Mohandas Gandhi

(1869-1948)

The Culture of India

The culture and
religion of India is
neither monolithic
nor divided into
watertight
compartments. Like
America, it is a mix
of many colors.

Suffering from Ignorance

Hindus teach that
we all suffer from
ignorance about our
true identity. What
we need is selfknowledge. The
various paths we will
study lead to this
knowledge.

Shiva: Absolute Cosmic Being

Shiva is the absolute
cosmic Being, sheer
life force, and Shakti
is the absolute
power of the
phenomenal
universe, creative
and destructive.

The Wet
For Hindus, the
wetness of water is
a way of
understanding how
God, the wet, is
present in all of
material reality, the
water.

Karma
Karma also refers to
that chain of cause
of effect set in
motion by ones
deeds in the world.

Moksha
This is moksha,
leaping out, finding
liberation. It is the
final quest, after all
other quests have
run out.

Four Stages of Life

The four ashramas
are also known as
the Four Stages of
Life: student,
householder, hermit
or forest dweller,
and renunciant.

Brahman
The realization
comes through that
there is only OneBrahman, Universal
Being. God beyond
all personalities and that Thou art
that.

The Vedas
The earliest religious
texts that we have
are the Vedas. The
Aryans in India are
chiefly known as the
people of the Vedas,
the fundamental
official scriptures of
Hinduism.

The Upanishads
Our understanding
of Hinduism comes
from the
commentaries on
the Vedas, the most
famous of which are
called the
Upanishads.

In Brahman as Brahman
This means that
creation isnt outside
of Brahman.
Brahman isnt off in
some heaven
somewhere. Rather
existence, nature, &
our very lives exist
in Brahman as
Brahman.

Atman is Brahman
The great inner
knowledge to which
the wise ones of the
Upanishads came is
Atman is Brahman.
Atman is the
innermost self, the
soul.

Playing Hide-and-Seek
Brahman plays hideand-seek with itself
in the world,
dwelling in the
myriad things while
elusive to human
thought and dream.

One Mind
But the difference is
that in the
Upanishadic vision
there are not many
actors but one actor
- the One Mind who is playing all the
parts and is also the
prompter.

Prajna
Prajna means that
sharp, intuitive
insight that simply
knows, without the
confusion of words
or ideas from the
world of the many.

The Laws of Manu

The Laws of Manu
allow one to do both
by saying that there
are different things
required at different
points in your life.

Samadhi
The last 3 steps are
interior: dharmana,
concentration;
dhyana, meditation;
and samadhi, the
absolutely equalized
consciousness of
perfect freedom.

Sri Aurobindo
1872-1950
Integral Yoga is the
path of combining all
four yogas the way
an athlete might use
cross training to
improve his/her
health.

The Adorable One

The English title
might be translated
as Song of the
Blessed One or
Song of the
Adorable One. The
adorable one is Lord
Krishna, who is God
in human form.

Fulfilling Our Purpose

Krishna teaches that
its not what we do
but how we do it and
in what spirit we do
it. We must fulfill our
purpose to the best
of our ability.

The Dance of the Cosmos

Then, with ones
feelings not getting in
the way, ones actions
are a part of the great
dance of the cosmos, of
the life of the whole
social & natural
organism, & are as
quiet and far-reaching
as meditation.

Hindu Philosophy
The tradition of Hindu
philosophy that has
generally been most
prestigious in India & is
best known outside that
country is Vedanta. The
word literally means
the end, that is,
culmination) of the
Vedas.

Tantrism
Its basic premise is
that if nothing is
separate from God
then nothing is
unholy. Therefore,
all things can lead
one to God because
God is in everything.

Bhakti Blossom
Through the love of
gods, whom one can
visualize & adore, but
who are themselves not
separate from the
absolute, one shares
their nonseparateness,
for one becomes what
one loves.

Many Paths to God

Ramakrishna taught
that all religions are
of the same
essence and are
paths to Godrealization.

Suffering and Karma

Gandhi said that if
someone was
suffering it might
very well be
because of his/her
karma, but
nevertheless, it was
our karma to help
him/her.

Balance
One thing Hindu
women have going
for them is that
Hindu philosophy is
very clear that both
female and male
energies are
needed, & that it is a
problem when they
arent balanced.

Intolerance
Wherever
fundamentalism
rears its head, you
tend to see
intolerance for those
with different beliefs.

Swami Vivekananda
in America
The World
Parliament of
Religions at the
Chicago Worlds
Fair in 1893 marked
the introduction of
Hinduism to
America.

A Tolerant Philosophy
In general, its a
tolerant philosophy.
For example,
Hinduism doesnt
expect all Hindus to
follow the same path
or lifestyle.

Advaita Vedanta
Its most influential
form is known as
Advaita Vedanta,
which teaches that
there is only one
ultimate reality,
Brahman, & were
united with that
source as our own
very being.