Brief Summary Of Hinduism

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ice of worshiping gods and goddesses. Archeologists have found figurines of these gods in almost every house in the Indus cities they have uncovered. For largely unknown reasons the Indus civilization collapsed by 1600 B.C.E giving way to the next culture to inhabit Northern India, the Aryas.
The Aryan people arrived in Northern India around 1800 to 1400 B.C.E and brought with them a very different culture. The Aryan people were herders, farmers, and skilled fighters however they were much less advanced in the sciences and arts and a much less urban culture. The great Indus cities were slowly abandoned as were their religious beliefs and language. The Aryas brought with them the Sanskrit language and a social structure or caste system which they imposed on the Indus people as their cultures were incorporated together. This system was composed of three social classes, the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, and the Yaishyas. The Brahmins were the priests and the highest class. They were responsible for visiting people’s homes and performing rituals to help them with their problems. The Kshatriyas were the nobles and warriors and the Yaishyas included everyone else. Some aspects of the Indus religion and culture were maintained in this lower class and surfaced again about 500 B.C.E.
While the Indus people’s religious beliefs have been discovered only through archaeological findings the Aryan people’s beliefs are contained in the oldest of the Hindu religious texts, the Vedas. While they were not put into writing until about 800 B.C.E they originated long before that being carried on from generation to generation orally. When written down they were organized into four collections called the Rigveda, the Samaveda, the Yajurveda, and the Fourth Veda. The Rigveda is the most important and consists of 1,028 hymns which are recited by priests called hotars during rituals and sacrifices. These rituals were done to gain favor ...