1. India Lesson 2

2.  Identify basic Hindu beliefs.  Explain relationship between Hinduism and the caste system in India.  Describe religions that arose in protest of Hindu practices.

3.  Do you believe in karma?

4.  Hinduism (701 m)  Islam (93m)  Christianity (25m)  Sikhism (17m)  Buddhism (8m)  Why are conflicts over religion more heated than those over mere differences of opinion?

5.  No founder, formal church.  Sacred Texts  Vedas – eternal truths  Upanishads – explains  Epic Poems  Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita  Brahman - supreme universal soul  Assumes 3 forms  Brahma – creator  Vishnu – preserver  Shiva – destroyer  Goal = Moksha. Union with spirit through pure soul.

6.  The Trimurti

7.  Reincarnation - Rebirth of soul.  Karma – Every action rewarded/punished  Dharma – duties & obligations  All to achieve Moksha!

8.  Diwali – Festival of Lights…arrival of winter,  Holi – purify fields for good crop yield

9.  3,000 + yrs old  Aryans (invaded India) took desirable work, left less desirable to original peoples.  Divided population into varnas –social groups  Born into, stay in  Segregation of castes  Restricted  Brahmins – scholars & priests  Kashatriya – rulers & soldiers  Vaishya – merchants & landowners  Sudras – laborers & artisans  Untouchables – menial jobs, outcasts  (Gandhi called “harijan”)

10.  Indian Constitution outlawed concept of “untouchability”  Problem for modernization  Rural – Very much alive  Urban – Mix castes, may even reject system. Vestiges seen in slums.

11. BUDDHISMJAINISM & SIKHISM  Siddhartha Gautama  Left privileged life to find cause human misery  Achieved enlightenment became Buddha  4 Noble Truths  Noble Eightfold Path  3 Baskets of Wisdom  Jainism – emphasize ahimsa (nonviolence).  Sikhism – blend Hinduism & Islam