Download Hinduism & the Caste System

Class System
 Do you think people should be judged in
society by how much power, money, or
responsibility their job has? Why?
 __________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Hinduism & the Caste
System
The Beginnings of Hinduism
 In about 1500 BC, when the Aryans
invaded India, they brought with them
parts of their culture
 Their language Sanskrit, which the
Aryans believed was a holy language,
was spoken by the gods.
 The Aryans’ holiest books, the Vedas are
written in Sanskrit.
 These four books describe the Aryan
religion, which is originally called
Brahmanism and eventually Hinduism.
Hinduism
 Hinduism is one of the
world’s oldest religions.
 It has developed and
changed over thousands
of years.
 Brahman is the supreme
power of the universe.
 Brahman is not in the
form of a human, much
like Yahweh (god) in
Judaism.
The gods
 In Hinduism there are 3 main gods, but many
other lesser gods exist below them.
 The belief in more than one god is called
polytheism
 The 3 main gods are…
 Brahma the Creator
 Vishnu the Preserver
 Shiva the Destroyer
 The symbol of Hinduism is called “Om”
Brahma the Creator
 Creator of the Universe
 Hindu followers believe
all other gods originated
from Brahma.
 4 faces to see the
4 corners of the universe
Vishnu the Preserver
 Preserves the
universe.
 He is all powerful and
all knowing
 Role is to maintain a
balance between
good and evil
powers.
 To do this he returns
to Earth in many
forms.
Shiva the Destroyer or Purifier
 Shiva is responsible
for change both in the
form of death and
destruction.
 Many forms but most
famous is Lord of the
Dance.
Hinduism Teachings
 Hinduism teaches that people live many lives
until they reach spiritual perfection
 Belief in reincarnation: the soul lives on
after death and returns to life in a new
body.
 Those who live good lives will be reborn into
a higher social caste
 Those who live bad lives will return as lower
caste, could be an animal or an insect.
Teachings continued
In other words, a person’s life is measured by Karma.
 Karma: Good or bad things you have done that will
result in good or bad things happening to you.
 Good Karma will allow you to reincarnate to a higher caste,
bad karma will reincarnate you into a lower caste.
 Dharma: the belief that you should live an honorable
life and follow your caste’s rules.
 Moksha: like an afterlife or heaven.
Ultimate reward
of Hinduism: Released from Samsara (cycle of
reincarnation) and united with the universe (Brahman).

Caste System
 The priests used the
Vedas and the belief in
reincarnation to give
order to their society.
 The Aryan social
classes are divided
into 4 castes.




Priests
Soldiers and Rulers
Farmers and merchants
Common people
The Caste
 A person born into one caste could never
change castes or mix with members of
another caste.
 Caste members live, marry, and work
within their own group.
The Untouchables
 Below all the castes were
the untouchables.
 They did all the
unpleasant jobs of
society, such as garbage,
cleaning stable, or the
dead.
 Were thought to be
impure (dirty by nature)
 They had to avoid all
contact with the rest of
society.
Accepting the Caste System
 What made life under the caste system
bearable was reincarnation.
 Hindus believe that each person has a soul.
The soul is reborn, born again, in another
body.
 They believe that even though life might be
hard, if you obey the rules of your caste,
there is hope that you will be reborn into the
next life in a better caste.
In Summary,
Why have the Caste System?
 It kept order in society.
 People didn’t disobey or rebel.
 There was always the hope of good karma
leading to a higher caste in the next life.
***This allowed Aryan priests to keep
order in society for hundreds of years***