Exam 2 Review Hinduism breath 03 07 2013 Atman Not the physical self but the inner consciousness or o Understood as eternal o Synonymous with the godhead BG 4 9 10 o The Self cannot be pierced by weapons or burned by fire water cannot wet it nor can the wind dry it The Self cannot be pierced or burned made wet or dry It is everlasting and infinite standing on the motionless foundations of eternity The Self is unmanifested beyond all thought beyond all change BG 2 23 25 Bhagavad Gita o Historical context 200 BCE 200 CE Composed in verse probably meant to be chanted o Literary context section of the longer epic poem the Mahabharata According to legend the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita were composed by the sage Vyasa The Mahabharata is the story of a struggle between the decedents of Bharata the Pandavas and the Kauravas o Plot outline Arjuna is distressed about fighting his cousins Krishna replies that Arjuna should follow his dharma and fight o Common interpretations It is Likely that Mahabharata was based on an actual war occurring around the 10th Century BCE Literal Interpretation the Gita concerns honor and duty on the battlefield Metaphorical interpretation Reflects internal struggles of people between the un enlightened self and the true self where one is encouraged to kill one s ego attachments Bhakti the way of devotion o bhakti yoga Darsan one of four yogas disciplines introduced in the Bhagavad Gita each yoga is a path to moksha liberation from samsara o seer is also being seen o devotion an exchange between two viewers o deity gives darsan and devotee takes darsan o Krishna gives Arjuna the divine eye in the Bhagavad Gita 11 8 11 13 cf whole chapter o Arjuna asks Krishna to see your lordly form BG 11 See my divine forms a hundred a thousand kinds all different all divine and in many colors and shapes See now the whole world with all things moving and unmoving standing together in my body But you are not able to see with your own eye so I will give to you the divine eye 11 5 8 Krishna then showed to Arjuna his highest most powerful form and Arjuna was seized by awe his hair stood on end 11 9 14 o duty or righteousness o action performed out of duty and not because of its expected Dharma consequence o jati birth group 1000 o dharmashastras o varnas classes brahmins priests kshatriyas rulers and warriors vaishyas merchants shudras servants dalit untouchables Gunas Three o Prakriti ultimate substance of the physical manifest universe o Gunas are the three aspects or expressions of Prakriti Sattva Aspect of Balance Equilibrium and Harmony Rajas Aspect of energy and activity Tamas Aspect of passivity o It is the three gunas born of prakriti sattva rajas and tamas that bind the immortal Self to the body Sattva pure luminous and free from sorrow binds us with attachment to happiness and wisdom Rajas is passion arising from selfish desire and attachment These bind the Self with compulsive action Tamas born of ignorance deludes all creatures through heedlessness indolence and sleep BG 14 5 8 Gurus o Hinduism is not hierarchical o Gurus often designated as teachers of spiritual wisdom higher expression of the divinity within everyone o darsan between guru and devotee very similar to darsan given by deities karma action especially ritual action o system of rewards and punishments attached to various actions o cause and effect experiential wisdom moksha liberation from samsara achieved through a transforming o quest for unifying higher knowledge o eludes conceptual restrictions of language o painting sunlight murti o image of the deity o Deity simultaneously present in the murti in heaven in the world and in the human soul o murti o object to be worshipped o also translated as idol icon and form prana pratishta establishment of life puja also Jainism o Devotional ritual performed in temples and at home Ramayana o Two prominently iconographic avataras Rama Krishna Ramayana Central male character of Bhagavad Gita blue in iconography o Rama and Sita o Symbolize love courage and power o Lord Rama is the 7th incarnation of the god Vishnu o Dussehra Dasha hara removal of ten ten days of performances reenacting the Ramayana o celebrates victory of good over evil including Rama s victory over Ravana samsara karma may require several lifetimes to yield the necessitated consequences of actions o Samsara is the cycle of death and rebirth Sannyasin journey wondering man Vedas o Sanskrit for knowledge o Origins God Eternal of non human origin Vedic seers rishis heard the hymns and transmitted them shruti that which was heard o For both schools the Vedas are not of human origin o Originally thought to be revealed not historical but now thought to have been composed between 1500 and 600 BCE Yogas o Jnana knowledge or wisdom e g BG 9 15 12 3 5 o Raja meditation e g BG 6 11 15 o Karma action e g BG 2 47 50 o Bhakti devotion e g BG 18 65 66 o Hatha physical exercises Not explicitly addressed in BG Jainism Ahimsa Ahimsa nonviolence gentleness harmlessness o Foundation of Jain ethics ahmisa paramo dharma non violence is the supreme path and the weightiest of the mahavratas the remaining four derive from ahimsa o Use a small soft brush to move ants and other insects out of their path so that no life form will be crushed o Strict vegetarians who often reject the use of animal products entirely leather feathers fur o Lay Jains gravitate to jobs that cause no hurt doctors teachers lawyers business etc Two basic branches of Jainism Digambaras and Svetambaras o Occurred approximately 200 years after Mahavira s death ca 527 BCE o Arose from differences in ascetic practice the role of women and the nature of the Jina among other points of difference o differences in the use of murtis o clothed in sky sky clad o Euphemism for their vow of nakedness o Most members of this branch live in southern India where it is Digambaras o Modeled on Mahavira s own renunciation of clothing o Does not accept women into monastic life they must first be warmer reborn as men o Rejects the notion that Mahavira was ever married Svetambara o clothed in white o Allows women to enter monastic life as nuns and to dress in the white robes of their male counterparts o Teaches that Mahavira was married but renounced his family o Older sects in the Svetambara tradition practice puja or the veneration of murtis of the tirthankaras Revival movements in 18th and 19th centuries opposed the use of murtis in devotion and ritual practice
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