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Transcript
HINDUISM: A FAMILY OF BELIEFS WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN? Google Earth 2 theories on the “Aryan Synthesis” 1.Aryans migrated into the Indus Valley as the dominant cultural force. “Vedic Religion” = Aryan religion + Indigenous religions of India 2.Aryan culture is a development of Indus Valley Culture, so the Indus Valley culture was already Aryan or Vedic 3.Complex – not simple “invasion” ORIGINALLY, THERE WAS NO TERM “HINDUISM.” There is no reference of the word "hindu" in the Ancient Vedic Scriptures The proper word for those people who follow the Scriptures of The Vedas is "Sanatana Dharma", not "Hinduism". Vedic Religions Local Religions BEFORE 2000 BCE: INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION Religious practices: Ritual bathing/purity, sacrifice, fertility rites (Much like the rest of ancient world) Beliefs: ?????? The Great Bath at Mohenjo Daro Harapa.com VEDAS: ṢRUTI “THAT WHICH IS HEARD” • sacred wisdom revealed to rishis ~ 3500 BCE • Rig veda • Sama veda • Yajur veda • Atharva veda The Upanishads are commentaries on the esoteric Vedas and are also Shruti texts. Brahman: Brahman performing a Hindu ritual in Kerala, India. Photograph. <http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-178329>. 1500-500 BCE: Vedic Period • “Vedic Religion” – based on sacrificial meals shared with many gods of cosmological realms: earth, atmosphere, sky. • God is infinite: Cannot be grasped • Communicate with Gods through fire sacrifices. Sacred Space: Outdoor fire altar • Sacred Literature: The Vedas • Reciprocal relationship of duties between humans & gods. 500 BCE -500 CE: THE PURANIC / UPANISHADIC/ “AXIAL” AGE (BUDDHA DIES C. 400 BCE) • Idea of dharma becomes well-articulated in the Sutras and Shastras: this is the minimization of Vedic fire sacrifice . . . development of more individual devotional worship (puja) to images in temples. • 3 main traditions develop: • Vaishnavism (Vishnu) • Shaivism (Shiva) • Shaktism (Prakriti – Nature aspect of Brahman) DHARMIC TEXTS • Epics and Puranas • Mahabharata (c. 500 – 100 BCE) • Ramayana • AND Bhagavad Gita http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/the-bhagavad-gita-in-pictures/gita-104/ MAJOR TEXTS: THE UPANISHADS (12 TOTAL) • Primarily philosophical texts intended to communicate the true nature of reality to anyone willing to become a student • Written in poetic & dialogue format . . . For example: “These rivers, my son, run, the eastern toward the east, the western toward the west. They go from sea to sea. They become indeed sea. And as those rivers, when they are in the sea, do not know, I am this or that river, 2. “In the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they have come back from the True, know not that they have come back from the True. Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a midge, or a gnat, or a mosquito, that they become again and again. 3. “That which is that subtle essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and you, O Svetaketu, are that.” 1. Chandogya Upanishad, “Section X,” Sophia Project, www.sophiaomni.org REALITY AND THE DIVINE • Brahman (transcendent, ultimate, immanent reality) • Advaita/Dvaita (non-duality; duality) • Karma (actions deciding fate) • Maya (illusion) • Samsara (cycle of birth and death) • Saguna (manifestation of God in form) • Nirguna (eternal all-pervading & omnipresent divine consciousness.) • Atman (the spiritual principle of the universe) • Ashram (monastic community) • Dharma (one’s nature, path, destiny) • Reincarnation • Moksha (release from cycle) Baby Krishna Eating Butter WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN IN HINDUISM? “O SVETAKETU, THOU ART THAT.” CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD 6.8.7 - TO COMPLETE ONE'S DUTIES (DHARMA, ARTHA, KAMA, MOKSHA) AND CULTIVATE SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ELEVATE ONE’S CONSCIOUSNESS AS ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN UNDERSTAND - SAT CHIT ANANDA: BEING AWARENESS BLISS https://www.flickr.com/photos/maheash-nelanka/3647001883/ Cosmology/ “Essence” Theories of Universe & Reality Social Organization: Politics, Community, Family, Status, Caste, access to power & authority Views of Self & Human Life: Virtue, Vice, Gender, Destiny, Purpose 500 CE – 1500 CE: THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD • Rise of Bhakti • Regional kingdoms with their own state-sponsored religious traditions (e.g. Shaivism or Vaishnavism) • Building of the great temples • Vernacular poetry • New theology preached by important gurus Dravida Style Thanjavur Temple Tamil Nadu, India THE STATIONS OF LIFE: CASTE SYSTEM (INHERITED) 1. Brahmins (note how close to Brahman) 2. Kshatriyas: Administrators 3. Vaishayas: Producers 4. Shudras: followers, servants, the unskilled • Untouchables Dates Period Major Developments Before 2000 BCE Indus Valley Civilization - Fragmentary evidence - 1500-500 BCE Vedic Period Composition of the Vedas – Priestly Religion 500 BCE–500 CE Classical/Axial Age Philosophical Thought Develops; Epics and Upanishads composed 500-1500 CE Medieval Period Devotional Movements; Bhakti literature 1500-1757 Pre-Modern Period Further devotional movements 1757—1947 British Period British Indology Begins 1947–present Independent India Critical India Studies 1947 – PRESENT: INDEPENDENT INDIA • Partition between India & Pakistan in 1947 • Issues: lack of Muslim representation in government; “Hindutva” Ideology • Hindu Diaspora; practicing Hindus migrate all around the world • Hindu Gurus go to the West • Transcendental Meditation (TM) • The Beatles! Mahesh Prasad Varma Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 1918-2008 1757 – 1947: BRITISH PERIOD • Mughal empire falls to the British • Christian missionaries arrive for a Cultural westernization • Lowest class is renamed “Untouchables” Mohandas Ghandi NEXT WEEK BUDDHISM REJECTIONS OF VEDIC RELIGION: TWO OTHER DHARMIC RELIGIONS Buddhism • 5th c. BCE • Siddhartha Gautama “The Buddha” • “Middle Way” between Excess and Asceticism • Lay people and Monks Jainism • 7th-5th c. BCE • Primarily ascetic • Principle of ahimsa • Earliest known teacher: Parshvanatha • Emphasis on monks Jainism: statue of Mahavira. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 2 Feb. 2015 1500 – 1757: PRE-MODERN PERIOD • Rise of Islam in the north • Turks and Mughals • Emergence of two different strands of bhakti: nirguna and saguna • “Sant” tradition in the north emerges; influence of Islam on Hindu poets Gita Govinda Manuscript c. 1550