Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Key Word
Definition
varnas
caste
system
untouchables
sutras
Vedas
Hinduism
atman
Memory Clue
Key Word
reincarnation
Definition
Memory Clue
Essential
Question:
How
do
Indias
rich
history
and
culture
affect
the
world
today?
Big
Idea:
Hinduism,
the
largest
religion
in
India
today,
developed
out
of
ancient
Indian
beliefs
and
practices.
As
Aryan
society
became
more
complex,
their
society
became
divided
into
groups,
mostly
organized
by
peoples
____occupation_______.
Strict
rules
developed
about
how
people
of
different
groups
could
interact.
According
to
the
____Vedas______,
there
were
four
main
varnas,
or
____social_____
____divisions____.
They
were:
Brahmins
-
____priests______
Kshatriyas
-
___rulers____
and
____warriors_____
Vaisyas
-
____farmers_____,
______craftspeople______,
and
_____traders_____
Sudras
-
__laborers___
and
____non-Aryans____
Brahmins
were
the
highest
rank
because
they
performed
_____rituals____
for
the
____gods___.
Rules
became
stricter,
and
each
varna
was
divided
into
even
more
castes,
or
____groups___.
This
caste
system
divided
Indian
society
into
groups
based
on
a
persons
___birth_______,
_____wealth_____,
or
____occupation______.
A
persons
___caste____
determined
where
they
belonged/ranked
in
society,
but
a
castes
value
could
change
depending
on
wealth
or
power.
On
rare
occasions,
people
could
___change____
their
caste.
Over
time,
___womens______
rights
were
limited.
Later,
a
group
that
did
not
belong
to
any
caste
developed.
They
were
called
___untouchables____,
and
they
could
only
hold
certain,
often
unpleasant,
jobs.
To
keep
the
groups
separate,
the
Aryans
developed
___sutras_____,
or
guides,
which
listed
all
the
rules
for
the
caste
system.
People
who
broke
the
rules
could
be
banned
from
their
homes
and
___castes_____,
which
would
make
them
____untouchables_______.
Because
of
these
rules,
people
spent
almost
all
of
their
time
with
others
in
their
___same____
caste.
B. Brahmanism
Because
Aryan
priests
were
called
Brahmins,
their
religion
is
often
called
____Brahmanism________.
Aryan
religion
was
based
on
the
____Vedas______.
There
are
four
Vedas,
each
containing
sacred
hymns
and
poems.
The
oldest
of
the
Vedas,
the
____Rigveda_____,
includes
hymns
of
praise
to
many
gods.
Over
the
centuries,
Aryan
Brahmins
wrote
down
their
thoughts
about
the
Vedas,
creating
writings
called
the
___Vedic___
___texts_____.
One
collection
of
Vedic
texts
describes
Aryan
religious
___rituals____.
A
second
collection
describes
__secret____
___rituals____
that
only
certain
people
could
perform.
The
final
collection
of
Vedic
texts,
the
____Upanishads_____,
are
reflections
on
the
Vedas
by
religious
___students____
and
____teachers____.
C. Hinduism
Develops
The ___Vedas____, the Upanishads, and other Vedic texts began to blend with ideas from other
cultures,
creating
a
religion
called
____Hinduism________,
the
largest
religion
in
India
today.
Hindus
believe
in
many
gods,
but
they
believe
that
all
gods
are
aspects
of
a
single
universal
spirit
called
___Brahman_________.
Three
aspects
of
Brahman
are
particularly
important
to
Hinduism
-
___Brahma_____,
the
Creator,
___Siva___,
the
Destroyer,
and
___Vishnu___,
the
Preserver.
Hindus
believe
that
each
person
has
a
soul,
or
___atman___,
that
holds
their
personality.
Hindus
also
believe
a
persons
ultimate
goal
should
be
to
reunite
that
soul
with
____Brahman____,
the
universal
spirit,
by
seeing
through
the
___illusion____
of
the
world.
In
order
to
do
this
successfully,
Hindus
believe
that
souls
are
born
and
____reborn____
many
times,
each
time
in
a
new
body.
This
process
of
rebirth
is
called
___reincarnation____.
The
type
of
form
a
person
is
reborn
into
depends
on
his/her
___karma_____,
the
effects
that
good
or
bad
actions
have
on
a
persons
__soul_____.
Evil
actions
built
bad
karma,
and
good
actions
built
good
karma.
Depending
on
your
karma,
you
were
either
reborn
into
a
higher
or
lower
____caste______.
In
time,
good
karma
brings
____salvation_______,
or
freedom
from
lifes
worries
and
the
cycle
of
rebirth.
This
salvation
is
called
____moksha________.
Hinduism
taught
that
each
person
had
a
___dharma______,
or
set
of
spiritual
duties,
to
fulfill.
Fulfilling
ones
dharma
required
___accepting_____
ones
position
in
life.
By
teaching
people
to
accept
their
positions,
Hinduism
helped
preserve
the
___caste___
_____system____.
Although
it
was
widely
followed,
not
everyone
in
India
agreed
with
the
beliefs
of
Hinduism.
One
religion
that
developed
from
Hinduism
is
known
as
___Jainism______,
which
is
based
on
the
teachings
of
a
man
named
Mahavira.
Mahavira
thought
Hindus
put
too
much
emphasis
on
___rituals_____.
Instead,
he
came
up
with
four
principles
to
live
life
by:
-
Do __not __steal___
Jains
believe
that
everything
is
alive
and
part
of
the
cycle
of
___rebirth___.
Because
of
this,
Jains
practice
____nonviolence_______,
(ahimsa)
the
avoidance
of
violent
actions.
Hindus
also
practice
nonviolence,
or
__ahimsa______.
Since
they
dont
want
to
hurt
living
things,
Jains
do
not
make
___animal______
sacrifices,
nor
do
they
eat
any
food
that
comes
from
animals.
Centuries
later,
a
religion
called
___Sikhism____
was
founded
by
the
Guru
Nanak.
This
man
and
teacher
was
raised
a
Hindu,
but
was
not
satisfied
with
the
religions
teachings.
He
blended
Hinduism
with
ideas
from
other
religions
to
create
___Sikhism______,
a
monotheistic
religion.
Being
monotheistic,
Sikhs
only
believe
in
__one__
God,
who
has
no
physical
form,
but
can
be
sensed
in
the
creation.
Their
ultimate
goal
is
to
reunite
with
__God__
after
death
by
meditating
and
trying
to
achieve
___enlightenment____
over
many
lifetimes.
Therefore,
Sikhs
also
believe
in
reincarnation.
Sikhism
teaches
that
people
should
live
truthfully,
treating
all
people
___equally____,
regardless
of
____gender____,
____social___
____class_____,
or
any
other
factor.
Sikhs
pray
several
times
a
day.
Theyre
expected
to
wear
five
items
at
all
times
as
signs
of
their
religion:
-
__long____ ___hair___
a ___small___ ___comb___
a ___steel__ ___bracelet____
a ___sword___
a special ____undergarment___
Main Idea #1: Indian society divided into distinct groups under the Aryans.
A:
Someone
who
broke
the
caste
rules
could
be
banned
from
their
home
and
caste,
which
would
make
them
an
untouchable.
A:
The
Rigveda
is
the
oldest
of
the
Vedas
and
contains
a
collections
of
hymns
and
praises
to
many
gods.
A:
The
Upanishads
were
reflections
on
the
Vedas
written
by
religious
students
and
teachers.
A:
Priests
believed
that
fire
would
carry
the
sacrifice
to
the
gods.
Main
Idea
#3:
Hinduism
developed
out
of
Brahmanism
and
influences
from
other
cultures.
Q:
According
to
Hindu
belief,
what
are
the
three
major
forms
of
Brahman?
A:
The
three
forms
of
Brahman
are
Brahman,
the
Creator,
Siva,
the
Destroyer,
and
Vishnu,
the
Preserver.
Q:
How
may
believing
that
this
world
is
merely
an
illusion
affect
ones
behavior?
Q:
What
is
karma?
A:
Karma
is
the
effects
that
good
or
bad
actions
have
on
a
persons
soul.
Q:
How
may
the
role
of
women
in
traditional
Hinduism
be
connected
to
the
history
of
Aryan
varnas?
A:
N/A
Q:
Do
you
think
a
wealthy
Brahmin
would
want
his
or
her
servants
to
believe
in
dharma?
Why
or
why
not?
A:
Answers
may
vary,
although
servants
would
be
more
likely
to
accept
their
fate
in
life
if
they
believed
in
dharma.
Main
Idea
#4:
The
Jains
and
Sikhs
reacted
to
Hinduism
by
breaking
away
to
form
their
own
religions.
A:
Jainism
was
created
by
Mahavira,
and
Sikhism
was
created
by
Guru
Nanak.
A:
The
Hindus
put
an
emphasis
on
religious
rituals,
but
Jains
put
an
emphasis
on
nonviolence.
A:
Sikhs
carry
special
objects
with
them
as
symbols
of
their
religious
faith.
Reading
Checks
A:
The
Vedic
texts
are
sacred
hymns
and
poems,
collections
of
writings
by
Aryan
Brahmins.
A: Jains avoid eating meat because they dont want to hurt living creatures.