Unit 3 HINDUISM I. Introduction to Hinduism A. Indigenous Term: Sanatana Dharma 1.

Sanatana: eternal, ageless, (belief that this religion has always existed) 2. Dharma: religion, duty, righteousness, ideal way of life B. Description 1. Developed over 4000 years (beginning .2000 !") 2. #o identified founder $. "ontains a vast variety of beliefs and pra ti es a. %yn retisti : an a ept other ideas and the tea hings of other religions and absorb the& into 'induis& b. (aradoxi al: an hold to opposite or opposing beliefs at the sa&e ti&e ()xa&ples) 1) %a redness of all life *** ani&al sa rifi es (to +ali * a goddess) 2) Duty to the responsibilities of life (fa&ily, areer, et ) *** goal of liberation fro& life (existen e) $) ,he i&personal absolute *** personal gods . 'induis& has been des ribed as all o&prehensive, all absorbing, all tolerant, all sub&issive 4. ,he Divine (-bsolute) has ountless fa es (re ognition of $$0 &illion gods), and all the expressions of the Divine are valid .. /ini&al organi0ation1 no hierar hy of religious leaders or stru ture C. Number of Adherents: !! mi""ion

D. #oc$tions a. (ri&arily the religion of 2ndia (about 3.4 of the population) b. (o 5ets wherever 2ndians have &igrated %. Stud& 'esources 1. %a red 6ritings 2. 'istori al %our es $. (resent Day %tudies

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II. Histor& of De(e"opment A. )re*Ar&$n +)re*,edic- 'e"igion +before ./!! BC1. )viden e of a highly advan ed ivili0ation in 2ndia (2ndus 7alley) as early as 2000 !" 2. (ossible that so&e ele&ents of present day 'induis& were already pra ti ed $. ,he 2ndus 7alley (2ndia) was invaded ( on8uered) by -ryans (the noble ones), possibly fro& (ersia (2ran or %outhern 9ussia) about 2000 !") B. Br$hm$nism +,edic 'e"igion- +c../!! BC% * 0/! BC%- ** 1orm$ti(e )eriod 1. ,he 7edas (sa red writings or body of 5nowledge) were o&piled (Rig-Veda is the &ost i&portant (possible the oldest 5nown religious do u&ent. :ther 7edas in lude the Sama-, Yajur-, Atharva) a. Samhitas ** hy&ns in praise of various deities (Rig-Veda) b. Brahmanas ** instru tions for sa rifi es and rituals . Upanishads ** philosophi al;&ysti al texts dealing with the 8uest to reali0e ulti&ate reality 2. <or&ative !eliefs a. 6orship of nature;nature gods (1.00 * 300 !")) (Samhita texts) (/ain gods) 1) -gni ** god of fire and sa rifi e1 pervades all reatures as the fire of life1 &ediator between hu&ans and the other gods ** be ause he trans&its the offerings to the gods through the sa rifi ial fire (%ee +insley, p. 1$) 2) 2ndra ** god of thunder, on8uering for e, war god, ruler of the s5y $) 7aruna ** the god of os&i order (beyond the thunderstor&s and the s5y)1 sour e of life1 preserver of the &oral order (6orship de lined as this god be a&e too distant) 4) %o&a ** (plant1 hallu inogeni &ushroo&) ne tar (drug) fro& this plant transported the worshipper into the presen e of the gods1 also %o&a was the personifi ation of the &oon (whi h was the great repository of the sa red =ui es of so&a) b. (riestly 'induis& (Brahmanas) (>00 * ?00 !")) 1) Develop&ent of elaborate rituals for worship and sa rifi e a) Agnihotra ritual: an offering of butter three ti&es a day to nourish -gni (+insley, p. 1$) (%i&ple, fa&ily pra ti e) b) <ire altars to -gni ** built with aid of !rah&in priests 2) Develop&ent of the aste syste& a) !rah&ins (priestly) ** priests, philosophers, well edu ated, elite

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b) +shatriya (nobility, warriors) ** nobility, govern&ent offi ials, &ilitary leaders ) 7aisya (peasants, &er hants) ** &iddle lass, business&en, far&ers (land owners) d) %udra (slaves, servants) ** &anual laborers, hired hands, servants e) (@ntou hables ** developed later) (9ena&ed Harijan by Aandhi) ** beggars, street leaners, but hers, un lean . (hilosophi al (/ysti al) 'induis& (Upanishads) ** )&phasis on the sear h for truth through the pra ti e of yoga 1) Brahman: the underlying reality is a spiritual essen e alled the !rah&an, whi h an be des ribed as an i&personal, absolute presen e (for e) whi h is infinite, eternal, o&nipresent, and neuter BB %o&e see the !rah&an li5e a personal Aod, who &ade all, 5nows all, et . ** but he (it) is not distin t fro& the universe (as in 6estern religions) 2) :rigin of the ter&: !rah&an originally &eant the sa red power i&pli it in the a tion of the sa rifi e. ,he philosophers spe ulated that the whole universe is a sa rifi e ** and that the power evident in the sa rifi e ** was the sa&e power evident in the universe $) ,he gods be a&e se ondary to the !rah&an. ,hey a&e into existen e after the for&ation of the os&os and are &anifestations of the !rah&an (%&art, p. 3>) 4) <urther, all living things (people, ani&als, plants) are a part of the !rah&an. ,hus the !rah&an is the os&os and all things are part of the !rah&an (pantheis&) ((revalent view) .) !eliefs on erning 5ar&a, rein arnation, sa&sara (the y le of hange and rebirth), at&an (soul), &o5sha (release) were developed C) (ra ti al e&phasis was pla ed on &editation (rather than worship) through various for&s of yoga as a &eans to release oneDs self fro& the distra tion of the world in order to find the eternal soul or the !rah&an C. C"$ssic$" )eriod +c. 0/! BC% * 2!! C%1. -dditional sa red writings a. )pi s ** stories;legends that illustrate pra ti al 'induis& (e&phasi0es both the dharma (duty or so ial;&oral obligations) and moksha (the 8uest for liberation fro& this world1 or renun iation) 1) aha!harata, whi h ontains the Bhagavad "ita (favorite 'indu s ripture) 2) 9a&ayana b. #he $a%s o& anu ' anu Dharma Shastra) ** defines the ideal so iety with instru tions for so ial;&oral obligations, aste syste&, as well as renun iation (stages of life)

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2. (ra ti al )&phasis: %ervi e to so iety (&an5ind)1 fulfilling oneDs so ial responsibility D. Medie($" )eriod +c. 2!! * .2!! C%1. -dditional sa red literature ** the (uranas (stories of old) ** stories of the gods pri&arily %hiva and 7ishnu (Devotional literature) a. Siva ** the as eti god, the great yogi who &editates in isolation in the 'i&alayan /ountains1 but also he is reator, preserver, destroyer (9e on iles all opposites in the y le of life) b. Vishnu ** a os&i 5ing who lives in heavenly splendor who &aintains universal order and prosperity. ,o provide stability in the world he des ends fro& ti&e to ti&e in various for&s to battle (defeat the ene&ies of world stability). ,wo of his &ost worshipped in arnations are Rama and )rishna (%ee %&art, pp. >.*>>) 2. (ra ti al )&phasis ** !hakti ** devotion to a personal god (,hough %iva re8uires a onte&plative approa h) %. Modern )eriod +c. .2!! * presentBB 'induis& has experien ed a nu&ber of rea tions and &ove&ents as a result of outside influen es in luding 2sla&, "hristianity, )uropean do&ination, and &odern so iety in luding rea tion against western ulture (%ee %&art, pp. 111*11$) 1. 9a&a5rishna (13$C*133C) a. <ounded the 9a&a5rishna /ove&ent (7edanta %o iety) whi h helped to revitali0e 'induis& b. 7iewed all world all religions as a single reality. (-ll faiths point toward the sa&e goal), essentially pla ing 'induis& on the sa&e level with "hristianity, 2sla&, !uddhis&, et . 2. 7eve5ananda (13C$*1>02): exposed 'induis& to the 6estern world $. /ahat&a (Areat %oul) Aandhi (13C> * 1>43) a. %piritual and politi al leader who su eeded in bring independen e to 2ndia fro& !ritish rule through non*violent &eans. b. (ersonified for the world the 5ey on epts of dis ipline, purity, love, and non*violen e found in 'induis& 1. 3ther Historic$" De(e"opments in Hinduism +$nd Indi$1. )&ergen e of Eainis& and !uddhis& ( . ..0 !")) (9ea tions to 'induis& ** to be dis ussed later) 2. /usli& 2nvasions (beginning . ?00 ")) (2ndia existed largely under /usli& do&ination until the o&ing of the )uropean in the 1Cth entury)
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$. !ritish 2nfluen e ("hristian influen e) beginning . 1300 a. )ngland (Dut h )ast 2ndia "o&pany) gained ontrol of 2ndia by the late 1?00Ds) b. "ontrol passed to the !ritish govern&ent .13C0 until independen e in 1>4? III. Distinguishing Be"iefs A. 4e& Hindu Concepts 1. !rah&an: the -bsolute being that annot be defined. a. 2t is the origin, ause and essen e of the universe F an i&personal, all powerful, un5nowable for e b. ,he only true reality is the !rah&an, hu&an life (&aterial or physi al life) is an illusion . Gife is a burden1 existen e is not to be desired d. :neDs goal is to find release fro& existen e into union with the !rah&an 2. -t&an: the soul a. ,he soul (-t&an) is a part of (is) the !rah&an (%ee Diagra&)

b. ,he at&an is not the individual or an individual personality ** it is the !rah&an striving to return to the !rah&an $. %a&sara: ,rans&igration of the %oul (9ein arnation) a. ,he -t&an never dies. 2t is HrebornH a great nu&ber of ti&es1 it si&ply &oves into another life (although it an spend so&e ti&e in a HheavenH or HhellH before rein arnation) b. ,here are (three) levels of life: plant, ani&al, hu&an . ,he -t&an progresses fro& plant to ani&al to hu&an to the !rah&an BB ,he aste syste& de&onstrates the upward &ove&ent of the at&an in hu&an life1 so&e ani&als su h as the elephant, ow, and &on5ey are higher ani&al life for&s d. :ne an go ba 5 into a lower life for& as the result of wrong deeds (negative 5ar&a) e. 6hen a person dies, the -t&an is pla ed into another life (unless absorbed into the !rah&an) f. 6hen people are born, they loose all &e&ory of a past life (si&ilar to the way we have no &e&ory of our infan y) g. 2n pra ti al ter&s, the goal of daily life in 'induis& is to live oneDs life in su h a way that the at&an is rein arnated into a higher life for& 1) Aood deeds free (un over) the -t&an **when the at&an is free, it brea5s into the eternal
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2) !ad deeds over the -t&an ** li5e dirt that overs a light bulb, the bulb shines, but you annot see the light h. ,he -t&an is not the sa&e as the on ept of soul in "hristianity1 the at&an is essentially the !rah&an striving to return to the !rah&an1 there is no on ept of individual personality being rein arnated (%ee #ew -ge /ysti is&)1 ,he -t&an HusesH the life (body) and then &oves on to another life 4. +ar&a a. +ar&a is the for e that deter&ines the operation of rein arnation b. 2t is the su& of all a ts (good;bad) throughout oneDs lifeti&e . ,here is a reward;punish&ent for a tions ** whi h deter&ines either good or bad (positive;negative) +ar&a d. ,he best way to extinguish oneDs +ar&a (and be released fro& existen e) is to perfor& oneDs duty .. 7arna*ashra&a*dhar&a: how to live oneDs life in this existen e a. 7arna ** (literally &eans olor) ** refers to the lasses of so iety (the "aste syste&) ** a ting a ording to oneDs position in so iety F (eople properly fun tioning inside their aste gives stability to so iety b. -shra&a ** - ting a ording to oneDs stage in life BB ,here are four ideal stages;stations in life (for &en) 1) %tudentship (brah&a arya): "hildhood to /arriage: !eing a haste student at the feet of a tea her 2) 'ouseholdership (grihasthya): /arriage, raising a fa&ily, parti ipating in so iety $) <orest Dwelling (vanaprasthya): %e&i*retire&ent when one begins to deta h hi&self fro& the world through &editation and s ripture study 4) 9enun iation (sannyasin): (!egins about age ?.) ,otal withdrawal fro& fa&ily I so iety: giving up all atta h&ent to worldly things and release into spiritual liberation BB (osition of 6o&en in 'induis& is a&biguous. 6o&en (traditionally) were expe ted to serve their husbands and to have no independent interests. !eing born fe&ale was a sign of prior sin. 'induis& is urrently beginning to &odify this position.

. dhar&a (duty, responsibility) 1) Aeneral duties: honesty, ourage, servi e, faith, self* ontrol, purity, and nonviolen e (if Aod (the !rah&an) exists in all living things, then to do violen e to living things is to do violen e against Aod ** /any 'indu are vegetarians (to avoid violen e to ani&als)
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2) %pe ifi duties related to oneDs for& of pra ti e (yoga) C. /o5sha: liberation fro& the y le of rebirth (,he Aoal of 'induis&) a. ,he goal is to be released for the 5ar&a*run wheel of birth, death, and rebirth (sa&sara), and a hieve &o5sha ( o&plete liberation fro& the li&itations of ti&e, spa e, and &atter and being absorbed into the i&&ortal -bsolute (the !rah&an) (so&eti&es alled #irvana ** a tually a !uddhist ter&) b. ,o a hieve this goal, one &ust destroy all desires. 6hen one no longer has a genuine desire to live (exist) or ling to anything in this world, one is ready for the -bsolute (/any lifeti&es of upward*striving rein arnations are re8uired to rea h this goal.) . %ui ide is onsidered to be the re=e tion of oneDs 5ar&a and will result in a negative 5ar&a d. ,he goal is not the for&ation of a virtuous or &oral life. (,his is the &eans to obtain the goal) B. Di(ersit& of Be"iefs $nd )r$ctices #ote: %piritual Dis iplines (6ays to destroy oneDs 5ar&a) +ey ,er&s: (1) "uru: an enlightened spiritual tea her -n atta h&ent to an enlightened spiritual tea her (guru) ** who be o&es a guide to help one rea h oneDs goal. )&phasis on refle tion, thin5ing, learning, &editation (2) Yoga: dis iplines that lear the &ind and support a state of serene, deta hed awareness 1. ,he 7edi ,radition: preserving the stability and welfare of the world a. (ri&ary e&phasis: %ervi e b. +ar&a Joga: %ervi e rendered without any interest in its effe ts (on the one serving) and without any personal sense of giving 2. ,he Devotional ,radition: adoration of a god a. (ri&ary e&phasis: 6orship d. !ha5ti Joga: -tta h&ent and devotion to a personal deity (with the understanding that the -bsolute an assu&e &any for&s ** all valid) (/ost popular pra ti e in 2ndia)

$. ,he -s eti ,radition: a hieving &o5sha through &editation and spiritual;physi al dis ipline a. (ri&ary e&phasis: "onte&plation b. 9a=a Joga: involves the use of sustained physi al postures, breathing exer ises, &antra (vo al or &usi al hants), and;or
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yantras ( on entration of a visible i&age su h as a sy&bol, andle, guru, et .). ,he purpose is to free the &ind fro& physi al distra tions in order to re eive flashes of enlighten&ent fro& the -bsolute. . Enana yoga: )&phasis on the use of rational thought rather than Henlighten&ent through &editative pra ti esH. 2gnoran e is onsidered the root of all proble&s in the world. /anDs basi ignoran e is the idea that our selves are separate fro& the -bsolute. !y as5ing the 8uestion H6ho a& 2KH one eventually dis overs that one is of the -bsolute 4. ,he (opular ,radition: variety of rites and beliefs a. (ri&ary e&phasis: o&ens, sa red pla es, rituals b. H/agi alH or HsuperstitiousH beliefs that an aid a person BB )xa&ples: %a red ities (7aranasi), the 9iver Aanges, astrology, ertain foods that produ e a spiritual affe t, signs, rituals to gain ontrol over oneDs ene&ies or &e&bers of the opposite sex (2llustrations in our so iety: horos opes, psy hi s, fol5 traditions, et ) I,. Current Trends -. "hallenges in 9elating to :ther Alobal 9eligions 1. "hristianity: a. 'induis& views "hristianity as a for& of devotional yoga (!ha5ti Joga), i.e., atta h&ent to a personal god. "hristians an find HsalvationH through this syste&. Eesus was an in arnation of the !rah&an, si&ilar to +rishna. ,hus, "hristianity is a epted as one valid path. Aenerally, 'induis& would not atte&pt to H onvertH "hristians. b. 'induis& does not a ept that Eesus is the only way to Hsalvation.H 2n 'induis&, people are not HlostH or separated fro& Aod, be ause the !rah&an is universal and everyone ontains the !rah&an in the for& of the -t&an (soul). ,he -t&an is not sinful and separated fro& Aod. ,he -t&an is Aod (-bsolute !rah&an) and si&ply needs to be un overed and released. (%ee handout: H6hat Aandhi ,hought of "hristianityH) 2. 2sla&: 'induis& would onsider /oha&&ed to be a spiritual leader (guru) who was in tou h with the -bsolute. 'induis& would re=e t the on ept of only :ne Aod (-llah). 'owever, 2sla& would be re ogni0ed as a valid path. $. !uddhis& !uddha was a great spiritual leader (guru). -lthough he re=e ted so&e of the basi tenets of 'induis&, to follow !uddha is valid. !uddha ould be re ogni0ed as a spiritual leader or as a god.

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B. Ch$""enges in 'e"$ting to the Modern 5or"d a. 'induis&, li5e all religions, finds itself in the &idst of a rapidly hanging world. /any traditional on epts ( aste syste&, disdain for &aterial things, sa rifi e rituals, et .) are lashing with onte&porary ideas of e8uality, te hnology, and &aterial prosperity. b. ,he nation of 2ndia is rapidly ta5ing its pla e a&ong the industriali0ed nations of the world (ex. 2ndia possesses nu lear weapons and other for&s of &odern te hnology). ,he standard of living and, edu ation level is in reasing. /any people are leaving the si&ple, agri ultural way of life to pursue other opportunities. :ften (as seen in the 2ndigenous religions and other religions), the old ways tend to be o&e less i&portant. . ,hough &any 'indu pra ti es probably would not appeal to the 6estern world, the all for a si&ple, &editative, tolerant lifestyle in har&ony with nature and the -bsolute is finding an audien e. %everal Hnew religionistsH (#ew -ge) groups have in orporated so&e 'indu thought into their belief syste&s. 6ANDHI7S ,I%5 31 CH'ISTIANIT8 H2t was &ore than 2 ould believe that *esus %as the on+, in-arnate Son o& "od, and that on+, he %ho !e+ieved in him %ou+d have ever+asting +i&e. .& "od -ou+d have sons, a++ o& us %ere His sons/ .& *esus %as +ike "od, or "od Himse+&, then a++ men %ere +ike "od and -ou+d !e "od Himse+&/ /y reason was not ready to believe literally that Eesus by 'is death and by 'is blood redee&ed the sins of the world. /etaphori ally there &ight be so&e truth in it. -gain, a--ording to 0hristianit, on+, human !eings had sou+s, and no other +iving !eings, &or %hom death meant -omp+ete e1tin-tion2 while 2 held a ontrary belief. 2 would a ept Eesus as a &artyr, an e&bodi&ent of sa rifi e, and a divine tea her, but not as the &ost perfe t &an ever born. His death on the 0ross %as a great e1amp+e to the %or+d, !ut that there %as an,thing +ike a m,sterious or mira-u+ous virtue in it m, heart -ou+d not a--ept/ ,he pious lives of "hristians did not give &e anything that the lives of &en of other faiths had failed to give. 2 had seen in other lives =ust the sa&e refor&ation that 2 had heard of a&ong "hristians. (hilosophi ally there was nothing extraordinary in "hristian prin iples. <ro& the point of view of sa rifi e, it see&ed to &e that the 'indus greatly surpassed the "hristians. .t %as impossi!+e &or me to regard 0hristianit, as a per&e-t re+igion or the greatest o& a++ re+igions.H (/ahat&a Aandhi, Auto!iograph,, pp. 1?0, 1?1)

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