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How did Hinduism begin?
Hinduism begin in India in the valley of the river Indus. There are more than 700 million. Hindus in the world, making it one of the biggest religions worldwide. Hinduism developed from the religion that the Aryans brought to India with them in about 1500 BC. Its beliefs and practices are based on the Vedas, a collection of hymns (thought to refer to actual historical events) that Aryan scholars had completed by about 800 BC. Hinduism is concerned with living a good life in the hope of being rewarded in the next.
Define Brahma, Vishnu, Siva
The three interesting-looking persons depicted here are Brahma, the world-creator, Vishnu, the world-maintainer, and Shiva, the world-destroyer. Perhaps you've heard the characterized in that very misleading cliche of introductory World Religious texts as "the Hindu Trinity". And perhaps you're simply inclined to dismiss them as the fanciful projection of a primitive mythologizing imagination run riot. But, if you go to the proper sources, the venerable Vedic texts Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, you'll find Bramha, Vishu, and Shiva accurately explained in the context of exacting and comprehensive account of and His creation, an account that is unrevialed completeness and coherence by any other philosophical, scientific, or religious literature, and that is not only intellectually satisfying but also aesthetically captivating and spiritually fulfilling.
Hinduism begin in India in the valley of the river Indus. There are more than 700 million. Hindus in the world, making it one of the biggest religions worldwide. Hinduism developed from the religion that the Aryans brought to India with them in about 1500 BC. Its beliefs and practices are based on the Vedas, a collection of hymns (thought to refer to actual historical events) that Aryan scholars had completed by about 800 BC. Hinduism is concerned with living a good life in the hope of being rewarded in the next.
Define Brahma, Vishnu, Siva
The three interesting-looking persons depicted here are Brahma, the world-creator, Vishnu, the world-maintainer, and Shiva, the world-destroyer. Perhaps you've heard the characterized in that very misleading cliche of introductory World Religious texts as "the Hindu Trinity". And perhaps you're simply inclined to dismiss them as the fanciful projection of a primitive mythologizing imagination run riot. But, if you go to the proper sources, the venerable Vedic texts Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, you'll find Bramha, Vishu, and Shiva accurately explained in the context of exacting and comprehensive account of and His creation, an account that is unrevialed completeness and coherence by any other philosophical, scientific, or religious literature, and that is not only intellectually satisfying but also aesthetically captivating and spiritually fulfilling.
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What are the concepts of Brahman and Atman?
The phrase "Atman is Brahman" captures the Vedanta school's primary view about ultimate reality and our human relationship to it. The Vedanta school of Hindu thought is one of the largest and most dominant perspectives in Hindu philosophy.First is "Atman" - loosely translated, this means "soul" or "individual soul." Atman refers to the essence of each individual living thing - its soul or primary living energy. Each living thing - people, animals, plants - have an Atman that forms each thing's eternal essence. The Atman is not the body; the body is not eternal. The body houses the Atman until the body dies. Atman is immortal and eternal.Brahman is "world soul" or "cosmic soul." It is the eternal essence of the universe and the ultimate divine reality. It is the life source of all that has been, is and will be throughout the entire cosmos. It is not an individual being - it is more like the primal ground or reality of all being and existence.
How is the concept of Brahman similar to the God envisioned by Jews,
Christians, and Muslims? How is it different?
They all have a cultural religion. It is all at a worshiping type of religion. They all have a symbol. They all have a flag they use and a national anthem. All of them pray. They don't have much alike but they have a lot of difference from each other.
The phrase "Atman is Brahman" captures the Vedanta school's primary view about ultimate reality and our human relationship to it. The Vedanta school of Hindu thought is one of the largest and most dominant perspectives in Hindu philosophy.First is "Atman" - loosely translated, this means "soul" or "individual soul." Atman refers to the essence of each individual living thing - its soul or primary living energy. Each living thing - people, animals, plants - have an Atman that forms each thing's eternal essence. The Atman is not the body; the body is not eternal. The body houses the Atman until the body dies. Atman is immortal and eternal.Brahman is "world soul" or "cosmic soul." It is the eternal essence of the universe and the ultimate divine reality. It is the life source of all that has been, is and will be throughout the entire cosmos. It is not an individual being - it is more like the primal ground or reality of all being and existence.
How is the concept of Brahman similar to the God envisioned by Jews,
Christians, and Muslims? How is it different?
They all have a cultural religion. It is all at a worshiping type of religion. They all have a symbol. They all have a flag they use and a national anthem. All of them pray. They don't have much alike but they have a lot of difference from each other.
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Why are cows sacred to Hindus?
Cows are guileless in their behavior and from them flow sacrifices, and milk and curds and butter. It acts as a surrogate mother by providing milk to human beings for the whole life. The cow is sacred for many reasons. In Hinduism, the cow (Sanskrit: go) is revered as the source of food and symbol of life and may never be killed. Hindus do not worship the cow, however, and cows do not have especially charmed lives in India. It is more accurate to say the cow is taboo in Hinduism, rather than sacred. In ancient India, oxen and bulls were sacrificed to the gods and their meat was eaten. But even then the slaughter of milk-producing cows was prohibited. Verses of the Rigveda refer to the cow as Devi (goddess), identified with Aditi (mother of the gods) herself.
What is karma?
In Hinduism and Buddhism, the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Today, people use the word karma in ways that are not wholly consistent with its traditional meaning. For example, karma is often misused to denote luck, destiny or fate. Karma is also misused as a way to explain sudden hardships. Karma, a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to action is a core concept in some Eastern religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. Though its specifics are different depending on the religion, karma generally denotes the cycle of cause and effect — each action a person takes will affect him or her at some time in the future. This rule also applies to a person's thoughts and words, and the actions other people take under that individual's instructions. With karma, like causes produce like effects; that is, a good deed will lead to a future beneficial effect, while a bad deed will lead to a future harmful effects.
Cows are guileless in their behavior and from them flow sacrifices, and milk and curds and butter. It acts as a surrogate mother by providing milk to human beings for the whole life. The cow is sacred for many reasons. In Hinduism, the cow (Sanskrit: go) is revered as the source of food and symbol of life and may never be killed. Hindus do not worship the cow, however, and cows do not have especially charmed lives in India. It is more accurate to say the cow is taboo in Hinduism, rather than sacred. In ancient India, oxen and bulls were sacrificed to the gods and their meat was eaten. But even then the slaughter of milk-producing cows was prohibited. Verses of the Rigveda refer to the cow as Devi (goddess), identified with Aditi (mother of the gods) herself.
What is karma?
In Hinduism and Buddhism, the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Today, people use the word karma in ways that are not wholly consistent with its traditional meaning. For example, karma is often misused to denote luck, destiny or fate. Karma is also misused as a way to explain sudden hardships. Karma, a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to action is a core concept in some Eastern religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. Though its specifics are different depending on the religion, karma generally denotes the cycle of cause and effect — each action a person takes will affect him or her at some time in the future. This rule also applies to a person's thoughts and words, and the actions other people take under that individual's instructions. With karma, like causes produce like effects; that is, a good deed will lead to a future beneficial effect, while a bad deed will lead to a future harmful effects.