Destroyer”)

Conversion

•Just do it!•One can go through a name-giving ritual

Holy Sites

•Ganges River – thought to carry the blessing of Vishnu’s feet; also thought to personify a goddess•Tend to be near rivers or oceans

“Along this area are 30 large sewers that continuously send its discharges into the river. The Ganges River in India is considered to be so polluted that the water is septic to the point that no dissolved oxygen exists.”

Burial Practices

Religious Landscape

•Holy animals

In Hinduism, the cow is revered as the source of food and symbol of life and may never be killed. However, many non-Hindus interpret these beliefs to mean that Hindus worship cows. This is not true. It is more accurate to say the cow is taboo in the Hindu religion, rather than sacred.

• Ritual bathing

Wayside shrine

Here you see another way of winning divine favour; a boy lets a priest pierce his tongue, cheeks and lips with small metal spears

Diffusion

•Missionaries in the past, but not anymore – more born into the religion and possibly relocation diffusion

Beliefs•Reincarnation•Karma•Dharma•Caste system ties into this•Polytheistic•Goal = reaching brahman (ultimate reality), finding morality and reaching maksha (this is where one “hops off the reincarnation wheel”)•Vedas and Upanishads = holy texts

Throughout his life a Hindu must pass through several life cycle rituals. One of them is head shaving, where all hair is shaved off as an offering to a deity Texts recommend marriage at an early age,

particularly for girls in order to protect their chastity. Sexual transgression is considered particularly detrimental to spiritual life. Many so-called child marriages were actually a form of betrothal and marriage was not consummated until the wife was of age.

Lifestyle Impacts

Daily worship with oil lamp

• Caste system• Special occasions like Holi:

celebrated by throwing colored powder (gulal) and scented water on participants in a raucous celebration of joy and spring