Review Questions: pg 57 spiral notebooks. Write only the answers!!! 1. Who were the Aryans? 2. Who’s language was sanskrit? Can we decipher it? 3. What was the Vedic Age? 4. What is the Mahabarata? 5. Who invented the Hindu-Arabic numeral system? 6. Why is this numeral system important to us today?

Hinduism & Buddhism

Hinduism Oldest organized religion in the world It is the 3rd largest Began with the Aryans: combined their beliefs with the beliefs of the people they conquered Do not have one sacred text Do not have one single founder

“God is one, but wise people know it by many names.” Brahman: universal spirit; resides in all things. The ultimate goal of existence is to achieve (moksha) or union with Brahman. People do not achieve union in one lifetime; takes many. All gods are derived from Brahman; they give a concrete form to Brahman. The gods appear in human and animal form

The Trinity (3 main gods derived from Brahman): 1. Brahma: creator 2. Vishnu: organizer and preserver 3. Shiva: destroyer Other important gods 1. Parvati: the wife of Shiva, is the goddess of love and romance. Mother of Ganesh 2. Ganesh: creates the faith to remove all obstacles. 3. Kali: the goddess of time and of the transformation that is death (Shiva in death form)

Understanding Hinduism & the Caste System Reincarnation: the soul being reborn, passing through many lives Karma: how a person lives will decide which caste they will be born into. Bad life=low caste. Good life=high caste. Dharma: divine law that one must perform the duty of their caste in order to have a better next life.

This system did help to keep control over the people and gave hope at the same time. If they performed their caste duties, they would have a better next life. Over time the caste were divided into 5 main levels

Caste System: 5 Levels 1. Brahmins: priest, teachers 2. Kshatriyas: nobility, military 3. Vaishyas: merchants, farmers 4. Sudras: laborers, servants 5. Untouchables: polluted, bottom caste. Also, known as pariahs or the dalit (oppressed). outcastes, or people beyond the caste system. Their jobs or habits involved “polluting activities”.

Any job that involved ending a life, such as fishing. Killing or disposing of dead cattle or working with their hides. Any contact with human emissions such as sweat, urine, or feces. This included occupational groups such as sweepers and washermen. People who ate meat. This category included most of the primitive Indian hill tribes. Untouchables were often forbidden to enter temples, schools and wells where higher castes drew water. In some parts of southern India, even the sight of untouchables was thought to be polluting.

Buddhism By 600 b.c., many began to question Hinduism. A new religion will be born from these questions. Siddharta Gautama: born 563 b.c. in present day Nepal, a prince, had a content life. Traveled outside his palace walls & discovered how much suffering is in the world He wanted to know why they suffered and how it could be stopped

Siddartha Gautama began a quest to find the answers Siddartha Gautama began a quest to find the answers. He supposedly meditated under a tree for 49 days & discovered the answer. He became known as the Buddha, or “enlightened one”.

Beliefs of Buddhism Buddhism is the belief that by giving up desires such as money, fame, power, etc. that sorrow and suffering disappear When a person gave up all worldly desires, he/she would reach nirvana: world soul, state of wisdom The guides in Buddhism are the 4 Noble Truths & the Eightfold Path

Tibetan Buddhism Tibet is in China, there is a movement for independence. Dalai Lama: seen as the reincarnation of Buddha, viewed as leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Recognized as a world figure and often meets with heads of governments. He is also head of the exiled Tibetan gov’t and he himself is in exile from Tibet.