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ADDITIONAL GEOGRAPHY
CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:
9. What were the benefits and
disadvantages of India’s location and
geography?
10. What info from this map do you
think will be most important in our
study of India?
Hinduism and India
•India is
considered to be a
sub-continent of
Asia
•India is located in
southern Asia,
south of China and
east of AfPak and
north of the Indian
Ocean
Ganges River
"nectar of immortality"
• 1560 miles long
• “Mother Ganges”
• Holiest river for Hindus
• Varanasi and Haridwar
are holiest cities on river
• Must bath in it’s water at
least once in your life
– Cleanse soul of sins
• Climate change can/will
play a major role in the
Ganges
• Hindus keep water from
river in their home
• One of the most polluted
rivers in the world
Hinduism Origins + Others:
• Oldest religion in world=pre-history
– Pre-2000 BCE
– No singular founder, evolved over time
– Worship in temples, most often alone-temples
dedicated to divine gods
Continued…
– 80 % of India today is Hindu=about 900 million
Hindus worldwide today!
– Very flexible religion, no rigid rules
– Flowers, incense, lamps are popularly found in
Hindu’s home or temple(s)
• Meditation and yoga are popular as well
– Satguru is an enlightened master in Hinduism-kind of
like a priest or imam
– Hinduism stresses non-violence!
Brahman and Multiple Gods
• Hinduism is polytheistic, really HENOTHEISTIC
or belief in a single god, Brahman above all
other gods
• REINCARNATION!!
• Soul is called atman
• Four Vedas
– Include hymns, stories, prayers
BRAHMA
• CREATOR OF UNIVERSE
• FOUR HEADS, FOUR
ARMS=REPRESENTING
THE FOUR VEDAS
VISHNU
• PRESEVER OF
UNIVERSE
• ETERNAL
• BLUE SKIN AND SIX
ARMS
• PEACEFUL,
MERCIFUL,
COMPASSIONATE
SHIVA
• DESTROYER!
• PURIFYING POWER
• LETTING GO OF
EVERYTHING-THINK OF
YOGA
IN HINDUISM, GODS APPEAR IN
MANY FORMS…
• GANESHA- removes obstacles, success,
beginnings, arts, intellect, wisdom
• DEVI- feminine, energetic, balances
masculine gods
• INDRA- weather and war
• RATRI- goddess of night
DHARMA, KARMA, SAMSARA:
• Dharma=law, obligations, duties in life
• Karma=position in life is determined by
actions in previous life
• Samsara=cycle of birth, death, rebirth
• Goal is to escape cycle or “MOKSHA”
CASTE
SYSTEM:
CASTE SYSTEM CONTINUED…
• Hierarchical in nature
• Restricted by caste:
– Marriage
– Food
– Occupation
– Dress
CASTE SYSTEM CONTINUED…
• Women treated unequally in system
• “Varna” is the term for each caste
• Once over 3,000 levels in system-some
Indians viewed each caste as a different
“species” of Indian