I. No founder, set structure, or creed. 800 million adherents world-wide.
II. Development/Early Stages of Hinduism:
Aryan culture - NOTE: This
is not the term 'aryan' that applies to Nazis - it is an anthropological
term describing the people who invaded India long before even the axis
age.
1.
Polytheistic
2.
3 classes of Aryan culture + 1
3.
Religious practice in chants/background of the Vedas
III. Texts of the Vedas
Rig - hymn
knowledge
Yajur -
ceremonial
Sama -
chants, music
Atharva
- teacher
Brahmanas & Aranyakas added after 800 BCE.
Upanishads
follows - philosophical/theological works
Principle of Samsara is here - long cycle of lives.
'Upanishads' probably means or is derived from a term meaning 'sitting
near' a master.
IV. Principal Features of the Upanishads
BRAHMAN - Divine Reality - center of all things - eternal, ultimate reality beyond multiplicity. Ultimate God
ATMAN - self or soul but more than an individual - all individuals share in it. Divine Spirit. It is BRAHMAN when experienced fully.
MAYA - This world is illusory -
though things appear to be individuals there is only one holy reality.
Death is not tragic. Reincarnation.
KARMA - Rebirth cycles - a moral
notion of cause-effect.
It is not FATALISTIC OR NIHILISTIC.
MOKSHA - freedom - the ultimate human goal - last stage of the goals of life. Also called SAMADHI - a state of inner peace resulting from meditation.
V. The Bhagavad Gita - part of the poem Mahabharata
- 4x longer than Christian Bible
dialogue
between Arjuna and Krishna
The Gita upholds the caste system - some people are born for certain roles
Related to concepts in Plato's Republic
- see esp. notes on three classes of people
Va. The Caste System -
Priests
- seers - Brahmins
Warriors
Administrators
- Producers
Peasants
- followers
Outcastes
- the untouchables
The system arises from the story of the division of Purusha, the superbeing
VI. 4 Primary Goals of Human Life
The path
of desire:
a. Pleasure
b. Success, economic security
The path
of renunciation:
c. Duty - ower/social and religious duty
d. Being, Knowing, Joy - Freedom - This is what PEOPLE WANT - liberation
from the finite
VII. Yoga - paths to the goal - 'yoga' = union or integration
4 personality types:
Reflective
- Jnana Yoga - Vedanta School
Emotional
- Bhakti
Active
- Karma (work)
Experimental
- Raja
The first step of all yoga is cultivation of good habits - truth, honesty, self-control, cleanliness, contentment, discipline, desire to reach the goal.
VIII. Stages of Life:
1.
Student
2.
Householder
3.
Retiree
4.
Sannayasin - Renunciate
IX. Gods - Hinduism is in a sense both polytheistic and monotheistic
The Trimurti - triple form:
Brahma - creator
Vishnu - preservation, love
Shiva - destruction - not a negative concept
Female Gods:
Devi
Durga
Kali
SHAKTIS
X. General Practices:
No established worship communally
Suttee - largely abandoned
Ahimsa - fundamental reverence for life - vegetarianism
- animal kindness
XI. Principal Philosophical Concepts in Hinduism
Ineffability of God
Individual Souls of human beings
Reincarnation - Samsara - Related conceptually to Plato's Phaedo - arguments for the immortality of the soul.
Karma - in a sense, "you
reap what you sow."
Complete personal responsibility
Everyone gets what they deserve, but karma is an impersonal law of cause
and effect
It is NOT FATALISM
View of this world
What is this world?
XII. Hindu Beliefs in General