Hinduism
Introduction by Scott B. Key
"Hinduism is indefinable. It is a vast conglomerate of religious beliefs and social practices. It is polymorphous, syncretistic, and has great powers of absorption. You can be an atheist, a pantheist, a materialist, a polytheist, and still be a Hindu."
"Hinduism is not so much a religious system as a vast complex of systems, not all of which are consistent with one another."
"How artistic that there should be room for such variety ? how rich the texture is, and how much more interesting than if the Almighty had decreed one antiseptically safe, exclusive, orthodox way. Although he is Unity, God finds, it seems, his recreation in variety!"
I. Introduction
A. An impossible task
B. A superficial introduction
II. Setting
A. Indian subcontinent
B. Rivers of life
1. Indus River
2. Ganges River ? holy river
C. Heat and Rain
1. November to February is the "cold" season
2. February to June is the "hot" season ? often very hot
3. June to November is the rainy season ? monsoons ? this is the only time of the year that it rains and without the rain no life is possible
III. History
A. Harappa culture
1. Indigenous people of India
2. Complex culture (see text)
B. Aryans
1. Indo-European
a. Entered India from the Northwest ? through present day Pakistan (which they invaded along with Persia or I ...