Hinduism
Objective: To understand the origins, fundamental beliefs and spread of Hinduism
Reading Questions
1. Who brought the religion of Hinduism to India?
2. What are the Vedas?
3. Who is at the top of the Hindu Caste System? Why?
4. Define the following words: Brahman, Dharma, Moksha, samsara, Karma
5. Who are the Dalit?
6. Where did Hinduism spread? (not in the video only in the reading)
Reading Questions
1. Who brought the religion of Hinduism to India?
2. What are the Vedas?
3. Who is at the top of the Hindu Caste System? Why?
4. Define the following words: Brahman, Dharma, Moksha, samsara, Karma
5. Who are the Dalit?
6. Where did Hinduism spread? (not in the video only in the reading)
Origins of HinduismHinduism is one of the oldest religions. It started in the region of South Asia. It is also one of the world's third-largest religions, with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. It began somewhere around 2300 BCE and spread to parts of South East Asia. A people called Aryans from the Northern Himalayan Mountains migrated to the sub continent and brought the religion with them.
Hinduism had no historical founder nor a unified church. In fact Hindu traditions vary from place to place. Hinduism has varied gods, spirits, beliefs, practices and rituals depending on the region. This made Hinduism easily adaptable to the civilizations of the sub continent. Fundamental BeliefsFor many centuries Hindu traditions were transmitted orally. Around 600 BCE sacred texts known as the Vedas were compiled by priests known as Brahmins. These sacred texts were a collection of poems, hymns, prayers and rituals written in Sanskrit. The Vedas illustrated the lives of various gods. More importantly they were clearly patriarchal but upper class women had some freedom. Upper class women engaged in scholarship, religious debate, and could wear sacred clothing that symbolized purity. Brahmin priests were able to gain substantial wealth from the many elaborate ritual practices described in the Vedas.
To many Hindus, the Vedas and its ritual practices had become mechanical without spiritual meaning. From that dissatisfaction rose a new body of sacred texts called the Upanishads. The fundamental beliefs in Hinduism states that the human soul is part of Brahman, the supreme enteral force that controls the universe. Brahman exists in all living creatures as well as the Hindu gods. Human's goal was to join the Brahman. We seek salvation of the soul to reunite with the Brahman or moksha. Achieving moksha may take several lifetimes. Thus the idea of reincarnation or samsara became central to Hindu belief systems. Souls migrated from body to body over many centuries depending on the actions of the individual. If one behaved purely and according to one's station then you would be reborn into a higher social position. If you did not behave, you would be born into a lower caste or possibly a lower being such as an animal or an insect. That was the concept of karma. Hinduism SpreadsHinduism is considered an ethnic religion since it does not have missionaries and does not seek converts. However, Hinduism did diffuse to Southeast Asia leading to conversion of many Southeast Asians especially the elite that could use the caste system to legitimize their rule.
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Thus the caste system with ranked groups each with distinct duties took hold in India. The Hindu texts teach Hindus that they need to live out their Dharma or caste based duties that should be fulfilled. For example if one is part of the military then your duty is to protect the society. Unlike in most medieval societies, the Hindu caste system has the priests on top followed by the kings and military then the merchants with the peasants at the bottom. The priests are at the top because they are the closest to reaching salvation of the soul.
In the Hindu caste system there is also a group called the Dalit or "untouchables." Dalit is a word that can mean oppressed, broken or crushed. The Dalit are marginalized and kept out of the caste system altogether. They are segregated and treated poorly in Hindu society. For the most part they do all of the dirty jobs no one wants to do. |