Notes on Today's History Reading At Home September 7 2016

• Pg. 66
• Figurines of pregnant women found in ancient India suggest fertility rituals
• The Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro of Ancient India, resemble the ritual purification pools of later India
• It has been speculated that the Great Bath played an important role in religious rituals in the city, that were guided by a priest-king
• Pg. 67
• Even after Ancient India's cities were abandoned and elements of India's culture were lost, many signs of continuity with later Indian civilizations exist within Ancient India
• One particular sign of continuity between later and ancient India being images of the gods
• Pg. 68
• Deva means 'god' in Sanskrit
• Rig Veda is an oral collection of hymns, ritual texts, and philosophical treatises composed in Sanskrit
• It is the earliest of the Vedas
• The Epics of the Aryans present the struggle for northern India in religious terms
• Chiefs are described as godlike heroes and their opponents are described as irreligious savages who did not properly perform sacrifices and rituals
• These chiefs were known as Rajas
• Rajas lead their followers into battle and ruled over them in times of peace
• Each tribe was overseen by their respective Raja
• Rajas were elected by the warriors of the tribe, based on their military prowess
• Rajas also acted as priests
• Pg. 69
• While Rajas originally acted as priests, priesthood eventually evolved into a distinct class in Aryan culture
• Possessing knowledge of the complex rituals and of the invocations and formulas that accompanied them
• Rather like priest classes in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia
• Aryan epics such as Ramayan portrayed the people of the south and Sri Lanka as dark-skinned savages and demons who resisted the Aryans' conquests
• The Aryan society shifted from being a chieftain society into a territorial kingship, in which the king required no election
• Instead of being elected, the king was invested by priests, and would perform royal ceremonies of their own design
• Aryan priests were known as Brahmins
• Brahmins support the growth of royal power in return for royal conformation of their own power and status
• Brahmins acted as the king's advisers, and essentially took the place of the warrior class
• Brahmins due to the caste system were not allowed to marry each other, or eat together
• Brahmin text outlines that they considered trade to be just as important as priesthood
• Pg. 71
• Caste System
• The Caste System is attributed to the Gods in the Rig Veda
• Priesthood
• Brahmins were expected to memorize every syllable and tone of the Vedas so that their rituals would please the gods
• They conducted old and new rituals
• When agriculture became more important to society, they began conducting rituals to purify the land
• Medicine
• They knew formulas and spells that were effective against disease and calamities
• The Untouchables
• Those outside of the caste system, or those who improperly conducted rituals became the untouchables
• They were considered impure and became responsible for slaughtering animals and dressing skins
• Women
• Women are portrayed in Aryan epics as being forceful and able to achieve their goals by using feminine ploys to cajole men, or by direct action
• Brahmanism
• Aryans recognized many gods of other early Indo-European societies such as the Persians and Greeks
• Ushas was the goddess of dawn, 
• who was a gentle deity who welcomed the birds, 
• gave delight to human beings, 
• and warded off evil spirits
• Sins were considered as ways to upset the balance of nature
• Priests made animal sacrifices to gods as a way for common people to interact with the divine
• These rituals helped to establish and strengthen people's relationships with the divine
• The priests had a monopoly, as they were the only one's who held the knowledge to conduct rituals
• It was stated that a perfect ritual, forces a God to grant one wish
• Upanishads
• Recorded speculations on the mystical meanings of sacrifice rituals, and man's relationship with the universe
• Documented the shift from the mystical view of the early Vedic age, into the age of philosophy
• Asceticism
• Shunning one's self out into nature, in order to collect wisdom
• Those who practiced this began performing rituals through disciplined meditation, utilizing symbols, rather than physical sacrifices
• Samsara
• The belief that the universe repeats in cycles of reincarnation, that was believed by the Aryans
• Pg. 72-73
• Karma
• The tally of good and bad deeds that determined the status of one's next life in Samsara
• Brahman
• The idea that Samsara is an illusion, that reality is an illusion, and that the only way to escape the illusion was moksha, which is by fully realizing the true reality
• Pg. 74
• The idea of Karma, helped to facilitate workers who were content with the ability to control their own destiny, who would work without stirring up trouble
• The universe and the soul were believed to be made up of the same material
• Jainism
• Started by a wandering religious man during the time in which India's cities and written language returned
• It asserts that everything has a soul, and the weight of a soul is determined by its karma, and that the more good karma you have, the lighter you become
• The goal is to become as light as possible, so that your soul can float upon the vast universe in eternal bliss