Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 17

is the predominant religion of the India subcontinent,

and one of its indigenous religions. includes Shaivism, Vaishnavism and rauta among numerous other traditions. It also includes historical groups. Among other practices and philosophies, Hinduism includes a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of "daily morality" based on karma, dharma, and societal norms. Hinduism is a conglomeration of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid common set of beliefs.

is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the

origin and support of the phenomenal universe.


Brahman

is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything in and beyond this universe. conceived as personal ("with qualities"), impersonal ("without qualities") and/or supreme depending on the philosophical school. Brahman is genderless.. is

Brahman

Lord Brahma

Lord Vishnu

Lord Shiva

Brahm (Sanskrit: ; IAST:Brahm) is the Hindu god (deva) of creation and one of the Trimrti, the others being Viu and iva. According to the Brahm Pura, he is the father of Manu, and from Manu all human beings are descended. In the Rmyaa and the Mahbhrata, he is often referred to as the progenitor or great grandsire of all human beings. Brahm's wife isSaraswati.

Vishnu (Sanskrit: ) is a popular Hindu god, venerated as the Supreme Being in the Vaishnava sect. He is also commonly known as Narayana or Hari. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of Panchayatana puja. The Vishnu Sahasranama declares Vishnu as Paramatman (supreme soul) and Parameshwara(supreme God). It describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master ofand beyondthe past, present and future, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. This illustrates the omnipresent characteristic of Vishnu. Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called "Preserver of the universe".

Shiva ( /v/; Sanskrit: iva, meaning

"auspicious one") is a major Hindu deity and is "the Destroyer" or "the Transformer" among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity.
He is considered the Supreme God within Shaivism,

one of the three most influential denominations in Hinduism, where as in other branches of Hinduism such as in the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of God.

The

Hindus have received their religion through revelation, the Vedas. They hold that the Vedas are without beginning and without end. It may sound ludicrous, that a book can be without beginning or end. But by the Vedas no books are meant. They mean the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons at different times. Just as the law of gravitation acted before its discovery by humanity, and would continue to act if all humanity forgot it, so is it with the laws that govern the spiritual world. The discoverers of these laws are called Rishis, and we honour them as perfected beings. Now the Vedas teach us that creation is without beginning or end. Science has proved to us that the sum total of cosmic energy is always the same.

SYSTEM OF BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

Hinduism does not have a "unified

system of belief encoded in declaration of faith or a creed", but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena originating and based on the Vedic traditions or the Sanskrit The Vedas.

Hindu society recognises and values interdependence. According to Vedic

theology, society can meet everyone's legitimate needs if the various individuals perform their respective duties. These duties embody the ideal of extending God's shelter to others. For this purpose, the system of varnashrama-dharma allocated specific duties to each varna and ashram. For example, the vaishyas were considered responsible for the animals; women were especially entrusted with nurturing children; kshatriyas were obliged to ensure the physical safety of citizens; and sannyasis were required to remind everyone especially householders of their spiritual duties.

The less fortunate were cared for within the extended family. Religious

obligations also included various forms of charity. For example, scripture obliges the householder to step outside the front door before each meal and to announce three times "Is anyone hungry? Please come to take your meal!" Only then would the family eat, with or without guests. Today, Hindu families are still renowned for their hospitality. Other acts of generosity include giving alms and clothing, and ritually feeding the poor, holy people and animals. A righteous life, whereby God is perceived in nature, naturally protects the environment. Planting trees and digging wells have long been considered to bestow considerable spiritual merit.

Hundreds of religious festivals fill the Hindus calendar. Festivals

are held in honor of deities, snakes, cows, rivers, hills, plants, ancestors and spirits. Other festivals are dedicated to eclipses, solstices, equinoxes, and the stars. Festivals may involve fasting, bathing, reciting chants, taking vows, lighting fires, games, gambling, drinking, and offering gifts to Hindu priests (brahmins). The Cluster of Lights (Divali or Diwali) in October or November four or five days, depending on the area in India. Homes are lighted with clay oil lamps and the windows kept open to welcome goddesses Parvati and Lakshmi into the home. The festival concludes with every Hindu male dining in the home of a sister, cousin, or other female relative and giving her gifts. Holi is celebrated in February or March to commemorate the youthful deity Krishna. Bonfires are lit and evil influences are symbolically burned. The birthday of Ganesha, the popular elephant-headed god of good luck, is celebrated in August or September. It almost seems that celebrating a festival is more important than the reason for doing so.

The ritual world of Hinduism, manifestations of which

differ greatly among regions, villages, and individuals, offers a number of common features that link all Hindus into a greater Indian religious system and influence other religions as well. The most notable feature in religious ritual is the division between purity and pollution. Religious acts presuppose some degree of impurity or defilement for the practitioner, which must be overcome or neutralized before or during ritual procedures. most religious action. Avoidance of the impure--taking animal life, eating flesh, associating with dead things, or body fluids--is another feature of Hindu ritual and is important for repressing pollution.

Purification, usually with water, is thus a typical feature of

In a social context, those individuals or groups who manage

to avoid the impure are accorded increased respect. Still another feature is a belief in the efficacy of sacrifice, including survivals of Vedic sacrifice. Thus, sacrifices may include the performance of offerings in a regulated manner, with the preparation of sacred space, recitation of texts, and manipulation of objects.
A third feature is the concept of merit, gained through the

performance of charity or good works, that will accumulate over time and reduce sufferings in the next world.

COMMUNITY STRUCTURE

In the Vedas, sacrifice is the central religious action; it was

thought to maintain and sustain the universe. The Brahmins had the exclusive knowledge of the Vedas and thus were the sole sacrificial priests; they chanted the sacred hymns and performed the many sacred acts that made up the Vedic sacrifices. There are, in fact, dozens of different sorts of religious leaders, some of whom might be compared to priests or clergy in the western religious context: these include gurus, yogins, swamis, pandits, acharyas, sadhus, rishis, and many others. The term guru is a Sanskrit word that is typically translated simply as "teacher." A guru is a particularly learned person, typically although not exclusively a Brahmin, who passes his (or, in some cases her) knowledge to his or her students. The role of the guru is extremely important in numerous contexts in Hinduism. The guru not only teaches, but also guides; thus a guru not only knows the sacred texts and the rituals, but also knows the abilities, capabilities, and needs of his or her students.

Hinduism has a strict code of conduct that its

followers should abide by in their daily lives. It consists of ten restrictions, or yamas and ten observations, or niyamas. This is the ethical and moral discipline of the Sanatana-dharma religion, without the support of which, spiritual progress would be absolutely impossible.

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi