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Hinduism
Veda = Teaching / Wisdom
• Rig-veda • Yajur-veda • Sama-veda
• Atharva-veda
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The Upanishads
• (End of the Vedas)
• (800-300 BC)
• Most Philosophical Writings
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Major Philosophical Tradition:
• “Advaita Vedanta”
• Shankara (750 AD)
• “Advaita” = Non-Dualism
• “Vedanta” = Summation of the Vedas
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Summary: • 1. Everything that exists is Brahman
• 2. Brahman can be interpreted as
• (God): Impersonal Force Supreme Principle
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3. Creation is the Dance of Brahman
“Lila”
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4. Atman is the Soul of the Individual
5. Atman and Brahman are One and the Same
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6. Brahman is not to be confused with
• Brahma = a Hindu god
• Brahmin = Hindu Priest or Caste
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• 7. Why do we not understand that Brahman = Atman?
• MAYA = Illusion
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8. Our goal in life is Liberation from the cycle of Samsara
• Samsara = Reincarnation
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9. And reach “Moksha”
• Moksha = Nirvana (Buddhism)
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10. This is when the individual soul (Atman) in absorbed into
Brahman
• “Like a drop of rain being absorbed into a lake”
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11.The Law of Karma
• Governs the cycle of samara
Karma • The good and bad deeds that
we do
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• Good deeds
• better rebirth into this world • a god
• a human
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• Bad deeds
• worse rebirth into this world • animal • insect
Dharma
• Distinctions between good and bad karma are determined by dharma
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The Laws of Manu
• The most important and influential dharma – sastras
• Written around the time of Christ
• Reflect an earlier oral tradition
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• These laws assign different dharmas to each stratum of Hindu society
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The Hindu Caste System
• Social • Economic • Political • Religious
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Caste Assumptions
• All people are not created equal
• We are all born with innate differences derived from actions in previous lives
• This is the Law of Karma
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• Caste entails both a
• Division of labor
• Hierarchy of spiritual purity
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Caste Dynamics
• Marital restrictions
• Food one can eat
• People you associate with
Enforcement
• Caste structure enforced by each caste
Karma and Dharma
• Karma is determined by one’s adherence to one’s caste duties
Laws of Manu
• Specify cast duties
Brahmin Caste
• Priests • Top of the purity hierarchy
• Teaching • Studying
• Sacrificing • Receiving gifts
Ksatriyas
• Warriors / Administrators / Gov’t
• Protection of country • From foreign enemies
• Maintaining caste system • Social and cosmic order
Vaisyas
• Merchants / Landowners
• The Business Class • Developing a Household
• Running a business • Running a farm
Sudras
• Peasants / Common folks
• Serving the Brahmins and the other upper castes with humility
Untouchables
• Morticians
• Toilet cleaners • Scavengers
• Their ritual impurity cannot be removed by
standard procedures of purification
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The Ethics of Hinduism
• 3 Ways or Paths to Good Karma
4 “Goods” of Life
• First = Dharma or duty
• Second = Atha = wealth and material acquisition
• Third = Kama = pleasure and enjoyment of the senses
• Fourth = Moksha = Highest good / release from
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Moksha
• To achieve moksha, one must be willing to give up the other three goods
• Because they keep one bound to the samsara
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Religious Life
• The religious life means doing one’s best to
improve this life and future lives
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The Way of Activity “Karma Marga”
• Emphasis upon “good works”
• Offerings and sacrifices to gods
• Helping the poor
Karma Marga • Service is given without any
interest in the personal benefits of one’s labor
• This consciousness leads to liberation from self in the midst of work
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Karma Marga • The steadily devoted soul attains
unadulterated peace because he offers the results of all activity to Me; whereas a person who is not in harmony with the divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled
• - p. 83
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The Way of Knowledge
• “Jnana Marga”
• The Path of Rational Inquiry • Study
Jnana Marga • Employs the rational mind instead
of trying to transcend it by concentration practices
• Ignorance is the root of all problems
• Being separate from the Absolute
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Jnana Marga • Seeks to develop spiritual values
• Calmness • Restraint
• Renunciation • Resignation
• Concentration • Faith
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Jana Marga • Spiritual knowledge is the
only thing that can destroy our miseries for ever; any other knowledge removes wants only for a time
• - 83
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The Way of Devotion
• “Bhakti Marga”
• Personal devotion to a particular god
• (Avatar)
“Bhakti” • Means = “To share” = “To share a relationship with a personal deity”
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Post-Classical Period
• New texts added to the canon of Hindu writings
• very important in shaping Hindu piety in the bhakti movement
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Bhagavad-Gita
• “The Song of God”
• Part of the Mahabharata
• 400 B.C. – 100 A.D. • Authors unknown
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