Transcript apworldchapter3ancientindiahindubuddha

INDIA
 The first recognized civilization on the Indian
subcontinent started along the INDUS
RIVER in present day Pakistan.
 Like the Nile River and the Huang He, the
Indus was known for its annual flooding.
The Indus River flooded because of the
melting snows of the HIMALAYAS but also
because of the season rainy season and its
rain bearing winds – MONSOONS.
 The first civilizations in the Indus River are called
HARAPPAN after the city of Harappa. The city of
Mohenjo Daro was also an early civilization.
 Harappan civilization began ca. 2300 B.C.E.
 Harappan cities were known for their urban
planning:
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Citadels – strong central fortresses
Grid pattern of streets
Sewers and in-door latrines
Bricks made of baked clay
 Harappan society developed:
– a written language
– Great knowledge of metallurgy
– Trade routes with Mesopotamia
– The beginnings of CULTURAL DIFFUSION.
 Harappan civilizations became severely
disrupted about 1500 B.C.E. The exact
reason is unclear. It may have been due to:
– Invaders
– Change in the flow of the Indus River
– Earthquakes and flooding
 As the Harappan civilization declined – nomadic IndoEuropeans moved into the Indus River Valley ca. 1750
B.C.E.
 These Indo-European people called themselves Aryan –
WE WILL CALL THESE PEOPLE INDO-ARYAN so we do
not confuse them with the other Indo-European Aryans that
populated Persia.
 Over time, the Indo-Aryans conquered the existing
Harappan people with some intermingling. The Aryans
were initially hunters and herders – while the Harappans
were had an experienced agricultural society. The Aryans
had extensive use of iron and iron tools at their disposal.
 The people of the Indus River Valley and the IndoAryans blended cultures – the Indo-Aryans
adopted the Harappan techniques of farming and
their written language known as SANSKRIT. The
Harappans adopted the Aryan gods. This
borrowing of useful parts of another person’s
culture is known as CULTURAL DIFFUSION.
VEDIC AGE/EPIC AGE
 Ca. 1500-1000 B.C.E. Vedic Age
 As the Aryans moved from an oral tradition
to a written Sanskrit culture, their
historic/mythological stories – VEDAS –
were written down.
 Vedas – “knowledge”
 These Vedas will become the cultural and
religious underpinnings of Indian society.
 Rig-Veda – over 1000 hymns dedicated to
Aryans gods
 Ca. 1000-600 B.C.E. – The Epic Age – as
great sweeping epics dealing with real and
mythological battles were written – stories
took on moral and religious dimensions
 Mahabharata
 Ramayana
 Upanishads
Organization of Aryan Society
 The Aryan segment of society created social
norms that maintained their need for a highly
organized patriarchal framework.
 By 500 B.C.E. – the peoples of the Indian
subcontinent had developed into a society based
upon VARNAS or social classes.
 A religion and way of thinking of life developed and
was presented in writings known as VEDA or
Vedic texts. These teachings combined with
ancient epics developed into the religion known as
HINDUISM.
 The Indo-Aryans spread their new lands to
include the GANGES RIVER in northeastern
India. Strong central states developed –
ruled by kings. The kings ruled with the help
of powerful priests known as BRAHMANS.
The Brahmans taught that the gods could
only be appeased through sacrifices.
Development of Hinduism
 Over time – some Brahmans began to
question the use of sacrifice to appease the
gods. They went into the forests for solitary
meditation. What developed was a belief
that the soul never dies. After death, the
soul is reborn into another person or another
life form. This is known as
REINCARNATION.
 If the person led a good life – the next form
will be a higher level of being. If the person
led an evil life – the next life form will be
lower.
 KARMA – is the balance of good and evil
that determines the fate of a soul.
 DHARMA – is the idea that your new life
form is determined by the life you led.
How to escape the cycle of reincarnation?
 1. make amends for wrong doings
 2. study the VEDAS – hymns, prayers, and
religious teachings
 3. meditate
 If you do these successfully over many lives
– you may achieve inner perfection and join
BRAHMA – the world soul – the creator god
– the essence of life itself.
Brahma – the creator
Shiva – the destroyer
Shiva
Vishnu – the preserver – god of mercy and
goodness
 While people often speak of the Hindu trinity
of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu – there is
actually one god Brahma. The others are
expressions of Brahma.
 Traditionally, Hindus are cremated and if
possible – their ashes spread in the Ganges
River.
The Hindu Caste System
 Over time, religious and social concerns divided society
into strict hereditary CASTES.
 Brahmin – highest caste of priests
 Kshatriyas – rulers and warriors
 Vaisyas – merchants and professionals
 Sudras – workers and servants
 UNTOUCHABLES – not members of the caste system and
outside Hindu society.
 Subcategories are called JATI
 People are social mobile WITHIN the caste or varna
 The development of Hindu varnas or caste may be traced
to the Rig-Veda.
 The polytheism of the Aryans developed into a highly
thoughtful and complex religion – Hinduism. Originally, the
religion beliefs of the Aryans may be compared with that of
the Greeks or Scandinavians – but Hinduism transformed
far beyond a mere pantheon of gods.
 Rituals became highly important – as did a connection with
nature and certain animals such as cattle and monkeys.
 Religion dedicated to an after-life filled with rituals and
mysteries became a unifying force in India.
Buddhism
“The Path to Nirvana”
Siddhartha Gautama
 Siddhartha Gautama – born ca. 563 B.C.E.,
Gautama was born to an Indian prince. He was
expected to live a life of luxury and pleasure.
 Instead, inner unhappiness led Gautama to leave
his family and his privileges and set out to learn
the meaning of and reasons for death and
suffering.
 Why was his life supposed to have been so much
better than the lives of most of the people he saw?
 Like many Hindu teachers, Gautama traveled
wandered through the wilderness. He fasted, lived
as a hermit and meditated.
 After many years of teaching, wandering, and
experiencing many aspects of life – he was sitting
under a Bodhi tree when he suddenly achieved a
state of complete inner calm and understanding.
 Siddhartha Gautama became – enlightened – and
became The Buddha.
Bodhi Tree
Buddhist Dogma
 Gautama Buddha accepted the Hindu notion of
reincarnation – but his teachings centered on
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS.
 1. all human life contains suffering and sorrow
 2. desire causes suffering
 3. by rejecting desire you may attain NIRVANA –
perfect peace and free your should from
reincarnation.
 4. in order to reject desire – follow the EIGHT
FOLD PATH
The Eight Fold Path
 Wisdom
– 1. Right understanding
– 2. Right intention
 Ethical conduct
– 3. Right speech
– 4. Right action
– 5. Right livelihood
 Mental discipline
– 6. Right effort
– 7. Right mindfulness
– 8. Right concentration
Buddhism vs. Hinduism?
 Gautama Buddha came from the Brahmin class of Hindu
society – but
 Buddha did not believe that the Vedas were sacred texts
 Buddha rejected the Brahmin idea of a priestly class of
society – stating that virtue was not inherited.
 Buddha wanted priest to live virtuously, accept nonviolence
and live a life of poverty.
 Buddha rejected the rigid Hindu caste system,
 These ideas made many of the Brahmin class reject him –
but the Sudras – the untouchables accepted his dogma.
 After Buddha’s death – his followers spread his
teachings.
 THERAVEDA – “way of the elders” they recognize
Buddha as a spiritual leader and follow his original
teachings. – Southeast Asia
 MAHAYANA – “greater vehicle” organized
Buddha's teachings into an organized religion –
priests, temples, rituals, etc.- China, Japan, Korea,
etc.
Internal Division and Invasions
 By 500 B.C.E., the Indian subcontinent was ruled
by many separate kingdoms – there was no
central government or unity.
– No strong dynastic cycle
– Faced with invasions
 The Persian Empire was always trying to take over
India.
 Even Alexander the Great attempted to conquer
India.
 Persian and Hellenistic influences were present in
India.
Mauryan Empire
 By 300 B.C.E., most of India was controlled by
Chandragupta Maurya who established the
Mauryan Empire which lasted until 232 B.C.E.
 The Mauryan Empire used a large standing army,
elephant cavalry, and an expanding bureaucracy
to rule as an autocracy.
 Chandragupta Maurya abdicated and left power to
his son ASHOKA. Chandragupta became and
ASCETIC.
 Ashoka ruled from 269-232 B.C.E
– Brutal in his rule – but later adopted Buddhism while
honoring Hindu thought
– Developed strong trade routes and road infrastructure
Invasion from the Hindu Kush
 As the Mauryan Empire weakened, invaders from
the northwest – the KUSH took control of India.
 KANISHKA – strong Kushan ruler converted to
Buddhism – but his conversion led many in India
to develop a negative attitude of Buddhism as it
was connected with their conqueror.
 The Kushans fell by 220 C.E. and a period without
a strong ruler continued until the rise of the
GUPTAS.
The Gupta Empire
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In the 300s C.E./A.D., the GUPTA family began to unify India under its rule.
While the Gupta supported Buddhism in part – it favored Hinduism more. This
support led to the “flowering” of Hindu culture. Hindu art and literature
flourished.
The Guptas looked for political stability through intermarriage with local
leaders, negotiations rather than attacks. The Guptas promoted Hinduism –
believing that the Hindu gods placed them in positions of power. Caste system
and religion controlled society rather than political idealogy.
The Guptas:
– Used high taxes for revenue
– Used a weak bureaucracy and strong regional rulers – the Guptas placed a
representative with each local ruler to insure that the Guptas’ were
represented.
– No single language enforced
– Uniform laws were used
– Continued development of road infrastructure
Gupta Culture
Kamasutra – 4th century C.E. examination of relationships
Law
Panchatandra – Sinbad the Sailor, Jack the Giant Killer, etc.
Universities – libraries, observatories
Medicine – used information from the Greeks and developed a knowledge of
bone setting, plastic surgery, sterilization of wounds, inoculations
Numerals that the Arabs brought to the west
The decimal system
The calculation of pi
Concept of zero
The rotation of the earth
The spherical shape of the Earth
Aryabhatta – determined the length of the solar year
Calculated eclipses
Examined gravity
Found seven planets in the solar system
 Gupta society also continued to divide
Indian society into strict groups with
complex relations to each other.
 Indian women led restricted lives
– They were recommended to worship their
husbands as gods
– The practice of suttee held that widows were to
commit suicide by throwing themselves on their
husbands’ funeral pyres.
Islam meets Hindu and Buddhist India
 In the 500s C.E. HUNS began to invade and weaken the
Guptas.
 By the 900s C.E., the Gupta Empire had fallen and once
again India was comprised of many – often warring –
states.
 997 C.E. – Turkish sultan MAHMUD OF GHAZNA began
invading and attacking India – destroying temples and
returning west with Indian gold and other riches.
 By 1206 – Muslim invaders had taken control over most of
the Indian subcontinent – establishing an Islamic sultanate
with its capital in the city of DELHI.
 Mahmud
 Muslim control of India nearly destroyed
Buddhism in India and removed Hinduism
from political power.
 Differences between Hindus and Muslims
caused often violent conflicts – which last to
this day
– Polytheism vs. Monotheism
– Different food and drink rules
– Muslim dislike of the Varna caste system
Mughal India
 1483 – Zahir ud-Din
Muhammad was born. He
became known as Babur
the Tiger.
 He was Turkish on his
father’s side and a
descendant of Genghis
Khan through his mother.
 He dreamed of creating a
new and more powerful
empire in what is today
Afghanistan, Pakistan and
northern India.
 Victorious in a series
of battles – Babur the
Tiger took control of
lands in northern India
and central Asia –
making a new
MUGHAL empire with
a capital at Agra.
 The Mughal Empire grew and ruled over
India until 1707.
 The Mughal ruler AKBAR tried to bring
religious unity to India.
 After studying and talking with leaders of
various religions, the Muslim Akbar began to
see himself as divine – the ultimate judge if
Islamic law.
 1581 – Akbar
established DIVINE
FAITH – blended
elements of Islam,
Hinduism, Christianity
and other religions.
 Mughal art,
architecture etc.
became a blend of
Indian and Persian
styles.
Shah Jahan
 One of the most famous
Mughal rulers was the
Shah Jahan.
 IN 1631, his favorite wife
Muntaz Mahal died giving
birth to their fourteenth
child.
 The despondent Shah
Jahan had a tomb built for
his wife which is still
considered to be one of
the most beautiful
buildings in the world – the
Taj Mahal.