HINDUISM

A few preliminaries

What is Hinduism?

If you ask google “what is Hinduism?” you will get over 3,820,000 results....

Hinduism is not a single, unified, monolithic religion... it is more like a family of beliefs

Hinduism is a mystically oriented religious tradition

Origin and Development

Sacred Texts/Literature

A few important beliefs shared by all Hindus

Practices, Rituals and Ceremonies

The Hindu pantheon

Influential Personages

What aspects of Hinduism will we be considering in class...

The origin and development of Hinduism

2500  -­‐  2000  BCEIndus  River  Valley  civiliza2on  (Harappa  culture)  develops  and  flourishes

2000  -­‐  500  BCEThe  Aryan  invasion  and  the  Vedic  era

800  -­‐  500  BCEThe  age  of  “axis”  and  the  Upanishads

200  BCE  -­‐  200  CEThe  emergence  of    the  Bhagavad  Gita

1200  CEIslamic  influence  begins

1750  -­‐  1947  CEBri2sh  domina2on  of  India

1869  -­‐  1948Mohandas  Gandhi  and  Indian  poli2cal  independence

The sacred texts of Hinduism

Vedas – collection of hymns, prayers and chants of praise and cosmogony

The  “Crea5on  Hymn”  of  Rig  VedaThere  was  neither  non-­‐existence  nor  existence  then.  There  was  neither  the  realm  of  space  nor  the  sky  which  is  beyond.  What  s:rred?  Where?  In  whose  protec:on?  Was  there  water,  bo>omlessly  deep?There  was  neither  death  nor  immortality  then.  There  was  no  dis:nguishing  sign  of  night  nor  of  day.  That  One  breathed,  windless,  by  its  own  impulse.  Other  than  that  there  was  nothing  beyond.Darkness  was  hidden  by  darkness  in  the  beginning,  with  no  dis:nguishing  sign,  all  this  was  water.  The  life  force  that  was  covered  with  emp:ness,  that  One  arose  through  the  power  of  heat.

Desire  came  upon  that  One  in  the  beginning,  that  was  the  first  seed  of  mind.  Poets  seeking  in  their  heart  with  wisdom  found  the  bond  of  existence  and  non-­‐existence.Their  cord  was  extended  across.  Was  there  below?  Was  there  above?  There  were  seed-­‐placers,  there  were  powers.  There  was  impulse  beneath,  there  was  giving  forth  above.Who  really  knows?  Who  will  here  proclaim  it?  Whence  was  it  produced?  Whence  is  this  crea:on?  The  gods  came  aFerwards,  with  the  crea:on  of  this  universe.  Who  then  knows  whence  it  has  arisen?Whence  this  crea:on  has  arisen  -­‐  perhaps  it  formed  itself,  or  perhaps  it  did  not  -­‐  the  One  who  looks  down  on  it,  in  the  highest  heaven,  only  He  knows  or  perhaps  even  He  does  not  know.

Hymn  to  the  “Supreme  Person”(1)  The  cosmic  person  has  a  thousand  heads,  a  thousand  eyes  and  feet.  It  covers  the  earth  on  all  sides  and  extends  ten  finger-­‐lengths  beyond.(2)  The  cosmic  person  is  everything...  all  that  has  been  and  will  be...(12)  From  his  mouth  came  the  priestly  class;  from  his  arms,  the  rulers.  The  producers  came  from  his  legs;  from  his  feet  came  the  servant  class(13)  From  his  mind  came  the  moon;  from  his  eye,  the  sun.  Indra  and  Angi  from  his  mouth,  and  the  wind  came  from  his  breath(14)  From  his  navel  came  space;  from  his  head,  the  sky.  From  his  feet,  the  earth.  From  his  ears,  the  four  direc:ons.  Thus,  the  worlds  were  created

Upanishads – reflective meditations on the spiritual essence of the universe and the self

Lead me from the unreal to reality. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality...

Om, let there be peace, peace, peace

“Son,  as  you  are  so  conceited,  considering  yourself  so  well-­‐read  and  so  stern,  my  dear,  have  you  ever  asked  for  that  instruc:on  by  which  we  hear  what  cannot  be  heard,  by  which  we  perceive  what  cannot  be  perceived,  by  which  we  know  what  cannot  be  known?”“What  is  that  instruc:on,  Sir?”  he  asked...The  father  said:  “My  son,  [it  is  the  instruc:on  about]  that  subtle  essence  which  you  do  not  perceive…  in  IT  all  that  exists  has  its  self.  It  is  the  True.  It  is  the  Self,  and  you,  Son,  are  it.”“Please,  Sir,  inform  me  s:ll  more,”  said  the  son.“Be  it  so,  my  child,”  the  father  replied...“Place  this  salt  in  water,  and  then  wait  on  me  in  the  morning.”  The  son  did  as  he  was  commanded....

The  father  said  to  him:  “Bring  me  the  salt,  which  you  placed  in  the  water  last  night.”The  son  having  looked  for  it,  found  it  not,  for,  of  course,  it  was  melted.The  father  said:  “Taste  it  from  the  surface  of  the  water.  How  is  it?”The  son  replied:  “It  is  salt.”“Taste  it  from  the  middle.  How  is  it?”The  son  replied:  “It  is  salt.”“Taste  it  from  the  bo>om.  How  is  it?”The  son  replied:  “It  is  salt.”The  father  said:  “Wait,  then  look  for  the  salt  again  and  come  to  me.”He  did  so,  saying  “I  cannot  see  the  salt.  I  only  see  water,  but  it  is  s:ll  salty.”

Then the father said: “Here also, in this body, you do not perceive the True, my son; but there indeed it is. An invisible and subtle essence is the Spirit of the whole universe. That is Reality. That is Truth. Thou art that!Brahman is the sun, moon stars, fire, water, wind... he is the God (or divine reality) that appears in forms infinite...”

Brahman is the “sun, moon stars, fire, water, wind... he is the God (or divine reality) that appears in forms infinite...”

A few important beliefs shared by all Hindus

Pluralism – there are many spiritual paths that all lead to the same divine reality

Brahman – the ultimate divine reality at the heart all things

Atman – the spiritual essence of all individual human beings

Maya – the veil of illusion that keeps us from seeing the true nature of reality

Karma – the cosmic moral law of action and reaction, cause and effect

“According as one acts, so does he become. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, and bad by bad action...”

Samsara – the cycle of constant life, death and rebirth

“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from childhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change... and worn-out garments are shed by the body; Worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller within the body. New bodies are donned by the dweller, like garments...”

Moksha – liberation from the cycle of samsara and the ultimate goal of life

Different interpretations when it comes to the details

Shankara on the relationship between Brahman and Atman

According  to  Shankara,  everything  is  ul5mately  ONE  -­‐  all  is  Brahman

The  ul5mate  nature  of  reality  is  “monis5c”  and  so  Brahman  and  Atman  are  fundamentally  one  and  the  same

Brahman  “is  that  one  Reality  which  appears  to  our  ignorance  as  a  manifold  universe  of  names  and  forms  and  changes.  Like  the  gold  of  which  many  ornaments  are  made,  it  remains  in  itself  unchanged.  Such  is  Brahman,  and  ‘That  art  Thou’.  Meditate  upon  this  truth”

Ramanuja on the relationship between Brahman and Atman

According  to  Ramanuja,  everything  is  not  ul5mately  ONE

In  contrast  to  Shankara,  Ramanuja  holds  that  there  is  no  knowledge  source  in  support  of  the  claim  that  there  is  a  dis$nc$onless  Brahman

Rather,  Brahman  and  Atman  are  fundamentally  dis2nct  -­‐  “We  uphold  plurality  as  the  three  en22es  —  the  individual  selves,  the  world  and  the  supreme  Lord  —  are  mutually  dis2nct  in  their  substan2ve  nature,  aTributes  and  characteris2cs”

Ramanuja – reality is ultimately not one

Shankara – reality is ultimately one

But, how does one come to understand the true nature of reality and achieve moksha?

Bhagavad Gita – “the divine song” Krishna’s sacred words for achieving spiritual perfection

The Bhagavad Gita attempts to provide a more concrete connection between the abstract and the practical

When Krishna urges Arjuna to do what his position as a warrior demands, he is reinforcing the role of the caste system

“Now you shall hear how a man may become perfect, if he devotes himself to the work which is natural to him. A man shall reach perfection if he does his duty as an act of worship to the Lord...”

When Krishna urges Arjuna to do what his position as a warrior demands, he is reinforcing the

role of the caste system

The spiritual importance of the Hindu caste system

A  division  of  society  into  different  social  classes  based  on  birth  or  occupa5on(1) The  priestly  class  -­‐  duty  to  perform  

religious  rituals  and  provide  counsel

(2) The  warrior  class  -­‐  duty  to  protect  society

(3) The  merchant  class  -­‐  duty  to  facilitate  trade  and  commerce

(4) The  worker/laborer  class  -­‐  duty  to  perform  manual  labor  and  serve

(5) The  untouchable  class

In other words, perfection is achieved when each individual

recognizes their role and performs their social duty...

There are different types of people and the way to perfection will differ depending on a person’s role in society and individual personality

Living to perfect union with the divine – the yogas

There  are  different  paths  to  perfec5on  for  different  people

Jana  (‘knowledge’)  yoga  focuses  on  study  and  and  instruc2on

Karma  (‘ac2on’)  yoga  focuses  on  unselfishly  working  and  ac2ng

Bhak5  (‘devo2on’)  yoga  focuses  on  devo2on  and  worship

Raja  (‘royal’)  and  Hatha  (‘force’)  yoga  focuses  on  medita2on  and  methods  for  enhancing  medita2on

Just as the “correct” path to perfection varies depending on an

individual’s particular caste and personality, Hindus also believe that each stage of life has a proper way

of being lived...

The spiritual importance of the basic stages of human life

(1) The  student  stage  -­‐  designed  to  lay  a  religious  founda2on  for  life  

(2) The  householder  stage  -­‐  designed  to  fulfill  the  demands  of  society  by  focusing  on  marriage  and  child  rearing

(3) The  re5rement  stage  -­‐  designed  to  allow  one  to  retreat  from  the  demands  of  ordinary  life  in  order  to  pursue  religious  maTers

(4) The  renunciate  stage  -­‐  designed  to  allow  one  the  op2on  to  totally  free  oneself  from  all  aTachments  (social  and  familial)  and  hasten  spiritual  insight  

For most Hindus, the duties of everyday life leave very little time

for many of the spiritual disciplines that we’ve been mentioning– e.g. philosophical study, meditation,

physical exercises, etc...

As such, the vast majority of Hindus follow the path of devotion and worship (bhakti) in one way or

another to make spiritual progress

Living spriitually - aspects of devotional Hinduism

There  are  many  different  forms  of  Hindu  devo5on...

Ritual  ceremonies  usually  performed  at  an  altar  or  temple  -­‐  offering  of  flowers,  food,  drink,  burning  of  incense,  etc

Deity  venera5on/devo5on  -­‐  the  many  manifesta2ons  of  God  are  adored  and  worshiped  (e.g.  Brahma,  Shiva,  Vishnu  and  their  various  avatars)

Animal  venera5on

Guru  venera5on  -­‐  “one  who  removes  darkness”

Making sense of the gods of devotional Hinduism

Three  gods  have  been  par5cularly  important  in  the  devo5onal  life  of  hinduism:  Brahma,  Vishnu  and  Shiva

Brahma  represents  the  crea5ve  force  that  made  the  universe

Vishnu  (and  his  avatars)  represents  the  force  of  preserva5on  in  the  universe

Shiva  represents  the  force  of  destruc5on  in  the  universe

Hindu  destruc2on  is  not  associated  with  punishment  or  wrongdoing,  but  rather  with  a  kind  of  recycling

Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi(1869 – 1948)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – (1869 – 1948)

Gandhi  was  born  in  India,  educated  in  London,  worked  in  South  Africa  and  then  dedicated  his  life  to  helping  the  Indian  people  achieve  independence

Gandhi  was  the  pre-­‐eminent  poli5cal  and  spiritual  leader  of  India  during  the  Indian  independence  movement.

Gandhi  prac2ced  ahisma  (‘non-­‐violence’)  as  his  method  of  opposi2on  

Gandhi  was  o]en  referred  to  as  Mahatma,  meaning  “great  soul”,  and  Bapu,  meaning  “Father”

“I call myself a Sanatani Hindu because I believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and all that goes by the name of Hindu scriptures, and therefore in avatars and rebirth. In a concrete manner he is a Hindu who believes in God, immortality of the soul, transmigration, the law of karma and moksha, and who tries to practice truth and ahimsa in daily life, and therefore practices cow protection in its widest sense and understands and tries to act according to the law of varnashrama.”

Gandhi said that “untouchability is a crime against God and man”. He also referred to the so-called untouchables as HARIJANS meaning “Children of God”. He fought for their emancipation and in 1949 and soon after independence from Britain, the government of India made it a criminal offense to practice untouchability.