Hinduism Concepts

By Paige Dame and Grace Petraglia

Atman
Loose definition: Eternal self spirit
soul
If you were stripped from all the vanities
and material items in your life you would
be left with your atman, your true self.
In Hinduism, the belief is that you have
a spiritual soul that is inhabiting your
temporal body and its beneath your
ego and false self. Your atman is
who you are at your most primitive and
primal state of being. In the Hindu
culture, through your life your spiritual
self is having earthly or humanly
experience.

Dharma
Loose definition: Duty virtue or morality
Dharma is the power that allows the people to behave morally in correspondence
to who you are: caste, age, and gender all play a role. For example, what is proper
behavior for a teacher, might not be proper for the students. This is referred to as
ones sva-dharma. Behaving in opposition to ones sva-dharma is called
adharma. Acting according to personal dharma also means serving ones duty to
humanity or God.

Varna
Loose definition: A persons responsibility regarding class.
FOUR CLASSES

Brahmans/Brahmins: intellectuals and priests

Kshatriya: nobles or warriors
Vaishyas: commoners or merchants
Shudras: workers who serve the higher classes

Examples: artists, musicians, clerks

FOUR STAGES

Brahmacarya: males learn the Veda

Grihastha: twice born males experience responsibility, wealth,
sexual pleasure
Vanaprastha: twice born males retire from life and pilgrimage
and make religious observances with their wives.
Samnyasa: twice borns put aside the world in order to develop
devotionmoksha.

Representation of the caste

system.

Varna: Social Hierarchy

Karma and Samsara

Loose definition: Action
The Hinduist view of karma is for each and every
action you make you will be the recipient of good
karma or bad karma. Your karma stays with you
through your life times. Samsara is the hindu belief in
reincarnation; you can be reincarnated into an animal
or a divine being. It can also be thought of as the
continuous cycle of life, death, and suffering. When
you are reincarnated your karma from your previous
life will transfer to your new state.
Five Stages of Samsara:
1. Rebirth into a caste
2. Receiving dharma
3. Accumulation of karma
4. Death
5. Rebirth into the cycle

Hindu symbol for Karma

Hindu symbol for Reincarnation

Purushartha
Loose definition: Goals of a person
THREE GOALS (as of the Laws of Manu)

Dharma
Artha: Worldly success
Kama: Pleasure (sexual or more broadly aesthetic)

(The goal of moksha, or enlightenment, was added many years after the establishment of the three
aforementioned goals)
These goals recognize the complexity of human nature and needs.

Recognizing the difference:

Brahman and God

Brahman is described as the transcendent power beyond the
universe which pervades everything but is not actually worshipped.
Hindus have split beliefs over whether Brahman is part of ones self
(atman) or unmistakably separate.

Although some Hindus associate

certain deities as descendents of
Brahman, the concept of Brahman
itself is not worshipped. The deities
are worshipped pertaining to the
concept of God.

Hinduism cannot be solely classified as polytheistic or monotheistic.

Their belief is that one almighty God is the condensed product of an
abundance of deities representing his qualities and forms therefore
God is expressed in varying ways. Hindus relate to God in a form
that is pleasing to themselves: a parent figure, friend, child. The
three most popular forms are:
Vishnu: incarnations of different forms in order to spread dharma
Shiva: the actions of creation, maintenance, destruction, and the act
of concealing and revealing himself.
Lakshmi: Goddess, who has gentle forms and ferocious forms.

Shiva
Vishnu

Lakshmi

Guru
Loose definition: Teacher or master of a
tradition
A Guru has a responsibility to pass on
the traditions of Hinduism to his disciple.
The disciple is the student of the Guru.
Through this discipleship the student will
learn of the wisdom and knowledge the
Guru has obtained. Once the Guru has
passed away the disciple will take the
place of the Guru. This cycle protects
and helps maintain the Hindu traditions.

Guru Nanak Dev ji

Works Cited
"Dharma - Karma - Samsara: The System Of Cosmic Justice." VEDA. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2002. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Display of caste system in India. Digital image. BBC. BBC, 24 Aug. 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Painting. Digital image. Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Truth and the Shabd Guru. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Hinduism Depiction of the Soul; Atma. Digital image. Hindu Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Hindu symbol for Karma. Digital image. Meaning of Symbols. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Hindu symbol for Reincarnation. Digital image. Meaning of Symbols. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Representation of the Caste System in India. Digital image. AwHistorySprayregen. Tangient LLC, 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.