This document provides an overview of some key concepts in Hinduism, including: - Reincarnation and the cycle of samsara driven by karma and the goal of moksha or liberation from this cycle. - The concepts of Brahman as the impersonal supreme being, and the Trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. - Different paths like bhakti (devotion), karma (action), and various forms of yoga including raja yoga and hatha yoga. - The varna system and ascetic sadhus who renounce worldly pleasures in pursuit of spiritual goals.

1. HINDUISM
REINCARNATION
-the Wheel-
-Transmigration
of the Soul–
-almost endless
Cycle of Life,
Death, &
Rebirth-
REINCARNATION
-the Wheel of
SAMSARA-

2. -Transmigration
of the Soul–
-almost endless
Cycle of Life,
Death, &
Rebirth-
the Spiritual
GOAL of
HINDUISM
-MOKSHA- -NIRVANA- -
SATORI-
-Escape from SAMSARA/the
WHEEL of REINCARNATION-
-STOPPING the Wheel of
REINCARNATION-
-No More REBIRTHS-
-No More LIVES-
-No More SUFFERING-
-ATMAN/SOUL Reunites with
BRAHMAN-

3. CASTE LADDER
SOUL
the piece of
Brahman in
each: deity,
human, animal,
plant, & natural
object
ATMAN
MAYA
ILLUSION
MATTER
The TANGIBLE
WORLD
TEMPTATION
PLEASURE
Produces
FOOLISHNESS

4. MAYA
MAYA
SADHU = ASCETICISM
SELF-DENIAL of PLEASURE RENUNCIATION
SADHU = ASCETICISM
SELF-DENIAL of PLEASURE RENUNCIATION
AHIMSA
NON-
VIOLENCE
NON-
HARMING
LAW of CONSEQUENCES
–Law of Consequences
(Rewards &

5. Punishments) that
determines
where each
atman/soul will
Be reborn on the
caste ladder –
-Cosmic Boomerang –
-What goes around
comes around-
KARMA
2 main INFLUENCES on KARMA
DHARMA
(Duty; Rules of Caste & Gender)

6. BHAKTI
(Devotion thru Worship)
The Path of Action
Path of Action - Student, Householder, Hermit, Pilgrim, (Suti)
Student – a young sadhu who studies
Householder – a married working man with children
Hermit – a middle-aged sadhu who lives alone
Pilgrim – an old sadhu who walks from shrine to shrine
Suti – a good wife who throws herself on husband's funeral pyre
Sadhu - Ascetic
MONISM aka PANENTHEISM
MONOTHEISM
+
PANTHEISM
Simultaneously

7. MONISM aka PANENTHEISM
MONOTHEISM
+
PANTHEISM
Simultaneously
BRAHMAN
the Main,
impersonal
Hindu God;
beyond
Maya;
the Force in
the Universe
TRIMURTI
TRIMURTI

8. BRAHMA
the main
Creator deity,
4 Heads,
member of the
Hindu
Trimurti/Trinity
VISHNU
main Preserver
deity;
Dreaming on
lotus in a pond;
Disc on his
Finger;
Protected by
Cobras;
member of the
Hindu
Trimurti/Trinit;y
SHIVAthe main

9. Destroyer deity;
deity of Fertility;
often shown
Dancing;
Fiery;
member of the
Hindu
Trimurti/Trinity
KALI
the main GODDESS of
DESTRUCTION
KALI
the main
GODDESS of
DESTRUCTION
KALI

10. the main
GODDESS of
DESTRUCTION
KALI
the main
GODDESS of
DESTRUCTION
KALI
the main
GODDESS of
DESTRUCTION
KALI
the main
GODDESS of
DESTRUCTION
KALI

11. the main
GODDESS of
DESTRUCTION
LAKSHMI
GODDESS
of
PROSPERITY,
MATERNITY,
&
BEAUTY
SARASVATI
GODDESS
of
WISDOM,
LEARNING,
CREATIVITY,
MUSIC,
ART,
&
SPEECH

12. MODULE 3 – HINDUISM - REL 2300 (8 Weeks)
READ PART 3 on HINDUISM (CHAPTERS 13 – 17) in our
PARTRIDGE TEXTBOOK.
ANSWER 1 QUESTION from the End of Part 3 (Chapters 13 –
17).
STUDY the HINDUISM SLIDESHOW by Professor Masters.

13. WATCH & LISTEN to Each of the 3 VIDEOS Below on the
Topic of Hinduism.
*Altars of the World by Lew Ayers -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl9kk5Xrksw
Watch & Listen from the Beginning to 24:27.
[The Transcript is Posted on Canvas.]
*What is Hinduism? - Cogito -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlBEEuYIWwY
*Indian Pantheons - Crash Course World Mythology # 8 by
Mike Rugnetta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_NJAJGCKD8&t=213s
CONCISELY DEFINE:
Brahman
Trimurti
Monism or Panentheism
Samsara
Moksha
Karma
Dharma

14. Bhakti & Puja
Varnas & Castes
Yoga
Asceticism (such as Hindu Body Piercing)
ALTARS of the WORLD
The Eastern Religions
Autogenerated Transcript
By Lew Ayers
HINDUISM:
The Wheel of Life moves on, in the midst of misfortune and the
noise of toil, it moves toward pleasure but ends in the
mire of penance and wrath. He who understands the stoppage of
the wheel of life is never more deceived. Ages ago

15. while the societies and cultures of people in other parts of the
world were still in the crudest most primitive stage, India
was a great thriving civilization with an art a philosophy and an
advanced religious system already highly developed. In
fact, India has been called the cradle of religion and Hinduism
the faith which developed there, and numbers the largest
following has an origin that is prehistoric. Sacred literature
called the Vedas may have been conceived three to four
thousand years ago. Coexistent with the ancient and long since
abandoned religion of Egypt. Hinduism has not only
maintained its strength but has grown steadily until today its
influence is felt on the lives of over three hundred
and fifty million persons. With the exception of a few minor
sects, the religion of Hinduism has no central organization
nor church authority to determine its doctrines. This of course
gives room for very broad interpretations which more or
less permit a belief in accord with each person's ability to
comprehend and is one of the reasons why Hinduism has
lived so long and why it has stolidly resisted the evangelism of
faiths like Buddhism Christianity and Islam; and also
why one sees so many forms of worship in India from what
would seem to be almost sheer idolatry to the very highest
type of spiritual understanding, examples of which are found in
the words and deeds of men like Ramakrishna,
Rabindranath Tagore and many others. You see, most Hindus
believe the limitless manifestations of God allows each
man to worship differently as long as he is sincere. Like other
religions, the ethical teachings of this ancient faith
provide the Hindu hope today with rules that are easy to read
difficult to follow. True happiness consists in making
happy. Blessings give for curses. But who is the God of the
Hindus? or should we say gods? for there are very many. It
must be understood however that Hindus are taught to believe in
only one Supreme Being or force called Brahman and
to consider the host of lesser gods as various aspects of this one
reality. Yet there are many persons unable to cope

16. with this abstraction. They need something more tangible upon
which to lavish their affections and emotions like the
Saints in Christianity; and for them, the gods are very
appropriate and very real, not as idols, but as symbols of their
highest ideals. These worshipers have the respect of all levels of
Hindu religious society due to the underlying unity
between them: common scriptures, common beliefs, common
practices, common gods. In the pantheon of Hindu gods,
there are two, named Shiva and Vishnu, which are by far the
more important, and which in a sense divide the primary
loyalty of most Hindus between them. Vishnu, who is a God of
righteousness and love, called the protector and
sustainer of the world. Vertical red stripes indicate a temple in
his honor. He is the inspiration for the devotional cult
known as bhakti, and he has incarnated upon earth many times
in behalf of mankind. Vishnu, incarnate as Lord
Krishna, is the hero of a story in Scripture which is world
renowned, a literary masterpiece, the Bhagavad-Gita.
Sometimes Vishnu is depicted as Narayana with his wife
Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. Elsewhere he is God Rama
with a wife named Sita, well-known figures in the great
symbolic legend, the Ramayana. It is said that wives of the
Gods provide feminine attributes for those unable to reconcile
the idea of both characteristics in one person even a god.
The other important deity is Shiva, the god of destruction
symbolic of perpetual change. Shiva not only destroys but
creates and offers grace to the suffering world. Worship of
Shiva attracts those seeking mystic paths to union with God;
for when seated in yogi posture Shiva is known as the great
meditator. For devotions, there is an abstract image
of Shiva called a Lingam. Nandi, the deified bull, is called
Shiva's vehicle. Various animals attached to the gods often
represent physical aspects of man's nature which must be
controlled. As with other religions, there are often small
merchants at the entrances of Hindu temples selling materials
for devotional observances. Powdered paint is for

17. marking the foreheads of the devout, a custom well known in
India. As for instance, the vertical symbol of Vishnu
may be reproduced on young men who are students. Hindu
religious life is roughly divided into four stages. A sacred
string over the shoulder shows that someone has been formally
initiated into the first or student stage and is devoted to
study and discipline under the guidance of a teacher or guru.
After initiation, one is considered twice born. Horizontal
markings indicate devotion to Lord Shiva. The second stage of
Hindu religious life is as a citizen and householder.
During this period, worship follows a line of strict ritual.
Although attendance at temple is never absolutely necessary
nor is it carried out with group uniformity. In fact, Hindus often
frown on such a practice. Worship is primarily a
personal communication between the individual and his god. A
coconut and some fresh garlands provide a suitable
offering. Shoes are always removed before entering a Hindu
temple. The bells are rung to attract the attention of the
deity; and the offering is given to a priest who sets it before the
tiny images in the place of consecration. First, the priest
washes the images. Then he makes the offering to them. The
conch shell is the signal for the start of the ritual worship
called harati. It is a daily ceremony with deep emotional effect
on participants and spectators, bringing on a sort of
religious exaltation. According to Hinduism, there are five
elements of creation: water, fire, earth, air, and ether. And
this ceremony symbolizes the offering and return these elements
to the Creator. It might be pointed out that Hinduism
is less a system of ethics or even theology than it is a school of
metaphysics and psychology, meaning its basic aim is
not to make its followers more perfect earth dwellers nor even
blissful inhabitants after death in the realms of heaven.
Instead, it strives to inspire man to become one with the eternal

18. universal spirit, Brahman, the ultimate reality; a goal,
it is claimed, which is unattainable by perfection of character or
conduct; but can only be the result of a completely
transformed consciousness an all-consuming objective. And
Hinduism even says it is not possible to accomplish this in
one lifetime and therefore the ancient doctrine of rebirth or
reincarnation is accepted. Rebirth functions in accord with
the law of karma, the workings of a divine justice which is
believed to place each person in the exact station earned by
his actions in previous lives. Thus he may move up or down the
social scale and even back into animals and plants.
This is the wheel of karma, a wheel which can be stopped only
by liberation from the finite consciousness of
individuality called the opening of the third eye. This results in
a new transcendent consciousness. The true destiny of
all men to attain liberation or moksha. Silent prayer and
meditation are important and this is often supplemented by
the countless repetition of mystic syllables considered the
veritable embodiment in sound of the deity itself; as for
instance the sound om, a name of the impersonal absolute
Brahman. Pranayama or breath control calms and controls
the body keeps it from distracting the mind during meditation.
Prayer beads are used when a devotional mantra is to be
repeated hundreds or thousands of times. This kind of
repetition, called japa, is highly regarded as an aid to further
realization of God. Up where the Ganges emerges from the
Himalaya Mountains, is the holy city of Hardwar. It is a
place filled with men who have become full time devotees of a
religious path. They are now called sadus or sannyasins
meaning: holy men. Some shave their heads, while others
belonging to the order of Udasis, do not. Most of them are
members of some recognized order. Their meager wants are
supplied by begging while living a life of complete
asceticism void of worldly ambitions and sensuous pleasures,
seeking only spiritual freedom. Their day consists of
study or preaching to each other and of course exercises in yoga

19. breath control and many many kinds of ritual and
mystic disciplines. Sprinkling the water is a rite of purification
often connected with the worship of Vishnu. Sadus with
the trident show devotion to Lord Shiva. Sitting cross-legged is
a meditative pose well known as the lotus posture; it's
to prevent falling asleep. There are several stages of
development in the life of a monk. Many of those here are
considerably advanced having been given permission by their
abbot to make pilgrimage to this holy place but some
seem to show the costly effects of the severe strain they may
have imposed upon themselves by what is considered the
greatest pilgrimage self-purification and discipline. Their goal:
stoppage of the wheel of material life, unity with
God. Hindu yoga like the word yoke means union with the
divine. This union may be accomplished by different types
of yoga: as love and devotion, bhakti yoga; or by service to
follow man, karma yoga; by knowledge, janaina yoga; or by
Contemplation, raja yoga, a path which culminates in a state of
rapture called Samadhi. This difficult objective should
be paralleled by a strict course of physical discipline in order
that bodily functions will not disturb one's concentration.
When habits are controlled, when the body is obedient to the
will, consciousness may then be open to the reality of
God. Only highly developed masters have true skill in the art of
hatha yoga where every posture symbolizes a means of
overcoming obstacles on the path. The master stated that while
hatha yoga was useful in controlling the body and
hence the mind, spiritual progress would not be furthered
without integrity moral. Stature and consecration to the
universal will. Thus, the underlying basis is religion. There is
also the need for inner verification of the all essential
philosophical term maya or illusion in regard to the ultimate
unreality of the phenomenal world. According to Vedanta,
there is but one reality: Brahman Atman, God in the highest
sense, unknown and indescribable, except as neti neti, not
this, not that. Freedom from illusion depends upon the complete

20. conviction of one's true identity with this
indescribable universal spirit in accord with the venerable
phrase tat-twam-asi, that art thou. Unsuited to the rigors of
hatha yoga some seek for union with God by consecration and
worshiped, such as the sadhus who express their
devotion through the Goddess Lakshmi, the gracious consort of
Vishnu. These are members of an ashram or school
of spiritual discipline conducted by a leader or teacher having
the title swami or guru. Gurus somehow communicate
the impression of profound spiritual insight and are a great
inspiration to their followers. There are many such ashrams
in India, most of them insisting that disciples live i n obedience
to a very severe moral code without worldly goods or
any of the so-called worldly pleasures, included a hard rule for
vigorous men, and not without certain psychic dangers.
Such a life calls for emotional maturity. Upon the external walls
of many ancient monasteries, one finds carved figures
of the heavenly apsaras along with other designs. Such
sculpture represents the outer physical world, as opposed to the
purity of the spiritual life within the temple of the mind. The
earthly counterpart of the apsara was found in the temple
dancer, who though rare today in India, left a lasting impression
on Hindu dancing and on the memories of men living
in worldly renunciation. For those seeking union with the divine
through mystic meditation, visions such as temple
dancers must not be entertained. No sensual imagery can be
allowed to interrupt the concentrated effort to break the
veil separating man from the spiritual source of his being.
Seated in the lotus posture to refrain from sleep, yet relaxed
and breathing without effort, the mind concentrates on some
aspect of divinity and awaits until the doors of spiritual
insight, called samadhi, finally opened for a glimpse of divine
reality. What it is like when the doors of spiritual insight
are opened? Few have even tried to say; for the experience of
samadhi is more like poetry than science, indescribable
as the fourth dimension. Beyond this, the devout Hindu may

21. also hope he will find release from his repetitious lives in
the material world and be freed from illusion and pain on the
wheel of karma.