Hinduism
Hindu Religious Traditions
Ella Chaney
University of Phoenix
REL/133
Instructor Kenneth Farenick
March 11, 2009
Hindu Religious Traditions
Many of the great civilizations and cultures of the past believed in the sacredness of our planet, naming the gods after the sun, the earth, the moon, and stars, as well as the four basic elements: earth, air water, and fire. While we were inclined to think of ancient beliefs and stories of these peoples as primitive (e.g., the Hopi Indians, the Maya, the Babylon Epic of Gilgamesh, the Hindu Manu Simtri, the Chinese Sing-Li-Ta-Tsiuen-Chou), serious study is being given to references today as ecological resources that we may have sadly overlooked.
This paper will specifically study the Hindu tradition, probably the oldest living religious tradition in the world, not only in regard to the ecological values of the past, but their applications to the problems they face today.
The Vedic traditions of Hinduism have held forth various texts and rituals that glorify the earth, the atmosphere, and sky, as well as the goddess associated with the earth, and the gods associated with water (Ap), fire and heat, and the wind. The Hindu has noted a link that identifies that connects to or suggest of an underlying ecological sensitivity. These same concepts were later formalized into the Samkhya denotation of the five great elements earth, water, fire, air and space. The meditative and the ritual process of Hinduism involve a special awareness and employment of these parts of our everyday existence. The centerpiece of the great epic “Mahabharta” the Bhagavad Gita, variously dated between the 3rd century BC and the 4th century AD, is considered the highest expression of philosophical Hinduism. In the Gita, God is recognized in all things and all things are in God.
The Vedas a collection of hymns composed by the great spiritual seers and thinkers are a collection of Hindu wisdom which similarly...
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