Hinduism 2

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Hinduism: an umbrella term for a wide range of religious beliefs and practices

- an individual Hindu's practices generally reflect their family tradition, but influences may cause an individual's beliefs and practices to change

- Hindus are tolerant of diversity in ideas about the nature of God/ the Absolute

- they are tolerant of diverse practices and pathways to the Divine

- the Gita supported and promoted such tolerance of diversity

- dissolved tensions among theism, bhakti, renunciation and liberation

- Hindus worship a huge assortment of deities in various ways and for various ends

-they may worship these deities regularly, henotheistically; especially during the deity's festival period (like a birthday)

Some important deities

Brahma: vedic creator god;depicted with four heads; the creator (not supreme)

-often seated on a lotus which grows out of Vishnu's navel

Sarasuti: Brahma's wife/ consort/ female counterpart

-goddess of creativity (the arts and learning)

-depicted with four arms, holding prayer beads, the Vedas and lute

-particularly worshiped by students and educators

Kali: Black, naked goddess, with matted hair

-often regarded as the female counterpart of Shiva (in his destructive aspect)

-has a lolling tongue dripping with blood

- wields a sword and severed human head

-often depicted standing on top of Shiva (below her like a lifeless corpse)

-symbolic of the power (e.g., time) which destroys all, even the cosmos

-Kali is the dark side of things but not negative

Shiva: together with Vishnu, one of the two great gods in Hinduism

- often depicted as a renouncer or a great yogi

- possess a third eye (wisdom eye) in the middle of hims forehead

- the river goddess, Ganga (the Ganges), flows down his hair

- worshiped in the from an erect phallus (linga)

- destroys the cosmos at the end of each cosmic cycle; the destroyer

- has a bull as his mount/vehicle (vahana)

Lakshmi: beautiful goddess clad in a red sari; consort of Vishnu

- depicted atop a lotus flower; often with gold coins streaming from her hands

- symbol of good fortune, luck, wealth, fertility

- worshiped during the festival of Davali (the festival of lights); lamps invite Lakshmi into homes; firecrackers frighten away demons; worshiped by all, especially the business community

Krishna; the most widely worshiped of Vishnu's avatars

-well-known as the teacher of teachers in the Bhagavad Gita; but also known for myths of his earlier life-story

-an irresistible flute-playing cow-heard, who charms the village milkmaids (Gopi); the Gopi's are symbols of soul's yearning for the divine

- worshiped on Holi, a spring festival of color; class distinction are erased

Ganesha: Chubby, elephant-headed son of Shiva

-presides over obstacles; propitiated before any undertaking

Durga: the great goddess in Hinduism

-sometimes just called Devi (Goddess), or Ma (mother)

- depicted with many arms each wielding a weapon of the gods; multiple arms symbolically represented a deity's may powers

- power of all the gods together

- in a renowned myth she destroys a buffalo demon

- she is also Sakti, the power that animates the entire cosmos

- all goddesses are constructed to be merely aspects of Devi (Durga)

Philosophies based on the questions raised in the Upanishads are called Vedanta

-Vedanta; "latter (anta) part of the Vedas"

SHANKARA'S Non-Dualism

Vedanta received a major boost in the 8th/9th CE through Shankara

-Shankara: influential Hindu philosopher of radical non-dualism (advaita)

-also developed a formal monastic system for samnyasins (renouncers)

-remouncers belonging to formal systems are called swamis

Absolute Reality in Shankara's Advaita Vedanta is known as Brahman

-this is true foundation of all reality; it is the one and only thing in existence

- we perceive a world of many things (ourselves, other, etc.) due to Maya

-Maya: a power of illusion (dependent on Brahman), which keeps us deluded

-because of Maya, we don't know Brahman, nor our true natures; our egos shape our ideas about our ideas ( also illusion)

-our true self is the Atman (the self beyond all illusory ego formulations)

-to discover Atman is to attain Moksha (Liberation)

To Shankara, mediation ripens transcendental knowledge (jnana)

-it pierces the veil of Maya and leads to realization of Atman

-this is the discovery that Atman is Brhman

-there is nothing excepted Brhman. It is the only reality

Snake and Rope analogy explains the relationship between Maya and Brahman

-Maya is superimposed on Brahman, like and illusory snake on a rope

-Brahman cannot be described/explained (it is the source of explanations)

-but when conceptualized, Brahman is

Sat (being/existence itself)

Cit (consciousness itself)

Ananda (Bliss)

Swami vivekananda was significant in introducing Hinduism to the west

- was a disciple of the eccentric Hindu saint, sri ramakrishna

- the Vedanata society that vivekananda started was very influential

Rels 1000 Hindu vocab

1. Advaita - radical non-dualism. Absolute Reality in Sankara's Advaita

Vedanta is

known as Brahman

2. Agni - god of fire (transports sacrificial offerings to other gods)

3. ahimsa - nonviolence

4. ananda - unbounded bliss

5. arati - fire; flame of an offertory fire

6. Arjuna - greatest Pandava warrior in the Epic of Mahabharata

7. artha - one of the Four Goals of Life; the pursuit of wealth, power,

and attainments

through the development of one's potential

8. Aryans - Noble Ones from Europe who entered Indian subcontinent

bringing with

them the Vedas, which were religious texts

9. Atman - our true self beyond all illusions; To know the Atman is to attain moksha. The Atman is Brahman.

10. avatara - incarnate being of a God/Goddess

11. Bhagavad-Gita - song of the lord - most important book in Hinduism,

taken from the

Epic of Mahabharata, contains lessons on the meaning of life, facing

choices,

existential life crisis, and dealing with oppression and justice. It is

from a

conversation between Arjuna the warrior and Krsna the god Visnu in

human

form. Krsna teaches Arjuna the three yogas (Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, and

Bhakti Yoga).

12. bhakti yoga - liberation through devotion; introduced through the

Bhagavad-Gita;

loving devotion in forms of worship: puja, prayer, song, and pilgrimage

13. Brahma - the Vedic creator god; depicted with four heads, seated on

a lotus flower

which grows out of Visnu's navel

14. Brahman - the one and only thing in existence; cannot be explained

because it is the

source of explanations; it is sat (being/existence), cit

(consciousness), and

ananda (bliss). Atman is Brahman.

15. brahmin - priestly, educated class

16. cit/chit - absolute consciousness

17. darsana - going for an audience with a deity

18. Devi - goddess

19. dharma - duty, righteousness; behaviour aligned with the cosmic

order; one of the

Four Goals of Life, one is expected to understand the meaning of duty

or

righteousness, and apply it in one's life

20. Dharma Sastras/ Shastras - texts on the laws of what is dharmic

behaviour

21. dhyana - practice of meditation in yoga

22. Divali - a festival of lights celebrated on the new moon between

mid-October and

mid-November. Homes are painted and decorated with lamps, firecrackers

are

set off, and people buy new clothes and feast. The festival marks the

victory of

light over darkness, and begins the new-year for many communities

23. Dravidian - Indus Valley Civilization, non-Aryan, Sanskrit language

24. Durga - Great Goddess; is Sakti, the power which animates all of

the cosmos, all

goddesses are aspects of her

25. Dyaus-pitr - sky god (Jupiter, Zeus)

26. forest-dweller - third stage of life prescribed for grandparents;

often involves retiring

to live a simple life dedicated to religious study

27. Ganesh/ Ganesa - popular, elephant-headed, potbellied deity; leader

of Shiva's forces

who presides over obstacles

28. Ganga - River goddess

29. guru - one's teacher; generally used to designate the most

important guide and

mentor in one's spiritual development

30. Hanuman - the monkey god; he is protector

31. Harappa - Indus Valley Civilization

32. Hare Kr.s.n.a movement - bhakti-oriented Hindu group; public

dancing and chanting of Krsna's name to publically show loving devotion

33. henotheism - tendency in a polytheist system of many gods, to raise

whichever one is being adored to the highest position

34. Hindu

35. Hinduism

36. householder - the second stage of life, marriage and work; one is

expected to conduct the household rituals, contribute to society, and raise children,

particularly a male heir

37. Indra - Vedic deity, warrior god

38. Indus Valley Civilization

39. jnana yoga - realization/liberation through transcendental

knowledge, prescribed for the intellectual person

40. Kali - goddess of destruction, female counterpart to Shiva

41. Kalki - 10th avatara of Visnu; still to come

42. kama - one of the Four Goals of Life; knowledge of love, sexual and

sensual pleasure, joy, and happiness

43. karma - moral principle of cause and effect

44. karma yoga - liberation through action, example Gandhi

45. Kauravas - evil cousins in the Epic of Mahabharata

46. Krsna/ Krishna - god Visnu in human form; symbol of soul's yearning

for the Divine

47. ksatriya - second class in Hindu society; kings, nobility,

warriors, landlords

48. Laksmi - beautiful goddess in red sari; consort of Visnu; symbol of

good fortunes,luck, wealth, and fertility

49. linga - erect phallus; Shiva is worshipped in this form

50. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) - Proponent of active, but non-violent

resistance to oppression, used in the struggle for Indian independence from British

rule; endorsed Karma Yoga, "do the right thing, without a psychological

fixation on the outcome."

51. mala - prayer beads

52. mantra - sacred utterance, sound, or phrase

53. marriage rite - most important rite of passage for men and women;

usually arranged; functions as a sacred thread ceremony for women; during marriage the householder stage and goals of kama and artha can be pursued

54. maya - the power of illusion, because of maya we do not know

Brahman nor our true natures. Maya is dependent on Brahman, but shaped by our egos.

55. Mohenjo-daro - major city in the Indus Valley Civilization

56. moksa - self-realization; one of the Four Goals of Life; liberation

from the bondage of worldly existence, and the cycles of reincarnation through

self-realization

57. non-dualism/monism - Brahman proposed by Hindu philosopher

Shakara/Sankara

58. Pandavas - five heroic brothers who fight to regain their kingdom

in the Epic of Mahabharata

59. polytheism - belief in a divine world of many gods and spiritual

forces

60. Prithivi - earth goddess

61. puja - devotional worship of deities with offerings of flowers,

incense, flame, food, and a prayer

62. raja yoga - Royal Yoga, which centers on stopping the

"turnings of thought" and offers eight aspects (limbs) that need to be developed in order to

perfect it

63. Rama - the prince in the Epic of Ramayana who wins back Sita with

the help of the monkey Hanuman

64. Ramana Maharsi - modern Hindu sage who promoted inquiry (vicara)

65. Ravana - the evil demon in the Epic of Ramayana who kidnaps Sita

66. rsi/rishi - seers; semi-divine sages

67. sacred-thread ceremony - marks the beginning of the four stages of

life for a Hindu

boy (age 8 - 14) who is given a special thread and enters

"religious life"

68. Sankara

69. Sakti - the power which animates the entire cosmos; possessed by

the Great Goddess Durga

70. samadhi - the highest states of meditative absorption; in the

highest state of Samadhi, one attains oneness witht the true self (moksha)

71. Sanskrit - cultured/ perfected, was the language of the Aryans

72. samnyasin - renouncer; leaves behind society; becomes a beggar;

wears a saffron robe; seeks to attain moksha

73. Sarasvati - Brahma's female counterpart. Is the goddess of

creativity, arts, and learning, worshipped by students and educators

74. samsara - worldly existence

75. sat - being/ existence itself

76. Sita - Rama's wife in the Epic Ramayana, who is kidnapped but

remains chaste for her husband and serves as a model of the ideal Hindu wife; Sita's Fire

Ordeal

exemplifies her devotion

77. Siva/ Shiva - Great God; animal skins, great yogi, possess third

eye, bull as a mount, controls cosmos

78. smrti - traditional, remembered

79. student - boy receiving education from ages 12-24; formal boarding

school education with a guru; pursues the goal of understanding dharma

80. Soma - hallucinogenic plant, Vedic deity

81. sruti/ shruti - divinely heard; revealed

82. sudra - servants and menial workers; lower class above the

untouchables

83. Surya - the sun

84. The Mahabharata - Hindu epic of the five Pandava princes

85. The Ramayana - Hindu epic of the adventures of Rama

86. The Laws of Manu - text on dharmic behaviour; describes dharmic

principles for the

four classes; include descriptions of cosmogony (creation of the

cosmos), the

duties of the classes, the four stages and goals of life, daily

rituals, rites of

passage, purity and pollution, rules concerning the lives of women,

etc.

87. The Upanisads - the last portion of the Vedic literature (Vedanta)

including

philosophical texts speculating on Absolute Reality and the individual

88. The Vedas - religious texts of the Aryans; originally oral; include

four collections of eloquent hymns addressed to Vedic deities

89. The Rg Veda - oldest collection of Vedic hymns

90. twice-born - upper three classes of Hindu society: the Brahmins,

Kshatriyas, and

Vaishyas

91. untouchables - lowest class in Hindu society; performed the most

polluting jobs;

were the outcaste group

92. vahana - mount/vehicle that gods ride

93. vaisya - third class; merchants; twice-born

94. Vedanta - Vedic literature; philosophies that develop from

philosophical speculations

95. Visnu/ Vishnu - Great God periodically incarnates (avatara) to

preserve cosmic

balance; was Rama and Krsna

96. yajna - Vedic sacrifice (offerings into a ritually constructed

square fire pit)

97. yoga - Yogas are paths of physical and psychological practices

whose goal is

liberation (moksha). There are numerous types of Yoga in Hindu

practice.

98. yoni - stone receptable into which a linga is often place. Effigy

of the female

procreative organ and symbol of the Devi, it is regarded as the source

from

which creation emerges. The linga/yoni conveys that the Absolute

embodies, yet

transcends, male and female principles

Yogi - a person who is wholly committed to the discipline of yoga, a

philosophy

promulgating the complete integration of oneself with the Absolute,

through

specific, often austere, psycho-physical practices

Devotional worship

Vedanta

vocab