Quick-Write: 8/30
Decline of the Indus River Valley civilizations - -
Aryans -
Aryans
Aryans and Vedas
Aryans and Vedas
Aryans and Vedas
Aryans and Social Order
Aryans and Social Order -
Caste System
Caste System Brahmans (priests) Kshatriya (warriors and officials) Vaishya (merchants and artisans) Shudra (peasants and laborers) Dalit, or untouchables outside the caste system Kshatriyas and Vaishyas are usually the upper classes and have the means to pay for these rituals and services. It s not like going to church every Sunday, there s a lot of festivals throughout the year and if they can pay for these rituals, that is very good. The shudras cannot really afford to pay for these rituals but they can attend them. It s not as purifying as paying for them, but it is a way to purify yourself. So paying for the rituals is better karma than simply attending the ritual.
Caste System
White string across chest means that they ve come of age as a religious person and can perform rituals. Born once as a baby, then born a second time when you ve come of age and you can start doing the rituals. Not like being born again in the christian sense, but kind of like confirmation.
Caste System Basically this means they cannot get any good Karma, which means their stuck! It makes it incredibly difficult to recover from whatever awful things that you did in a previous life. They can still do good things and good deeds, but it is very difficult to improve your next life. There s less opportunity for good karma.
Hour after hour Untouchtables break rocks to repair a railbed in Rajasthan. They will earn one or two dollars a day. Because of their huge numbers Untouchables now number 160 million, or 15 percent of India's people many have had to leave their villages to seek work beyond their traditional caste occupations. Yet most Untouchable migrants merely exchange one kind of backbreaking labor for another, working in fields, construction sites, brick kilns, and stone quarries.
Hinduism India 3000 B.C.E. Spread throughout India Stationary Beliefs, Practices, Holy Books Brahman-supreme force: Gods are manifestations of Brahman (Vishnupreserver, Shiva-destroyer) Reincarnation. Dharma: rules and obligations. Karma: fate based on how dharma was met. Significance Caste System: Rigid social structure, born into caste, must perform certain job, or Jati. Ganges is sacred river, performance of rituals
Hinduism Hinduism: a collection of religious beliefs that developed slowly over time; no one founder Origins & beliefs 750-500 BC Hindu teachers create Upanishads - texts of teachings each person has atman - soul united with all others in Brahman in reincarnation, people reborn to new lives a soul s good & bad deeds, karma, determines course of new life Hinduism changes & develops over last 2500 years, different forms of gods now in importance today, Hindus choose own path to moksha - a state of perfect understanding/freedom from rebirth
Hinduism & Society Hinduism strengthened the caste system New religions arise Jainism - 500s BC; will not harm any creature; practice religious tolerance
A Hindu Rebirth Hinduism is remote from people by time of Mauryan empire Hinduism moves toward monotheism: gods all part of one divide force chief gods: Brahma: creator of the world Vishnu: preserver of the world Shiva: destroyer of the world
Buddhism develops: Almost 1/5 th of the world s people today practice Hinduism or Buddhism.
Buddhism Origins & beliefs Siddartha Gautama founder of Buddhism raised in isolation as a prince, wants to learn about the world seeks enlightenment (wisdom), and how to escape human suffering tries many methods; gains enlightenment by meditating returns, becomes Buddha: enlightened one Buddha begins to teach followers
Preaches 4 noble truths - basic philosophy of Buddhism Fourth Noble Truth is to follow the Eightfold Path to achieve nirvana: a perfect state of understanding a release from selfishness & pain break the chain of reincarnation & rebirth Buddha rejects caste system & multiple gods of Hinduism
The Four Noble Truths Life is filled with suffering The cause of all suffering is people s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world. The way to end all suffering is to end all desires. The way to overcome desires & attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path (the Middle Way)
The Eightfold Path Practice meditation Control your thoughts Resist evil Free your mind of evil Say nothing to hurt others Work for the good of others Know the truth Respect life
Buddhism Beliefs, Practices, Holy Books Significance India, Nepal 563 B.C.E. Spread throughout India, China, Japan, S.E. Asia Missionary Religion Founded by Siddhartha Guatama No Supreme Being Buddha Enlightened one Four Noble Truths Life is suffering caused by desire, follow Eight Fold Path Nirvana, state of perfect peace and harmony path may take several lifetimes: Reincarnation, Dharma, Karma Theraveda: meditation, harmony, Buddha not a god (Lesser Vehicle) Mahayana: more complex, greater ritual, reliance on priests. Buddha a No Caste system, appealed to lower classes. Not attached to social structure, spread rapidly to other cultures. Ashoka adopted Buddhism. Force of cultural diffusion via trade, Silk Road, missionary Religion
The religious community some followers devote lives to religion, become monks & nuns many followers at first among poor & lower classes monks & nuns spread Buddha s teachings teachings written down & become sacred literature Buddhism in India spreads to other parts of Asia; never gains firm hold in India; Hinduism remains strong
Trade & the spread of Buddhism Buddhism spread by traders to : Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Sumatra, China Korea, Japan Buddhism changes Mahayana sect: Buddhists accepting new doctrines of worship, salvation Theravada sect: Buddhists who follow teachings of Buddha wealthy Buddhist merchants build stupas - stone structures over relics
http://youtu.be/rrgf2x9z14k