Transcript File

Religions of Ancient
India
Chapter 9, Lesson 2
Origins of Hinduism
► Hinduism
is one of the world’s oldest religions.
 It is also the third largest religion after Christianity and
Islam.
 It developed from the faith of the Aryans.
 The Vedas mentioned in the last lesson teach the key
ideas of the Aryan religion.
► At
first, the Vedas had to be memorized by
Brahmin priests and spoken out loud.
 After the creation of Sanskrit much later on, they were
written down.
► The
Aryan religion would change over time as it
blended with the ideas of other people in India.
 This resulted in what we now know as Hinduism.
► Hinduism
What is Hinduism?
includes many beliefs and practices.
 They believe in one universal spirit called Brahman
(BRAH-muhn).
► Ancient
text known as the Upanishads (oo-PAHnih-SHADZ) describe the search for Brahman.
 These writings say that every living thing has a soul that
is also a part of Brahman.
 The body is the life on Earth and at death, the soul
leaves the body and joins with Brahman.
►The Upanishads liken it to throwing salt into the
water where the ,ump of salt will be gone and the
water will taste salty.
► Most
What is Hinduism?
Ancient Indians had a difficult time
understanding the idea of Brahman.
 This was because they believed in many other deities
that were more like people.
► Hindus
built temples and held ceremonies to honor
these deities and eventually three will become the
most important.
 Brahma – The Creator
 Vishnu – The Preserver
 Shiva – the Destroyer
► Over
time people began to associate the deities as
different parts of Brahman, the one universal
spirit.
Brahma 
 Vishnu
Shiva 
► Another
What is Hinduism?
part of Hinduism is the belief in
reincarnation (rebirth of the soul).
► Hindus strive for moksha (the ultimate inner
peace).
► They believe most souls don’t reunite with
Brahman immediately after death.
 Hindus believe each soul must first pass through many
lives and is described in the Upanishads like this:
"As a caterpillar, having reached the end of a blade of grass, takes hold of
another blade, then draws its body from the first, so the Self having
reached the end of his body, takes hold of another body, then draws itself
from the first."
—from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Fourth Brahmana, line 3
What is Hinduism?
► Hinduism’s
idea of reincarnation is closely
tied to karma (KAHR-muh.)
 They believed that people’s status in life is not
an accident but a reflection of what you did in a
past life and whatever you do in your current
life will affect how you will be reborn in the
next.
 If you lead a bad life, you will be reborn into a
lower form of life.
 When good people die, their souls are reborn
into a higher form of life.
 They believe you must earn a better existence
in the next life.
What is Hinduism?
► In
order for them to receive a better
existence, they must follow dharma
(DAHR-muh) [Their personal duty].
 Everyone has a different duty depending on
their place in society.
►Ex:
Farmers have different duties than Priest and
men have different duties than women.
► Hindu
India.
also shaped the way of life in Ancient
 Indians began to accept the Hindu idea that all
life is sacred and must be treated with kindness
and respect.
► Belief
What is Hinduism?
in reincarnation also made Indians
more accepting of the varna system.
 A devout Hindu belied that the people in a
higher jati were superior and deserved their
status.
 Also, the belief in reincarnation gave hope that
in the next life you would return into a higher
jati.
► During
Rise of Buddhism
the 500s B.C. some Indians felt unhappy
with the Hindu religion.
 They sought to have a much simpler, spiritual faith.
 Some left their homes and looked for peace in the hills
and forest.
 Many trained their minds to focus and think in positive
ways and was known as meditating.
► Some
seekers developed new ideas and became
religious teachers.
 Siddhartha Gautama (sih-DAHR-tuh GOW-tah-muh) who
later became known as Buddha (BOO-dah) and founded
a new religion known as Buddhism BOO-dih-zuhm)
The Buddha
► Today,
Buddhism is one of the major world
religions.
► Most Buddhists live in Southeast Asia and
East Asia.
 Only a few live in India, Buddhism’s birthplace.
► Siddhartha
year 563
Gautama was born around the
B.C.
 The exact date of his birth is not known.
 He grew up as a prince in a small kingdom near
the Himalaya that today is located southern
Nepal (nuh-PAWL).
► While
The Buddha
he was young, it appeared that
Siddhartha seemed to have everything.
 He was rich, handsome, and happily married
with a newborn son.
► He
then one left his palace to explore the
life of ordinary people in the kingdom.
 He was shocked at the misery and poverty
around him.
 He saw beggars, people who were sick, and
aged people with nowhere to live and for the
first time understood that the world was filled
with suffering.
► Siddhartha
a monk.
The Buddha
gave up all he had and became
 He said goodbye to his son and wife and began
his journey to find the meaning of life.
 He traveled the country dressed in a yellow
robe, stopping to meditate (think deeply)
 As he preached his message to people, he
gathered followers and his teachings became
known as Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama
(The Buddha)
What did Buddha Teach?
► Some
India.
of Buddha’s ideas were not new to
 He followed some Hindu ideas but changed
others.
►Like
Hindus, he believed the world of the spirits was
more important than the everyday world.
►He felt that one reason people suffered in life was
because they had grown to concern about the wrong
things such as fame, money, and personal
possessions and that wanting such things could fill
people with bad emotions like greed or anger.
►He did believe that seeking spiritual truth, led to
inner peace.
► The
What did Buddha Teach?
Buddha taught his followers the Four
Noble Truths:
1. Life is full of suffering.
2. People suffer because they desire worldly
things and want to satisfy themselves.
3. The way to end suffering is to stop desiring
things.
4. The only way to stop desiring things is to
follow the Eightfold Path.
► The
What did Buddha Teach?
Buddha’s fourth truth says that people can
end suffering by following eight steps.
► The Eightfold Path:
1. Know and understand the Four Noble Truths.
2. Give up worldly things and do not harm others.
3. Tell the truth, do not gossip, and do not speak badly of
others.
4. Do not commit evil acts, such as killing, stealing, or
living an unclean life.
5. Do rewarding work.
6. Work for good and oppose evil.
7. Make Sure your mind keeps your senses under control.
8. Practice meditation to see the world in a new way.
What did Buddha Teach?
► When
people were finally free from all earthly
concerns, they would reach nirvana (nihr-VAHnuh).
 According to Buddhist teaching, nirvana is not a physical
place.
► It
is an emotional or spiritual state, a feeling of perfect peace
and happiness.
► Buddhism
spread because it welcomed people
from all walks of life.
 The Buddha placed very little importance on the varna
system because it did not dictate where they would be
born into in society.
 Buddha explained that people success of life depended
on peoples’ behavior now.
► Like
What did Buddha Teach?
Hindus, the Buddha believed in
reincarnation, but in a different way.
 He taught that people could end the cycle of
rebirth by following the Eightfold Path rather
than their dharma.
► Many
people accepted the Buddha’s
message especially Untouchables and
Indian’s in the lower jati.
 For the first time, these groups could reach
enlightenment.
► For
What did Buddha Teach?
more than 40 years, Buddha taught his
ideas.
 After his death, Buddha’s followers disagreed
over the meaning of the Buddha’s ideas.
► Eventually,
groups:
the Buddhist divided into two
 Theravada (ther-u-VAH-duh) Buddhists
 Mahayana (mah-huh-YAH-nuh) Buddhists
Theravada Buddhism
► Theravada
means “teachings of the elders.”
 Followers of Theravada see Buddha as a great
teacher, but not a god.
 This is the major religion of the modern-day
country of Sri Lanka (sree LAHN-kuh).
► Buddhist
teachers spread the teachings of
Theravada to Myanmar (MEEAHNmahr)Thailand (TEYE-land), Cambodia
(kam-BOH-dee-uh) and Laos (LAH-os)
Mahayana Buddhism
► Mahayana
teaches that the Buddha is a god.
► Followers of Mahayana Buddhism believe that the
Eightfold Path is too difficult for most people
► By worshipping Buddha, they believe they will go
to heaven when they die.
 Here, they will be able to successfully follow the
Eightfold Path and reach nirvana.
► Bodhisattvas
(BOH-dih-SUHT-vuhz) hold a special
place in Mahayana Buddhism.
 These are people who are enlightened and do not enter
heaven.
 They instead stay on Earth to do good deeds and help
others on the path to nirvana.
Mahayana Buddhism
►
►
►
It spread northward towards China and from there into
Korea and Japan.
A special kind of Mahayana Buddhism arose in the central
Asian country of Tibet (tih-beht)
 Buddhist leaders called lamas led the government of
Tibet.
 The Dalai Lama (DAH-ly-LAH-muh) led Tibet’s
government, and the Panchen lama led the religion and
are both considered to be reincarnations of the Buddha.
Today, few Buddhist life in India where the Buddha first
preached.
 Buddhism, however, is widely practiced in Southeast
Asia and East Asia
 There is an estimated 376 million Buddhists in the world
today.
Jainism / Who is Mahavira?
► Alongside
Hinduism and Buddhism, another
faith is Jainism (JEYE-nih-zihm)
 Most followers live in India.
► The
exact origins of Jainism are unkown,
but its current form was developed by a
religious leader named Mahavira.
 Mahavira lived in India around the same time as
Siddhartha Gautama.
►He
also came from a wealthy royal family in northern
India.
►When his parents died, he gave up his wealth and
property and begged for his food.
Jainism / Who is Mahavira?
► Mahavira
became known as the Jina, or the
conqueror and his followers were known as
Jains.
 Many of his teaching were like that of the
Buddha.
►Bothe
taught that they should not want worldly
things and that only by doing this could they stop the
cycle of rebirth and enter nirvana.
 The Jains practiced strict poverty.
What is Ahimsa?
key value in Jainism is ahimsa (ahHIM-sah) [the practice of nonviolence
towards all living things].
► They
 Mahavira’s followers tried to avoid harming any
living thing.
►EX:
Sweeping away insects with brooms so they
would not be stepped on.
►They also did not farm for fear of plowing under
worms and other living things in the soil.
What is Ahimsa?
idea of ahimsa has long influenced
India’s culture and politics.
► The
 In the 1900s, the Indian leader Mohandas
Gandhi (MOE-han-dahs GAHN-dee) wanted to
free India from Great Britain.
►He
led a nonviolent struggle against British rule.
►Thousands of people would come to hear him speak
or simply sit with him as he prayed.
►At the time Indians refused to buy British goods or
pay taxes as a sign of protest.
►Many protestors were jailed, but eventually, India
gain its independence.
►Gandhi himself was jailed many times.
► Ghandi’s
What is Ahimsa?
methods of nonviolent resistance
influenced many others such as Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.
 Like Ghandi, Dr. King was able to use
nonviolence to bring about great change in his
country and gain rights for African Americans.