-
5.2 – Origins of Hinduism
Essential Question: How do
India’s 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.
Key Word Definition Memory Clue
varnas
Aryan/Indian social divisions similar to
other social hierarchies
Brahmins -‐ priests Kshatriyas –
rulers/warriors Vaisyas – farmers,
traders, craftspeople Sudras –
laborers, non-‐Aryans
caste system
When the varnas became further
divided, the result was more
groups, or castes. The caste
system divided Indian society into
groups based on a person’s
birth, wealth, or occupation.
untouchables
A group within Indian society that
did not belong to any caste.
They could only hold certain,
often unpleasant jobs.
sutras The guides that listed the
rules for the caste system
Vedas
Aryan religion was based on the
four Vedas, which are religious
writings containing sacred hymns
& poems. The oldest is
the Rigveda, which includes hymns
of praise to many gods.
Hinduism The largest religion in
India today, based on the
blending of the Vedas, Vedic
texts, and other religious ideas
from different cultures Some
important Hindu beliefs include
polytheism, reincarnation, and karma.
atman This is the Hindu word
for soul. It should be
reunited with Brahman, the universal
spirit.
Ancient India
-
Key Word Definition Memory Clue
reincarnation The process of rebirth
where a soul is born and
reborn into different physical forms
until it can see through the
illusion of life and reach
salvation
karma
The effects that good or bad
actions have on a person’s soul
-‐ Evil actions cause bad
karma, which results in being
reborn into a lower
caste in a person’s next life.
-‐ Good actions build up good
karma and result in
being born into a higher caste,
eventually leading to
salvation.
moksha Hinduism’s salvation, or freedom
from life’s worries and the
cycle of rebirth
dharma A set of spiritual
duties that each person has to
fulfill, according to Hinduism
Jainism
A religion based on four
principles: -‐ injure no life
(nonviolence) -‐ tell the truth -‐ do
not steal -‐ own no property
nonviolence/ ahimsa
The avoidance of violent actions
Hindus and Jains practice this.
Sikhism A monotheistic religion based
on achieving enlightenment through
meditation.
guru Sanskrit word for ‘teacher’
monotheism Belief in only one God
Sikhism is a monotheistic
religion.
-
5.1 – Origins of Hinduism
Essential Question: How do India’s
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.
A. Indian Society Divides
As Aryan society became more
complex, their society became divided
into groups, mostly
organized by people’s ____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 person’s
___birth_______, _____wealth_____,
or ____occupation______. A person’s
___caste____ determined where they
belonged/ranked in society,
but a caste’s value could change
depending on wealth or power.
On rare occasions, people could
___change____ their caste. Over
time, ___women’s______ 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 person’s 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 person’s __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 life’s 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 one’s dharma required
___accepting_____ one’s position in
life. By teaching people to
accept
their positions, Hinduism helped
preserve the ___caste___ _____system____.
-
D. Groups React to Hinduism
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:
-‐ Injure __no ___life__
-‐ Tell ___the __truth____
-‐ Do __not __steal___
-‐ Own __no ____property___
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 don’t 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
religion’s 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.
They’re 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.
Q: What were the four
varnas?
A: The four varnas are Brahmins,
Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras.
Q: What were some rules
described in the sutras?
A: People couldn’t marry, or eat
with anyone from a different
class.
Q: What could happen to
someone who broke caste rules?
A: Someone who broke the caste
rules could be banned from
their home and caste, which
would make them an untouchable.
Main Idea #2: The Aryans
practiced a religion called
Brahmanism.
Q: What is the Rigveda?
A: The Rigveda is the oldest
of the Vedas and contains a
collections of hymns and praises
to many gods.
Q: When was Rigveda
probably written?
A: The Rigveda was probably
written before 1000 BC.
Q: How did the Upanishads
differ from other Vedic texts?
A: The Upanishads were reflections
on the Vedas written by
religious students and teachers.
Q: Why did priests place
sacrifices into a fire?
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: What led to the
development of Hinduism?
A: The blending of Brahmanism and
religious ideas from other cultures.
Q: How may believing
that this world is merely an
illusion affect one’s behavior?
A: Answers will vary.
Q: What is karma?
A: Karma is the effects that
good or bad actions have on
a person’s 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.
Q: On whose
teachings were Jainism and Sikhism
based?
A: Jainism was created by
Mahavira, and Sikhism was created
by Guru Nanak.
Q: How did Jainism
differ from Hinduism?
A: The Hindus put an emphasis
on religious rituals, but Jains
put an emphasis on nonviolence.
Q: Why do Sikhs
carry special objects with them
at all times?
A: Sikhs carry special objects
with them as symbols of their
religious faith.
-
Reading Checks
Q #1: How did a
person become a member of a
caste?
A: A person became a member
of a caste through birth,
wealth, or occupation.
Q #2: What are the
Vedic texts?
A: The Vedic texts are sacred
hymns and poems, collections of
writings by Aryan Brahmins.
Q #3: What determined how
a person would be reborn?
A: A person’s karma determined how
he/she would be reborn.
Q #4: Why do Jains
avoid eating meat?
A: Jains avoid eating meat because
they don’t want to hurt living
creatures.