Telangana SCERT Solution Class VI (6) Social Studies Chapter 18 Devotion and Love towards God.
( 1 ) Imagine a discussion between a Buddhist monk and a hunter – gatherer and how they learnt from each other. Write a short dialogue between them.
The hunters – gatherers mainly managed their survival by hunting animals. But the Buddhist monk is against causing any kind of violence to the animals. The Buddhistbelieved that it is unjust to induce any pain to the animals because they are also living beings and they too feel pain. But hunter- gatherers were unware of this actual truth. According to him, the animals does get hurt or feel any pain because they does not depict any sign of reactions . Buddhist on the other hand tried to explain him that animals do feel pain and most importantly, everything that is not visible is still existent on Earth . As for example, we are unable to see the universe but we know that there is an existence of universe. So , in a similar manner animals also feel pain when they are subjected to torture . After listening to this , hunters- gatherersrealized the actual importance of animals .
( 2 ) Can you see any similarities and differences between the early and the Vedic religion?
In the Vedic period, minimal differences lies in accordance with the Aryan invaders with respect to the Dravidian, Harappa and native traditions. Not only contemporary Hinduism but also different kinds of religion were followed by the people. Their belief was mainly ingrained in the supremacy of the god and this belief was held by distinct people of the varied time period. It mainly involved the way in which god is worshipped and the ground on which they provide assistance. In early and Vedic period, people can be distinguished on the grounds of religion.
( 3 ) In what ways were the early Bhagavata and Shaiva thinking different from that of the Buddhists and Jainas ?
According to the Bhagavatas , Vishnu represented the Supreme God , who has led to the creation of this universe. So, they worshipped Vishnu or Narayana and considered Vishnu to be the most powerful and eloquent. They presumed that , it was Vishnu who has adopted various forms for the purpose of protecting the world from the iniquitous. On the other hand , Buddhists and Jainas held a completely different perspective. 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. So, in this way, the thinking of the early Bhagavata and Shaiva differed from that of the Buddhists and Jainas.
( 4 ) Discuss how the Puranas helped in bringing together different religious practices in the country.
The Puranas refers to the Hindu religious text that was framed in Sanskrit language. It not only performs an essential role in inspiring major national and annual festivals of Hinduism but it has also brought about an influential impact on the cultural sphere of Hinduism. It’s primary role as a sacred religious text has remained controversial due to the fact that several gods and goddesses has been praised by the Puranas which facilitates the integrity of major religious practices. In this manner, the Puranas contributed in bringing together different religious practices in the country.
( 5 ) Can you point out the most important difference between the early beliefs and the beliefs of the Bhaktas of Tamil Nadu ?
In Tamil Nadu, there was an arousal of a new movement to God around 550 Common Era. They represented themselves as the devotee of Vishnu or Shiva. Their belief was not ingrained on any kind of elaborative rituals such as animal sacrifices or yagnas. As , Buddhism and Jainism rejects the existence of any God , due to this reason they were against this type of religions. Rather, they believed that the path of salvation can be attained onlyafter establishing an association with Shiva or Vishnu . Additionally, one should also depict an acute love towards Him. They presumed that everyone have the right to love God and they should not be distinguished on the ground of caste or community.
( 6 ) In what way did the Prophet Mohammad explain the equality of all human beings ?
Prophet Mohammad was the founder of the new religion of Islam. It was in Arabia, where Prophet Mohammad was born in 570 CE. The teaching of Prophet Mohammad not only reflected the devotion to one God but he also stressed on the fact that God is the one who has created all human beings. Thus, all human beings stands equal before God , just exactly the way all children are equal before their parents. According to him, it is not right to worship idols because God or Allah possesses no shape. His teachings also reflected that all men shares a common bonding of brotherhood. He focused on the significance of love for the entire humankind.Mohammad was regarded as a Prophet of Allah. The ‘Quran’ refers to the book where the teachings of Allah are written. It is the Quran, which is regarded as the holy book of Islam. In this way, the Prophet Mohammad has portrayed the equality of all human beings.
( 7 ) Read the para under title’ The belief in a Supreme God’ of page 160 and write your comment.
There was an emergence of some common ideas among several religions such as Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. They all emphasized in the presence of one God who is supreme in nature and the requirement of worshipping him. Their belief was also ingrained on certain common grounds like love , equality and respect which should be rendered to all human beings and they should not be distinguished on the grounds of wealth , education or social position. However, a very large number of people began to adopt these ideas .Kings and rulers wereinfluenced by these ideas to such an extent that they also began to motivate their subjects to practice these religions. As a result of which, vast temples , churches or mosques were built with an aim of facilitating the place for worship.
( 8 ) Write your view on the religious programme held recently in your area.
Holika Dahan is a festival that is celebrated by every member of the locality with tremendous joy and fidelity and this festival is held in the month of March. The festival of colour , which is known by the name of Holi comes just after the festival of Holika Dahan. Itwas mainly considered to be festival of Punjabis but with the course of time this festival became very popular among all the members of the community . So, they also participate in the celebration of this festival with tremendous devotion and exuberance. This festival is mainly celebrated at the night time, where several twigs are collected by the people. They not onlyburn logs but they also put corns and pulses by walking around the fire. This ritual is mainly conducted for the purpose of depicting devotion to God. They also believed that by conducting this ritual,it will help in removing all thedestructive spirit that is prevalent in the sphere of one’s life and in turn will render prosperity .
