INDIA

Land of Prayer
Hinduism- is the chief religion of India
- also known as Brahmanism

Brahma- God
- Soul of the Earth
Belief of the Hindus
1. Oneness of Brahma
2. Reincarnation
a. good mans soul will be reborn to a man
having good reputation.
b. bad mans souls will be reborn to animals.
 Trinity of Hindu god
1. Brahma- The Creator
2. Vishnu- The Caretaker
3. Shiva- The Destroyer

Other Gods
1. Agni- fire
2. India- storm
3. Ganesha- elephant
4. Laksmi- good fate
5. Vasanti- Festival

Approximately, they had 300 gods and goddesses.

 Buddhism- (16th century)

Gautama Buddha
1. Rich Hindu prince who was humane
2. Pro-poor
3. He hated caste system
4. Hermit
5. Taught that all men needed to be equal
 Teachings of Buddha
1. Life is a sacrifice
2. Lifes misfortune is based from sin.
3. Lifes misfortune has ending. It shall end if he
denounces his worldly life.
4. Nirvana- Oneness w/ Brahma.
 Attaining Nirvana
1. Right belief
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right thinking
8. Right meditative prayer
 Hindus- are generally vegetarian.

Vedas- Indian literature w/c consists of

religious poem and hymns of praise.

Taj Mahal- is the most beautiful mausoleum in

the world as a gift of Shah Jahab to his wife.
 Indian Literature
Rik-Shamhita- was a collection of thousand hymn in
praise of different gods.
Literature of India is often called Sanskrit Literature

Sanskrit means perfected on cultivated.

Panchatantra (or Five Headings)

-is a rich collection of brief stories of ancient time
-contains the first fables ever written
- Also contains short stories
 Characteristics of Indian Literature
1. It is based on piety, a deeply religious spirit.
2. Indian literary masterpieces are written in the form of epics (The
Ramayana and the Mahabharata)

Ramayana- is about the reincarnation of the creator of god Vishnu the person
of Krishna.

This reincarnation of Vishnu are called Avatars or descending of the Gods.

Mahabharata- greatest epic of India

- it tells a story of civil was that might have
taken place in the early years.
- a long poem.
 Indian Drama
Two great Indian dramatists:
1. Bhasa
2. Kalidasa- Indian Shakespeare

Shakuntala- his best known play.

 Rabindranath Tagore
Was a great Indian poets and dramatist.
Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.

Indians contributions to civilization:

1. Four great religions
2. Yoga
3. First fable of the world (Panchatantra)
4. Invented the zero and numerals in mathematics
5. Music, arts and architecture are better known
than any forms of Oriental Culture
 Indian Famous Personality
1. Mahatma Ghandi- peaceful revolutionist
fought against English Imperialism.

2. Mother Theresa- champion of unselfish love

3. Jawahalrial Nehru- nationalist, first prime

minister of India.