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Class System
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 Do you think people should be judged in
society by how much money they make?
Why?
Hinduism & the Caste
System
The Beginnings of Hinduism
 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.
Hinduism
 Hinduism is one of the
oldest religions still
practiced today.
 They worship three main
gods, (polytheistic)
 Brahma the Creator
 Vishnu the Preserver
 Shiva the Destroyer
 Below these gods are
many other lesser gods.
Brahma the Creator
 Creator of the Universe
 Believes all other gods
originated from Brahma.
 4 faces= 4 corners of
universe
 Holds a sacrificial ladle,
4 vedas, a jar of holy
water from the Ganges
River, has a necklace of
prayer beads, and sits
on a lotus flower
Vishnu the Preserver
 Preserves the
universe.
 He is all powerful and
all knowing
 Role is to maintain a
balance between
good and evil powers.
 In the universe 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.
 Halo of Fire-circle of
birth and death
 Crushes Dwarfdemon of ignorance
Hinduism Teachings
 Hinduism teaches that people live many
lives until they reach spiritual perfection
 Believes 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.
Other Hindu Beliefs
 Dhrama: ultimate moral balance of all things, person
must balance religion, social life, and family. If a
person makes a promise it must be kept at all costs.
 Karma: duty everyone must do duty with out
expecting a favor in return
 Moksha: like heaven, state of changeless bliss.
Ultimate reward= release from reincarnation and
united with God.
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.
 To the Indian people the caste system was
like the human body
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 though to be
impure
 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.