B.A. Social Notes

                         Institution & Association Institution- When association are formed,they evolve certain rules, regulations and laws and also certain ways of behavior, which keep them together. Associations viewed in this way, are called Institution. The term Institution is sometimes used to refer to organisations or associations and sometimes to desinate a normal principle that defines clusters of important behavior, such as marriage or property. An Institution , however, in not an actual group or association. It is a system of beliefs , norms, values, positions and activities that develop around a societal needs. It is abstract and is used to refer to a fundamental form of social organisation that meets a broad social goals. W.G.Sumner (Folkways,1906) defined it as:"An Institution consists of a concept (ideas,nation,doctrine and interest) and a structure (a framework or apparatus)".  According to Horton and Hunt (Sociology,1964),"an Institution is

               The Decline of the Catholic Church The popularity of the church began to decline from the 12th century. Anti-Church movements began in this time,the most noteworthy being the revolt of Albigenses and Waldenses in France. These movements directed their attacks on the church sacraments and priesthood. The Lollard movement in England which was led by John Wycliffe, a priest and professor, leveled its criticism on the worldliness of the church and its superstitious practices. He advocated a property less Church and a return to the Bible as the sole guide for finding the true path of salvation. For this purpose Wycliffe (1328-84) translated the Holy Bible into English. The Church ordered his expulsion from Oxford University where he was teaching ,and after his body was exhumed and desecrated. A follower of John Wycliffe was a Bohemian, John Huss who criticized the pope for the sale of Indulgences and urged people to follow the Bible. Furthermore, he denied the doctri

                           Religious Reformation The split that developed in the Christian church is most significant developments in the sixteenth century Europe.The Roman Catholic church became corrupt, lost much of its credibility with the intellectuals in the 16th century.It also failed to fulfill the purpose for which it was founded by Jesus Christ and his successor, St.Peter, who became the first bishop of Rome. It was set up to propagate the teachings of Christ, give proper guidance which enabled them to attain salvation without difficulty.   After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Christian church played an important role in saving the Christians from the perils of barbaric invasions.The papacy was highly respected and every pope was considered to possess divinity and regarded infallible. The catholic church served the spiritual and other religious needs in various ways and became so popular that even mighty kings of Europe were afraid to differ from it. They called upon

                     Contribution of Jainism The contribution of Jainism in the field of art and literature is unique. It has not only affected the day-to-day life of a man, but has its own philosophy. The principle of simple living and high thinking can easily be applicable to the monks and the followers of Jainism. Jain Literature: Jain literature is quite  extensive,their contribution  to the development of language and literature is considerable. The  whole of Jain literature was written in Prakrit,Magadhi and Apabhransha languages so that the people well versed in these languages could understand it well. Hemachandra , Haribhadra, Siddha Sena etc. are the famous writers of Jain literature. The chief subjects of Jain writers are religion,philosophy,grammar and mathematics.It is very fast and full of knowledge. The vernaculars also flourished due to composition of Jain literature in the dialects. Ahimsa:  Non-violence has a very important position in Jain religion

                                      Theory of Syadvada Jainism seems to be closely linked with the philosophy of 'Sankhya'. It also developed a kind of logic which cut at the root of all stable knowledge.It was technically named Syadvada or the theory of 'May be'. No absolute answer can be given for any question.There are seven modes of answering a question in Jainism. If the question is, 'Is there a soul'?, this logic of the Jains would admit of seven answer to it,viz, (i) is; (ii) is not ; (iii) is and is not ; (iv) is unpredictable ; (v) is and is unpredictable ; (vi) is not and is  unpredictable; (vii) is, is not and is unpredictable . First sense is that there is a soul exist , second sense is there is no soul exist and third sense is not inconceivable in which we must admit that we cannot describe it,and so on. This is equivalent to saying that knowledge is only probable.   Emancipation of Women: In Hinduism women were not given the right t

            Teachings of Mahavira Swami  The 'Agamas' the scared writings ,are compilation of the teachings of Jain Tirthankaras. Besides 12 'Agamas',the older parts of the 'Acharanga', 'Sutrakitanga' and 'Bhagavati Sutra' also contain the original matter on religion. The main teachings of Jainism are described below in the light of the above mentioned Jain literature.  No Faith in the Vedas and the Supremacy of Brahmin : Mahavira Swami had no faith in the authority of the Vedas and rejected the Vedic rituals and the supremacy of the Brahmins. He recommended very high moral code and ascetic way of life.He was favor of the severe self-mortification for the attainment of Nirvana. The Bahmin supremacy was not accepted by Mahavira. No Belief in the existence of God : Mahavira had no faith in the existence of.He did not regard him as the creator of the Universe. God, according to Mahavira Swami, is only the highest, the noblest and the

                                          Jainism The origin of Jainism is very old. Rishabh dev is the founder of Jainism. Bhaghwat Purana and Vishnu Purana also refer to Rishabha as an incarnation of Narayana. Jain religion is the outcome of the teachings of twenty-four Tirthankaras. They are shrouded in obscurity but we have sufficient details about Parshvanath, the twenty-third Tirthankara of Jainism. Parshvanath: Parshvanath was the real founder of Jainism. He was the son of Asvasena, the king of Banaras or Kashi. Prabhavati was the name of his wife. She was the daughter of king Narvarman . He renounced the world at the age of thirty and became an ascetic. After a profound meditation for 84 days , he attained the highest knowledge known as 'Kaivalya Gyana' in the Jain religion. He preached Jainism for about seventy years, and died of hundred years at the top of the hill known as Parshvanath hill.  Teachings of Parshvanath: He opposed the worship of gods and

                             Teachings of Buddhism The Buddha preached his followers the four truth concerning sorrow.He also preached the reason of sorrow and laid emphasis on Trishna (desires) as the chief sources of discontentment among human beings. Four Truths 1-The world is full of sorrow- Buddha describes this world as full of sorrow and sufferings.According to him ,birth is sorrow,death is sorrow,meeting with unpleasant is sorrow and separation from the pleasant is sorrow.Every wish unfulfilled is sorrow. 2-The reason of sorrow- The chief reason of sorrow is Trishna or desire for material enjoyment and earthly things 3-How does sorrows can be averted- If a man is able to exercise control over desires he can obtain Nirvan and escape from the unending cycle of births and rebirths. 4-Remedy of sorrow- He was of the opinion that self-mortification , repetition of prayers, sacrices and chanting of hymns were not sufficient to attain Moksha. Following the Ashthangika Ma

     Political Condition of Later Vedic Period We come to know from the epics that the Aryans had advanced further from the Punjab to the interior of the country.They had established their authority over the fertile Gangetic valley.During the epic age ,Aryans crossed the Vindhyachal mountain and established friendly relations with Deccan as Bali and Sugriva have been mentioned as foreign rulers in the Ramayana.Moreover,in take great war of the Mahabharata various kings from Deccan come to take part as friends of either Kauravas or Pandvas. Rise of Powerful States- Aryans had now established powerful kingdoms like Panchala,Kashi,Kosala etc.The ideal of Samrat and Samrajya had taken a concrete  shape during the Epic Age kings had now begun to adopt the titles like Samrat ,Adhiraj, Rajadhiraj and Sarvabhauma. Position of King- The king used to hold all the supreme powers of the state.Though the king during the Epic Age was a hereditary monarch,yet he was not the absolute despot

  Religious Condition of Later Vedic Age Worship of New God and Goddess- During this period new gods like Vishnu,Shiva, Ganesha ,Parvati,Rama,Krishna etc.emerged and took the place of Indra,Varuna,Surya,Agni etc.of the vedic period. Nature worship had not become popular by then but Surya worship was still prevalent.Vishnu had taken the place of Varuna. Rigidity in the Religion- The religion of the Vedic period was quite simple. It has not developed any complexities. Even a layman could understand the vedic religion.But with the passage of time the simple religion of the Aryans was becoming complex day by day.Several new rituals were becoming part of the religion of the Aryans. Popularity of Yajnas- The Yajnas were becoming very popular during the Epic age.There are reference of several Yajnas in the Ramayana. Rama and Lakshman were sent to the forest to suppress the demons who used to disturb the Yajnas of Vishwamitra. The Doctrine of Karma- The theory of 'Karma' was