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UT PHL 301 - Hinduism

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PHL 301 1st Edition Lecture 22Outline of Last Lecture This marks the beginning of a new unit, Idealism, which will be assessed separately from the first two units.Outline of Current LectureI.Intro to HinduismII.AdvaitaIII.Self-awarenessIV.Chariot analogyV.Self-disciplineVI.Karma Current LectureHinduism is the primary religion in India. It is a type of Henotheism, which means that itsfollowers believe in many gods that are all forms of one being, Brahman. Everyone has brahmanwithin them. Everything is unified. There are six orthodox schools of Hinduism. There is Vedanta, or the end of veda/sacred knowledge. There is samkhya, or nature. There is yoga, or discipline. There is purva mimasmsa, or interpretation. There is vaisesika, which you will recall we learned about previously as a sort of realism. There is nyaya, or logic. An important question in Hinduism is “Who am I?” to which Vedanta, Samkhya, and Yoga would all answer: “I am a higher consciousness than I might realize. Desire, will, and effort are extraneous to me.”Vedanta holds that Brahman is the absolute, the ground of all being, and reality as it is initself. It also holds that Atman is the soul. Advaita has an idea of nondualism, in which brahman and the soul are one thing. In Advaita, everything is ultimately one, and everything is brahman. In this way, the world is mind-dependent, distinctions, such as those we make between the sky, the grass, and the water, are illusory. The world is just an illusion, or maya. Alternatively, in Theism, the soul is not equal to brahman. Theism tends towards realism in this way. Some aspects of the world are independent of the mind. However, both Theism and Advaita have the idea of a higher self. We are capable of self-awareness, or reflecting on our own consciousness and nature bringing us closer to our higher selves. This is understood to be the gateway to Brahman. This holds that we can not only see the objects which light illuminates,but we can see light itself. Our own minds, then, are as they appear, unlike the rest of the world,These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.which is not as it appears. Illusion is not possible within our own minds. With self-awareness, we do not really have jobs, property, etc. because all of these things are illusions. However, we are really conscious beings. In a conscious being, the self goes beyond the body and sense, the sensational/emotional mind, the ego-sense, and the rational ind. Even reason can be illusory. From this school of thought comes a chariot analogy that is very different than Plato’s, which we learned earlier in the semester includes reason, desire, and emotion. In Hinduism, however, the chariot is pulled by horses, which are the senses. The mind is the rope which ties them to the driver, which represents intellect. Most importantly, the soul is like a passenger in the chariot, which is the body. After death, the soul can simply step off of the chariot and get onto another one. The separable soul gives way for reincarnation into any conscious being. It also makes enlightenment, or the idea that you can detach yourself from each manifestation of nature, possible.To master yourself then requires putting higher items in control of lower ones. So, objects of sense control the senses. The mind, in turn, controls the objects of sense. Intellect controls the mind, and the soul controls intellect. This means that Brahman lies beyond even reason.Another aspect of Hinduism is yoga, or self-discipline. By practicing it, we can discover a higher self. Postures and breath-control remove physical distractions, and meditation removes mental distractions. We find or achieve a transcendent consciousness through yoga that is not connected to the body. There are four central concepts of Hinduism. These are dharma, or duty/the right way tolive, mukti, or liberation/what we’re ultimately after, bhakti, or love and devotion for God, and karma, action or habit. Karma contends that virtue is its own reward. Good actions develop good habits, and bad actions develop bad habits. This means that a bad action not only has bad consequences in the present, but in the future, since any action creates a tendency to repeat it. This means that doing something bad will cause bad things later on, possibly even to other people around


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