India belongs to a small group of countries, in which the old religious and social structures have survived. They hold out by almost 4000 years despite numerous invasions, hunger, religious persecution and other calamities. Certain changes are undoubtedly taking place with the technological progress, however, the Indian countryside has remained the same for hundreds of years. Religious and social institutions of India – elastic, and at the same time conservative – they have managed to resist all attempts at destruction and every change. Even in such modern and developed cities, like Mumbai, Bangalore (Bangalore) is Delhi it, which appears to be a manifestation of a lifestyle change, in fact it is an outer envelope, protecting those dependencies and obligations, still having an impact on people's lives. There is no other country like this in the world, where religion would be so closely related to everyday life. Therefore, understanding many of the phenomena here may be incomprehensible for a European, brought up in the tradition of liberalism, based on ordinary logic. Such people may find "Indian logic" strange, convoluted and annoying. In fact, however, it is combined with fascinating, consistent, holistic cosmology. Please note, that India was the birthplace of the two greatest (Buddhism and Hinduism) and one of the smallest (religion) world religion. The Parsis also find their asylum here – a few followers of Zoroastrianism.
The modern state was created not so long ago – with liberation from colonialism. Even the most powerful ancient Indian civilizations did not cover the entire territory of the present Republic of India, which still remains a country of contradictions. India has many faces. Undoubtedly, the ethnic and linguistic differences as well as the location of the population are an obstacle in the formation of the national consciousness of Indian citizens..
HISTORY
Indus Valley Culture
The first major Indian civilization arose between 2500 a 1500 R. p.n.e. in the Indus Valley, in what is now Pakistan. Mohenjo Daro and Harappa were the most developed centers, discovered in the 1920s. Subsequent archaeological research led to the discovery of the remains of smaller cities, such as Lothal near Ahmedabad (Ah-medabad) in India. It is at this early stage in the development of civilization that the origins of Hinduism should be sought. Society was ruled by priests, who mediated contact with the deities, they set the rules for the functioning of the community and decided on such issues, like for example. land possession. In many archaeological sites, clay figurines of women have been unearthed, proving the presence of the cult of the mother goddess (later portrayed as Kali). Figures of a man with three faces were also found, seated in the posture of a yogi, surrounded by aquatic and terrestrial animals, which is the prototype of Shiva. An important element of the phallic cult of this deity are pillars made of black marble and various conical-shaped objects that formally represent the phallus. Already during this period, some animals were considered sacred (e.g. bull). The eternal fear of pollution and the need for ritual ablution of the Hindus prompted them to build more and more perfect irrigation systems – one of them was found in Harappa. There are also traces of an organized collection of waste. Relatively little is known about the development and eventual decline of this civilization. The Harappean script has not yet been read, derived from pictographic symbols, which consisted of over 270 characters. The Aryans put an end to this developed culture.
The first conquests and the development of religious beliefs
The Aryans came from central Asia between 1500 a 1200 R. p.n.e. They swiftly conquered northern India as far as the Windhya Mountains (Vindhya) and displaced the indigenous peoples, Drawids, south of the country. The invaders imposed their own beliefs, among which the worship of the deities of fire and war prevailed, they spread the breeding of cattle and the custom of eating meat. Around the 8th century. p.n.e. the priests established their dominance, and faith in the deities of nature has been replaced by the concept of universal unity of the impersonal principle of the universe (brahman) with the deepest essence of human existence (atman). In the literature of that time, these events were presented as the victory of Brahma (creator) on Indra (initially a god of crops and law, and later also storms and wars). It was believed, that Indra was driving mysterious, double life, being a woman for one phase of the moon, and through the next – man. In the period from 2500 do ok. 500 R. p.n.e. the Vedas arose (from Sanskrit "knowledge", "Holy scripture"), sacred texts, the oldest books of India, written in Old Indian, called Vedic (from which comes the Saitskrit), containing Religious Beliefs, inspired holy hymns, prayers, formulas of magic spells and exorcisms, descriptions of customs, rituals and rituals, philosophical and theological treatises. The Vedas make up four collections called sanhitas: Rigweda ("Hymn knowledge"), They don't wait ("Singing knowledge"), Yajurveda ("Knowledge of prayers"), Alharwaweda ("Knowledge of magic spells"). Social order, reflecting the Aryan assimilation process and the dominant position of the priests, took the form of a caste system, which has survived to this day. Despite efforts by the authorities, the situation of the people at the lowest rungs of the social ladder is still bad. The control over the observance of the established order was ensured by strict rules for maintaining the position of the brahmins (priests). There were many taboos about marriage, diets, traveling, ways of eating and drinking, and interpersonal relationships. Within this system, each caste had its own, which distinguishes her from the others, set of rules. Failure to comply with them could lead to exclusion from society. However, priests were unable to impose their authority in all areas of life – e.g. despite the respect for animals, the Aryan tradition of eating meat has survived. There was an informal division of the country into meat eaters in the north and vegetarian ones in the south. While the Aryans strengthened their power in the north, the central part of the country was attacked twice by invaders from the west. Persian King Darius (521— 486 R. p.n.e.) it took only Punjab and Sind. W 326 R. p.n.e. Alexander the Great reached the Beas River (Bias)- the eastern border of the Persian empire conquered earlier - but his troops refused to march and the plan to conquer India was unsuccessful. A permanent trace of Alexander's stay in the east of the country was the development of the Gandhara style in art, mainly in sculpture, who connected > Hellenic influences with elements of the new faith, what Buddhism was then. Buddhism and Jainism appeared around. V w. p.n.e. and posed a serious challenge to Hinduism. Their attractiveness consisted in rejecting the message of the Vedas and the caste system. However, Jainism, unlike Buddhism, he never renounced his old heritage and found no followers outside of India. Buddhism greatly influenced Hinduism, and after Asoka accepted this faith, it was recognized as the state religion. Between the 3rd and 9th centuries. p.n.e. there was a revival of Hinduism. It was based on the worship of personal deities, as represented by the sects of Rama and Krishna today (as avatars, that is, manifestations, descent, Vishnu). This resulted in a gradual decline in the popularity of Buddhism. However, importance and impact cannot be overlooked, exerted by the greatest spiritual teacher in the history of India, Buddha. He was even included in the Hindu pantheon as one of the avatar of Vishnu. As you can see, Hinduism absorbed foreigners, and even contradictory elements.