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-Worshipers will ring the bell to let the Gods know that they have come to worship and invite him into the home
- A 'guru' or 'priest' is a spiritual teacher of Hinduism
- One can become a guru while they are in the Brahmin caste
- Guru's and priest's are very significant in hinduism and are used to perform many ceremonies
-The cow is a very sacred animal in Hinduism
- It is represents the sacred principles of mother hood
-The cow is not allowed to be eaten, however it is used to make many products
-ex. Milk and ghee(clarified butter
-The Brahmins are well educated and their goals are to spread knowledge of the Vedas
-They are usually priests or gurus and perform rituals and sacrifices
-They also study the sacred scriptures(The veda's)
-To be in this caste you must have physical strength and courage
-They may be a warrior or ruler and their goal would be to gain political power and diplomacy
-Their main duties would be maintenance of law and order and protection from foreign invaders
- The Veda's are the oldest Hindu scriptures written around 1500 BCE
-Their are 4 Vedas written on subjects ranging from the divine spirit to medicine and the sciences
-It is said to be very complex and highly philosophical, that is why only priest's and guru's read it
-The Rig-Veda comprises of 1028 hymns that praise the ancient deities
-The Yajur-Veda is used by priests to perform fire sacrifices
-The Sama-Veda consists of melodies, chants, and tunes for the singing of hymns
-And the Atharva-Veda which contains magical formulas, chants, spells, and charms
-The knowledge of the Veda's are revealed to the other castes through human made literature such as the epics( the Ramayana and the Mahabharata)
- Between 6 to 8 months a baby boys hair is cut
- The barber completely shaves the head except leaving some at the front
- In southern India, some girls also are haircuts as well
- This ritual takes place 7 to 8 months after of birth of the child, depending on their health
- During this ceremony parents recite prayers to their deities for good health and long life for the child
- Father begins feeding child with small portion of rice mixed with ghee and honey
-This caste must have management and entrepreneurial skills
-Many are merchants and farmers and their main goal is wealth and commerce
-Their main duties would be management of wealth and trade with other societies
-Although Hinduism has many deities, Hindu's consider themselves monotheistic because of their main belief of the Brahman
-They believe that the other God's were sent down to help them achieve Moksha
-In Hinduism, you have the freedom to worship any deity you want
-Statues of deities in temples are treated like royalty and given baths and offerings
-Traditionally, a new born is named by a priest 10 days after birth
- Some Hindu's still follow this tradition, for most it has become a symbolic gesture
- Now many parents choose the names of their children, although a baby is considered a blessing and an occasion for celebration
-The caste system organizes people into groups depending on their wealth and education
-The 4 castes are the: Brahmins, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra
-Hindu's believe that you must desire to be in a different caste, you must stay in the caste you were born into and do your duties. If you do this, you will be rewarded and be born in a higher caste in your next life, if you do not, then you will move down the caste
-Now, India's Charter of Rights bans discrimination on the basis of caste etc.
-Dharma is conducting one's duties with compassion toward all beings, forbearance, absence of jealousy, purity, tranquility, goodness, absence of cruelty and absence of greed
-This caste must have the ability to acquire skills
-Many work as servants or labourers and their main goal is to have manual skills
-The duties of this caste are to service the other castes
-Artha is the earning of money by honest means to provide for the family; acquiring wealth and power
-A mantra is 1 of 4 types of compositions in the Veda's
-It is a psalms of praise that constitute the main body of Veda's
-A set of beads used for keeping count while reciting, chanting or mentally repeating a Mantra
- This sacred initiation ceremony is performed by boys of the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Valshya castes between the ages 8 to 12
- It marks a boys transition into the student stages of life where he is expected to begin study of sacred texts
- During day 2 of the ceremony, boys wear a sacred thread over their left shoulder and chant a mantra
-Before death every Hindu has a goal in life which they would like to achieve, the ultimate goal being to achieve Moksha
-The 4 goals are: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha
-Kama is pursuing love and physical pleasures to balance life and to sanctify marriage
-This ceremony marks the anniversary of a death
-A priest performs religious rites
-Family members, friends, and other guests are invited to witness the ceremony and enjoy a meal
-Moksha is leading the soul toward salvation through honest and moral actions
-The main goal of all Hindu's is to achieve Moksha and leave the cycle of life, death and re-birth
-This is the path of action
-Followers gain the insight necessary to achieve salvation by meditating, scriptures and teaching of Guru's
-When a Hindu dies a ceremony is performed where the body is cremated in fire
-Under the direction of a priest, the body is bathed and dressed in new traditional clothing, leaving the face uncovered
-Light and flowers are offered to the spirit of the deceased before procession to the crematorium takes place
- Lord Rama's name is chanted and hymns or holy songs are sung
-The Priest recites passages from the vedas to sanctify the fire
-Then the oldest son, or male member of the family, lights the pyre
-Family collects the ashes in a urn and scatters them in a holy river
-On the tenth and thirteenth days after the funeral, relatives, friends and neighbours gather for a special prayer and feast
- This is the first formal excursion outside the home
- The purpose is to expose the child to the environment and the neighbours
- This depends on the health of the child as well as the weather and climate conditions
- Parents and child take a bath and wear new clothes
-Parents apply a dab of sout to baby's forehead for protection from the evil eye
-Mother and father hold the baby and offer a simple prayer to the deities and then take the baby out for a short walk
-Special care is taken to avoid over exposure to sun
and other weather related conditions
-Many men and women mark a symbol on their forehead, called a tilak, to represent one of the deities which they worship
-Each deity has a special marking
-The signs are worn between the eyebrows to symbolize third eye of wisdom
-Married women also wear a red dot called a bindi which indicates that the woman is married
-Yoga is one of the paths used to experience Moksha
-There are 4 types of yoga
Jnana yoga
Raja yoga
Karma yoga
and Bhakti yoga
- Marks the bride and grooms entry into the householder stage of life
- Signifies future fulfillment of their social responsibilities
-Engagement takes place where grooms father asks woman's hand in marriage to son
- after a favourable date is set for the wedding
-The wedding ceremony lasts 3 hours
- And it is performed by a priest who is usually assisted by another priest
-The path of meditation
-Followers achieve salvation through meditation, or deep contemplation on Brahman
-The 4 stages of life outline your responsibilities for each section of your life
-The stages are: the student stage, householder stage, forest dweller stage, and ascetic stage
-The sacred city of Varanasi is very significant in India and Hinduism
-It is recognized as the city of Shiva, which is one of the most known deities in Hinduism
-The Ganges river is the most sacred river in India
-In Hindu mythology the water were sent down from heaven and kept in Shiva's hair to prevent destruction of mother earth, then the water was released from Shiva's hair as the Ganges river to provide for the country
- In the last stage of life, an ascetic must give up worldly life, wander, meditate, and attain salvation
-The path of action
-The key to this path is good deeds and thoughts, which will lead to good karma
- This is the first stage
- The responsibilities of someone at this stage are to gain knowledge, learn rules and rituals of Hinduism, show respect toward elders and keep a discipline mind and body
-The path of devotion
-This simpler path to salvation calls for the devotion and love towards a personal deity
- Karma is the basic teaching of what goes around comes around
-Hindu's believe that good karma will reward you in the next life and bad karma could hurt you in the next life
-Third stage of life
-A forest dweller must retire and transmit household duties to wife or son, read and study, and participate in religious pilgrimages
-The responsibilities in the second stage of life are to marry and have a family, provide for the family, give to charity, care for family elders, and practice social and religious traditions