Hinduism

Vocabulary and Concepts

• Vedas – holy books of Hinduism

• Reincarnation – belief that the soul is reborn and lives again in a new life

Vocabulary and Concepts

• Karma – the law of consequence. It basically says “what goes around comes around.” This means you will be rewarded for good actions and punished for bad ones. An important factor in how reincarnation happens.

• Dharma – a person’s appropriate behavior or duty in life. Fulfilling this duty will result in building up good karma.

Vocabulary and Concepts

• Caste system – a way of dividing up people into categories and ranking them. It is based on occupations.

• The Castes-1- Priests and scholars - Brahmans2- Warriors and nobles - Kshatriyas 3- Merchants and farmers - Vaishyas4- Laborers and servants - Shudras Untouchables – outsiders, or the lowest group,

whose souls are considered unclean.

Gods

• Brahman-the supreme spirit in Hinduism. The goal of Hindus is to unite their souls with it.

• Thousands of lesser gods, but all are forms of the supreme spirit.

Three Major Gods

-Brahma – the creator

-Vishnu – the preserver

-Shiva – the destroyer

Using the words

• Hindus believe in reincarnation, or the soul being reborn. If you follow your dharma, or role in life, properly, then you will build up good karma. You will then be rewarded when you are reincarnated by being born into a high caste in the caste system, which is a traditional way of ranking people based on occupations.