Beginnings of Hinduism

1. Beginnings of Hinduism pp. 142-9 All information in this PowerPoint is taken from Banks, James and all. World Adventures in time and Place. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

2. Vocabulary • Hinduism • Vedas • Caste system • Reincarnation • Dharma • Immortal • Brods over • Prey • subdued

3. Read aloud • Ancient Hindu writings tell the story of a father who used simple examples to teach his son about the meaning of life. One day he told his son to bring him a fig from a fig tree. The boy did so, and his father told him to split the fruit open. • “What do you see?” • “These fine {tiny} seeds.,” replied the son. • “Break one open! What do you see?” • “Nothing at all, sir!” • His father said, ‘Out of the finest element , which you cannot see-out of this finest element comes this big fig tree!” The boy was similar to the tree, he said. The father was teaching his son the Hindu belief that all life is connect by an invisible force.

4. The Big Picture • Key part of Hinduism- “link between a powerful, invisible force and everything in the world” • Source – Aryans • 800 million Hindus • Various ways of practicing this religion • Shared history extends back to ancient times in India

5. Writings of a New Religion • 1500 B. C. – Aryans migrate to subcontinent and have little in common with the Harappans • Different language • Different cultures • Different way of living • Harappand lived in great cities • Aryans moved around • Aryans began to assimilate • Began to farm • Began crafts • Harappans • Learned holy songs • Oral tradition • Collected in books call Vedas or “Books of Knowledge” • Learned about the world

6. The Vedas • Vedas the “building blocks of Hinduism” (p. 143). • Told • How to live • Explained life • Polytheistic • How people were created into four different classes • Priest – mouth • Princes – arms • professionals and merchants - legs • Servants - Feet - • Different Vedas • Rig Veda

7. Hinduism and Culture

8. The Caste System • Four classes became the caste system • Organizes people • Hundreds of different levels • Determines person’s place in society • Rank of the family • Priestly caste-highest • Study the Vedas • Teach others about the Vedas • Servant caste - born to serve the other castes • People control their caste • People move in a constant circle of birth, death, rebirth – REINCARNATION • Bad deeds of one lifetime must be paid for in the next life • Good deeds are rewarded in the next life

9. The Importance of Duty • Dharma – the laws and duties of a caste • Each caste follows dharma from Vedas regarding their cast • Hundreds of rules for each caste • Examples: • Servants must be cheerful when doing tasks • Merchant must produce and sell what they make • Priests had to work to support their families • Vedas told the jobs each caste could do • Purpose of Dharmas • To keep order in society • Disobeying resulted in ostracism or being “outcastes” • Outcasts were impure, untouchable and their shadow could not touch another (cleansing ceremony) • Children were likewise outside of social castes

10. Many Paths to Truth • Hinduism developed many forms • Special tasks • Vegetarianism • Non-Hindu experiences • Hinduism allows for different approaches • More than one god • More than one path of truth • Bhagavad Gita Vishnu says,” Howsoever,approach me, even so do I accept them; for on all sides, whatever path they may choose is mine.”

11. Hinduism today • Many gods worshipped • Vishnu – The One that is All • Shiva – The God of Time and Destruction • Devi – The Mother of All Creation • Favorite gods of a family worshipped today at home, in temples, and at special festivals.

12. A Changing of Religion • Holy books • Vedas • Epics • Adventurous stories • Changes in caste system • 1950 – unlawful to mistreat outcastes

13. Why It Matters • Hinduism is followed by hundreds of millions of people • Began from a blending of cultures • Honors many gods and goddesses • Continues to combine different cultures • Most now live in Present-day India and Pakistan • Has influenced the arts, science and society • Became the starting point of another world religions

14. Main Ideas • Hinduism is practiced in many different ways. It is one of the world’s oldest religions and has nearly 800 million followers today. • Aryan newcomers to the Indian subcontinents introduced sacred songs written in the Vedas. They became the foundation of Hinduism. • The Vedas supported a way of dividing society into four major classes of people. These four classes developed into the caste system.

15. Main Ideas (cont.) • An important theme in Hinduism is reincarnation. This is the idea that people live in a constant circle of birth, death and rebirth. • By following the dharma, or instructions, of the case, Hindus believe that people can break free of the cycle of reincarnation.

16. Think About It • What is dharma? Is it the same for all Hindus? • Why was it important for Hindus to do the duties expected of their caste? • FOCUS. What are the Vedas? What role did they play in the shaping of Indian culture? • THINKING SKILL Make hree generalizations about what can happen when different cultures come into contact. Base your generalizations about what you have learned about each of the ancient river-valley civilizations. • WRITING: Suppose you are interviewing a Hindu for a newspaper article. On a sheet of paper, write a list of question you would ask.

17. Indian Dance • Dance given to people from the gods, goddesses • Important part of Inadian life • Purpose • Story without words • Created for own sake • Natya means both dance and drama and both told stories of Hindu gods and heroes • Skills • Great skills required to perform these dances • Rules taught by Biharata a teacher who lived 1500 years ago. • He even told dancers how to move their eyelashes. • Today’s dance the same of 1000 years ago • Mudras- hand gestures often represent animals, plants or feelings

18. Hindu Terms • Hindu Terms • Atman The real self, the eternal life principle. • Brama The creator god • Brahman Ultimate Reality • Brahmin A member of the priestly caste, the highest class. • Dharma The teachings of virtue and principle • Karma The culminating value of all of one's life actions, good and bad, which together determine one's next rebirth and death. • Mahabharta One of the national epics of India. • Maya The power that produces the phenomena of physical existence. • Moksha The term for liberation from the bondage of finite existence. • Puranas Part of the Hindu scriptures consisting of myths and legends mixed with historical events. • Samsara The rebirth of souls passing on from one existence to another until release can be achieved, reincarnation. • Upanishads Part of the Hindu sacred texts containing treatises on the nature of ultimate reality and the way to achieve union with the absolute. • Veda The oldest of the Hindu scriptures, consisting of four collections of sacred writings. • Yoga The Hindu path of union with the divine. Any sort of exercise (physical, mental or spiritual) which promotes one's journey to union with Brahma. • References • McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today's Religions. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983. Twelfth printing, June 1992. • Written by Sara Wenner, 2001 • Menu