Hinduism
A Brief History and Description
What are some things that set Hinduism apart for the religions we
have studied so far?
 No identifiable founder(s)
 No strong organizational structure or centralized authority.
 No set creed or unified system of belief.
 No single way to achieve liberation or salvation.
 Unites worship of many Gods with the belief of a single, divine
reality (some disagreement here). One Truth but many ways to
get there.
 It might have the world’s oldest and largest religious literature.
 Over 1 billion Hindus (~1 of 6 people)
 Diverse – most diverse religious tradition. More religions inside
than outside?
 Syncretism (“mixing”) – Is there a Hinduism? A common
essence in Hinduism? Hinduism grows, adopts, changes,
incorporates (e.g., Buddha). “Nothing is lost.”
 Reincarnation (samsara) is determined by a law that all actions
have effects (karma), that one should live according to a
particular social and religious duty (dharma), and that salvation
(moksha) is freedom from this cycle of birth/death/rebirth
 “Hinduism” is a modern, western term from the 19th century.
Indigenous term is Sanatana Dharma, “eternal religion.”
 A lifetime of study – tip of the iceberg.
The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500 – 1500 BCE) or
Pre-Vedic India
 Harappa (NW, now Pakistan).
The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500 – 1500 BCE) or
Pre-Vedic India
 Harappa (NW, now Pakistan).

Advanced civilization

City plan: well-designed streets, brick houses with bathrooms, showers, etc.

writing

30,000 – 40,000 people; about 1 sq mile.
The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500 – 1500 BCE) or
Pre-Vedic India
 Harappa (NW, now Pakistan).

Advanced civilization

City plan: well-designed streets, brick houses with bathrooms, showers, etc.

writing (some undeciphered, like the gold bars below on the left)

30,000 – 40,000 people; about 1 sq mile.
The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500 – 1500 BCE) or
Pre-Vedic India
 Connections to later Hinduism?

Temple rituals: baths

Images/statues of deities – Goddesses

“Fire altars”? Animal sacrifice?

One image similar to Shiva?
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
Three main theories (Molloy initially included only the first
theory and does not really cover the third):
 Aryan Invasion Theory – Invasion from southern Russia ~2000
BCE. Ayran = “nobles”: warriors; had cattle, horses, hunted
animals, iron weapons. Three classes: priests, warriors, and
commoners.
 Aryan Migration Theory – similar to the first theory, but
instead there were repeated waves of migrations over the years.
 Indigenous Developments (no foreign invasion) – This one is
not really mentioned by Molloy, but is the most commonly held
theory at universities in India:
 Vedas (hymns  writings) make no mention of any place but India.
 Archeological evidence?
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
Vedic Religion: Mostly male Gods who controlled the forces of nature:






Dyaüs Pitr (pronounced ~ Dowse Peter):
 “Shining Father.”
 Originally like Zeus/Jupiter (~ Zeus Pater in Greek)
 Mentioned in Vedas, but no hymns to him
Indra – God of storm and war.
 Worshippers hoped to get strength from him.
 Has 250 hymns dedicated to him (about 25% of the Vedas).
 Displaced Dyaüs Pitr
Agni – God of fire; carried sacrifices up to the Gods.
Vishnu – minor God
Surya – the sun God
Soma – ritual drink; caused altered states of consciousness
An Anthology of Living Religions, “THE HYMN TO AGNI” (See handout)
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
Some Gods are clearly connected to Greek and Roman Gods
(e.g., Dyaüs Pitr) but NOT like Greek and Roman Gods in that
there is not a pantheon of distinct deities.
Vedas: all the different Gods are ultimately different faces of
the one Supreme Being. One unseen Reality that is beyond
human understanding; it continues to create and sustain
everything that exists:
See handout, Rig Veda quotes:
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
He to whom the priests sacrifice, what do they know of him?
Though set burning fires in many different fire pits.
Agni, lord of fire, is only one.
Though his light extends in every direction, Surya, the sun, is
only one.
The one being has become all this. All this is only one.
– Rig Veda 8:10.1-2
They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni.
They call him Garutman.
They call him Yama and Matarishvan.
There is one God; he is known by many names.
– Rig Veda 1:164.46
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
Rituals in Vedic Practice:

Priests (Brahmins) controlled outdoor fire altars

Square or rectangle altars, purified with water

Sacrifices: milk, melted butter (ghee), grains,
and sometimes animals. Rare horse sacrifice.

Generous offerings to a deity would be rewarded by some specific result.

Most holy place to do a sacrifice was the confluence of two rivers, e.g.,
Ganga River (Ganges River). “Mother Ganga”

Priests controlled the rituals

Sacred chants during sacrifices – passed on orally from father to son (priests
only)

Chants written down later = Vedas. “Breath of the eternal”; sacred
literature.
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
 Priests controlled a religion interested in material results from
sacrifices (good crops, victory in battle, heirs, etc.). This
hierarchy developed into a caste (varnas) system
 First mentioned in Rig Veda 10.90 (see handout):
“When they divided the Man, into how many parts did they
apportion him? What do they call his mouth, his two arms and
thighs and feet? His mouth became the Brahmin; his arms were
made into the Warrior (kshatriyas = warriors and nobles), his
thighs the People (Vaishyas = business people, artisans,
farmers), and from his feet the Servants (Shudras = unskilled
workers) were born . . . .”
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)

Four castes (and an “outcast” group) but much more complicated

Actually over 3000 subcastes that vary from place to place, family, etc.

Includes “jatis” families or clanlike groups—different places, different roles.
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Twice born:
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Brahmin – priests
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Kshatriyas – warriors, nobles

Vaishyas – business people, artisans
Once born:

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Shudras – unskilled workers
“Outcasts” not “in” society; various names:

Chandala – untouchable

Dalit – “the oppressed”

Harijan – “children of God” (from M. Gandhi)
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
The Vedas =
The Four Vedas or
or
All religious literature from this time period
 The Four Vedas:
 Rig Veda – oldest; most important. 1028 hymns in 10 books.
 Yahur Veda – “ceremonial knowledge.”
 Sama Veda – “chant knowledge.” musical elaborations
 Atharva Veda – “knowledge from [the teacher] Atharva.” Spells
and magic rites
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
Other Vedic Literature:
 Brahmanas – (1000 and 700 BCE). Commentaries on the Four
Vedas. ~ teaching manual
 Upanishads – “sitting near (to a guru)?” or maybe “sitting apart
(in a forest)?”
 ~ secret teaching received at the feet of a guru.
 ~ 100 works
 ~ 700 - 300 BCE (600-400?)
 Delve into the deeper meaning of the Vedas.
The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – 500 BCE)
“The Great Mood Shift” (~500 BCE)

loss of confidence in Vedic sacrificial system (and dominance of
Brahmin)

reject materialistic aspects of sacrifice

new doubt about the value of earthly existence.

Tired of priests “croaking like frogs” (Rig Veda 7:103)

Renunciants (sannyasin).
Upanishads stay within Vedic system but chart a new course.