Download Hinduism

Hinduism
Actualizing human potential
I. Introductory Facts
1. Majority of India, not native term, single religion.
2. British: non-Muslim
3. No single founder, belief system, authority.
4. Aryans; Sanskrit.
5. Vedas: ritual.
6. Four divisions:
Brahman (priest)
Kshatriya (warrior)
Vaishya (commoner)
Sudra (servant)
*Brahmins controlled through dharma (duty).
*Dharma determined standing.
*Upanishads :
#samsara, cycle of birth, death, rebirth
#karma, action determine future
#dukkha, suffering in life
#moksha, liberation
>Self-discipline, yoga, renunciation.
>Sacrifice changed to puja, devotional worship (c. 800).
>Emphasis on love to the gods (bhakti).
>Epic poems, Ramayana and Mahabharata; Bhagavad Gita.
>Temple cities organized, commercial and religious.
>Muslim invasion/control c. 1000-1750; British to 1947.
II. Major concepts:
*Cyclical time —no beginning, end; Brahman controls.
*Samsara connects microcosm (individual) and
macrocosm (cosmic ages).
*Karma is the causal link between them.
*Dharma (duty) judges actions.
*Moksha (release) is the goal.
III. Sacred Writings
*Sruti (revealed; vedas); Smriti (remembered).
*Veda—praises, rituals, philosophy (“all is one”) and
commentary: atman (soul), Brahman (ultimate being)
*Epics: Ramayana (eternal conflict of good and evil);
Mahabhrata (age of evil, decline of human society);
Bhagavad Gita (Vishnu, as Krishna, defends dharma).
IV. Beliefs
*Two universals: reincarnation, sacred cows.
*Religion? Religions? Way of life? Ethics.
A. God, gods, goddesses: polytheists, monotheists,
monists, atheists.
*Brahman (one, with or without form)
* Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva
*Vishnu (dharma, Rama, Krishna)
*Shiva (yogis, polarity; Ganesha, Skanda)
*Land of India, rivers (Ganges)
#Avatars (descents) of God
Krishna, plays a flute; Bhagavad Gita as Vishnu.
Rama, ideal ruler; Hindu nationalism.
#Image worship: power to image.
>Temple, darshana (sight) of deities.
#Dharma (duty, order, personal behavior); Bhagavad Gita.
#Samsara, cycle of birth, death, rebirth; release.
#Karma, present actions determine rebirth;
devotion, ritual, meritorious
action may bring reprieve
(moksha).
#The Three (Four) Paths
*Jnanayoga: wisdom/knowledge, “intuitive discernment”
1) Learning—listening to sages, reading scripture;
2) Thinking—intensive reflection (chess game);
3) Detachment—concentrate on atman, not physical.
*Karmayoga: activity, work as psychological response; duty for
duty’s sake.
#Bhaktiyoga: selfless love, devotion (includes Christianity)
*Majority here, emphasis on emotion.
#Rajayoga: “royal”, psychophysical path; scientific-minded;
“the beyond that is within.”
#The Four Goals
*Artha = worldly wealth and success (proper attitude);
necessary for well-ordered society.
*Kama = pleasure, desire (guided by dharma); Kama Sutra.
*Dharma = virtue, duty; individual, universal.
*Moksha = spiritual liberation, release from samsara.
#Death and the Afterlife
* World is maya (illusion).
*Rebirth of jiva (soul) based on karma for most Hindus
*Moksha may be 1) union with Brahman; 2) perfect bliss;
3) communion with God; 4) paradise.
*Honor to continuing presence of ancestors.
*Multiple heavens and hells; god of death as judge.
#The Four Yugas
*The world (time) cycles from new, deterioration, end
*“Day of Brahma” has 14 “periods of the Manu”.
*Each Manu period has four great ages, each divided
into four yugas, each being worse than the last.
*Currently the middle of the last, Kaliyuga.
#Guru—spiritual teacher; individual or tradition; male
or female; missions to the West.
V. Worship and Festvals.
#Puja: ritual of devotion at temples and privately.
#Pilgimage prompted by sudden manifestations of the
sacred: rivers (Ganges), animals (cow, monkey), people.
#Festivals: lunar calendar.
*Birthday of Krishna, Janmashtami.
*Celebration of Ganesh, remover of obstacles, Ganesh Chaturthi
*Festival of lights, Diwali.
*Shiva-day, Shivaratri.
*Spring festival, Holi.
VI. Family and Society
A. Caste: 4 castes, 3000+ subcastes, hereditary
1. Brahmins = seers, teachers, scholars.
2. Kshatriyas = administrators, beaurocrats.
3. Vaishyas = artisans, farmers.___________________
4. Shudras = servants, unskilled laborers.
(5. Outcasts = “untouchables”).
6. Reform under Gandhi; clash between
savarnas and avarnas.
B. Stages of Life
1. Student; 8-12 yr old, live with teacher 12 yrs
2. Householder: family, vocation, community.
3. Retirement, “forest-dwellers”; selfdiscovery (after 1st grandchild).
4. Sannyasin = wanderer, free of the world.
C. Marriage
1. Arranged by parents; within caste (men).
2. Dowry brings honor to bride’s parents.
3. Woman’s status derived from male figures.
4. Sati = widow placed herself on funeral pyre.
5. Child marriage still debated.