Hinduism

-no single founder or sacred text
-quickly became one the worlds most complex religions
-had priests and holy people
-holy places: temples filled with carvings of gods/goddesses
-sects: more devoted to one god than another
-most important hindu gods:
Brahma (the creator)
Vishnu (the preserver)
Shiva (the destroyer)
-most important hindu goddess:
Shakti (both kind & cruel, creator &destroyer)
-some sacred texts recorded in Vedas (upanishads were sections with mystic questions related to Hinduism)
-the goal of life for Hindu's is to achieve Moksha (a union with Brahman)
-must obey law of karma (refers to all actions of a person's life... good things, good next life, bad things continuously, stuck in the "wheel"
-to escape the "wheel" follow dharma (religious and moral duties of an individual)
-ahimsa: another key to mortality, non violence
-reborn into social hierarchy (caste systems used)
-caste: determines who you marry, friends, living location, and job