Devotion and Society

Om /Aum

●"Om is the one eternal syllable of which all that exists is but
the development. The past, the present, and the future are all
included in this one sound, and all that exists beyond the
three forms of time is also implied in it". – The Upanishads

●Symbol of Hinduism → oneness with the Supreme, merging
the physical with the spiritual

●Mystical mantra (word/sound used for meditation)

●Each letter in Sanskrit symbolizes the beginning, duration,
and dissolution of the universe (yugas)

●three letters also indicates three planes of existence, heaven
(swarga), earth (martya) and netherworld (patala)

●It also represents the Trimurti - three deities which embody
the cycle of the Brahman (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva)

●Virtually all prayers begin with the utterance of the AUM

Hinduism: Devotion

Hinduism: Devotion

Trimurti → embodies 3 forces/forms of the Brahman (not distinct persons, not distinctly knowable)

•Brahma

•creator of
the universe

•father of
dharma

•Vishnu

•Preserver/sustainer of life

•Many incarnations → ex. Rama, Krishna

•Shiva

•Destroyer

•Dissolves in
order to
create

•From his
meditation,
the Ganges
flows

Ganesha

●Ganesh

○Lord of success, destroyer of obstacles

○Head = atman

○body = maya (earthly existence)

○trunk = OM/AUM

○Wrote the Mahabharata

●Devotion to the Hindu deities is embodied in chants
and praise

●Sanskrit (sacred language for Hinduism) words

○Hare (Praise)

○Devo (God) - where word 'devotion' comes from

○Guru (teacher)

○Ashram (hermitage of a guru)

○Avatar (embodiment of a deity)

Hinduism: Devotion

Essential Question: What impact does

Hinduism have on society?

Caste System

●Each caste thought to be different parts of the
Cosmic Man (Vedas) – part of the cosmic order

●Varna – color or class

●Jati – “birth”, “kind”, profession
○thousands of different groups based on purity

○Avoid defilement that comes w/ contact w/ less
pure

○A person is in the same jati if they "convert"

○social hierarchy

●Outlawed but still exists

●4 main castes / hundreds of subcastes

●Souls reborn into higher & higher castes

●Basically same karma within caste

Hinduism Society

4 Castes
● Brahmin (bra-min)- highest; priests

who perform rituals

● Kshatriya (ky-sha-tri-a) -warriors &

administrators;
○ those who rule & protect society

● Vaishya (vice-ya)- producers:

farmers, merchants, artisans;
○ those who increase society’s

wealth

● Shudra (shoe-dra) - Servants &

laborers

Hinduism Society

Caste System’s Outcastes

●

“Outcastes” includes untouchables
○

perform lowest tasks in society

●

In recent decades: Untouchables have
gained some legal rights thanks to
Mahatma Gandhi.
○

Gandhi renamed the outcastes
Harijan, “God’s children.”

●

System is based on heredity.

●

One is born to a lifelong caste identity as
determined by one’s karma.

Hinduism Society

Dalit

● Synonymous with Untouchable

○ a name chosen for themselves

● Sanskrit: “oppressed, broken,

discriminated or shattered people.”

● "Dalit" has largely replaced "Harijan"
● Dalit is used to refer to all of India’s oppressed people

Hinduism Society

Dharma Symbolism

●

Swastika: perhaps the oldest religious symbol;
cross-cultural. Hitler used it as a sign of the
primordial, purest race (pre-Hindi).
○

From (“Vedic Dharma”) based on
philosophy of four Vedas.

●

Represents all 4 Vedas:
○

4 elements /4 directions

○

Unchanging / all directional and endless
nature of Brahman.

○

Symbol of divinity

○

Multi-religional

Hinduism Society

Four Goals of Life