Intro to Hinduism

 In about 1500 B.C., a group of Indo-Europeans called the Aryans (AIR•ee•uhnz) traveled east into India. In contrast to the city-dwelling Harappa’s, the Aryans were herders.  The Aryans entered India gradually. They practiced a mysterious religion that appealed to many Dravidians—the people living in India when they arrived. As a result, Aryan religion and language spread. In turn, the Dravidians taught the Aryans about city life. Because of these interactions, India developed a complex, blended culture.  Aryan society was organized into classes: warriors, priests, and commoners. As Indian society grew more complex, these classes developed into what was later called the caste system.  A caste is a social class whose members are identified by their job.

The early religion of the Aryans is called Brahmanism, after the name of the Aryan Priests, or Brahmans. The Aryans worshiped many gods of nature. The Brahmans made sacrifices to those gods by offering animals to a sacred fire. . The Aryans believed in many deities who controlled the forces of nature and governed society. We know about Aryan religion from their sacred hymns and poetry, especially their pictures, or long poems.  For centuries, the priests, or Brahmins, recited these works, and much later they were written down. The rituals of the Aryan religion and many hymns to their gods are found written in ancient Sanskrit  (the ancient language of India) in the Vedas.  Vedas means “Knowledge” or “Wisdom.”  The Vedas were the sacred writings that would later become the sacred text of the Hindu religion. These teachings probably started as oral stories and were written around 1000 B.C.E.  

Over the centuries, Aryan religion changed. It borrowed some religious ideas from the people the Aryans conquered in India. This mix of beliefs eventually became Hinduism.  

The basic principles of what is known today as Hinduism were already formulated by 1500 B.C. 

 Hindus believe that a soul is not joined to the Brahman immediately after a person dies. Instead, a person must pass through many lives to be united with Brahman. The Hindu life cycle called samsara, consists of birth, death and rebirth. Hindus are to know pain and death until their soul is united with Brahman, called moksha.  Hindus believe that it takes many lifetimes to escape samsara by reincarnation. They strive for perfection, living and following the idea of dharma and karma and performing their social duties.

On its journey, a soul might be reborn into a higher caste. If an individual lived a bad life, he or she might be reborn into a lower caste or life form. This idea of passing through many lives to reach the Brahman is called reincarnation (REE •ihn• kahr•NAY•shuhn). It is very important in Hinduism and it influences how Hindus live their daily lives. It even affects how they treat animals because they consider all life sacred. To earn the reward of a better life in their next life, Hindus believe they must perform their duty. Dharma (DAHR • muh) is the divine law. It requires people to perform the duties of their caste. A farmer has different duties than a priest and men have different duties than women.

 The consequences of how a person lives are known as karma (KAHR•muh). Hindus believe that if they do their duty and live a good life, they will have good karma. This good karma moves them closer to the Brahman in their next life. How did the belief in reincarnation affect Indians? For one thing, it made them more accepting of the caste system. People believed they had to be happy with their role in life and do the work of their caste. A dedicated Hindu believes that the people in a higher caste are superior and that they are supposed to be on top. The belief in reincarnation gave hope to everyone, even servants. If servants did their duty, they might be reborn into a higher caste in their next life