Jasquanique Walker
Jasquanique Walker
C-HIS 201WS
October 27, 2012
Prof. K. Oluwajuyemi
Research Paper
Hinduism- An ancient Indo-European religion
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Hinduism is originally called Vedantic or Upanishadic, its religious practices date as far
back to the decedents of the Indus Valley Civilization of modern day Pakistan. With more than
one-billion devotees world-wide, Hinduism is still the oldest religion being practiced. About
eighty percent of Indian population practice in the early 21st century. It is a cultural religion
which impacts laws. There are several important components, such as doctrine or sacred texts,
society such as castes systems, practice, education, and devotion, that make ancient Hinduism
unique and different from other religions.1
The Aryans of Indo-European decent arrived after the decline of the Indus civilizations in
1500 BCE. These noble birthed warriors conquered civilization to civilization. The people are
said to be of light-skin and prized status. The tribal society was run by Rajas, kings that led them
into war. The invasion of ancient India spread the Aryan languages and beliefs known as the
Vedic religion. Since the Aryans prided themselves on their wealth, social classes separated the
noble from the peasants. The four branch separation is called a caste system.2
Society is one of the five strands to shaping Hinduism. Order is necessary for any
civilization. Caste systems allow for structure in Hindu society. It kept commoners from intermarring with nobility to keep blood lines pure. There were four original castes in the system. The
highest classes are the Brahmans and the Kshatriyas, the priests and warriors or nobles. The
lower classes are made up of commoners and servants otherwise known as Vaishyas and
Shudras. Later, slaves would be incorporated if one could afford them. They were usually war
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Hinduism; Introduction,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition, Encyclopedia
Britannica Inc., 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266312/Hinduism (accessed September 07, 2012).
2
Edwin
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Bryant,http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/nlebk_144059_A
N?sid=bbf3107c-8549-4b5d-89d6-6177ee9fd2b2@sessionmgr114&vid=4 , (Oxford University Press.,
2003)http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/eh ost/ebookviewer/ebook/nlebk_144059_AN
?sid=bbf3107c-8549-4b5d-89d6-6177ee9fd2b2@sessionmgr114&vid=4 (accessed November 15,
2012), 3-17.
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prisoners or outcasts forced to perform unpleasant tasks.3 The Brahmans abide by the Rig-Veda,
sacred text, to carry out laws and punishments. The caste that one is born into is usually infinite.
Ancestors and future offspring will belong in the same class. Generational caste changes can be
developed through marriage but is rare. This societal structure maintains harmony and balance in
the community. “Members of the various denominations who abandon all worldly attachment
enter an “inner circle” or “order” that, seeking a life of devotion, adopts or develops particular
vows and observances, a common cult, and some form of initiation.”4
The late Vedic age was made up of two religious beliefs, karma and asceticism.
Asceticism is the practice of rigorous self-discipline.5 It became widespread in about 500 B.C.E
amongst the ancient Indian Subcontinent of the Vedic civilization. This practice is the base of the
Hindu religion. Originally, asceticism was limited to only men, but it was not uncommon for
women to in their husbands in pursuing “…abstinence from worldly riches to pursue content
spiritually”6 Karma and reincarnation is the belief that the life one lives now will affect the next
life. Mahavira Varhamana lived from 599-527. He was a Jains leader that incorporated
vegetarianism with ascetics. He was a monk that participated in extreme ascetics similar to
Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as Buddha. The concepts were adopted by Brahmans.
They practiced nonviolence, including killing animals for food. Hindus especially leave beef out
of their diets.
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Kathleen Oluwajuyemi, Lecture on Early Civilzations of South and East Asia.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Hinduism; Introduction,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition, Encyclopedia
Britannica Inc., 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266312/Hinduism (accessed September 07, 2012).
4
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"WordNet; A lexical database for English" August 18, 2012
Serinity Young, "Gendered Politics i n Ancient Indian Asceticism,” Union Seminary
Quarterly Review , 48, no. 3-4 (1994): 73-92,
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5342be52 c051-42ad-b022-825daf9c005f@sessionmgr13&vid=8&hid=12 (accessed September 5, 2012).
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Practice and Devotion are another two strands for the construction of Hinduism. Rituals
of ancient Hinduism did not require many temples or images. There are two main types of
rituals. Domestic sacrifices were small performed daily. Small animals were sacrificed on a vedi,
altar on raised ground. Soma, intoxicating beverage, was consumed and most ceremonies. Public
rituals required the attendance of several priests. The ceremonies could incorporate as many as
three altars and could last several days. Wealthy men were usually the only to participate in such
grand rituals. Although animals were most often used, human sacrifices showed to be more
symbolic. Most ceremonies were based of the lunar calendar usually taking place on new or full
moons.7
Doctrine plays a big role in Hinduism. Textual knowledge is just as important as oral
knowledge. There are some literary texts that are very important to Vedic religion. The oldest
texts are the Vedas. The Vedas mostly cover rituals. The Rig-Veda , 1500 BCE, is a compilation
of versus and hymns that are usually memorized to be recited at various rituals. It covers
marriages, funerals, and sacrificial rituals and becomes the source for different theories in the
Vedic age. It also mentions several gods including Indra, the chief god, Varuna, the guardian,
Agni, the fire god, Yama, god of death, and Surya, Sun god. Their gods are anthropomorphic;
they have both human and animal traits.8 Other Vedas include the Yajurveda which is the “Veda
of sacrificial Formulas” and the Samaveda “Veda of chants”. The Eight Chapters is a grammar
book written in the fourth century that standardized the universal writing of Sanskrit and the
spoken language Prakrits. The Upanishads is the greatest of literature for the Vedic age. It covers
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Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Hinduism; Introduction,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition, Encyclopedia
Britannica Inc., 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266312/Hinduism (accessed September 07, 2012).
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Hinduism; Components of the Vedas,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition,
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266312/Hinduism (accessed September 07,
2012).
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about 500 years of history from the years of 800 BCE to 300 BCE, and is a compilation of 108
essays.9
Education in the Hindu culture has developed over time. Vedanta is the paradigm for the
school of philosophy in India. Vedanta includes the use of the great Upanishads as a text basis.
“The influence of Vedanta on Indian thought has been profound, so that it may be said that, in
one or another of its forms, Hindu philosophy has become Vedanta.”10 Shaiva-siddhanta is a
school based on Tamil hymns. Tamil was one of the earliest languages on the Indo-Aryans of
South India.11 It is the school of religion and philosophy.12
The oral telling of stories is just as important as the ones written down. Hindus take pride
in their epics. The Mahabharata was one of the greatest epics. It has been told again and again
both written and orally. It contains many legends and myths to go along with the story’s plot. It
explains a series of battles that take place as a result of a family feud. A few of the gods
participate in the battle as well. The epic also mentions the sometimes good and sometimes bad
interactions with Buddhist and Jains.13
“The political turmoil of the first few centuries of the common era caused by
foreign invasions … of Buddhism and Jainism placed the elitist and purist
Brahmins in a precarious position, impelling them to move on…to reassert their
cultural superiority and, hopefully, regain purity by appropriate rituals.”14
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Kathleen Oluwajuyemi. Lecture on Early Civilzations of South and East Asia.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Advaita,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.,
2012. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/6636/Advaita
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11
Kathleen Oluwajuyemi. Lecture on Early Civilzations of South and East Asia.
clopedia Britannica Online, “Shaiva-Siddhanta,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition, Encyclopedia Britannica
Inc., 2012 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/518552/Shaiva-siddhanta
13
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Mahabarata” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition, Encyclopedia Britannica
Inc., 2012http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/357806/Mahabharata
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Arvind Sharma, Hindu Narratives on Human Rights, ebook Collection EBSCOhost (2010):178 ,accessed October 6, 2012.
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During the Common Era, great Vedic literature was composed and varnashrama dharma
had become a focal concept of Hinduism. The varnasharma dharma is somewhat like a code of
conduct. It lays out the responsibilities and civil duties that a person has depending on the
chapter of life that person falls under. The first chapter is to be a student otherwise known as a
brahmacharin. The second stage would to be married, grihastha, followed by the succession of
sons in order to pass down ancestral debt. Next would be Vanaprastha which is the stage when
asceticism takes place and a man must abandon material gods and begin his quest for selfdiscipline with or without his wife. Lastly, sannyasin is the stage to become a hermit wandering
in the forest. Sannyasin is the only stage that is not mandatory.15 Mahatma Ghandi used many
Hindu concepts such as celibacy, vegetarianism, and nonviolence.
Hinduism formed out of the Vedic religion of the ancient Aryans civilization following
the decline on the Indus Valley civilization. With such a history, it has developed several
necessary components that connect back into each other. Rituals, government, education all tie
into the religious theories of ascetics, karma and devotion. Well-known figures, such as
Mahatma Gandhi have lived their lives based on the morals and qualities of the Hindu religion. It
is the oldest religion still practiced despite the changes in its name or rituals.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Hinduism,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition, Encyclopedia Britannica
Inc., 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266312/Hinduism (accessed September 07, 2012).
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Reference Page
Pennington, Brian K. Was Hinduism Invented? : Britons, Indians, and Colonial Construction
of Religion. (Oxford University Press 2005), 4.
https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/nlebk_138204_AN?sid=fa251dd2-a28541dc-aac7-f6fc659f1b48@sessionmgr110&vid=3
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Hinduism,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic
Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Sep. 07, 2012.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266312/Hinduism
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Mahabarata” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic
Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Sep. 07, 2012.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/357806/Mahabharata
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Aryan (People),” Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Sep. 07, 2012.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/37468/Aryan
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “Vedic Religion,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Sep. 07, 2012.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/624479/Vedic-religion
Young, Serinity. “Gendered Politics in Ancient Indian Asceticism,” Union Seminary
Quarterly Review 48, no. 3-4 (1994) : 73-92, accessed September 5, 2012,
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5342be52c051-42ad-b022-825daf9c005f%40sessionmgr13&vid=8&hid=12
Arvind Sharma, “Ancient Hinduism as a missionary religion,” Numen 39, no.2 (1992) : 175191,accessed September 7, 2012.
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Princeton University, "WordNet; A lexical database for English." Last modified August 18,
2012. Accessed September 29, 2012.
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=ascetic&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1
&o8=1&o1=1&o7=&o5=&o9=&o6=&o3=&o4=&h=
Flesher, Paul. “Hinduism: Living the Religious Life.” University of Wyoming Religious
Studies Program. http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/hinduism/HRLIFE.HTM
(accessed October 5, 2012)
Bryant, Edwin. Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate.:
Oxford University Press, 2003. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) (accessed November 15,
2012)
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/nlebk_144059_
AN?sid=bbf3107c-8549-4b5d-89d6-6177ee9fd2b2@sessionmgr114&vid=4
Oluwajuyemi, Kathleen. “Early civilization of South and East Asia” lecture.
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