India

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India

• India is why we love Social Studies

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Chapter 3.3 3.2 Empires of India

• Hinduism and Buddhism
• The Beliefs of Hinduism
• No single founder or no single sacred texts like
  most major religions
• Probably happened slowly over time and began when
  the Aryans added the gods of the Indus people to
  their own gods
• More gods added later making Hinduism very
  complex with countless gods and goddesses and
  many forms of worship
• Still, all Hindus share certain basic beliefs

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Many Gods or One? All of the universe is part
of the unchanging, all-powerful spiritual force
called Brahman Brahman is too complex a force
for most people to understand, so they worship a
variety of gods that give a concrete form to
Brahman
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Most important godsBrama, the CreatorVishnu,
the PreserverShiva, the DestroyerAll gods can
take many forms human or animal, and also has his
own family
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Sacred TextsHindu teachings were recorded over
several thousand years in the Vedas and
UpanishadsThe Bhagavad-Gita spells out many
ethical ideas central to Hinduismduty over
personal desires
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The Goal of LifeEvery person has an essential
self or atman (another name for Brahman)The
ultimate goal of existence is achieving moksha or
unison with BrahmanA person must free themselves
from selfish desires that separate them from
Brahmancannot do this in one lifetimeReincarnati
on is the rebirth of the soul into another bodily
form and allows people to continue working toward
moksha through several lifetimes
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Karma and Dharma
Can come closer to moksha by obeying the law of
karma Karma is the actions of a persons life
that affect his or her fate in the next
life Hindus rank all existence
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Humans are closest to Brahman Then, animals,
plants, and objects like rocks and water If you
live a virtuous life, you are reborn at a higher
level of existence If you do evil, you acquire
bad karma and are reborn into suffering Endless
cycle of rebirth is symbolized by the image of
the wheel in Indian art
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Dharma

• Dharma is the religious and moral duties of an
  individual
• These duties vary according to class, occupation,
  gender, or age
• By obeying dharma, a person acquires merit for
  the next life
• Escape the wheel of fate by following dharma

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• The concepts of dharma and karma helped ensure
  the social order by supporting the caste system
• Another key moral principle of Hinduism is ahimsa
  (uh HIM sah) or nonviolence
• All people and things are aspects of Brahman and
  should be respected
• Many holy people have tried to follow the path of
  nonviolence

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• Opposition to the Brahmins
• 500 BC Mahavira (muh hah VEE ruh) founded Jainism
  (JIN ihz um), a new religion that grew out of
  Hindu traditions
• Rejected the idea that Brahmin priests alone
  could perform certain sacred rites
• Emphasized meditation, self-denial and an extreme
  form of ahimsa
• To avoid accidentally killing even an insect,
  Jains carried brooms to sweep the ground in front
  of their feet

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• Gautama Buddha The Enlightened One
• Siddhartha Gautamabeliefs eventually spread
  through Asia to become the core beliefs of one of
  the worlds most influential religions
• Early Life
• Born about 566 BC to a high-caste family
• Prophet said because of mothers dream, that he
  would someday become a wandering holy man
• Father kept him in the palace surrounded by
  comfort and luxuryhe married, had a son, and
  lived a happy life

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• The Search
• Rode beyond the palace wall one day and saw a
  sick person, an old person, and a dead person
• For the first time, he became aware of human
  suffering
• Said goodbye to his wife and set out to find the
  realm of life where there is neither suffering
  nor death

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• Wandered for years seeking answers from Hindu
  scholars and holy menfasted and meditated
• Stayed under a giant tree, determined to stay
  there until he understood the mystery of life
• For 48 days, evil spirits tempted him to give up
  his meditations
• Finally, he arose as Buddha, the Enlightened
  One

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The Four Noble Truths

• 1. Life means suffering
• 2. The origin of suffering is attachment
• 3. The cessation of suffering is attainable
• 4. The path to the cessation of suffering

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• Four Noble Truths
• Spent the rest of his life teaching others what
  he had learned
• In his first sermon, he explained the four noble
  truths that lay at the heart of Buddhism
• All life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow
• The cause of suffering is the desire for things
  that are really illusions, such as riches, power,
  and long life
• The only cure for suffering is to overcome desire
• The way to overcome desire is to follow the
  Eightfold Path

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• The Eightfold Path was right views, right
  aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right
  livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and
  right contemplation
• The first two steps involved understanding the
  Four Noble Truths and committing oneself to the
  Eightfold Path

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• Next, a person had to live a moral life, avoiding
  evil words and actions
• Through meditation, a person might at last
  achieve enlightenment
• The final goal is nirvana, union with the
  universe and release from the cycle of rebirth

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• The Buddha saw the Eightfold Path as a middle way
  between a life devoted to pleasure and one based
  on semi-denialstressed moral principles such as
  honesty, charity, and kindness to all living
  creatures

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• Buddhism and Hinduism Compared
• Both stressed nonviolence and believed in karma,
  dharma, moksha, and a cycle of rebirth
• Differed in several ways
• Buddha rejected the priests, formal rituals, and
  many gods of Hinduismurged each person to seek
  enlightenment through meditation
• Buddhists rejected the caste system offering the
  hope of nirvana to all regardless of birth

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Spread of Buddhism
Many were attracted to Buddhism Set up
monasteries and convents for meditation and
studysome became major centers of learning Death
is clouded in legendat age 80 supposedly ate
spoiled food and gave advice to work out
salvation with diligence
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• Sacred Texts
• Works collected into a sacred text called the
  Tripitaka or Three Baskets of Wisdom
• Example of one of the baskets includes Hindu
  emphasis on duty or the Buddhist version of the
  Golden Rule

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• Two Sects
• Missionaries and traders spread Buddhism across
  India to many parts of Asia
• Buddhism split into two major sects or smaller
  groups called Theravada (ther uh VAH duh)
  Buddhism and Mahayana (mah huh YAH nuh) Buddhism

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• Theravada is close to Buddhas original teachings
  and required a life devoted to hard spiritual
  work
• Only dedicated seekers, like monks and nuns,
  could hope for nirvana
• Spread to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
• Mahayana made Buddhism easier for ordinary people
  to follow
• Even though Buddha had forbidden followers to
  worship him, they pictured him and other holy
  beings as compassionate gods for help in solving
  daily problems as well as achieving salvation

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• Buddha had said little about the nature of
  nirvana, but the Mahayana described an afterlife
  filled with many heavens and hells
• Spread to China, Tibet, Korea, and Japan

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• Decline in India
• Buddhism slowly declined in India
• Hinduism eventually absorbed some Buddhist ideas
  and made room for Buddha as another Hindu gods
• A few Buddhist centers survived until the 1100s
  when they fell to Muslim armies that invaded India

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Pillars of Indian Life

• The Complex Caste System
• Complex Rules
• Castes were linked to Hindu beliefshigher castes
  were purer and closer to moksha than someone form
  a lower caste
• Web of complex rules governed every aspect of
  life
• Where people lived, what they ate, how they
  dressed, and how they earned a living
• Rules forbade marrying outside ones caste or
  eating with members of another caste
• High caste people had the strictest rules to
  protect them from the spiritually polluted, or
  impure lower castes

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• For the lowest-ranked outcastes, ro
  Untouchables, life was harsh and restricted
• Impure jobs such as digging graves, cleaning
  streets, or turning animal hides into leather
• Other castes feared that contact with the
  Untouchables could spread pollution
• Untouchables had to live apart and sound a wooden
  clapper to warn of their approach

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• Despite inequalities, caste ensured a stable
  social order
• People believed that the law of karma determined
  their caste
• While they could not change their status in this
  life, they could reach a higher state in a future
  life by faithfully fulfilling the duties of their
  present caste

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• Caste system gave people a sense of identity and
  interdependence
• Each caste had its own occupation and its own
  leaders
• Caste members cooperated to help one another
• Each caste had its own special role in Indian
  society as a whole
• Although separated, different castes depended on
  one another for their basic needscarpenter built
  house of a scholar
• Caste system also adapted to changing conditions
  absorbing foreigners and new occupations into
  their own castes

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Family Life

• Ideal family was the joint family in which
  parents, children, grandchildren, uncles, and
  their offspring shared a common dwelling
• Only achieved by the wealthy because others did
  not live long enough
• Still, close ties linked brothers, uncles,
  cousins, and nephews
• Indian family was patriarchalfather headed the
  household
• Enjoyed great authority
• Still, power was limited by sacred laws and
  traditions and he usually made decisions after
  consulting his wife and other family members
• Property belonged to the whole family

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Children and Parents

• From an early age, children learned their family
  duties which included obeying caste rules
• Family interests came before individual wishes
• Children worked in the fields with older
  relatives or at a family trade
• Daughter learned at an early age that she would
  have to serve and obey her husbands family
• A son learned the rituals to honor the familys
  ancestorsdeepened family bonds through the
  generations

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• Parents had to arrange a good marriage for their
  children based on caste and family interests
• Marriage customs varied
• In Northern India, a brides family provided a
  dowry or payment to the bridegroom and financed
  the wedding festivities
• After marriage, the daughter left her home and
  became part of her husbands family