Discussion: Hindu Symbolism

Description of Assignment:

In Hinduism and other religions, symbols represent a specific motive, feeling, or idea relevant to the religious journey of the individual or community.

First, view the following website: http://www.hinduwebsite.com/symbolism.asp

Within the site, Symbolism in Hinduism, the author contains 12 links to articles exploring the symbolic within Hinduism. These topics are the following:

The Vedic Deities
The Trinity of Gods
The Ganges and the Lord Siva
Shri Hanuman
The True Meaning of Sanyasa
The significance of the Four Yugas
Purusha and Prakriti
The Participants in the Gita
The Churning of the Oceans
The Symbolism in the Vedas
The Vehicles of Gods and Goddesses
The Symbolism of Puja
After reading one of the above articles, accomplish these tasks in separate paragraphs.

1. First, describe how the symbolism within the article relates to a concept within Hinduism. For example, how does the Ocean relate to the concept of reincarnation? (Find a different concept for explanation. I simply provide this example to show you how you might approach this topic.)

2. Next, compare and/or contrast the symbolism within Hinduism with another religion or a sect within another religion. (If you do not know of any other religions except for the ones we have studied, you may have to accomplish some outside research.) For example, how does the symbolism of the ocean in Hinduism relate and differ from the ocean imagery in Wicca or Christianity?