class 6 New Ideas and New Religion

Class 6, History

1. By the 6th Century BCE, Vedic philosophy lost its purity due to varna ( caste divided society)

2. What are the causes that led to the rise of new religions?

· The Brahim priest were performing expensive rituals and killed the livestock in the name of sacrifices. This led to oppression and suppression of the poor and it greatly affected their livelihood

· Varna divided society — Brahmins dominated the social life and enjoyed all privileges. There was no equality among people.

· Most of the religious literature were in Sanskrit language. It was not understand by the common people, so they do not able to participate in religious ceremonies.

· Lastly, some people opposed the idea of material wealth that is they thought this wealth is not a long lasting one and they want to lead a simple life.

As a result of these three major religions arised. They are Buddhism, Jainism, teachings of Upanishads

3. Write a short note on Upanishads?

· Upanishad is derived from these words Upa ( near), ni (down) shad (to sit)

· Upanishads were composed in Sanskrit language during the later vedic period.

· Upanishads contain essence of vedas

· There are over 200 Upanishads

· Most important ones are Isha Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad

· Upanishad thought the people how Moksha/ Salvation can be attained from the cycle of births and rebirths

· Brahmins and Kshatriyas were main participant

· Satyakama Jabala, Son of salve women and a Brahmin accepted him, and he became a great thinker

4. Write in short about the Jainism?

· Jainism is one of the oldest religions of the world

· Jainism derived its name from Sanskrit word to meaning “ to conquer”

· The person who has achieved enlightment is known as Jina/ conqueror of shelf

· There are 24 Jinas also known as Tirtankaras

· Last of them was Mahavira, founder of Jainism

· Followers of Jainism are Jains

5. Write in short about Mahavira?

· Vardhaman Mahavira was born in 540 BCE in Kundagarma near Vaishali ( Bihar)

· He was a prince, son of King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala

· After death of his parents at the age of 30, Mahavira decided to renounce the world and left all his comforts and attained salvation after 12 years of meditation and became Jina

6. What are the main teachings of Jainism?

· Jainism believed in Ahimsa (non violence). Many Jains walked barefoot and cover mouth, not to harm a single living thing

· Jainism preached equality among human beings.

· Jainism promoted simple living that is a life free of material worth

· Jainism focus on speaking truth

7. What is Nirvana?

It means liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth through right deeds and actions

8. What are the literary sources of Jainism?

· Literary sources are The Angas and Purvas, also Tamil and kannada literature served as a literary source

· Some of the archaeological sources are Ellora caves in Maharashtra, Dilwara temples in Mount Abu, Rajasthan

9. Write a short note on Buddhism?

· Buddhism began in India, approximately 2500 years ago.

· The founder of Buddhism was Gautama Buddha

· He was born around 566 BCE in Lumbini near Kapilavastu (Nepal)

· Earlier name of Buddha was prince Siddhartha. He was born ro king Suddhodana and Queen Maya

10. What are the four sight that changed life of Prince Siddhartha?

1. Sick man crying in pain

2. Old man

3. Death man

4. Ascetic — The people who renounced the world and meditated under tree

· After seeing the ascetic, Prince Siddhartha left all his luxury life and decided to live as a monk.

· He finally achieved enlightment after six years meditating under peepal tree in Bodh Gaya in Bihar

· Then he was come to known as Buddha, an enlighten one. He preached mainly Ahimsa

11. How salvation can be achieved according to Buddha?

Buddha preached Eight fold path to attain salvation

1. Right action

2. Right determination

3. Right exercise

4. Right livelihood

5. Right meditation

6. Right memory

7. Right observation

8. Right speech

12. How did Buddhism spread and grow?

· Buddhism was taught in Prakrit language, so that normal people can even understand

· Disciples of Buddha formed Sanghas/ association. They travelled from place to place to preach Buddhism

· Many trademen and craftmen became the follower of Buddhism.

· Apart from India, Buddhism spread to Central Asia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, China

· Buddhism became an important aspect among Chinese people

· Menander J, famous Bactrian King who ruled Taxila became Buddhist. His discussion with Buddhist philosphers are recorded in book Milinda panha

· 13. Who is the spiritual head of Buddhist? Where does he live?

· Dalailama spiritual head of Buddhist. He lives in Mc Leod Ganj, a suburb of Dharmasala in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India.

14. What are the sources of Buddhism?

· Buddhist scripture are “Tripitaka” which means Three basket

· The three categories of Tripitaka contains the life and teachings of Buddha

· They are Sutra pitaka, Vinaya pitaka, Abhi dhamma pitaka

· Jataka tales contains stories about the birth of Buddha in both human and animal form

15. Who are Sangha?

· Buddhism and Jainism mainly stressed on giving up the wealth and property to attain happiness

· The people who left their home in search of happiness are called as Sangha

· Sangha led simple life. They meditated most of time and begged their food

· They encouraged to help each other and spread the Buddhism in masses

16. What are Ashramas?

When Buddhism and Jainism became popular, Brahmins developed a system of ashrama that outlines special guidelines for Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas

According to ashrama, there are four stages of life

1. Brahmacharya — Student life

2. Grihastha — Family life

3. Vanaprastha — When a man meditate in forest

4. Sanyasa — When a man gives up all the worldly things he become sanyashi

Taoism:

1. Taoism is philosophy/ way of life

2. It was started by Lao Tsu in 600 BCE

3. Tao means way/ path

4. He believed that all people should go with flow to remain happy in life

5. He believed that all the living things shared a universal life force

6. Two sides of life force are Yin ( Darker), Yang ( Lighter)

7. A balance is required between Ying and Yang for a good life

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