Download Hinduism and its development thought

Hinduism and its development thought-out the time
Hinduism is the most complex religion of the religions of the world and traces its
beginnings to the third millennium, although the history of Hinduism begins with the
migratory waves of Aryan people to India in the second millennium. The religion that
the Aryans brought with them mingled with the religion of the native people, and the
culture that developed became classical Hinduism.
India was invaded and conquered by
nomadic light-skinned Indo-European tribes from Central Asia around 1500-100 BC,
who overthrew an earlier and more advanced dark-skinned Dravidian civilization from
which they took most of what later became Hindu culture. The Aryans were remarkably
expansionist, and almost everywhere they went they conquered and subjugated the
indigenous peoples, imposing their languages, religious beliefs on the natives, and
receiving in turn contributions from the peoples whom they conquered.
The Aryans are believed to have brought with them the horse, developed the Sanskrit
language and made significant inroads in to the religion of the times. All three factors
were to play a fundamental role in the shaping of Indian culture. Cavalry warfare
facilitated the rapid spread of Aryan culture across North India, and allowed the
emergence of large empires. The Aryans did not have a script, but they developed a rich
tradition. They composed the hymns of the four vedas, The Rig-Veda, The Sama-Veda,
The Yajur-Veda and The Atharva-Veda; the great philosophic poems that are at the heart
of Hindu thought.
They also developed the caste lines; their social framework was
composed mainly of the following groups: the Brahmana (priests), Kshatriya (warriors),
Vaishya (agriculturists) and Shudra (workers). It can be said that the caste system was a
subsequent addition or adulteration that was introduced in good faith at around 2000 B.C
for the sake of social order and social welfare by Sage Manu in what are now known as
Manu Smrutis or laws of the Hindu Religion.
The caste system as conceived by Sage
Manu was, no doubt, accepted by all without exception or question for a long time when
the population of India was very small, the economy was rudimentary and the
government was based on different shades of monarchy. The concept of democracy as we
understand it today was unknown. Under these circumstances, the caste system served
well as a form of division of labors in which each individual had a role to play according
to his mental and physical endowments on a hereditary basis to ensure uninterrupted
continuity in the provision of the needed services and goods.
The Hindu religions
characterizes for believing and worshiping many Gods, with the close of the classical
period, changes were gradually introduce into the religion of India.
Although, the existence of many Gods was still acknowledge, interest tended to
center on the worship of a few major deities, who were however worship in many forms.
Worship came to be love and devotion to these Gods. There were temples built for the
three main Gods which are, Shiva- The destroyer, Vishnu- The preserver and, BrahmaThe creator of the world- Who is the ultimate reality is at the core of Hindu thought.
Hinduism offers its devotees many paths. Before this temples were built there was a very
careful process performed. The first step towards the construction of a temple was the
selection of the land. Even though any land may have been considered suitable the
necessary rituals were performed for its sanctification, the ancient text nevertheless have
the following to say in this matter: “The Gods always play where groves, Rivers,
mountains and springs are near, and in towns with pleasure gardens.” Not surprisingly
thus many of the India’s ancient surviving temples can be seeing to have been built in
lush valleys or groves, where the environment was particularly suitable for building a
residence for the Gods. Temples act as safe heaven where ordinary mortals like us could
feel themselves free from the constant vagaries of everyday existence, and communicate
personally with God. Individuals may find relieve from life by devotion to one or more
of the Indian Gods. They may also give full religious attention to all of the Gods by
worshiping at their temples, offering sacrifices, praying and supporting the priests of the
temples. In this manner it is believed that the Gods are supposed to look with favor upon
its devotees, support the believers in life and help with the struggles of life.
In postclassical Hinduism, people could choose one or more Gods and devote
themselves to those Gods and their temples. This was one of the most acceptable and
convenient path for most people. An equally and acceptable way for those who could
follow it was the way pf knowledge (jnana-marga). For the ones that that had the time to
spend studying the various philosophical implications of sacred writings, the way of
knowledge had merit. The way of knowledge in Hinduism refers to the various systems
of philosophy (darshan). These systems are Sankhaya, Yoga, Mimansa, Vaisheshika,
Nanya, and Vedanta. All claim to be based on the Vedas, all aim at release and all
believe in rebirth and pre-existence.
The Law of Manu is at some point related to the rebirth and pre-existence, it is
more explicit concerning the duties of the four Verna. It specifies particular occupations
for each of the social groups, which are seen divinely ordained. The first three of the
Verna are called “twice born” and the fourth the Shudras, “once born” members of each
group have specific duties (dharma) and opportunities and must obey them only. In the
first stage of life the typical upper-caste Indian male is supposed to be a student, studding
the Vedas and giving careful attention to a teacher. In the second stage he is to become a
householder and marry within his caste. On the third stage, a Hindu man may retreat to
the forest and live there for some years as a hermit, meditating and offering sacrifices.
During this time he learns non-attachments to the thing of the world. Finally when the
hermit life is completed, Hindus, may become wandering beggars ( sannyasi). These four
stages are only the ideals of the twice-born males (the three higher castes); the role of the
Shudra is to serve the higher castes; the four stage of life are only for woman who are
supposed to stay home under the control and protection of the chief male of the
household.
After doing some research and reading of Hinduism, I have come to the
conclusion that Hinduism as one of the most complex religions of the world has gone
through a series of major changes and has also faced a great advancement since its early
stages that has at some point impacted the way inhabitants look at religion. Nonetheless,
the arrival of the postclassical Hinduism opened many paths to its practitioner letting
them choose their Gods and methods of devotions and worships. It has been
extraordinary instructive at the same I have expanded my knowledge about Hinduism.
The following richa (sookta 42) prayer of Rigveda is one of the interesting
ones:
It says the following:
Hey Poosha god, please remove our dukhah (bad times), please destroy our sins.
Please be our leader. The violent, theif, gambler people want to rule us, please take
them away from us. The people who stop people in way, who loot us and who are
cruel take them away from us. You destroy the angry people who encourage
Adharma (bad karma). We pray you for our protection. Your protection had helped
our ancestors who could develop.
This tells the following:
1) Indians(Bhartiyas) did not like violent people, they were the one who were
aboriginal and were attacked by foreigners.
2)In rigvedic time and also earlier than that indians (bhartiyas) were attacked from
its west boundaries. And because people who loved vedah survived, obviously tells
that such attempts failed. Invaders could not destroy Indians, they could destroy
Mohanjodero, Gandhar but it does not mean that they could destroy peace loving
Indians, or its Vedah (knowleadge) or its culture, which was spread from Gandhar
(Kandhar) till Indonesia and Japan.
3)The same trend continued till Alexander and finally Mohammad of Ghor, who
was an invader and plunderer was defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan. Great king
Prithviraj spared Mohammad's life , but finally he became victorious in 1192 AD
centuary and Bharat became under the rule of people with tiny hearts, who imposed
Zazia tax and converted indians to Islam by killing and terrorizing. Current Mulims
in India are our brothers/sisters whose/ours ancestors had to suffer first.
Sources:
http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_frawley.html
http://www.indhistory.com/aryan.html
http://www.indembassyhavana.cu/culture/culture-history-aryans.htm#Top
http://www.chennaionline.com/festivalsnreligion/Articles/castesystem.asp
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/hindutemple
http://www.geocities.com/dipalsarvesh/indexAryan.html
Found On: http://www.geocities.com/dipalsarvesh/indexAryan.html
The following richa (sookta 42) prayer of Rigveda is one of the interesting ones:
It says the following:
Hey Poosha god, please remove our dukhah (bad times), please destroy our sins.
Please be our leader. The violent, theif, gambler people want to rule us, please
take them away from us. The people who stop people in way, who loot us and
who are cruel take them away from us. You destroy the angry people who
encourage Adharma (bad karma). We pray you for our protection. Your
protection had helped our ancestors who could develop.
This tells the following:
1) Indians(Bhartiyas) did not like violent people, they were the one who were
aboriginal and were attacked by foreigners.
2)In rigvedic time and also earlier than that indians (bhartiyas) were attacked
from its west boundaries. And because people who loved vedah survived,
obviously tells that such attempts failed. Invaders could not destroy Indians,
they could destroy Mohanjodero, Gandhar but it does not mean that they could
destroy peace loving Indians, or its Vedah (knowleadge) or its culture, which was
spread from Gandhar (Kandhar) till Indonesia and Japan.
3)The same trend continued till Alexander and finally Mohammad of Ghor, who
was an invader and plunderer was defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan. Great king
Prithviraj spared Mohammad's life , but finally he became victorious in 1192 AD
centuary and Bharat became under the rule of people with tiny hearts, who
imposed Zazia tax and converted indians to Islam by killing and terrorizing.
Current Mulims in India are our brothers/sisters whose/ours ancestors had to
suffer first.