Religion Midterm exam review Hinduism Origins of Hinduism Vedic Hinduism Indo Europeans were Aryans central Iran Turkey Vedas earliest surviving Indo European composition 4 Vedic collections Rig Sama Yajur Atharva consist of 4 sections hymns directions for rituals compositions for the forest philosophical works Upanishads are most recent collection Rig mentions diety Narayana Vishnu and Sri Lakshmi Earliest hymns samhitas address many gods like Varuna Agni god of fire was seen as a messenger between human beings and the deities Soma moon Saraswati goddess of River identified with Vac speech mother of Vedas Early hymns ask for good happy life not salvation Yajna ritual sacrifice Usually with fire Agni Involved soma drink Rta connection between the rituals and the prevalence of cosmic and earthly order Truth and justice the rightness of things Upheld by Varuna Origin of the four classes varnas trace to cosmic sacrifice of the cosmic person Purusha Sukta hymn of the supreme person Upanishads rethink and reformulate early hymns and sacrificial rituals o Karma action system of rewards and punishments linked to various actions people do Implies continuous cycle of life and death samsara The goal is to achieve liberation from this cycle moksha and attain wisdom to become immortal a mrta o Search for unifying truth Relationship between Atman soul and Brahman Supreme Being Brahman is associated with truth satya knowledge jnana infinity anata consciousness chit bliss ananda Upanishads suggest the connection between Atman and Brahman and do not specify Brahmins priestly class in Hindu tradition Classical Hinduism Smrti composed after the Vedas o Epics itihasas o Ancient stories puranas o Codes of law and ethics dharmasastras Two most important epics Ramayana and Mahabharata o Ramayana Centered around prince Rama who goes into exile His wife Sita is captured by Ravana the demon king Rama returns and is crowned king Begins Ram rajya Kingdom of Rama Rama is ideal son and husband The thee ways to Liberation each way marga is a discipline yoga o Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita 100 000 verses Longest poem Bhagavad Gita copies of extract of the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna Story of the great struggle among the descendants of king Bharata Krishna 9th incarnation of Vishnu picks to side with Pandavas Gita holiest book teaches loving devoton to the lord and the importance of selfless action as Krishna instructs Arjuna on the nature of God and the human soul and how to reach liberation Krishna is the supreme being o The way of action karma yoga is the path of unselfish duty performed neither in fear of punishment of in hope of reward Krishna urges Arjuna to act without attachment to the consequences in the Gita o Way of knowledge jnana yoga through scriptural knowledge one may achieve a transforming wisdom that also destroys one s past karma o Way of devotion bhakti yoga most emphasized in the Gita Surrender to the lord he will forgive all our sins o From Gupta era onward three deities become prominent Vishnu Shiva and Devi the Goddess o Vishnu rids world of evil and establishes dharma First reincarnation as a fish 10 reincarnations in total o Shiva god of creation and destruction o Devi the Goddess wife of Shiva Deities of Classical Hinduism Puranas envision the cosmos as moving through cycles of creation and destruction known as the days and nights of Brahma a creator god who is a minor god The Dharmashastras and Hindu Philosophy Caste and the Laws of Manu Dharmashastra treaties on the nature of righteousness moral duty and law Foundation for later Hindu laws o Most famous is the Manava Dharmasatra attributed to the primordial man that Vishnu saved from the flood Caste signifies both the four broad varnas and the minutely divided jatis Jati birth groups caste varna class Varnashrama dharma duties performed according to the system of varna and four ashrams The stages and goals of life Four stages of life ashramas for males o Studenthood o Repay debts and support family and other students o Retire to the forest and live a simple life devoted to recitation of the o Elderly man renounce the material world altogether and take up the Vedas ascetic life of a samnyasin Vedanta most important philosophical school of Hindu tradition end of the Vedas Shankara most important interpreter of Vedanta Human beings can still achieve liberation while embodied 3 levels of reality discussed illusion Yoga god Sutra Physical and mental discipline through which one yokes ones spirit to a Classic yoga text is a collection of short aproristic garments called the Yoga Patanjali s yoga is a system of moral mental and physical discipline and meditation with a particular object either physical or mental as the single point of focus Learn to detach the mind from the domination of external sensory stimuli Tantra Bhakti Body of ritual practices Developed its own form of yoga known as kundalini Use of the vernacular language for devotion Differentiations between north and south are o South bhakti was generally addressed to a particular deity o North bhakti the object of devotion could be a less specific even formless divine being Hindu Gods and Goddesses Shiva covered in ash the creator and destroyer Vishnu rids world of evil establishes dharma Colored blue like water filled clouds First incarnation is a fish who warns man of flood Rama 7th incarnation of Vishnu Ideal man and perfect human Fights Krishna 9th incarnation of Vishnu in the Gitas and describes the three demon lord paths of liberation Hanuman devoted to Rama Monkey god Kali the Goddess Shiva s wife Pictured holding severed heads Fucking Lakshmi light and wisdom evil Time Death Change Hindu Rites Rituals and Festivals Utilize the sacred Om Temple worship o No congregational prayer o Hold regular festivals commemorating events in local myths o At the center of the temple is the garbha grha womb house where the god or goddess is enshrined This is where the spiritual regeneration or rebirth is belived to take place o Emphasis is on seeing the deity as important as hearing the sacred words of Hindu scripture In south Indians temples devotees are not permitted to go beyond the threshold of the womb house only the priests and ritual specialists who have been initiated In the north they don t care o Utilize sculptural and pictorial symbolism The Naga serpent Dance of Shiva Nataraja The Linga represent Shiva as an upright shaft Sex Erotic sculptures Forehead marks
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