Download Varnas

If YOU lived there (short
notebook entry)


Your family are skillful weavers who make
beautiful cotton cloth. You belong to the
class in Aryan society who are traders,
farmers, and craftspeople. Often the raja of
your town leads the warriors into battle. You
admire their bravery but know you can never
be one of them. To be an Aryan warrior you
must be born into that noble class. Instead,
you have your own duty to carry out.
HOW do you feel about remaining the rest of
your life as a weaver?
Some things to look
for.
 Caste
system
 Varnas
 Sutras
Indian Society Divides
 Aryan
society + More complex = divided
into groups
 These groups were organized into
people’s occupations and had rules
about how different groups interacted.
 These were called the Varnas.
The Varnas, the
social divisions.
According to the Vedas, there
were FOUR main varnas.
Varnas
Brahmins
- priests
Kshatriyas
- rulers & warriors
Vaisyas
- farmers,
craftspeople, and
traders
Sudras
- laborers and NonAryans
The Caste Sytem
 Rules
became stricter.
 As time went, each of the varnas in Aryan
Society was divided into castes, or groups.
The caste system divided Indian society into
groups based on a person’s birth, wealth, or
occupation.
Roots of Hinduism: The Vedas


The Vedas (“Wisdom”) were
collections of prayers and
hymns of the Indo-European
Aryans who migrated into
India around 1500 B.C.
The Aryans developed a
social structure with sharp
distinctions between
individuals and groups
according to the
occupations and roles in
society
 These distinctions
became the basis of the
caste system
 Brahmins (priests) were at
the top of the caste
system
Fanciful depiction of the
Indo-Aryans entering India
Roots of Hinduism: The Vedas

The Vedas required ritual sacrifices by which
the Aryans hoped to win favor of the gods

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Gods required constant attention
Proper honor for the gods required households to
have brahmins perform no less than five sacrifices
per day
As time passed, many Aryans, to include the
brahmins became dissatisfied with the sacrificial
cults of the Vedas, viewing them as sterile rituals
rather than genuine means of communicating
with the gods
Sought something to satisfy their spiritual longings
Caste RULES
 To
keep each caste “special” or
“distinct”, the Aryans developed sutras,
guides.
 The sutras listed rules for the caste system
 Example - you can’t marry someone from
a different class.
More strict rules
 Forbidden
for people from one class
to eat with people from another
 IF
YOU BREAK THE RULES could be
banned from their homes and their
castes, which would make them be
called UNTOUCHABLES!
Review
 What
is the Varnas?
 What were the four varnas?
 What are they?
 What did the Varnas develop into? WHY?
 What is the sutras?
 What were some of the rules in the sutras?
 What could happen to someone who
broke caste rules?
Brahmanism
 Religion
became an important part of
Aryan life even before they moved to
India.
 Because of the priests being called
Brahmin, the Aryan religion was called
Brahmanism.
The Vedas



Aryan religion
was based one
the Vedas.
There are FOUR
Vedas and
each had
sacred poems
and hymns
THE OLDEST was
the RIGVEDA
Other Vedas: Teachings of the
Upanishads
 Most
Vedas had religious
rituals. (Performing
sacrifices)
 Use of FIRE.
 Rituals that certain people
could performs.
Shiva: The Lord of Yoga
meditating on Mount Kailasa
in the Himalayas
Brahmanism to HINDUISM
 Eventually
ideas of the texts began
to blend with other cultures like
people from Persian and Asia and
finally became Hinduism.
Hindu beliefs
 Many
gods
 Major ones
Brahma the Creator
Siva the Destroyer
Vishnu the Preserver
 Hindu’s believe that all
these three make up
one spirit = Brahman
Life and rebirth
 Everyone
has a soul = atman.
 The person has one goal to reunite with
the Brahman because world is an illusion.
 Souls are born and reborn=
REINCARNATION!!!!!
 Their new life depends on their karma the
effects that good or bad actions have on
a person’s soul.
Buddhism Today: the Dalai Lama

Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th
Dalai Lama


Unsuccessfully tried to
protect Tibet’s rights after
China invaded

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His followers consider him a
living Buddha, the
incarnation of the Buddha of
Compassion
Ultimately fled to
Dharamsala, India where he
currently leads Tibet’s
government in exile
Won the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1989
In 2007 China made it illegal
for the Dalai Lama to
reincarnate without
government permission!