Mrs.

Amita Sharma
INDIAN SOCIETY(Traditional basis )
Indian society refers to :
Culture of India
Hindu society
MEANING OF TRADITIONS
 A tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within
a group or society with symbolic meaning or special
significance with origins in the past.[1][2]Common
examples include holidays or impractical but socially
meaningful clothes (like lawyer wigs or military
officer spurs), but the idea has also been applied to
social norms such as greetings. Traditions can persist
and evolve for thousands of years—the word
"tradition" itself derives from
the Latintradere or traderer literally meaning to
transmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping.
HINDUISM
 Hin·du·ism (hnd-zm)n.A diverse body of religion,
philosophy, and cultural practice native to and
predominant in India, characterized by a belief in
reincarnation and a supreme being of many forms and
natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of
one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from
earthly evils. Hindu ( pronunciation (help·info)) refers to
an identity associated with
the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are
indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. In common use
today, it refers to an adherent of Hinduism. The two
common forms that represent Hinduism
are Shaivism andVaishnavism.[1][2]

HINDUISM
 HINDUISM HAS NEITHER CLEARLY DEFINED
DOGMAS NOR SPECIFIC BELIEFS .Religions like
Islam,Chrisianity,Buddhism,Jainism,and Sikhism
are linear religions as their founders and teachings
are embodied generally in a single text,but
Hinduism is not a linear religion.
It is in fact a collectivity of sects ,each of which has
a distinct and independent origin related to a
particular founder or a cult.
SHAIVISM,VAISHNAVISM AND SHAKTISM
 Hindus worship wives of their dieties too,like
Parvati of Shiva and Lakshmi of Vishnu.
HINDUISM
 HENOTHEISM IS PART OF HINDUISM.
HENOTHEISM IS THE BELIEF IN ONE GOD WITHOUT
CLAIMING THAT HE IS THE ONLY GOD.

Acc.to historians,the origin of the word,HINDU is geographical
and related to those living in the Indian sub –continent.The S
indhu(INDUS) river was reffered to as HINDU by the Persian
and the Greeks.The Arabs referred to it as al-Hind.Thus ,the
inhabitants of al-Hind were the Hindus.

The Arabs,the Turkish,the Afgans ,and the Mughals had
differentiated between believers and the non-believers.they used
the word Hindu for the non-believers.
The British attached political sentiment to this philosophy .
ETYMOLOGY
 The word Hindu is derived from Sanskrit word
SINDHU the historic local name of the Indus river in
North Weastern part of the Indian subcontinent.The
term Hindu then was a geographical term and did not
refer to a religion.
 Greeks and British called it INDIA,which was derived
from INDUS.
 BHARAT which is recognised by the constitution of
INDIA as an official name for the country ,is kept on
the name of legendary king of ancient INDIA
CULTURE OF INDIA
 The Indian culture often labelled as an
amalagamation of several cultures. Elements of
Indian culture are:
 Religion,family,marriage,greetings,festivals,
names,animals,cuisines,clothing,languages
and literature,epics,dances,drama
,music,visual arts,sports and cinema etc.
 Tenets of Hinduism
 Yogendra Singh is of the opinion that the
normative principles of Hinduism are based on
beliefs ,ideals, liberalism , utilitarianism and
spiritualism.
 Theological Ideas (such as
Punarjanma(rebirth),immortality of
atma(soul),papa(sin),punya(merit),karma(deeds),
dharma(morality) and moksha(salvation)
 Pollution and Purity(related to upper and lower
caste)
 Tenets of Hinduism
 Segregation and Hierarchy(CASTE BASED)
 Idol worship
 Monolithic Character is absent(worshipping no of
gods and goddesses)-PRESENCE OF HENOTHEISM
 Tolerance(as it embraces within its different cults
and sects)
 Non-violence (two views-ex of Mahabharta –violent
one, where as saints of Bhakti movement-Kabir
,Gurunank Dev ,Chaitanya ,Tukaram and Ramdas-
were against violence)
HINDU PHILOSOPHY
 The Hindu view in the Vedic thought is that man is
altogether and throughout composed of desires
(KAMA).Its other feature is that it believes in unity.
 It is desire that binds a man to this world and makes
him liberal to birth and death.
 Karma (deed)is, thus , only a connecting link between
desires and rebirth.
 The philosophy of Karma is considered very
important.The Hindu philosophy believes in the
continuity of the present with the past in which it is
rooted,and its projection into the future.
HINDU PHILOSOPHY
 The Hindu philosophy believes in four
Yugas:
 Satyuga-Truth is dharma
 Tratayuga-yajna
 Dvaprayuga-knowledge
 Kaliyuga-Dana or alms
HINDU PHILOSOPHY
 GUNAS:
 The Hindu philosophy also believes in certain
Charismatic qualities (GUNA) of individuals.
 SATTVA-the highest and most virtuous-associated
with sages and the Brahmins.
 RAJAS-passionate commitment to action and power-as
attributed to kings and kshatriyas.
 TAMAS-the lowest in hierarchy ,associated with
dullness and profane inclinations-associated with
lower caste.
 Tenets of Hinduism
 The Ashrams: The Hindu philosophy, divides life into
four stages or ashrams. Each stage has definite duties and
functions
Brahmacharya(Birth to 25 years)
 Student life or stage of learning
 As a student he had to lead a life of simplicity and chastity
 This stage starts with the initiation of ceremony called
“upanayana”
 Development of personality and improvement of character
 This first stage normally extended from 10 to 12 years
 Tenets of Hinduism
 Grihastha (25 to 50)
 During this phase the person was expected to lead a family
life and beget offerings.
 In addition to this ,the person during this stage had to
undertake sacrifices, worship and practice charity
 During this period the house-holder was also expected to
feed the people in the other three Ashrams
 This is considered very important Ashram
PANCHA MAHA YAJNAS
 DEVA/BRAHMA YAJNA-OFFERINGS TO DEVAS
 RISHI YAJNA-OFFERINGS TO RISHIS
 PITRI YAJNA-OFFERINGS TO PITRI OR
ANCESTORS-SHRADHA CEREMONY
 BHUTA YAJNA-DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD TO
COWS,CROWS AND ANIMALS TO PLEASE BHUTAS
 ATITHI YAJNA-HONOURING GUESTS
Tenets of Hinduism
 Vanprastha (50 to 75 years)
 In this phase after retiring from active life,the
individual dedicates himself to a life of spritual
contemplation.
 It is time for him to hand over his responsibilities
as well as his authority to the next generation.
 It was believed that a person who died while
pursuing his duties during this ashram will attain
Moksha .
 Tenets of Hinduism
 Sanyasa (75 till death)
 This stage is designated as Sanyasa or total
unburdening.
 The primary goal of the Sanyas is to attain Moksha.
 He puts on a saffron cloth ,gives up shelter and he
receives his food through begging.
 He performs medition and preaches Dharma.
 He gives himself up totally in the service of society, but
does not belong to it.
Importance of Ashram system
 Reveals the planning of individual’s life
 Insistence on duties and discipline
 Interdependence of the society and individuals
 Individual dev and social welfare are made mutually
complementary.
 Tenets of Hinduism
 Purusharthas
 Hinduism talks of four goals of life which human-beings ought to
pursue:
 Dharma(right conduct)
 Artha (acquisition and enjoyment of wealth)
 Kama(satisfaction of biological desires)
 Moksha (refers to the ideal of spiritual realization)
 First three goals are all external to man and therefore
attainable(sadhya),the last one is immanent in him and it has only
to be given a chance for achievement(siddha)
 Ashrams and Purusharthas are complementary to each other.
VARNAS
 BRAHMAN –TEACHING AND PREACHING
 KSHTRIYAS-PROTECTING HIS LAND ,PROPERTY
AND PEOPLE
 VAISHYAS-TRADING OR SERVICE PROVIDERS
 SHUDRAS-SERVING UPPER THREE CASTES AND
DOING MINIAL JOBS
RELATION BETWEEN
VARNAASHRAMDHRMA SCHEME
 BRAHMIN-ASHRAM-DHARMA-SATTVA GUNA
 KSHTRIYAS-ASHRAM-DHARMA-RAJAS GUNA
 VAISHYA-ASHRAM-DHARMA-RAJAS GUNA
 SHUDRA-ASHRAM-DHARMA-TAMAS GUNA
 PURUSHRTHAS-DHARMA,ARTHA,KAMA,MOKSHA
 BRAHMACHARYA-DHARMA
 GRAHSTHA-DHARMA-ARTHA-KAMA
 VANPRASTHA-DHARMA-EXPECTED TO GIVE UP
WORDLY THINGS -ARTHA,KAMA, AND STEPS
TOWARDS MOKSHA
 MOKSHA-DHARMA
HIERARCHY
 HIERARCHY IN HINDUISM EXISTS
IN TERMS OF:
Division in varnas and castes
In Gunas
In Values-regarding
Dharma,Artha,Kama and Moksha.
IDOL WORSHIP
The most noticeable common
feature of Hindu religion is its
belief in Idol-worship.
Each sect keeps its Idol,in
separate temple and worships it
on specific occasions.
MONOLITHIC CHARACTER
ABSENCE OF MONOLITHIC
CHARACTER.
Hinduism is not a uniform
monolithic(single God)
religion,but a juxtaposition of
flexible religious sects.
TOLERANCE
 TWO OPINIONS ON THIS-
 One view is that Hinduism is a secular
and tolerant philosophy since it
embraces within its fold different cults
and sects.
 Second opinion is Hinduism is based
on sectarian rivalries and conflicts.
NON-VIOLENCE
 One school holds that the Hindus are non-violent,but
other school maintains that religious violence is not
alien to Hinduism.
 The message given in GITA IS SURELY NOT NON-
VIOLENT.
 The emphasis on sacrifices is surely not based on the
ideal of non violence.
 It may be said that non-violence was emphasized only
after the emergence of different cults.
 India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with
some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion still
plays a central and definitive role in the life of many of its people.

 For generations, India has had a prevailing tradition of the joint family
system. It is a system under which extended members of a family –
parents, children, the children’s spouses and their offspring, etc. – live
together. Usually, the oldest male member is the head in the joint
Indian family system. He makes all important decisions and rules, and
other family members abide by them. [23]
 In a 1966 study, Orenstein and Micklin analysed India's population
data and family structure. Their studies suggest that Indian household
sizes had remained similar over the 1911 to 1951 period. Thereafter, with
urbanisation and economic development, India has witnessed a break
up of traditional joint family into more nuclear-like families.[24][25]
 The culture of India refers to the way of life of the
people of India.
India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture
, food, and customs differ from place to place within
the country. The Indian culture, often labelled as an
amalgamation of several cultures, spans across
the Indian subcontinent and has been influenced by a
history that is several millennia old.[1][2] Many elements
of India's diverse cultures, such as Indian
religions, yoga, and Indian cuisine, have had a
profound impact across the world.
 Traditionalism and modernity are two extremes but
accepting traditionalism doesn’t mean completely rejecting
modernization. It may simply mean regulating the forces of
modernization.

So Simply, Society means a group of people having different

families living in a specific social boundary may be with
traditonal or modern values. Society is also consisting of
numbers of people having differences in their custom,
tradition, ethics but people are forced to follow some
societal role.