India

 Geography
• The area includes India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
• The area is called a subcontinent because of the natural borders.
• To the West-Arabian Sea
• To the East-Bay of Bengal
• To the North-Himalayan Mountains
• There are lower mountains on either side of the Himalayas.
• There are several passes namely the Khyber Pass in the northwest.
• Most all major immigrations have come from the northwest.
• The entire subcontinent has never been unified into a single empire.
 Early Settlements
• There was a wave of immigration, nomadic and pastoral Aryans. The Aryans mixed with indigenous
people.
• Reached the Ganges around 1000 B.C.E.
• Around 700-600 B.C.E. political groupings called janapadas (populated territories).
• Leadership was based on family lineage.
• As the janapadas grew, they began to take shape as a political form of a state with urban capitals
and public administration.
• By 500-400 BCE there were 16 large janapadas in northern India.
• In 326 BCE Alexander reached India and there were 4 large states dominating the rest and one,
Magadha was the imperial power.
• The Magadha only last till 324 BCE, they were followed by the Maurya. They stayed in power till
185 BCE. Alexander wanted the whole subcontinent but could not.
• Asoka was the greatest Maaurya leader. Ruled from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal and well into
the Deccan peninsula. At the time India‟s population was believed to be 100 million.
• Asoka ruled over most of India but not all. He also converted to Buddhism and spread the faith
throughout India.
• Asoka died in 238 BCE and the empire was in decline. The Mauryan ended in 184 BCE. The Gupta
• Once the Gupta left, India was subject to outside rule till the independence of India and Pakistan in
1947 and Bangladesh in 1971.
 How Do We Know?
• Philology is the study of language and literature. This helps trace the dispersion of Indo-Aryans
peoples.
• There is written record of the Aryan invasions. The Puranas were written between 500 BCE to 500
CE.
• The earliest source is the Rigveda. They were written about 1500-1200 BCE.
• The Vedas are more religious texts than actual historical documents.
• There are two epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana recount events between 1000-700 BCE. Both
provide information on social structures, ways of life and the values of the times.
 • Other records do exist. Codes of law and statecraft from Chandragupta Maurya‟s minister around
300 BCE.
• Asoka‟s own rock inscriptions explain politics and imperial ideology.
• There are other writings from Greeks, Buddhists and Chinese.
 Mauryan Empire
• Created an imperial government that displaced earlier structures based on family lineage.
• This empire based it‟s theories of politics on the writings of Kautilya, who wrote the Artha-sastra.
• Rather cut-throat view. All states must be on constant look out for other states.
• Strong states create treaties to keep the peace, weak states should be conquered.
• Enemy of my enemy is my friend. (The circle theory)
• State enforced rules of behavior between males and females. Men looked over women, women
were in charge of the house.
• Women had limited property rights and some times in the empire they had none.
• State regulated the caste system. Created unfair laws. The system started with the Hindus. (Will
discuss more in next chapter)
• State regulated religion. Religion had wealth and power and state wanted some.
• State also regulated the guilds. Guilds are associations of businessmen and producers.
• Guilds set work rules, prices, weights and measures.
• Chandragupta and his son Bindusara built a highly centralized administration, powerful military.
• Asoka followed the same policies. His conquest of Kalinga soured him. He converted to Buddhism.
The was religion of non-violence. For the next 30 years Asoka created a relative peace in India.
• Moved India from nomadic to a stable agriculture and urban life.
• The importance of the Brahmins was diminished under Asoka. This was good for the lower castes,
that gained.
• The Mauryan‟s could not produce another emperor of high quality such as Asoka. The empire was
not formally institutionalized and India dissolved.
 Between Empires
• After the Mauryan‟s their core region was ruled by the Sunga Dynasty (185-73 BCE).
• The Indo-Greeks, left over from days of Alexander moved into the northwest and invaded in 182
BCE. A hybrid culture of Indian and Greek developed.
• The Shakas invaded and ruled parts western India from 94 BCE to 20 CE.
• Another group the Kushanas. They ruled parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir and parts of
India. They promoted Buddhism.
• Trade flourished, the extent of the dynasty is unknown.
 The Gupta Empire
• In 320 CE, all dates are now CE for the rest of the chapter, a new dynasty appreared. Chandra
Gupta I (r. 320-330) married into the powerful Licchavi lineage. Their son, Samudra Gupta (r. 330
380) was one of India‟s greatest military conquerors.
• Samdura left records on Asoka‟s pillars.
 • The Gupta‟s added to the empire by creating alliances through marriage. The fourth emperor was
Kumara Gupta (r. 415-455) presided over a great empire at peace.
• The Gupta‟s did not rule directly, only asking for tribute payments. Appointed governors at the
provincial level and local level.
• The area of direct rule was smaller than the Mauryan‟s.
• This is considered India‟s “Golden Age” more for cultural brilliance than political power.
 Gupta-Golden Age
• They presided over a resurgence of Sanskrit literature and Hindu philosophy.
• Used Sanskrit as its official correspondence. Earlier rulers used Prakrit, a variant of Sanskrit that
was closer to the language of the people.
• Hindu experienced an resurgence in Religious authority.
• Hinduism started to overtake Buddhism. The caste system was elaborated and enforced in more
detail.
 Huna Invasions
• The Hunas were a branch of the Xiongnu, part of the nomadic tribes that roamed the region north
of the Great Wall.
• Their base was in Afghanistan.
• First invasion was in 460. The Gupta‟s won, yet trade was disrupted and empire began losing
wealth. This created a domino effect, no central power, local leaders start to gain control, easier to
take over.
 Huna
• They were cruel. Their rule was short, it ended in 528. They were defeated by regional princes.
• The effect of the Huna rule was that India was not to be unified again. Buddhism took a huge hit.
• More people moved into the region, by more, we mean different.
 Huna-wrap up
• Reduction of inter-regional trade, decline of culture, introduction of new nomadic people.
• Mirrored the collapse of Rome. Only China was able to survive.
 Regional Power
• Most Indian history comes from the Ganges valley. The Aryans, Mauryans, Guptas, Moghuls, and
British all went to the Ganges Valley. Even today‟s independent government is located in the
Ganges Valley.
• There were many languages in India, today two are used: Hindi and English.
• The south has maintained the most independence. There are several families and ethnic groups
that ruled. The Pandyas ruled in the extreme southwest.
 Sea Trade
• The inland empires received wealth from the Ganges, there was trade on the west coast. The trade
was with the Roman empire.
• After research it was discovered that Indians were not manning the ships, it was Romans, Arabs
and Jews.
 Greater India
• India spread itself out to other areas. Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, among others.
 • Funan, the area in Vietnam was responsible for the spreading of the Indian culture in southeast
Asia. The Indians spread Buddhism and Hinduism. Sanskrit was spread to Vietnam. The
• Even other areas the came in contact with Funan, they adopted the Indian culture.
• Buddhism and Hinduism was spread in all areas.
• The monument in Borobudur Java is an example of Buddhism in the region.
• Angkor Wat is the Hindu example in the region.
 Comparisions
• People want to compare the Roman, Chinese and Indian empires. They are unable because the
Indian‟s did not keep accurate records.

Religions of the World

 Religion
• What is religion?
• Religion has been present at every level of human society from the earliest times.
• Dictionary defines religion as: „the recognition of superhuman controlling power, and especially of a
personal god, entitled to obedience‟.
• Just because religion has been around since the earliest times, that does not mean that all
individuals are religious or religious to some degree.
 Views on Religion
• Irreligious: doubtful or hostile to all forms of religions.
• Atheists: deny the existence of any superhuman power.
• Agnostic: this cannot be known with or established with certainty.
 Study of Religion
• As people study religion, the study reveals that an important feature is it is a longing for value in
life, a belief that life is not accidental and meaningless.
 Terms of Religion
• Belief in a god is a natural feature of most religions and is included under the general term „theism‟.
• Monotheism: belief in one god.
• Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism.
• Polytheism: belief in many gods.
• Monolatry: one group worships a single god, yet recognizes that other people worship different
beings
• Henotheism: concentration upon one god at a time while recognizing that other gods have a claim
upon one at different times.
• Henotheism prepares the way for monotheism or may develop into pantheism.
• Pantheism: the idea that everything is god and god is everything.
Buddhism
 Origins of Buddha
• Buddhism had its origins in northern India
• The Buddha was born around 563 B.C.E., a son of Suddhodana, the king of the Sakya tribe, a
small kingdom in present day Nepal
• Tradition reports that his mother, Maya, had a dream in which a white elephant entered her side.
• Consulting the Brahmins she learnt that her dream meant that her future son would either be a
world-ruler or a world renouncer.
• The child was named Siddhartha (Goal Attained) of the Gotama clan.
• They predicted that he would become either a universal monarch, as he had been in previous lives
or a wandering ascetic and a great religious teacher, that is, a Buddha.
• They predicted that he would become either a universal monarch, as he had been in previous lives
or a wandering ascetic and a great religious teacher, that is, a Buddha.
• Because of this prophecy Siddhartha‟s father was determined that his son should not become a
world renouncer, so he took great pains to shield his son from the harsh realities and suffering of
the world
• Tradition reports four passing sights, in which Siddhartha one being driven to town on four
successive days saw:
– an old man who could hardly walk;
– a leper whose extremities were eaten away by disease;
– a funeral procession on its way to the cremation grounds.
• Enquiring of his charioteer he was told that old age, disease and death were the lot of all beings,
including himself. On the fourth day he encountered a world renouncer, radiating peace and
contentment. Siddhartha began to reflect on his own life and its end
• His father noticing his mood promised to give him whatever he wanted to make him happy.
Siddhartha asked for
– eternal youth, not followed by old age
– unchanging beauty and health, unimpeded by sicked
– and eternal life without death
• When his father said that it was impossible to grant these wishes, he reduced his wish list to one: to
be assured that he would not be reborn after leaving this present body. He rather could not grant
him this wish either. And so at 29, after the birth of his son, Siddhartha left his home and went into
homelessness
 Terms to know about Buddha
• Ascetics-practices extreme self-denial and self-mortification for religious reasons, a monk.
(overcome desire for sin and strengthen the will)
• Shramanas-religious wanderers. They tended to preach a particular religious or philosophical
doctrine. They represented an alternative to the Brahmins.
 Early Buddha
• Siddhartha joined a group of ascetics and worked on the pursuit of spiritual truth. Finally, he
realized that is was no further in his quest than when he started he left the small group. He was on
 the verge of death. (Self-mortification had left him skin and bones. He started to eat after he left
them.
• Siddhartha journeyed to the banks of the Gaya river and resolved to mediate until he reached the
state of enlightenment he was after.
• He was assailed by Mara, the evil one, and his three daughters. Mara tried to use all the evil factors
that tie men to an imperfect mortal existence. Buddha overcame this attempt and reached
enlightenment.
• At first Buddha was a wandering Shramanas. They covered the whole area of the middle Ganges
Valley.
• The Buddhists were organized along the old tribal order that was disappearing with the rise of
monarchies.
• They did not travel during the monsoon months.
 Buddha in India Four Noble Truths
• Dukkha-all mortal existence is characterized This covered all ill, evil, disease, and imperfection.
• Samodaya-arising of a sense of unease; it arises out of craving or desire.
• Nirodha-the cessation of desire.
• Magga-the path for all three.
 The Buddhist Path
• Along with the Four Noble Truths, there is path that a Buddhist must consider:
– Morality
– Meditation
– Wisdom
• These are not successive stages, but to be pursued simultaneously.
• Morality has a higher priority, for without Morality there is no effective practice of mediatation.
 The Buddhist Path
• The three-fold path will lead one to the eight-fold path. The eight-fold path is used to attain the
three-fold path.
• Eight-fold Path
– Faith Wisdom: III
– (initially) (ultimately)
 Right Understanding
 Right Thought
– Morality: I
 Right Speech
 Right Bodily action
 Right Livelihood
– Meditation: II
 Right moral effort
 Right Mindfulness
 Right concentration
Hinduism
 The term “Hinduism”
• Hinduism is a religious philosophy and a social system or way of living within society associated
predominantly with the Indian subcontinent or Greater India.
 Beginnings
• Hinduism is adherence to or worship of the gods Vishnu, or Shiva, or goddess Shakti, or their
incarnations, aspects, spouses, or progeny.
• We must also include the cults of Rama and Krishna.
• There is much to Hinduism.
• Hinduism comprises a multiplicity of cults and sects more or less closely affiliated with a high
tradition.
• While concepts and practices fostered by the high tradition influence and give to these cults and
sects a recognizably Hindu shape, the high tradition itself is the end result of continental
enrichment through the absorbation of local and tribal gods, rites and philosophies.
• If you concentrate your attention to this high tradition, and especially on its custodians, the Brahmin
priests and scholars, and their extensive literature, it becomes possible to understand Hinduism.
 Origins
• The previous chapter discussed philology, the study of languages while looking at the groups of
India. Three groups with distinct languages contributed to Hinduism.
– Munda
– Dravidian
– Aryan
• Munda: contribution is unknown. Located in eastern India.
• Dravidian: South India, parts of Central India and Pakistan. Four the Dravidian languages have
literature. Some dating back 2,000 years.
• Aryans: Located north of the Vindhya Mountains
 The term “Hinduism”
• The name „India‟ comes from the Greek name for the river known as “Indus” or “sindus” in Sanskrit
(the final “s” being silent) and pronounced by the Mughals as “Hinduh” in Arabic-Persian as well as
contemporary Urdu, to refer to the people who occupied the land mass on the far side of that river.
(which today flows through Pakistan)
 The scope of Hinduism
• Hinduism is amongst the oldest of the living religions in today‟s world. Indeed, some of its
scriptures are probably the oldest of any living religion.
• Far from being a monolithic and coherent system of beliefs and practices, the name Hinduism
covers a diversity of practices and beliefs characterised by both unity and diversity.
 The One and the Many
 • The great nineteenth century scholar of Hinduism, Max Muller stated that if someone were to ask
him whether Hinduism was monotheistic or polytheistic that he would not be able to answer
whether Hinduism was one or the other.
• Hinduism has also been considered in terms of these other more common theisms:
– Monotheism: Worship of one God
– Polytheism: worship of many Gods
– Pantheism: All is God
– Panentheism: God in all (while retaining distinction between God and world)
 The origin of Hinduism and its early development
• INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES
– One of the sparks for European enthusiasm for things Indian was the discovery that most
Indian languages and the classical Indian language Sanskrit belonged to the same family
of languages as most European languages which it is posited must have had a common
origin.
• Sankrit speakers had to come from elsewhere.
– The standard European story regarding the origins of Hinduism is that the fairer Indo-
European (or Aryan) invaders imposed their culture on the darker skinned Sudras who
formed a fourth level in the Aryan social hierarchy.
– They were a nomadic warrior people whose society was divided into three separate
classes.
– At the top of this hierarchy were the priests (brahmans or brahmins),
– followed in descending order by the warriors and rulers (the kshatriyas)
– and the merchants, shepherds and producers (the vaishyas).
– With the Sudras at the bottom
• Who were the Aryans – Nomadic / agrarian / pastoral.
• The domestication of the horse central to their culture. With Vedic sacrifice, the horse sacrifice was
the highest, most costly, and most efficacious.
• Argument for Aryan invasion based on assumption that Aryan were a nomadic people in
possession of horses and chariots and the indigenous people were not – but evidence of horses
has been found in Harappan and pre- Harappan sites
 Social Organisation Of The Aryans
– Priests (Brahman)
– Warriors, rulers( Ksatriyas)
– herders, cultivators, artisans, merchants (Vaisyas)
• The invaders ruling over the darker skinned serfs or Sudras.
• Castes in India are arranged in hierarchical structure, with the untouchables or Dalits down the
bottom.
• The caste hierarchy is based on the polarity between purity and pollution.
• Caste is a property of the body and cannot be removed.
• There are strict rules of caste endogamy.
• The caste system based on color (varna)
 – The essential difference was between the light-skinned Aryans – or twice born- and the
dark skinned Dasas, who were the servant Sudras.
– Sudras, like women, could not own property, and only rarely did they rise above service
positions.
• The Vaisyas were considered inferior by the Brahmins and Kshatriyas, and a female was generally
not allowed to marry below her caste though it was common for a male to do so. Even a Brahmin's
daughter was not supposed to marry a Kshatriya.
• The sacred texts of the Brahmins are preserved in the Vedas, the foundational texts of orthodox
Hinduism. (In fact, orthodoxy often defined by acceptance of the Vedas)
• Aryan religion and its later developments are recorded in the four Vedas (sacred knowledge):
– the Rig-Veda,
– the Sama-Veda,
– the Yajur-Veda
– and the Atharva-Veda
 The VEDAS
• The term VEDA basically means knowledge
• While later Hindu works lay the primary emphasis on the meaning of a text, the emphasis in the
early Veda is primarily on sound.
• The Vedas were held to be eternal and have no author – either divine or human. What does this
mean?
• Raimon Panikkar argues that at the core of this conception there is a desire to purify our
relationship with the text and to avoid any kind of idolatry.
• Any one of us is the author of the Vedas when we read, pray, and understand them. Nobody is the
author of living words except the one who utters them.
• The Vedas are living words, and the word is not an instrument of human beings but are our
supreme form of expression. When a word ceases to be a living word, when it ceases to convey
meaning, when it is not a word for me, it is not Veda, it does not convey real or saving knowledge.