Download Chapter 7 Indian Civilization

Chapter 7
Indian Civilization
Hinduism and Buddhism
Early India 2500 to 1500 B.C.E
The first known Indigenous people of
the Indus valley were known as the
Dasas, or Pre-Aryan. They built
complex cities around the Indus and
Ganges Rivers…
The Vedic Period
1500 to 300 B.C.E
Sometime around 1500 B.C.E.
peoples from Russia and Central Asia
begin to settle in Northern India.
• Brought early forms of language,
Sanskrit… and Hinduism.
Hinduism
Ganesha (centre) with Shiva (top left),
Devi (top right), Vishnu (bottom left)
and Surya (bottom right);
The word Hinduism derives from the
word Sindhu, the Sanskrit name for
the Indus River. The Indus and the
Ganges River were used to purify...
Hindu worship focuses on a pantheon
of gods/supernatural…
In Hinduism the ideal life has four
basic basic goals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcrZr6aNHfw
1)
2)
3)
4)
Dharma: human righteousness
Artha: accumulation of success
Kama: pursuit of spiritual love
Moksha: release from pleasure
Hindu Gods…
At the Center of Hindu religious
thought is the idea of BRAHMAN
(sometimes called Brahmanism)
Brahman is best explained in 3 Gods:
1. Brahma: source of being the
creator…
1. Vishnu: the preserver,
forgiveness, and love…
1. Shiva: the destroyer, disease and
death…
Brahma, the god who created knowledge and then universe
Hindu Gods cont.
• Vishnu is usually described as
having dark complexion of waterfilled clouds and having four arms.
•
He is depicted as a pale blue
being, as are his incarnations Rama
and Krishna.
• Vishnu holds a lotus flower in
his lower left hand. Mace in his
lower right hand. Conch in his
upper left hand. Discus weapon
in the upper right hand…
Four Armed Vishnu
Vishnu cont…
The Sudarshana Chakra is a
spinning, disk-like weapon with 108
serrated edges used by the Hindu
god Vishnu.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tKT-dKp07M
Four Armed Vishnu
Hindu Gods cont.
The main iconographical attributes
of Shiva are the third eye on his
forehead, the snake Vasuki around
his neck, the adorning crescent
moon, the holy river Ganga flowing
from his matted hair, the trishula as
his weapon and the damaru as his
musical instrument.
• The word is derived from the
Sanskrit root śarv-, which
means "to injure" or "to kill”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqC1QrFSBBA
Hindu Class
Structure
Among the worship of multiple
gods and natural forces, the social
structure of India is largely based
on the division of society into
four distinct classes, or castes…
•
•
•
•
Group of Brahmanas, 1913
Brahmins - Priests
Kshatriyas - Warriors
Vaishyas - Merchants
Shudras - Servants
• Dalits, or outcasts… fall outside
of the main four…
“Untouchables”
Brahmins – Priests
At the top of the social order, the
Brahmins serve as Hindu Society’s
priests, leaders, seers, and religious
authorities…
• Brahmins attained the highest
spiritual knowledge…
• Begin the study of the vedras
early in childhood…
• Responsible for religious
rituals in temples and
homes… Births, weddings,
birthdays, pilgrimages, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=442Yb2XXZQo
Kshatriyas - Warriors
In ancient times were Hindu
society’s kings and aristocratic
warriors, but more recently have
been its administrators, politicians,
and civil authorities.
• It was considered their duty
(dharma) to acquire knowledge
of weapons and governance.
• The science of weaponry
(dhanurveda) was one of the
13 branches of learning.
• Allowed to take up trade and
choose their wives.
Untouchables – The Dalits, are seen as “untouchable” and
therefore avoided by members of other castes.
• The word "Dalit” means "ground", "suppressed”, or "broken".
• The untouchables clean the streets, sewers, and vegetation…
• Clean up after major events and dispose of the dead…
•
Dalits are born into their status…
Dharavi is a slum in Mumbai, founded in the 1880s during the British colonial era. The colonial government expelled
Dalits, along with their traditional profession of leather and tannery work, from Mumbai (Bombay) peninsula to create
Dharavi. Currently, about 20% of the Dharavi population are Dalits, compared to 16% nationwide. Dalits live together
with other castes, tribes, and Muslims, who constitute 33% of Dharavi's population.
Dharavi has severe problems with public health, due to the scarcity of toilet facilities, due in turn to the fact that most housing and 90% of
the commercial units in Dharavi are illegal. As of November 2006 there was only one toilet per 1,440 residents in Dharavi. Mahim Creek, a
local river, is widely used by local residents for urination and defecation, leading to the spread of contagious diseases. The area also suffers
from problems with inadequate drinking water supply.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_0X0wIvqVM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTSRHiOA2Ag
Buddhism
One of the most widely practiced
religions/philosophies that
encompasses a variety of traditions,
beliefs and spiritual practices largely
based on the teachings of Siddhārtha
Gautama, more commonly known as
Buddah.
• Buddha lived and taught in the
northeastern part of India sometime
between the 6th & 4th centuries BCE.
• The ultimate goal is the attainment
of the sublime state of Nirvana, or
ENLIGHTENMENT.
• The three Jewels of Buddhism:
Buddha, Dharma, Sangha…
The Buddah
• The Buddha's birthplace is
argued to be in Lumbini…
• His father, is said to be King
Śuddhodana head of the
Shakya clan…
• The center capital of the
Shakya was Kapilavastu…
• Given the name Siddhartha
"he who achieves his aim”.
• Baby would either become a
great king or a holy man.
The Dharma
In Buddhism dharma means
"cosmic law and order”, and is
applied to the teachings of the
Buddha…
The Four Noble Truths are at
the center of Buddhist teachings.
1. The truth of dukkha
(suffering, anxiety,
unsatisfactoriness).
2. The origin of dukkha,
selfishness, and desire…
3. The cessation of dukkha…
At the age of 35, Siddhartha sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree
in the town of Bodh Gaya and vowed not to rise before achieving enlightenment. After many days,
he finally destroyed the fetters of his mind, thereby liberating himself from the cycle of suffering and
rebirth, and arose as a fully enlightened being (Skt. samyaksaṃbuddha).
Buddhism is practiced by an estimated 488 million, 495 million, or 535 million
people as of the 2010s, representing 7% to 8% of the world's total population.
China is the country with the largest population of Buddhists, approximately 244
million or 18.2% of its total population. They are mostly followers of Chinese
schools of Mahayana, making this the largest body of Buddhist traditions. Mahayana,
also practiced in broader East Asia, is followed by over half of world Buddhists.