Hindu
Transcript: Hinduism Hinduism is the world's third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. The religion of Hinduism started in Northern India, near the river Indus, about 4000 years ago Hindus actually only believe in one God, Brahman, there are different forms of Brahma. There are three most important Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Brahma,Shiva. Most Hindus have different forms of Brahma that they pray regulary to. Vishnu - Known as the Preserver Lakshmi - Goddess of Wealth - Wife of Lord Vishnu. Lakshmi is the goddess of light, beauty, good fortune and wealth. Brahma - known as the Creator. Saraswathi - Goddess of Wisdom - Wife of Lord Brahma. Saraswathi is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music and all the creative arts. Shiva (Siva)- known as the Destroyer. Parvati - regarded as a representation of Shakti. Parvati is the wife of Lord Shiva and the Godess of household and motherhood. Lord Muruga God of war and the patron deity of the Tamil land Jyoti Jyoti represents the power of the Ultimate Reality that understanding our minds Ganesha Date He was fully known during the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Appearances The Hindu god in a human form but with the head of an elephant. Powers First is the love and compassion that the good person naturally has for his or her immediate family The second power is the love extended to relatives, neighbors and friends. The third power of Lord Ganesha is this same love extended to all persons. ACCOMPLISHMENTS He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. Story One warm morning after her husband, Lord Shiva, left for the forest, the goddess Paravati decided to take a bath. As she went through her routine of locking up the house, she felt sad that she was all alone. Lost in her thoughts, Paravati began carving a boy out of some soap. She was so happy with her work that she brought him to life and named him Ganesha. Paravati asked the boy if he would stand guard and stop anyone from entering while she took a bath. Moments later, Shiva returned home quite thirsty. He was stopped at the gate by the boy. Shiva became angry that he was not allowed into his own home. Thinking that the boy was an thief, Shiva pulled out his sword and cut off the boy’s head. When Paravati came out and saw what had happened, she was very sad. Shiva ordered his troops to look in the forest and bring him the head of the first living thing they saw. The men went on their mission and found an elephant. Since Shiva had not said it had to be a human head, they brought back the elephant’s head. Desperate to calm down his grieving wife, Shiva joined the elephant’s head onto the body of the boy. Suddenly, Ganesha came back to life. Shiva made Ganesha the commander of all his troops. He also said that all events must begin with a tribute to Ganesh. To this day, all Hindu rituals begin with a prayer to Lord Ganesha. Ganesha The Hindu god in a human form but with the head of an elephant. He was fully known during the 4th and 5th centuries AD. He is the good god in Hinduism. Powers First is the love and compassion that the good person naturally has for his or her immediate family The second power is the love extended to relatives, neighbors and friends. The third power of Lord Ganesha is this same love extended to all persons. Ganesh And The River Kaveri In order to provide water to the arid southern region, the Sage Agastya got from Shiva a sacred water that filled his Kamandalu. He journeyed to southern regions of the country and reached the Kodagu ( Coorg) mountains. On the way he saw a young boy. In fact that boy was Ganesha disguised. The sage requested the boy to take care of the water. Ganesha already knew that Agastya wanted to create a river wherever it seemed favorable. So he put kamandalu on the ground. A crow passing by landed on the pot edge. When Agastya came back, he expelled the bird and it poured a small quantity of water on the ground, which became the Kaveri river. The place is still considered to be sacred and is known as Talakaveri.