Plan:
1. The “unknown land” of Asia – India.
2. Early Indian Civilization.
3. Key Features of Indian Society.
4. Religion and the Indian way of life.
5. Lack of Political Unity.
6. India’s literature represented by Mahabharata and Ramayana.
7. Customs in India – the practice of self-immolation by fire.
8. The role of muslims in India’s life.
9. Taj Mahal.
10. Art of India.
The “unknown lands” of Asia and Africa have fascinated Westerners for
centuries. The Orient, with her silks and her unique cultures, has
attracted travelers since early days. Despite the contacts, between Asia
and Africa remained virtually unaffected by Western influences until the
twentieth century.
India is a land of great diversity, in its topography (the physical
features of a land), climate, and population, it is a study in contrasts.
This triangular subcontinent extends from southern Asia into the Indian
Ocean, forming a giant Pennsylvania. It’s terrain varies from subtropical
rain forest to barren deserts, from low coastal plains to the highest
mountain range in the world, the Himalayas. Between the rugged mountain
regions in the north and the coastal plains and tropical plateaus of the
south lie fertile valleys watered by two great river systems, the Indus and
the Ganges. Like the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures, the earliest
Indian civilization began along riverbanks. The first inhabitants of India
settled in river valleys along the Indus and Ganges rivers.
These people must have felt secure from invaders and foreign
influences. They were protected by tall mountain ranges in the north and by
seas on the east and west. But despite these natural barriers, India did
not remain an isolated land.
Throughout her history, merchants, foreign invaders and Wandering
tribes crossed the mountains along India’s northwestern border and settled
in the fertile river valleys. As a result, India became a land of diverse
elements. Within Indian Society, a unique culture developed.
Early Indian Civilization
India derives its name from the Indus River, along whose fertile banks
the earliest Indian civilization flourished (ca 2300 BC). Much of our
limited knowledge of this civilization has come from excavations of two of
its leading cities: Mohenjo – Daro and Harappa. These carefully planned
cities had wide, straight streets lined with brick houses. Evidence
indicates that, these cities had elaborate drainage and sewer systems,
which were more advanced than those in most, modern Indian Villages.
Although a great distance separates India and the Near East, the early
inhabitants of India carried on trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia. From
archeological evidence it is known that the Indus civilization ended
suddenly – perhaps by flood on by enemy invasion. It was at this time that
a warlike people called the Aryans migrated into the Indus Valley.
The Aryans were a fair-skinned people who came from central Asia
sometime after 1500 BC and subdued the non Aryan people of northwest India.
Many historians believe that the Aryans were related to tribes that were
invading the Near East Greece and Rome about the same time. The Aryans were
herdsmen; they kept large numbers of cows and horses. Although they left
behind no cities as the Indus civilization did, they did establish a new
language in India – Sanskrit.
Our knowledge of the Aryans and their influence on Indian society
comes not from archaeology, but from a collection of religious literature
known as the Vedas, meaning “knowledge”. Preserved in the Vedas are early
traditions and religious beliefs of the Indians, which were passed down
orally from one generation to the next. From Sanskrit literature, we gain
insights into the Aryan way of life, which became the basis of Indian
culture and tradition.
Key Features of Indian Society
India has one of the oldest cultures in the modern world. The basic
characteristics of Indian society, described in the Vedas, have changed
little from ancient to modern days.
Joint-Family
The family has always been one of the most important social units in
India. The extended or Joint-Family included the children, grandchildren
wives, and close blood relatives of a common ancestor. The oldest male of
the group was the dominant authority over the family. When married, sons
did not establish their own homes; instead they remained in their father’s
or grandfather’s household. Each family member had his own duties and
obligations. The interests of the family came before those of the
individual family members.
Parents chose the husbands or wives for their children in order to
maintain the family’s position and honor in society.
Caste
Imagine living in a country in which your status in life was
determined the moment you were born. India was such a country. Her
population was divided into rigid social groups called castes. The Indians
formulated strict rules governing the life of the members of each caste
group: where they lived, what they did (profession), what they wore, what
and with whom they could eat, as well as, whom they could marry.
India had between two and three thousand different castes and
subcastes. Each one fell into one of four broad “class” groups. The most
important group was the priests, called the Brahmans.
Next in rank were the rulers, and warriors, followed by the merchants
and traders. The lowest class group was the sudras – composed of servants
and serfs. Outside the caste system and at the bottom of the Indian social
ladder were the outcastes, or “untouchables”, for mere contact with them
was thought to bring defilement. While anyone could improve his status
within his caste system there was little change in the village and family
life of India.
This fact explains in part why Indian society remained nearly the same
for thousands of years.
Religion and the Indian Way of Life
Religion has played a dominant role in shaping Indian culture. From
India came two pagan religions that have had a major impact on Asian
culture: Hinduism and Buddhism.
Hinduism
Hinduism is ingrained in the Indian way of life. It developed from the
early culture and traditions of India: her social structure, literature,
arts and customs. It has not only preserved the traditional elements of
Indian’s past but also served as a unifying influence in India’s diverse
society.
Because Hinduism has no formal statement of doctrine, it was able to
absorb into its system of belief a wide variety of gods and religious
concepts found among the many of the people of India. The majority of
people in India are Hindus.
The basic tenets of Hinduism are found in the religions literature of
ancient India, namely the Vedas and the Upanishads. Hindus believe that a
great god called Brahman permeates everything in the universe. The Hindus
acknowledge many gods; all deities, however, are considered only
manifestations of the eternal, unchanging Brahman .
Since Brahman is not a personal being, he is often referred to as the
great soul or world soul. The ultimate purpose and goal of man according to
the Vedas, is to reunite his soul with the world soul. This reunification
is accomplished through the process of reincarnation, in which a man’s soul
passes through many states (or rebirths) before it escapes the physical
world and unites with Brahman. This cycle of rebirths is called the wheel
of life.
The Hindu believes that a person’s deeds in this life determine his
status in the next. If he has lived a good life, then he will move to a
higher caste in the next life. The soul of an evil person may be reborn
into a lower caste or even into some form of animal life. By observing the
religious ritual and ceremonies prescribed by the Hindu priests and by
fulfilling the duties and obligations of his caste a Hindu believes that he
can ultimately gain release from the “wheel of life” and attain union with
the world soul.
Buddhism.
India was also the birth of Buddhism. The founder of this new religion
was Siddhartha Gautama later know as Buddha, the Enlightened One”.
At the age of twenty-nine, Gautama became troubled over the world. He
became convinced that he should devote all his efforts to find the way of
deliverance from suffering. Therefore, he renounced his wife and child,
and set out to find peace and true happiness. After six frustrating years,
living as a hermit in self-sacrifice and meditation, Gautama was at the
point of despair. Sitting down under a tree, he vowed that he would not
move until the truth came to him. According to Gautama, he was pondering
the questions of life when he realized the truth and attained
enlightenment. Central to Buddha’s teaching are his Four Noble Truths: 1)
suffering is part of all existence; 2) suffering has a cause – selfish
desires. As long as man has a craving for pleasure, possessions, and power,
he will have sorrow and misery; 3) suffering can be overcome by destroying
selfish desires. 4) If man follows the Eightfold Path, he will destroy
selfish desires and end all suffering. This pattern for living includes
correct beliefs, intentions, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, thoughts,
and meditations.
Buddhism is a religion built upon works and moral behavior. Buddhists
believe that man does not need the help of the gods or membership in a
higher caste in order to obtain freedom from suffering. Once a man has
absolutely freed himself from his selfish craving, he will no longer be
reborn but will enter into Nirvana – the state of absolute peace and
happiness, where he loses himself in the world soul.
Lack of Political Unity
While many aspects of Indian Society have remained the same for
centuries, the political history of India has been one of constant change.
Through much of her history India has been little more than a patchwork of
small rival kingdoms. Successive waves of foreign invaders have streamed
into the Indian Subcontinent. The powerful empires established by these
invaders have provided brief periods of Unity and stability for the Indian
peoples.
Mauryan Empire
In 326 B.C. Alexander the Great threatened India. His armies crossed
the Indus River and conquered many small kingdoms in India’s northwestern
region. Alexander intended to advance further into India, but when his army
refused to continue, he had to turn back. According to traditional
accounts, he met a young man named Chandragupta Maurya while in India. As
Alexander’s empire began to disintegrate after his death, Chandragupta
conquered the disorganized and weak kingdoms in the north and created the
first strong empire of India – The Mauryan Empire.
The most famous of the Mauryan rulers was Chandragupta’s grandson
Asoka. He extended the Mauryan Empire to include all but the southern tip
of India. Sickened by the results of his own bloody conquests, Asoka
renounced war and became a convert to Buddhism. He spent much of his reign
promoting the Buddhist religion.
Asoca is created with building thousands of Buddhist shrines called
steepas. He also had Buddhist teaching inscribed on stone pillars still
stand, providing valuable information concerning Asoca’s reign.
One of his most far-reaching acts was the sending of Buddhist
missionaries abroad. Buddhism soon spread across much of Southeast Asia,
where it became a powerful force in other Asian cultures. It did not gain a
wide following in India, however.
Hindu priests viewed Buddhist teaching as dangerous to the caste
system. Fearing that they might lose their prestige and rank in society,
they worked against the acceptance of Buddhist beliefs.
Gupta Empire
The first great period of Indian unity was short-lived. Not long after
Asoka’s death (232 B.C.), the Mauryan Empire collapsed. The years between
the second century B.C. and the third century A.D. Witnessed new invasions
and the rise of small competing kingdoms. However, during this time of
turmoil, India did enjoy a profitable trade with Rome and China.
Even so, it was not until the fourth century A.D. with the rise of the
Gupta Empire, that India entered a new, and perhaps her greatest, era of
prosperity and achievement.
One historian has stated that “at the time India was perhaps the
happiest and most civilized region of the world”. The rulers of the Gupta
dynasty reunited northern India under a strong and effective government.
Trade flourished and the people prospered materially. India’s culture
spread throughout Southeast Asia. Her universities attracted students from
all over the continent, and she made great strides in the fields of
textiles and finest periods of Indian art, architecture, literature and
science.
Gupta literature became renowned for its adventurous and imaginative
fables and fairy tales.
The foremost Indian poet and dramatist of this period was Kalidasa,
whose plays have earned him the title “the Indian Shakespeare”. The
popularity of various Indian Stories soon spread outside India, where many
of them found their way into the literature of other lands.
But Indian literature is represented by Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Mahabharata is one of the two great Sanscrit epics. It’s the story of
the Great Bharata War, a fratricidal war of succession between the Kaurava
and Pandava cousins (descendants of Bharata) in which nearly all the kings
of India joined on one side or the other. The Kauravas were destroyed and
the Pandavas attained sovereign power but in the end the eldest.
(Yo) Yudhishthira, renounced the throne and with his four brothers
(heroes of the war) and Daraypadi (the joint wife of all 5) parted for
Mount Meru, India’s heaven. Mahabharta is the longest poem in the World
(2.20.000 lines). It is perhaps 15 centuries old and is written in
classical Sanscrit. It consists of 18 books with a supplement, the
Harivamsa – a poem of 16.375 verses written by different people in
different times, and of a much later date, which has nothing to do with the
main theme.
Book III Ch.313
“The Mahabharata”
The following represents a selection of the questions and answers that
passed between the Spirit and Youdhishthira:
1) “What is greater than Earth? What is higher than heaven?” “Mother is
greater than Earth; father is higher than heaven.”
2) “In what one thing is all dharma summed up? What single thing
constitutes all fame? What sole means takes one to heaven?” “Skill in the
discharge of one’s duties sums up all dharma; giving sums up all fame;
truthfulness is the sole road to heaven and good conduct is the one means
to happiness”.
3) “What is the foremost wealth?” “Learning”.
4) “What is the best gain?” “Health”.
5) “What is the supreme happiness?” “Contentment”.
6) “What is superior to all other dharmas in the world?” “Benevolence”
7) “Whose control leads to absence of sorrow?” “The control of mind”.
8) “Which friendship ages not?” “That with good souls”.
9) “By abandoning what thing does man become rich?” “Desire”.
10) “By giving up what, does one become happy?” “Avarice”.
11) “What is penance?” “Penance is the observance of one’s own obtained
duty.”
12) “What is self –control?” “Control of the mind”.
13) “What is forbearance?” “Putting up with opposites”. (pleasure and
pain, profit and loss)
14) “What is shame?” “Aversion to do reprehensible act is shame”.
15) “What is straight forwardness?” “Equanimity”.
16) “Who is the enemy hard to be won?” “Anger”.
17) “What is the endless disease?” “Avarice”.
18) “Who is said to be a good man?” “He who is benevolent to all things”.
19) “Who is a bad man?” “He who is barren of sympathy”.
20) “What is the best path?” “To cast away all mental dirt”.
21) “What is gift?” “Protection of life”.
22) “What is the wonder of the world?” “Every day live beings enter the
abode of death; those who remain think that they will survive; what
greater wonder is there than this?”
23) “What is the news of the world?” “With Earth as the pot, the firmament
as the covering lid, the sun as the fire, day and nights as faggots and
the seasons and months as the stirring ladle. Time cooks all beings; this
is the great news”.
Extract from Mahabharata
Romayana (adventures of Rama) is the earliest of the two great
Sanscrit epics, the incidents of which precede the Mahabharata by about
150 years. Rama was a king before he became translated into a deity. In
course of time, his story and epic became sacred and the belief became
established that spiritual and other blessings would be conferred on its
knowers ramayana became popular in India in every Hindy home. The story is
told in 7 books (96 000 lines).
At instigation of his second queen Dasaratha sends Rama, his eldest
son, into exile for 14 years. He is accompanied by Sita, his young Wife and
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