Ancient India: Hinduism 12/20/22

Where did ancient Indian civilization begin?

Indus River Valley by East Africans aka Dravidians

Who were the Aryans and what role did they play in ancient Indian history?

The Aryans were the Indo-Europeans that came through the Khyber Pass. They defeated the Natives (Dravidians) and created the Varna/caste System

Karma (Hinduism term)

the consequences (good or bad) that you receive based on your behavior

Dharma (Hinduism term)

about a person doing their duty and the many steps in life that change your Dharma; spiritual duty

Varna (Hinduism term)

The caste system

Moksha (Hinduism term)

liberation; freeing oneself

Reincarnated (Hinduism term)

to come back into the world as a different being after death

Samsara (Hinduism term)

endless wandering from life to life

Brahmin (Hinduism term)

head of society, gives directions.

Occupations: priests, teachers, philosophers, artists, religious leaders, etc

Has monopoly of literacy and knowledge - can and will exploit lower class

Kshatriya (Hinduism term)

Represents arms + chest of Purusha, meant to protect

Occupations: warlords, warriors, landowners, etc

Vaishya (Hinduism term)

Represent thighs and genitals of Purusha, providers of society

Occupations: merchants, artisans, businessmen, etc

Sudra (Hinduism term)

Represents feet of Purusha

Occupations: Servants, laborers, farmers

There is no concept of dignity of laborer

Dalits (Hinduism term)

Deals w/ disposal of dead bodies, cleaning human/animal waste

__Not__ allowed to touch any member of other class

Purusha (Hinduism term)

a god that Hinduism worships, each caste represents a section of his body

What are the Varnas?  Draw and know all levels of the Varna structure.

The Varna system is the caste system that kept ancient India under control

Levels are: Brahmin → Kshatriya → Vaishya → Sudra → Dalits/untouchables

Now give an example of each level (occupation) of the Varna structure.

Brahmin: religious leaders, teachers

Kshatriya: warriors, landowners

Vaishya: merchants, artisans

Sudra: servants, laborers

Dalits/untouchables: disposal of dead bodies, cleaning waste

Why was the caste system in India first created?  What does it have to do with reincarnation?

To keep India under control and to make sure everything was peaceful.

It has to do with reincarnation because if one is in the Sudra caste and throughout their life they satisfy their Dharma, then when they are reborn as someone else, they will be in the caste one level up, in the Vaishya caste. The goal was to work your way up to be a Brahmin

Is there a founder of Hinduism?  How has this affected the religion?

There is no founder or specific starting point of Hinduism

This makes the religion more abstract because everyone interprets it in different ways

How does someone achieve Moksha?  Explain in detail using all of the terms above for Hinduism.

Someone achieves Moksha by satisfying their Dharma in each caste and getting to enlightenment at the final stage. They then are released from samsara and are enlightened

How does a minority maintain power of majority?

Through Varna system

This keeps everything under control and makes it much easier to maintain because everybody knows their place in society and doesn’t try to fight it