Paper on Hinduism???

Question

I have to write a paper on Hinduism, but I'm not sure where to start. We have to use the historical development of Hinduism, it's beliefs/tenets, and it's reaction to internal/external influences to support a thesis that it's either an organised religion dependant on social construct or a philosophical school of thought. I'm trying to argue that it's an organized religion, but I don't know what evidence to use under the three categories above to support my thesis. I know that my question may not make a lot of sence, so if you have any questions just e-mail me.

Answer 1

Hinduism can be thought of as any of the above. If you are interested in Hinduism as an organized religion, you may want to attack it from the Vaishnava perspective. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a reformer who began the current succession if disciples and set on the scriptures to be used, you may want to start some of your research with him.

Answer 2

I just want to tell you that the answer Shaolt20... has offered is full of biased info.

I will most likely say this again and again at yahoo groups...

" If you only know about a part of something share the part you know, but if you think you know something be care full what you share."

I feel it very important not to continue to confuse each other with inaccurate information.

The info he added about Yoga is a topic you may for sure research.

Just please ignore statements like " there is no founder of the religion... " " there is no Universal Deity... " these and a few other comments are a bit contrived... I am sorry that our friend has reached some of his conclusions and wish for the best in their pursuit of knowledge.

...and moral perfection is not the ultimate goal of Hindhuism, but know that is a part for sure. And I must say that there is most certainly an afterlife within the construct of the Faith... but you must approach and aspect of the religion that observes it... some do not... this is a great misfortune.

some statements are entertaining but I am telling you do not be fooled by the merging into oneness philosophy.

There is a group within the Hindhu Faith which sees this oneness philosophy as spiritual suicide... to merge into a oneness.... with the concept of losing ones self into the great self... blah... really do you want to lose your self... does God really want you to lose your identity?

realize there is a huge rift in Hindhuism and this should be well known to all... there is a school known as Impersonal and a school known as Personalistic!

You will find that as many others on this site have been exposed to the impersonal philosophy, which is far more prominent in our world currently... but I am not saying that popularity defines the best view.

Please try to help one another, and don't be too misleading.

I apologize to any one who is not happy with this message in any way, please excuse me I am very ignorant in all respects.

Good Luck Sister, with your paper... but don't be too mislead, i would not like to see your grade suffer because of a lack of obvious information about the topic.

ob1

Answer 3

Hinduism (known as Hindū Dharma in some modern Indian languages[1]) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. In contemporary usage Hinduism is also referred to as Sanātana Dharma (सनातन धर्म), a Sanskrit phrase meaning "eternal law".[2]

With its origins in the Vedic civilization, it has no known founder,[3][4] being itself a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. It is the world's oldest extant religion,[5][6] and has approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 890 million live in India,[7] placing it as the world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Hinduism provides a vast body of scriptures. Divided as revealed and remembered and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound on a broad of range of theology, philosophy and mythology, providing spiritual insights and guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among such texts, Hindus revere the Vedas and the Upanishads and consider these as being among the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Tantras and the sectarian Agamas, the Purāṇas and the epic Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. The Bhagavad Gītā, a treatise excerpted from the Mahābhārata, is sometimes called a summary of the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8047_1.html
http://hinduism.about.com/od/hinduism101/a/tenets.htm

Answer 4

Well truthfully Hinduism is not an organized religion, there is no universal deity according to Hinduism except perhaps the Self. But your best bet might be to look at the different types of Yogas, for instance the "Path Through Love" is one of them, and they tend to have a chosen ideal. Gandhi for instance chose the Path Through Love, which is why he protested non-violently, and was also an admirer of Christ. His chosen ideal, of course, was Independence (from Britain).

There are others too, like the Path Through Work.

There is no "founder" of Hinduism or core tenets. Generally though the idea is to reach moral perfection, and you start as a low conscience entity (i.e. a rock) and eventually are reborn again and again as you make better moral decisions. In Christianity, the goal is to be born again and reach the afterlife, but in Hinduism the goal is NOT to be born again really. The goal is to reach moral perfection and once you do that you will essentially die once and for all, but your conscience will persist and will have eternal joy and awareness.

As far as their beleifs on a deity, really they have none except the Self. Notice the capital S. Your body is your "self" but your actual being is Self. They believe, in essence, that we are all part of the same conscience and what we perceive as our conscience is nothing but what is called the Collection of Souls, where the conscience of all is like a cloud hovering over them and enveloping them all.... And it is that conscience that they hope to become One with. It is roughly like a game of hide and seek. the Self is hiding from us and wants to see how long it can stay hidden, and we are on a search to find it.

Answer 5

Start here The Hindu Universe - Hindu Resource CenterLargest Hindu and Hinduism site on the net. Contains comprehensive introduction to Hindu dharma, complete text of 85 books, several scriptures, ...
www.hindunet.org/ - 101k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

then learn to google

Answer 6

Hello there!

My name is Mahadevan from Malaysia.As a practicing Hindu,and being spiritual guided by my revered Guru,Shri Nimishananda Guruji,let me share my personal perspective which may be of value to you in writing your paper.

First of foremost Hinduism is a way of life based on pure science hedged upon the principals of Sanatana Dharma(eternal truth).The word 'Hindu' was given by the Persians and later the English based on the Indus civilization which started along the Indus river.

With this eternal principles as the foundation,have bloomed many teachings.Some of this teachings have become a religion themselves.Religion is a combination of two words i.e 're' and legion.Re means to go back to as implied in return,remember,revert,etc.Legion means to follow a set of discipline diligently,like a legion of army.

As such religion simply means,returning to he ALMIGHTY ,the SOURCE,the COSMIC ENERGY called as GOD,following a set of discipline based on a certain teachings.For an example Christianity follows the christian discipline based on the teachings of Jesus Christ,Islam follows the teachings of Muhammad and Buddhism follows the teachings of Buddha.

This is what Sanatana dharma believes in - 'UNITY IN DIVERSITY".All roads lead to the same place of worship and all doors open to the same altar.

You can visit my website: www.shrinimishamba.org or write personally to my Guru at [e-mail].

Thank you,

sincerely
nimishadasan mahadevan

Answer 7

I have a couple of books. I'd check the library somewhere and Wikpedia.