Ancient India (Chapter 3)
Indus River Valley
Mohenjo-Daro/Harappa
Nature & Animal Worship
Polytheism (esp. Fertility)/Shiva
Agricultural/Family Village
Aryan Invasion/Vedic Caste System:
Brahmins-Priesthood
(Classically two others)
Shudras-(Landless) workers and servants
Patriarchy
Rig-Veda Sanskrit
Indra vs. Vritra
Rita
Mitra/Mithras
(Cosmos and Chaos)
The Upanishads Revolution:
(Ritual/Formula/Sacrifice)
Brahman/The “Oversoul,” eternal and creative
Transmigration of the soul
Karma—action and their consequences
Dharma “law”
Samsara—Continual rebirth
Yoga
Moksha—Release/Escape
Jainism
Mahavira
The Emergence of Popular Hinduism
(“The Hindu Synthesis”)
Personal savior gods:
Vishnu (Caretaker, Protector) Krishna—Mahabharata
Shiva (Destroyer, Creator, “Becoming”)
Devi (“Goddess” Mother—Annapurna and the Black Warrior—Kali)
The Epics:
Bhagavad-Gita “The Lord’s Song”
Part of the Mahabharata
Arjuna and Krishna
Duty/Caste/Dharma
Siddhartha Gautama/The Buddha “Enlightened One”
Four Noble Truths
Suffering or Dukha
Selfish Desire or Tanha (or the “hungry ghost”)
Overcoming Desire is the Key to Life
The Middle Way (by the Eight-Fold Path) between self-denial and self-indulgence
Nirvana
Divinity of Buddha/Boddhisatva/Missionary Temples
