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- As a part of Hinduism’s evolution a societal structure developed. The
profession-based system is as follows:
- Brahmans: Priests
- Kshatriyas: Warriors
- Vaishyas - Peasant Farmers (now the merchant class)
- Shudras - serfs (now farmers and laborers)
- Dalits - untouchables (serfs and classless individuals); dalits
literally means "ground down“
- These classes were not to intermingle, for if they did they risked
being moved to the bottom tier – the untouchables - called dalits, or as
Gandhi labeled them "harijans". The harijans, literally
meaning "Children of God," evolved later because miscegenation
threatened the whole system. These people perform the lowliest of tasks,
like cleaning feces from upper-caste houses or picking up dead animals
for instance.
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- Religious conflict arises where Hinduism meets Islam. Of India’s one
billion people, 120 million are Muslims. The vast majority of Pakistanis
are Islamic, as are the Bangladeshis. But Hinduism is the dominant
religion in this realm. It is the binding force in India and Nepal. It
is also considered an ethnic religion that appeals primarily to one
group of people living in one particular place. Examples of Hindu sacred
religious texts, places, and beliefs would be:
- Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas - literally meaning "knowledge" -
Upanishads, and Rigveda: Sacred writings thousands of years old form
the bulk of religious stories in Hinduism.
- Holy Ganges River: Just touching the water can purify all Hindu
believers. Thousands come daily to cleanse their spirits. The Kumbha
Mala pilgrimage in Allahabad draws millions from across India to take
part in the auspicious religious holiday.
- Reincarnation: Individuals reach higher and lower forms of life due to
their karma (the web of cause and effect). Life is but samsara, the
cycle of birth and death, and moksha is the spiritual liberation that
is life's supreme goal. A good person will be reborn in another human
body, or move onwards and upwards to moksha. A bad person may return as
a snake, rat, monkey, or horse (or whatever). Cows are sacred to
Indians because they are seen as nurturing, motherly animals. They are
revered in countless stories.
- Varanasi is Hinduism’s holiest city located along the Ganges, one of
the seven sacred rivers of Hinduism.
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Notes
