World Religions: Hinduism
Overview
Upon completion of this Unit, you should be able to do the following: 1) Explain key concepts in analysis of religions including hermeneutics and syncretism. 2) Interpret key religious texts including portions of the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata. 3) Distinguish among principal gods in Hindu texts. 4) Explain key concepts including karma and samsara. 5) Identify elements of syncretism with Hinduism.
Indian Sub-Continent Origins
Audio Reading: e8b4d484-a863-465f-b706-a9604ac7b4d8.mp3
There are 4 traditions called Dharmic Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Most people have heard of Hinduism and Buddhism. They may not, however, have heard of Jainism and Sikhism, which are also religions common to India and the subcontinent.
“Dharma is a concept of social order and duty that sustains the whole universe. A person’s placement in a caste (varna) and birth group (jati) is one element of dharma.”[1]
Although in many ways these traditions are similar in beliefs, there are surprising differences between them as well, and the source of each of the other three traditions is Hinduism. Because Buddhism has spread so widely to East Asia, it is covered in the section of this book that deals with traditions from that part of the world, even though it is one of the four Dharmic traditions and did, in fact, originate in the Indian sub-continent. But the Jains and Sikhs are still primarily located in the Indian subcontinent, and it is these, along with Hinduism, that we will consider in this unit.
Hinduism developed out of the beliefs brought to India by Aryan invaders from Central Asia in the 2nd millennium BCE. The earliest written formulation of these beliefs and religious practices is found in the Vedas, collections of hymns and rules for the performance of rituals.
Hinduism later absorbed many different philosophies and practices. The three main deities, called the Trimurti, are Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. They represent the universal concepts of creation, destruction and preservation. Hindus believe in dharma, a universal law that defines the right conduct in life, and karma, the power of actions to determine the form of one’s future rebirth. The ultimate goal in life is to break the endless cycle of incarnations (saṃsāra) and achieve mokṣa, union with the Divine.
Both Jainism and Sikhism were born out of Hinduism and include in their ideas a rejection of the Vedas, the main scriptures of the Hindu faith.
Jainism was founded by Vardhamana Jnatiputra or Nataputta Mahavira (599-527 BC), called Jina (Spiritual Conqueror). The Jains believe that there is no real god, and that everything has always been and always will be, without a beginning and an end. No one really knows how many Jains there are in the world, since many Jains identify themselves as Hindu.
For Sikhs, Guru Nanak founded Sikhism in the late 15th century CE based on universal love. Sikhism has ten gurus, or people who created the texts and beliefs of the religion. Their beliefs are codified in the writings called the final guru, the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhism is based in the Punjab region of India. Sikhs believe in one God, also sometimes referred to as Allah, just as the divine is referred to in Islam.
Hinduism Overview
Audio Reading: 8fff4709-d62a-4f8c-b187-68814d6ec1cf.mp3
Basic Demographics on Hinduism
- Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion in the world in terms of adherents with 1.08 billion people or 15% of the global population practicing some form of Hinduism.
- Nearly 80% of Hindus live in India, yet India has been a secular state since 1976. Although there are more Hindus in India, Nepal is the country with the highest population of Hindus at around 89% of the Nepalese population.
- Here in America Hinduism is the 4th largest religious group in the nation with around 2.4 million Hindus practicing in the states. This constitutes just around 1% of the total U.S. population.
What is Hinduism?
- The term "Hinduism" is one that is primarily used by Westerners out of convenience; in reality "Hinduism" is a wide-ranging family of diverse practices, beliefs, and rituals.
- The commonality between different forms of "Hinduisms" is simply the fact that they occur on the Indian subcontinent. The Persians were the first to describe the peoples in this area as "Hindu" from the name of the Indus River; the term came to denote a non-Muslim member of the Indian population.
- Many Hindus actually prefer to describe their religion as the Sanatana Dharma, or the "Eternal Teaching" -- this suggests a common, connecting theme across the various forms that Hinduism can take.
Eastern Religions and Western Categories
- Religious Studies as it occurs today is a relatively modern field, but people have studied religion for a very, very long time. They mostly studied their own religions though, so comparative religious studies is quite new.
- Furthermore, here in America we're used to the separation of Church and State. While this has clear benefits from a democratic standpoint, it creates a conceptually divided worldview that non-Western peoples traditionally didn't content with.
- As we've seen, there's been a long history of Western-bias with Abrahamic faiths like Judaism, Christianity, and to a lesser extent Islam becoming the archetypical models of religion. Eastern faiths like Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism don't really translate to these models, so there's a tendency for this kind of Western-bias to prevent us from understanding these Eastern traditions.
- In summary, the diversity that is inherent in Hindu thought and practice clashes with the Western tendency to summarize and reduce concepts... Hinduism rebels against categorization.
Hinduism
Audio Reading:127c357c-2bf7-4014-a29a-54da8f8e23eb.mp3
Hinduism is also known as ‘sanatana dharma‘ to Hindus. Considered the oldest organized religion in the world, Hinduism originated in the Indus River Valley about 4,000 years ago in what is now northwest India and Pakistan. With about 1.2 billion followers, about 15% of the world’s population, Hinduism is the third largest of the world’s religions. Hindus believe in a divine power that can manifest as different entities or avatars. Hindu practice has many seemingly independent centers of tradition, often with distinctive sacred texts, deities, myths, rituals, saintly figures, codes of conduct, festivals and so on, but on closer scrutiny these different centers can be seen to link up with each other. This also explains how, while other faiths and civilizations have come and gone, Hinduism continues to thrive and put out new shoots and roots, even when old ones have died away. Diversity is accepted in Hindu traditions, as it considers each path one of value.
Three main incarnations of the divine, called the Trimurti—Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva—are sometimes compared to the manifestations of the divine in the Christian Trinity. They are considered the deities of creation, preservation and destruction. They are a part of Brahman–the One Ultimate Reality. Although there are many deities beyond these three, and many images of those deities, in various shrines, temples and holy places, there are no images of Brahman. That One Ultimate Reality is unknowable and beyond human comprehension. But all deities are a part of that One Ultimate Reality. And human goals are to become united with that One–to achieve moksha.
History
Hinduism developed within a group of tribes who referred to themselves as Aryans. There are disputes concerning where they originated; some scholarship says that they were already present in western India, others that they came into the area from Central Asia, or even that they came from further west, including eastern Europe. It is known that the Aryans began to assert their presence in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent at about the beginning of the second millennium BCE, interacting with the Indus civilization that already existed there. The Indus civilization is so named because it seems to have spread out from settlements on the Indus river. They called the Indus river ‘Sindhu’, and it is from this term that ‘Hindu’ comes. Hinduism thus signifies the Aryans’ culture and religious traditions as they developed over time, incorporating elements from other cultures that the Aryans encountered along the way.
The religious tradition that emerged early on (almost before anything that looks like modern Hinduism) had a variety of gods and was centered on priests performing sacrifices using fire and sacred chants. This is much like traditions in many places around the continent.
The Indus river valley people create sacred texts, collectively called the Vedas, that contain hymns and rituals from ancient India and are mostly written in Sanskrit. The term Vedas means ‘knowledge’. The Vedas were believed to have arisen from the infallible ‘hearing’ (śruti), by ancient seers, of the sacred deposit of words whose recitation and contemplation bring stability and wellbeing to both the natural and human worlds. The Vedas are believed to have developed over a span of 2000 years. The hymns in particular were largely directed at transcendent powers, most of whom were called devas and devīs (misleadingly translated as ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’). These powers, individually or in groups, were thought to exercise control over the world through cosmic forces. In this early phase of the Veda, there is reference to a One (ekam) that undergirds all being. During later periods of this earliest pre-Hindu tradition, questioning and changes in spiritual philosophy produced the Upanishads, an addition to the Vedas. These are also written in Sanskrit and contain some of the central philosophical concepts and ideas of the Hinduism we now know. These works record insights into external and internal spiritual reality (Brahman and Atman) that can be directly experienced.
Hindus generally believe in a set of principles called dharma, which refer to one’s duty in the world that corresponds with “right” actions. Hindus also believe in karma, or the notion that spiritual ramifications of one’s actions are balanced cyclically in this life or a future life (reincarnation).
Introduction to Hinduism: Discovering Sacred Texts in the British Library, PBS Learning
This excellent introduction to Hinduism is found at the really impressive British Library website exploring Sacred Texts of the world. Start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AxUtOLG9gc&ab_channel=BritishLibrary
After this, watch this simple introduction to Hindu Concepts from PBS Learning Media:
Audio Reading:687dd0c2-827c-44a3-a589-2e75ecdcda65.mp3
Two other dharma-texts of a different order, the Mahabharata (‘The Great Tale of the Bharatas’) and the Ramayana (‘The Coming of Rama) came later. Both compositions were originally compiled in Sanskrit verse over several hundreds of years, beginning from about the middle of the first millennium BCE. The Mahabharata narrates the story of the rivalry between two groups of cousin warriors, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. With the aid of hundreds of supporting characters and intriguing sub-plots, the story contains teaching about the nature of dharma. Embedded in book 6 of the Mahabharata is perhaps the most famous devotional sacred text of Hinduism, the 700 verse Bhagavad Gita, or ‘Song of (Krishna as) God’. The Gita, as it is often called, mainly contains teachings by Krishna, as Supreme Being, to his friend and disciple Arjuna about how to attain union with him in his divine state.
The Ramayana recounts the adventures of the exiled king Rama and his various companions as they make their way to the island-kingdom of Lanka – off the southern tip of India – to rescue Rama’s wife Sita, who had been abducted by Ravana, the ten-headed ogre-king of Lanka. For a great many Hindus, the Ramayana, and devotion to the avatar (the chief representation of the Supreme Being in human form) Rama offers an accessible path to salvation.
The mysticism and abstractness of materials in the Vedas is balanced with practical religious elements that form the everyday spirituality of most Hindus. This practical approach described in the Gita states that one should first work to meet one’s social obligations in life. Then the Gita recommends four paths, or yogas, that take into account one’s caste and personality type. The paths of knowledge (jnana), action (karma), devotion (bhakti), or meditation (raja) may be practiced. Other yogas combine elements of these four. Yoga is considered a form of spiritual work in Hinduism.
Key Terms:
The term Brahman stands for a monistic outlook that sees one invisible and subtle essence or source of all reality—human, divine, and cosmic. All is ultimately one. (Monism is the metaphysical and theological view that all is one, that there are no fundamental divisions between anything, and that a unified set of laws underlie all of nature. The universe, at the deepest level of analysis, is then one thing or composed of one fundamental kind of stuff.) Brahman is the term used to describe “god” as this Oneness of the universe. Supreme Universal Spirit might serve as a better or more broad way to express this concept of Brahman. (do not confuse Brahma from the Trimurti with Brahman. They are completely different!)
Atman is the innermost spirit within all human beings, which ultimately is identical with Brahman. Sometimes we talk about the soul in about the same way. It refers to the real self beyond ego or false self.
Maya reflects a sense of magic and mystery and accounts for the perception of different forms or multiplicity in the world. Maya hides or veils the underlying unity of all things.
For more than two thousand years in Indian society there has been an organization of the society in the form of the Caste system, although this phrase is a 19th century term. Organization of Indian society had its own structure that, with the coming of the British in the colonial era, took on a much more rigid approach.
Varna is a term that literally means type, order, or class and it groups people into classes, a structure that was first used in Vedic times. The four classes were the Brahmins (priestly people), the Kshatriyas (rulers, administrators and warriors), the Vaishyas (artisans, merchants, tradesmen and farmers), and Shudras (laboring classes). It had an additional category, identifying people beyond societal status, considered the untouchables.
Jati is a term used in India to refer to a person’s lineage and kinship group. Indians identify themselves by the community they belong to and these jati are sub-groups of specific castes. The status of the jati one is born into is still a factor in marriage selection, even though the strict isolation of caste in India is softening. Each jati, or subgroup of a caste level, has a set of jobs common to their position, but this can change with effort on the part of the community. Jatis are much less obvious in their caste associations than was previously thought.
The Indian Constitution outlawed the concept of Untouchability in 1947 upon receiving Indian independence from Britain, and the group called Dalit (once considered the untouchables) are working even now towards their civil rights.
The Indian Government has established special quotas in schools and Parliament to aid the lowest jatis. Caste discrimination is not permitted in gaining employment and access to educational and other opportunities. But this does not mean that caste is illegal or has faded away. Caste groups as political pressure groups work very well in a democratic system. Caste may provide psychological support that people seem to need. Economists and political scientists are finding that caste is no real barrier to economic development or political democracy.[1]
Key Takeaway: The Dalit movement in the 20th century
Take some time to read this interview about the Dalits in modern India. Michael Collins is a 2020 Kluge Fellow from the University of Gottingen. Collins is working on a project titled “From Boycotts to Ballots: Democracy and Social Minorities in Modern India.” Boris Granovskiy, who recently detailed at the Kluge Center, interviewed Collins on his work.
The 20th Century Transformation of the Dalit Movement in India
Audio Reading: cf93dd18-af1f-41ca-abf2-d903f0e0ef56.mp3
Karma and rebirth/reincarnation are important aspects of the Hindu worldview. Justice is built into the very fabric of reality. The moral consequences of one’s actions will be experienced in this life or the next. So a belief in reincarnation is central to Hindu belief. One moves up or down the caste ladder depending on the caliber of one’s life just lived.
Moksha represents the idea of final liberation or freedom from all limitations, especially the round of death and rebirth. Moksha entails going beyond egoism and identifying with the unity and sacredness that everything shares. After enough lifetimes, and learning achieved, one eventually leaves the cycle of rebirth and is liberated.
There are 4 goals in life:
According to Hinduism, the meaning (purpose) of life is four-fold: to achieve Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.
The first, dharma, means to act morally and ethically throughout one’s life. However, dharma also has a secondary aspect; since Hindus believe that they are born in debt to the gods and people, dharma calls for Hindus to remember these debts. These include debts to the Gods for various blessings, debts to parents and teachers, debts to guests, debts to other human beings, and debts to all other living beings.
The second meaning of life according to Hinduism is Artha, which refers to the pursuit of wealth and prosperity in one’s life. Importantly, one must stay within the bounds of dharma while pursuing this wealth and prosperity (i.e. one must not step outside moral and ethical grounds in order to do so). So it is considered good to prosper, but not at the expense of others.
The third purpose of a Hindu’s life is to seek Kama. In simple terms, Kama can be defined as obtaining enjoyment from life. Again, this is not to be done at the expense of others, but it is considered a good thing in life to have joy and pleasure.
The fourth and final meaning of life according to Hinduism is Moksha, enlightenment. By far the most difficult meaning of life to achieve, Moksha may take an individual just one lifetime to accomplish (rarely) or it may take several. However, it is considered the most important meaning of life and offers such rewards as liberation from reincarnation, self-realization, enlightenment, or unity with God. Often, in human lives, people focus on this goal as elders. As a young person, the other goals may be more important, or more demanding.
There are stages to human living, too, according to Hinduism:
Ashrama, also spelled asrama, Sanskrit āśrama, in Hinduism, is any of the four stages of life through which a Hindu ideally will pass.
The stages are those of:
(1) the student (Brahamacari), marked by chastity, devotion, and obedience to one’s teacher,
(2) the householder (Grihastha), requiring marriage, the begetting of children, sustaining one’s family and helping support priests and holy men, and fulfillment of duties toward gods and ancestors,
(3) the forest dweller (Vanaprastha), beginning after the birth of grandchildren and consisting of withdrawal from concern with material things, pursuit of solitude, and ascetic and yogic practices, and
(4) the homeless renouncer (Sannyasi), involving renouncing all one’s possessions to wander from place to place begging for food, concerned only with union with brahman (the Absolute). Traditionally, moksha (liberation from rebirth) should be pursued only during the last two stages of a person’s life.
Exercise: Flashcards
One fun way to get a handle on difficult or new terms is through flashcards. Try these, just for fun
The Divine
The multiple gods and goddesses of Hinduism are a distinctive feature of the religion. However, Professor Julius Lipner[2] explains that Hinduism cannot be considered polytheistic and discusses the way in which Hindu culture and sacred texts conceptualize the deities, as well as their role in devotional faith. (the full texts, of which this material is only excerpts, can be found at The Hindu Sacred Image and Iconography, Hindu Deities )
“One of the most striking features of Hinduism is the seemingly endless array of images of gods and goddesses, most with animal associates, that inhabit the colorful temples, and wayside shrines and homes of its adherents. Because of this, Hinduism has been called an idolatrous and polytheistic religion.
Hinduism can be likened to an enormous banyan tree extending itself through many centers of belief and practice which can be seen to link up with each other in various ways, like a great network that is one, yet many. The concepts of deity, worship and pilgrimage in Hinduism are a prime example of this ‘polycentric’ phenomenon.
Deities are a key feature of Hindu sacred texts. The Vedic texts describe many so-called gods and goddesses (devas and devīs) who personify various cosmic powers through fire, wind, sun, dawn, darkness, earth and so on. There is no firm evidence that these Vedic deities were worshipped by images; rather, they were summoned through the sacrificial ritual (yajña), with the deity Agni (fire) generally acting as intermediary, to bestow various boons to their supplicants on earth in exchange for homage and the ritual offering. Some Vedic texts speak of a One that seemed to undergird the plurality of these devas and devīs as their support and origin. In time, in the Upanishads, this One (Brahman) was envisaged as either the transcendent, supra-personal source of all change and differentiation in our world which would eventually dissolve back into the One, or as the supreme, personal Lord who was the mainstay and goal of all finite being. In both conceptions, we have the basis for subsequent notions of a transcendent reality that is accessible to humans by meditation and/or prayer and worship.
Exercise: watch this short video about Hindu deities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_NJAJGCKD8
Avatars
It is in the Bhagavad Gita that we first find sustained textual evidence of developed thinking about devotional faith in a personal God, named Krishna. In this text, Krishna teaches his friend and disciple, Arjuna, about his divine nature and relationship with the world, and how the devoted soul can find liberation (moksha) from the sorrows and limitations of life through loving communion with him. Here, also for the first time in Hinduism, we encounter the doctrine of the avatāra (also known as avatar), which teaches that the Supreme Being descends periodically into the world in embodied form for, according to the Gita, ‘re-establishing dharma, protecting the virtuous and destroying the wicked.’ The doctrine of multiple avatars with their specific objectives was to develop subsequently over the centuries in various sacred texts.
Places of worship
The first archaeological evidence we have of standing temple construction and its implication of image-worship of the deity occurs in about the 3rd century BCE – of a Vishnu temple (in eastern Rajasthan) and of a Shiva temple not too far away. Presumably, since these were constructions of mud, timber, brick, stone etc., the process of temple-building had begun appreciably earlier, though we cannot say exactly where or when. We can also assume from textual and archaeological evidence that image-worship in Hinduism was present by about the 6th to the 5th century BCE.
Companions
Most deities have an animal associate (vāhana) which helps identify the deity and express the latter’s specific powers; this was achieved too by an artistic device that attributed multiple body-parts, such as hands and heads, adorned by weapons and other objects, to the image. There are many stories, especially in the Purāṇas, which describe the origin and role of the vāhana and the weapons and other attributes associated with the image.
Worship
Other than by forms of temple worship, which include both personal prayer and various rituals conducted by priests, the deity may be worshipped at home too, in a format called puja. In its simplest form, puja usually consists of making an offering of flowers or fruit to an image of a god at a home shrine. It can also happen by way of meditation (dhyāna). Dhyāna can include highly specialized kinds of visualization of the deity invoked, in which the deity is often envisaged as communicating with the worshipper.
Another form of worshipping the deity in Hinduism is through pilgrimage (yātrā). Pilgrimage is a way of creating a sacred landscape, of indicating that the whole world, including the pilgrim, belongs to the deity and is under its rulership. Through every pilgrimage, Hindus encounter a tīrtha, a sacred ford or crossing-point between heaven and earth, by which they may come to terms with this world of sorrows and arrive at the threshold of liberation. Over time, a great many tīrthas have developed across the Hindu sacred landscape.”
Bhakti
Dr Rishi Handa[3] looks at bhakti in Hinduism, exploring its common modes, the Hindu concept of enlightenment and how to achieve it, the importance of the Divine Name and the veneration of forms of the deities.
“If any aspect of religiosity can be said to pervade India, it is bhakti. In a land whose culture is filled with a plethora of devīs (goddesses) and devas (gods), it is the foremost way by which Hindus express and experience the Transcendent.
Bhakti is best rendered in English as ‘loving devotion’, but it is much more than that. While common objects of bhakti can be one’s guru (teacher) and one’s country, this bhāva (emotion or feeling) is typically directed to īśvara (the divine, ‘God’). Bhakti can be articulated through gratitude, honoring of the deities, engaging in formal ritual service to a deity, hymn-singing, reading devotional scriptures, and constantly remembering the name of one’s deity. This list is certainly not exhaustive.
The nine modes of bhakti
According to a number of Hindu texts, there are nine ways of expressing bhakti. These differ depending on the text. According to two of the key Purāṇas of Hinduism, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa centred on Krishna (also spelt Kṛṣṇa), and the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (focused on Vishnu, also spelt Viṣṇu), the nine ways are:
- Shravana: Hearing the Lord’s virtues, glories and stories.
- Kīrtana: Singing the Lord’s glories in the form of hymns.
- Smarana: Remembering the Lord at all times.
- Pādasevana: Serving the Lord’s Feet.
- Archanā: Honouring the Lord.
- Vandanā: Prayer and prostration unto the Lord.
- Dāsya bhakti: Being a servant of the Lord.
- Sākhya bhakti: Friendship with the Lord.
- Ātma-nivedana: Self-surrender to the Lord.
A little summary…
You might be feeling a little overwhelmed by all of this detail and history. Try a summary from Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tpVZrsvK-k
Hinduism History
Audio Reading:e305df8d-73b0-4c04-b58b-8256b6b47b47.mp3
Early India (2,600 B.C.E. - 1,900 B.C.E.)
The Harrapan Civilization & the Roots of the Indus River Valley
- Around 4 millennia ago one of the most advanced human civilizations was the Harrapan Civilization which thrived in the Indus River Valley from 2,600 B.C.E. until 1,900 B.C.E.
- Based on archaeological findings from sites like Harappa and Mohenjo Daro we see advanced architectural design, an emphasis on cleanliness via bathing, primitive sewage systems, and early animalistic religious worship. This isn't Hinduism, but this may have contributed to early influences on what would later become Hinduism.
- Early theories suggested that there was a land invasion from the north that wiped out the Harappan civilization, but more recent scholarship suggests that drought, soil exhaustion, extensive farming, flooding, and the changing course of the Indus River may have contributed to their relocation.
The Early Vedic Period (1,900 B.C.E. - 1,000 B.C.E.)
The Rishi and the Vedas
- Thousands of years ago, forest-wandering sages known as rishi received divine revelatoins they memorized, recited, and passed down through the generations.
- At some point between 1,500 B.C.E. and 500 B.C.E. these were written down in Sanskrit. They are known as the Vedas and by tradition they are as old as time.
- There were four collections of Vedas, with the Rg Veda being the oldest and most authoritative. The other three are the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atharva Veda.
- The Vedas are mostly instructive ritual texts that emphasized the importance of ritual bathing, offerings, sacrifices, and hymns of praise to the gods or devas.
The Brahmins and the Caste System
- The need for constant cleanliness and ritual purity demanded a group of ritual experts or priests who were responsible for maintaining the integrity of the entire cosmic order through the conduct of proper yajna fire rituals.
- The rest of the human social order followed from this central need to have ritual experts at the top. The Rg Veda describes this social order in the analogy of the "Hymn of Man" where the cosmic person Purusha was divided into the various social castes.
“A Thousand heads hath Purusha, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. On every side pervading earth he fills a space ten fingers wide. This Purusha is all that yet hath been and all that is to be; The Lord of immortality which waxes greater still by food… When Gods prepared the sacrifice with Purusha as their offering, its oil was spring, the holy gift was autumn; summer was the wood. The balmed as victim on the grass Purusha born in earliest time. With him the Deities and all Sadhyas and rishi sacrificed. From that great general sacrifice the dripping fat was gathered up. He formed the creatures of the air, and animals both wild and tame. From that great general sacrifice Ricas and Sama-hymns were born: Therefrom were spells and charms produced; the Yajus had its birth from it. From it were horses born, and from it all cattle with two rows of teeth: From it were generated cattle, from it the goats and sheep were born. When they divided Purusha how many portions did they make? What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet? What do they call his thighs and feet? The Brahmin was his mouth, of both his arms was the Ksatriya made. His thighs became the Vaisya, from his feet the Sudra was produced. The Moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the Sun had birth; Indra and Agni from his mouth were born, and Vayu from his breath. Forth from his navel came mid-air; the sky was fashioned from his head; Earth from his feet, and from his ear the regions. Thus formed the worlds.” - "The Hymn of Man"
- The Head: Brahmins (Priests and Ritual Experts)
- The Arms: Kshatriyas (Rulers and Warriors)
- The Legs: Vaishyas (Merchants, Farmers, and Artisans)
- The Feet: Shudras (Laborers)
*Read Burke "Vedic Creation Hymn"
Audio Reading: 1bb5c1d0-3e54-40bc-b7ff-cc38752ef331.mp3
- Society was built around and relied on the Brahmin's ritual activities. Caste was something that you were born into, and so the entire system relied on an inherent and all-pervasive sense of duty or dharma which meant recognizing the importance of the role you play in society.
- From this worldview perspective, the Brahmin were performing rituals to ensure rains came when they needed to, wars could be avoided, harvests were abundant -- there was the sense that there was a correlation between the proper ritual activity of the Brahmins and abundance in the world: this is the concept of sympathetic resonance and the macrocosm-microcosm connection that we'll explore in other places throughout this course.
- The Vedas mention only around 33 gods or devas. Some of the most important of these Vedic devas include:
- Indra, the King of the Devas
- Agni, the Deva of Fire
- Soma, the Deva of the Moon
- Ushas, the Devi* of the Dawn (Devi is a female Deva)
The Late Vedic Period (1,000 B.C.E. - 600 B.C.E.)
The Upanishads and the Development of Vedanta Philosophy
- Eventually a later collection of texts emerged from the forest-wandering rishi. Where the Vedas included ritual instructions and guidelines, these later Upanishads instead contained mystical insights that revealed the knowledge of metaphysical principles, human salvation, and the truth of ultimate reality itself.
- Both the Vedas and the Upanishads belong to a category of literature known as shruti or "heard/revealed" texts as they were given to and recited by the rishi sages. These are believed to be of divine origin from the devas themselves and are contrasted with later texts which were remembered by humans and passed down.
- It is in the Upanishads where the system of birth, life, death, and rebirth known to the Hindus as Samsara is introduced. The karma accumulated from one's actions and their consequences propels the jiva-atman ("individual soul") though the endless cycle of Samsara.
- In light of the endless cycle of Samsara, the Upanishads do introduce a soteriological goal (a goal relating to salvation) called moksha which promises "to blow out" the cycle of birth-life-death-rebirth.
- Those rituals that the Brahmin priests focus on are of secondary importance in the Upanishads: moksha is the supreme goal. The means of attaining the supreme goal is to snuff out the barrier preventing you from realizing the goal -- the Upanishads suggest that the barrier is nothing more than our own ignorance in thinking that we are separate from everything around us.
- According to the Upanishads, all things are of the one universal cosmic principle or "world soul" Brahman (note the difference between this and Brahmin priests!). Brahman is the impersonal cosmic principle through which all things are -- including you and me! That "individual soul" or jiva-atman has a piece of the eternal Brahman called the atman; the supreme goal of moksha is achieved when we personally overcome the ignorance that we are separate from Brahman, other people, the world we live in, etc.
- Feeling overwhelmed or confused? That's okay -- many students find these concepts very difficult to understand. What is essential here is the recognition that moksha or liberation involves a transformation of self-identity, perspective, and consciousness. Easier said than done -- how does one achieve this goal?
- The orthodox answer is to follow your dharma and only your dharma, even if it means doing something you don't like for the rest of your life. If you do well then you may be born into a higher caste in your next life... eventually you might become a male Brahmin and then have the opportunity to finally attain moksha! As you can imagine, this can take a long, long time.
Read Burke "The Isha Upanishad" Audio Reading:f0a52a64-d8b8-4a84-b63c-50a0f33d383c.mp3
and Burke "The Chandogya Upanishad" Audio Reading:926d52c8-ee8d-4639-a20d-c9e14ac9c83e.mp3
before proceeding.
The Pre-Classical Period (600 B.C.E. - 200 C.E.)
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: The Shramana Movement
- During this time new urban settlements began to develop along the Ganges River plain.
- As the Upanishads introduced the importance of personally realizing Brahman there were a number of renouncers and asetics called shramana who retreated from worldly life to attain spiritual salvation from Samsara.
- Many of these shramana rejected the ritual emphasis of the Vedas, the need for animal sacrifices, the authority of Brahmin priests, and the greater implications of the Hindu caste system itself. Instead of following one's dharma to potentially achieve a favorable rebirth in a higher caste, emphasis was placed on developing methods to achieve moksha in the present lifetime -- this was often through ascetic practices like fasting, meditation, sleeping on beds of nails, and other unusual forms of intentional suffering and self-denial.
- During this time orthodox Vedic rituals saw a decrease as more and more individuals were drawn to heterodox practices and philosophies such as Ajivikism (Determinism), Lokayata (Materialism), and new religious movements such as Jainism and Buddhism that we'll explore after Hinduism.
The Classical Period (200 C.E. - 600 C.E.)
The Indian Epics
- As more people became drawn to the heterodox ideologies and religions such as Jainism and Buddhism, a new genre of Hindu literature became composed.
- The Vedas and the Upanishads were "heard/revealed" shruti texts; this later genre of texts are not divinely revealed but are remembered and passed down by humans. These are "remembered" smriti texts.
- Though the older shutri texts were held as more authoritative, the smriti texts humanize divine figures and are thereby more beloved by Hindu adherents. By making the devas relatable, the smriti texts established the groundwork for what most people would consider modern popular Hindu belief and practice.
- There are two great Indian Epics that began as oral recitations before later being written down: the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
The Ramayana
- The earliest intact copy of the Ramayana comes from a palm-leaf manuscript dating back to the 11th century C.E. but the story is likely much older.
- This story follows the exiled prince Rama whose wife Sita is stolen by the Demon-King of Lanka: Ravana.
- With the help of Rama's brother Vibhishana and the monkey god Hanuman they are able to slay Ravana and save Sita who remained devoted to Rama despite accusations and speculations.
At the center of the story we find idealized, yet still relatable characters that act as beacons of moral excellence: Rama is the ideal hero/husband/king; Sita is the ideal wife/nurturer/queen; and Hanuman the ideal friend/servant/guardian.
The Mahabharata
- The Mahabharata is the world's longest poem with nearly 1.8 million words! The age of it is uncertain, but scholars believe the events it describes may have occurred around 3,000 B.C.E.
- The text describes an ancient Kurukshetra War that took place between two halves of a family. Torn in this conflict is the prince Arjuna whose caste position as a kshatriya warrior demands that he follow his dharma and fight his own family.
- One of the most beloved and famous parts of the Mahabharata is the 18th chapter known as the Bhagavad Gita. This chapter is a dialogue between the troubled prince Arjuna and his charioteer who he is seeking advice from. Luckily for Arjuna his charioteer is none other than Krishna, the divine avatar of the Supreme Deva Vishnu.
- Krishna consoles Arjuna by reminding him that his dharma supersedes his reservations and that it is only his limited perceptions that cause him to suffer. Though Krishna emphasizes that it is better to do one's own dharma poorly than to do another person's dharma well, Krisha at the same time articulates that every person has a unique path to finding the divine -- we'll examine this in more detail when we discuss yoga.
*Read Burke "Bhagavad Gita" Audio Reading: 8e7340d9-02a2-41cf-9b0d-b75474216dcd.mp3
The Trimurti and the Puranas
- The Ramayana and Mahabharata popularized Krishna and Rama, both of which are avatars of Vishnu. The worship of Vishnu the Enforcer becomes widespread during the Classical Period, as does the worship of two other devas: Brahma the Creator, and Vishnu the Destroyer.
- These three deities are collectively known as the trimurti or "three forms" as they are described to be the three primary manifestations and activities of Brahman the "world soul": create-maintain-transform.
- Each of these three devas has six great collections of poetic myths known as Puranas which again likely began as an older oral tradition, but was first written some time during the 16th century C.E.
- The ideal means to achieve the goal of moksha shifted once again in reaction to the popularization of these devas -- people came to genuinely connect with their ishta deva or "preferred deity" so much so that loving devotion towards the deity in all of its forms lead to what is known as bhakti "devotion" -- we'll talk more about bhakti in the Medieval Period.
Tantras and the Mother Goddess
- Smriti texts like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Puranas made the gods and their families human-like, which made devotion and love towards them easy. As later Puranas developed, some placed an emphasis on feminine aspects of the divine.
- These texts became known as Tantra texts; Tantra is quite a loaded and mis-understood word in the West with many associating it with taboo and sexual content. While these can be interpretations of Tantra, this is largely a western bias.
- Tantra texts emphasize the cultivation of raw feminine power called Shakti. This is the power that all male devas use... but Tantra texts state that this power actually comes from their female wives and consorts: the gods are powerless without their goddesses!
- Moreover, these texts state that all of the many female devis are in actuality different forms of the one, eternal Divine Mother known principally as Devi.
- Eventually the worship of the Mother Goddess Devi came to replace the latent powers of Brahma the Creator -- today Brahma only has around four temples recognized in all of India. It turns out there isn't much for the creator to do once the creation has been made...
The Medieval Period (600 C.E. - 1,526 C.E.)
The Bhakti Movement
- Over the next several centuries there is a gradual de-emphasis on caste, the need for the traditional Brahmin yajna fire rituals, and the need to practice those ascetic practices the shramanas so enjoyed.
- The popularity of the smriti texts captured the hearts of the population such that by the 15th century Hinduism would be primarily characterized by bhakti devotionalism.
- Emotional, passionate displays of devotion to a representation of the divine is the hallmark of bhakti yoga. This can include dressing statue murti icons in clothes and flowers, moving them out of the sun and into shade, cleaning the statue or bathing in milk, yogurt, or clarified butter (ghee), offering foodstuff to the deity and then consuming the ritually blessed food (prasada), staring into the eyes of the murti icon with the hopes of attaining the blessing of darshan where they become one with their ishta deva, etc. The point is that there is a personal relationship with the divine which takes a preferred form -- for this reason many unfamiliar with Hinduism believe them to worship idols when really a subtle difference is taking place.
- Bhaktas don't believe that their ishta deva is trapped inside of the murti, they treat the murti as an icon that transmits the presence of the divine to them. In this way they are able to fulfill the basic human need for relationship by treating the murti as a symbolic representative for their divine ideal. This is similar to the Orthodox Christian practice of Icons which we'll talk about later in the semester.
The Mughal Dynasty (1,526 C.E. - 1,858 C.E.)
- In 1,526 C.E. the Central Asian conqueror and descendent of Genghis Khan by the name of Babur (ruled from 1,526 C.E. - 1,530 C.E.) descended from the north into India and began a conquest that would bring iconoclastic Muslim influences into India.
- Over several centuries both Hinduism and Buddhism experienced a sharp decline as both of these religions were seen as idolatrous by the Islamic invaders. We will discuss in-more detail why Islam has such a strict stance on depicting divine images when we finish the semester with Islam. Suffice to say for now that having religious images of any form in the Islamic faith is an extreme mortal sin called shirk or "idolatry".
- Although there were some peaceful Mughal rulers, there were many intolerant Mughal rulers that violently persecuted Hindus who would face frequent raids, forced conversion, and constant threats of execution. The historical religious tension and animosity between these two groups of people continues largely to this day.
- Amidst these conflicts between Hindus and Muslims, a new religion emerged in the 15th century called Sikhism which sought to create a balance between these two traditions. Sikhism is today the fifth largest world religion after Buddhism in terms of adherents. Though it is not included as a part of this course's curriculum, there will be a bonus module on Sikhism available at the same time we discuss Islam that you are free to explore further if you want to learn more about this fascinating religious tradition.
Colonization and the Modern Era (1,858 C.E. - Today)
- As the Mughal Empire experienced a gradual decline the East India Company was steadily gaining influence and power on the Indian subcontinent through trade and later military power when power was transferred to the British Crown in 1,858 C.E.
- Although the caste system was not strictly enforced, the British colonizers used the caste system as described in the legal Manusmriti or "Code of Manu" text to enforce social structure with the Brahmin priests again at the top of the caste system.
- The Manusmriti describes those four castes we discussed earlier as taken from the Rg Veda's "Hymn of Man," but there is an additional fifth caste, a caste-less caste of untouchables called Dalits who were fit for dealing with animal skins and hides, human excrement, the cremation of the dead, and other societal functions that need done but place one in a state of ritual impurity. Some believe that this consistent state of ritual contamination prevents a Dalit from attaining the good karma they need to achieve a favorable rebirth, thus many believe to be a Dalit is to be eternally condemned to being without a caste.
- There were a number of rising Indian nationalist movements that resisted the foreign exploitation of the British colonists with the most successful being Mohandas Ghandi (1,869 C.E. - 1,948 C.E.), who is also known as "Mahatma" or "Great-Soul".
- Through hunger strikes, making his own clothing, grassroots activism, leading a salt march in resistance of increased British taxation, and advocating a strict policy of non-violence or ahimsa Ghandi was able to unite the Indian population to peacefully resist British rule.
- Ghandi also called for an abolishment of caste discrimination and advocated for fair treatment of untouchable Dalits, calling them Harijan meaning "child of/beloved of God." Today the term has evolved into something of a slur against Dalits.
- Although himself a polarizing Hindu nationalist figure, Ghandi was sympathetic to Muslim communities and protested to end religious violence before his own assassination in 1,948 C.E. at the hands of a Hindu fundamentalist who disagreed with Ghandi's views.
- In 1,947 C.E. India officially declared independence from India as a secular state. Recently there has been increased political force from extreme Hindu nationalist groups that want to see India declared as a Hindu nation rather than a secular state.
- Although the discrimination of Dalits was officially illegal as of 1,950 C.E., it is not uncommon to hear cases of discrimination, persecution, and violence to the Dalits. Many face discrimination in terms of access to housing, jobs, education, and some public services.
Hinduism Beliefs and Practices
Audio Reading: 6f85da25-6f4b-4374-98aa-3b69f089d5d8.mp3
Core Beliefs
The Sacred
- The Sanatana Dharma tradition includes a diverse family of practices collectively identified as "Hinduism" for the sake of convenience.
- Most popular depictions of Hinduism convey the sense that there are millions of gods and goddesses worshipped around the Indian subcontinent -- and this is not inaccurate! The Vedas count the number of devas and devis at 330 million! On the surface Hinduism appears to be a polytheistic religion.
- And yet, despite the appearance of many, many deities, the Upanishads describe these as all being of the same fundamental "world soul" Brahman which we ourselves possess a piece of as the atman or "soul/self." The belief described here is what we would call monism which is the belief that all things are interconnected pieces of a unitary whole.
- Even with millions of gods and philosophical doctrines describing their true identity as the Brahman, the "Bhakti Movement" saw many practitioners adopt preferential deities (ishta-deva). Inspired by the widespread stories of the deities in the Hindu Epics (The Ramayana and The Mahabharata) and the Puranas. The exclusive worship of one form of the divine above all others is also found within the Hindu tradition and is called monolatry. In some cases the devotion to a particular murti (deity form) becomes so strong that some bhakta devotees assert that their ishta-deva is the Supreme Lord ishvara in its most pure form, thereby speaking of a sort of monotheism by summarizing all of the other deities are various forms of their true, beloved God.
- (As a refresher, because I know these terms are difficult: Brahman - the "world soul" that is present in all things; brahmin - the caste of Hindu priests and ritual experts; Brahma - the creator god that was once a popular member of the trimurti along with Shiva and Vishnu before his worship declined due to the passive role of the creator god after the creation.)
- To summarize this section... Hinduism is complicated and nuanced. Can you see why Western scholars of religion struggle so much with this tradition? It simply eludes traditional categories. For this reason, to properly study the Sanatana Dharma tradition requires that we proceed with an open mind and recognize the many, many doors that Hindus have available to them when it comes to religious belief and practice. (This is also what makes Hinduism a great starting point for our class!)
The Afterlife
- As we saw earlier, The Upanishads introduced the concept of samsara, which maintains that all beings exist in a cycle of birth-life-death-rebirth that is propelled by the karma (both actions and consequences of those actions) accumulated throughout existence.
- Hindu afterlife beliefs are complex and require proper traditional funerary rites in order to prepare the atman for rebirth. This includes ritually bathing the body before it is cremated in an open-air crematorium. The ashes are then typically scattered in the sea or a river, the Ganges River being the most auspicious.
- Many believe that if the proper rituals are performed the deceased exists for one year as a preta, or a hungry ghost. During this time the deceased will be ravenous but unable to satiate their hungers and thirsts; the deceased's family can help alleviate these pains by making food offerings in remembrance to their deceased loved ones. After the year or so the preta is reborn depending on their karma. If proper funerary precautions are not taken, it is believed that the deceased has the capacity to return as a vengeful spirit.
The Problems
- Whenever I teach this class there is inevitably one or two students who think the cycle of samsara is really a cool idea. Samsara is not "cool," it is the problem for human beings according to the Hindu worldview.
- The Germans have an interesting word called weltschmerz "world-weariness," which is apt to really capture the psychology of the Hindu worldview. Imagine a sense of deja vu but with the perception that you might have already lived countless lives before. Life is grand, but it is also a lot of work. If you get the sense that this might go on and on, the need to resolve you karma to get out of samsara can become quite pressing... especially if you were born in a lower caste or if circumstances gave you a particularly difficult life.
- We've also seen the problem of ignorance in both The Upanishads and in the Bhagavad Gita as a central obstacle to realizing the fundamental reality of interbeing; the truth that atman is Brahman and all things are one.
- There is also another element we haven't discussed before: Kali Yuga. The Kali Yuga is the last of four ages, each shorter than the one that came before. In the first age truth was abundant and people could easily come to the realization of moksha, liberation from Samsara. As time went on truth become more obscure and conflict more abundant. The Hindus believe that we currently live in this final age of decline, the Kali Yuga. Eventually our world will come to an end, this time by fire. But fret not. This cycle has happened before and following the destruction a new golden age will dawn and the world will be made anew.
The Solutions
- To re-cap the problems: cyclical existence in Samsara is a problem. The ignorance that keeps us separate from our true selves and one another is a problem. The persistent decline of ethics and truth in our current age that will inevitably culminate in a cataclysm of fire before the world is reborn in the ashes like a beautiful phoenix -- that... that is a problem! I mean is there really anything we can do about any of that?
- Here's what the Hindus say to do: focus on four goals... one of which is a supreme goal, but nevertheless aim for these four:
- Artha - Worldly Success: Wealth, Career, Status
- Kama - Pleasure: Love, Creativity, Sexual Fulfilment
- Dharma - Duty: Caste Role, Relational Obligations, Sense of Destiny/Purpose
- Moksha - Liberation: Freedom from ignorance, the Cessation of Samsara, the Realization of Union with Brahman
- Artha, Kama, and Dharma are all important goals to make life more comfortable, to find your pleasures, and to assume your responsibilities, but moksha is really the supreme goal. So how do we get there? It's finally time we talk about yoga.
The Three Paths of Yoga
- Despite our assumptions that yoga is downward facing dogs and cat-cow poses, if we look to the origins of yoga we can overcome the Western cultural appropriation of yoga. Yoga literally means "yoke" or "union" -- it is really the same word as the Latin root religare, the root of the word "religion". Yoga isn't really exercises (I mean it can be): it is an umbrella-term used to describe groups of practices with the intention to attain that supreme goal of moksha!
- From the Bhagavad Gita of The Mahabharata, Krishna explains to Prince Arjuna that there are thee paths that lead to the supreme goal of moksha. In this way the eternal Sanatana Dharma is accessible to a diverse array of people.
- There is no right or wrong path here: they are all of equal esteem and value. What matters most is that each person determine which of these paths is most suitable for them. Oftentimes many Hindus will incorporate practices from all three of these paths into their lives, yet other times some may be specifically drawn to one.
- At the core of it all, these three paths of Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga infer and lead to the development of one another -- such is the beauty of the three paths (trimarga).
Karma Yoga - The Path of Selfless Action
- The practice of Karma Yoga has its early roots in The Vedas, as it is principally concerned with dharma.
- Proper conduct in accordance with one's caste and stage of life (more on that later) is a proper display of dharma. For Brahmin priests this means conducting yajna fire rituals and sacrifices, for a Kshatriya like Prince Arjuna it meant fighting despite the fact that his opponents were his own family members.
- As the name implies, karma is also important. The word karma is popularized in the West as "what goes around comes around," but karma literally means "action" as well as the consequences that follow from the action. Karma is absolute, meaning that there is no action without consequences.
- Essential to the Path of Karma Yoga is the selfless detachment from the rewards and consequences of one's actions. This is authentic action, to act without regard for the outcome but from a spontaneous place of being. Free from regard of consequences, the Karma Yogi offers the merit (karma) gained from righteous activity to the divine.
- Moksha comes through detachment of self-interest and generous compassionate service to others.
Jnana Yoga - The Path of Self-Knowledge
- Karma Yoga is concerned with external action. In contrast, Jnana Yoga (pronounced "Ya-na") instead emphasizes the wisdom gained through deep introspection.
- The Jnana Yogi delves deep into study of The Upanishads and uses various forms of meditation in order to transcend the limited perspective of an independent being separate from the world around them. This path cultivates the values of calmness, restraint, concentration, and faith.
- Jnana Yoga is often regarded as the slowest of these three paths, as it takes a dedicated and gradual inquiry into one's own self-nature to overcome ignorance and discover the realization of Brahman the "world soul" as the one true Self.
- Moksha comes though mindfully peeling away layers ignorance to come to the realization of one's true being.
Bhakti Yoga - The Path of Loving Devotion
- If Karma Yoga concerns the body and actions and Jnana Yoga concerns the mind and thoughts, by analogy we could say that Bhakti Yoga concerns the heart and feelings.
- As we've discussed earlier, Bhakti Yoga rose as a reaction to the widespread popularity of the Hindu Epics and the Puranas. People began to have personal feelings toward the devas depicted in the texts; so much so that there was a longing for relationship with their preferred form of the divine, their ishta-deva.
- Bhakti Yoga is loving devotion to the favored form of the divine for the bhakta ("Bhakti Yogi"). Often times families will have a preferred deity as well as a spiritual teacher or guru which for many is interpreted as an incarnation of the divine (well, we all are, but the guru is especially profound for their realization and teachings).
- Bhaktas will often go to temples and conduct worship or puja at home before an icon (murti) of their ishta-deva. Often burned offerings of flowers, grains, incense, seeds, clarified butter (ghee) and more are presented along with food that is placed on the altar before being consumed by the bhaktas - this is called prasada and the food is spiritually charged by the deity.
- Unlike the yajna fire sacrifices which may only be performed by brahmin priests, any caste is able to participate in daily puja. Forms of puja worship vary, but it is only done after ritually bathing and typically hymns invoking the name of the ishta-deva are offered.
- Through the development of a personal relationship with the divine which is symbolized though the murti icon, the bhakta is emotionally committed to their ishta-deva and care for the religious icon as though it were a honored guest. It is common to dress, bathe, and consider the comfort of the icon as though it were alive. The peak experience of Bhakti Yoga is called darsan (prounced "dar-shan") and it happens at a magical moment when the bhakta gazes into the eyes of the icon, but the eyes looking back at the devotee are not those of a dead statue -- looking back at the bhakta are the divine eyes of their ishta-deva.
- Moksha comes through the profound committed love between the bhakta and their ishta-deva, a love that may culminate in the religious experience of darsan where the bhakta becomes one with the beloved.
The Three Great Forms of Bhaktism
- Although each of the three yoga paths we described earlier are equally effective and respectable, it is Bhakti Yoga which has the largest following. By the 15th century C.E. the "bhakti movement" reached its peak, resulting in the emergence of the three largest forms of Bhaktism on the Indian Subcontinent.
- As stated earlier, the worship of the Deva of Creation, Brahma declined as people were less-motivated to worship the creator after the creation had happened. Brahma has cycles of active creation that are mixed with long cycles of inactive rest (unmanifested potential). Worship of the Mother Goddess Devi replaced Brahma worship thanks to the popularity of Tantra texts.
- It is the worship of Devi the Mother Goddess along with Vishnu the Enforcer and Shiva the Destroyer that constitute the three major forms of Bhaktism (contemporary "Hinduism") in India.
Vaishnavism - Worship of Vishnu as Ishvara
- Each of these different bhakti denominations share a lot of commonalities in terms of their practices, although there are minute differences (and always exceptions to these rules). Remember that each of these believe that their preferred deity (ishta-deva) is really the supreme form (ishvara) of the formless "world soul" Brahman from which all forms emerge. I know this is heavy material, but bear with it!
- Vaishnavism is the largest denomination of Bhaktism in the world. It is most-common in Northern India where Vaishanavites almost exclusively worship Vishnu the Enforcer or one of the Ten Avatars (Dashavatara) mentioned in the Epics and the Vishnu Puranas including Rama (with the bow) and Krishna (with the flute).
- Vishnu is the great Hindu hero god, he is the patron of selfless karma yogis, the guardian of men, the great preserver of time, space, and cosmic order (also known as dharma!). He's also blue typically... so there's that. His consort-wife is Lakshmi, the devi of wealth and good fortune; in the south of India Lakshmi (a.k.a. "Sri") is so widely worshipped alongside Vishnu that this particular form of Vaishnavism is known as Sri-Vaishnavism.
- Was it mentioned that Brahma the creator god rests on a lotus that extends from Vishnu's navel? No? Must have slipped my mind. The decline of Brahma-worship might have also been attributed to this idea that Vishnu is the supreme lord (ishvara) and Brahma is only the creator of the material world -- Brahma is in-fact a creation of Vishnu... actually everything is a creation of Vishnu's cosmic dream. Woah.
- For Vaishavism a self-surrender to Vishnu as the supreme sustainer of all creation is the primary means to moksha. This is obviously an expression of bhakti yoga, but it involves all three of the yoga paths, especially karma yoga for its selfless service.
Shaivism - Worship of Shiva as Ishvara
- Shaivism is the second-largest denomination of Bhaktism in the world. It is most-commonly found in the Southern parts of India and centers around the worship of Shiva (also sometimes called Rudra) as ishvara. Shiva may have some obscure avatars, but some Shaivites believe that Shiva cannot have any avatars as Shiva is himself beyond birth and death itself - most of the stories about Shiva from the Shiva Puranas have Shiva as... Shiva. Shiva is most frequently depicted as either purple or charcoal black.
- Vaishavites will make the claim that Vishnu is the supreme source and sustainer of all creation, but they maintain a central distinction between Vishnu and all other beings. Contrary to this, many Shaivites embrace a more monist viewpoint where Shiva is not the source of all creation, but is the very foundation of reality itself. According to this viewpoint reality is not some cosmic dream of the supreme god Vishnu; instead Shiva is before, within, and beyond all things as the supreme divine principle beyond the illusion of ignorance.
- Shiva occupies the world of contradictions: he is a god of creation and a god of destruction; he is both a celibate yogi and a householder with a family; he is a masculine god and yet his power comes from feminine energy. For the Shaivites Shiva is beyond comprehension; Shaivites must go beyond concepts to find Shiva.
- Shiva puja worship is usually directed to a lingam. A lingam is a symbolic representation of Shiva's formless nature as well as the creative and destructive power embodied within Shiva. A lingam is the tall, phallic structure which is typically situated in its feminine counterpart dish, the yoni. Together these symbols represent the cosmic interplay as well as the co-relationship of Shiva and his consort Shakti.
- Shiva has a number of consorts including Sati, Parvati, Durga, and Kali among others. Although it might seem that Shiva is quite the "player," in reality these are different masks worn by the Divine Mother Goddess Devi. The term Shakti refers to the divine power of Devi in an impersonalized form as energy -- it is this energy that is the key to Shiva's power.
- Naturally, this is a form of bhakti yoga, but there is a strong element of jnana yoga present here as well. Shaivites regularly participate in a number of ascetic practices that generate heat in the body known as tapas. Through these self-mortifying practices heat is built up which is believed to burn away negative karma. Some practices included sleeping on beds of nails, standing on one's head for long periods of time, starvation, participating in societal taboos as the extremist Aghori Shaivite sect. Modern yoga practice also works on the buildup of tapas in the body.
- For Shaivism moksha comes with the discovery of Shiva in all things, including within oneself. This demands a radical abandonment of concepts, conventions, and judgements to discover the supreme reality beyond all forms that is Shiva.
Shaktism - Worship of Devi as Ishvara
- Shaktism centers on the worship of the ubiquitous Mother Goddess Devi though her impersonal energetic aspect of Shakti, which assumes many forms as all of the female devi counterparts to male devas. This includes Sati, Parvati, Durga, and Kali as mentioned previously, but also Vishnu's consort Lakshmi and Brahma's consort Sarasvati among many, many others! The Tantra texts popularized Shakti worship, though the mythology itself was inspired by the Shiva Puranas.
- Shakta practices include elements of karma yoga, jnana yoga, and bhakti yoga. Like Shaivites, Shaktas believe that the cosmos is the physical body of the Mother Goddess, thus the supreme goal is to experience union with the Divine Mother, who for them is Brahman. Loving devotion and surrender to the Divine mother is a common feature of Mother Goddess worship in India Shaktism also has the practice of kundalini yoga.
- It is believed that within each person there exist latent feminine Shakti energy coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine. Through an array of practices, it is believed one can awaken this energy and cause it to climb the spinal column (shushumna) through the major energy centers (chakras). It is at the brow (ajna chakra) where this Shakti energy unites with her consort Shiva, resulting in a great awakening. By uniting masculine and feminine energies one overcomes the inherent problem of dualism and realizes that the Mother Goddess is all things. Chakras have become popularized in the West, but they started from Tantra texts with ideas that predate even these!
- As we'll see next, pilgrimage is a major element of Bhakta practice regardless of denomination. For the Shaktas there are many, many pilgrimage sites called "Seats of Shakti" (Shakta Peethas). There are a few different legends as to how these came about, but the most popular one concerns the grief of the god Shiva for his wife Sati who self-immolated herself in defiance of her father. Heartbroken, Shiva carried Sati's lifeless body around the Indian subcontinent. He cut her body into numerous pieces, and buried it all over India so people may pay homage to the Divine Mother.
- For Shaktism moksha comes from a number of practices to realize the unity of all creation as children of the Mother Goddess who assumes various forms through the impersonal Shakti energy latent within each of us -- we can awaken this energy within ourselves and realize this truth firsthand.
The Hindu Life
Traditional Life Stages
- We spoke about how caste plays a role in determining what your dharma is, but what about your age. For males of higher castes, life takes on four distinct stages or phases -- each stage of life has different goals and obligations. The ages displayed next to the life stage is the typical age, but not the rule. Also as modern life goes on, fewer and fewer contemporary people in India are following this path.
- Brahmacharya - Student: Age 8, 11, or 12 until the age of 24
- Grihastha - Householder: Ages 24 - 48
- Vanaprastha - Retiree: Ages 48 - 72
- Sannyasa - Renouncer: Around age 72 or even sooner
Major Pilgrimage Sites
- Pilgrimage is seen as one of the ways that devotees might generate meritorious karma to aid in a favorable rebirth; thus pilgrimage sites of places where great gurus or saints lived and died are popular destinations among those mentioned in myths and legends. Some pilgrims make extra dedications to get even more good merit by making prostrations on their way to the pilgrimage site; these dedicated pilgrims are called dandauti. Below are just some of the many sacred sites for Hindus.
The Char Dham
- These are four sacred sites established in the 8th century CE -- it is believed that all Hindus who are able to should make the trek to the sacred sites of Puri in the East, Rameswaram in the South, Dwaraka in the West, and Badrinath in the North at least once in their life if they're able.
- Three of the four are devoted to Vishnu, but the Rameswaram in the city of Varanasi is devoted to Shiva.
Varanasi
- The Rameswaram is one of the major stops, but the entire city of Varanasi along the Ganges River is dedicated to Shiva and is a major pilgrimage site for Shaivites.
- The Vishwanath Temple is one of twelve sacred shrines like the Rameswaram called jyotirlingas where Shiva was said to appear as a massive blazing column of light according to the Shiva Puranas. The Vishwanath Temple alone regularly receives 1.5 million Shaivite pilgrims annually who come to bathe and pray.
Shakti Peethas
- There are 51, 52, 64, or 108 "Seats of Shakti" depending on who you're asking. These are those locations where Shiva buried Sati's body; although there are different legends too. Sati was the daughter of King Daksha and had married Shiva against her father’s wishes. Daksha held a great yajna and invited all of the devas but Shiva. Enraged by her father’s actions Sati self-immolated in anger, praying for rebirth to a father who could respect Shiva.
- There is a ritual from Tantra texts that describe having an adherent write different letters on different parts of their body that correlate to the Sati's body. This nyasa ritual is just another way the Shakta seeks to embody the divine principle of Shakti energy.
Major Holidays and Festivals
The Kumbh Mela
- The Kumbh Mela is a major pilgrimage festival that takes place every three years at one of four different sites that cycles every twelve years. The Kumbh Mela comes from a story in The Puranas which describes the devas fighting over a pitcher (kumbh) filled with immortality; in the fight the pitcher was shattered and the nectar was scattered.
- The location of the four riverside cities where the Kumbh Mela is held corresponds to where the drops landed: Nashik, Ujjain, Haridwar, and Allahabad -- it is the Kumbh Mela every twelve years in Allahabad that is the largest and most auspicious as the "Great" or Maha Kumbh Mela which attracted over 100 million people in 2013. The next Maha Kumbh Mela is in January of 2025, so you better get your plane tickets now!
- The Kumbh Melas are opportunities to meet others, learn from gurus, practice charity, bathe in sacred waters to wash away negative karma for oneself and for one's ancestors alike, and to generally receive entertainment over the course of several days.
Diwali
- Diwali is the Festival of Lights. it celebrates the Hindu New Year, lasting five days with the main celebrations taking place on the third day. The next Diwali is this October 31st, 2024 but it changes each year as the Hindu calendar is a lunar calendar.
- Diwali celebrates the return of the exiled Prince Rama as described in the Epic Ramayana. Some others say that Diwali celebrates another of Vishnu's avatars, Krishna, who killed the demon Narakasura. The cause for celebration may vary, but the central theme is the same: the acknowledgement of light and knowledge triumphing over darkness and ignorance.
- Festivities for Diwali include cleaning the home and the lighting of lamps which guide Lakshmi the devi of wealth and Ganesha the deva of success to bring prosperity for the new year. The Indian subcontinent positively glows from outer space on this magical night.
Maha Shivaratri
- "Maha" means great in Sanskrit, as you might have guessed from the Maha Kumbh Mela. Maha Shivarati is the "Night of Great Vigil" which is most important among Shaivites. The next Maha Shivarati will be on March 8th, 2025.
- Prayers are directed towards Shiva on this night to honor him before the new moon. The roots of this celebration comes from The Puranas and by some accounts celebrates the divine dance of Shiva in his form as Nataraja, the "Cosmic Dancer" who creates, preserves, and destroys with his dance.
- Dancing, meditation, chanting, and offerings of divine food (prasada) are all included to commemorate Shiva's triumph against darkness.
Holi
- Holi is the Festival of Colors, marking the beginning of spring. The festival is dedicated to love, meeting new people, forgiving others, social unity, and joyous celebration. The next Holi celebration is March 14th, 2025.
- Dyes and colorful powders (gulal) are thrown and painted on participants -- members of all Hindu religious groups find some significance linked to their ishta-deva during Holi.
- Holi is unique as this is the one time of the year where all castes may come together and co-mingle -- the colorful powders obscure social identities and so for this special day all people may come together and celebrate as a united humanity.
Navatrati
- Navatrati is a nine-night festival that is celebrated across the entire Indian subcontinent. This is a time for stories from the various Puranas and the Ramayana to be shared and dramatically reinacted. Some devotees will use this time to feast while others will instead fast. The next Navatrati starts on October 3rd, 2024.
- The actual cause for celebration various throughout India. Some attribute the celebration to the overcoming of Prince Rama over Ravana, the Demon King of Lanka. Others attribute the celebration instead to the Divine Mother Durga's overcoming of the buffalo demon Mahishasura. Regardless of the exact reason, the theme for the season is a celebration of good triumphing over evil.
- At the end of the festival peace and knowledge are celebrated in the form of adorations to Saraswati, the goddess of music, art, and learning (and consort of Brahma the Creator God). This often takes place during the day that follows the ninth-night which is celebrated as Dussehra.
Unit 2 Playlist
Audio Reading: 2e4e8614-bd06-4e22-8246-25a429f7891c.mp3
To begin...looking at a few different ideas...Here is the Hymn to Indra Audio Reading:84d399af-f215-4be6-8fc4-7658b407c2bb.mp3
from the Four Vedas.
Don't worry about the definition of every word; that will only frustrate you. The key issue is what power and accomplishments can be credited to Indra, which are what?
Now look at the Hymn I. Agni, Audio Reading:b59db48e-d68f-4aeb-bea2-9202769a4493.mp3
as in the Hymn to Indra, Audio Reading:ef31f700-4adc-4c76-ac25-668e7821807a.mp3
don't worry about every last word. Also, translators have the annoying habit of thinking that every divine being should be addressed in the language of the King James Bible. Try to look for the key powers of Agni. What are they?
Here is a little bit more to explore Vedic Creation Hymn, Audio Reading:ec1fd8b5-c70b-4ac4-8cca-fb61ebc9e5eb.mp3
The Isha Upanishad, Audio Reading: b16a8c3f-1a52-46c4-874f-143481597942.mp3
Chandogya Upanishad (Ch. 6, Khandas: 1, 12, 13), Audio Reading: 901b7626-85be-43d4-b7b0-3662b1c7b02f.mp3
Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 2, Verses 4-30) Audio Reading: 88672f53-d5a6-4025-8512-1f1a09d32287.mp3
Another good way to understand the development of Hinduism is through the Mahabharata;
it explores Hinduism between 400 bce and 200 ce and is regarded by Hindus as both a text about dharma (Hindu moral law) and a history (itihasa, literally “that's what happened”).
The Caste System in Visual Form Audio Reading: e5989ed2-ad56-4caf-8ef4-efa4e30275ee.mp3
...check it out.
Finally, watch this: