Buddha and Ashoka: Crash Course World History #6

In which John relates a condensed history of India, post-Indus Valley Civilization. John explores Hinduism and the origins of Buddhism. He also gets into the reign of Ashoka, the Buddhist emperor who, in spite of Buddhism's structural disapproval of violence, managed to win a bunch of battles.

Chapters:
Introduction 00:00
The Vedas 0:55
The Caste System 1:33
Dharma 2:40
Samsara, Moksha, and Karma 3:33
Buddhism 5:18
Chutes and Ladders 8:04
Ashoka 9:18
Hinduism 11:04
Credits 11:47

Resources:

Credits:
Executive Producer: John Green
Producer: Stan Muller
Writer and historian: Raoul Meyer
Script Supervisor: Danica Johnson
Music: Jason Weidner

the Smart Bubble Society is:
Suzanna Brusikiewicz
Jonathon Corbiere
Nick Counter
Allan Levy
James Tuer
Adam Winnik

Set Design: Donna Sink
Props: Brian McCutcheon

Photos:
David Shankbone
ClipWorks

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?

[TheMayman]

"10 min is not enough time to cover everything"

*2 min on chutes and ladders*

[hari-krishnakoipallil]

I, being an Indian, love this episode, especially his mispronunciations.

[saketg]

"Life is full of suffering,
and the most recurring suffering,
is youtube buffering"
~Bud'dah, 3rd World Problemsupanishad

[vonderstroy]

Dude, why not take your time? I wouldn't mind watching an 80 hours long chapter about India if it's from Crash Course.

[JakeBroe]

I feel like if Siddhartha Guatama were to time travel to the present day... he'd say nothing has really changed and all the problems he identified 3000 years ago still apply.

[bodhadeepika]

CORRECTION: Buddha does not mean Teacher. It means "Awakened One". Guru
is closer to teacher, but etymologically means "dispeller of darkness."

[AnkitPanwarr]

hey guys one more fun fact : did you ever saw a round circle of blue colour in centre of India's flag, its Ashoka Chakra, it is directly taken from Ashoka's empire in modern day Indian Flag

[uttaraasthana]

In Mahabharat, Arjun was faced with the prospect of killing his own teachers and family members in the battle field as they belonged to the other side.
He was given the option to either ask for more warriors to help him in the war or Lord Krishna himself.
Arjun asked Lord Krishna to be on his side. He was engaged in a tough battle with his own self on how could he possible take lives of his loved ones.
The essence of Mahabharat lies in the dialogues that took place between Arjun and Lord Krishna who constantly reminded him of his duties in the battlefield.

[willieclark]

Arjuna wasn't a bad warrior. The conflict he was facing was whether or not to fight morally.

[TheWorldPillow]

People complain he talks too fast? I got an AP Test tomorrow, put it to 2x speed.

[alfredpardoe]

Considering how complex both Hinduism and Buddhism are (easily more complex than Islam, Christianity and Judaism combined) he does a good job of giving an overview of the religions. Lots more to know to understand it and the more you know about the religions the more you would be inclined to say that some of the "facts" he gives out in the video are false by his literal words, however for a basic over view to someone who knows nothing its pretty good (and accurate).

[aasthasharma]

of comments: wHo hErE hAs aN aP tEsT tOmMoRrOw
of comments: correcting john on Indian history/pronunciations
of comments: irrelevant stuff

[sleepy_sensei]

I'd just like to correct you as an Indian.... there were four noble sights seen by Buddha: the old man, the sick man, the dead man, and a sage whose calmness was what attracted Siddtharta Gautama to become a sage himself...

[jasmine_kye]

I'm not taking any tests but I find this super fun to watch. This is so much more interesting than Malaysian History.

[MauroEnfermoDeLepra]

This is actual WORLD history. I hate every time I open a "world" history book wich is just history of Europe and later America.

[juanmaya]

No one:

Every AP world history student who has the exam tomorrow: “WhO ElSE iS wATcHInG tHIs FOr tHe ExAM TOmoRroW?”

[johnshrestha]

I like when John( Crash Course) talk about relations between Buddhism and Hinduism. We, the people of Nepal, (especially in Kathmandu Valley) have a good respect to both . There is tons of evidence supporting this statement. One of them is the "Jatra" we are celebrating in this month. This Jatra is of god call as "Rato Machhindra-nath", which is the common festival of both Buddhism and Hinduism. So, in my point of view, he has presented reliable information on this topic. And at last, thank you, Crash Course for this wonderful video.

[whysoblahsphemous]

Correction : The Mahabharata is the legend of two warring Clans and not to two Kingdoms. The two clans of the Pandavas and the Kauravas who belonged to the same family tree.
The caste system as we know it is not Hinduism. If one has read the Bhagavad Gita or the Vedas then they will know that movement between castes was not an issue. So for example, if Arjun had happened to display the qualities of a really good baker and a really bad warrior in training, Dron Acharya his mentor would've immediately recommended to him the benefits of changing caste. But Arjun, for those who don't know, is known to be one of the most skilled shooters in ancient history, whom none but the gods could rival and so Krishna sought to remind him his duty when his determination faltered at warring with his family. Without reading the Mahabharata one will not know the context of Gita in it's entirety.
It was later on in something BC when a Brahmin priest called Manu (who I think was one of the greatest assholes in history) wrote this trash called the Manusmriti. Two things he wrote in it and actively propagated created the rigid caste hierarchy of today-- that Brahmins were Lords of all castes and there would be no more movement among castes so it's pretty clear why he did this. The man was a misogynistic tyrant and I wish he'd never been born.

[LeahMarkum]

Pure gold in the comments section.  I love it when (for the lack of better terms) the insiders/natives criticize the informational bias and explain the topic from their perspective.  This video follows closely to most standard textbooks, yet as John states at the beginning, there is significant historical bias involved because the British, not the Indians, wrote the version of Indian history that many Western cultures know.  Depending on the school and the teacher, one's education may not involve thinking critically about or debating content and the source of the content.  Yet the diverse audience watching this video has created a complementary educational experience in the comments.  Just awesome.

[lusciouslocks]

Nobody:
John Green: "MY BABY SON BEAT ME AT CHUTES AND LADDERS THIS GAME SHOULD BE ILLEGAL."