AP Human GeographyMrs. Lacks

HINDUISM

Hinduism• Considered the world’s oldest religion

• From at least 2500 BCE there were people living in the Indus Valley.

• Several cities with advanced plumbing, architecture, and populations of 40,000+ (e.g., Harappa and Mohenjo-daro) flourished.

• 750+ million Hindus in India• 30+ million “Hindus” abroad• Third largest religion in the world

Hinduism• No founder or creed

• The earliest forms of Hinduism are often called “Vedic.” (2500-800 BCE)

• Dominated by a priestly class concerned with “fire sacrifices.”

• The fire rituals communicated with the gods, influenced them, and restored the vital powers of the universe.

• Dyaus Pitr (cf: Zeus & Jupiter)

• Agni (god of fire)

• Soma (a god & a drug? A drink that produces immortality)

Three Sacred Texts• The Vedas

• The oldest and most important is the Vedas (in 4 parts)• First in the form of oral histories

• The Bhagavad Gītā (400 BCE)• It is perhaps the most famous, and definitely the most widely-

read text of ancient India.

• The Upanishads (400 BCE)• Focus on 1) meditation and 2) religious instruction with a guru

Polytheistic• Hindus believe in many gods, but differ by their importance

• Brahman is considered “ultimate reality,” but Hinduism is highly polytheistic.

• The Hindu Pantheon is structured around “divine couples” (male-structure/form::female-energy/matter) who serve different functions in the universe; in a way, they point to the various forces in life/the cosmos.

• Many deities are depicted with a “vehicle”—an animal with whom they are often portrayed.

• The “Trimurti” is organized around Brahma (creation), Vishnu (maintenance), Shiva (destruction).

Brahma (or Brahman)•Creator•Consort/wife: Saraswati, goddess of knowledge and speech.

•Vehicle: hamsa or swan (seven swans)

•The Vedas depict Brahman as the Universal Soul

Vishnu• Maintainer of the Universe or the

Preserver• Consort: Lakshmi (good fortune and

prosperity)• Vehicle: “Garuda”—eagle/human hybrid• most famously identified with his human

and animal incarnations (AKA, avatars) • He is manifested by ten avatars

• (Fish) • (Turtle) • (Pig/Boar) • (Lion man / from the torso upwards lion, below,

human) • (First fully human form as a dwarf sage who has the

ability to grow very, very tall) • (Fierce man / Hunter) • (Greatest Warrior/ Ideal man) • (Mentally advanced man) • (Sage who is completely still) • (Prophesied, yet to take place)

• For Vaishnavas, he is the Ultimate Reality or God. The Brahman.

Shiva• Shiva is the Destroyer • Even though he represents destruction, Shiva is viewed as a positive force

• Shiva is the supreme God in Shaivism

• Vehicle: Nandi, the Bull

Other gods• Kali: god of destruction (wears a necklace made of the skulls of men)

• Krishna: 8th variation of Vishnu and most important (story also occurs in Jainism and Buddhism)

• Ganesha (son of Shiva and Parvati)

• Devi: the goddess (sometimes seen as the manifestation of Brahman)

Krishna

CORE BELIEFS THAT UNITE HINDUS

Jivas•Individual souls (jivas) enter the world mysteriously

•They begin as the souls of the simplest forms of life and reincarnate/transmigrate (samsara) into more complex bodies until they enter human bodies

•Souls in human bodies are engaged in issues of freedom and responsibility (karma)

What people seek•There are stages to “lives” that we all go through—some quicker than others

•All humans seek:• 1. kāma (pleasure, physical or emotional) • 2, artha (material wealth)•3. dharma (righteousness)•happens with maturity• learn to govern these desires within the higher framework

•4. mokṣha (salvation)•Results in ultimate happiness•Escape from the cycle of births and deaths

What limits us•pain (physical and psychological)•ignorance•restricted being

Reincarnation•Based on the idea that every living being has an eternally existing spirit

•Reincarnation is the soul's cycle of birth and death until it attains Mokṣha (Moke-sha) (salvation) and is governed by Karma (see below)

Karma•Karma rests on the idea of human free-will (not moved by God)

•One’s actions determine the course of one’s life cycle & rebirth

•You can't refine your soul overnight, however. Hindus believe it takes many lifetimes to achieve moksha

Four Paths to Mokshareflective through knowledge

Jnana (yoga)emotional through love

bhakti (yoga)active through work

karma (yoga)experimental through experiment

raja (yoga)

yoga = “union”

Common Preliminary• Cultivate Habits of…

• non-injury• truthfulness• non-stealing• self-control• cleanliness• contentment• self-discipline• compelling desire

The Devil• Hinduism does not recognize any central evil force or entity such as the Devil opposing God and man\

• Hinduism does recognize that different beings (e.g., asuras) and entities can perform evil acts, under the temporary dominance of the guna of tamas, and cause worldly sufferings.

• The Rajasic and Tamasic Gunas of Maya are considered especially close to the Abrahamic concept, the hellish parts of the Ultimate Delusion called "Prakriti”

• An embodiment of this is the concept of Advaita (non-dualism) where there is no good or evil but simply different levels of realization

WORSHIP & HOLY PLACES

Worship• Hindus worship principally through seeing (Darshan) an image of the divinity.

• Shrines can be anywhere, in great temples, by the road, or in the home.

• Puja is the act of worship, offering them fruit, flowers, incense, water, or cloth in order to symbolize an offering of the self to the god/goddess.

• In some cases deities are processed through the streets (at festivals, etc.)

• Sometimes the worshipper will take a pilgrimage to a sacred place, the most well-known being Varanasi, on the Ganges River.

GANGES RIVER

http://clubs.roanoke.edu/sigmachi/ganges%20river%20photo%20-%20india.JPG

http://www.pbase.com/digitalfestival/ganga

Varanasi, India• Most famous Hindu holy city• On banks of Ganges River

Varanasi• One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world (oldest in India)

• Many Hindus believe if you die here you achieve moksha• History/Legend

• Founded by the god, Shiva• Archaeological evidence found dates back to 11th century BC• Located on trade route• “city of temples”• “city of lights”

Hindu Temples in India

HINDU RELIGIOUS SECTS (DENOMINATIONS)

Hindu Religious Sects• Within Hinduism are four main denominations, all based on the same principles, but focusing on different gods

• However, there are some sects that many would consider extreme

Three Major Sects• Vaishnava (Vishnu)

• Generally vegetarian• Worship Vishnu, Rama, Krishna• Oriented towards duty and tradition

• Shaiva (Shiva)• Worship focuses on union of opposites, especially creation

and destruction• Tend to emphasize austere practices.

• Shakta (Devi)• Worship “the goddess” as ultimate reality• (Bengali)

Aghori•The Aghori are a Hindu sect believed to have split off from the Kapalika order (which dates from 1000 CE) in the fourteenth century.

•Both Kapalika and Aghori sects are worshipers of Lord Shiva.

•Aghori means non-terrifying in Sanskrit, and may refer to how members of the sect view death.

Aghori•Cannibalism•Live in graveyards and on cremation pyres

•bathe amongst the dead•Smearing themselves in the ashes of the dead

•Use bones of the dead for rituals

•Drink urine (even that of a dog)

Why?• The Aghoris willingly transgress all ascetic (and Hindu) taboos, convinced as they are that by 'reversing all values' they will speed up enlightenment.

• Nonetheless, the Aghoris represent a tradition that is thousands of years old, and there have been times that the sect was quite numerous

The Gorakhnathis• Devoted to

Shiva• Foundr, Guru

Gorakshanath, traditionally associated with Hatha Yoga, has been around for thousands of years watching the welfare of humanity

• Initiation ceremony = ear splitting

CRITICISM OF HINDUISM

Caste System• Beginning with Aryan intrusion (2000 -1500 BCE)• Spans all denominations• You can not escape your caste but through good deeds, at which point you have the chance to be reincarnated into a higher caste in the next life

• Four (plus) castes:• Brahmins (seers)• Kshatriyas (administrators)• Vaishyas (artisans, farmers, craftsmen) – 2/3rds of Indians

• Shudras (unskilled laborers)• “untouchables” (today: “dalit”)

Untouchables (aka Dalit community)• Jobs

• Taking life for a living (fishing)• Killing or disposing of carcasses (butchery, tanning leather)• Jobs that have anything to do with human emission (sweating,

urine, feces); street sweepers or washer men• People who eat meats such as cattle, pig, chicken• Subservient, usually illiterate and poverty stricken• Historically deprived of many rights

• Cannot attend temple• Cannot attend schools• Cannot drink from same water fountains

Untouchables• Higher castes could become “polluted” if untouchable

• Touched you• Entered your house• Sat a close distance from you• Came in contact with your shadow

• If polluted, you must become purified• Wash yourself with water• Stricter Hindus – perform religious ceremonies

Untouchability Act (1955)• Banned untouchability• Provides penalty to those who deny the religious, occupational, or educational rights of others

• Not highly enforced at first; now enforced in most of India (still rampant in rural areas (ex. Khairlanji Massacre)

• 2001: 16.2% of Indian population (greatest population in Punjab region near Pakistan)

• Not limited to Hindus (ex. 42% of Christians, 90% of Buddhists in India follow caste system)

Kherlanji massacre • 2006 torture and murders of four members of a Buddhist family by members of the politically dominant upper caste

• Two women were tortured and paraded naked through the streets before their murders

• 11 people found guilty by high court (six received 25 yrs in prison, two received less jail time, three acquitted)

Other Criticism of Hinduism• Dowry• Sati

Dowry System in India• payment in cash or some kind of gifts given to groom's family along with the bride

• Generally includes cash, jewelry, electrical appliances, furniture, bedding, crockery, utensils and other household items that help the newlywed set up her home.

• Often puts great financial burden on bride’s family• Given rise to female foeticide (sex selection abortion)• Prohibited by law in 1961, but still widely practiced• 2001: over 7,000 dowry deaths reported

Bride Burning• Domestic violence that occurs when a groom (or his family) kills his bride due to dissatisfaction over dowry

• Most common way is death by kerosene (“kitchen fire”)• Indian police report over 5,000 deaths per year (ex. In 2008, there were 1,948 convictions and 3,876 acquittals)

• Also prevalent in Pakistan

• Bride Burning Video

Sati• Recently widowed woman immolates herself on her husband’s funeral pyre (supposed to be voluntary)

• First ban in 1829 by British• Sati prevention act ratified in 1987

• Coercing a woman to perform Sati: death or life in prison• glorifying Sati: 1 – 7 yrs in prison

• Still happens rarely in rural parts of India via coercion or voluntary burning

• Also prevalent in other cultures, historically (parts of ancient Egypt, China, Africa, Scandinavia); Nepal & Bali continued it into the 20th century

RELIGIONS BORN FROM HINDUISM

Jainism• There are about 4 million Jains today, most of them “lay people”

• Historians consider Jainism to have been founded by Mahavira (599-527 BCE) as a reaction to the conservative Brahminism of the 6th-century BCE

• In general, they do NOT accept the Hindu Scriptures or rituals, but they do share a belief in the transmigration of souls

• The most obvious characteristic of them is their devotion to the principle of ahimsa, or non-injury• monks wear a veil• even lay people forbidden to drink after sunset

Jainism (cont.)• Jains are followers of the Jinas, or “tirthankaras” (the ford-makers, who reveal the path to moksha)

• They believe 24 tirthankaras appear in every half cycle

• Mahavira is the 24th tirthankara in this cycle

• A contemporary of Buddha, Mahavira renounced the world at the age of 30, and after 12 years as a wandering ascetic achieved enlightenment

• He then converted 12 disciples who structure his teachings into the Jain Scriptures

• He died in meditation and became a liberated soul

• Jain monks commit to the Great Vows:• non-injury (ahisma)• truth-speaking (satya)• sexual abstinence (brahmacharya)• non-stealing (asteya)• detachment from persons, places, and things (aparigraha)

• Lay people take the “lesser vows” which try to apply the great vows to more “normal” modes of living: e.g., strict vegetarianism, no work that involves the deliberate destruction of life (e.g., hunting no, farming okay).

• In the fourth century CE a major split occurred:• Digambaras: all possessions, including clothing are hindrance to liberation

• Shvetambaras: detachment is in the mind (and not wearing clothes can also cause injury; e.g., if you light a fire to stay warm)

The only objects a Digambara monk is allowed to carry are a water-pot and a fly-whisk of peacock feathers.

Jainism

Sikhism• Combination of Hinduism & Islam• Guru Nanak, ca. 1500, had encounter leaving him to seek a path to God that didn’t require strict identification with Islam or Hinduism.

• In keeping with Hinduism, it affirms the belief in a supreme and formless God beyond human conceiving

• In keeping with Islam, it rejects the notion of avatars (divine incarnations), caste distinctions, images as aids to worship, and the sanctity of the Vedas

• Follows Hinduism, but not Islam, in affirming reincarnation

Shikhism• Five k’s (in Punjabi):

• uncut hair (conserves vitality, draws upward)• comb (cleanliness and order)• steel bracelet (shackles one to God)• undershorts (one always dressed for action)• dagger (originally needed for self-defense)

• Seek salvation through union with God, by realizing, through love, the Person of God, who dwells in the depths of their own being.

• World renunciation does not really figure in their faith.

• About 13 million Sikhs in the world

PRESERVATION OF CULTURE & INDIA’S PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Why has Hinduism been preserved?• Highly populated region• More people leaving than entering • Politically separated region• Geographically isolated region

• Indian subcontinent• Blocked from rest of Asia by Himalayas• Extreme weather

Partition of India1947After the Indian Independence Movement (political freedom from England)India: primarily HinduEast & West Pakistan (now Pakistan & Bangladesh): primarily Muslim

Kashmir•Disputed boundaries•Pakistan controls the northwest portion, India controls the central and southern portion, and the China controls the northeastern portion

•Ethnic and religious differences

People of Kashmir (1890s)

Physical Characteristics• influence of mountains = population, settlements, movement, climate

• varied climate regions – from tropical wet to humid continental

• natural hazards – monsoons, quakes, typhoons, volcanoes in the region

• influence of water = Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra Rivers flood

• Himalayas = block moisture to create steppes and deserts in central Asia = rain shadow

The Himalayas

• Pangong Tso the largest Himalayan lake located at an altitude of 4,600 meters.

Mount Everest

“Holy Mountai

n”

Mount Everest•29,028 ft high•Located between Nepal and China

•1st complete ascent: May 29, 1953, by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (British)

•1996: deadliest year in Everest history (15 deaths) Monastery on Mount Everest,

Nepal

As of the end of the 2004 climbing season, 2,238 people had reached the summit (1,148 of them since 1998) and 186 people died while climbing. The conditions on the mountain are so difficult that most of the corpses have been left where they fell; some of them are easily visible from the standard climbing routes. Most expeditions use oxygen masks and tanks above 26,246 feet (this region is known as the death zone). Everest can be climbed without supplementary oxygen but this increases the risk to the climber. Humans do not think clearly with low oxygen, and the combination of severe weather, low temperatures, and steep slopes often require quick, accurate decisions.

Do you want to climb it?

Cost: a permit and $25,000 per person to government of

Nepal

Extreme Weather• Monsoon season in South Asia is December to March• Typhoon season in South Asia – October to May• What do we have to compare to typhoons? When is our season?

• What is an earthquake?

Rainiest Place on Earth• An average yearly precipitation of 467.4 inches makes the village of Mawsynram, India, the rainiest place on Earth

• Cherrapunjee receives 450 in per year

MonsoonsA monsoon is a heavy rainy season which lasts for several months and has lasting climatic effects. The term was first used in English with this meaning in India, Bangladesh and neighboring countries to mean the seasonal winds blowing from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the region.

Typhoons = Tropical Cyclones

THAR DESERT

DECCAN PLATEAU