REL 1000 Chapter : Hinduism
Document Summary
Hinduism- has evolved from many religions and assimilated into a collective. Origin of the word-the british got the word from a census taking of the. Muslims who were there before them, people living in the indus river valley, located in current day pakistan. Challenges in study- no historical founder( no certain point of time), very ancient( we can only talk about what we"ve seen, so much history), no particular community, no precise creed, no single unified authoritative structure. Invasion theory- aryans invaded the dravidians, and took over, from there hinduism was evolved. Indus valley civilization: veneration for sacred places and trees, pools of water, meditation, seated yogi, proto-shiva deity, goddess worship, may be as early as 7000bce, but peak 3500-1500bce. Features of aryan influence: sanskrit, vedas (oldest veda= rigveda, deities (indras, agni, open air altar for fire sacrifice. 8/24/2012 8:28:00 pm: historical evolution of hinduism, 1500-500 bce vedic religion, priests led ritual fire sacrifice to deities.
