Hinduism isn’t really a religion, nor is it a way of life, because you can really call it “a” anything because of the multiplicity of beliefs held within the umbrella term “Hinduism” to make it as distinct as chalk and Edammer. Nevertheless, in this video I’m going to delve into what we mean by Hinduism, the traditional religion of Indians for around 4,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuous religious traditions on the planet. We’re going to look at the early history of Hinduism, the Aryan Migration/Invasion and the fusion of their culture with the indigenous Indians already living in the Indus Valley resulting in the writing of the Vedas and the RIgvedic period of Hinduism, before exploring the great philosophical changes attested in the Upanishads as a result of the increased sedenterisation of the new North Indian culture. From here I’ll segway into some of the philosophical teachings about ultimate reality, with Advaita Vedanta, Vishisht Advaita and Samkhya Dualism as well as a few of the other Hindu Astika before returning to the historical aspect of the story by analysing the prominence of Smrti and Srti texts such as the Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita and the wider Mahabarata in connection to their importance for the Bhakti movement that flourished during the Classical Age of Hinduism, bringing with it the increased Brahminisation of the religion. This in turn of course led to the Sramanic movements that spawned Buddhism and Jainism, both still followed by millions worldwide, before exploring the spread of Hinduism outside of the Indian subcontinent in a Medieval context into Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, SIngapore, Laos, Vietnam, and many of the Indonesian Islands and parts of the Philippines. Anyway, it’s a long one and I hope you all enjoy it!
Music Used:
Heroes – CO.AG:
Cambodian Odyssey – Kevin MacLeod
Eastern Thought – Kevin MacLeod
Himalayan Atmosphere – Kevin MacLeod
Opium – Kevin MacLeod
Floating Cities – Kevin MacLeod
Silver Flame – Kevin MacLeod
Ever Mindful – Kevin MacLeod
Crossing the Chasm – Kevin MacLeod
Lost Frontier – Kevin MacLeod
NIghtdreams – Kevin MacLeod
Past the Edge – Kevin MacLeod
“Past the Edge” – Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
