Hindu and Buddhist Civilizations

There are four primary reasons for grouping Hindu and Buddhist civilisations civilizations together. vFirst, they are derived from the same area - the Indian subcontinent; second, their first dispersion was through East Asia; third, they share many of the same concepts; and fourth, as two of the major religions, they continue to influence other world civilizations.

Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet, does not worship any one god, does not believe in any one philosophical concept, does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy the traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more. Therefore, as a religion it appears amorphous or unclear and often contradictory. There is no actual given date of origin or even a range of years. This is because there is no single prophet such as Jesus Christ in Christianity or Prophet Mohammed in Islam. 

Many Hindus recognize that there is a universal divinity, even though Hindus worship many gods in various forms. Followers of yoga chant “om” -- I am -- as a symbol of one divinity. Hinduism is polytheistic with overtones of monotheism. It thus differs from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, all of which are basically monotheist.

Hindi, is the most widely spoken language in India today. The Islamic version is called Urdu.

The Indian social structure is often considered rigid because the caste system still exists even if it is outlawed by the Indian Constitution and despite the set-asides for lower-level groups in recent years. The terms Varna and caste are different. The former has a ritual and ideological rationale while the other deals with socio-economic status.

• The Brahmins symbolized the head of an organism. This group was composed of those with knowledge of the sacred texts and who were, therefore, the priests and scholars.
• The second group was the Kshatriya who represented the heart. They symbolized defenders of society and were politicians, soldiers, and administrators. 
• There was not yet a separate Sudra group or peasants, but all were of the Vaisya grouping, occupied with worldly matters. 
• Finally, there were already people -- mostly non-Aryans -- who were excluded from the system. These later became known as members of the Scheduled Castes or Untouchables.

Brahmins received a setback in their influence during the Mauryan Era (322-184 BCE) its most famous member, the Emperor Ashoka, who united almost all of India, became a Buddhist and attempted to make India a Buddhist state.

The Brahmo Samaj movement rejected caste distinctions and stood for the brotherhood of man. The Arya Samaj also opposed the caste system and pressed for its abolition. Other organizations that pressed for caste reform and caste abolition were the Prarthana Sabha and the Lingayat Movement.

Traditionally, according to the Vedas, meals could be divided into three groups:

• Sattvic or ascending meals, meant for those of higher castes equivalent to their stage of spiritual development. These consisted of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and they were thought to promote transcendence associated with Brahmins.
• Next was the food of the middle castes. They were to consume onion, garlic, mushrooms, fish, and eggs, considered to be less spiritual and to encourage intellect and passion at the expense of meditation. •
• Finally, there were foods for the lower castes, called Tamasic, such as meat and fermented alcohol, supposed to be linked to dullness and inertia.

A dhoti kurta is an outfit that is often worn by married Hindu men. It is composed of a generously cut cotton shirt called a kurta covered by the dhoti. The latter is a long piece of material that ties around the waist and spreads down to cover most of the legs. Many Hindu women wear a sari, a word of classical Sanskrit origin meaning “cloth.” Those who do not and have not adopted western-style clothes sometimes will wear a pair of loose-fitting trousers and a long tunic. This outfit is called a salwar kameez.

The largest production of films in the world is found in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), known globally as “Bollywood.” These films frequently use Hindu themes and quite often are based on the lives of deities and saints. The most popular Vishnu reincarnation, Krishna, is the central character in many films.

The classical period of Hinduism begins by 400 BCE and ends about 500 CE and is characterized by two great literary epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. 

In addition to the application of astronomy to plot the seasons for agricultural purposes, India developed coinage based on weights and measures for trading purposes. (Dani, 2016.) It also developed the concept of zero as well as the decimal system. Although the use of the latter does date back to the Babylonians, India developed it further for practical purposes.  The rudiments of algebra were imported from India via the Middle East as were aspects of geometry.   Perhaps the most long-lasting achievement of India during this period was in the creation of ordinal numbers from 1 to 9. These numbers which form the basis for numeracy today were originally called Indian numerals. When transferred to the Middle East and then to Europe, they were named as Arabic numbers. This export from India to the rest of the world has had an enormous effect on commerce and business everywhere. Notably, as a replacement for the cumbersome Roman numeral system, it facilitated the rise of central procedures in other civilizations, for example, the emergence of transactions such as double-entry book-keeping in the West.

Outside of the sub-continent, no territory has been more influenced or continues to be as influenced by Hinduism than the island of Bali. Even today, it remains an overwhelmingly Hindu territory.

The independent sultanate of Brunei, although Islamic, has a Hindu title for the ruler.

Buddhism is the religion named after Siddhartha Gautama, who, although born of a princely family on the borders of what is now India and Nepal, was moved by the poverty and suffering of people with whom he came into contact. As a result, he renounced his status and spent half a century wandering and teaching.

The Buddha initially maintained that there were three truths about life in this world: sickness, old age, and death.

To eliminate this suffering and achieve nirvana, an individual must follow an eight-fold path: right activities, right concentration, right effort, right intentions, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right speech, and right views. In this way, one can escape the cycle of birth and re-birth. By this eight-fold path, one can avoid materialism and its attendant problems.

One may argue that Buddhism has continued to be a vibrant part of culture in East and Southeast Asia for two reasons. • First, it did not arrive on the backs of the army, and although trade was relevant, its main spread was through its messengers and the message that these missionaries spread. • Second, it has survived because it has amalgamated with local customs in a highly successful manner.

Various schools of Buddhism have found favor on a global level by emphasizing meditation as a stress reducer for the frenetic pace of modern times. It is Zen Buddhism, however, that has had the most global impact and entered global civilization as a permanent fixture. It has a unique appeal within Buddhism. Unlike other schools, it can be experienced by anyone. Second, it does not require specialized knowledge or study, simply meditation. It is meant to reduce stress and so is attractive to people with high-powered positions. It can be observed by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. To reach enlightenment through a higher state of mental consciousness is the goal of Zen teaching.