India Greeks, Scythians, Parthians, Kushans, Huns,

Arabs, Mongols, Turks, Muslims, Portuguese, French, English all went after one civilisation: India and prospered. It lost everything except its soul (spirituality). It will regain its true place in this world and its Sun will rise again. Aggyatt Manav

What does this quote mean?

India: Identify as many images as you can

Region: South Asia

Arabian Sea

Indian Ocean

Bay of Bengal

Maldives

Sri Lanka

Nepal

Bhutan

Bangladesh

Physical Features

Western Ghats

Thar Desert

Deccan Plateau

Indus River

Brahmaputra River Flooding

Hindu Kush and Himalayan Mountains

Khyber Pass

“him” [snow] “aalaya” [home] Mt. Everest is 29,035 feet. It is the highest mountain peak in the world.

The Ganges River• Holy river, personified as a goddess

• Many believe bathing in the river helps cleanse a person of their sin

• Many dispose of human ashes here because believe it helps soul go to heaven

• Goal, once in a lifetime, to bathe in Ganges

• Many Hindus keep a vial of water in home

• Most important religious city on Ganges is Varanasi, with many Hindu temples on bank

Monsoons

The monsoon collection (saris and dress materials in cotton, silk, tussar, chiffon and georgette has a lot of Sanjhi designs, peacocks, parrots, waves (the ripples in the river are evident too), lotus and abstract ones as well. Even a backdrop at Srinathji temple, Nathdwara has been used in an interesting way on a tussar dupatta.

* Hindu 81.3%* Muslim 12%* Christian 2.3% * Sikh 1.9%

Source: Infoplease.com

Hindi (official) English (official) BengaliGujarati Kashmiri Malayalam MarathiOriya PunjabiTamilTeluguUrdu, KannadaAssameseSanskritSindhi (all recognized by the constitution).

Dialects, 1,600+

Source: Infoplease.com

HinduismThe Aryans

The Mahabharata (Bhagavad Gita)The Ramayana

Krishna

The Caste System

Brahmins – Priests

(mouth)

Kshatriyas – Warriors

(arms)

Vaisyas – Skilled workers

(thighs)

Sudras – Unskilled workers

(feet)

Rig Veda: “His mouth became the Brahmin, his arms were made into the Warrior, his thighs the People, and from his feet the Servants were born.”

Body/caste analogy comes from the Rig VedaCaste/rank closely connected to dharma – more on this in a bit!

Dharma Religious and moral

duties of a person Truth, order, virtue Whatever upholds the

cosmic order and supports what is right

“Enjoy your life”

All the actions of a person’s life affect his/her fate in the next life (Cause and effect)

You reap what you sow “If you don’t enjoy your life

properly then you will suffer”

Karma

Ten commitments

The Do Not

List

TheDo List

Do NotSteal

Do NotOver-

Indulge

Do NotBe

Greedy

Do NotLie

Do NotHarm

AnyoneStudy

Surrender To

God

DisciplineYourself

BeContent

CleanseYourself

Four Main Goals in Human Life

1st Path Desire (Focus on self) 2nd Path

Renunciation (rejecting self)

Making MoneyAppropriate human goal, as long as...

Pursuing PleasureAppropriate human goal, as long as… Freedom from

Cycle of Rebirth

Goal is…

Doing your dharma

Which means:a.

b.

c.

330 Million Gods

Three Major Gods: The Trinity

BrahmaCreator

Why Four Heads?

Least worshipped of the three

ShivaDestroyer

What is the symbolism of the Circle of fire?

Foot on demon?

Hair?

Serpent?

VishnuPreserver

What is the symbolism of the

Four hands?

Blue skin?

Conch shell?

Golden baton?

What is an avatar?

Four directions--Can see all Destruction and Creation Superiority Never ending Sky--infinity Crushing ignorance Om sound--Brahman River Ganges Spiritual Energy Flatten Ego when too big

10 Avatars of Vishnu

An avatar is an incarnation of a god. In other words, god takes on a human form and comes to earth.

There have been 9 Avatars of Vishnu to date. The 10th avatar is expected to appear at the end of our time period, approximately 427,000 years from now

Rama, Krishna, Buddha are three of the avatars

Ganesh(a)

Remover of Obstacles

Why Elephant Head?

What is the symbolism of the – Big ears?– Mouse?– Lotus flower?– Axe?

Parents Shiva and ParvatiElephant selflessly gave of his head when askedBig Ears--Hears all prayers Lotus flower--grows in mud--symbolic people rise above the muck of this life, beautiful flower but diesMouse--Humble--willing to ride the lowly creature Axe--Cuts the obstacles

Kali

Mother-goddess Why severed head? Why garland of 50

heads? Why three eyes? Why is she standing

on her husband, Shiva?

-Fearful goddess with heart of a mother-“Dark mother” – worshippers are children, Kali is mother-She destroys, but only to recreate – destroys sin, ignorance, and decay-Despite terrible form, most loving and kindest of Hindu gods – seen as protector-During a battle with evil Kali got carried away and destroyed everything in sight-Shiva threw himself under her feet to try to stop her; she stuck out tongue in astonishment and stopped; without Kali, Shiva is inert-Four arms; two hold sword and severed head of a demon-Garland – 50 heads for 50 Sanskrit letters of alphabet; symbolize infinite knowledge-Three eyes: symbolize past, present, future (“Kala” means “time”)-Skirt: work and liberation from cycle of karma

IS HINDUISM A POLYTHEISTIC OR MONOTHEISTIC RELGION

ON THE SURFACE IT APPEARS POLYTHEISTIC, BUT UPON CLOSER EXAMINATION HINDU’S BELIEVE IN ONLY ONE

GOD

Brahman: Supreme Reality (God)

330 million manifestations of one God

21

Many Paths to the Same SummitWhat does it mean?

YogaA method of training “designed to unite the human spirit with God, who lies concealed in the deepest recesses.” (Huston Smith)

In other words: Yoga is used to find atman

Control body to release mindYoga = “join” or “unite” – unite individual and supreme selfThere are different ways to do this!

Holi

! If you happen to walk down the street in India this March don't be surprised if you end up covered in a blanket of color. The date for the paint-throwing party in 2004 is March 6th. Though the actual day of the celebration changes from year to year, it is always in March.

Holy Crayola! What a Colorful Day

The holiday Holi is celebrated throughout India, but Northern India goes the craziest on this day. People of all ages are drenched with colors like red, green, yellow, blue, black and silver. You can't walk anywhere without having someone drop colored powder from rooftops or having balloons filled with color burst

Holi continued

Deck the Halls with Paint for HoliPreparations for the festivities begin weeks in advance. Houses are painted, beautiful floral designs are drawn on the entrance and everyone loads up on powdered colors and spray guns.

The Origin of HoliHoli means that spring has arrived and winter has passed. It's also a day to forget all your problems and be happy - having color-bombs explode everywhere makes things pretty cheerful. There are several stories behind the holiday. Basically, they all focus on the triumph of good over evil. One story says that Holika, an evil mythical creature, tried to destroy her nephew, a good god, by attempting to burn him. In the end good wins - she dies and he is saved. The holiday actually starts the night before with a big bonfire to clear away dried leaves and branches from winter - kinda like a big spring clean up.

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/487-the-holiday-called-holi

Holi is also connected to Lord Krishna courting Radha -- thus it is a celebration of youthful love.

Diwali Diwali is perhaps the most well-known of the Indian festivals. It is a five day celebration

which occurs on the fifteenth day of the Hindu month of Kartika (during October/November in the Gregorian calendar). The word Diwali means "rows of lighted lamps" and the celebration is often referred to as the Festival of Lights because of the common practice of lighting small oil lamps (called diyas) and placing them around the home, in courtyards and in gardens, as well as on roof-tops and outer walls.During this time, homes are thoroughly cleaned, windows are opened and diyas are lit as a greeting to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. In urban areas candles or electric lights are often substituted for diyas.

During Diwali, gifts are exchanged and festive meals are prepared. The celebration means as much to Hindus as Christmas does to Christians. Because there are many regions in India, there are many different versions of the Diwali festival.The festival of Diwali is often celebrated with huge firework displays and the exchange of sweets. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across the country.In northern India and elsewhere, Diwali celebrates Rama's return from fourteen years of exile to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana and his subsequent coronation as king…

Everywhere that it is celebrated, Diwali signifies the renewal of life, and accordingly it is common to wear new clothes on the day of the festival. It also heralds the approach of winter and the beginning of the sowing season.

• End 2010-2011•

27

A Structured Life Course

Student stage

Married stage

Retirement stage

Letting Go stage

It is illegal to discriminate based on caste; however, the Caste System in India is still very much alive. Why?

Varna:

Jati:

Harijan:

Karma Past karma Fresh karma

3 degrees of karma Flexible Medium Fixed

How do you redirect the flow?

How do you accumulate good or bad karma?

Priest-King???

Weights

Undeciphered writing

Mother Goddess???

Children’s toy cart???

The Aryans??????? Warriors/Conquerors who settled in Northern

Plain along the Ganges River. Came from Eurasia Nomadic but became settled--cattle = wealth Polytheistic Celebrated their victories and beliefs in Epic

Poems--The Mahabharata (Bhagavad-Gita) and the Ramayana

Four Holy books—collectively called the Vedas Sanskrit language--language of religion Established the caste system Left few artifacts behind

Indo-Europeans

Indus River Valley Civilization What are the eight

characteristics of civilization?

What do you remember about the earliest river valley civilization in India?

Topography

Dharma of High School Student Dharma of High School Teacher

Curious

Asks questions Shows effort Open minded On task Brings materials to class

Follows classroom rules Raise hands No eating Respect property Completes work on time Takes responsibility for actions

KnowledgeableWell preparedFairOpen mindedCreative

What would your high school experience be like if everyone did their dharma?

What is the likelihood of everyone doing their dharma? Why?

By doing or not doing your dharma

Original image Inverted image

Tusk Trunk