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Hinduism from Ancient Times

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Hinduism from Ancient Times ATI O C N U A D L CHAPTER E I N S S T 1 I G H Hinduism From Ancient Times The largest civilization in the ancient world developed in the Indus Valley of India over 5,000 years ago. In the ??? thousands of years that followed, India produced many great empires under which science, art and philos- ophy flourished. Out of this rich his- tory developed the Hindu religion, today the third largest in the world. This young priest is conducting a fire ceremony just as was done in ancient times. Note to Students, Parents and Teachers presenting the Hindu religion because we believe them to This Educational Insight is HINDUISM TODAY magazine’s be deeply flawed and contrary to the State’s own general response to the controversy in California over the way rule that teaching material must: 1) be historically accurate, Hinduism is taught in public-school history books. It is a 2) “instill in each child a sense of pride in his or her heritage” 16-page lesson on Hindu history, beliefs and practices for and 3) avoid “adverse reflection” on a religion. It is our in- sixth graders written from the Hindu point of view. It is his- tent that this lesson will serve as a model for US textbooks, torically sound and acceptable in content and tone to the providing an authentic depiction of the eminent history various denominations of the Hindu community. and traditions of the faith while giving 10-year-old Hindu The problem with every existing textbook for this grade students justifiable pride in their religion. level is that Hinduism is presented negatively, incompletely In most states teachers are allowed to supplement the and inaccurately. This lesson is patterned after a typical textbooks with additional material. This lesson may be of- chapter on the Jewish faith in these same books. It delib- fered as a more accurate basis for the classroom study of erately does not follow the specific California standards for the origins and development of Hinduism in ancient India. april/may/june, 2 0 07 hinduism today I-1 A figurine of a married woman shows a red mountains to the ocean. Therefore, the holy SectION HINDU powder called sindur in the part of her hair. texts had to be composed well before 2000 SymbOls 1 Origins of Hindu women today follow this same cus- bce—by which time the river had dried up. tom as a sign of their married status. The The Vedas describe a powerful and spiri- Hinduism pipal tree and banyan tree are depicted of- tual people, their clans, kings and emperors. ten. These remain sacred to Hindus to this Their society was complex. The economy day. included agriculture, industry, trade, com- What You Will Learn... If YOU lived then... merce and cattle raising. The Vedas contain The banyan tree is a Main Ideas Your house is built on a wide, waterless riverbed. Your father tells you it The Vedas thousands of hymns in praise of God and symbol of Hindu- ism because it gives 1. Many Hindu religious was once the giant Sarasvati River, five kilometers across. There is not The central holy books of Hinduism are the the Gods. They describe a form of fire wor- shelter to all who practices are seen in the enough rain to provide for the family’s crops and cattle. Travelers tell four Vedas. Hindus regard them as spoken ship, yajna, around a specially-built brick approach archeological remains of the by God. They are in Sanskrit. The Vedas fire altar. In several Indus-Sarasvati cities Indus-Sarasvati civilization. of another great river, the Ganga, hundreds of miles away. Your father 2. The sacred texts of Hinduism and other villagers decide they must move. were not written down but memorized. archeologists have unearthed what look like are in the Sanskrit language Students might spend twelve years learning fire altars. and were originally memo- How would you feel about the long journey? these scriptures. Some would memorize one rized but unwritten. Veda, others all four. Even today there are The Aryan Invasion Theory 3. Ancient Indian art and sci- priests who can chant an entire Veda—as Many school books present an “Aryan Inva- ence were highly developed. the IMpact BUILDING BacKGROUND India’s known history begins with the Indus- many as 10,500 verses—from memory. sion” of India. It is the theory that Aryan Today Sarasvati civilization, 5,500 years ago. We know from archeology that The relationship between the people of invaders came from central Asia in 1500 The Big Idea The disputed this culture shows many features of later Hindu practice. the Indus-Sarasvati civilization and those bce and conquered the indigenous Indus- Aryan Invasion Hinduism developed over who composed the Vedas is not clearly Sarasvati civilization. It was these foreign- theory is still thousands of years in India. taught as fact in understood. We know that the Rig Veda ers, the theory states, who wrote the Rig Understanding Ancient Indian History most books on Key Terms describes the Sarasvati as the “most mighty Veda in Sanskrit. The theory was proposed India The early cities of India developed along the Indus and Sarasvati of rivers” flowing from the Himalayan in the 19th century by scholars in Europe, Indus and Sarasvati rivers, p. 2; rivers starting around 3500 bce. They are called the Indus-Sarasvati Vedas, p. 3; Sanskrit, p. 3 civilization or, sometimes, the Harappan culture. It was the largest FROM INDUS-SaraSVatI TO MODerN TIMES HINDUISM TODAY’S and most advanced civilization in the ancient world. But the mighty TeachING StaNDarDS Sarasvati River dried up, and what was once a fertile area became a Indus-Sarasvati sculptures, desert. The people of the region moved to other parts of India and seals and artifacts This column in each of the three beyond. By 2000 bce the civilization had entered a period of decline. more than 5,000 years sections presents our outline old display features of for Hinduism in 6th grade modern Hinduism history books. It is intended to The Religion of the Indus-Sarasvati People replace existing lists of required A great many artifacts have been discovered from the Indus-Saras- Lord Siva in meditation is topics, such as those found in vati cities. These include pottery, seals, statues, beads, jewelry, tools, foundfound onon thethe IndusIndus sealsseals the California Standards. games, such as dice, and children’s toys, such as miniature carts. 1. Explain the similarities be- tween Indus-Sarasvati civiliza- The flat, stone seals have pictures and writing on them. Scholars tion and later Hindu culture. have not yet agreed on what the mysterious script on the seals means. 2. Discuss why the Aryan Inva- They show deities, ceremonies, symbols, people, plants and animals. sion theory has been disputed We learn from them that people at that time followed practices iden- dinodia by many scholars. tical to those followed by Hindus today. One seal shows a meditating 3. Discuss the social and political figure that scholars link to Lord Siva, while others show the lotus dinodia system and advancement of posture used by today’s meditators. The swastika, a sacred symbol of science and culture. good luck used throughout Hindu history, is common. At left is a clay figure showing the This clay figure of a woman has red sindur 4. Explain the development of typical Hindu greeting of “namaste” There are statues, including a small clay figure with its hands in the hair part—a custom followed by religion in India between 1000 married Hindu women to this day bce and 500 ce. pressed together in the traditional Hindu greeting of “namaste.” I-2 hinduism today april/may/june, 2007 april/may/june, 2 0 07 hinduism today I-3 based on language studies. In part, it tried culture. Because of inadequate archeologi- strong identity and pride in their occupation. From Medicine was so advanced that doctors were per- HINDU to explain why Sanskrit is so closely related cal research, we do not know a lot about SymbOls time to time people would move from one caste to forming complex surgery not equaled in Europe to European languages, including English. this period. However, by 600 bce, India had another, or establish new ones. The evolving caste until the 18th century. In ancient times India was Many scholars now dispute this theory be- developed a common culture from north system became unfair to the people at the very one of the most advanced and wealthy nations on cause all the evidence for it is questionable. to south and east to west. By this time the bottom of the social order. Though caste is still an Earth. Since ancient times, a quarter of the world’s Additionally, modern scientists have found social, religious and philosophical ideas important factor in arranging marriages, caste dis- people have lived in India. no biological evidence, such as DNA, that and practices central to Hinduism are fully crimination is illegal in modern India. people came from outside India in signifi- evident. These are in continuity with the The sacred fire altar Women have always been held in high regard in Section 1 Assessment cant numbers since at least 6,000 bce. religion of the Indus-Sarasvati culture, the of the ancient Vedic India. Some of India’s foremost religious and politi- rites. To this day REVIEWING IDeaS, TerMS AND PEOPLE Many common explanations about Indian teachings of the Vedas, Dravidian culture Hindu weddings cal leaders are women. Hinduism is the only major 1. a. Explain What happened to the Sarasvati River? history and culture are based on the Aryan and elements of the tribal religions.
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