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morning!
Before we even start this morning’s trial lecture, I’d like to thank all of you in the
judging panel for an opportunity that I consider to be a great honor, specially when
speaking English, a language that makes everything sound a bit more serious, more
definitive.
In first place I’d like to introduce myself, I’m MSc. Juliana Pereira, historian, and
for this morning’s lecture the category is: Hinduism: Hindu beliefs and the Bhagavad
Gita.
Through its representations in western pop culture it is rather difficult to figure
out how Hinduism works: its practices, its aesthetics and its stereotypes are not enough
to give us the slightest perspective of such an ancient and complex belief system.
Bearing this in our minds, we realize that to squeeze some of its most important aspects
in 20 minutes is quite a challenge. Thus, we decided to stick with it’s basics in a topic
structure roughly expressed like this:
• Origins of Hinduism;
• Sacred writings and books;
• The belief system and its social practices;
• Activity proposal: Hindu faith in the western culture.
Origins of Hinduism
The Hinduism is considered to be a polytheistic religion. Many of its deities have
their own day to be worshipped on, as, for instance, lord Shiva (the Creator) is
worshipped on Mondays, but Hindus themselves do not have a specific day to attend to
the temple: they just do it as they feel like. The multiple scriptures and the absence of a
single leader who tells the way they should be interpreted broaden the range of how
rituals and practices can and are being carried out throughout India and Southeast Asia.
Other than India, the religion is practiced in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Malaysia,
Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom,
Canada and United States, making it the third most practiced religion in the world, after
Christianity and Islam.
Hinduism is considered by many to be the oldest active religion in the whole
world, with its name being traced to the ancient Sanskrit language, in which the word
“Sindhu” meant river and, later, by the time of the Muslim conquests in the Indian
subcontinent (from 12th to the 16th centuries), a variation of the word – Hindu –
pointed towards those who lived across that river. That means that Hindus didn’t
originally call their religion by that name but by their own name, the Sanatana Dharma
or The Vedic Darma, meaning something that we could roughly translate as The Eternal
Way. Unfortunately we have no word that can accurately explain what means the word
Dharma whether in English or in Portuguese.
According to scholars, the Hindu belief system has no founding father or single
leading figure, as its traditions derive from the most different origins and multiple
cultural and traditional roots. It indicates that the religion has evolved over time through
different types of main books and scriptures from which we can list a group of songs,
poems and prayers known as The Vedas.
A question for you, my legendary children: Which type of religious scriptures
are you familiar with? Have you ever read a religious scripture or, at least, part
of it?
This image shows a parallel between the nature of the Brahman and the Caste system,
in which:
• Close to his head are the Brahmins, who were determined to become priests and
scholars.
• In his arms are the Kshatriyas: the class of warriors from which kings and rulers
were chosen.
• As his legs were the Vaishas: the farmers, traders and merchants.
• As his feet were the labourers.
• And outside of the whole system were the Dalits, who, considered untouchables,
dealt with everything rotten, including human waste.
The ones who were born into the superior member castes were considered to be closer
of the Moksha, the salvation, the liberation of this eternal cycle of life and death and
the freedom to rejoin the universal spirit of Brahman
FUN FACT: Hinduism the only religion in the world that worship women goddesses.
Activity proposal
Is it possible to find references to the Hindu culture and belief in western pop culture?
Have you ever seen a reference in a movie, videoclip, song or anything else? Is it ok for
western artists to appropriate from elements of a foreign culture?
Do some research online and bring your samples to class so we can discuss them.
I will most certainly bring my own reference to class and hope you guys enjoy it ;)
Raja Gemini as a Hindu deity at RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5 Reunion (2013).