Hinduism Notes

more lifestyle than religion
very much impact daily life
passed down through family and culture and society, less religious choice, more of a custum, ppl dont do it because of the reason behind it
village hinduism looks different from philosophy
practice looks different for each person bc its between the person and dharma
dont know founder
current stage shows darhma
cast, gender, nationality -- what you are born into gives you your purpose, giving your current circumstance (doesn't support convert to different religions, what you've been born into gives you what lessons you need to learn -- switching to hiduism isn't encouraged)
do not proselite
different religions can help people move toward the experience of god, like a ladder (islam->judahism->christianity->confucianism->sihkism->jainism->buddhism->hinduism->brahman, merge with god)
title "Hindu" was first used in the 6th centry CE
duirng 18-19 centry hindu rennaisance the religion took on its curent structure appearance, doctrines, official name, etc
Monism -- everything is part of a singular whole (all people are part of god)
Christians have a hard time wrapping head around concept of God
Hinduism claims millions of gods (monotheistic, polytheist, monolatrist, henothesitic, monistic, modalistic)
any amount of gods is correct depending on what the one practicioner needs (can create any god they want and name them and give them qualities and worship her/him -- similar to finding partner, find a god that you resonate with and connects with, supports you in a good inspired/connected way)
androdynous because reincarnation into different genders, brahman doesn't have gender when you reach it
wouldn't like people starting religions

everyone has different views
God isn't punishing you its just how things are, natural consequences of the universe
must be Hindu in your last existance
practice non-violence, most people don't eat meat even though they don't have to be
male brahmin priests are the only ones commanded not to eat meat
don't eat the specific cow (dont worship them, but they are treated with reverence because they are representative of brahmin) -- if you killed one they used to be killed, also can't touch the cow
avoid alcohol and intoxicants, mostly followed

Women -- determined at birth by father, by her husband, girl and dowry are gifts to husband, wife is required for men (an object they need to move in), everone has been in different bodies (women and men) so everyone has a chance to learn as male/female roles and its not mysogynistic
reincarnation forms: god, human, insect, vegetation, demon (need to be a god or human to finish cycle of reincarnation)
reincarnation explains why people are different, why hindus are not stressed at death, offers explaination to population explosion
no denominations, but different philosophical views
Binhi (women) or Tikka/Tilak (men) -- symbol for luck, 3rd eye, different kinds different reasons
single girls should not wear bhindi until night you get married and then you wear it the rest of your life, switch to black one when your husband dies
red at hairline symbolizes goddess worshipper and connects with feminine energy
vishnu and shiva worshipper
1.1 billion practictioners worldwide but mostly ethnically indian (although india has a lot of religions there)
no sex out of married, monogamy, follow darhma (if you are gay dont be) -- your darhma is to control what your body is telling you to do
top 2 casts have the most formal education-- women get little to no formal education in rural areas

History

started 3,500 years ago (1500bce)
aryans conquer the dravidians
assimilation
500 bce
instead of opressing dravidians, the two cultures have mixed and started hinduism

Big 3

Brahma (creator)
Vishnu (preserver)
Shiva (destroyer)

learn the difference between these 3 different things:

brahma = 1 of big 3 gods

brahman = the ultimate

brahmin = priestly caste

Brahma

the absolute
the world's creator
his cycle of creation lasts 2 billion, 160 million years (1 day for him)
- meaning he lives outside of time not that hes aging
member of the hindu trinity
nobody worships him because he is asleep, he only does things when he created the world every 2 billion years
2 faces for being all knowing
riding swan, free from false belief

Vishnu

10 avatars
most popular deity

creator of the universe
blue skin symbolic of sky, the heavens , all powerful
gave birth to shiva (from origin) and brahma (from belly button)
benevolent
Krishna, 8th avatar of vishnu, if you love krishna with your entire soul you will enter into nirvana
rama *********explain

Shiva

destruction
creation
shakti: parvati(loving), kali (from hell), uma(loving) & durga(from hell) (shiva's wives)
wife has the power to enact the power, male without wife is useless power wise (some people woship the wives)
comma sutra

shiva is the energy of the ultimate (which is ultimate is Brahman)
cobra represents knowldge of wisom
nandi the bull**********
demon of ignorance*********
surrounded by flames
shiva overcomes false belief, can help you see things as they really are

nature of god

the religion is evolving
more interested in "earth goddess" or "earth mother" -- always feminine and presiding over the fertility over all things - especially in rural places that need help with crops

Soteriology: salvation for hindus can be percieved as:

1. final union with Brahman

2. as a perfectly blissfull state

3. communion w god

summary: each person feels different

two fold purpose of life for hindus?

1. overcome Maya or illusion (smadhi = enlightenment)

2. obtain release (moksha = breaking cycle of rebirhts, which cycle is called samsara)

end result they are seeking? what will they be after their release?

brahman (the ultimate) - oneness/no change
smadi - having a testimony
nirvana = heaven
smadhi leads to moksha which leads to nirvana

looses individuality, seeking oneness

Vedas is earliest religious texts

already reached brahman, time isn’t linear to god

six schools of indian philosophy

nyaya
vasisheshika
samkhya
yoga
purva mimamsa
vendata

Authority -- no authority

most brahmins have day job in India
in the US, they are employed

Karma

meaning works or acts (probably leads to the western misconception of good karma)
no judjement day in hinduism
choices have unavoidable consequences
inaccurate to speak of good karma -- oxymoron
negative accountability when you don't follow your dharma
whatever thing/person/animal you are incarnated as, do well as that thing/person/animal

Atman

literally meaning breath
you don't have a soul, but have the breath of the divine
is Brahman, portion of God
when you die Atman is released and a new being is created by the choices of the person
Not one individual soul going from body to body (transmigration)
people are not one individual, just a portion of brahman, the whole
You die and there is a calculation, put into a new being until you merge back to the ocean of Brahman

Caste System

different than western classes
part of social and religious fabric
no upper mobility in lifetime
cannot socialize/marry between castes (story about the two people between castes who married and then came back and their families stoned them)
shows level of purity
caste 123 they go through bar mitzvah kind of thing "twice born", sacred thread initiation (shave body hair, given new name, new clothes, new janeu a sacred thread - symbol of obligation, wear always, switch every few weeks)
Mahatma Ganfhi, worked to overthrow caste system, uphill battle, little effect on people because they saw it as their rightful belonging place (defying law of gravity almost), good message but people couldn't grasp idea
looser in metropolitan area, but most areas are rural so it doesn't make much difference --> not seen as a hero in India, cherry picked what he liked (closer to jainism almost)
most hindu's dont read scripture (dont see it as important or their duty), only brahmin priests are commanded to read scripture

Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaisyas (most people in India)
Sudras
1. sudras means servant, which is role of woman in the home, so all women are sudras in the role not the class
Untouchables (the Harijan)
1. outlawed legally but is still existing

3 ways to get off "rounds of rebirth"

selfless service or Karma (helping the needy -- blue collar)
Knowledge or Jyana (meditation, epiphany, studying religious texts -- thought as a superior way than Karma)
Devotion or Bhakti (offerings and devotion for -- caste and gender non-issue) - salvation by grace, only way that is not dependent on one's actions, most people do this way

Shruti = canonical writings

shruiti means "heard' or "revealed"
earliest religious books
ancient sanskrit that was lost (debated on transitions)
brahmin priests are the only ones allowed to publically recite

Smriti = popular writings

means "remembered"
used by average joe hindu
less accurate to what the faith really believes, can cause confusion

4 Stages of Hindu life & social interaction for Men (applies to 3 top castes)

Student

completed sacred thread ceremony
picks guru
learns all day from guru, adult as hindu and what duty is
up to 12 years doing this: celibate, single, non-dating, non engaging w opposite sex
eventually arranged marrige and is in householder

Householder

education, carrer, wife, children
hinduism teaches that breath is trying to take a body and if hindus are not reproducing the parts of brahman who need bodies can't find them
usually ppl don't get to the last two levels because they can just do it in the next life (gives them spiritual lazyness because people believe that they will make it eventually)

Seeker (hermit)

kids are grown and take care of mother fully
limit posessions
separate from wife
attained detatchment and enlightenment

Ascetic (holy man)

people who created caste system need to find this last stage but most people don't have to

Rites, Ordinances, Sacraments

puja can mean a lot of things (circumambulating a shrine, viewing a statue, self sacrifice, chanting, home celebrations, sexual discipline, service, making offerings, etx)
no sabbath -- every day is the sabbath
group worship -- even if you are with people you are silent and interior and not talking with other people
group worship is dangerous/deceptive, you could think you worshipped because you were with others but really weren't internally reflecting
prasad (means gift) - offered to deity, gifted to you at the end, blessing for worshipping god, made from wheat/sugar/purified butter
offerings -- money/oils/food/whatever (no death to a moving living being), not considered idolitry but reminder and way to connect w devine, do not believe that the idol is actually literally God, helps feel connected/feel presence
ritual washings -- believe that it makes you one with all forms of created life, connection between them and brahman
move near the ganges to die without karma --> westerners are not immune to the less clean water
observers/participants -- look at dharma and god, don't have rules about who should/should not participate

Go over:

Monoism, polytheistic, monolatrist, henotheistic, monostic

learn about hari krishna

Sacred Clothing

clothing/material posessions is a way to adorn the body and is a distraction
only the j
everything else is a distraction

Buildings

temples
home shrines (has one god that it is dedicated to)
womb, main sanctuary, has a shrine to the main deity that the temple is dedicated to
can pick temple or home shrine

Prayer

not from the heart, it is recited
chanting a mantra (most common is AUM - 3 letters representative of hindu trinity, sikhs use this too)

Holidays

July- August = Krishna Janmashtami (Krishna's birthday, anoint him and put new clothes on him, act of adoration)
August-September = Ganesh Chaturthi (Ganesha, the Elephant-headed god -- he removes obstacles from your life)
Sep-Oct = Durga Puja (Rama's victory & good over evil)
Oct-Nov = Diwali (Festival of lights, give gifts to people, secular and reliigous versions, forgive and forget sins of others)
Jan-Feb = Shivaratri (Shiva Festival, introspection, how can I do better, all night)
Feb- March = Holi (Spring festival, symbolic for reincarnation, take jibsim (drywall) dried up and colored, throw packets of it and make you look like a bouquet of flowers like how life returns again and again) -- taken over woodstock/coachella festival and money making, fun celebration instead of more religious context

Rites of Passage

Birth (people died so easily in birth/infancy) -- Infant welcoming ritual (when baby can eat solid food), celebrate how baby will live, hold behind non-dominant hand and see what the baby will reach for (book - scholar, pen - artist, jewlery - wealth, clay/soil - property, food - gluttenous/chef) -- gives idea what the kid will be like
Marrige -- arranged, at sundown (closing of one stage), clasp of tied hands (symbolized oneness, differences, accept as you are, commit to not changing you but changing myself)
pros of arranged: no dating, parents know you so well and will find someone who is a good match, lower expectations bc you don't know/love them & higher level of satisfaction, low divorce rates, higher satisfaction than western marriges, stigma against divorce
Death -- cremation is common, sometimes rarely burried/in a river, Chakra (invisible tube where the atman or animating power escapes)
body is not connected to person, like an old shirt, very temporary
emotional state at death impacts next state of reincarnation, should not be feared but prepared for, put a lamp near their head, don't say goodbye to people dying because it would impact emotional state