Download The Aryans

Ancient India
India
Land of Diversity
- Major Religions
1. Hinduism and Buddhism
- Diverse Languages
2. 18 Different Languages
a. Hundreds of Dialects
Indian Geography
Geography (much diversity)
1. subcontinent
2. shaped like a diamond
3. a number of core regions
a. Himalayas and Karakoram mountains (far
north)
b. Ganges Valley (just south of Himalayas)
c. Indus River Valley (west of the Ganges)
By 2500 B.C.E.
the entire
region was
dominated by
two cities
called;
Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro
Harappa-Mohenjo Daro
Harappa:
Traded with
Iran and
neighboring
regions in
India to the
east.
Mohenjo-Daro
Traded with
the Persia
Gulf and
Sumer to the
west.
Indus Valley Achievements:
• Writing
system
•Trading Seals
Writing
developed from
earlier trading
seals, which had
the merchants
name and
symbols of trade
items.
Terra Cotta Trade Seals.
• Peaceful
items like
toys
jewelry.
(Terracotta
toy cow with
Moveable
head.)
Jewelry
made of
gold, agate,
jasper, and
garnets.
•Wheel technology ca. 23002200 B.C.E.
•Standard weights and measures
based on ratio of 1/16th.
• The first
civilization
to cultivate
cotton and
make cotton
clothing.
•Cities had
sewer
systems;
because
bathing was
an essential
part of their
religion.
Religious beliefs:
•Great Bath Tanks were used for the
purification of the body & soul.
• Religion beliefs were centered on
the idea of an afterlife, thus bodies
were buried with personal items.
•Humpback bull;
Symbolized
leader,
whose
strength
protects the
people
•Priest
meditated
in yogi
style to
become
connected
with the
gods.
The Aryans
The Aryans
1. 2000 B.C.
2. Indo-European speaking
3. nomadic people
a. Siberia
- moved west (Europe)
b. moved south (India)
4. eventually controlled all of India
5. ancient culture of the Aryans
a. strong warrior people
b. organized into tribes
c. earlier Aryans had no written language
d. start farming (1500 – 1000 BC)
The Aryans
6. Sandskrit (1,000 BC)
a. written language
* Vedas
Organization of Society
The Caste System
1. invading peoples over conquered subjects
a. skin color
b. society Aryans took over more advanced
c. decided by caste
* skin color
* economic advantages
* position in society
Top Caste Brahmins
* ruling elites in Aryan society
* priests and warriors
Second Caste Kshatriyas
* were warriors
Third Caste Vaisyas
* commoners
* usually engaged in commerce
Forth Caste Sudras
* not Aryan
* great part of the Indian
population
* peasants artisans / manual labor
The Untouchables
Reasons for the caste system:
- It
was an attempt by the upper class
to freeze the economic system.
- It was imposed by a coalition of
priests and warrior-kings to maintain
control over the local population.
- It was created as an alternative to
open slavery.
Family in Ancient India
Primary Unit of Society
- extended family
1. three generations
-Patriarchal
- Superiority of men
1. no women priests
2. men only ones educated
Education
1. Guru
Family in Ancient India
Marriage
- marriages arranged
- women considered a minor
- divorce
1. women almost never
2. take second wife (if first wife
could not have children)
- children important
Sati (STOPPED IN 1800s)
Ancient Indian Economy
Subsistence Farming
- Indian civilization moves to around
Ganges River
1. Sharecroppers
2. Environmental Dangers
a. flooding
b. food shortages
Hinduism
Originated
- Aryan Religious Beliefs
- Vedas
1. hymns and ceremonies
2. oral tradition
Beliefs
- single force of the universe
1. Brahman
- Atman (individual self) to seek
ultimate reality
1. reunite with Brahman after Death
Fundamental Beliefs of
Hinduism:
- There
is no set dogma
(unquestionable truth) to Hinduism.
- Therefore Hinduism is a religion
with a variety of beliefs.
Hinduism
Reincarnation
- the individuals soul is reborn in a different
form after death
1. unite with Brahman
Karma (law of moral cause and effect)
- force of a person’s actions determining his
rebirth in a next life
a. consequences
b. Caste System
Dharma
1. divine law
2. demands different actions by
different members of society
The city Harappa was rebuil
due to flooding
The game chess began in Ind
Ancient Indians invented the
system and zero
They used anesthesia
No slavery was known of
They were the first ones to ca
It held the worlds first unive
They came up with navigatio
- Atman
– the soul of each individual
- Samsara – reincarnation, the soul
passes through a series of bodies
- Nirvana (Moksha)– release from
worldly life and unification with the
universal spirit (called Brahman)
Hindu Life Cycle:
- Youth; being educated by a Hindu Guru (teacher).
- Householder; leading your family in the ways of
Hinduism.
- Reflection; using the teachings in order to break
the cycle of bad karma.
- Meditation; the atman seeking communion with
the universal spirit.
- Nirvana; breaking the cycle of life and becoming
one with the universal spirit.
Hinduism
Yoga
1. a method to develop a oneness with god
2. four types of Yoga for different needs
of different people
a. path of knowledge
b. path of love
c. path of work
d. path of meditation
* still the mind to create oneness with
God
Hinduism Polytheistic ?
Hinduism
- Concrete Symbols
1. 33,000 Deities
a. Brahma the creator
b. Vishnu the preserver
c. Shiva the destroyer
2. Gods
a. different expressions of
the one ultimate reality
Holy Writings
• Vedas
– Ramayana
• Story of Rama (Vishnu’s Avatar and wife Sita)
– Mahabharata
• Story of two families warring in the Indus Valley
– Bhagavad Gita
• Part of the Mahabharata
• Conversation between Krishna (Vishnu’s Avatar)
and Arjuna
• Life, philosophy, and trusting God are the topics
The Five Principal Forms of Brahman
Shiva – The Destroyer and Transformer
•
•
•
•
Often depicted as slaying demons
Brings about life through destruction and rebirth
Often shown as terrifying; but sometimes as meditative
The Cosmic Dancer
Vishnu – The Preserver of Life
• At constant peace
• Is the foil of Shiva, but
they work together
• Wants humanity to
find people with all
living things
• Avatar (human form)
is Krishna
Devi – the Mother Goddess
• Protector of the
people
• Reincarnates as an
Aviator constantly to
protect
• Seen as the female
balance in the
universe
Surya – the God of Light
• Name means “supreme light”
• Depicted as being dawn by seven horses or one
horse with seven heads
• Brought light to the Earth and thus life
Ganesh – Remover of Obstacles
• The Child God
• Elephant headed
– Born that way?
– Beheaded by Shiva?
• Son of Shiva
• One of the most
popular
– Worshiped in Jainism
• Believed to get
people through tough
times
Trimurti – the Holy Trinity
• A popular sect
worships the Trimurti
• These three gods are
seen to be the most
important
– Brahma
– Vishnu
– Shiva
• Together they
represent creation,
preservation, and
destruction
Kali – Goddess of Time and Change
• Consort of Shiva
• Revered as the protector of her
people and bringer of death and
change
• Often depicted as dark-skinned and
wild
• Wears a necklace of human skulls
and a belt made of arms
• Often depicted with fangs and
wielding a sword
Jainism
• Sect of Hindus that
formed their own sect
in 500 BCE
• Founded by Mahavira
who believed that
Hindus put too much
into rituals
• Believe in ahimsa
(nonviolence towards
all living things)
Jainism
• Extreme Jains give
away all of their
possessions and live
as monks and nuns
– Some even sweep the
ground as they walk so
they won’t step on
insects
• Promise never to lie or
steal
• Non-monks fast for
spiritual enlightenment
Buddhism
Siddhartha Guatama (6th century BC)
1. Born 563 BC
a. ruling princely family
b. Southern Nepal (today)
2. Raised in the lap of luxury
a. trained to be a warrior
3. Married at 16
a. had everything
4. Dismayed by the troubles of the
world
a. spend his life trying to find a
cure for human suffering
Buddhism
5. Followed Ascetics
a. did not help and almost killed him
6. Followed Deep Meditation
a. one day sitting under a tree
* Bodhi Tree (wisdom)
* Nirvana (annihilation of the ego)
* finds the meaning of life and
enlightenment
b. Spent the rest of his life
preaching what he had learned
Four Noble Truths
1. Ordinary life is full of suffering
2. Suffering is caused by
desire to satisfy ourselves
3. The way to end suffering is to end
desire for selfish goals
4. The way to end desire is to follow the
Middle Path
Middle Path (Eightfold Path)
1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
The Four Noble Truths
No one can deny that suffering in the condition
of all existence
Suffering and general dissatisfaction come to
human beings because they are greedy,
possessive, and, above all, self-centered.
Egoism, possessives, and greed can,, however,
be understood, overcome and rooted out.
This rooting out can be attained by following a
simple plan (Eight fold Path)
Eightfold Path
First you must see clearly something is wrong
Next you must decide that you want to be cured
You must act and
Speak so as to aim at being cured.
Your livelihood must not conflict with your therapy.
That therapy must go forward at the “staying speed,” that
is, the critical velocity that can be sustained.
You must think about it incessantly
Learn how to contemplate with the deep mind.
Buddhism
Similarities
* Self Denial
* Concept of Nirvana close to Hindu Brahman
Buddhism v. Hinduism
* denied the ultimate reality of the of the
material world
* physical surroundings of humans were
really just an illusion
* pain/ poverty/ and sorrow caused by
attachment to things in this world
* people let go of worldly cares pain and
sorrow can be forgotten
Death of Sidhartha
1. 480 BC
2. Mushrooms
Spread of Buddhism
1. Spread through India and East
2. Monastic Movement
a. Stupas
3. The Bodhisattva