“Krishna, master of all yogis,
revealed.. His transcendent divine
Form, speaking from innumerable
mouths, seeing with myriad eyes, of
many marvelous aspects, adorned
with countless divine ornaments…
full of revelations, resplendent,
boundless, of ubiquitous regard.
Suppose a thousand suns should rise
together into the sky: such is the
glory of the Shape of Infinite God.”
- The Bhagavad Gita
Hinduism I
Introduction to World Religions Fall 2005 Dr. Hannah Schell
 First: pie!
Agenda
 What is Hinduism – the paradox; general
overview, getting situated geographically,
historically, and culturally
 The “anthropology” of Hinduism – view of
human beings, human life (individually &
collectively)
 The basic metaphysics of the Hindu
worldview – review of major concepts
The religion pie
Hinduism is an ethnic religion…
There are a total of nearly 1 billion Hindus (900 million)
in the world.
Countries with the highest percentage of Hindus: Nepal
(89%) and India (79%)
Within the United States, Hindus are clustered in New
York (0.6%), New Jersey (0.3%) and Colorado,
Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, and
Wyoming (each with 0.2%)
Source: http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_hindu.html
Maps of India
Source of maps: (map on left) http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/countryfacts/india_map.html map
on right: http://www.answers.com/topic/india
I. What is Hinduism?
Term “hindu” means “river,” specifically the “Indus”.
A paradox:
Hinduism is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, continuous,
recorded religion. Dates to the Rig Veda (finalized by 1200
BCE). But….
Hinduism is also the youngest – only in the 19th century that the
many indigenous Indian religious formations come to be
collectively named (by outsiders), “Hinduism.”
Hinduism is a broad, varied group of inter-connected traditions
that dominate the religious history of South Asia (Sharma, 9).
“There are Hindus but there is no Hinduism.”
- Wilfred Cantwell Smith, The Meaning and End of Religion, 65.
Broad Timeline
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Vedic Period (1500-600 BCE) – The Vedas.
Classical Hinduism (500 BCE – 1000 CE) BCE) – the great
epics, the Mahabharta (which includes the Bhagavad Gita)
and the Ramayana; the Puranas (stories of gods and their
incarnations). Building of temples.
Medieval Period (1000-1800). Muslim rule over north
India lasting until 1858; development of the texts of
Hinduism; emergence of many sects, devotional poetry,
sanctity of the cow, over and against Islam.
Modern Hinduism (1800-1947). Christianity as the new
religious threat; emphasis on religious experience rather
than Vedic authority.
Contemporary Hinduism (1947-today). Emergence of
Hindu nationalism; emigration of Hindus to the west.
Watch video now.
Vedic Period (1500-600 BCE)
 Reference to texts known as “The Vedas,”
which include hymns, explanations of the
sacrifices
 Also, descriptions of early deities (Indra, Agni,
Soma)
 describe the mysterious power of Brahman
 The “Upanishads” (sessions – “additions” to
the Vedas c. 800-400 BCE)
Vedic hymn to Indra
Source of image above:
http://www.westminster.edu/staff/brennie/hinduscr.htm
“The chief wise god who as soon as born
surpassed the gods in power;
Before whose vehemence the two worlds
trembled by reason of the greatness of his
valor; he, O men, is Indra….
Who made firm the quaking earth who set at
rest the agitated mountains;
Who measures out the air more widely, who
supported heaven: he, O men, is Indra…
Even heaven and Earth bow down before
him; before his vehemence even the
mountains are afraid. Who is known as
the Soma-drinker, holding the bolt in his..
Hand: he, O men, is Indra.”
- From the Rig Veda, The World’s Wisdom, ed. Philip Novak, 2.
On the origins of the world
“Then even nothingness was not, nor existence.
There was no air then, nor the heavens beyond it.
What covered it? Where was it? In whose keeping? Was there
then a cosmic water, in depths unfathomed?
Then there were neither death nor immortality, nor was there
then the torch of night and day.
The One breathed windlessly and self-sustaining. There was that
One then, and there was no other.
At first there was only darkness wrapped in darkness. All this
was only unillumined water.
That One which came to be, enclosed in nothing, arose at last,
born of the power of heat. (continues…)
.
In the beginning, desire descended on it – that was the primal
seed, born of the mind.
The sages who have searched their hearts with wisdom know
that which is, is kin to that which is not.
… But, after all, who knows, and who can say whence it all came,
and how creation happened?
The gods themselves are later in creation, so who knows truly
whence it has arisen?
Whence all creation had its origin, he,
whether he fashioned it or whether he did not,
He, who surveys it all from highest heaven, he
knows – or maybe even he does not know.”
- From the Vedas, The World’s Wisdom, 6-7
Source of image: http://fusionanomaly.net/vishnucosmicegg.jpg
The Upanishads




philosophical text that extends the concept of
Brahman to mean supreme, infinite,
impersonal Reality
Describes pure being, consciousness, and bliss.
Development of the concept of yoga (path)
Makes reference to the sacred syllable, om.
II. The “anthropology” of Hinduism
 Stages of human life
View of human life –
the Four Aims
 Yogas: different paths
 Social location (caste)
 The Infinite Self –
Source:
http://www.wrower.pl/kkh99/relacja/galeria/
Atman = Brahman
The stages of human life (asramas)
1. Student
2. Family/Householder: family, vocation,
communal duties (Smith, 51).
3. Forest dweller (retirement)
4. Ascetic (sannyasin): “one who neither hates
nor loves anything” (Smith, 53). Total
renunciation of the worldly life; total
devotion to spiritual self-realization
(Sources, 229).
The third stage
“When a householder sees his skin wrinkled and his
hair gray and when he sees the son of his son, then he
should resort to the forest.
Having given up food in villages [by cultivation] and
abandoning all his belongings, he should depart into
the forest, either committing his wife to the care of
his sons or departing together with her…
He should be constantly engaged in study and should
be self-controlled, friendly toward all, spiritually
composed, ever a liberal giver and never a receiver,
and compassionate toward all beings…”
- Manu Smriti, Sources, 229.
The four aims of human life
1. Kama (pleasure)
2. Artha (wealth, fame, power)
3. Dharma (duty)
4. Moksha (liberation)
Kama: the pursuit of pleasure
http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Hindu_Culture2.htm
 Kama Sutra (Aphorisms of love) helps spell out the science of
material gain and pleasure.
The cultured person to be educated in the arts and sciences,
including, dancing, singing, acting, flower arranging,
gambling, distillation of spiritous liquors, sewing and
embroidery work, first-aid, metallurgy, cooking, chemistry,
posture, dueling, gymnastics, dyeing, architecture and
engineering, calligraphy, swimming, leatherwork, archery,
driving horses and elephants, composition and solution of
riddles and other puzzles, nursing and rearing of children, etc.
-
Abridged list. Sources of Indian Tradition, 2nd ed. 256.
The man of taste and culture…
“He must get up early in the morning, answer the calls of nature,
wash his teeth, smear his body with just a little fragrant paste,
inhale fragrant incense, wear some flowers, give the lips a rub
with wax and red juice, look at his face in the mirror… and
then attend to his work…
After eating comes playing with parrots and myna birds and
making them talk; and indulging in cock and ram fights and in
other artistic activities; also attending to the work he has with
his friends and companions…. At the end of it, in his own
apartments… he awaits… his beloved who has given him an
engagement, or else sends her a message and himself goes to
meet her… Such is the daily routine.”
- Vatsyayana, Kama Sutra, Sources of Indian Tradition, 2nd ed. 257.
Artha: wealth, fame and power
“Only if a king is himself energetically active, do his
officers follow him energetically. If he is
sluggish, they too remain sluggish. And, besides,
they eat up his works. He is thereby easily
overpowered by his enemies. Therefore, he
should ever dedicate himself energetically to
activity…
During the first one-eighth part of the day, he
should listen to reports pertaining to the
organization of law and order and to income
and expenditure. During the second, he should
attend to the affairs of the urban and the rural
population. During the third, he should take his
bath and meal and devote himself to study….”
- Artha Sastra, Sources of Indian tradition, 2nd ed. 242.
King Gyanendra with Queen Komal
(Nepal)
Source:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/2004
0124/world.htm
Dharma: duty, law, obligation, proper
action, right behavior
“Dharma is the foundation of the whole universe… By
means of dharma one drives away evil. Upon dharma
everything is founded. Therefore, dharma is called the
highest good” (Sources, 217).
http://clipart.usscouts.org/
library/Religious_Award_P
rogram/Emblems/
“Better one’s own dharma, though done
imperfectly, than another’s well performed.
Better is death in the fulfillment of one’s own
dharma. To adopt the dharma of another is
perilous…” (From the Bhagavad Gita, Sources of
Indian Tradition, 218).
Moksha:
liberation/salvation/deliverance
 From what? The endless cycle of birth, death
and rebirth.
 From the unsatisfactoriness of existence
 Offers freedom from ignorance, brings the
truth
 Variety of ways of attaining moksha – through
the different yogas (paths)
Yogas (path; also bindings)
“When the five senses and the mind are still, and reason rests in
silence, then begins the Path supreme.
This calm steadiness of the senses is called Yoga. Then one
should become watchful, because Yoga comes and goes…
When all desires that cling to the heart are surrendered, then a
mortal becomes immortal, and even in this world he is one
with Brahman.
When all the ties that bind the heart are unloosened, then a
mortal becomes immortal. This is the sacred teaching.”
- From Katha Upanishad, World’s Wisdom, 14.
Yogas (paths to liberation)
Jnana yoga (knowledge): wisdom that is
transformative
Bhakti yoga (love or devotion): surrender, worship
will lead to forgiveness.
 Karma yoga (action): path to God through work
(Smith, 37).
 Raja yoga (psycho-physical experiments)
Jnana yoga (knowledge)
“There is a rider who sits serene and
motionless in his chariot. Having delegated
responsibility for the journey to his charioteer,
he is free to sit back and give full attention to
the passing landscape. In this image resides a
metaphor for life. The body is the chariot. The
road over which it travels are the sense
objects. The horses that pull the chariot over
the road are the senses themselves. The mind
that controls the senses when they are
disciplined is represented by the reins. The
decisional faculty of the mind is the driver,
and the master of the chariot, who is in full
authority but need never lift a finger, is the
Omniscient Self” (Smith, explicating passage
from the Upanishads, 31).
Bhakti yoga (path of love or devotion)
 Worship of God through an
adopted form (istar)
 “Thou art everywhere, but I worship
you here; Thou art without form,
but I worship you in these forms.”
(Invocation, quoted by Smith, 34).
 The last words of the Gita: “Letting
go all dharma, take refuge in me
alone; I shall deliver you from all
sins; do not grieve” [38].
Source: http://www.yogasampoorna.org/images/bhakti_yoga
.jpg
Karma yoga:
Path to God through work or action
 must act from duty (dharma), not for reward of
praise.
 Must act without attachment to the consequences
(even good karma can cause a form of bondage).
 “You can find God in the world of everyday affairs as
readily as anywhere” (Smith, 37).
“Not by nonperformance of actions does a man attain freedom from action;
nor by mere renunciation of actions does his attain his spiritual goal… Do
your allotted work, for action is superior to nonaction… Without
attachment, always do the work that has to be done for a man doing his
work without attachment attains to the highest goal.” (From the Bhagavad
Gita, Sources, 283-284).
Raja yoga
(psychophysical exercises)
 Exploring the “beyond that is within” (Smith,
43).
 Practice five abstentions – from injury, lying,
stealing, sensuality, and greed.
 Five observances – cleanliness, contentment,
self-control, studiousness and contemplation
of the divine (Smith, 44).
Source: http://www.energyenhancement.org/P9375922.JPG
The basic metaphysics
of the Hindu worldview
 Brahman – the Supreme Being; Being Itself/ the
ultimate, the transcendent, the Godhead.
 Atman – the self or soul; the hidden self; the
part of the human being that is more than the
body, more than the personality (Smith 21).
 But, Atman = Brahman!
 (And the realization of this will bring moksha,
liberation, from the cycle of birth and rebirth samsara).
Atman = Brahman
“Behold the universe in the glory of God: and
all that lives and moves on earth. Leaving
the transient, find joy in the Eternal: set
not your heart on another’s possessions…
The Spirit, without moving, is swifter than
the mind; the senses cannot reach him: He
is ever beyond them. Standing still, he
overtakes those who run. To the ocean of
his being, the spirit of life leads the
streams of action….
Who sees all beings in his own Self, and his
own Self in all beings, loses all fear.”
- Isa Upanishad, The World’s Wisdom, 9.
The sacred syllable “om”
“I will tell you the Word that all the Vedas glorify, all
self-sacrifice expresses, all sacred studies and holy
life seek. The word is OM. That Word is the
everlasting Brahman: that Word is the Highest End.
When that sacred Word is known, all longings are
fulfilled. It is the supreme means of salvation: it is the
help supreme.”
- Katha Upanishad, The World’s Wisdom, 17.
The sacred syllable continued
“This Atman [Universal Self] is the eternal Word OM. Its three
sounds, A, U, and M, are the first three states of
consciousness, and these three states are the three sounds.
The first sound A is the first state of waking consciousness,
common to all men…
The second sound U is the second state of dreaming
consciousness..
The third sound M is the third state of sleeping consciousness.
The word OM as one sound is the fourth state of supreme
consciousness. It is beyond the senses and is the end of
evolution. It is non-duality and love. He goes with his self to
the supreme Self who knows this, who knows this.”
- From the Mandukya Upanishad, World’s Wisdom, 18.
Let’s try it.
Religions of Indian Origin
 Focus on suffering, ego and liberation
 Religion arises out of a human need; human existence
is an unending cycle of birth, death and rebirth; we
are condemned to an eternal destiny of suffering and
limitation. The cycle of birth, death and rebirth, is
caused by our own subjective egos, by self-centered
desire.
 It is possible to overcome this egocentricity by
attaining a transcendent viewpoint that will liberate
the spirit from the confines of the individual ego.
Once this has been attained, the cycle of birth, death
and rebirth is brought to an end.
Adopted from T. Patrick Burke, The Major Religions: An Introduction with Texts, Blackwell, 1996.