Chapter 3: Ancient Indian Civilizations

1
Chapter 3 Ancient Indian Civilizations

• Section 3 Hinduism and Buddhism

Hindu Aum - represents the Supreme Being,
Brahma
Buddhist Wheel of Life
2

• The Story Continues
• From the unreal lead me to the real!
• From darkness lead me to light!
• From death lead me to immortality!
• These verses from a religious text reflect
• a growing focus on spiritualism in
• ancient India. Enlightenment became the
• goal for many Indian believers.

3
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• By the end of the Vedic Age, the social structure
  of India had formed and many works of religious
  literature were written

4
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• Two of the worlds great religions, Hinduism and
  Buddhism, developed during this time

5
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• In about 700 B.C. religious thinkers began to
  question the authority of the Brahmins

Brahmin priest on his way to worship
6
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• Teachings were collected in the Upanishads,
  written explanations of the Vedic religion

7
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• Ordinary people could not read the Upanishads, so
  they listened to heroic tales designed to explain
  the religion

8
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• Over time these were combined into two epics -
  the Mahabharata and the Ramayana

Rama and Sita
9
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• The Mahabharata tells of a great battle in
  Northern India

10
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• The last 18 chapters of the Mahabharata, the
  Bhagavad Gita, are the most famous of Hindu
  scriptures

11
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• The Ramayana tells the story of Rama, a prince
  and incarnation of the god Vishnu, and his wife
  Sita

12
I. The Upanishads and the Epics

• Rama and Sita became role models for men and
  women in Indian society

13
II. The Caste System

• Between 1500 BC and 500 AD, Indian society
  developed a social structure known as the caste
  system

14
II. The Caste System

• There were four Varnas, or social classes

15
II. The Caste System

• At the top of the caste system were rulers and
  warriors

Kshatriya ruler, warrior, landowner
16
II. The Caste System

• Next were the Brahmins, who moved to the top
  Varna as the centuries passed

17
II. The Caste System

• The third class included merchants, traders, and
  farmers

Vaishya Merchants, farmers
18
II. The Caste System

• Peasants and laborers made up the fourth Varna

A ghulam or bath attendant of the Shudra caste.
19
II. The Caste System

• The Pariahs, or untouchables, performed jobs
  that were ritually polluting for the caste Hindus

20
II. The Caste System

• Untouchables, now called Dalits, are still forced
  to perform jobs that are dirty and demeaning

21
II. The Caste System

• A persons caste determined marriage, employment,
  and socialization

22
II. The Caste System

• The caste system was abolished by Indias
  constitution but still influences Indian society

23
III. Hinduism

• Hinduism became Indias major religion and was
  deeply interwoven with the caste system

The Supreme Triad consists of three great gods
Braham, Vishnu, and Shiva. This Triad represents
all aspects of the Supreme Being Creation
Preservation Destruction
24
III. Hinduism

• Hinduism teaches that a divine essence called
  Brahman fills all things in the universe

25
III. Hinduism

• People have an essence called Self or Atman,
  which is one and the same as Brahman

26
III. Hinduism

• This reflects the belief that all things in the
  universe are of the same essence as God

27
III. Hinduism

• The unity of God and creation is called monism

monism "Doctrine of oneness." 1) The
philosophical view that there is only one
ultimate substance or principle. 2) The view that
reality is a unified whole without independent
parts.