Download Eastern Religions - Olav Bryant Smith

Eastern Religions
Hinduism 2:
Vedic Hinduism
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Indus Valley Civilization
Vedic Basics: Orality
Sacred Places
The Eternal and Creation Stories
Mono-, Poly-, and Henotheism
Gold and White
5
Rewriting History:
The Indus Valley Civilization
2500-1750 BC
Indus Valley Civilization along the Indus River
discovered when British were
building railroads
Harappa
Mohenjo Daro
ritual purification
by water
•Running Water
•Below-ground Sewer system
Seals
Swastika
Symbol of the Radiance of the Sun
The Sanskrit word Swastika means “Well- Being”
or in some contexts “It is good,” or “Let the Good Prevail”
The Swastika is often worn or displayed as a Good Luck Charm.
A Common World Archetype
From the Hopi Prophecy Rock
Nazi misuse of the symbol:
Sacred Spiritual Symbol of
peace and the blessings of
Nature became symbol of
racism and World War.
Native American blanket
Ancient Iranian necklace
Shiva
In Modern Hinduism,
there are 2 main gods:
SHIVA
and
VISHNU
And
some people
are devoted to
various forms of
THE
GODDESS
Modern Hindu worship of Shiva is probably partly derived from Dravidian worship of
The
Pashupati
Seal
Proto Shiva
buffalo
horns
(controlled
power)
elephant
(controlled
power)
tiger
(uncontrolled flowing
power)
phallus
(creative
power)
Symbols of POWER
Modern Hindu worship of the Goddess is probably largely derived from Dravidian worship of
The Mother Goddess
dancing girl
Elamite goddess
IVC Mother Goddess
REVIEW A
2 Phases of Hindu History
1.Vedic Hinduism
(Vedism)
2.Vedantic Hinduism
(Vedanta)
1
vedic basics: orality
Vedas (Knowledge)
PIE: ueid (to know)
Greek: eidos (idea)
English: wit
‘Vid’ (Sanskrit) is the verb ‘to see’
vision
visor
video adviser
visual
the writers of the Vedas
The 7 Rishis
Related to the Sanskrit word rish, “to flow,”
the Rishis are sages who possess inner sight
into the Sanatana Dharma
The ones through whom
the sacred sounds flow.
Rishikesh, India
ancient oral texts not written down until around 200 BC to 200 AD
4 Vedas
Samhitas: Collections
1.
2.
3.
4.
Rigveda
Yajurveda
Samaveda
Atharvaveda
(including
Ayurveda)
kn. of praise
kn. of sacrifice
kn. of melody
practical kn.
The Rig Veda
the main source for the stories of the gods
In the 4th Veda
(Atharvaveda)
PRACTICAL
KNOWLEDGE, including
Ayurveda (Life Science)
Hindu Medicine
Ayurveda Introduction
some basic understanding of germs
first known use of antibiotics
REVIEW B
2
sacred places
Mt. Meru
The Home of the Gods
“672k miles high” : )
Axis Mundi
Mt.
Everest
is less
than
6 miles
high
Avg.
distance
to the
moon?
239k
miles
Image of Mt. Kenya in Africa
Axis Mundi
Mt. Meru
Mt. Kanchenjunga in India, almost as tall as Everest
Mandala (Circle)
medieval European
mandala
Sacred Circle
Representing the Order of the Cosmos
Aborigines of Australia
Celtic
Native American
Aztec
Chinese
Star of David
Christian Labyrinth
Tibetan Sand Mandala
Sometimes
called a
yantra
Hindu Mandala
Hindu Temples with Mandala Design
the center
of the
mandala
is a
bindu,
and
represents
Mt. Meru
Angkor Wat
in Cambodia
Angkor Wat in Cambodia
Sarasvati River
Saraswati RV 7:95
THIS stream Sarasvati
with fostering current
comes forth, our sure
defense, our fort of iron.
As on a car, the flood
flows on, surpassing in
majesty and might all
other waters. Pure in
her course from
mountains to the
ocean, alone of
streams Sarasvati
hath listened.
The Ganges River
Ganges River
has its origins in the heavens
Milky Way
REVIEW C
3
the eternal and creation stories
The Tao of Physics
Fritjof Capra
Compares the findings in Modern
Quantum Physics to Eastern Religions
Science and Hindu Literature
Quoted the Bhagavad Gita:
"Death I am, cause of destruction of the worlds..."
"The Vedas are the greatest privilege
of this century.“
—J. Robert Oppenheimer
"Vedanta is the most impressive
metaphysics the human mind has
conceived.“—A.N. Whitehead
Creation Stories*
“In the beginning was the Word…”
–John 1:1
Om (Aum)
Sacred Sound of the Universe
out of which all else flows
String Theory in Physics
The Universe as a Concert
“And just as a violin string
can vibrate in different
patterns, each of which
produces a different
musical tone, the filaments
of superstring theory can
also vibrate in different
patterns.”—Brian Greene,
The Fabric of the Cosmos
String theory is an attempt to unify relativity theory and quantum theory into a TOE.
‘TOE’ stands for ‘Theory of Everything’
The Cosmic Egg
Planetary nebula called a Cosmic Egg
The Big Bang
Genesis: Man Created in God’s Image
The Creative
Principle w/
a Personality…
a SELF,
an agent
Rubens’
Adam and Eve
in the Garden
Michelangelo
The god Yahweh as depicted by Michelangelo
on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
Genesis 1 says “Yahweh created man in his own image. In Yahweh's image he
created him; male and female he created them.”
Purusha is the Consciousness of the Universe
Purusha is the
Cosmic Man (Being)
Head  Heavens
Torso  Atmosphere
Lower Body Earth
Self-Sacrifice of Purusha
to Create the World
REVIEW D
Creation of the Social Order
by the self-sacrifice of Purusha
4 Varnas or Castes
(The Caste System)
Mouth  Priests
(Brahmins)
Arms 
Warriors
Thighs/Genitals
Producers
Feet  Servants
Outside of this caste system—lower than the lowest:
+ UNTOUCHABLES/OUTCASTES
Gandhi embraced untouchables and called them
Harijan: children of
God
Dalits (oppressed)
The Caste system is illegal today in India, but continues on through customs or habit.
Hymn to Purusha (Cosmic Man)
The SELF behind all creation
“A thousand heads hath Purusha, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet.
Covering the world all around, he yet exceeds it on all sides.
This Purusha is all that hath been and all that is to be;
The lord of immortality as well as of creatures who grow by food.
So mighty is his greatness; yea, greater than all creation is Purusha.”
art as
“spiritual technology”
Purusha: Cosmic Man
Many Arms represent Omnipotence
Many Eyes/Heads represent
Omniscience
by Valérie Trotin
Purusha and Prakriti
The union
of male and
female is
the Hindu
equivalent
to
The Tai Chi
Later Hinduism: Shiva-Shakti
Buddhism: Yab Yum
Consciousness and its field of Material Energy
REVIEW E
4
monotheism, polytheism,
and henotheism
Deva (God) Devi (Goddess)
The Devas and Devis are Cosmic Powers, like the Kami in Japan
Vishnu,
Lakshmi,
and
Garuda
Kali
Ganesh
Surya
‘Div’ means ‘to shine’  divine, divinity
DYAUS
ZEUS
DYAUS PITR
ZEU PATER
JUPITER
(Sky Father, whose mate is Prithvi Matr/Mother Earth)
Ravana
(Asura,
demon)
THEOS
God
THEOLOGY
The study of God
Hinduism is a form of Henotheism
(one god in principle, many gods in practice)
vs. Monotheism
or Polytheism
(belief in one god)
(belief in many gods)
330 Million Gods
3 kinds:
celestial
atmospheric
earth
One God
“Sages (learned Priests) call
one God by many names.” [Rig Veda 1:164:46]
"O friends, do not worship anybody but Him,
the Divine One. Praise Him alone." [Rig Veda 8:1:1]
"Verily, great is the glory of the Divine Creator."
[Rig Veda 5:1:81]
Example:
Alexander
‘The Great’
Theory of Epithets
Epithets are attributes that distinguish a character.
In sacred literature, ‘epithets’ were used to describe the role and attributes
of the divine, and the epithets themselves were later personified and myths
were created to explain their roles.
Walter Burkert
University of Zurich
REVIEW F