Hinduism

TERMS:
Hindus
Vedas
Rig Veda
varnas
Brahman
kshatriya
vaishya
shudra
pariah
samsara
moksha
karma
dharma
atman
Upanishads
Way of Action
Jatis
Way of Knowledge
Way of Devotion
Vishnu
Krishna
Shiva
Parvati
Kali
 
DATES:
1500-500 BCE Vedic Aryans in India
ca. 600-300 BCE Upanishads

TOPICS:
1. Origins for Hinduism can be traced back to the Vedic Aryan age of 1500 BCE.  There is no
    one simple definition of Hindu; in includes the worship of multiple gods and goddesses
    and allows for many different approaches in that worship.  Key is the belief in    
    reincarnation and the cyclical nature of life.  

2.  In the original Vedas, esp. the Rig Veda, religion was a matter of sacrificing to the many
    elemental gods (as in Dyaus the father god, Agni the god of fire, Indra the god of war,
    etc.).  But it was a very exclusive religion, and only served the needs of the brahmin
    (priests) and kshatriya (nobles).  The other social classes, the vaishyas (merchants) and
    shudra (peasants) were left out.  Later a fifth social class will be added, the pariahs, or
    the untouchables.

3.  In the Upanishads (c. 600-300 BCE), a text which is a response to the Vedas, the exclusive
    Brahminic religion of the Vedas becomes more inclusive to include all social classes
    (which become more rigidly defined as the Jati system, or caste system).  In the
    Upanishads, the concept of samsara, or redeath is introduced, as are the concepts of
    karma, moksha, dharma, and a redefining of Brahmin to mean the "absolute" or
    "universal."  Instead of sacrificial rites , there are the three ways:  of devotion, of action,
    of knowledge, which any Hindu can perform, and even more gods and goddesses to
    pray to.