Transcript No original founder Grew out of early Aryan beliefs in

Chapter 6
Review and Discussion
Ancient India
Ganesha
Roots of Hinduism
• Who’s the founder?
• No original founder
• Grew out of early Aryan beliefs
in multiple Gods.
• Is there a sacred text?
• Beliefs come from the Vedas and
other Indian epics, poems and
songs
• Each believer sees Brahman
differently
Polytheistic or monotheistic ?
• Hinduism is sometimes called a polytheistic
religion, but strictly speaking, this is not
entirely accurate.
• Hinduism believes in One God (Brahman), but
recognizes that the One God can appear to
humans in multiple names and forms
• Three most important gods:
– Brahma-the Creator
– Vishnu-the preserver
– Shiva-the destroyer
Characteristic of gods
• Each god represents a
characteristic of
Brahman.
• How many gods exist?
• As many as 330 million
gods
Brahman the Creator
god of knowledge & intellect
Reincarnation
• What’s the ultimate goal
of existence?
• to achieve moksha, or
union with Brahman.
• What is reincarnation?
• the soul (atman) passes
through many lifetimes:
before it finally achieves
moksha
Methods to Achieve Moksha:
Karma
• Explain Karma
• the lifetime actions that
affect a person’s fate
• Good choices leads to
higher rebirth
• Bad choices leads to lower
birth maybe a rat or an
ant
Methods to Achieve Moksha
• Ahimsa?
• Promote
nonviolence
toward all living
things
Methods to Achieve Moksha
• What is Dharma?
• Follow the religious
& moral duties of
your varna or caste
• Code of conduct for
each caste
Harijan
"outside" the caste system
(once known as "untouchables")
• The “Untouchables”
were thought to be
dirty and impure.
• There jobs consisted of
cleaning the sewers and
digging graves
• Represented about 20%
of the population
Effects of the Caste: Duty
• Ensured social order. How?
• Caste rules governed every
aspect of life: clothes, foods,
friendship, marriage, job,
neighborhood and education
• Law of Karma determined
caste
• It gave people a sense of
identity
Hinduism
• What does the
red dot
represent?
• symbolizes the
mark of the
supreme being
and identifies
you as Hindu.
Hinduism
Today
• 3rd largest religion in
the world
• Estimated I billion
Hindus in the world.
• Mostly live in India
and Nepal.
India’s Caste System
Still Alive Today!
• Though the castes system is now
illegal by Indian law - its “duties” still
remain a strong social influence.
• There are very few who will ignore the
“duties” but if it happens it is generally
in the urban areas.
India’s Caste System
Still Alive Today!
“They died for love…”
• In 2002, two teenagers (16 & 17) killed
by their father and brother for
“dating” outside their caste!
• Another young female teen in 2000
was hung in public display for her
young male lover to see what
happens when you venture outside
your caste!
• None of these were give a proper
Hindu funeral, all of the family
members and the village ignored this
key Hindu teaching.
Rise of Buddhism
• Many Hindus grew dissatisfied
with religion looking for more
spirituality.
Siddhartha Gautama
• Born around 566 BCE
• Founder of Buddhism
• Grew up an Indian prince
surrounded by wealth and
luxury
• Saddened by amount of
suffering by people.
Buddha: The Enlightened One
“Four Noble Truths”:
1. All life is full of suffering
2. The cause of suffering is
wrong desires like wealth
and power
3. The only cure for suffering is
to overcome desire
4. The way overcome is by
following the “Noble Eightfold Path.”
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The Teachings of the
Buddha
•Enlightenment
is achieved
through
meditation.
The Teachings of the Buddha
• What is the ultimate
goal?
• reach nirvana, or union
with the universe and
release from the cycle
of rebirth.
• Life is no longer filled
with suffering and pain!
How Buddhism Spread from
India to East Asia
Spread of Buddhism
•How did Buddhism
Spread?
•Missionaries and
Traders helped to
spread Buddhism
across India to many
parts of Asia.
Theravada Vs. Mahayana
• Theravada “way of the elders”
• Follow the original teachings of Buddhism
• Buddha was a great teacher not a god and individuals could
reach enlightenment through his teachings
• Mahayana “large vehicle”
• Practiced in Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia, Tibet and Nepal
• Buddha was a god and pay homage to Buddha like deities
who came in the form of men and believe they can be
saved by the faith in these gods
• Allowed for a broader interpretation of the teachings of
Buddhism because Buddha had not provided for all the
answers
Jainism
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Who is the founder?
Mahavira (540-468 BCE) the last Tirthankars
Goal?
Reach enlightenment through meditation and Asceticism
(self-denial and abstinence from worldly pleasures)
Any gods?
worship of Tirthankars. It is not the physical form that is to
be worshipped, but the virtues and qualities which are to
be praised.
What did it emphasize?
the holiness of all living beings and went into extremes to
not kill anything
all souls are equal because they all possess the potential of
being liberated and attaining Moksha
Geography
•Mauryan Empire lasted
from (322 B.C.E to 185
B.C.E.
Southern Asia and parts
of Central Asia
•Situation on rich alluvial
soil and mineral
deposits.
War
Invasion of
Alexander the Great
(320 B.C.E)
Defeat of Seleucus
(305 B.C.E.)
Battle at Kalinga
(265 to 264 B.C.E.)
Chandragupta: 321 BCE-298 BCE
 Unified northern India.
 Defeated the Persian
general Seleucus.
 Divided his empire into
provinces, then districts
for tax assessments and law
enforcement.
 He feared assassination [like Saddam
Hussein]  food tasters, slept in different
rooms, etc.
 301 BCE  gave up his throne & became
a Jain.
Trade/Economy
•Mauryan empire was
driven by agriculture
•Farmers were free of tax
and crop collections
•Internal trade expanded
greatly due to newfound
political unity and internal
peace
•Chandragupta established
single currency across
India.
Silver punch mark
coin
Writing System
Sanskrit - was
the writing system
that was used
during the Mauryan
Empire. Only used
by scholars
however.
Religious Beliefs
Hinduism
Buddhism
Jainism
Social Structure
Gender and Family Structure
The Caste System
Hierarchy
•Regulated the
marriages
•Husbands,
fathers were
dominant,
women were
always
submissive
•Passed down the
family, hard to
move upward.
•Laws limited
women’s life
and abilities.
The Arts
Stupa
The Mauryan Empire were the
first in India to transition from
wood to stone in their
architecture and art.
Pillars
Coins
Asoka (304 – 232 BCE)
 Religious conversion
after the gruesome
battle of Kalinga in
262 BCE.
 Dedicated his life to
Buddhism.
 Built extensive roads.
 Conflict  how to balance the
methods of keeping power
and Buddha’s demands to
become a selfless person?
Migration/Population
•50 million. A third of the world’s
population at the time
•Greek populations remained in
the NW under Ashoka’s rule
•Ashoka’s Edicts were written in
Greek
Asoka’s
Empire
Asoka’s law code
 Edicts scattered in
more than 30 places
in India, Nepal,
Pakistan, & Afghanistan.
 Written mostly in
Sanskrit, but one was in
Greek and Aramaic.
 10 rock edicts.
 Each pillar [stupa] is 40’-50’ high.
 Buddhist principles dominate his laws.
Gupta Empire:
CE
320 CE – 647
Gupta Rulers
 Chandra Gupta I
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r. 320 – 335 CE

“Great King of Kings”
 Chandra Gupta II

r. 375 - 415 CE

Profitable trade with
the Mediterranean
world!
 Hindu revival.
 Huns invade – 450 CE
Fa-Hsien: Life in Gupta India

Chinese Buddhist monk traveled along the
Silk Road and visited India in the 5c.
 He was following the path
of the Buddha.
 He reported the people to be happy, relatively free of
government oppression, and inclined towards courtesy
and charity. Other references in the journal, however,
indicate that the caste system was rapidly assuming its
basic features, including "untouchability," the social
isolation of a lowest class that is doomed to menial labor.
International Trade Routes
during the Guptas
Extensive Trade:
4c
spices
gold & ivory
Gupta
Art
Greatly influenced
Southeast Asian art & architecture.
500 healing
plants identified
1000 diseases
classified
Printed
medicinal guides
Plastic
Surgery
Gupta
Achievements
Kalidasa
Literature
Medicine
Inoculations
Gupta
India
C-sections
performed
Decimal
System
Mathematics
Concept
of Zero
PI = 3.1416
Solar
Calendar
Astronomy
The earth
is round
The Decline of the Guptas
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Invasion of the White Huns in the 4c signaled
the end of the Gupta Golden Age, even though
at first, the Guptas defeated them.
 After the decline of the Gupta empire, north
India broke into a number of separate Hindu
kingdoms and was not really unified again until
the coming of the Muslims in the 7c.
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Indian women during the Gupta Empire?
Why did their status declined noticeably since the Vedic
period?
the emergence of a nonagricultural middle class, which
placed a high value on the acquisition and inheritance of
property.
Women lost
the right to own and inherit property.
Could not participating in many religious ceremonies.
Marriage
(Young age 6 or 7) intended to ensure that a woman would
behave according to her husband’s wishes.
Ritual of Sati
extreme example (a widow was expected to cremate
herself on her husband’s funeral)
Bhartrhari

5c India court poet and philosopher.
Knowledge is man's crowning mark,
A treasure secretly buried,
The source of luxury, fame, and bliss,
A guru most venerable,
A friend on foreign journeys,
The pinnacle of divinity.
Knowledge is valued by kings
beyond wealth--When he lacks it, a man is a brute.
Discuss the ways that early Southeast Asia participated in the world
system.
• Location
• the strategic location of Southeast Asia in the global trade
routes connecting China, India, and the Mediterranean.
– Cultural diffusion
• expanded trade networks and contributed goods
• The impressive navigational skills
• riding the monsoon winds and interpreting wave patterns,
clouds, and winds led them to explore the Indian and
Pacific Oceans
• Religion
• Hindu/Buddhist culture served as a source of knowledge,
prestige, and legitimacy for rulers
• Fused Indian religious and political ideas and methods with
their own traditions to create a unique culture.