Hinduism
The Axial Age is a concept developed by the German philosopher Karl Jaspers. Jaspers observed that the Axial Age, which approximately covers a period from the 8th century BC to the 3rd century BC, was a period of profound human development, which not only gave way to several of the great world religions but also changed these great world religions as well even to the current day. There has never been a time as crucial in human development as the human thought during the Axial Age. Humans began questioning their existence and the meaning of life and death. When coming into contact with other religions and beliefs, these groups had to look at their own beliefs and either entertain new ideas brought out during the Axial Age or cling onto their old ones. The Axial age had many effects on the Hinduism religion as a whole, specifically the caste system, the change from Vedic traditions and rituals to the Post-Axial focus on gaining spiritual knowledge and the traditions in which they are sought. …show more content…
The Pre-Axial Age caste system during the Rig Vedic days was less strict than the caste system created during the Axial Age. In the Post-Axial Age and “in the later Vedic ages, the caste system become more rigid and played important role in the social order” (Shah, I.). The caste system originally developed in a less restrictive form during the Pre-Axial Age and did not involve strict inherited and exclusive caste groups. These hereditary and elite caste-groups did not form until the time when the Vedic Aryans settled near the North-West during the Axial Age, which was the home of the Rig Veda. As they settled near the other inhabitants of the North-West, they looked at the other people groups as Vratyas (wanderers), since they did not follow a caste system like the Vedic Aryans (Shah,
The Axial Age is a concept developed by the German philosopher Karl Jaspers. Jaspers observed that the Axial Age, which approximately covers a period from the 8th century BC to the 3rd century BC, was a period of profound human development, which not only gave way to several of the great world religions but also changed these great world religions as well even to the current day. There has never been a time as crucial in human development as the human thought during the Axial Age. Humans began questioning their existence and the meaning of life and death. When coming into contact with other religions and beliefs, these groups had to look at their own beliefs and either entertain new ideas brought out during the Axial Age or cling onto their old ones. The Axial age had many effects on the Hinduism religion as a whole, specifically the caste system, the change from Vedic traditions and rituals to the Post-Axial focus on gaining spiritual knowledge and the traditions in which they are sought. …show more content…
The Pre-Axial Age caste system during the Rig Vedic days was less strict than the caste system created during the Axial Age. In the Post-Axial Age and “in the later Vedic ages, the caste system become more rigid and played important role in the social order” (Shah, I.). The caste system originally developed in a less restrictive form during the Pre-Axial Age and did not involve strict inherited and exclusive caste groups. These hereditary and elite caste-groups did not form until the time when the Vedic Aryans settled near the North-West during the Axial Age, which was the home of the Rig Veda. As they settled near the other inhabitants of the North-West, they looked at the other people groups as Vratyas (wanderers), since they did not follow a caste system like the Vedic Aryans (Shah,