Religion: Hinduism
1. Briefly describe the historical context of the emergence of the religion (where, when, who, why?)
Originated in India, cannot be traced to one individual. The term "hindu" was introduced by foreigners who were referring to people in the north of India. There are three main periods for its development: the ancient (6500 BC - 1000 AD), the medieval (1000 - 1800 AD) and the modern (1800 AD to now). It is often thought as the oldest religion in human civilisation.
2. What are the main distinctive beliefs of its adherents now?
Hindus mainly believe that there is an immense force that unifies all of existence, and is not known by humans. There are many separate gods and goddesses that represent this cosmic force. Every Hindu worships the deities that have a strong influence on their life/situation. They hope to form a connection between themselves and the deity.
3. For adherents of the religion, which is more authoritative; spiritual leaders alive now, sacred texts, individual perspectives?
It is mainly a mixture of sacred texts and individual perspectives.
4. What aspects of the religion do you find attractive and why?
I have always believed that there is something out there, something that we cannot understand, something bigger than us. What I like about Hinduism is that they also follow this belief. I also find that Hinduism is more about your individual take on the religion. I also agree with the idea of "the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution" and the idea of karma, of cause and effect
5. What aspects of the religion do you disagree with and why?
What I don't agree with is the idea of reincarnation, this is something that I have never been able to quite stomach. No matter what religion it is mentioned in. I also do not believe in creating temples or statues, or anything to worship. Yes, I do believe that there is a larger entity around us. But I do not think that it is right to live our lives for them or absolutely worship them.
6. How well do the TOK ways of knowing handle the approach to knowledge within the religion?
I think that all four ways of knowing: reason, sense perception, emotion and language are greatly involved in Hinduism. Sense perception and emotion are all affected by the religion, as the beliefs of an individual will form their view of the world and the way they feel about certain things. Language is also involved because in order to communicate the beliefs or ideas of the religion, you need language. Reason is possibly the one that is more against the religion, as logically it is hard to prove that these deities exist, or that reincarnation does occur. Yet there is also the idea that there are things in the world that humans cannot understand, and possibly never will. And isn't that religion? Trying to make sense of a complicated world?
