NATIHinduism-Jackie

= __//**Hinduism**//__ =

**Who are the Hindu Gods?**
The Hindu religion believes in a supreme spirit they call Brahman. Brahman is their supreme and highest God. They also believe in many other gods. One of their main gods is the which includes Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. Vishnu is the preserver and the savior. He is the preserver of the universe and the incarnation of goodness and mercy. In icons and images of Vishnu is represented with a human body, often with blue colored skin and with four arms. He also holds four objects representing things he is responsible for. Shiva is the destroyer. He is responsible for the change of both death and destruction. In images of Shiva he has a blue face and throat. He also has a third eye that represents the wisdom and insight that Shiva has. Brahma is believed to be the creator of everything in the world. He also originated from the original creator Brahman. Icons of Brahma represent him with four bearded faces, looking in all different directions, and also with four different arms. Even though the Hindus have many gods, those are the main ones.

** Does Hinduism have founders and who are their religious leaders? **
Hinduism has no recognized founder, but they did have a famous leader. His name was Mohandas Gandhi. Mohandas was born on October 2nd, 1869 and died on January 30th, 1948 by assassination. Gandhi stood up for what he believed in and was an incredible leader. He organized many protests and campaigns for things like poverty, woman's rights, discrimination, etc. He was a great leader and probably one of the most famous of all time. He is the only leader of the Hindu religion.

**What is the place of worship?**
Hindus worship in three places. At home, in a temple, at a street-side or road-side shrine. The home of a religiously observant Hindu is the location of two types of worship.One worship would be the rites that are probably older than the Vedas themselves. Vedas are a large body of texts originating in Ancient India. The second worship would be the households that have a small shrine to the gods important to that house. In some temples they may do for everyday worship, and it may be visited on special occasions. Small shrines to are on country roads and city streets. Those are the three places of worship for Hindus.

**Where did this religion begin and where is it practiced today?**
The Hindu religion began in the Indus Valley about 4,000 years ago. It takes up about 14% of the world's population. It's mostly in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and is spreading to the U.S, Canada, and U.K.

**What are their religious festivals and how, when and why do they celebrate these festivals?**
One religious holiday or festival they celebrate is Dewali. Dewali is their New Year. They also celebrate Holi. Holi is their spring festival in which they celebrate because of the return of spring. In this festival they splash colored water and do many other things. That's two festivals the Hindu religion celebrates.

**How do they worship and practice their beliefs?**
In the temple they take their shoes off, wash their feet and ring a bell. When they go to a shrine they purify themselves, ring a bell, and "aum".

**What are the sacred writings for Hinduism?**
The sacred writings for the Hindu religion would be Upanishads. The writings also consist of The Verdos which include Rig Veda, Sama Veda, and Yajur Veda. They use Sanskrit as they're language in the sacred writing as well.

**What are the main beliefs of Hinduism?**
Hindus believe in many different things. They believe in Karma which is the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation. They also believe that the soul is internal and everlasting. Another one of the things they believe in is that all living things are sacred. The last thing they believe in is that Bindi and Tilak are for good luck.