Vedic And The Vedic Period

Hinduism, Buddhism and Shinto, while vast in differences there is much to learn about these three religions similarities as well. Some facts and history of Hinduism include, Hinduism (being the oldest of the three) is dated back in pre-history before 10000 BC even believed to predate the Indus River Valley Civilization! The Vedas (the holy text of Hinduism) is the foundation for Indian culture and also the basic belief system of Hinduism. The basic belief structure of Hinduism is as follows, the three doctrines; Samsara (1) which means “successive rebirths” indicating the belief in reincarnation started by ATMA or the spark of life given by the god Brahma. This cycle continues until the soul collects enough good Karma (2) to break from the

“Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma ("eternal spiritual path") began about 4000 years ago in India. It was the religion of an ancient people known as the Aryans ("noble people") whose philosophy, religion, and customs are recorded in their sacred texts known as the Vedas” (United Religions). Vedas are written in the ancient language of India, called Sanskrit. Vedas means “knowledge” or “sacred lore.” The Vedas gives great intelligence about the variety of Gods from the Vedic period, 2000 to 500 BCE (Molloy,78).

The word Hindu has evolved from being the word the Persians used for the Indus River in 500 BC to the accepted name for the primary religion of India this name was originally given by foreign rulers and ultimately used by Europeans in the 1500's as the official name of the religion. History plays an important part of Hinduism because new developments reinterpret an update past practices rather than end them. The Hindu religion is broke down into three periods the Vedic period, the Upanishadic period, the classical period, and the devotional period.

It is believed that Hindu traditions appeared around 1500 B.C.E. and can be traced to the ancient Aryans as they migrated into southeastern Asia. It was during this time that the Vedic hymns were composed. These hymns, called Vedas, were composed by different Brahman priests and

Scholars have traced the earliest origins of Hinduism to two distinct sources. The first being the Indus Valley civilisation. This civilisation dates back to the third millennium b.c.e. Postulates were made, indicating that certain features of Hinduism may have made their earliest foundations in the Indus Valley Civilisation. These include ritual purity and the worship of goddess deity for the purpose of fertility.

As in China, another dominant developing classical civilization, India, (300 B.C.-A.D. 500) focused greatly on philosophy and religious progress. Implanted within Indian divine belief systems, social status dictated all. The caste system, provided order and stability in India. Based out of Hinduism, the caste system clearly determined social status between five different divisions. The top of the caste were Brahmins (priests), followed by the Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaisyas (merchants), underneath merchants were Shudras (peasants and laborers), and the lowest rank were Pariahs (untouchables). Hinduism and Buddhism, the two dominating religions in India share many of the same concepts, as well as some distinct differences. These two religions

Hinduism first started in India around 1500 BC. The word Hindu comes from the Sanskrit word sindhu, or river. The Hindu community define themselves as "those who believe in the Vedas", or also "those who follow the way, or dharma, of the four classes and the stages of life. The four classes being the varnas and the stages of life being the ashramas.

Hinduism is a very broad term that encompasses a multitude of different backgrounds, traditions, beliefs, and practices. Hinduism, as we know it today, has gone through many changes. To fully understand how Hinduism became as it is currently, knowledge of its development over the course of history is essential. This paper will demonstrate the primary shifts of its central beliefs, practices, and goals between periods of Early Vedic, Late Vedic, and Classical Hinduism.

in the Indus Valley which is present day Pakistan, before written records were kept. There are some theories as to why Hinduism began, one is it began because of varna which is color associated with caste, but some Hindus believe it was result of stratification through psychological preferences. Hinduism shruti (Hinduism sacred writings) include the Vedas with four collections of scripture the Rig-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda, it also includes the Brahmanas (explanations of sacrifices), the Aranyakas (explanation of rituals), and the Upanishads (the end of the Vedas). The Bhagavad Gita is 700 versus for hindus to use to have release from rebirth. The Laws of Manu (code of conduct) appear later in the religion between 200 B.C.E. and 200

The oldest religion shown in this info graphic is Hinduism. With the birth of Krishna in 3,000 B.C.E, Hinduism is the earliest founded of all the religions. Hinduism would soon grow and diffuse throughout the rest of India. As time goes on, Buddha is born in one of the northern-most parts of India. This leads to the founding of a new religion, Buddhism. Buddhism spreads rapidly throughout parts of Asia, surprisingly, not affecting the area in which Hinduism is prominent. While Christianity spread in the West, Buddhism flourished in the East, becoming prominent is China, Korea, The Philippines, and Eastern Russia. Hinduism also grew at this point, traveling to countries in Southeast Asia like Vietnam and Thailand. As it stands today, Hinduism

The Rigveda is the earliest literary source for the history of Hinduism. The Rigveda consists of 1,025 hymns throughout ten books that were composed during the last two or three centuries of the 2nd millennium BCE. It is said that the early gods of the early Hinduism religion actually stemmed from the Indian subcontinent which has a connection with the Indo-European peoples. The major devas consisted of Indra, Agni, Soma and Ushas. There are now three major groups of deitites; Shaktas (Mother Goddess), Shaivites (Shiva) and Vaishnavites

Brahmanism originates from early Aryan religious beliefs found in the Vedas. This religion is polytheistic in nature and has a plethora of Gods and Goddesses that represent forces in nature that are worshipped according to the timely needs of the people whether that be for fertility, land, or wealth. The first worship shift came from the parent God, Dyaus, to that of the warrior God, Indra. The Aryan people were said to have excellence in battle tactics, resultantly, calling upon Indra was a ritual to bring the people to war. From then on, the justice God, Varuna took precedence because the people had already ceased their migration patterns and arrived at the Indian Civilization. At first the concept of sacrifice, filtered then to asceticism, and

Moreover, the Vedas illustrate how much geography, culture, language, and politics were shaped by religion and how much Hinduism was shaped by it (BBC Religion Profile, Hinduism)

Although we do not know the exact time that Hinduism began, it is believed to be over 4,000 years old. There have been overlapping civilizations in India that may have molded the religion into what it is now (Kinnard 1). Around 2,000 B.C.E., located near the great Indus River, the Indus Valley Civilization, who worshipped many goddesses, may have been the very beginning of the shaping of Hinduism. Near the end of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1,500 B.C.E., a new society surfaced in India. Believed to be brought by the central Asian Aryans, the Vedic religion began (Kinnard). The Aryans’ practices included the sacrifice of animals and other offerings to their gods into a sacred fire. The gods they worshipped were mainly gods of nature such as the fire god and the plant god (flood). This era was the time of the Vedas, which are scriptures describing rituals to please the gods (Kinnard). Later, around 1,000 B.C.E., priests called Brahmins began to reject the materialistic ways of the Vedic tradition and began to adopt practices

The Vedic age in India started around 1500 BC with the arrival of Aryans, an Indo-European tribe from central Asia near the Caspian Sea. Aryans settled along the banks of the Indus and its tributaries in the northern part of the subcontinent. Initially, it was a tribal society centered in northwest India and by 1000 BC, it spread along the Gangetic plain with the development of modern agriculture. Aryans dominated the local indigenous population and often ruled over them. Over time, the interbreeding with the local residents led to the emergence of mixed culture. The Vedic age lasted from 1500 BC to 500 BC. Agriculture and cattle rearing were the main occupations of the people. The Vedas and Upanishads were written during this period. The