Transcript India and its Culture Indus Valley Civilization

India and its Culture
Indus Valley Civilization
 Urban; highly sophisticated
 System of writing
 Excellent engineers
 Ended in 1500 B.C.
 Shortly after Aryans from north and west migrated
into India
The Vedas – Rig Veda
 The earliest of the sacred
texts of Hinduism
 Compiled around 1400
B.C.
 Include ancient hymns
 Invokes nature gods to
find favor with gods and
ward off natural disasters
Upanishads
 Final book in the Vedas;
philosophical and
mystical
 Dated between 1000 –
600 B.C.
 Focus on Brahman,
single principle
underlying all existence
 Identification of atman
(soul) with Brahman
The Bhagavad-Gita – Sanskrit Classic
 Part of India’s greatest
epic, The Mahabharata
 Epic poem relating the
dialogue between Arjuna
and Krishna on the eve of
a great battle. Krishna
imparts spiritual wisdom
to Arjuna that teaches
union with God through
love, selflessness, and
total devotion.
Hinduism
 1.5 practicing Hindus in the world today
 Emphasizes freedom from material existence and
one’s personal identity
 Forms of worship are to help practitioner experience
oneness with Brahman
Hindu Beliefs - Terms
 Karma – impartial principle of cause and effect
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under which actions of a past life may influence one’s
present situation as well as later incarnations.
Reincarnation – repeated rebirth of one’s soul into
the world.
Dharma – one’s duty in life (that it is essential to
fulfill); also a fundamental moral code
Atman – the individual soul that is a part of
Brahman
Moksha – liberation; release from reincarnation
Key Hindu Dieties
Brahma –
The Creator
Vishnu –
The
Preserver
Shiva – The
Destroyer
Do Hindus actually worship many gods?
Religious concerns pervade all aspect of
Hindu thought.
 No word in Indian
language for English
word “religion”
 Dharma reflects
universal concern with
religious values
 Language – the sounds
of words – was sacred
 Repetition of “OM”
during meditation aligns
inner self with the
universe.
 “…If you are a teacher it is
your duty to teach. If you are a
police officer, it is your duty to
see that law and order are
maintained. If you are a parent,
it is your sacred duty to regard
your children as divine an raise
them with discipline and love.
So whatever field you are in,
your duty lies in that field.
There are many different
dharmas and forms of duty. But
the most important dharma…is
to become one with the Self,
with the Being from whom we
have all emerged…” Swami
Muktananda