HinduismCPD4

 Hinduism
 * Hinduism is one of the oldest world traditions. It is the third largest religion, trailing Christianity and Islam. It does not have a single founder; instead it is many smaller religions mixed together. ﻿ **

History
 * There is no founder of Hinduism. Essential, it is many smaller [[image:http://www.rivervalleycivilizations.com/images/c_indus_map.jpg width="151" height="191" align="RIGHT" caption="a map of the Indus River Valley"]]religions that were combined into one large one. It is said to have started in the Indus River Vally, India, in 1500 B.C. **

Beliefs
 * Hindus do not believe in a single god. Instead, there are many gods for different things, all of which[[image:shiva.jpg width="288" height="450" align="LEFT" caption="a picture of Shiva. note the mutipul arms, a trait all deities have"]] are forms of the supreme Brahma, or avatars of him. For example, Shiva is the goddess of of destruction. The other main gods, called deities, are Vishnu, Shakti, Brahman and Lakshni. They are all equal in power. **

Places of Worship


 * Hindus worship at special temples called Mandirs. In Mandirs there are shrines to their various gods. Above all the shrines are towers, to protect the shrines. The shrines are treated like real people and are clothed, bathed, and fed. Only Pandit, Hindu Priests, can enter the shrines to perform those tasks, though. [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Neasden_Temple_-_Shree_Swaminarayan_Hindu_Mandir_-_Power_Plant.jpg width="963" height="606" align="BOTTOM" caption="A Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir" link="@http://www.elgoog.com/"]] **

Religious Holidays


 * Hindu's holidays include Holi, and Devali. Holi celebrates the coming of spring and the festival of[[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41438000/jpg/_41438728_holi.jpg width="290" height="210" align="RIGHT" caption="A typical Holi Celebration"]] colors. It is celebrated by throwing colored powder and water at each other. Devali is the five day festivle of lights. It is celebrated between mid- October and mid- November. It celebrates the triumph of good over evil. Hindus light oil candles to signify just that. [[image:http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/diwali_lights.jpg width="416" height="369" align="LEFT"]]**

The Vedas is the Hindu bible. It is written in Sanskrit, an ancient non- western language. It contains all the things Hindus believe in. It is divided into 4 sections called the Rig Vedas, Book of Mantra, the Sama Vedas, Book of Song, the Yajur Vedas, Book of Ritual, and the Atharva Vedas, Book of Spell.
 * Ved﻿as[[image:http://bikramsth.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/vedas.jpg align="right"]] **

The Caste system is a way of putting people into different social classes. The only way to move from Caste to Caste is to be reincarnated. whether or not you move up or down depends on your Karma. Karma is everything you say or do, positive or negative. for an explanation of the different Castes, see the figure to the right. Below the caste system is another group called the Untouchables. to become an Untouchable either your parents are Untouchables or your parents are from two different Castes.
 * And Finally, **
 * The Caste System[[image:http://www.historyhaven.com/wiki/images/6/6c/Caste_system_1.jpg align="right"]] **

By Tristan Protzman