Module 2: Hinduism

Prerequisite Skills: Knowledge in the belief of Animism

Instructor:
Mrs. Nieves R. Madelar
Level:
First Year College
Allotted Time:
Three Hours
OVERVIEW
This module is designed to help you understand the basis of Spirituality of all existing religion

OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

1. Develop a sense of spiritual awareness in Hinduism

2. Appreciate the spiritual value necessary for the enhancement of spiritual life.
3. Distinguish belief of Hinduism that will enhance our spirituality.

PRETEST

Direction: Write true if the statement is correct and false if the statement is wrong.
________ 1.Hindus believe in only one God.
________ 2.They call their god Brahma.
________ 3.Hindus count their gods in millions.
________ 4.Sin to the Hindus is to value things other than the soul.
________ 5.Good works is their passport for a better next reincarnation.

LEARNING FOCUS
Key words:

1. Hinduism- the religion of Hindu in India

2. Hindu- the believer of Hinduism
3. Vedas- the total sacred literature of the Hindus
4. Dharma- in Hindu teaching, it is the code of conduct, ethics and morality
5. India- the place of origin
No one really knows when Hinduism began. Some of its religious writings date back to 1500 BC. In spite of
this, Hinduism has no organized church, no dogma, no single set of beliefs and no absolute answer to anything.
The Hindus counts their gods in millions. Some even worship monkeys, leave sacrifices to gods in the
forest and practice ancient rituals as animists do. This is not a surprise, for Hinduism is believed to have sprung
originally from Animism.
The Hindus do not consider the here and now to be important. They teach that the person is but a
soul in a body.
The world is but momentary stage on the great journey of life. Man lives, he dies; the worlds are born, they
die.
The only absolute is the All and All, the great universal spirit intro which all our individual souls eventually
will be merged. So life, which to the Hindus means the existence of the soul, is a continual struggle to reach the
point where complete merge with the ultimate is possible. Man, the Hindus believe, does not become the son of
God, he becomes real part of God.

Hinduism emphasizes the Dharma, which means pattern, code of conduct, ethics and morality.
Dharma in turn includes two other Hindu beliefs Karma and Reincarnation.

Karma- Hindus law of good deeds. The Hindus agree heartily with Paul in saying A man will reap
exactly what he plants.- Gal. 6:7
Reincarnation- Man is a soul temporarily inhabiting a body. This soul has lived in other bodies
before and will live in new ones in the future. Therefore, whatever situation a man finds himself
is exactly the one he has earned by his deeds in previous lives.
This line of reasoning makes the Caste System a perfect rule of life to the Hindus. They consider that a
man who tries to escape his class is not just a social rebel; he is rebelling against the plan of nature, trying to
escape losing whatever meant he might earn in his life to make his next incarnation a better one. If a man in the

humble class would live the highest, holiest life possible in that caste he would be born into a higher caste in his
next incarnation.
This Hindus believe God is higher than our thoughts. This God is Brahma. Since God is so great, no single
person can know all about him. Therefore all ideas all about him are acceptable. A Hindu can believe in one God or
in many gods.
Hinduism is a religion of one god who is many To the educated Hindu, God is manifested in 3 main
aspects:
1. Absolute Principal
2. Universal Mind with attribute
3. Personal God manifested in many lives
The last aspect is the one most Hindus worship for only a philosopher can worship a Principal or a Mind.
Since God is All in All, he may appear as:
1. Vishnu- the preserver
2. Brahma- the creator
3. Shiva- the destroyer
Brahma created man, who has become the subject of the whims or desires of Vishnu and Shiva (Good and
Evil).
God to the Hindus represents the final realization of everything. He is the Infinite Existence, Infinite
Knowledge, and Infinite Bliss.
There are 2 things all Hindus hold in common:
1. Reverence for Asceticism
- The conquering of the flesh is a step nearer- There are many ascetics in India; old man who meditates in
caves for decades, saints crawling in their bellies, they conquer pain by abusing their bodies to the point that
they can no longer feel the pain.
2. Reverence for the Vedas
- Their sacred literature which includes the Dharma, they study it with great devotion.
One Hindu doctor admitted his mother is illiterate but added, She knows one hundred thousand verses of
the Vedas by heart. This is the reverence Hindus hold for their sacred book.
To the Hindus, Sin is to value anything more than the soul. Salvation to them is the attachment of perfect
spirituality: becoming pure spirit as part of the Universal Spirit which could only be possible through the control of
the flesh.
Hinduism is a collection of ideas for many religions.
The essence of Hinduism is to know thy self. The true knowledge of ones self leads to union with the
Supreme Being through what is technically called Yoga.
Hinduism degenerated into a religion of priest craft and ceremonies with little to offer to the common
people. Reform was needed, Buddha became the reformer. He rejected idolatry and established priesthood. He
carried the Law of Deed (Karma) and gave it a deeper meaning. The karma teaches that good must come from
Good and evil from Evil. If this is so, said Buddha. Then people must either be good or bad. The caste system was
nonsense, he said.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Activity 1
a. Identify verses of the Bible that affirm good deeds.
b. Brainstorming
What principle or philosophy of life do you want to lift from the beliefs of the Hindus which you think does
not contradict with your belief as a Christian?

c. Reflection
Relate the Hindus Law of good deeds in your daily life and cite verses from the Bible that will affirm it.

POST TEST
Name: __________
Course: __________
Course/Year/Section: __________
Date: ___________
Direction: Identify what is referred in the phrase or sentence:
_________ 1.The Hindus law of good deeds
_________ 2.The popular religion of India
_________ 3.A Hindu practice which they believe they can find true knowledge of oneself which leads to
union with the Supreme Being through concentration.
_________4.The essence of Hinduism
_________5.A Hindu system of mystical and ascetic philosophy which involves withdrawal from the
world and abstract meditation upon any object
Direction: Answer the questions briefly but completely.
1. Why is it that an animal is sacred and holy in India?
2. According to the Hindus, what is the most important element in the life of man? Why?

REFERENCES:
1. World Religions by Michael Keen, pages 8 37
2. The Worlds Religions Understanding the Living Faith by Peter B. Clarke pages 124 143
www.gita-society.com/gita3rd.htm,