India is the world's largest democracy.[ January 9, 2013 ]Indian Religions Hinduism (Vedic Tradition)Hinduism means 'Indianism' / the name is fairly recent. Western men applied the name to categorize the traditions. There is no definition to describe what Hinduism is, because it is a combination of external beliefs combining with indigenous beliefs. Ancient India includes what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hinduism is very different in different regions. A. Foundations, beliefs, the Vedas There is no individual founder of Hinduism, no single holy work (i.e. Bible / Torah / Quran), no date of origination, no standardized beliefs/practices. It developed differently all around India. Hinduism today: over 800,000 followers / 83% of Indians consider themselves Hindu. Hindu communities are all around the world. Is Hinduism a religion? A way of life? Yes to both. For some, less religious, more cultural. It is pragmatic. It is flexible. Four Values:1. Duty 2. Loyalty 3. Obligation 4. Understanding one's responsibilities in Society 5. Nonviolence (*Ahimsa)You don't convert to Hinduism, you are born a Hindu. Aryans: came into India around 1,500 BCE, they were a war-like people, they encountered a great civilization, Hinduism is a combination of the Aryans beliefs and those of the Indus Valley civilization. Aryans were nomadic, but they settle in India. More sophistication. Begin questioning the meaning of existence, and the 'answers are in the Vedas'. Four Sacred Works, the Vedas: Vedic tradition because it is based on those sacred texts. They contain values, early history, sources of knowledge about the development of Hinduism. The Vedas are thought to have been written over a period of 2,000 years and they cover everything: political discourse, law, legal structure, philosophy, expectations & norms for societal conduct, sex (kama sutra). B. The Trimurti ; Brahma, Bishnu, Shiva Aryans had respect for nature, appointed a god for everything in nature, potentiallymillions of god within Hinduism. Hinduism is polytheistic. Some Hindus tell you that it is monotheistic, those that belief that there is one main god: Brahma, and all the other gods are manifestations of Brahma. The Trimurti: the three most important gods for Hinduism 1. Brahma, the creator, the universal soul2. Vishna, the preserver, he would come in human form to fix problems on earth3. Shiva, the destroyer but also the regenerator C. Metaphysical Doctrines: 1.Samsara: successive life cycles, reincarnation, 'universal souls are being tested by Brahma to determine the status of individual's karma'2. Karma: the sum total of a persons actions, karma determines where you go in the next life cycle, goal is to improve their karma by keeping their place in society, maintain loyalties, focus on duties & obligations. If karma is good, you can achieve Moksha.3. Moksha: when the successive life cycles come to an end, souls rejoin Brahma, the universal soul. This means that society will be self-regulating, they hold this concept of a self-regulating society where values are internalized within the individual, it is not forced upon them from the top. D. DharmaWe don't have a good translation of Dharma in English; we see it translated as duty, law, obligation. The concept of knowing one's place. Key to the self-regulation. People have to know their place because of the Caste system. It means people will accept their lot in life. Hinduism is flexible, it changes with the times, but the Caste is not flexible. When the Aryans came to India, they already had an early version of the Caste system, with the warriors at the top, below them: priests, and then everybody else in the third tier. Overtime, the civilization develops and with it, 4 main castes. E. 4 Main Castes (varnas):1. Brahman: priests, highest status in society, make laws, privileged 2. Kashatriya: warrior & ruling caste, kings or 'raja's' Two top tiers are dominated by the Aryans, solidify their position, the Raja has the most responsibility because he is the king. Protection of his people, when they go to war the Raja is expected to lead his men into battle. Raja is responsible for people's happiness and livelihood. Raja is expected to be a highly moral individual, highly educated, and proficiently trained as a warrior. If he fails, he could lose his opportunity to ever achieve Moksha. This is another aspect of self-regulation, to ideally make sure your kings are good, moral, and capable leaders. If the Raja is bad he can be legally assassinated. Education is limited to the top two castes, the Aryans. Bottom two castes are non-Aryans, the indigenous population of Indus Valley.3. Vyasa: merchants, artisans, farmers, and skilled workers4. Sudra: menial jobs in society, the 'dirty jobs', unskilled workers. 5. Over time, another addition to the caste system, the Untouchables. Once you are put outside of the caste system, there is no redemption; they are doomed to a constant life cycle of being untouchables, never able to achieve Moksha. They are considered un-clean and are discriminated against. The number of untouchables grew over time, about 1/6 of India's population are considered to be untouchables (30 million people). That is a lot of ostricization. This plagued Ghandi, who was burdened by that, who actively interacted with them to show they were humans too. Problem of untouchability became a problem for India. Civilization began to grow, became more organized, as cities build up rather than tribal organization, we start seeing rivaling states form, the Aryans wanted to maintain their position and supersede their power. They tweaked the laws. 8th/7th century BCE, they decided that those who constituted the two lower classes could never achieve Moksha, they denied them the hope of salvation. This is known as Brahmanic Tyranny: oppressive & arbitrary laws. There was an outcry against this tyranny. The Merchant class was upset, as they became wealthier through trade, they could not gain privilege or status. Merchant class, the Vyasa class, were disgruntled. Excesses of the Brahmans: Animal sacrifice was quite common in the beginning, the people revolted against these animal sacrifices. We see efforts to reform Hinduism, but these reform efforts give us two new religions, but they are NOT part of the Vedic tradition, they are not based on the Vedas, they are based on the Ascetic Tradition.II. Ascetic Traditions: not developed to be religious, almost atheistic in nature,