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Document 1. Four goals in Hindu thought release from samsara- the cycle of life (moksha) duty (dharma) wealth and power (artha) pleasure (kama).
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Document 1 • Four goals in Hindu thought • release from samsara- the cycle of life (moksha) • duty (dharma) • wealth and power (artha) • pleasure (kama)
Shiva is known as the destroyer and brings death and destruction, but also a positive end to things such as bad habits and old ways. The snakes on Shiva not only represent death and poison, but energy as well. Document 2
Document 3 • The idea of reincarnation, indeed, gave logical explanation and justification to the system, by explaining caste as a divinely established institution, hereditary from father to son, and designed to reward and punish souls for their actions in former lives. This undoubtedly helped to stabilize the confused reality. A man of unblemished life, born into the lowest caste, could hope for rebirth higher up the ladder. Conversely, a man of high caste who failed to conform to proper standards could expect rebirth in a lower caste. • From Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader, Volume One: To 1550 By William H. McNeill
Vishnu is one of the Hindu Gods known as the protector of the world and the restorer of order. He is known for being peaceful and compassionate. The four arms are thought to represent the four stages of life and the four goals of human life (moksha, dharma, artha, and kama) Document 4-Vishnu (the creator)
Document 5 • The third factor sustaining the caste principle was theoretical: the doctrine of reincarnation and of “varna.” The latter declared that all men were naturally divided into four castes: the Brahmans who prayed, the Kshatriyas who fought, the Vaisyas who worked, and the Sudras who performed unclean tasks. Official doctrine classified the first three castes as Aryan, the last as non-Aryan, and put much stress on caste rank, from Brahmans at the top to Sudras at the bottom. Reality never corresponded even remotely to this theory. There were hundreds if not thousands of castes in India, rather than the four recognized in Brahmanical teaching. • From Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader, Volume One: To 1550 By William H. McNeill
Ganesh is one of the many Hindu Gods. He is an elephantine God who is the son of the Lord Shiva. Ganesh is known for removing obstacles for people. Ganesha (success) Document 6-Ganesh
Document 7 • The doctrine of samsara as it was developed in the Upanishads made the hope of a heaven in which all the sorrows of this world were made good a foreclosed* possibility. With the concept of an afterlife in which one simply is reborn time and again because of the actions (karma) one takes in life led Upanishadic thinkers to conceive of moksha, or release from the changing world and the cycle of birth and rebirth. • *were not a possibility • http://wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/MOKSHA.HTM
The caste system is actually a complicated system of varna (right) and jati (social groups) The social order- caste system in India is connected to Hindu beliefs Purusha (the creator) sacrificed himself to make the four varna (castes) The only way to move up and down the caste system is through reincarnation Document 8-
Document 9- • Document - From the Manu Smrti • (Law book, Second to First Centuries B.C.E.) • For the sake of the preservation of this entire creation, the Exceedingly Resplendent One assigned separate duties to the classes which has sprung from his mouth, arms, thighs, and feet. • Teaching, studying, performing sacrificial rites, so too making others perform sacrificial rites, and giving away and receiving gifts- these he assigned to the brahmans. • Protection of the people, giving away of wealth, performance of sacrificial rites, study, and nonattachment to sensual pleasures- these are, in short, the duties of kshatriya. • Tending of cattle, giving away of wealth, performance of sacrificial rites, study, trade and commerce, usury,[1] and agriculture- these are the occupations of a vaishya. • The Lord has prescribed only one occupation (karma) for a shudra, namely, service without malice of even these other three classes. • [1] Lending money with interest • Embree, Ainslie T. Sources of Indian Tradition. Second Edition, V. 1 p. 221-222