India and Persia 2
Terms
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- 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?
- Aryans
- 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?
- horses
- 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?
- 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?
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Brahma the Creator
Vishnu the Preserver
Shiva the Destroyer - What do Hindus believe?
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- 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?
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-priests
warriors
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?
- Buddism
- 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
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- 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?
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- 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?
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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