Religion

Vedas authority

- Authority Affirmed my most Hindus -The propriety of making offerings to their deities.

Hindu goddess of the breast

- Parvati Wife of Shiva, Krishnas consort Radha, Vishnus wife Lakshmi, and Brahmas wife Saraswati. -Have feminine features and take care of husbands -faithful to their gods -rule over their own realms

religion (after enlightenment)

- The development of the category of religion -Developed by English Christian protestant -changes the definition of religion

Classification of Vedas

-4 Vedas and 4 texts in each one Rig Veda -poems or chants praying the gods recited by priests during sacrifices and other rituals

Hindu philosophical matters

-6 philosophical schools -Dominate school is called Vedanta meaning the end of the Vedas but this school is also divided into various sub schools over the relationship between Brahman the divine and the atman the self soul

Majority of Hindus Believe

-A personal god

Hinduism developed

-A subcontinent of astonishing cultural ethnic social linguistic and regional diversity

Lingam

-Abstract representation of the Hindu god Shiva in the shape of a cylindrical pillar -Worshiped in home shrines temples and natural objects.

Vishishtadvaita Vednta

-Adherents of this qualified non dualism school -argue the only one thing exists brahman -Exhibits multiplicity all the way down -Advanced most famously by the Vaishnava Philosopher Ramanuja this school contends that god is one yet can be describe personally and with attributes -Hinduism

Buddhists and Sikhs both

-Adopted and adapted key concepts from Hindu thought such as karma, samsaram and moksha -We all find ourselves in a moral universe in which our karmic action in past and parent lives

Perennialism

-Belief that there is one religion underlying what appears to be many religions that all religions are in essence one

Ram Mohan Roy

-Bengali Brahmin reformer -Steeped into a tradition that forbade travel outside into -but he went to Europe -Now only believes in one god who is known through reason and worshiped in all the worlds religions -Started Hindu Renaissance

only religion interested in salvation

-Christianity

Four C's

-Creeds aka theologies and statements of beliefs -Codes aka standards for ethical conduct -Cultus aka rituals informed by creeds and codes -Community aka groups and institutions tied together by creeds and codes

Divinity schools religious Literacy Project list

-Developed a list of principle for students of religion 1. Religions are internally diverse as opposed to uniform. 2. Religions evolve and change overtime 3.Religous inferences are embedded in all dimensions of culture as opposed to isolated private contexts.

Diane Moore and Harvard

-Divinity schools religious Literacy Project list

Divinity in Hindu

-Do not agree on the math of divinity - There are Hindu atheists and gnostics

Hindu characteristics

-Do not attempt to attract converts -To be a hindu is to be born into a hindu Family -Classified as a ethnic religion -India has over one billion hindus -A way of life not religion

Dvaita Vedanta

-Dualist argue that brahman and than are distinct -Humans depend on the divine for both their being and their spiritual liberation -This school founded by Madhva who worshiped Vishnu as supreme conceive of brahman personally as sauna with attributes -Hinduism

Gnesha

-Elephant headed son of Shiva and Parvati -Member of the hindu pantheon -Fat happy god of good fortune garden of thresholds and remover of obstacles, he is the deity to worship at the beginning of any new venture -often seen near the front door of hindu family homes -Potbellied god is typically depicted holding an axe to destroy obstacles a rope to rescue devotees from harm and a sweet cake symbolizing the bliss of spiritual liberation

Yajna

-Fire sacrifice -The Vedas tells you how to do it -you do it because the gods will destroy the world if you dont

Devi

-Hindu godess -Breast and tooth -goddess of the tooth are violent wild and independent whereas the goddess of the Brest are nurturing gentle and joined to their husbands

The Epics

-Hinduism -Ramayana and Mahabharata -Excerpt from Mahabharata is carried around aka the Gita -long poem tells a story

Rig Veda

-Hinduism's oldest sacred text -Hinduism -Creation story -Universe as a body -social class by cosmic poem Brahmins mouth Rules arms Producers legs Feet servant class -Beginning of the caste system -gods die and recycle

Samsara Hinduism Cycle

-It is a cycle of death and rebirth plus nothing is real in the world. -Just how the universe works no god break the cycle

Samsara Hinduism The world

-It is a cycle of death and rebirth plus nothing is real in the world. -Just how the universe works no god break the cycle -This world feels real but isn't -The sense that something is off -Illusion and pain -You can get out -You have to be a good person to get out -the world we live in has been created and destroyed so many times there is no beginning -cant fail

Necessity of generalization

-It is impossible to avoid -Scholarship emphasized specialization rather than synthesis because professors can earn their credentials by doing specialized work.

Hindu aims of life

-Karma aka Pleasure -Artha aka wealth and power -Dharma aka duty -Moksha aka spiritual liberation

Hindus worship

-Many gods and goddesses -Worship through many yogas or disciplines and many philosophies. -Many paths aka margas, invite believers to approach the divinities of their choosing through wisdom aka jnana, devotion aka Bhakti, or action aka karma.

Moksha goal

-Not for all Hindus

Hinduism is one of the

-Oldest traditions in the world with a long history that complicates easy generalizations

Vedic Religion

-Religious belief system of Indo-European migrants to north India; involved animal sacrifice and elaborate ceremonies to ensure that all transitions in the natural world-day to night, or one season to the next proceeded smoothly.

Advaita Vedanta

-See no essential distinction between brahman and atman -Understand the divine as impersonal and nirvana without attitudes -conclude that all we can affirm about ultimate reality is net net not this not that, -Key figure here is the philosopher Shankara who argued that spiritual liberation comes only when one realizes that multiplicity is Maya a illusion and that reality is monotheistic. -Committed to non dualism members of this school today often view the worlds religions as essentially one -Hinduism

Brahmins

-Smoke to nourish the gods -Preserving the universe -the highest rank in hindu tradition have to do the fire sacrifices to save the world -Hereditary position making a influence on the social order

Moksha

-The Hindu concept of the spirit's 'liberation' from the endless cycle of rebirths. -is. not a place it is a moment in time - the point at which you have enough Karma the cycle ends -a moment like a snap -Final death -Stuff after this -The ultimate goal, but not the only one aka householder

Kali

-The black one Hindu -goddess of the tooth -Skirt made of human arms and necklace of severed human heads and a south dripping with blood. -Scary but uses power to destroy evil. -Sprang full born from the forehead of Durga in order to. slay a demon -Domesticated into mother Kali but she is still said to frequent cremation grounds and consume meat blood and alcohol -Beloved in Bengal

Vedas

-The oldest and most sacred Sanskrit scriptures unauthorized revelations that offer one common source of a shared Hindu identity

Outside the system of classification in Hindu are

-The outcasts or untouchables Dalits aka broken

Karma yoga

-The spiritual discipline of selfless action -descipline of action -humans achieve moksha through moral and ritual action -revere moral giants such as Mohandas Gandhi and truth force

Hinduism

-The way of devotion -Gods are hyper abundant in 330 million -Many over one

Durga

-Tooth goddess hindu -Created by the three gods -After failing to kill a buffalo demon they combined their powers to create a superhero of sorts to do what done of them were Able to do alone. -10 arms and riding a tiger -weapons of male gods who made her -Diet of meet blood and alcohol

Religion Matters

-Trying to cultivate religious literacy

Samsara Hinduism

-Wandering through 1. Cycle of redeath 2. The world -Dont have to Hindu to get out - All of us are in samsara -The problem

Two ways to talk about religion

-Way of faith and devotion aka religious study -non devotional way aka academic

Deities In the Vedic Period

-Why fire sacrifices are important 1.Agni fire god 2. Indra 3. Soma 4. Varuna -deity has one purpose starting a fire - later personal gods -gods go out of style and new are introduced and recycled -Hinduism

Shaivas

-Worship Shiva as supreme -Typically Monotheistic -Hinduism

Shaktas

-Worship as the supreme the goddess Devi or some other manifestation of her goddess power ak shake -Manifestations include unmarried goddesses who are worshipped as individuals and spouse goddesses whoa are typically worshiped in male female pairs

Vaishnavas/Vaishnavites

-Worship one of the avatars of Vishnu especially Krishna and Rama as their deity of choice -Typically Monotheistic -Hinduism

Indus Valley Civilization

-an early civilization, known for its advanced culture, that developed in the Indus River valley in India -Early roots of hinduism shown by mother goddess male divines a sacred bull sacrificial offering and ritual bathing

Problem with essentialism

-ancient philosocial view that the things we see ib the world express unchanging forms -its something in it not a use of it

Category of religion is not necessarily concerned about

-being right -being private -being mutually exclusive -not being part of the government

not only do religions have different goals

-but history these goal change over time and people do the changing

Bracketing

-challenges us to momentarily set aside our own attitudes and beliefs in order to examine whatever we are examining in an unbiased manner

Jnana yoga

-discipline of wisdom path -humans achieve moksha by attaining knowledge the knowledge that the essence of the divine nd the essence of the human are one of the same -Wisdom can be achieved only through self effort through austerity and study and mental discipline -Meditation and yogic exercises

Christianity is the only religion

-only major religion puts a strong emphasis on beliefs - problem here is using Christianity as the base model for comparing other religions

Early use of the word religion

-origins unclear -before enlightenment religion is" the careful performance of ritual obligation" this means during something again and again or making books and reconsidering thoughts

Bhakti Yoga

-path of devotion -Introduced in Gita -humans achieve moksha via devotion to. god or goddess of their choosing -This is a pathos other help in which the devotee turns for assistance a particular diety who responds with favor in return -rever the gods themselves and their most fervent bhaktas including poet saints who epitomized devotion in word and worship

Tirthas are...

-physical fords and spiritual crossing points -Crossing places in Hindu

Smartas

-refuse to choose mount the other options of hinduism because of their belief that the various manifestations of the divine are essentially the same -Though they may prefer a particular god they regard any god in their gaze as a representation of the undivided divine

Hinduism is a what term

-regional term -for a period of time everyone in a region was called Hindu Christians muslims everyone

we can't use Christianity as the definition of

-religion if we want to understand islam or buddhism

J. Z. Smith

-religion is a modern western invention

7 dimensions of religion

-ritual dimension aka rites and ceremonies -narrative or mythic dimension aka myths related to sacred things -The experiential or emotional dimension aka experiences of awe guilt -The social or institutional dimension aka religious organizations -The ethical or legal dimension aka laws and moral codes -The doctrinal or philosophical dimension aka creeds and theologies -The material dimension aka prayer beads icons

empathetic understanding

-that if you are able to suspend your own judgments you may be able to glimpse how a religions symbols beliefs and practices look to insiders

Religion was built

-to christianity specifications -Every definition includes and excludes things -This is an important bias to consider

critical engagement

-two see the good and the bad of religion

Today Definition of Hindu

-umbrella term for a diverse array of religious concepts symbols beliefs and behaviors.

The Vedas

-very important texts if not the most -Important and respected but not commonly read daily -Hinduism -Means knowledge -Hymns -Which was heard

classification

-very important to see bias and rules -winners write the books

Most Hindus disagree

-whether divinity is to be described in the singular or the plural

Top three religions

1. Christianity 2. Islam 3. Hinduism

Three Margas (paths)

1. Jnana yoga 2. Bhakti yoga 3. Karma yoga

Hindu Scriptures

1. Smriti what is remembered lesser scriptures made by human hands 2. Shruti what is heard eternal and unauthorized revelations merely heard by ancient sages and then moralized and transmitted orally Vedas is the highest

Hindu stages in life

1. Student 2. Householder 3. Retired 4. Sanyassin/Renunciant

Hindu world has traditionally been divided into four classes or Varnas colors

1. The priestly class Aka Brahmins 2.Warrior class aka Kshatriyas 3. Merchant class aka Baishyas 4. Servant class aka Shudras

Shiva

A Hindu god considered the destroyer of the world. -embodies the paradoxical nature of Hindu divinity which can be terrifying and auspicious both destructive and creative -Erotic and family man -Feminine Shiva represents power or energy

Vishnu

A Hindu god considered the preserver of the world -ten avatars who come to earth to make things right when the world has gone wrong -Fish, turtle , boar, man lion, dwarf, Rama with an axe, Rama,Krishna, Buddha, Kalki the future avatar

Avatar

A representation of a Hindu god or goddess in human or animal form.

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

Three Gods of Hinduism

Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva

Siddhartha Gautama

Founder of Buddhism -enlightenment s the Buddha and renounced not only orly pleasures but also Hindu reverence for ancient ritual s

Guru Nanak

Founder of Sikhism -Retained many of his hindu roots and rejected others -drew on influnences from the Islamic tradition

Problem/ Solution/ Techniques / Exemplars

Four part model

In the Bhagavad Gita, what is Arjuna's dilemma

His dilemma is that his friends, family, and people he knows are against him at war and he does not know if he can fight them.

Religion

Make transcendent claims about how people should live their lives -but these traditions identify different problems and offer different solutions -because they are not the same

Brahma

The creator god in Hinduism

Texts of the Vedic Period of Hinduism

Two types -INSPIRED Smriti Texts that people in the religion acknowledge that people wrote them but they were guided by a god during the process. The Epics Oral texts They are the most popular texts -REVEALED Shruti Things that are heard passed on through word of mouth Oral texts The text is revealed in whole to a person The Vedas

Phase one on hinduism

Vedic period -1500 BCE -500 BCE -The soil for both Hinduism and Buddhism -really old so not that good of written records -Fire sacrifice was very important and the Brahmins -Hereditary position making a influence on the social order

rig Veda

a collection of 1,017 Sanskrit hymns composed about 1500 BC or earlier; Hinduism's oldest sacred text.

Secularization Theory

a view that religion is on the decline, and that people around the world are turning to secular and rational ways of understanding their lives

Classification is

arbitrary

Which goddess was created by the other gods as a superhero in order to defeat an unstoppable buffalo demon?

durga

T or F Since its founding in or before 800 BCE, Varanasi has been independently governed by Hindus and even today its sacred spaces and places of worship are exclusively Hindu

false

E. B. Tylor

nineteenth-century scholar who argued that religion originated in the universal human perception that there is a soul and that all indigenous societies held such a belief

Hindu istory

pg 42

four-part model of the worlds religions

problem solution techniques exemplars

Puja

simple worship at home -Devotees make offerings of flowers food water and money to a god -Images of the divine are good

Castes

social groups into which people are born and cannot change Hindu

Varanasi

the holiest city of Hinduism that is found on the Ganges River