Hinduism

Aryan Vedic Traditions

Developed into recognizable Hinduism before 200 B.C.E.

Hinduism

No single founder

No single theology

Polytheistic

Vedas

Holy Works

1. Rida Veda

2. Upanishad

Written in Sanskrit (Aryan Language)

Dharma

rules for conduct

Karma

good or bad deeds in life

Determines if a person will be reborn in higher or lower caste or as an animal

Samsara

Cycle of rebirth, birth, and death

Reincarnation: rebirth of a person’s soul

Moksha

liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth

Ones soul reunites with Brahman

Caste System

Varna - Social class system

Jati - Sub-caste

Tied to occupations

Varna Order

Brahmin - Priests

Kshatriyas - warriors & aristrocrats

Vaisyas - cultivators, artisans, and merchants

Shudras - landless peasents and serfs

Untouchables - performed duties that were viewed as being unclean and/or unpleasent

Gender

strict patriarchal system

Child marriage for girls as young as 12 or start of menstruation

Sati

the practice of women sacrificing herself on her husbands funeral pyre

Hinduism Characteristics

Main religion in India

Spread throughout resettlement, not missinaries

Poor & low caste reject Hinduism