Telangana SCERT Solution Class VI (6) Social Studies Chapter 17 Religion and Society in Early Times.
( 1 ) List out some Religious practices of the people of the following :
Hunter – gatherers Society
For hunter –gatherers , painting and dance portrayed some of the most prominent parts of their religious lives . As, forests and wild animals were considered as sacred by the hunter- gatherers, for this reason they decided to worship them. According to them, animals should be killed only at times of requirements. They also drew pictures of several animals on caves, which depicted their form of worship. Furthermore, some arrangements was also made by the hunter-gatherers for the afterlife of the deceased persons because they believed that there was continuance of life even after demise. Furthermore, Gangamma refers to the forest goddess that were worshiped by the Chenchus of Nallamala hills. Dancing and offerings were the two means that were adopted by the Chenchus for the purpose of worshipping the forest goddess.
Present day Society
In Hinduism, people visits temple on a frequent basis for the purpose of offering prayer to the deities. They also conduct several religious practices and rituals like worship , which is also known by the name of puja and recitations. In Islam, people visit mosques on every Friday for the purpose of reading namaz. With an aim of practicing self – restraint , Muslim’ s undertake fasting during the month of Ramadan. During this month, they have to restrain from any kind of edible items including waterfrom sunrise to sunset. In Christianity, people visit the catholic church on every Sunday for offering their prayer to god . During the time of Christmas eve, the church is not only beautified but there is also distribution of cakes among the followers. In Buddhism, mantras are chanted by the Buddhists in a repeated manner, as it depicts an important form of mediation. During worship, a string of beads are used by the Buddhists for the purpose of enhancing their concentration.
( 2 ) Write about the common characteristics/ tenets of Buddhism and Jainism.
Buddhism and Jainism believed that violence against animals depicted the act of cruelty , so they emphasized on the principle of non – violence against animals. They also believed that the animals should be treated in a similar way just like the way human beings are treated, which means the animals should also be provided with respect in an equal manner . Thus , they should not be neglected . Both Jainism and Buddhism rejected the idea that it is god who has led to the creation of the whole universe. According to them , it is universe’s divinity which has played an important role in the process of creation . Infact , they rejected the belief that holy texts were the sacred utterance of God. Most importantly, both Buddha and Mahavir Jain who inspite of belonging from a rich and wealthy family repudiated all their comforts with an aim of achieving enlightenment. So, these are some of the common tenets of both Buddhism and Jainism.
3 ) How do you think can we express our thanks to nature ?
We can express our thanks to nature by indulging in the process of planting numerous trees . One should plant as many trees as possible in their locality. As, planting trees can contribute in enhancing the condition of our natural environment. Most importantly , afforestation should be encouraged to a great extent . As, afforestation plays a significant role in maintaining the balance of the ecological system. Furthermore, instead of using poly bags , one can switch to cotton and paper bags. Lastly, the use of fire crackers should be prohibited because it is extremely harmful for the environment, as it may increase the rate of pollution .
4 ) We sometimes see people causing suffering to, and terrorizing animals. What do you think about this ? Do we have the right to cause pain to any living being?
We , as a human being possesses no right to induce pain to any living creatures. People who terrorize animals mainly depicts the act of cruelty and inhumane nature . People who causes harm to the animals should be given proper punishment. Until and unless they are punished, they will not understand the actual importance of animals. In real circumstances, we must depict an act of humanity by saving the animals , instead of hurting them. The animals should be treated with an equal respect just like the way human beings are treated. They should not be subjected to any kind of violence . So, as a human being it is our sole responsibility to protect the animals from any kind of threatened situation.
5 ) Why did people worship dead ancestors and kept boulders on the buried sites ?
Stone boulders was used for the purpose of building big stones, which are known by the name of Megaliths. These boulders were mainly used for marking burial sites. Most of these big stones burials were underneath and some of them were found on the surface. A circle of stone boulders that were discovered by the archaeologist mainly indicated that there were burials underneath. There were some megaliths which did not contained only one skeleton and this mainly indicated that people who were buried belonged from the same family and they were buried at the similar place, even though they may not be buried at the similar time period. Every burials contained some familiar characteristics. Black and Red Ware refers to the distinctive pots that were used for the purpose of burying the dead. There were also several items that were found underneath the boulders like numerous tools, iron weapons , horse equipment’s and stone ornaments. It appeared that these people were considered as the first in the subcontinent for making use of iron tools on a great extent. These megalithic memorials or burials were mainly built for the purpose of worshipping the dead ancestors of the tribe because it contained a great significance for them.
7 ) Write about the different religious customs that are practiced in your area ?
India is a state , where people follow several religious customs. There are a lot of religious customs that are practiced in my locality. People of different religious communities reside in my locality. In my area, there are not only temples but there are also churches and mosques. In our neighbourhood , there is a Christian family residing just nearby our house and on every Sunday they visit the catholic church for offering their prayer to god . During the time of Christmas eve, the church is not only beautified but there is also distribution of cakes among the followers. On other hand, there is also a Muslim family who stays just beside our apartment and on every Friday they visit the mosque for the purpose of reading namaz . In order to offer prayer to the deities , my parents also visits the temple on a daily basis. We also interchange presents on important religious occasions.
( 8 ) Read the para under title ‘ What is it that will never perish?’ of page -150 and comment on it.
There were many people who decided to reside in the forests in ashrams in earlier days. Their main task was to mediate and ponder over various questions in these ashrams. They not only shared their teachings with others but they also made a detailed discussion with those people who visited them. Rishis and Munis referred to those people who resided in ashrams. There were several kings who occupied a leading position in this type of thinking. Upanishads refers to thetext which portrayed the views of these rishis and kings. Yagnavalkya and Uddalaka Aruni were considered as one of the most renowned rishis of those earlier periods. The rishis were mainly indulged in the process of finding something that would never perish. It was the Atma or Brahman that was considered by them as the indestructible being . According to them , it is possible to attain immorality, if the Atma or Brahman is properly understood. For the purpose of knowing the Atma , one had to execute tapasya.
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