Theme 1

• Sources of authority


  • Well-designed cities, advanced for their time (Mohenjo Daro)
  • Seal stones with proto-Shiva on them
  • Figurines → large eyes and exaggerated sexual characteristics
  • Great bath at Mohenjo Daro suggests ritual cleansing
  • Two fireplaces present in households
• Aryan culture


  • Nomadic european warriors
  • Violent disposition, known as the 'smashers of cities'
  • Authors of the Vedas
  • Potentially brought sanskrit with them
• Vedic practices


  • Yajna → fire sacrifice, potential link to practise of Havan today
  • Deified elements of the sacrifice e.g. Agni
  • Mantras believed to have the power to change the world
  • Offerings and sacrifices - ashvamedha, purushamedha
  • Polytheism - had a mixture of separate Gods e.g. Indra, Rudra, Varuna
• Vedic society


  • Use of the varna system, originating from the purusha sukta in the Rig Veda
  • Defined by shruti and rta - idea of cosmic order
  • Aryans potentially placed themselves at the top of the varna system when they integrated into the IVC – high percentage of european blood in top varnas today
• Controversy surrounding word 'HINDUISM'
• Hinduism


  An externally imposed title
• River Sindhu


  Geographical location as opposed to common beliefs and practices
• Conflict between theories


  • Invasion → lack of weapons, Aryans on horseback, 'smashers of cities'
  • Migration → no mass graves found, references in Vedas to settled cities, varna system and European traits
  • Other ideas → river drying up leads to migration south, where Shiva worship is more prominent today
• Issues with archaeologists – defining things that are unknown as cult objects
• Imposing ideas from other cultures e.g. hierogamy at the great bath
• Untranslated script leads to guess work
• Arjuna's dilemma


  Finds himself on the battlefield, but loves people on the opposite side, struggles with his duty to fight
• Teachings on duty


  • Arjuna is a warrior and therefore must fight – importance of svadharma
  • Dharma supersedes any other obligation
  • Following one's duty allows others to do the same - rta
  • Those who die will live on - atman + samsara
• Nature of God


  • Link to samkhya philosophy - God, prakriti and purusha
  • Idea of being distracted by the gunas
  • Purusha strives to be released from prakriti
  • God is radically personalised
• Karma yoga


  • Selfless action performed for the benefit of others
  • Must act in order to survive - but no inorder to gain but because it's what must be done
  • Practising detachment and indifference to the sense world
• Bhakti yoga


  • Loving devotion to a personal God
  • Every action and thought acts as a sacrifice to this God
  • God will return love by removing karmic consequences and granting moksha
• Jnana yoga


  • Path of knowledge, specifically experiential knowledge of relationship with God
  • Realising impermanence of the physical world of prakriti and gunas
  • Detachment to attain true knowledge
• Significance of Bhagavad Gita


  • Introduction of more than onepath to moksha - evolution of Hinduism
  • Development of thought while still maintaining concepts of varna and dharma
  • God as deeply personal - shift from Upanishads
  • Impact of bhakti → dalits, ISKCON, Hindu diaspora
• Shruti


  That which is heard, authored by the Gods, overheard by rishis
• Smrti


  That which is remembered, divinely inspired, has human influence
• Shruti texts


  • Vedas → varna, jnana, polytheism
  • Upanishads → Brahman, moksha, samsara, advaita
• Smrti texts


  • Bhagavad Gita
  • Ramayana
• Views on the texts

  • Shruti seen as most sacred, with esoteric knowledge
  • Reveals knowledge, philosophical truths, unchanging word of God
  • Smrti is well-known, easier to understand and connect with
  • Inspires festivals, gives practical advice on how to behave day today
• Jnana / knowledge


  • Apara knowledge = material objects and rituals
  • Para knowledge = true self and ultimate reality
  • Both forms important, however para leads to moksha and enlightenment
  • External knowledge is less important than experiential knowledge of the oneness of God
• Guru / disciple relationships

  • Chela = disciple
  • Required for experiential nature of jnana – stress given to idea that only living teacher can impart this knowledge
  • Purpose to fully elevate students state of being towards higher knowledge
• Katha upanishad


  • Story of Yama + Nachiketa
  • Self-realisation – most important step for moksha, requires guru + renunciation of earthly things
  • Sense control – dangers of worldly pleasures, should ignore maya and focus on ideal life
  • All this is Brahman – spark of Brahman in every being, self is indivisible from God
• Nature of God


  • Apophatic = can only be described through negation
  • Impersonal, with no attributes
  • Understood through introspection
• Brahman + Atman


  • Jiva atman = lower self
  • Para atman = higher self
  • Equally part of Brahma, but one is embodied and caught up in the sense world
• Advaita


  • Atman = the same as Brahman
  • Spiritual liberation comes from knowledge of the true self
  • Idea of oneness of the entire universe
• Brahmacharya


  • Practice of studentship / celibacy – stage in the ashrama system
  • Control of senses at all times, embraces restraint and rules out anger, hate, and untruth
  • Close match to the BG's definition of a karma yogi
• Satyagraha


  • Means 'truth-force'
  • Truth can refer to ultimate truth of brahman himself in Hinduism
  • Based on Gita teaching of acting out of duty and necessity
  • Related it to his actions against injustice and belief that Truth would always ultimately prevail
  • Created due to discrimination in South Africa
• Ahimsa


  • Presenting violence with fundamental opposite - love
  • Driving force of satyagraha, links to advaita
  • Strength of resisting retaliating with violence
• Gandhi


  • Opposition to partition, universalist belief in religion
  • Swaraj - home rule, clear political goal
  • Opposition to untouchability, link to advaita
  • Universalist approach to religion, political implications
• Ramakrishna


  • Bhakti expressing deep yearning to goddess Kali
  • All-consuming meditation – began seeing divine in everything
  • Achieved darshan with multiple Hiinidu Gods
  • Focus on divine mother – Durga + Saraswati
• Neo Vedanta


  • Saw the oneness of everything + wanted to express love towards it
  • Idea of elevating deprived sections of society and uniting everything
  • Essentially unified all approaches to Hinduism
• Ram Mohan Roy


  • Rejected 'idol' worship and bhakti
  • Focused on upanishadic / philosophical teachings of Hinduism to make it more palatable to western ideas
  • Influenced Vivekenanda – began by rejecting murti-puja as regressive and superstitious
• Vivekenanda


  • Began in RMR's political party, then met Ramakrishna and had a religious experience
  • Became initiated as a monastic disciple
  • Charged by Ramakrishna with mission to spread message of the unity of all humanity
• Ramakrishna mission


  • Vivekenanda travelled around India, seeing poverty in the world
  • Travelled to chicago world fair to spread message of Hinduism
  • Now international organisation that seeks to actively serve all
  • Hospitals, charities, educational institutions
• Ashvamedha


  Animal sacrifice
• Purushamedha


  Human sacrifice