AGENDA4.1 Reading Quiz

Early India & Hinduism NotesSacred Religious Texts Worksheet

4.2 (?)

Homework:Read “Hindu Beliefs” Handout and answer

questions #1-4

Early IndiaSeptember 2015

Main IdeasEarly civilization arose in the

Indus River Valley, flourished, and then died out

The Indus River Valley civilization thrived from 2500 BCE – 2000 BCE

Later, India’s Vedic civilization developed a culture based on old and new beliefs.

Note!BCE Before Common EraLike “BC”

CE Common EraLike “AD”

Snapshot of India

India is a country in South Asia

2nd largest population in the worldCapital: New DelhiLanguages: Hindi &

EnglishReligions: Hinduism,

Islam, Christianity Hinduism = 80% of

population

GeographySubcontinentLarge landmass that juts out from a larger

continent

3 Geographical ZonesMountains Hindu Kush & Himalayas

Deccan Plateau Dry

Northern Plains Fertile soil

Monsoons Heavy winds and heavy rains Both helped and hurt early peoples

Indus Valley Civilizations

First civilization along Indus RiverGuessed to be about 2500 BCE

Remains show complex cities and villagesWell planned and designed Suggests a functioning government

Economy focused on agriculture and tradeTraded both locally and great distances

Little is known about Indian culture and civilizationBelieved to be a single society vs. many states

Decline…

Thrived from about 2500 BCE – 2000 BCE

Best guesses for decline…FloodsFamineOver-farmingOther natural causes

Aryans moved into the Indus Valley around 1500 BCE – not sure if they caused the collapse or if they followed it

AryansA group of Indo-Europeans that migrated

into the Indus River Valley from the Caucasus Mountain Region

Aryan = Sanskrit world meaning noble

Little known about them

Sacred literature, the Vedas is all the archeologists have on themHence the name “Vedic Period”

Vedic PeriodSociety:Smaller villages than IRV civilizationSome villages grouped together under

regional leaders known as rajasRajas were also war leaders

Society was divided into four varnas (caste system)

Caste SystemDivided into 3 classes or castes:Priests (Brahmins) – highest ranking,

fewest in numberWarriors (Kshatriyas)Peasants (Vaisyas)

Non Aryans made up a fourth class (Sudras)

Caste System

People treated according to position in caste system

Born into caste for life

People outside caste system = “untouchables”Gravediggers, butchers, trash collectorsConsidered “impure”

Hinduism

Hinduism – Quick Facts

80% of the population in India practice Hinduism

World’s 3rd largest religion

Called “one of the oldest living religions”

No single founder

Where did Hinduism come from?

Named after the people on the southern side of the Sindu (Indus) River, as described in the Vedas, an ancient text

Ultimately spread through out the subcontinent, absorbing cultural and religious practices, but continuing to claim the Vedic tradition

Hindu ScripturesVedas: hymns of praise dating from

second millennium BCE; contain information gods, riturals, varnas (castes), duties of priests

Upanishads: reflections on the Vedas

Epics: Ramayana and MahabharataBhagavad-Gita is a 700 verse scripture that is part of the Mahabharata

Hindu Scriptures

Using the textbook, fill in the scriptures chartExplain what each scripture is how it is

important to Hinduism

God - BrahmanThe Universal Soul or Supreme power

To access and understand the workings of God in the world, people worship and pray to other manifestations of God

God is also trinity ofBrahma – creator Shiva – destroyer Vishnu – preserver

BeliefsDharma

Karma

Samsara

Moksha

Dharma“Law of being”

Principle or law that orders the universe

Individual conduct in conformity with this principle

Sacred duty

Both spiritual and practical

Dictated byCasteAgeStation in life (single, married, parent, child)

KarmaAll deeds (even small ones) have an

effect (negative or positive)

The state of one’s soul (atman)

Cumulative impact of one’s actions

Your actions now impact your next life

SamsaraThe continuing cycle of the soul’s birth,

death, and rebirth

Reincarnation: the rebirth into another living form

Whether one achieves rebirth into a higher or lower station is result of karma

MokshaThe release from samsara (release from

the cycle of rebirth)

Reaching moksha is THE goal of spiritual Hindus

The merging of the individual soul (atman) with the Universal Soul (Brahman)

In Short…The way to achieve moksha is to fill

one’s dharma (duties)

Fulfilling one’s dharma allows a person to create good karma