Chapter 143 Brahmanism

Brahmanism is an ancient philosophical sect in India.Its formation has a certain relationship with India's earliest civilization, the Indus River Civilization (about 2500 BC-1700 BC).But it really became a sect with clear beliefs or complete teachings during the Vedic period (about 1500 BC-900 BC). During the Indus River civilization, worship of mother gods, animals, and male and female genitals was popular in India.Although these worships cannot be said to mark the birth of Brahmanism, it is certain that Brahmanism absorbed some of this aspect when it was born.Many components of the popular Brahmanism worship in India evolved from the religious worship that existed during the Indus River Civilization.

With the arrival of the Aryans, a new civilization appeared in the history of India (of course, the new civilization also absorbed elements of the Indus civilization when it was born), and an important symbol of the formation of the new civilization was the appearance of Vedic literature.Vedic documents are regarded as classics by Brahmans in India. During the Vedic period, India gradually entered into a class society.The basic form of class distinction in ancient India was the caste system.There are four main castes, namely, Brahmin (priest, person responsible for presiding over religious sacrifices), Kshatriya (warrior, royal nobleman), Vaishya (farmer, merchant or handicraft worker), and Sudra (slave).Among the four surnames, Brahman occupies the highest position (such as the "Original Song" in the Vedic hymn, it is said that Brahman is the mouth of the original man, Kshatriya is the arms of the original man, Vaisya is the legs of the original man, the head Dhara is born from the two feet of the original man).The evolution and development of Brahmanism has always been accompanied by the evolution and development of the Indian caste system.This religion mainly reflects the interests and ideology of the Brahmins in India's four-caste system.

In the initial phase of the Vedic period, Indian religion was mainly polytheistic.However, in the later stage of this period, the worship of polytheism has shown a tendency to develop into the worship of the main god or the worship of one god.The main gods worshiped by Brahmanism (such as Brahma, Vishnu, etc.) are gradually developed from the gods worshiped by Vedic religion. The Vedas also broadly include the Brahma and Upanishads.The Sanskrit scriptures focus on various sacrifices; the Upanishads mainly discuss the philosophical aspects of Brahmanism, so that the basic beliefs and teachings of Brahmanism can be organized and improved theoretically.

At the end of the Vedic period (or the Upanishad period), Indian Brahmanism had been fully formed, whether it was objects of worship, sacrificial rituals, or doctrines and philosophies, had been established or systematized.In ancient Indian society, its general dominant position in the ideological circle has been established, and it constitutes the core part of Indian traditional culture.The emergence of Brahmanism is of great significance in the history of India.