HUMA 1865 Chapter Notes -Jnana Yoga, Indian Epic Poetry, Purusha Sukta
13 Oct 2013
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Document Summary
Hinduism is not a religion per se; it is a great variety of different traditions. When british colonized sub continent of india, there were jews, muslims, Parsi, etc so in order to classify they named the those without religions as. Colonialism labeled hindus as people who were unknown, inferior, uncivilized, and it was defined in relationship to themselves (the british) The vedas are sacred texts in oral form. Vedas are shruti: meaning heard , by people who heard/saw the. Vedas these people are rishis orally transmitted and passed down. Vedas consist of four sections: hymns, rituals, sacrifice and upanishads. The first pole, vedas, was a social structure from these hymns in sanskrit there were rituals/sacrifices in order to keep the world in balance. Social structure that established a caste system: priests (keep traditions, grow), rulers (protect/defend), merchants (business, economic stability), servants. Vedic hymns: many gods and goddesses (but little if any focus on the great gods of later.
