Hinduism

What percentage is Hinduism?

15.1%

Hinduism is the _____ largest religion.

3rd

Where is the majority of Hindus?

India and Napal

No one creation myth

• in its origins it wasn’t originally one thing

• reflects plurality of Hindu origins

• ex. cosmic egg, ocean of milk, and sacrifice of purusha

• many different origin stories

Most popular origin story

• creation story of the Vishnu Purana

• non-linear time

• priority of presentation (Vishnu) over creation (Brahma)

• non-vilification of destruction (Shiva)

• Naga os about the void

• on top of Anata Shesha in the picture is Vishnu

• growing out of Vishnus naval is a lotus flower

• on top of the lotus flower is Brahma

Naga (serpent)

Anata Shesha (endless) (the specific serpent)

Vishnu

god of preservation/ endless being

• time repeats itself

• first existence than beginning

• blue means full immorality and Vishnu is blue

Brahma

god of creation (created this universe)

• has four faces, facing all different ways

Shiva

god of destruction

The Humbling of Indra

• king god, wears a crown/ is like zeus (has a thunderbolt)

• Indra rules the universe created by Brahma

• Indra sits on a white elephant (represents rain or storm clouds)

• theres a demon blocking the water ways causing a drought, Indra throws down his thunder bolt and kills the demon, Indra is full of himself, calls and architect to build him a palace Indra wants more though, the architect keeps building more and more, he figures out he won’t ever stop building for Indra because he wants more and more, so the architect goes to the gods, they send a blue boy to his palace, Indra tells the boy if he would like to see his palace the boy says yes, the young boy says thats one of the best Indra palaces Ive ever seen the boy tells Indra about how there are many Indras…, Indra questions his purpose now and his fate

Indra

king god, wears a crown/ is like zeus (has a thunderbolt)

Indra and the Ants

• “the seed of woe and the fruit of wisdom” the kids says

• the boy says to the ants they are past Indras

• Indra is reincarnated as an ant

• Indra gives up his kingdom, riches, to live under the stars, his wife goes tot he gods and tell them, Brahma agrees to help and tells him he needs to do his dharma (his duty), Indra resumes his kingship but does better

Samsara

reincarnated (endless cycles)

Karma

what determines what you be reincarnated as

Dharma

the right way of living

The Bhagavad Gita

• Prince Arjuna and Krishna

• Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu

• Krishna is the most popular god

• theres a war between 2 clans, one side is price Arjuna both clans are distantly related to each other, while going into war prince Arjuna is talking to Krishna, he is second guessing the war against his relatives, he doesn’t understand the point of the war, he doesn’t know the chariot driver is Krishna tells him he needs to do his Dharma (his duty)

• Dharma or reincarnation?

• synthesis: “motive-less action”

The Dance of Kali on Shiva

• context: battle with demon Raktabija

• Raktabija is causing destruction, killing people, and not letting civilization keep going, Raktabija has a power that when he is sliced in half his blood drops turn into a new Ratabija, a god Durga down to destroy him, (Durga turns into Kali- killer , destruction), Kali kills the demon and drinks their blood so they don’t keep making more, kali goe crazy after drinking demon blood, Shiva (her partner) comes down and lets Kali dance on him and she calms down

• Kali as time/death

• concept: resignation, even of Shiva

• concept: Kali as killer of Egoismj “time” dances a top timeless destruction

The Hindu Synthesis

• Indus Valley civilization (in India)

• known as the proto-pravidan people (original habitats)

  • focused on animals, plant fertility artifacts

Indo-Aryan migration

• pastoralists: chariots

• vedic gods of sacrifice and sky

The Vedas and Upanishads

• Vedas: oldest sanskrit texts (are in sanskrits)

  • considered divinely authored

• Upanishads: the “end” of the vedas: philosophical

  • spiritual vedic ritual (rituals in the Vedas)

Hindutva (translates to “hinduness”)

• anticolonial conservatives and nationalist (started as against the British)

• hostility to “Aryan Migration Theory”

• Iconography, Hanuman (muscular god(Vishnu and his wife in his heart))

Hindu Paths to Salvation (Moksha)

• Moksha= salvation

• Bhakti-yoga= devotion to personal diety

• Jnana yoga= study; philosophy

• karma-yoga= ethical action; ritual

Dvaita Vedanta

• dualistic: Atman (individual soul) is distinct from Brahman (universal spirit)

• often emphasis on personal devotion to deity (bhakti)

• salvation (Moksha) only after death; end of samsara

• reward is nearness to God

• Dvaita=dualism

• basically means you are not god and god is nit you (dualism)

Advaita Vedanta

• non-dualistic

• Atman (individual soul) is identical to Brahman (universal spirit)

• seperation is Maya (illusion)

• Maya= illusion

  • often a “this-worldy” salvation (Moksha through meditation)

Radhakrishnan

• 1st vice president of India

• distinguished scholar of Eastern Religions (Oxford University)

• popularized Hindu thought, “ambassador” to the west

• advaita devanta

Radhakrishnan- essential doctrine in Indian Culture

• Tat tuam asi= “the eternal is in ones self”

• self is not “thrown off” from the external as in a “cosmic swirl”

Radhakrishnan- play analogy

• “true self” is like an actor wearing a mask

• personality= the mask

• the actor is anomyns, interchangeable

• actor is aloof from the passions acted out in play

Radhakrishnan- once achieved we “outgrow our individualism”

• see color, race, nationality as merley contingent

• consider ourselves “citizens of the world” (socrates)

Radhakrishnan- The Divine in Man

• “immanence”

• our spirit is a “fragment of God”

  • the supreme Brahman = “the ocean of infinite knowledge…”

Radhakrishnan- Universal salvation

• the good (spirit) is even in violent crimes

• like “buried treasure” to be brought out

• distinction between Heaven/ Hell untenable

• salvation is universal

Radhakrishnan- Humanism

• sri krishna (Bhagavad-Gita)

  • union with god through “self-discovery” not based on “trust”, “authority”

  • vedas not infallible

• incarnation of God (or krisna) not a none-time event

  • “service to others”

Radhakrishnan- The “Godhead”/ “Brahman”

1. immensity

2. infinity

3. intexhaustility

4. mysteriousness

   • thus a negative theology

Radhakrishnan- Deities “personify” aspects of god

• creation= Brahma

• persevation= Visnu

• perfection= Siva

Radhakrishnan- Ecumenical

• all religions are valid, aim at the supreme

• “fuel” and “milk” analogies

Prabhupada

• vedic teacher (Guru)

• Dvaita Vedanta (dualistic - seperation)

• International society for Krishna consciousness (ISKON)

  • founded in 1966 in NYC

  • significant to 1960’s counterculture

• Hindu religion perfectly based on the “personal conception of God” (vishu)

• absolute truth: the supreme personality of the Godhead

  • “side issue”: impersonal conception of God

Prabhupada- traditional theism

• vedic religion comes from god

• cannot be manufactured by man

Prabhupada- a personal god

• rejects nation that god first impersonal then incarnates

• “supreme personality of the godhead” is prior to impersonal light of god (Brahman)

Prabhupada- Sri Krishna

god is called Krishna= “all attractive”

Prabhupada- Krishna and Radharani

• krishna is “rascal” in teasing Radha (a Gopi or milkmaid)

• but this “rascaidom” is good, because it is done by god (krishna)

Prabhupada- Power of prayer and devotion (Bahkti)

• a person (even an evil one) who prayers to krishna to become rich will become rich

• to know god, chanting, “Hare Krishna” is useful

• for God to reveal self, must please him or his Guru (representative)

Prabhupada- god and creation

• Prabhupada argument for theistic creation

  • oxygen, hydrogen, water (example)

  • puri (example)

Prabhupada- dualism

your body is made up of your energy

Prabhupada- individualism

each soul is an individual

Prabhupada- suffering and salvation

• suffering is from impious acts in past lives

• goal is to cease cycle of rebirths

• avoid attachements passions (sex, drinking, eating meat, gambling)

• please krishna (“higher spiritual pleasures”)

Prabhupada- extinguishing karma

• even those who have escaped “karmic influences” may suffer bodily harm

• but this is temporary

• does not induce further rebirth, suffering

• fan analogy