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38 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
When did large numbers of people begin to migrate into India?
1500 BC
Why was this migration into India important?
It brought together people with different customs and ideas
What were the earlies immigrants called?
Who were the Aryans?
warriors and herders who came from eastern Europe and western Asia
What age in Indian history did the arrival of the Aryans start?
The Classical Age in India
How long did the Aryan migration take?
hundreds of years
What are some reasons the Aryans might have come to India?
drought, famine, invaders, or disease
Where did the Aryans settle?
the region of the Indus Valley known as Pakistan
With whom did the Aryans compete for farmland?
The native people of India
What advantage did the Aryans have over the native people of India?
How did the Aryan lifestyle change in India?
Originally they had been herders of cattle, goats, horses and sheep. In India they became farmers.
What is the most important in India - cities or villages?
In what aspects of Indian culture and beliefs can Aryan ideas still be seen?
Sanskrit, the Vedas and Hinduism
What is Sanskrit?
the Aryan language upon which many modern Indian languages are based
What are the Vedas?
4 of the holiest Aryan books that are sacred writings describing the Aryan religion
What is Hinduism?
the religion that developed from the Aryan religion
How many gods are there in Hinduism?
three main gods with many other lesser gods beneath them
Who are the 3 gods of Hinduism?
Brahma the Creator
Vishnu the Preserver
Shiva the Destroyer
What do Hindus believe?
- people live many lives until they reach spiritual perfection;
-people are reborn into higher and lower social positions depending on if they obey their religious teachings and lead good lives will be reborn into higher social positions
-animals have souls
-cows are holy
-many believe in being vegetarian
What is reincarnation?
rebirth in a new body after death
What did the Aryan priests use the Vedas and the belief in reincarnation for?
to give order to their society
Why did the Aryans divide their society into social classes?
to follow the Vedas
What 4 social classes did the Aryans have originally?
farmers and merchants
common people
What caste did the Aryans add in India?
a caste for the conquered Indians
What is a caste?
A group within a social class that is rigid and unchangeable
To what do the Indians compare the caste system?
The human body
Who were the Brahmans?
priests and scholars that Indians compared to the head of the body
Who were the Kshatriyas
the rulers and warriors that Indians compared to the arms of the body
Who were the vaisyas?
the farmers and merchants that Indians compared to the legs of the body
Why were the Sudras
the laborers, craftworkers and servants who Indians compared to the feet of the body
Who were the untouchables?
People who did all the unpleasant jobs in Indian society - thought to be impure - had to avoid contact with the rest of society (even shadow)
What new religion appeared in India in the 6th century and challenged the rituals and caste sytme of Hinduism?
Where do we get the information we know about the man called Buddha?
from information written many years after his death
What do we know about Budda
- his real name was Siddhartha Gautama
- he was born in northern India in 563 BC
- he lived a comfortable life as a child
- his father gave him everything he wanted and protected him from seeing the suffering of the common people
- at 30 he went outside the walls of his palance for the first time and saw suffering
- he wanted to spend his life finding out why there was so much suffering and how suffering could be ended
-studied with Brahman priests for awhile
- studied and meditated until he realized that people should seek love, truth , the joy of knowledge and a calm mind
- at this point Siddharthat became the Budda
What does Buddha mean?
the Enlightened one
How are Buddists different than other religions?
- No organized church
- No written holy books
- Aimed only to set an example for others through unselfish and peaceful behavior
What is Nirvana?
a feeling of happiness, peace and complete understanding
How do people achieve Nirvana?
By following the Noble Eightfold Path:
- proper concentration
- controlling feelings and thoughts
- freeing one's mind from evil
- having a job that hurts no one else
- saying nothing to hurt others
- deciding to resist evil
- knowing the truth