Topic: Julie's Lectures on Hinduism

[Michael]

Julie has allowed me to post her recently written lectures on Hinduism.

She was asked to give two lectures on Early Hinduism for the University Studies in Religion course, which took her about a month to put together. When she read them out to me I was most impressed so asked her if I could post them here. She wasn't too keen at first as she always thinks her work need to be redone better. But she then said it was okay.

As she said to the students - who sat silent and dumb through both lectures, much to her disgust - early Hinduism is integral to understanding Hinduism today - it forms the basis of modern Hinduism, and really not a lot has changed. Except they don't drink Soma anymore.

I may add the PowerPoints as PDF attachments.

[Michael]

Foundations of Hinduism Part I

The word ‘Hindu’;
History: The Indus Valley Civilisation, The Aryans;
The Scriptures;
The Vedic Gods;
The Sacrificial Altar, Brahmins;
Caste (varna, jati).

Talking about Hinduism.

It is a useful beginning, in talking about Hinduism, to investigate the origins of the word ‘Hindu’ itself, for that knowledge adds to both history and context of this religion and, as you know, both those aspects are essential to placing perspective on a religion’s beliefs and practices. ‘Hindu’ was not initially a name associated with a religion, but with a region. It was a name given by the ancient Persians to identify the peoples living in the area of the Indus River, in north west India and what we now know as Pakistan. But when the nineteenth century bureaucrats of the British Raj, in their desire for order, decided to classify the people of India according to religion, “Hinduism” became the umbrella term for all those in India who followed a range of beliefs and practises that were often only loosely connected. ‘Hindus’, then, were the people of India who were NOT identifying themselves as Muslims, as Christians, Buddhists, Parsees or Jains, which are the other, minority belief systems of the subcontinent. Thus, what we know today as Hinduism came to encompass ‘the rest’, composed of many and varied sects, traditions, ethnicities, and regional language groups. They did share some basic elements of mythology, scripture and social organization, however, such as a love of the epic tales the Mahabharata and Ramayana, knowledge of Vedic (earliest Hindu) lore as received truth, and the caste system of social classification, all of which we will be exploring further. Today there are about a billion Hindus worldwide, most of them in South Asia, and Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion.

The seemingly disparate groups within Hinduism, as I said, often share social and religious values, but also can sometimes seem mutually at odds. A Hindu may be an atheist, a monotheist, a devotee of a whole clutch of gods and goddesses, or a secularist follower of a particular philosophy. They may be of animist tribal groups who, over time, have become imbued with popular elements of Hinduism, or found their local god or goddess absorbed into the greater system. For Hinduism has always grown by accommodating new ideas and beliefs, thereby over almost four millennia branching out like the revered banyan tree. It has gained a reputation as a tolerant and absorptive religion, with colourful gods, fabulous epic mythologies, highly sophisticated philosophies, refined physical practices such as the yogas and Ayurvedic medicine, and an ingrained social system that orders most aspects of everyday life and marks the yearly round with a full calendar of festivals, observances and pilgrimages.

Yet before the British compulsion to classify had its effect, Hindus themselves did not even have a word for ‘religion’. Their complex of philosophies and practices were inseparable from everyday life: ALL of life was part of the sacred and must be lived by following dharma, the path, or the law; sometimes called sanatana dharma, the eternal path, or Arya dharma, the path of the Aryan people. It is back to the arrival of the Aryans around 2000 BCE, that we trace the emergence of Hinduism, although aspects of it can be discerned in remnants of an earlier civilisation of the region, that of the Indus Valley.


The background: the Indus Valley Civilisation.

The great civilisation of the Indus Valley, which archaeologists have excavated at such famous sites as the buried cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, leaves clues to the apparent religious conceptions of the pre-Aryan time. Although clarifying inscriptions have yet to be deciphered, enough evidence remains to indicate that later Hinduism has built upon much of these pre-existing elements. Such finds as the clay figurines that seem to indicate goddess worship, a bathing tank that is a likely place for ritual immersion, fire altars, and carved sandstone seals and amulets depicting woman-like figures in trees, along with many animal portrayals, often of horned animals such as bulls and even unicorns, and cobras being worshipped by kneeling human figures, support this deduction. Most suggestively for a prefiguring of Hinduism is the male figure shown seated in the half lotus yoga pose. He wears a horned headdress, is surrounded by animals, and has an erect phallus, indicating fertility. This figure is suggestive of the early Hindu (or Vedic) god Rudra, which in time would merge into one major god of the great Hindu trinity, Shiva, who is associated with both asceticism and passion.


The Aryans

Before I speak about the Aryans as invaders of India, I must first mention that in current Indian thought there are some who argue that the Aryans were, in fact indigenous to the subcontinent and that therefore their knowledge and thought was not derived from European culture. Gavin Flood in his excellent Introduction to Hinduism, which is in Dixson Library, extrapolates on this argument, for those who are interested in pursuing it. For now, I will accede to the theory that the Aryans did indeed migrate into northern India, somewhere around 2000 – 1500 BCE.

When the Indo-European invaders, the Aryans, with their advanced horse and chariot technology, herded their cattle over the mountains to India, they subdued and displaced the indigenous people who were, it is thought, remnants of the great Indus Valley civilisations. These people had dissipated, possibly after some climatic catastrophe, into tribes and villages across the north Indian river plains, and gradually were driven to populate the south as the Aryan tribes grew more predominant. These indigenous people, known as Dasas, were a darker skinned race and spoke languages of the Dravidian family, while the lighter skinned Aryans spoke an early form of Sanskrit, a language closely related to Persian, Greek, Latin, indicating the geographical origins of its users. It is tracing this philological trail that has told scholars much of the history of this period in India which is, for the most part, unwritten. One important source of information is the earliest of Hindu scriptures, the Vedas. Hence, this is known as the Vedic era, and the religion of that period is known as ‘Vedism’, or ‘Brahmanism’, after the officiating priests. It is the foundation of later Hinduism (but in fact differs in very many ways).


The Scriptures

Today’s Hindus would, for the most part, agree with the authority and ultimate truth of the Vedas, which are a vast collection of hymns (Samhitas, collection) for use in the ritual. They are in the category of revelation: the Truth as revealed, or ‘heard’ by the wise rishis, the sages or seers of long ago. These scriptural verses were then transmitted orally, by the brahmin priesthood, for about 2000 years before being written down, and this revelatory scripture is called shruti, ‘that which is heard’. The Rig Veda is the most important of this collection, and is believed to have been composed over many hundreds of years. Ainslee Embree writes that ‘they are products of careful literary craftsmanship ... not the spiritual outpouring of the heart of primitive man at the dawn of history ... they are the achievement of a highly developed religious system’ (Embree p. 5). The Sama Veda are verses for chanting, the Veda set to music; the Yajur Veda is a book of instruction for the priests’ performances; the Arthava Veda is essentially a book of spells on household matters, such as sickness.

Later shruti texts are the Brahmanas, manuals for assisting with the sacrifice; the Aranyakas, or Forest Books, mystical and speculative works associated with the forest dwellers, people who had withdrawn from society to pursue the meaning of life under the tutelage of gurus, (teachers), and the Upanishads, the deeply philosophical teachings on the nature of the universe and the human place and purpose within it.

The other category of sacred literature is called Smrti, the ‘remembered’. Unlike the Shruti literature, Smrti is considered to be of human compositon, but is still ‘revered as authoritative tradition’ (Pratt, p.60). It includes the Yoga Sutras, exercises of both mind and body to attain salvation; the Dharma Sutras, which include the often quoted Laws of Manu, which dictate the ideal behaviour of daily life: the social mores. Smrti literature also includes the Epics, composed around 200BCE – 300CE. One of these is the Ramayana, the story of the ideal god/king Rama, who establishes the paradigm of perfect conduct and morality (as does his wife, Sita), a story which is still ardently followed today and is the focus of many festivals and much common folklore. The other great Epic is the Mahabharata, which is essentially the story of a war between two warrior clans, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. It also pertains to dharma, proper conduct and salvation; and within it lies the section called Bhagavadgita (Song of God). Pratt rightly asserts that this is ‘now the best known book of Hindu scripture’ which ‘focuses on the need for selfless action as part of the unfailing devotion to God ... Its catch cry is “Perfection by worship through the performance of duty”.’ (Pratt p. 61). Later, in our next session, we will look at some lines from the Bhagavad-Gita to illustrate these ideas.

Later literature that is included as Smrti are the Puranas, (which simply means ‘stories’) and the scriptures of the main Hindu sects, the Agamas and Tantras. But I will not dwell on these as they are on the later fringe of the period we are addressing in this course.


The Vedic Gods

Returning to the Vedic period, let us now look at the Vedic gods. This era was of an animistic religion, with the elemental forces invested with divinity and personified as male or female gods (Thapar p. 43). Such would be expected of a semi-nomadic pastoral people, who were reliant on and exposed to the forces of nature, as they shivered in the lightning flashes and watched clouds sweep across the stars at night, hoped for rain or prayed for the sun’s warmth. Their gods of the elements were also gods with distinct similarities to the Greek gods, which is unsurprising considering the Indo-Aryans and Greeks almost certainly were of shared ancestry. The gods and the religion of that period were as R C Zaehner comments, a ‘this-worldly’ religion; the gods were petitioned for favours and given ritual sacrifice in appeasement. Let us look at several of these Vedic gods as described by Ainslee Embree: (pp. 12 – 23).

Varuna: Varuna, the greatest of the celestial gods, as the guardian of the cosmic order (rita), was responsible for the maintenance of both the physical and moral order. He caused the sun to rise and set; the stars shone at his command; he bestowed the rains that gave life to earth. The moral laws of the universe were no less fixed and immutable than those that governed the natural world, and Varuna administered these with the same unswerving regularity. For this reason, prayers for forgiveness for wrongs done to others were addressed to Varuna, since wrong-doing disturbed the order of the universe.

That idea, of order, has always been of prime importance throughout the history of Hinduism.

Rig Veda V:85 expresses this idea: “Unto the sovereign lord sing a sublime and solemn prayer (Brahman), one dear unto glorious Varuna, who has spread out the earth, as the butcher does the hide, by way of a carpet for the sun. Varuna has extended the air above the trees; he has put strength in horses, milk in cows, will-power in hearts, fire in waters, the sun in heaven, and soma upon the mountain’.

Indra: Indra, who it is suggested may have been an actual historical figure, a leader of the Aryans who was deified, ‘was clearly the God of Battles, to whom men ‘rushing to deadly combat, will cry aloud for protection’ (RV IV:24.) Indra is also a personification of the thunderstorm, and his weapon is a bolt of lightning. Offerings of the intoxicating drink soma are also closely associated with his character, and he is frequently portrayed as a drunken brawler.’ Many myths tell tales of Indra, most importantly that of his slaying of the dragon Vritra, who has been withholding the life giving elements of water and sun. This myth may represent the coming of the monsoon, or Embree suggests it may be that Vritra may stand for chaos, which victorious Indra restores to order, or even the defeat of the indigenous tribes by the Aryans. Rig Veda I:32 tells this legend: “Indra’s heroic deeds, indeed,  I will proclaim, the first ones which the wielder of the thunderbolt accomplished. He killed the dragon, released the water, and split open the side of the mountain ... like bellowing cows, the waters, gliding, have gone down straightway to the ocean ... you won the cows, oh brave one, you won soma ... Indra is the lord of what moves and what remains rested, of what is peaceful and what is horned. He alone rules over the tribes as their king: he encloses them as a rim does the spokes”.

You will have heard ‘soma’ mentioned in both these verses. Soma was not only a god, (God of the Moon), but a vehicle to reach the gods; an hallucinogenic drink made from juice of a plant. Soma was the way to immortality, it was supposed, and was an important part of Vedic ritual, an offering made to Indra. The verse in the Rig Veda begins: “We have drunk Soma and become immortal; we have attained the light the Gods discovered ... make me shine bright like fire produced by friction ... for thou hast settled in each joint, O Soma, aim of men’s eyes and guardian of our bodies’. RV VIII: 48.

We see from these verses that ritual and mysticism were both important in Vedic times, as they would continue to be to the present day. Another important god of the elements, also indispensable to the ritual, was Agni, god of fire. Agni consumes, purifies, transforms. The sacrificial fire transports the dead to the world of Yama, lord of death, and sends all offerings to the realm of the gods. Other Vedic gods include Surya, the sun, Vayu, the wind, Prthivi, Earth and her consort Dyaus Pitar (Father Zeus?). Rudra, the Howler, was a fearsome and remote god of the mountains, whose arrows brought plague and disaster. Female deities were less important in that era, but apart from Prithvi, Ushas the dawn, and Vac, speech, are goddesses of the Vedas. The Aryan way of life is mirrored in a reading of the Vedas, as you can see. The religion follows the lifestyle of the community, and offers mythologies as explanation, a balm to the unknown, and a shared wealth of experience.


The Sacrifice, and the Brahmins

I have said that fire and the ritual oblations of Soma were central to Vedic worship, which was one of sacrifice. The fire altar was its centre, under the open sky, and offerings were made of butter, grain, soma, a goat, sheep,  cow, ox or horse, the later being the most costly and therefore the most effectual. The brahmins administered the sacrifice, the soma, and conducted the increasingly elaborate rituals, chanting prayers and invocations. Here is what the well known historian A.L. Basham has written about the brahmins:

The priests, who alone knew the rituals and formulae whereby the gods were brought to the sacrifice, were masters of a great mystery. Often in the Rig Veda we read of a mysterious entity called brahman; in many contexts brahman is the magical power in the sacred utterance (mantra), but sometimes it has a wider connotation, and implies a sort of supernatural electricity, known to students of primitive religion as mana. The possessor of brahman ... became known as a brahmana, the tribal priest and magician. In later Vedic times the connection of Brahman with speech became more and more pronounced, and the brahman’s magic was thought to lie in the words he uttered ... later certain syllables were believed to be particularly holy, notably OM ... which contains the essence of the Vedas and is pregnant with the utmost power and mystery. (Basham pp. 241 – 242.)

We will talk more of this notion of the power of sound next week, when we will discuss such essential ideas as mantra, Brahman/atman, karma, dharma, etc. For now, we return to the central role held by the brahmins, and their position in society.

As time passed and the Aryans were established across the Gangetic plain, the priests gained ascendency, for ritual had become more important than fighting. Brahmans had become indispensable, for they alone knew the utterances and formulae to keep the universe in correct order, and therefore, all things functioning as they should. They had made the ceremonies more and more complex and esoteric; even the kings needed the brahmin’s imprimatur to rule. Brahmins slid into top position in the social scale, the class system we now call ‘caste’, which had arrived with the Aryans. Their teachings reinforced this social order which was so much to their advantage (so much so, that eventually schisms developed in the community, and the new religions of Buddhism and Jainism emerged, around 600BCE).


When the Aryans, as conquerors, had first arrived, they had looked down upon the Dasas, the indigenous people, and used them for menial tasks; as slaves, almost. They were considered the lowest of caste, shudras, or even those who later would be known as ‘untouchables’; those who live only on the fringes of society, and whose touch, or even their shadow, could be considered polluting. The somewhat incorrect term ‘caste’ is closely associated with Hinduism, and with India, and its ideology underpins much of traditional Hindu belief and practice as well as being a major area of dispute in today’s egalitarian world. The Aryans had arrived with this hierarchical social order, then attuned to their nomadic lifestyle: the warrior class (kshatriyas) was foremost, followed by the priests (brahmins), then the merchants (vaishyas) and lastly, as I’ve mentioned, the labouring, servant class (shudras). Some of the latter were also Aryan, but of the most ‘unclean’ occupations, such as tanners. This social formation was not just pragmatic and political, a power structure, but it developed foundations both mythological and metaphysical that reified it. It was believed to follow the eternal cosmic order (dharma), which we will look at more closely next week. Religious sanction was given to the caste system by a scriptural myth that tells of the Purusha, the ‘cosmic person’, who represents the original unity of the heavens before the creation of the universe. Purusha had made the primeval sacrifice: dismemberment. From his mouth came the priestly class, from his arms were made the warriors, from his thighs the merchants, and from his feet the servants. Later, the duties of class (or varna, which, tellingly, means ‘colour’), were detailed more closely in the Dharma Sutras (stanzas of scripture), and related to hundreds of subcastes (jati). Each individual Hindu knows exactly where he or she belongs in the social system, and just what their rights and duties, their dharmas, entail. It is not just occupation and status that was prescribed, but one’s role as a man, a woman, a son, a daughter, a husband, a wife. For the upper three castes who are twice born (once at birth, once at initiation into the caste system), an idealised path through life is set out in four stages: as student, as householder, as forest hermit, and finally, as a wandering renunciant, with all earthly ties broken. Though, I stress, this is an idealised path, still its existence as a framework is suggestive of the inextricable connection between religion and daily life in the Hindu world.

We have covered a lot of ground in this lecture, more than enough to absorb in one hour. Next week I will try to offer an understanding of the underlying precepts of Hinduism that form the platform of this particular worldview. We will look at the idea of cyclic time, at the notions of salvation (moksha) and of illusion (maya), of dharma, karma, yoga, and at the changing directions and new developments of Hinduism.


References:

Basham, A. L., The Wonder That Was India, Fontana, London, 1974.

Embree, Ainslie T. (ed), The Hindu Tradition: Readings in Oriental Thought, Vintage Books, Random House, New York, 1972.

Flood, Gavin, An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1997.

Noss, David S., A History of the World’s Religions, 12th edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2008.

Pratt, Douglas, Religion: A First Encounter, Longman Paul Ltd., Auckland, 1973.

Thapar, Romila, A History Of India, Vol. 1, Penguin, London, 1990.

Zaehner, R. C., Hinduism, O.U.P. Oxford, 1966.

Hinduism foundation period.pdf

[Jennifer-]

Thank you M and Julie! Looking forward to reading this today

[Michael]

Early Hinduism Part II

First I want to give a more accurate reply to two questions that were asked last week. One was ‘Why were the Vedas not originally written down?’ and I said that the Aryans did not have a script as yet. There had been, earlier, the pictographic script of the Indus Valley civilisations, which still has not been deciphered and probably never will be, as the language no longer exists – it is unknown. However the Indus Valley script is believed to be, at 5,500 years old, the world’s oldest example of writing, even older than those examples found in Mesopotamia, Egypt and China. But the Aryans, who produced the Vedas, as semi-nomadic herders apparently had not developed a script yet - the oldest example of their scriptures reproduced on palm leaf, is from approx. 200 CE. So they had passed down their scriptures by memory for well over a thousand years. That ‘passing down’ is still the preferred technique in India in many realms of learning, for instance music and dance, or sculpture, all of which have traditionally been an interconnected part of religion. The age old techniques are handed from gurus to students in special academies, and this applies to religion too of course, though naturally it is not of necessity solely oral teaching now.

The second question was. ‘Will we be learning about modern Hinduism?” Yes and No! This unit is about the foundations of the religions, and the unit next semester is about their development towards the present day. But everything we are learning now is relevant to Hinduism today. It is like saying, when learning about the life of Jesus, how is that relevant to Christianity today? As you will have read in your textbook (see p. 21), aspects of the Vedas are still in use, in marriage and death rituals for instance, and the Sanskrit chants. Also ideas elemental to current Hinduism, karma, dharma, atman/brahman, etc, along with the basis of the social system, were in place by the end of the Vedic era. It is with those ideas, or concepts, that we will begin today.


Today’s lesson:

The lecture will be in 2 sections. First, we will look at the basic concepts of the religion I have mentioned above, as they apply to the human journey through life: terms such as atman/brahman, moksha, samsara, karma, dharma, yoga, maya, bhakti.

Secondly, we will look briefly at the great Epics Mahabharata, Ramayana; and the changing notions of god: the emerging gods of the Hindu trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, along with the role and nature of the Goddess, Devi.

Last week we noted the historical background of Brahmanic religion, (early Hinduism if you like), at the way it evolved through the changing eras and circumstances of the IndoAryan people. From an animist religion with a focus on sacrificial ritual and gods of the elements, by the later Vedic times (the Vedanta, or end of the Veda), a more philosophical and internalised conception of the universe, and of the human place within it, was growing. This metaphysical speculation, a questioning of origins, can clearly be found in the verse from the Rig Veda (RV 10.129), the Creation Hymn, which I quoted in last week’s tutorial. I’ll repeat a little of it in this translation by Wendy Doniger, as it helps explain the idea of Brahman, the ultimate God, and I’d advise you to read it sometime yourselves:

There was neither non-existence nor existence then; there was neither the realm of space nor the sky which is beyond. What stirred? Where? In whose protection? Was there water, bottomlessly deep?

There was neither death nor immortality then. There was no distinguishing sign of night nor of day. That One breathed, windless, by its own impulse. Other than that there was nothing beyond.

Then life begins from desire, and heat, both strong themes in Hinduism and Buddhism too:

There were seed placers; there were powers. There was impulse beneath; there was giving forth above.

Who really knows? Who will proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen?

Whence this creation has arisen - perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not - the one who looks down on it, the highest heaven, only he knows – or perhaps he does not know.

Brahman/atman

That verse, expressing the deepest mystery of life, may be interpreted as the first intimation of Brahman, the Absolute, the Origin, the single underlying cosmic power, “That One” (tat ekam), which transcends being and non being. Brahman is the universe itself and the life force that pervades it, and still Brahman, ‘the limitless one’ transcends that too. The Chandogya Up. (3.14.3) tells us Brahman is ‘incomprehensible – unlimited, unborn, not to be reasoned about, unthinkable – he whose soul is space” (Noss p.97)

Already in the RV (1.164.46) the idea of the Oneness of this ultimate God had been suggested, saying

‘They call it Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and it is the heavenly bird that flies.
The wise speak of what is One in many ways; they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan’.

So some sages were suggesting that the many gods of the Vedas were, after all, just various attributes of That One. The verses of the Upanishads had developed this theme, and also that of this transcendent God’s immanence. For example, the Svetasvatara Upanishad tells us that all things are God, which appears in many forms:

It is woman, it is man,
It is the lad and the maiden too,
It is the old man tottering on his staff ...
It is a dark blue moth, a green parrot with red eyes,
A cloud, pregnant with lightning – the seasons and the seas:
It is beginningless, and pervades all things;
From it all worlds were born.

Now this suggestion that woman, man are also Brahman, the One, leads us to look at the notion of atman, which some may call the essence of human soul (jiva). For it was not just the nature of God and the origins of the universe that were so questioned at this time, but also the nature of the self. What are we? Who am I? they asked. There are yoga practices which ask the practitioner to peel away the layers of false identity (Am I my name? Am I my body? Am I my thoughts? My emotions? And the answer is, neti, neti – not this, not this). Chandogya Up. also tells of the father who teaches his son about the nature of Reality as Atman. He tells the son, Svetaketu, to place some salt in water overnight. Next morning he tells his son to sip from the cup: from the side, from the centre – the salt has disappeared but the water tastes the same throughout. He tells his son that the atman is like the essence of the salt, throughout all, saying ‘this whole world has that as its soul. That is reality. That is Atman. That thou art, Svetaketu” (tat tvam asi). Another, similar, story is that of the fig seed which, cut in half reveals nothing, apparently, and yet is the source of the mightiest tree.

One of my favourite writers on religion, Huston Smith (p. 21), states of the atman that:

“Underlying the human self and animating it is a reservoir of being that never dies, is never exhausted, and is unrestricted in consciousness and bliss. This infinite centre of every life, this hidden self or Atman, is no less than Brahman, the Godhead.”

So why is this not apparent to us, that we are a part of God?

“The answer, say the Hindus, lies in the depth at which the Eternal is buried under the almost impenetrable mass of distractions, false assumptions, and self-regarding instincts that comprise our surface selves. A lamp can be covered with dust and dirt to the point of obscuring its light completely. The problem life poses for the human self is to cleanse the dross of its being to the point where its infinite centre can shine forth in full display.”

So a central goal that animates Brahmanism, and that underlies later Hindu practice and thought, is to rejoin the atman with Brahman in our understanding; to realise the oneness, the true nature of ourselves and the universe. It entails the ‘dissolution or submerging of one’s everyday identity (the empirical ego) in some higher Self ( a divine or transcendent Self)’. (Lipner p. 119). In that way we will attain moksha, release, the bliss of realisation. The Mundaka Up. relates a famous parable that explains this idea.

“Two birds are perched on a tree. One is eating the fruits on the tree, sometimes enjoying, sometimes suffering, while the other bird calmly watches her. The busy bird is our limited self, compulsively and ignorantly gorging on sense objects and oblivious to our true Self, which is the changeless, peaceful One, symbolised by the observing bird. The two birds are, in fact, one, though they appear as two because of wrong perception, just as Brahman and the individual jiva appear as separate. When the first bird stops and sees the second bird as her own true Self, her suffering ceases. She sees her own true glory.” (Barbara Powell p. 131).

So, are we God, you may ask? Not unless you have made the ultimate realisations. Perhaps you have read the chapter on Brahman by R.C. Zaehner, which is on e-reserve. He sets out the same principle as in the bird story, expanding beyond that to explain that although the atman, as normal human soul, "partakes of Absolute Being, it is not for that reason God ... Brahman ‘pervades all things, yet is other than what it pervades, controlling them from within’ ... ‘he is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the unthought thinker, the ununderstood understander’. He is your Self, the Inner Controller,  the Immortal." (p.55)

So for the uninformed soul, the Brahman (although within you) is a God beyond real understanding, yet there is a further state wherein the ground of the universe and the essential human soul, the higher Self, it could be said, are ‘absolutely and identically one’. In this advanced understanding, the Atman/Brahman is ‘One without a second’ - a state of absolute non-duality, which is ‘not wise nor unwise, ... has no characteristics, is unthinkable; ...  it causes the phenomenal world to cease; it is tranquil and mild, devoid of duality’.

This state of non-duality is moksha, release, for it is stepping beyond the bounds of time. For ‘time’ is part of creation, part of the phenomenal world, and Brahman is beyond all creation. Creation fractured the original unity before existence came about. Remember the Purusha, the cosmic man, whose sacrificial dismemberment was the creation? Now, to my mind, Hindu ritual and practice is much to do with recognising that the pieces are all, ultimately, one. Everything is part of the whole, and to forget that truth is to be lost in maya, the illusion of the world, which is also the creative play of the gods (lila). Which is initially the state of the first bird, above.

To speak of the world as maya, or life as lila, does not mean it is not ‘real’ or that Hinduism is ‘otherworldly’, as it is often accused of being; it is just to recognise the true nature of the world as impermanent, as Indra’s ‘magic net’ of sparkling lights, the passing show of life, which mesmerises us into forgetting our true nature. This theme (of maya, and of impermanence) was taken up as a major element of Buddhism, too. The philosophising Hindus also, of the time of the Upanishads, were developing a whole array of practices and systems of thought to direct people in overcoming the trap of maya, of separate ego, and in accomplishing the four stated goals, or perhaps we should call them needs, of human life. These philosophers paid much attention to the needs, necessities, of daily life. From the least order of importance these human necessities are kama (pleasure), artha (power, worldly success), dharma (the natural law, the order of things) and moksha (release, salvation). There are many manuals of instruction on each of these elements (you will probably have heard of the Kama Sutra, at least!) The dharma sutras we have mentioned in the first lecture, and I will speak of dharma more, later.

Apart from the four goals of life just mentioned, four personality types were noted.

In Hinduism it is believed that just as there are many types of people, there must be many paths to the godhead to suit their different abilities. The four main personality types were reflected in the four paths, yogas, set out in guided exercises to the higher states of being.

The word ‘yoga’ comes from the root ‘yuj’ to join; we can take it to mean a joining, then, but of what? Of mind and body, certainly, but also of atman/Brahman: an awakening to the real nature of life. Hatha yoga, now well known in the west, instructs in control and precision in bodily functions, but the specifically spiritual yogas, designed for the four personality types (which are the reflective, the emotional, the active, the experimental) are those of Jnana (knowledge), bhakti (devotion), karma (work, action) and raja yoga (psychospiritual,  meditative exercises). Two of those terms are of significance for now in our broader understanding of Hinduism: karma, and bhakti.


Karma

‘Karma’ means ‘deeds, action, works’. Our deeds influence what we will become, which is obvious and logical (if we eat too much chocolate we grow fat, if we are sincerely kind to others, without expectations, we will be loved). But in Hinduism it is more than just the near future that is affected by our deeds, but our future incarnations also, perhaps for aeons ahead. And the lives we lead now bear the fruits of our past deeds, including thoughts and desires. This does not mean there is no free will, for choices can be made on how to live each life, despite its being predestined in some form: we are master of our fate. Just as in other aspects of nature, human life follows a pattern of cause and effect. This is karma. Chandogya Upanisad declares:

Accordingly, those who are of pleasant conduct here - the prospect is, indeed, they will enter a pleasant womb, either the womb of a Brahman, or the womb of a Kshatriya, or the womb of a Vaishya. But those who are of stinking conduct here - the prospect is, indeed, that they will enter a stinking womb, either the womb of a dog, or the womb of a swine, or the womb of an outcaste (chandala). (Chandogya, V: 10:7) Ainslee Embree, p. 63.

Time and samsara

In the Hindu cosmology, time is not a line that progresses from a beginning to a final, apocalyptic or perfected end, but a never-beginning and never-ending cycle of giant eras, that pass from perfection to degeneration, are followed by an equally long period of emptiness, and then begin again. This cycle has often been compared to the ‘big bang’ theory of the universe – a long expansion followed by a long contraction – which brings to my mind the cycle of breath, as if the universe is breathing in and out. All things of nature go in cycles: the seasons, the stars, birth-age-death. And just so, the cycle of karma – lives reflecting deeds auspicious or not – can go on forever. One can be caught on the wheel of material time, the wheel of reincarnation – samsara – unless one realises the true unbounded nature of atman/Brahman: beyond time, when ‘knowing All, he becomes All’, is freed from the cycle and released to eternal life.

Unborn, constant, eternal, primeval, this one is not slain when the body is slain ... then a mortal becomes immortal! Therein he reaches Brahman! When are cut all the knots of the heart here on earth, then a mortal becomes immortal! (Katha Up. II, III, VI)

As well as a focus on mindfulness and purity, one path towards reaching this goal of perfection is by following perfect dharma, a word coming from the Sanskrit root, dhr, meaning ‘to uphold’ or ‘sustain’. In the last lesson we talked about the dharma, the order, of caste, which is chiefly to do with inherited class and occupational categories. I also said that each person, each role in society and family structure whether of son, daughter, husband etc., is predicated by scriptures, so that no-one will stray from the natural order.


Dharma, and the Role of Women

Just as a lion has carnivorous lion nature, and a deer is a gentle herbivore by nature, so a woman (for instance) has her womanly duty laid out to follow. A perfect and selfless adherence to her dharma will help guide her to a higher birth next time (preferably as a man!) and aid the ritual purity of all those around her. As with all other religions, in Hinduism the traditional role of women has been decreed by men (the priests, the scribes, the law makers), who have thus maintained their dominant position in the hierarchy. The Laws of Manu state that girls must always be under the control of their father and brothers, and women under the control of their husbands or sons. As mothers and wives, they were to be respected and protected for their purity, and for their role in aiding a husband’s salvation (by allowing him to fulfil the role of husband, an aspect of his dharma, and as householder – remember we spoke last week about the 4 ashramas, or stages of life). She also could aid her husband in religious rituals (puja), and provide him with sons, who would ensure his passage to the next life. So a woman was valued in these roles, but outside these relationships they were considered dangerous. Perhaps they would seduce men and lead them to impurity: perdition. As Julius Lipner writes:

“... one way and another, they were powerful ambivalent symbols of life and death, joy and sorrow, tenderness and destruction, purity and impurity. On the one hand they gave birth and nurtured and were the means of perpetuating the line ...; in thus expressing their sexuality ... they gave joy and satisfaction. But, as such, they were the agents par excellence of ritual impurity as the locus of various biological discharges (menstrual blood, semen, and so forth) and the harbingers of the inevitable suffering and death that follows birth. As the means of sexual pleasure for men, on the other hand, they were symbols of potentially spiritually destructive pleasures” (Lipner p. 126).

We will see illustrations of this ambivalent attitude to women and what they symbolise in the next section of this lecture, that on the Epics and the Ishvaras, gods, of the post Vedic era.

Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita.

The Epics not only tell wonderful, entertaining stories of humans, kings, gods and the natural world, and suggest historic episodes of the earliest eras of Hindu life, they are exemplars of dharma. At every level of society, across the land, and in every art form, the Epics are repeated, at grandmothers’ knees and in the public square – these days, in comic books, the cinema and on television too. The Epics are constant reminders of dharma, and it is worth noting that adharma translates as disorder – as sin, in effect. Elements of the Epics provide the occasion for many of India’s religious festivals, such as the Ramlila of northern India which re-enacts Rama’s triumph over the demon king Ravana, who had kidnapped Rama’s wife Sita and taken her to his stronghold in Sri Lanka. Much of the Ramayana tells of Rama’s efforts to free Sita, aided by his brother Lakshmana and the army of monkeys led by the monkey god, Hanuman. Rama acts in perfect dharma, as does Sita, and Hanuman, in his devotion, is a perfect example of the bhakti form of worship. One ending of the Ramayana though, has Sita exiled to the forest, for, as she was in the clutches of a man other than her husband, she has become too impure to remain the wife of the king. This is one of dharma’s dilemmas and illustrates what I was saying previously about women’s roles.

Mahabharata (‘Great India’) tells the story of a pivotal war between rival clans, who are cousins. It is an immense work, comprising hundreds of interwoven sub-stories; afficionados of the Mahabharata have been known to claim it contains, in fact, the whole history of humankind! Perhaps they mean that it contains the whole range of human behaviour. It too is about dharma, dealing with issues such as conflicts of interest, the ambivalent, conflicted role of the female heroine, Draupadi, and as we have mentioned earlier, about the warrior’s dharma, as exemplified in the most popular of Hindu scriptures, the Bhagavadgita (Song of God).

Mahatma Gandhi, the great Hindu leader of the Indian independence movement in the first half of the twentieth century, whose peaceful methods of protest have become famous world wide, believed that the Bhagavadgita contained all one needed to know about Truth, and truth, for Gandhi, was his life’s journey. Gavin Flood writes that the main themes of the Gita can be summarized as follows:

• the importance of dharma
• dharma and renunciation are compatible; action (karma)should be performed with complete detachment
• the soul is immortal and until liberation is subject to rebirth
• the Lord is transcendent and immanent
• the Lord is reached through devotion (bhakti) by his grace. (Flood, p. 125).

Arjuna, the warrior prince, is in conflict between his belief in the renouncer tradition’s ideal of ahimsa (nonviolence) and his dharma as a warrior, to fight. The path of action (karma yoga) and the path of devotion (bhakti yoga) are both unfolded through the narrative. (For example, Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter 13: “This body, Arjuna, is called the field. He who knows this is called the knower of the field” – the great field of action that is life). The god Krishna, Arjuna’s charioteer, argues with him that this is a just war and therefore his duty is to fight ; but that also the souls of the men he may kill will pass on; the soul cannot be killed, and it is not Arjuna’s actions that will affect those souls’ destinies, but their own actions. A man who understands the Lord becomes detached from the fruit of his actions, he says. Krishna also reveal his divine form to Arjuna:

Arjuna says “Show me, oh God of Yoga, the glory of thine own supreme being” and Krishna gives him divine sight, so he may see.

If a light of a thousand suns suddenly arose in the sky, that splendour might be compared to the radiance of the Supreme Spirit, says the narrator, and Arjuna himself tells Krishna what he now can see: “All around I behold thy infinity: the power of thy innumerable arms, the visions from thy innumerable eyes, the words from thy innumerable mouths, and the fire of life of thy innumerable bodies ... I see the splendour of an infinite beauty which illuminates the whole universe ... I see thee, as fire,  as the sun, blinding, incomprehensible. Then Arjuna becomes afraid, as he sees that

“The worlds also behold thy fearful mighty form, with many mouths and eyes, with many bellies, thighs and feet, frightening with terrible teeth ... thy vast form, reaching the sky, burning with many colours, with wide open mouths, vast flaming eyes, my heart shakes in terror ... where am I? Where is my shelter? Have mercy on me, God of Gods, refuge supreme of the world! Krishna replies that he is all powerful time, come to destroy worlds; and finally, that ‘only by love can men see me, and know me, and come unto me”. (B’Gita ch. 11).

Vishnu, Shiva, Devi.

This brief glimpse of the Epics has introduced us to some aspects that are important in understanding the role of the trinity of Gods which became predominant in the era of Classical Hinduism (approx. 500BCE – 500CE). Since the idea of Brahman that is beyond creation and without characteristics, without qualities, the indescribable (nirguna Brahman) is too difficult to understand for many people, and too difficult to identify with, to love or to contact, the immanent aspect of Brahman (saguna Brahman) had also been introduced in the Upanishads. Saguna Brahman means ‘god with qualities’; another term that may be used is Ishvara, a more personable God. This was a stage marked by a re-emergence of theism, following the heavily philosophical era of the late Vedas. Now devotionalism gained in prominence, and with it the pre-eminent gods, Vishnu and Shiva.

The Bhagavadgita is a key sacred text of Vaishnavism, the worship of Vishnu, for Krishna is an avatar, or incarnation, of Vishnu. Let us look at the characteristics of Vishnu: Known as ‘the preserver’, Vishnu is seen as a benevolent god, to his devotees the source of the universe. He sleeps on the primeval ocean on the thousand headed snake, Shesha. A lotus grows from his navel, and from it emerges the creator God Brahma, who brings forth the world. Vishnu then awakes, to reign in the highest heaven. He is depicted as a four armed man, dark blue in colour, seated on a throne and bearing his emblems: the conch, a discus, mace and lotus; he rides the great eagle Garuda. Vishnu’s spouse is Lakshmi, herself an important goddess. (Basham p. 302 – 303). Vishnu is seen as working consistently for the welfare of the world.

He has 10 avatars, incarnations. Of them, Rama, upholder of dharma, and Krishna, God of love, are probably best known. However, the Buddha is also claimed by Vaishnavites to be the most recent incarnation of Vishnu, and his final avatar, Kalki, is yet to appear.

Krishna is one of the best loved Gods of the Hindu world, and many stories are recounted of his deeds. He is known for his miracles and mischievous exploits as a child, for his amorous youth amongst the gopis (the wives and daughters of the cowherds in the woods of Brindavan), and for his leadership during the wars of the Mahabharata. He is very often depicted playing the flute, and is blue coloured (as an avatar of Vishnu); his name means ‘black’ or ‘dark one’. Some speculation about Krishna’s origins include that he may have been an ancient fertility god. The notes of his flute are said to represent the voice of God, calling humans to leave earthly things for the greater divine love. His consort, the favourite mistress of his youth, is the beautiful Radha.

We have spoken of Rama in the section on the Ramayana; Rama is also depicted as blue in colour, and wearing a bow and arrows slung across his back. Often he is accompanied by his wife, Sita, the acme of the perfect woman.

Shiva, in contrast to Vishnu’s uncompromising goodness, is ambivalent by nature. He is the opposite of all things: both destroyer and creator, Mahakala, death and time – all things must die in order to be born anew. He is ascetic meditator, aloof on the mountaintop, and ithyphallic symbol of fertility – he is often represented simply as a linga, a phallus-shaped rock. Siva ‘lurks in horrible places, such as battlefields, burning grounds and crossroads ... he wears a garland of skulls and is surrounded by ghosts, evil spirits and demons.’ (Basham p.310) As yogi, he sits on a tiger skin, and through his meditation the world is maintained. He has long matted hair, in which he wears the crescent moon, and from which the sacred river Ganga flows down to earth.

“In the middle of his forehead is a third eye, emblem of his superior wisdom and insight. His neck is black, scarred by a deadly poison which ... he drank to save the other gods from destruction. Snakes, of which he is the lord, encircle his neck and arms. His body is covered with ashes, a favourite ascetic practice. Beside him is his weapon the trident, while near him are his beautiful wife Parvati and his mount, the bull, Nandi.” (Basham p. 310)

Another evidence of Shiva’s nature of opposites is that as well as being God of meditative stillness, he is Lord of the Dance (Nataraj). Shiva dances the world into existence, and dances the world to destruction at the end of the cosmic cycle. He is also known as Ardhanarishvara, in his androgynous form, half man and half woman. As Maha deva, he is shown with three faces, representing the trimurti, creation, preservation, destruction.


The Goddess, Devi.

‘Devi’ is a rather generic term for the goddess, who may be worshipped in many forms. Goddess worship, which regained popularity during this theistic period, is thought to have been a resurgence (though one that had never disappeared) of ancient tribal and pre-Aryan beliefs. The Goddess is the Shakti,  the strength or potency of the gods; in fact the male and female aspects are present in every deity. The major goddesses are Shiva’s consorts. There is Parvati, daughter of the mountains, as the most benevolent aspect; others are Durga (inaccessible, the slayer of demons, a warlike protectress), Kali (the Black One), the force who governs and stops time. Everything comes from her, and she devours everything, having an insatiable hunger for life. She is usually depicted with her tongue dripping blood, wearing a necklace of skulls; sometimes she has ten heads and dances on the subjugated, prostrate body of Shiva. Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and happiness, is Vishnu’s wife; she is usually a golden colour,  holds lotus flowers and is seated upon one, and has elephants on either side. Saraswati, originally a river and fertility goddess, is goddess of knowledge, poetry and music. She plays the Indian lute, the vina, and rides upon a swan.

In this lecture we have looked at the main concepts of early Hinduism, or Brahmanism, in order to understand something of the particular worldview of this culture. Concepts of atman/Brahman, of karma, of cyclic time and release from it, moksha, are an integral part of studying Hinduism. A basic acquaintance with these words can be an entrance to a deeper and intriguing exploration of this ancient and rich system of beliefs.

We also looked at the four systems of yoga, the four types of human, the four stages of life, the four main castes. We briefly assessed the position of women in the Hindu world, remembering that each aspect of life is integrated with religious underpinning.

We took an overview of the great Epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana, including the Bhagavadgita.

Finally, we made an acquaintance with the major gods of the classic age of Hinduism, gods and goddesses that are still followed with fervour and respect and affection today.

I have not had time to talk about ceremony or sacred space (such aspects as pilgrimage and prayer ritual) - you will have to look into that for yourselves, or find it in next semester’s unit on the development of religions.

References:

Basham, Arthur, The Wonder That Was India, Fontana, 1978.

Flood, Gavin, An Introduction to Hinduism, C.U.P., Cambridge, 1996.

Lipner, Julius, A Hindu View of Life, Oneworld Publications, Oxford, 2000.

Early Hinduism Pt2.pdf
India Pictures.pdf

[Jennifer-]

Excellent Julie!

Again.. thank you for sharing here.

[Nichi]

Please thank Julie for this, M! Will be digging into it anon.

[Michael]

She says it's the last time she gets conned into spending a month for a thankless class and little money - she wants to get an ordinary job in a shop or something. But I think she actually enjoyed doing it - I can see that in the effort she has put in to summarise so much, and it reads so easily.

[erik]

She says it's the last time she gets conned into spending a month for a thankless class and little money - she wants to get an ordinary job in a shop or something. But I think she actually enjoyed doing it - I can see that in the effort she has put in to summarise so much, and it reads so easily.

Yes, that's definitely her piece of bread - telling one of the most complicated stories so clearly and fluently. She might hate the effort and circumstances, but the outcome is a beautiful mandala.

[Jahn]

but the outcome is a beautiful mandala.

That we erase in the morning!

[Jahn]

So, are we God, you may ask? Not unless you have made the ultimate realisations. Perhaps you have read the chapter on Brahman by R.C. Zaehner, which is on e-reserve. He sets out the same principle as in the bird story, expanding beyond that to explain that although the atman, as normal human soul, "partakes of Absolute Being, it is not for that reason God ... Brahman ‘pervades all things, yet is other than what it pervades, controlling them from within’ ... ‘he is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the unthought thinker, the ununderstood understander’. He is your Self, the Inner Controller,  the Immortal." (p.55)

So for the uninformed soul, the Brahman (although within you) is a God beyond real understanding, yet there is a further state wherein the ground of the universe and the essential human soul, the higher Self, it could be said, are ‘absolutely and identically one’. In this advanced understanding, the Atman/Brahman is ‘One without a second’ - a state of absolute non-duality, which is ‘not wise nor unwise, ... has no characteristics, is unthinkable; ...  it causes the phenomenal world to cease; it is tranquil and mild, devoid of duality’.

This state of non-duality is moksha, release, for it is stepping beyond the bounds of time.

There you are!

[Angela]

Quote from: Michael on March 18, 2009, 04:00:21 AM
So, are we God, you may ask? Not unless you have made the ultimate realisations. Perhaps you have read the chapter on Brahman by R.C. Zaehner, which is on e-reserve. He sets out the same principle as in the bird story, expanding beyond that to explain that although the atman, as normal human soul, "partakes of Absolute Being, it is not for that reason God ... Brahman ‘pervades all things, yet is other than what it pervades, controlling them from within’ ... ‘he is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the unthought thinker, the ununderstood understander’. He is your Self, the Inner Controller,  the Immortal." (p.55)

So for the uninformed soul, the Brahman (although within you) is a God beyond real understanding, yet there is a further state wherein the ground of the universe and the essential human soul, the higher Self, it could be said, are ‘absolutely and identically one’. In this advanced understanding, the Atman/Brahman is ‘One without a second’ - a state of absolute non-duality, which is ‘not wise nor unwise, ... has no characteristics, is unthinkable; ...  it causes the phenomenal world to cease; it is tranquil and mild, devoid of duality’.

This state of non-duality is moksha, release, for it is stepping beyond the bounds of time.

There you are!

I missed this ... great thread!