Values, beliefs and cultural practices
WHAT IS ANCIENT INDIA'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION AND HOW DID THESE SHAPE HISTORY?
Religion and Philosophy
Caste in Daily Living. About 1500 B.C. India began to develop social and economic divisions called castes. In order of importance the four main castes were scholars and priests (Brahmans), rulers and warriors, landowners and merchants, and peasants and artisans. These castes were further divided into several thousand subcastes. Below the castes were millions of despised persons, laborers—the outcasts, or untouchables. Each person remained in his or her own hereditary caste, was restricted in occupation, and was forbidden close contact with members of other castes. No one was allowed to violate these rules, if they did they became an outcast as well.
Hindu Beliefs and Caste. Hinduism evolved into a complex religion. The supreme universal soul assumes three forms: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Siva the destroyer. People must purify their souls by performing religious duties and living righteously. Religious duties include praying, respecting the Brahmans, and making pilgrimages to the sacred Ganges River. Righteous living consists of avoiding untruth and envy, seeking knowledge, granting charity, practicing nonviolence, and observing caste rules. Since soul purification requires many lifetimes, each person's soul experiences rebirths, a process called transmigration or reincarnation. People who disregarded Hindu religions in a previous life, are punished by reincarnation into either a lower caste or an outcast, or even an animal. (Since animals may contain human souls, they may not be killed. Cows in particular are sacred.) Persons who do followed Hindu religion in a previous life are rewarded by reincarnation into a higher caste. Through innumerable upward reincarnations, the soul will eventually be completely purified
India has been an important part of three major world religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Buddhism began in India and spread to other places in Asia. Islam came into India from West Asia. The origins of Hinduism are less clear, but are certainly related to the arrival of the Indo-European Aryans from West Asia.
Today Hinduism survives mainly in the Republic of India, where it is practiced by the vast majority of the people. By still stressing caste divisions and opposing the slaughter of animals, Hinduism has delayed India's development into a prosperous modern nation.
Buddhism. In the 6th century B.C., Gautama, a noble, left his comfortable life for one of self-denial and meditation. He ultimately developed a philosophy that rejected the Hindu caste system but accepted the Hindu belief of reincarnation. As Buddha, the "Enlightened One," Gautama taught:
Art and Architecture. Ancient India's art, revolving about Hinduism and Buddhism, stressed symbolic and ornate design. This style predominated in human and animal statues, cave-temple wall paintings, and temple construction. Indian architects used wood, brick, and stone in buildings featuring pointed domes, columns, and conical towers.
Literature. Ancient India produced an impressive literature, chiefly in Sanskrit. The Vedas contain hymns, prayers, and religious principles. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are great epic poems, often compared with the Homeric epics of Greece . Hindu storytellers delighted in animal fables illustrating morals. These stories possibly provided the basis for Aesop's fables in Greece.
Science and Technology. Indian physicians diagnosed major diseases, prescribed medicinal plants, and placed the sick in hospitals. They observed an ethical code similar to the Greek Hippocratic Oath . The Indians applied chemical principles in dyeing cloth, tanning leather, manufacturing soap and glass, and refining iron ore.
Mathematics. In mathematics India was the most advanced of the ancient nations. Indian mathematicians devised the concept of zero, employed the decimal system, developed a rudimentary algebra, and created our modern written numbers. (Transmitted by the Arabs to Medieval Europe, these numeric symbols are misleadingly called Arabic numerals.
Values. Respect is an extremely valued component of the everyday life of people in India. Children are taught from a very young age to always respect their elders. Even as adults, the elderly are still at the top of the totem pole. Children take care of their parents once they are adults, and their parents will most likely live with them until their lives have ended.
Family is also an extremely important component of Indian culture. Families are valued highly and are a part of an individual’s life until death. Often when people get married, they take in their older relatives and other relatives and provide support of them.
Indians seek harmony throughout life. They are concerned with “cosmic energy.”
Cultures. In ancient India, fine arts formed an integral part of the culture. Music and dance evolved highly in ancient India and new forms of dances and music came into being. Music was usually accompanied by instruments to provide bass and rhythm. Dances required elaborate costumes, jewelry and make-up and were usually performed in temples or royal courts. Theater also originated in ancient India and was an integral part of the daily culture. People enacted scenes out of daily life like wild animals hunting for food. Some people became small animals like cows, goats, etc. who were "preyed" upon by people playing the role of carnivores like lions, tigers, etc. The culture of ancient India has been refined and modernized over the ages; what we see today is a sophisticated version of what existed thousands of years back.
WHAT IS ANCIENT INDIA'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION AND HOW DID THESE SHAPE HISTORY?
Religion and Philosophy
Caste in Daily Living. About 1500 B.C. India began to develop social and economic divisions called castes. In order of importance the four main castes were scholars and priests (Brahmans), rulers and warriors, landowners and merchants, and peasants and artisans. These castes were further divided into several thousand subcastes. Below the castes were millions of despised persons, laborers—the outcasts, or untouchables. Each person remained in his or her own hereditary caste, was restricted in occupation, and was forbidden close contact with members of other castes. No one was allowed to violate these rules, if they did they became an outcast as well.
Hindu Beliefs and Caste. Hinduism evolved into a complex religion. The supreme universal soul assumes three forms: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Siva the destroyer. People must purify their souls by performing religious duties and living righteously. Religious duties include praying, respecting the Brahmans, and making pilgrimages to the sacred Ganges River. Righteous living consists of avoiding untruth and envy, seeking knowledge, granting charity, practicing nonviolence, and observing caste rules. Since soul purification requires many lifetimes, each person's soul experiences rebirths, a process called transmigration or reincarnation. People who disregarded Hindu religions in a previous life, are punished by reincarnation into either a lower caste or an outcast, or even an animal. (Since animals may contain human souls, they may not be killed. Cows in particular are sacred.) Persons who do followed Hindu religion in a previous life are rewarded by reincarnation into a higher caste. Through innumerable upward reincarnations, the soul will eventually be completely purified
India has been an important part of three major world religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Buddhism began in India and spread to other places in Asia. Islam came into India from West Asia. The origins of Hinduism are less clear, but are certainly related to the arrival of the Indo-European Aryans from West Asia.
Today Hinduism survives mainly in the Republic of India, where it is practiced by the vast majority of the people. By still stressing caste divisions and opposing the slaughter of animals, Hinduism has delayed India's development into a prosperous modern nation.
Buddhism. In the 6th century B.C., Gautama, a noble, left his comfortable life for one of self-denial and meditation. He ultimately developed a philosophy that rejected the Hindu caste system but accepted the Hindu belief of reincarnation. As Buddha, the "Enlightened One," Gautama taught:
- A person's life consists of suffering caused by desire.
- A person can eliminate desire only by following the eightfold path of righteous living
- Renouncing material pleasure, controlling emotions, meditating selflessly, respecting all living creatures, acquiring knowledge, cultivating goodness, speaking truth, and acting generously.
- By living righteously a person escapes endless reincarnations, and one's soul enters a spiritual state of peace, Nirvana.
Art and Architecture. Ancient India's art, revolving about Hinduism and Buddhism, stressed symbolic and ornate design. This style predominated in human and animal statues, cave-temple wall paintings, and temple construction. Indian architects used wood, brick, and stone in buildings featuring pointed domes, columns, and conical towers.
Literature. Ancient India produced an impressive literature, chiefly in Sanskrit. The Vedas contain hymns, prayers, and religious principles. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are great epic poems, often compared with the Homeric epics of Greece . Hindu storytellers delighted in animal fables illustrating morals. These stories possibly provided the basis for Aesop's fables in Greece.
Science and Technology. Indian physicians diagnosed major diseases, prescribed medicinal plants, and placed the sick in hospitals. They observed an ethical code similar to the Greek Hippocratic Oath . The Indians applied chemical principles in dyeing cloth, tanning leather, manufacturing soap and glass, and refining iron ore.
Mathematics. In mathematics India was the most advanced of the ancient nations. Indian mathematicians devised the concept of zero, employed the decimal system, developed a rudimentary algebra, and created our modern written numbers. (Transmitted by the Arabs to Medieval Europe, these numeric symbols are misleadingly called Arabic numerals.
Values. Respect is an extremely valued component of the everyday life of people in India. Children are taught from a very young age to always respect their elders. Even as adults, the elderly are still at the top of the totem pole. Children take care of their parents once they are adults, and their parents will most likely live with them until their lives have ended.
Family is also an extremely important component of Indian culture. Families are valued highly and are a part of an individual’s life until death. Often when people get married, they take in their older relatives and other relatives and provide support of them.
Indians seek harmony throughout life. They are concerned with “cosmic energy.”
Cultures. In ancient India, fine arts formed an integral part of the culture. Music and dance evolved highly in ancient India and new forms of dances and music came into being. Music was usually accompanied by instruments to provide bass and rhythm. Dances required elaborate costumes, jewelry and make-up and were usually performed in temples or royal courts. Theater also originated in ancient India and was an integral part of the daily culture. People enacted scenes out of daily life like wild animals hunting for food. Some people became small animals like cows, goats, etc. who were "preyed" upon by people playing the role of carnivores like lions, tigers, etc. The culture of ancient India has been refined and modernized over the ages; what we see today is a sophisticated version of what existed thousands of years back.