After the Neolithic Revolution Era, civilizations in Asia and Northeast Africa started to form. All of the civilizations in that area were located near water, so that’s why they were all called, River Valley Civilizations. The most advanced ancient river valley civilization was the Indus Valley Civilization. According to Document 5, it states that “While the cities of Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt were built with very little planning...the cities of the Indus Valley were sophisticatedly planned. The cities were built on a grid system.”
This religion believes in the art of reincarnation, which is being reborn into another creature. Hindus believe in multiple gods, but the most important one is Brahma, the Hindu God of creation. They also believe in karma, a law of cause and effect by which an individual creates their own destiny by their actions. According to Document 7, Hinduism is constructed by a caste system that is also followed in India. The system divides Hindus into hierarchical groups based on their karma and duties.
Stephen Prothero breaks it down very simple that seems too easily understood. The problem in Hinduism is Samsara. Samsara is defined as wondering or flowing cycle of life, death, and rebirth (reincarnation). To be clear, reincarnation in Hinduism is classified as a problem rather than an opportunity. The solution is moksha.
In three of the world's oldest civilizations, the development of Agriculture proved surprisingly similar. Despite long distances between each culture, especially in the case of Mesoamerica, all three developed “staple” crops that proved very important for their food sources (BBC, FAO, Nair, National Geographic). While China and the Indus River Valley domesticated various animals for food, Mesoamerica did not rely on domesticated animals nearly as much (BBC, Nair), not even for labor (FAO). Although the types of crops they grew resulted in different diets for all three civilizations, the Neolithic Revolution remained the fundamental basis for all their nutritional development (BBC, FAO, Nair). Even with various different features in climate,
Hindus are known into believing the cycle of death and rebirth which is known as Samsara, they see all life as a cycle. Samsara is a belief that there is a continual passing process that a soul from one body moves to another. Though its not believed that the soul goes to heaven or hell, it is reborn into another body. Basically the soul repeats in a birth and death cycle or reincarnation cycle seeking for liberation. It is believed that Samsara is a way of punishment to represent the way of life.
In numerous aspects, the Indus Valley and Shang civilizations are identical. One significant similarity is their social organization. Both civilizations used a hierarchical system to split society into classes depending on occupation and wealth. Both civilizations also created a writing system. The Indus Valley culture utilized a script with nearly 400 symbols, whereas the Shang civilization used oracle bones to preserve their language.
The Law of Karma is the belief that every person's thoughts or actions are later, at some point, followed with punishment or delight. This belief is a very large part of the Hindu religion, and many thing revolve around this idea. Even though the Law of Karma is a big deal there many other things that the Hindus believe in, such as reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that a deceased person's soul will transfer into another physical body, after a certain time period. Shiva was another adopted idea.
The beginning, or start of the religion is very complex. They had 3 social functions that were shown to them by the Aryans, the priesthood, warriors, agriculture, and slaves. The priesthood then began to organize schools, teaching ideas such as sacred lore, poetry, and mystical speculation. Eventually though we moved to Brahmana which lead to an outgrowth and for priestly schools. Hinduism is practiced in a diverse amount of ways.
Hinduism the most common religion that is practiced in India. “Many influences – early indigenous religion and influences from later immigrants – have added to its inherent momentum”
In reality, Hindus still believe in Brahman, one Supreme Being. Hinduism affects ones entire life and being. Hinduism is both monotheistic and polytheistic in my opinion. Since there are so many different components of Hinduism I don’t think it could be classified under these 2 categories. I find
Rather than having a single founder, its exact creator remains unknown and is more of a combination of various beliefs. Although its exact origins are debated, most scholars believe that Hinduism originated in the Indus River Valley. According to this theory, the region had been invaded by nomadic people who introduced texts named Vedas. These texts were said to have been divinely revealed to Hindu saints known as rishis, and they served as the foundation for the religion. This is a large overlap between Hinduism and Christianity, as both religions’ sacred scriptures were assisted by a divine force.
Hinduism was the first to start here in India. According to Document A, Hindu people believed in many gods and they believed in the process of reincarnation. There was also a caste system in Hinduism. This system separated the people into groups where they had different jobs. Also they believed in karma and dharma.
Hinduism was born when the religious beliefs of all the deities were absorbed into one. There were temples build for people to worship
Hinduism as a whole has gone through centuries of change. The most significant change was the Axis Age where Hinduism changed its belief system from the writings of the Vedas to Upanishads. They changed from polytheism to monotheism; they eliminated many of their very sacred rituals of sacrifice and lastly Brahman. This was a period of time that forever impacted how religion is viewed and practiced today. The world would likely look much different today if these changes in viewpoint and religious practices did not occur.
There was no single founder of the religion, Hinduism wasn’t founded as a religion. It was people living on the bank of Indus that were called Hindus. The culture flourished in India, which later took the form of a religion. Hinduism was discovered in Northern India, and is 4,000 years old, it’s the world’s oldest existing religion. The most important symbol in Hindu Culture is the Aum (or Om) which is the symbol that represents the Universe; or the ultimate reality (Brahman).
