ASH3100 04 History of Asia 01 07 2013 Class Outline 1 9 2013 Asian religions India Hinduism Vedic Tradition Foundations believes the Vedas Aryans The Trimurti Brahma Vishnu Shiva Metaphysical Doctrines Samsara Karma and Moksha Dharma 4 Main Castes vernas 1 Brahman 2 Kashatriya 3 Vyasa 4 Sudra The Untouchables Acetic Traditions Buddhism Siddhartha Guantama 563 483 BCE Legend of the Great Renunciation Nirvana Sermons of the Middle Way the Eight Fold Path the Four Truths Theravada Mahayana Jainism Parshua 8th BCE Mahavira 540 468 BCE Three Jewels and Five Vows Hinduism literally means Indianism the name of the religion and practices was not given a name until the West arrived in India It was very pervasive across the country There is no definition for Hinduism some have attempted definitions but it is difficult to describe Hinduism It is an external belief mixing with indigenous religions as well Hinduism looks different all over India because of the different indigenous relations There is no individual that we can look to as a claim to the founding of Hindu There is no single holy work to look to There is no date or origination There is no standardized set beliefs and practices that are universally proclaimed by all There are over 800million Hindu followers 83 of Indians claim to be Hindu s There are Hinduism sects all over the country Hinduism is a religion as well as a way of life It is very pragmatic and flexible As all of the different people groups move into India Hinduism is able to take these new ideas that are coming in without loosing its core identity Core Values duty loyalty obligation understanding one s responsibilities within society and Ahimsa non violence this was added later into the Core Values How do you become a Hindu You have to be born into it You don t convert into it The origins of Hinduism can be seen by the Aryans a warlike group of people who came into India and discovered a great civilizations the Indis Valley Civilization The Aryans are thought to come into India in the 800 BCE it started as a oral tradition they began to write the Vedic text The Aryans began to settle down and become more sophisticated in India Who are we and what is our purpose The answer to these questions came out in the work The Bull was a common feature by the Indis Valley Civilization A goddess of fertility A phallic symbol was borrowed as well Vedic system was thought to be written over 2 000 years Political system the law philosophy expectations and norms for conduct within society love Kama Sutra comes from the Vedas written in prose and poetry The Aryans had great respect for nature and had appointed a god for almost everything in nature there is potential for 1 000 000 gods in Hinduism Some say it is polytheistic others say it is monotheistic Monotheistic Brahma is the only god all other gods are manifestations of him The Trimurti Brahma Vishnu and Shiva the three most important gods in India When the Aryans came the most important god was the God of War Brahma is the creator also to be considered the universal soul Vishnu is the preserver when things went wrong he would come in human form to set things right Shiva is the destroyer but also the regenerator he is not a bad god because he regenerates The three metaphysical doctrines Samsara this would be those successive life cycles or reincarnation Here in each life cycle the persons soul is being tested by Brahma to determine the status of that individuals Karma Karma determines where you go in the next life cycle good karma is needed for this Bad Karma meant you would be born into lower society A person s life goal was to try and improve their Karma Karma the sum total of a persons actions Are you good or bad Moksha when the successive life cycles come to an end at that end it is believed that the soul goes on to rejoin Brahma At this point the person has proven they have good Karma These values mean that society will be self regulating which is a common sight throughout the Asian countries At the heart of this all is Dharma There is no good translation it can be translated as duty law or obligations The caste system is very rigid but it also means that people followed their duty or dharma Which is why the people did not revolt or against the caste system People would behave and conform in order to be reborn higher up Dharma is hardest for the king He has the most responsibilities Hinduism is flexible able to absorb new identities and change with the times The Caste system is seen as inflexible The Aryans already had their own version of a caste system with warriors on top then priest then everyone else This changes over time and 4 main castes are created Brahman these are the priests flipped order from above They are the ones with the highest status in society they make the laws they have all of the privileges Kashatriya Warrior and Ruling Raja like the tiger in Aladdin these top two tiers by the Aryans they make the rules that help to solidify their power and position The Raja has the most responsibility he is the king The king is responsible for running and maintain the land protection of the people the Raja is expected to lead his men into battle he is responsible for the people s happiness and livelihood Raja is expected to be a highly moral individual highly educated and proficiently trained as a warrior He has the most at stake if he fails he could lose his opportunity to ever achieve Moksha This forces that the kings be good moral capable leaders who are looking out for the benefit of the people but just themselves The Raja if bad can be legally assassinated Education is only for the top two castes Vyasa merchants artisans farmers basically the skilled workers Sudra they hold the most menial jobs or the dirty jobs unskilled workers Over time a 5th group emerges The Untouchables they fall outside of the caste system Crime for example they are expelled from the area in which they live They would lose their caste Once you were outside of the caste there is no coming back from it They are doomed to this constant successive life cycle They were considered to be unclean they would defile anyone they came into contact with The number of those who constitute the untouchables 1 6 of the population was considered to be untouchable going into the 20th century This would be about 20million people This plagued Gandhi to prove that they were human The untouchable and the caste system becomes a problem for India There was some