Download RELIGIONS OF THE AXIAL AGE (800 BCE – 200 BCE)

The Teaching Co. – Great Lecture Series
RELIGIONS OF THE AXIAL AGE (800 BCE – 200 BCE)
Professor Mark Muesse,
Chair
Dep. of Religious Studies, Rhodes College, Memphis
BA (cum laude) – Baylor ; MA and PhD (Study of Religions) – Harvard
In today’s presentation, the focus will be on
DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPT OF SPIRITUALITY,
PARTICULARLY IN HINDUISM, DURING THE AXIAL AGE
i.e., on the content of about 9 of the 24 lectures,
squeezed down into one lecture.
It is as much (or more) a historical as a theological
view of the evolution of Hinduism in the broader
context of the history of religious development.
CONFESSION !
What is the Axial Age ?
• Axial Age ~ 800 BCE – 200 BCE; term coined by 20th century German philosopher Karl Jaspers
• A period of pivotal importance in the evolution of human thought, particularly in
philosophy/religion, and with lasting legacies (esp., wrt introduction of concepts of Spirituality;
the foundations of world religions as we know them today, were truly laid in the Axial Age, especially true for Hinduism)
• A period of great sages, moralists, philosophers in 4 distinct regions of world civilization:
- NE Mediterranean (Greece/Turkey) - Heraclitus (535-475 BCE), Pythagoras (582-507 BCE),
Not covered much
in this course
- W. Asia (MidEast)
Not covered much
in this course
- S. Asia
Basis of
Western
philosophy
- Socrates (470-399 BCE), Plato (427-347 BCE),
- Aristotle (384-322 BCE), et al.
- Further development of Zoroastrianism in Iran (Zoroaster = pre-Axial) ;
- Judaism (595-573 BCE) --- The ministry of Ezekiel; other prophets of Judea
Both (above) influenced later development of all three Abrahamic religions
- Babylonian captivity of Judea (586-536 BCE);
- The sages of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism),
Our
Spiritual underpinning of Hinduism introduced Focus
Upanishads (Vedanta) in the Axial Age
- Vardhamana Mahavira (540-468 BCE, Jainism);
- Gautama Buddha (490-416 BCE, Buddhism); Reign of Asoka (273-232 BCE)
- E. Asia
- Confucius (551-479 BCE, Confucianism) and Mengzi (470-390 BCE)
Religious/philosophical/political foundation of >2000 years of Chinese culture
- Lao Tse (~ 4th century BCE, Daoism) Compelling alternative to Confucianism, including spirituality
In different ways, these sages were responding to the same fundamental issues stirred up in the world of that time.
“The spiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently …
and these are the foundations upon which humanity still subsists today.” --- Karl Jaspers
Religion in the Pre- and Post-Axial Ages (Overview)
Pre-axial religion concentrated on the non-spiritual (rituals, sacrifices, ancestor reverence, paganism [polytheism]
and cosmic maintenance [collaboration of humans and gods in maintaining working world order etc.)
In the Axial Age, there was increasing pre-occupation with ideas of morality, human self & destiny, the Ultimate Reality
Critical to religious development in the Axial Age , esp. in W. and S. Asia, was
the migration of the Aryans (the Noble Ones) from the steppes of C. Asia and E. Europe (Ukraine, S. Russia, Kazhakstan)
W. ASIA
S. ASIA
(Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq)
~ 2000 – 1000 BCE
(Indus Valley,
Ganges Plain)
~1500-1000 BCE ~1000 BCE
Zoroaster ~ 1200 BCE introduced the ancient
Iranians with new religious traditions and many theological
innovations, e.g., Dualism (Good and Evil; Morality)
Day of Judgement, Messiah?
The Indus Valley Culture (~3000-1500 BCE)
Pre-Axial:
The arrival of the Indo-Aryans (~1500-1000 BCE)
Zoroastrinism – state religion of powerful empires
Composition of the Gathas of the Avesta (~ 1000 BCE)
Axial Age:
Continued development of Zoroastrianism
and its influence on Judaism (& later Christianity & Islam)
Compilation of the Rig Veda (~2300 – 1200 BCE)
Composition of the Upanishads (~800–200 BCE)
Composition of the Bhagavad Gita (~200-100 BCE)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-
Post-Axial:
Continued development of Judaism
Jesus Christ (4 BCE – 29 CE)
Muhammad (570 – 632 CE)
Pali Canon in writing (~ 150 BCE)
Rise of Mahayana Buddhism (~100 BCE – 100 CE)
What Spurted the Surge of Innovative Religious Development in the Axial Age ?
Several social-political developments
(A) Urbanization Significant effects on social structure and human psyche
and Mobility
- More suffering and death
- Traditional values and beliefs put in doubt as the family/clan/tribal structure weakened
- Disruption of one’s sense of identity
(B) Political - In China, Period of Warring States; similar turmoil also in India, Iran and Judah
Upheaval - Uncertainty and insecurity an impulse to creative/innovative religious/philosophical thought
(C) Anxiety about - Pre-axial human sense of ID rooted in family/clan/tribe; family security assured after death
Death/Afterlife - In Axial era, death viewed more with dread; more speculation about after death (hope/terror)
- Rise in the sense of individuality and morality
Some Responses of the Sages
(A) Transcendental - Stand back and look at the world more comprehensively and critically
Consciousness (New way of looking at the world and place of humanity in it, in response to growing sense of self
and anxiety about the transience of life)
- Search for something within that might endure beyond the end of life
- Novel conceptions of the world’s Ultimate Reality (away from old anthropomorphic gods to
more sublime conceptions of UR (e.g., Hindu Brahman, Chinese Dao)
- Growing interest in epistemology (how we know what we know/limits on our knowledge)
- Greater sense of self-consciousness and humanity’s place in the universe
(B) Function of
Religion
- Shift from Cosmic Maintenance to Personal Transformation (Religion now seen as means for
personal transformation to achieve immortality and bliss)
- More focus on awareness of selfhood and death --- karma, rebirth and liberation
- Growing sense of the role of morality
Jasper “This era laid contemporary humanity’s spiritual foundation.”
S. Asian Focus: Pre-Axial Background
Meeting of pre-existing Indus Valley culture (~3000 – 1500 BCE, in decline by 1500 BCE) and new coming of
Aryan culture (~1500 – 1000 BCE, from C. Asia?) yielded the basis for pre-Axial Vedic beginning of Hinduism in India.
Later, in the Axial Age, the Vedantic Upanishads transformed Hinduism to its present form, rich in spiritual content.
(A) The Indus Valley (Pakistan) Religion (3000 – 1500 BCE) before the Aryan Coming
-
By 1500 BCE, the IV culture was in decline, but still potent enough to influence the evolution of Hinduism
-
IV culture discovered in the 19th century CE, when ruins were found of the largest civilization of the ancient world,
with some cities as large as perhaps 50 000
-
IV language remains incomprehensible, hence all information based on archaeological finds and inferences
-
Know little about their society and governance, except there was central authority and law enforcement;
likely, peaceful agriculturists who traded with Mesopotamia
RELIGION
- Evidence of deep concern with Sexuality and Procreation (female figurines with exaggerated hips and breasts and
horned animals with powerful flanks and obvious male genitals)
* Possible early worship of mother goddesses long before male gods
* Possible origin of Hindu god Shiva (of creation/procreation and male-female balance)
* Possible beginning of later Hindu rituals to enhance fertility and conception
-
Evidence of intense concern for purity and cleanliness beyond simple hygiene (cities had sophisticated bathing houses)
Possibly symbolic of later Hindu requirement of ritual purity to approach the sacred and concerning food, clothing etc.
-
No sacred buildings identified in IV culture. Possibly indicating home as the sacred space as in Hindu religion today?
Sacred and secular are not sharply distinguished in pre-Axial religion as in Hinduism today.
-
No specific evidence of role of spirituality or thoughts about afterlife
(B) The Pre-Axial Aryan Influence on Hinduism
Historical evidence suggests that the Aryans from the steppes of C. Asia and SE Europe gradually migrated to
the MidEast, S. Asia, N. Mediterranean and as far west and north as Ireland, starting around ~ 2000 BCE.
Their single language evolved into dozens of languages of the Indo-European family, including Sanskrit in India.
Their Culture (based on information from the RIG VEDA and the GATHAS)
-Nomadic/semi-nomadic, mostly pastoralist; with no horses in most of their history, they were localized, not warlike
-They were socially static, apparently peaceful people
-Their society had little formal governance and was divided into priests and producers
Their Religion (Mostly pantheistic, with a variety of gods; based on the Rig Veda, composed 2300-1200 BCE)
(A)Gods related to the natural world, e.g., sky, earth, sun/moon, winds etc.
(B)Gods associated with ritual practices related to fire, water, animal spirits, vision-inducing substances [soma], etc.
(C)Gods (devas) related to human traits, e.g., courage, justice, obedience, glory, friendship, etc
(D)Gods (asuras) related to evil spirits/punishment
(E)Overarching “king of the gods” who eventually became irrelevant (Dyaos-pitr Roman Jupiter)
Different devas took center-stage at different times and were worshipped according to whose favors were needed at the
time.
Cosmology Belief in an abstract principle of cosmic order which kept the sun in its path and the seasons in sequence;
Ritualistic sacrifices needed to maintain the moral cosmic order.
Rita (Principle of Order)--- another abstract principle for human and divine behavior; deities also had to preserve ritas.
Principle of Order opposed by Power of Disharmony and Chaos (Druh); rituals needed to preserve rita against druh.
Central purpose of Aryan religion on the eve of the Axial Age in India was human-divine cooperation in the process and
functions of life. Human beings felt a kinship with the natural and divine worlds. They had to preserve the rituals and
sacrifices to maintain this world in good working order. There was no sense of any specific afterlife.
How Indo-Aryans Viewed Themselves and Their Place in the Universe
on the Eve of the Axial Age
1. Vedas (before Upanishads) have little to say about human nature (“self”) and destiny.
Importance of human-divine cooperation mainly to maintain peace and order in THIS life
2. Rituals and sacrifices to propitiate the gods constitute the key religious practice
3. Much speculation about what occurs after death, with various theories, but no specifics about
afterlife and human destiny.
4. No clarity about what determines human fate.
No clear connection between human destiny and morality.
5. Religion silent about reincarnation or rebirth.
Upon the advent of the Axial Age, with the spread and settlement of the Aryans over N. India,
1. They became less nomadic and more settled (even farmers), with a surge in urbanization
2. The caste system, with stratification into priests, producers, warriors and servants, had become
established, but now, the middle castes began resenting the power of the Brahmins and questioning
the value of the rituals.
3. Anxieties about death and beyond began to surface (e.g., the story of Natchiketas and Yama)
The stage was set for the rise of Classical Hinduism
Key Contributions of the Axial Age to Hindu Theology
- The Upanishads and the Bhagavada Gita 1. Death and Rebirth :
Karma and Samsara
2. The Quest for Liberation :
Moksha
3. The Vedantic Solution :
Atman and Brahman
4. The One and the Many :
Ultimate Reality and Personal Theism
Brahman
Unity
and
in
Ishtadeva
Diversity
The Upanishads
1. Each of the four Vedas consists of two parts: Ritual part and Religious/philosophical part (Upanishads).
The number of Upanishads varies, but most editions contain 13 or 14 “principal” Upanishads.
2. By tradition, they are considered part of the Vedas (both considered to be sruti [revealed knowledge]),
but they were composed later, probably between 800 and 400 BCE (Axial Age), and they represent a
different view of the world from the earlier Vedic texts, e.g., the Rig Veda. The Upanishads more
clearly and completely describe revelation than the Vedas. Hence, they are often called Vedanta,
meaning “completion of the Veda” or end of the Veda.
Death and Rebirth : Karma and Samsara
A key element in the evolution of Hinduism was the widespread acceptance of the concept of
Samsara, the belief that beings endure a seemingly unending series of birth/death/rebirth cycle
governed by the moral principle of karma. These are also part of Buddhism and Jainism.
Between 800 and 600 BC, Indian religious life began to change dramatically.
Material wealth becomes less important than spiritual gains. As people became more prosperous,
the sages wondered if that was all to life. Could something transcend material success?
There was an increasing concern with death and the ultimate fate of individuals. Doubts began to arise
about the Vedic picture of afterlife (pleasant/permanent existence among the gods and ancestors ?). Fear
arose that such paradise could be lost to a redeath. This was probably an intermediate step toward the
concept of reincarnation or transmigration of the soul (? Is there something besides body and mind that
lives on after death?
Reincarnation and karma. No one is sure how belief in reincarnation came about. Not unique to India.
Axial Age Greeks and others had such belief also. As the Axial Age progressed, the idea of rebirth became
widespread and refined by the belief of karma --- a uniquely Indian contribution. Karma came to include
the idea of moral action (as with Zoroaster). The events in one’s life – good or bad – are neither chance
occurances nor fore-ordained by realities outside of oneself. They are consequences of one’s past actions,
Known as fruiting of karma, which is inevitable, if not in this life, then even in the next.
Karma results not only from actions; it can arise from intentions also, indicating a growing focus at the time
on the interiority of the spiritual life. Karma can be good or evil, positive or negative.
Karma is a principle of absolute justice. According to Hinduism, even the gods are subject to the law of
Karma.
The Quest for Liberation (Moksha)
The connected concepts of karma, rebirth and samsara caught on so much that hundreds of
Hindu men and women began to renounce the material life and existence to seek the final liberation from
samsaric existence, virtually creating a fifth caste of ascetics. The search for such knowledge took a
wide variety of forms, giving rise to some of the characteristic practices of Hinduism.
Karma-rebirth and past-present linkages. This linkage can have a very broad spectrum, with rebirths
ranging from the lowest (insects) to the highest (divine). Being reborn even as a human again requires a
great deal of karmic merit. Humans, in particular, have much control over their karma and future.
Samsara is NOT desirable. Even the best of lives is fraught with suffering, pain, grief and death. After
countless such lives, individuals would ultimately be led to the futility of samsaric existence, and seek
libearation from it – moksha - end of rebirth! This made many to reconsider attachment to material life.
The new class of ascetics. During 800 – 400 BCE, Aryan culture became settled in towns, and farming and
commerce flourished, and there was material prosperity amid socio- economic and religious activity.
But dissatisfaction with the new culture followed, traditions faced questions, and Brahmin priests faced
questions. Those in ascetic life (the samanas) saw in renunciation their only hope for freedom, and
wandered from village to village with their begging bowl. Theirs was a large movement, virtually a fifth
caste. There was a symbiotic relationship with the ordinary people, who gained good karma by
contributing to the samana, who depended on such generosity. The samanas adopted diverse doctrines
and practices, and teachers flourished also. This was an intensely experimental period.
The quest for liberation involved search for knowledge and Truth, knowledge that was comprehensive
and fundamental, about the deepest principles of reality, of the integral totality. Rigorous methods of
ascetism and introspection were practiced. What was the solution? How to attain moksha?
The Vedantic Solution
The Upanishads were the first texts to offer the solution of the quest for liberation from samsaric existence --The solution --- to break through the illusion (maya) that our separate individuality of body & mind is real,
to the experience of the Truth that our true/innermost being is the invisible/permanent Atman within us, AND
further, that our Atman is one with the Ultimate Reality itself, which we call Brahman. This is the state of utter bliss.
What is Atman? Most religions of the past 2500 years have asserted that the human essence is something deeper than
our material body, something they have called self, spirit, soul, etc. The Sanskrit word for this essence is atman, a term used
in the early Vedas to mean breath, but reinterpreted in the Upanishads as something transcending the physical breath and
the body, --- an immortal entity that survives death and transmigrates to another body upon rebirth, and transcends also
the capricious and unsettled mind. It cannot be comprehended by the mind in the ordinary sense. It is not to be confused
with the transitory elements of our lower self made up of the body, senses, and mind. It is a higher self. It is the confusion
between the two selves that causes the anguish of the human condition.
What is the Ultimate Reality, Brahman? The sages of the Upanishads sought not only to understand the nature of the self,
but also the ultimate reality supporting all there is, and which alone can liberate us. Brahman in the earlier Vedas was
thought to be the mysterious power hidden in the ritual, which the sages understood as a greater cosmological/moral reality.
The Vedic sages did not all agree about the nature of Brahman, but all agreed that it was an undifferentiated unity which
transcended humans and gods, and had no qualities (nirguna). It was beyond perception and conception. The epiphany
emerged later in the Upanishads.
Atman and Brahman are two names of the same ultimate reality. The true self IS the ultimate reality, yet it seems to be
caught in the samsaric cycle, waiting for the reunion. Is Samsara itself real? or a consequence of our ignorance
and misunderstanding of reality. Maya is the veil over reality, causing us to see diversity when there is only unity. It also
makes us believe we are all separate, from each other and from the Ultimate Reality. It identifies us with our lower self and
traps us in samsara, making us self-centered and full of fear, hatred, greed for the material, and fearful of death. The escape
lies in recognizing our true self, our oneness with Brahman, at the deepest level, through real experience.
The ONE and the Many
The experience of that oneness with Brahman requires immersion in various practices, including meditation, designed to
turn the adept inward, enabling him to detach from maya and identify with atman. Such reorientation rids one of desires.
Such practice is not for everyone. Ordinary people prefer a spirituality in which ultimate reality can be conceptualized, and
to which they can relate. The theology of Saguna Brahman permitted depiction of Brahman through the imago dei without
lapsing into idolatry. The Bhagavad Gita (late Axial Age) advanced this view of personal theism and asserted its consistence
with the path of the Vedanta. Two different theologies thus emerged from the Indian Axial Age --- direct search for the
One (absolute theism), and the search through the many (personal theism). The two are not mutually exclusive in practice.
Many forms of practice also emerged (not necessarily mutually exclusive).
Meditation. Truth can be found only within one’s deepest self. One approach is through the Hindu practice of
meditation – restraining the body and mind to achieve inner stillness. In the Axial Age, meditation eclipsed ritual as the
chief discipline of the samana seeking moksha. Serious and regular meditation can bring about visions, ecstacy, intensified
awareness, and transcendence of thoughts, as a way to the higher self, atman. Meditation complemented the samanas’
efforts to dissociate from maya.
The ascetic approach. Some ascetics practice silence because Truth is beyond language. Some turned to poverty, fasting
and celibacy. Others took more extreme measures, such as “mortifying” the body (standing still for long, lying on a bed of
nails, piercing the flesh, self-flagellation, etc.). All these practices encouraged a sense of individuality or separateness (???).
They were also ways to control selfish desires, which led to negative karma, keeping one bound to samsara.
Personal theism. In its search for Unity, starting in the Axial Age, Hinduism has shown amazing capacity to tolerate diversity.
It permits representation of the divine by many symbols and images, with individuals choosing those most appealing
personally (ishtadeva), thus allowing devotees to draw closer to the divine while all remaining true to the same Ultimate
Reality. The many gods and goddesses of such popular piety are all manifestations of, and conduits to, the one inconceivable
reality. The images may be anthropomorphic or not, and often have non-human aspects to emphasize they are not human.
As the Bhagvad Gita emphasized, what is of key importance is the depth and quality of the faith, especially in the Nirguna
Brahman, and not just in the outer manifestation of it.
CONCLUSION
The Axial Age was a critical period for religious development simultaneously across the then civilized world:
- the concept of spirituality was recognized and developed, essentially, to a mature level of understanding;
The practice of religion moved into a mature
-the role of morality also acquired its eminent place in religion;
domain as spiritual practice became part of it.
-the concept of God was also advanced considerably.
In the pre-Axial Age, life was relatively simple and confined to the family, clan or tribe. The focus of
religion was on cosmic maintenance, a kind of manageable status quo in equilibrium, maintained
through collaboration of humans and gods, with gods having some control over forces of fear or need
to the humans. The practice of religion was mainly in the form of rituals and sacrifices to propitiate the
gods into making those forces more accommodating for the humans.
The Axial Age was characterized by a surge in urbanization, political upheavals, greater encounter with
death, and generally increasing uncertainty in life. The status quo of small-group dynamics was being
uncontrollably disturbed. People became more individualistic with greater sense of self, and more
concerned about human nature and destiny. Was there more to life than just body and mind and
physical comforts? Human thought changed to one of personal transformation, toward spirituality.
Great sages appeared and advanced profound answers to the new questions, guided by scriptures, opening
their minds to big new ideas. Human thought was elevated to a new plane. New questions were framed
about the nature and destiny of human self, and about Ultimate Reality, and new answers offered which
have had legacies enduring to this day.
A focused view of Hinduism acquiring its classical form in the Axial Age has provided an excellent platform
to capture the profound new thinking emerging, especially about the invisible/permanent human soul
and its journey through a chain of rebirths shaped by karma, and the intense quest to escape this
dreadful unending captivity. The Upanishads of Vedanta provided a solution: Atma and Brahman are one,
and the only reality, which can be attained by crushing the illusory maya, by turning inward through
meditation and a paramount effort to know and experience Brahman, thereby attaining eternal bliss.
Thank you.