Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
C. Indeed, because Hinduism is one of the religions that views time as cyclical rather than linear, what information is available about Hinduism does not give a very accurate picture of its history (Bass 5). What can be gleaned from this history is the fact that Hinduism is one of the oldest religions with one of the oldest societies in the world. Just as their origins are difficult to define, the beliefs of Hinduism are varied depending on one's personal interpretation of the religion. However, one of the more important aspects of Hinduism is its social caste system. This belief states that there are four casts, and each "has its rules and obligation for living." The three castes are Brahman, priests, hatriyas, warriors, Vaisyas, merchants or farmers, and Shudras, manual laborers. Anyone who is not part of the caste system is an untouchable, or outcasts ("Hindu Beliefs"). Ancient Hindu societies were heavily reliant upon this system, which governed nearly all goings on in India. In addition, Ancient Hindu societies faced a great deal of external pressure from Jews, Christians, Muslims, and eventually Imperialist government. Muslims were the first persecutors of the Hindu people. Their invasion of the Indus valley in A.D. 712 began what would be a long phase of compression for Hindus, as they called all non-Muslims Hindu, leading to confusion not only in name, but also in spiritual practice. According to Bass, only recently have Hindus learned to accept this name that was pushed upon them (Bass 1-2). Spiritually, Hindus share three primary beliefs with Christians, Jews, and Muslims. They believe that people are rewarded for doing good; Hindus believe in an afterlife; and the religion also believes in an ultimate reward, like heaven for the other religions. How these concepts are realized, however, are far different from the way that the people of the book realize them, as Hindus believe in reincarnation, as well as Nirvana. Instead of being a heaven, Nirvana is simply a release from one's cycle of reincarnations ("Hindu Beliefs").
Rising out of Hinduism, Buddhism claims many of the same beliefs as Hindus. For instance, both religions accept the concepts of Karma and Nirvana. Buddhist beliefs, however, are so different that some call Buddhism a philosophy rather than a religion. Founded by Siddhartha Guatama between 400-600 B.C., the religion seeks to inform followers how to gain enlightenment ("Buddhism in India"). But while Hinduism advocates a belief in a God who takes many forms, Buddhism contains neither the worship of the Buddha or instructions for salvation. Instead, the Buddha taught the four noble truths, steps...
Unlike the conflicts between Hinduism and the Abrahamic religions or amongst Christianity and Judaism, however, Hindus and Buddhist societies have managed to live relatively peaceful coexistences. In fact, some "avowedly Hindu monastic communities have grown up over time and adopted some of the characteristics associated with early Buddhism" ("Buddhism in India" 8). However, conflicts between members of the two societies did occur throughout history. For example, in the 3rd century BCE a Buddhist emperor prohibited the killing of animals, infringing on the Hindu tradition of animal sacrifice (Leukel and Ursaki 3). Indeed Leukel and Ursaki maintain that the Buddhist-Hindu relations suffered in the first millennium BCE, as both Hindu and Buddhist philosophers attacked the religions from philosophical standpoints (Leukel and Ursaki 3).
Thus, the ancient world was filled with religions that both complemented and contrasted each other. Because of this, in addition to political issues, wars were waged between ancient societies. Still, a reflection upon these four ancient religions and the societies that were affected by them suggests that each was able to stand remarkably strong, existing today while other religions, such as the ancient Greek and Roman religions, do not. In addition, it is clear that all of these ancient religions held in common praise for doing good things to others and chastisement for harm.
Works Cited
"A Concise History of Islam and the Arabs." Mid East Web. n.d. 11 June 2009.
Abdullah, Mohd Habibullah Bin. "The Story of Creation in the Quar'an and Old
Testament." Bismika Allahuma. 15 October 2005. 11 June 2009.
Bass, Alden. "The Ancient Origins of Hinduism." Apologetic Press. 2004. 11 June 2009.
"Buddhism in India." Indian Child. 2000. 11 June 2009.
"Comparison of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity." Religion Facts. 2009. 11 June 2009.
Leukel, Perry Schmidt and Frank Usarki. "Facets of the relationship between Buddhism
and Hinduism." Revista de Estudos da Religiao. 2007. 11 June 2009.
"People of the Book." Islam: Empire of Faith. n.d. PBS. 11 June 2009.
Rich, Tracey R. "The Patriarchs and the Origins of Judaism." Judaism 101. 1999. 11 June
2009.
Smitha, Frank E. "Billions of Years." Macrohistory And World Report. 2005. 11 June
2009.
Smitha, Frank E. "Jews and Christians in Rome's Golden Age." Macrohistory And
World Report. 1998. 11 June 2009.
Works Cited
"A Concise History of Islam and the Arabs." Mid East Web. n.d. 11 June 2009.
<http://www.mideastweb.org/islamhistory.htm>
Abdullah, Mohd Habibullah Bin. "The Story of Creation in the Quar'an and Old
Testament." Bismika Allahuma. 15 October 2005. 11 June 2009. <http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/the-story-of-creation-in-the-quran-and-old-testament/>
<http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2579>
<http://www.indianchild.com/buddhism_in_india.htm>
<http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islam_judaism_christianity.htm>
and Hinduism." Revista de Estudos da Religiao. 2007. 11 June 2009. <http://www.pucsp.br/rever/rv3_2007/f_usarski2_en.pdf>
<http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithpeople.html>
2009. <http://www.jewfaq.org/origins.htm>
2009.
World Report. 1998. 11 June 2009. <http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch19.htm>
Religions Ancient connections Christianity: Compared with Greek and Roman religions Christianity is a monotheistic religion. In contrast, Greek and Roman religion were polytheistic and viewed the world as being controlled and created by many gods. Most conceptions of Christianity viewed God as existing as a trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but in Greek and Roman religion, the 'gods' were plural in number and comprised many personas of different genders and
People of the time lacked the technological tools to build them, gaps remain regarding how they were accomplished, and it would be challenging for us still today to imitate them. Criticism of ancient astronaut theory Critics of the ancient astronaut thesis used some of the following arguments to demolish the claims: 1. Religious The claims of extra-terrestrials are totally unfounded and many are complete reinterpretations of (for instance) the Bible. proponents such as
LACMA Artifacts One of the strengths of the collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is collection of works from the ancient Near East. This paper examines two of those artifacts, discussing both their aesthetics properties as well as the historical, political and cultural context in which the two works were created. These works - although they provide only the barest glimpse into the complexities of cultural and religious
their political systems were far less developed too, and although Egyptian religion had taken root in most of the communities of Upper and Lower Egypt temples had yet to reach their characteristic grandiose size until the pharaonic period. The rise of the great pharaohs meant an enormous boost in wealth and political power to the demigod/kings who could commission the large architectural projects that epitomize dynastic Egypt. During the
One god unites the nation, strengthens rulers authority much more than many different small gods who are popular in some local territories but not in the whole country. Though religion was an important kind of rulers support, but it was not that important as strong army which was the main fulcrum of king's power in the country. Ruler was a commander in chief of all armed forces of a state
Odysseus is an ideal of manly conduct and resourcefulness in ancient Greek society, as is shown in Homer's The Odyssey. For example, it is the idea of Odysseus to have his men tie him to the mast of their ship and to pour wax in their ears when they are sailing past the sirens: Odysseus wants to hear the music but he is smart enough to know that if