The Beginnings of Hinduism When the Aryans invaded India from the north they brought with them parts of their culture Their language Sanskrit which the Aryans believed was a holy language was spoken by the gods ID: 385028
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Slide1
Hinduism & the Caste SystemSlide2
The Beginnings of HinduismWhen the Aryans invaded India from the north, they brought with them parts of their culture
Their language,
Sanskrit
, which the Aryans believed was a
holy
language, was spoken by the gods.
The Aryans’ 4 holiest books, the
Vedas
,
are written in Sanskrit.
These
four
books describe the Aryan religion.Slide3
HinduismHinduism is one of the oldest religions still practiced today.
They worship
three
main gods
Brahma the Creator
Vishnu the Preserver Shiva the DestroyerBelow these gods are many other lesser gods. Slide4
Brahma the CreatorCreator of the Universe
Four faces to symbolize the
4 Vedas
and watching all four cardinal directionsSlide5
Vishnu the PreserverPreserves
the created universe.
He is all-powerful and all-knowing
Believed to be walking among the people of the world
In his four arms he carries a conch shell, a mace, and a discus, symbols of his power and greatness. Slide6
Shiva the DestroyerShiva is responsible for change--both in the form of death and destruction.Slide7
Hindu TeachingsHinduism teaches that people live many lives until they reach spiritual perfection
Hindus believe in reincarnation:
the soul lives on after death and returns to life in a new body.
Those who live
good
lives will be reborn into a higher social caste positionThose who live bad lives will return as lower caste or life formSlide8
Hindu Teaching: KarmaKarma: the belief that our actions, good and bad, come back to us in the futureGood karma will reincarnate you to a higher caste; bad karma will reincarnate you to a lower casteSlide9
Hindu Teaching: Karma (cont.)Nirvana: like heaven—a state of changeless blissUltimate reward of Hinduism: be released from reincarnation and become one with the universe and BrahmanSlide10
Caste SystemThe priests used the Vedas and the belief in reincarnation to give order to their society.The Aryan social classes
are divided into 4 castes
.
Priests
Soldiers and Rulers
Farmers and merchantsCommon peopleSlide11
The CasteA person born into one caste could never change caste or mix with members of another caste.
Caste members
live
, marry, and
work
within their own group.To the Indian people the caste system was like the human bodySlide12
The Untouchables
Below all the castes were the
untouchables
.
They did all the
unpleasant jobs of society.Were though to be
impure
They had to avoid all contact with the rest of society.Slide13
Accepting the Caste SystemWhat made life under the caste system bearable was reincarnationThey believed that even though life might be hard, but if people did the work of their caste, there was hope that the
next
life would be better.Slide14
In Summary,Why have the Caste System?It kept order in society.
People didn’t
disobey or rebel
.
There was always the hope of good karma leading to a higher caste
in the next life.***This allowed Aryan priests to keep order in society for hundreds of years***