I am taking a "Philosophy of World Religions" class at Oregons State U. Obviously, we are going to be looking at several major world religions. I thought it would be useful if I posted my notes from class and my notes from the reading on here for y'all. May we all remember God's inspired Word when looking at these religions:
[bible]Romans 1:21-22[/bible]
Reading-Hinduism
Introduction
Most of the Indian religious ways have been categorized together as if they were a single tradition name “Hinduism”
Name applied by foreigners
Preferred name is Sanataana Dharma (SD)
Sanatana means eternal or ageless
Dharma translated as “religion,” encompasses duty, natural law, social welfare, ethics, health, and transendental realization
According to tradition, there are 330 million deities in India
Philosphical and Metaphysical Elements
Vedic Age
Aryan Invasion Theory states that the highly organized cultures of the Indus Valley and the villages were overruned by nomadic invaders from outside India
It is believed that the religious texts that are the foundation of SD known as the Vedas, were the product of the invaders
The Vedas sing praise to the subconintent of India, and not to any other homeland
Hindus reject the AI Theory, refusing to believe that their religion is foreign-born
Sanskirt is the ancient language whose origin are also not definately established
The Vedas contains four parts
Brahmanas-Directions about performances of the ritual sacrifices to deities. It explains symboloic correspondences .
Upanishads-teachings from highly spiritualized masters. Although much older, seem to be written down in the middle of the first millinium BC. These teachings are the breath of the eternal, as “heard” by the ancient sages, or rishis. These were later compiled by Vyasa, or “Collector.” These teachings are relevant today because they transcend time.
Rig Veda-praises and implores the blessings of the devas (controlling forces of the cosmos, deities who consecrate every part of life).
Upanishads-represent mystical insights of rishis who sought ultimate reality through their meditations in the forest. Reserved for the serious devoted
One is supposed to look outward
Atman-subtle self or soul
When one discovers the inner self, atman, and thus also its source, Brahman, the slef merges into its transcendent source, one esperiences unspeakable peace and bliss.
Reincarnation-the soul leaves the body and enters a new one.
I thought we were the “Absolute Reality” because the Absolugte reality made us and entered in to us, so how can we merge with it.
“In the beginning there was Existence alone-One only, without a second. He, the One, thought to himslef: Let me be many, let me grow forth. Thus out of himself he projected the universe, and having projected out of himself the universe, he entered into every being. All that it has its self in him alone. Of all things he is the subtle essence. He is the truth. He is the Self. And that,...That art thoug.”-Chandogya Upanishad
Karma-action. The consequences of action. Our lives are what we have made it.
Where does its moral or pure/impure standard come from?
Moksha-Ultimate goal is to escape from teh karma run wheel of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara is the “wheel”
Major Philosophical Systems
Common features among developed long ago in India
All have deep roots int eh Vedas and other scriptures but also in direct personal experiences of the truth through meditation
All hold ethics to be central to orderly social life. They attribute suffering to the law of karma, thereby suggesting incentives to more ethical behavior
All hold that the ultimate cause of suffering is people’s ignorance to the Self, which is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, pefect, and eternal
Samkhya
Kage-semi-mythical sage founder
Two states of reality, Prakriti and Purusha
Purusha-the Self, eternal wise, pure, free, beyond change
Prakriti-Cause of the material universe
Dualistic understanding key
We are like gods who have forgotten the heights from which we came
Advaita Vedanta
Monisitic-positing a single reality
Upanishads-founder, said to be Vyasa
Shankara-philosopher, reorganized teachings
Insists atman (human self) and Brahman (absolute spirit) are actually one
Material Life is an illusion
Maya-power by which the Absolute veils itself; makes us think the physical universe has its own reality
We superimpose our memories and subjective thoughts onto reality.-How can we tell that we have ever escaped this and are thus viewing what is actually there?
Yoga
Sattvic-desired state of balance, purity, wisdom, and peacefulness of mind
Yoga-practice of increasing Sattvic qualities. Means “yoke” or “union,” referring to union with the true Self
Four types of Yoga
Raja Yoga-path of mental concentration
Jnana Yoga-the path of rational inquiry
Karma Yoga-the path of right action
Bhakti Yoga-the path of devotion
Raja Yoga
Sahana-practices of raja yoga
Sutras- terse sayings (196 found in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
Goal is to make mind pure and clear
Moral code-truth, non-violance, non-stealing, continence, and non-covetousness, plus cleanliness, contentment, burning zeal, self-study, and devotion to God
Asanas-physical postures in an attempt to clean the body
Prana-invisible life energy
Chakras-subtle energy centers along the spine
kundalini-referrs to the latent energy at the base of the spine
Ideally, one will have bliss union with the Sublime
Mantras-sacred forumulas, express an aspect of the divine in the form of sound vibration
Chanting sacred syllables is thought to still the mind
A way to elevate the mind is to concentrate on a visual object
In meditation, all worldly thoughts have left
Samadhi-ultimate goal of yogic meditation; super-conscious state of union with the Absolute
Jnana Yoga
Attempts to use the rational mind instead of going above it
Ignorance considered the root of all problems
Continue to ask: “Who am I?”
Spiritual Virtues-calmness, restraint, renunciation, resignation, concentration, and faith
Long for liberation
Karma Yoga
Service rendered withough any interest in its fruits and without any personal sense of giving
All actions are gifts to the Absolute
Bhakti Yoga
Final type of spiritual path
Most popular
Devotion to personal deity
Bhakti means to share
Bhakta-devotee
Devotion thought to be more dear to the Supreme than to some ritualistic piety
Religious and Ritual Foundations
Brahmins-priests; controlled fire sacrifice rituals; perfomr verbal forumulas, sacred chants, and sacred actions
Brahman-The Absolute, the Supreme Reality
Absolute is impersonal, hard to pray to because it is not totally distinct from ourselves
Saktas
Worship a Mother Goddes
Estimated 50 million hindusworship some form of the goddess
goddess power called sakti
Local level most deities are worshipped as goddesses
goddesses intimately concerned with village affairs
Worshipped in both plural and singular
Durga-great goddess; represented as a beautiful woman with a gentle face but with ten arms holding weapons
Kali-divine in fierce form; portrayed as with dripping with blood
Tantras-sacred texts on how to honor the goddesses
Female highly venerated in Hinduism
No sacrifice is complete unless the wife participates
Saivites
Siva-a personal, many-faceted manifestion of the attributeless supreme deity; creator, preserver, destroyer, personal lord, friend, primal soul
Durga is Siva’s feminine consort
Parvati-Spouse of Siva
Encompasses traditions that have developed outside Vedic-based Brahmanism
Vaishnavites
Vishnu-beloved as the tender, merciful deity
Krishna takes on many forms. If revered as supreme lord, person lowers themselves. If sees as master, the devotee is his servant. If loved as a child, the devotee takes the role of a loving parent. If Krishna is the beloved, the devotee is his lover.
Lakshmi-ancient goddess worshiped in her own rright. Associated with prosperity.
The Epics and Puranas
Epics and Puranas-scriptures arising in 500BCE
Narratives and poems
Spiritual knowledge through myths
Ramayana and Mahabarata-two epics that present the supreme being, usually as Vishnu, who intervenes on earth during critical periods of the cosmic cycles
Yugas-are the ages(four of them) in each world cycle
Dharma-moral order in the world; natural in the first age
Kali Yuga-last age, very imbalanced
Avatar-incarnations from Vishnu
Ramayana
Epic that deals with the eternal play of good and evil
Teach examples of vertuous life
In sanskrit language
Acted out each year in India
Depicts duty of relationships
Mahabharata
Sanskrit poem of more than 10,000 verses
Plot is the struggle between the sons of a royal family for control of a kingdom near what is now Delhi
Shows all sides of human nature (including things like greed and lust)
Teaches one main ethic: the happiness of others is essential to ones own happiness
Bhagavad-Gita- “Song of the Supreme Exalted One”; 18 chapter; instructions on the arts of self-transcendence and realization
Says that deity can only be knon by those who love him; a small act of devotion in love becomes a way to him
The Puranas
Poetic Sanskrit texts that narrate the myths of ancient times
Popularize the more abstract philosophical teachings found in the Vedas and Upanishads by giving them concrete form
Our material universe is only one of millions
Kirshna is Vishnu’s incarnation
Rich in earthly pleasures
The Hindu Way of LIfe
Rituals
Hindu’s life is wrapped in rituals
16 rites prescribed in the ancient scriptures to purify and sanctify the person in his journey through life
Puja-public worship
Darsan-happens in temples and is visual contact with the divine
Prasad-sanctified food that has offered to the deities or one’s guru
Image of deities in temples are treated as living kings and queens
Statue may not be just a symbol, but the deity may be experianced through that symbol
Havan-sacred fire place where fire ceremonies are preformed
Castes and Social Duties
Brahmins-priests; in special class since they required special training
Kshatriyas-were the nobility of feudal India
Vaishyas-economic specialists
Shudra-manual laborers and artisans
Untouchables-lower than the four castes above, known as “outcasts”; held such duties as removing human wastes and corpses, sweeping streets, and working with leather from the skins of dead-duties that made them abhorrent to others
Over time caste membarship became hereditary
Brahmins increased in control
1948-Stigma of “untouchability” abolished
Life Stages
Spiritual enlightenment takes at least a lifetime, if not many
In the past, spiritual training was available to upper male class only
A brahmin’s male lifetime consisted of four stages of 25 years each
0-25-sat under a teacher
25-50-became a householder-married, raised a family, etc.
50-75-Turns to meditation and detachment of world desires
75-becomes a sannyasin-completely withdrawn from society; declares himself to be attached to noone and no-one is attached to him
Many do not follow this path, but instead become sannyasins early in life and going to live in retreat communities that have developed around a teacher )ashram)
Home Puja
Worship is an everday occurance
Worship usually occurs after morning bath or after evening wash
The Guru
Guru-spiritual teacher
Gurus do not declare themselves to be teachers, people are drawn to them
Gives advice, example, and encouragement
Shaktipat-special “teaching” by power of glance, word, touch or thought
Fasts, Prayers, and Auspicious Designs
Orthodox Brahmins fast during key cosmological times
C-sections are becoming more common so that the parents can choose the most auspicious moment for their child’s birth
Pilgrimages
Times for special purification and elevation
Millions partake in pilgrimages each year
Wherever great teachers were become places of pilgrimages
Festivals
16 relligious holidays are honored by the government
Calculated partially on a lunar calender
Holi-festival where people through colored powder or paint at anyone on the streets, they hug, and all grudges are dropped because it is a new year
Each festival seems to honor a different god
Every few years, millions gather for the Kumbha Mela (2001 said to be the largest gathering of people for one purpose ever)
Hinduism in the Modern World
Some groups in India are attempting to make it more nationalistic
Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-Hindu nationalist group
Secularism-established by India’s government
Indian Supreme Court Definition of Hinduism
1.Acceptance and reverence for the Vedas as the foundation of Hindu philosophy
2.A spirit of tolerance, and willingness to understand and appreciate others’ points of view, recognizing that truth has many sides
3.Acceptance of the belief that vast cosmic periods of creation, maintenance, and dissolution continuously recur
4.Acceptance of belief in reincarnation
5.Recognition that paths to truth and salvation are many
6.Recognition that there may be numerous gods and goddesses to worship, without necessarily believing in worship through idols
7.Unlike other religions, absence of belief in a specific set of philosophic concepts
*Notes from Living Religions, 6th edition, by Mary Pat Fisher
Oh, and if you don't understand my notes, most likely I don't understand them, sorry.
[bible]Romans 1:21-22[/bible]
Reading-Hinduism
Introduction
Most of the Indian religious ways have been categorized together as if they were a single tradition name “Hinduism”
Name applied by foreigners
Preferred name is Sanataana Dharma (SD)
Sanatana means eternal or ageless
Dharma translated as “religion,” encompasses duty, natural law, social welfare, ethics, health, and transendental realization
According to tradition, there are 330 million deities in India
Philosphical and Metaphysical Elements
Vedic Age
Aryan Invasion Theory states that the highly organized cultures of the Indus Valley and the villages were overruned by nomadic invaders from outside India
It is believed that the religious texts that are the foundation of SD known as the Vedas, were the product of the invaders
The Vedas sing praise to the subconintent of India, and not to any other homeland
Hindus reject the AI Theory, refusing to believe that their religion is foreign-born
Sanskirt is the ancient language whose origin are also not definately established
The Vedas contains four parts
Brahmanas-Directions about performances of the ritual sacrifices to deities. It explains symboloic correspondences .
Upanishads-teachings from highly spiritualized masters. Although much older, seem to be written down in the middle of the first millinium BC. These teachings are the breath of the eternal, as “heard” by the ancient sages, or rishis. These were later compiled by Vyasa, or “Collector.” These teachings are relevant today because they transcend time.
Rig Veda-praises and implores the blessings of the devas (controlling forces of the cosmos, deities who consecrate every part of life).
Upanishads-represent mystical insights of rishis who sought ultimate reality through their meditations in the forest. Reserved for the serious devoted
One is supposed to look outward
Atman-subtle self or soul
When one discovers the inner self, atman, and thus also its source, Brahman, the slef merges into its transcendent source, one esperiences unspeakable peace and bliss.
Reincarnation-the soul leaves the body and enters a new one.
I thought we were the “Absolute Reality” because the Absolugte reality made us and entered in to us, so how can we merge with it.
“In the beginning there was Existence alone-One only, without a second. He, the One, thought to himslef: Let me be many, let me grow forth. Thus out of himself he projected the universe, and having projected out of himself the universe, he entered into every being. All that it has its self in him alone. Of all things he is the subtle essence. He is the truth. He is the Self. And that,...That art thoug.”-Chandogya Upanishad
Karma-action. The consequences of action. Our lives are what we have made it.
Where does its moral or pure/impure standard come from?
Moksha-Ultimate goal is to escape from teh karma run wheel of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara is the “wheel”
Major Philosophical Systems
Common features among developed long ago in India
All have deep roots int eh Vedas and other scriptures but also in direct personal experiences of the truth through meditation
All hold ethics to be central to orderly social life. They attribute suffering to the law of karma, thereby suggesting incentives to more ethical behavior
All hold that the ultimate cause of suffering is people’s ignorance to the Self, which is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, pefect, and eternal
Samkhya
Kage-semi-mythical sage founder
Two states of reality, Prakriti and Purusha
Purusha-the Self, eternal wise, pure, free, beyond change
Prakriti-Cause of the material universe
Dualistic understanding key
We are like gods who have forgotten the heights from which we came
Advaita Vedanta
Monisitic-positing a single reality
Upanishads-founder, said to be Vyasa
Shankara-philosopher, reorganized teachings
Insists atman (human self) and Brahman (absolute spirit) are actually one
Material Life is an illusion
Maya-power by which the Absolute veils itself; makes us think the physical universe has its own reality
We superimpose our memories and subjective thoughts onto reality.-How can we tell that we have ever escaped this and are thus viewing what is actually there?
Yoga
Sattvic-desired state of balance, purity, wisdom, and peacefulness of mind
Yoga-practice of increasing Sattvic qualities. Means “yoke” or “union,” referring to union with the true Self
Four types of Yoga
Raja Yoga-path of mental concentration
Jnana Yoga-the path of rational inquiry
Karma Yoga-the path of right action
Bhakti Yoga-the path of devotion
Raja Yoga
Sahana-practices of raja yoga
Sutras- terse sayings (196 found in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
Goal is to make mind pure and clear
Moral code-truth, non-violance, non-stealing, continence, and non-covetousness, plus cleanliness, contentment, burning zeal, self-study, and devotion to God
Asanas-physical postures in an attempt to clean the body
Prana-invisible life energy
Chakras-subtle energy centers along the spine
kundalini-referrs to the latent energy at the base of the spine
Ideally, one will have bliss union with the Sublime
Mantras-sacred forumulas, express an aspect of the divine in the form of sound vibration
Chanting sacred syllables is thought to still the mind
A way to elevate the mind is to concentrate on a visual object
In meditation, all worldly thoughts have left
Samadhi-ultimate goal of yogic meditation; super-conscious state of union with the Absolute
Jnana Yoga
Attempts to use the rational mind instead of going above it
Ignorance considered the root of all problems
Continue to ask: “Who am I?”
Spiritual Virtues-calmness, restraint, renunciation, resignation, concentration, and faith
Long for liberation
Karma Yoga
Service rendered withough any interest in its fruits and without any personal sense of giving
All actions are gifts to the Absolute
Bhakti Yoga
Final type of spiritual path
Most popular
Devotion to personal deity
Bhakti means to share
Bhakta-devotee
Devotion thought to be more dear to the Supreme than to some ritualistic piety
Religious and Ritual Foundations
Brahmins-priests; controlled fire sacrifice rituals; perfomr verbal forumulas, sacred chants, and sacred actions
Brahman-The Absolute, the Supreme Reality
Absolute is impersonal, hard to pray to because it is not totally distinct from ourselves
Saktas
Worship a Mother Goddes
Estimated 50 million hindusworship some form of the goddess
goddess power called sakti
Local level most deities are worshipped as goddesses
goddesses intimately concerned with village affairs
Worshipped in both plural and singular
Durga-great goddess; represented as a beautiful woman with a gentle face but with ten arms holding weapons
Kali-divine in fierce form; portrayed as with dripping with blood
Tantras-sacred texts on how to honor the goddesses
Female highly venerated in Hinduism
No sacrifice is complete unless the wife participates
Saivites
Siva-a personal, many-faceted manifestion of the attributeless supreme deity; creator, preserver, destroyer, personal lord, friend, primal soul
Durga is Siva’s feminine consort
Parvati-Spouse of Siva
Encompasses traditions that have developed outside Vedic-based Brahmanism
Vaishnavites
Vishnu-beloved as the tender, merciful deity
Krishna takes on many forms. If revered as supreme lord, person lowers themselves. If sees as master, the devotee is his servant. If loved as a child, the devotee takes the role of a loving parent. If Krishna is the beloved, the devotee is his lover.
Lakshmi-ancient goddess worshiped in her own rright. Associated with prosperity.
The Epics and Puranas
Epics and Puranas-scriptures arising in 500BCE
Narratives and poems
Spiritual knowledge through myths
Ramayana and Mahabarata-two epics that present the supreme being, usually as Vishnu, who intervenes on earth during critical periods of the cosmic cycles
Yugas-are the ages(four of them) in each world cycle
Dharma-moral order in the world; natural in the first age
Kali Yuga-last age, very imbalanced
Avatar-incarnations from Vishnu
Ramayana
Epic that deals with the eternal play of good and evil
Teach examples of vertuous life
In sanskrit language
Acted out each year in India
Depicts duty of relationships
Mahabharata
Sanskrit poem of more than 10,000 verses
Plot is the struggle between the sons of a royal family for control of a kingdom near what is now Delhi
Shows all sides of human nature (including things like greed and lust)
Teaches one main ethic: the happiness of others is essential to ones own happiness
Bhagavad-Gita- “Song of the Supreme Exalted One”; 18 chapter; instructions on the arts of self-transcendence and realization
Says that deity can only be knon by those who love him; a small act of devotion in love becomes a way to him
The Puranas
Poetic Sanskrit texts that narrate the myths of ancient times
Popularize the more abstract philosophical teachings found in the Vedas and Upanishads by giving them concrete form
Our material universe is only one of millions
Kirshna is Vishnu’s incarnation
Rich in earthly pleasures
The Hindu Way of LIfe
Rituals
Hindu’s life is wrapped in rituals
16 rites prescribed in the ancient scriptures to purify and sanctify the person in his journey through life
Puja-public worship
Darsan-happens in temples and is visual contact with the divine
Prasad-sanctified food that has offered to the deities or one’s guru
Image of deities in temples are treated as living kings and queens
Statue may not be just a symbol, but the deity may be experianced through that symbol
Havan-sacred fire place where fire ceremonies are preformed
Castes and Social Duties
Brahmins-priests; in special class since they required special training
Kshatriyas-were the nobility of feudal India
Vaishyas-economic specialists
Shudra-manual laborers and artisans
Untouchables-lower than the four castes above, known as “outcasts”; held such duties as removing human wastes and corpses, sweeping streets, and working with leather from the skins of dead-duties that made them abhorrent to others
Over time caste membarship became hereditary
Brahmins increased in control
1948-Stigma of “untouchability” abolished
Life Stages
Spiritual enlightenment takes at least a lifetime, if not many
In the past, spiritual training was available to upper male class only
A brahmin’s male lifetime consisted of four stages of 25 years each
0-25-sat under a teacher
25-50-became a householder-married, raised a family, etc.
50-75-Turns to meditation and detachment of world desires
75-becomes a sannyasin-completely withdrawn from society; declares himself to be attached to noone and no-one is attached to him
Many do not follow this path, but instead become sannyasins early in life and going to live in retreat communities that have developed around a teacher )ashram)
Home Puja
Worship is an everday occurance
Worship usually occurs after morning bath or after evening wash
The Guru
Guru-spiritual teacher
Gurus do not declare themselves to be teachers, people are drawn to them
Gives advice, example, and encouragement
Shaktipat-special “teaching” by power of glance, word, touch or thought
Fasts, Prayers, and Auspicious Designs
Orthodox Brahmins fast during key cosmological times
C-sections are becoming more common so that the parents can choose the most auspicious moment for their child’s birth
Pilgrimages
Times for special purification and elevation
Millions partake in pilgrimages each year
Wherever great teachers were become places of pilgrimages
Festivals
16 relligious holidays are honored by the government
Calculated partially on a lunar calender
Holi-festival where people through colored powder or paint at anyone on the streets, they hug, and all grudges are dropped because it is a new year
Each festival seems to honor a different god
Every few years, millions gather for the Kumbha Mela (2001 said to be the largest gathering of people for one purpose ever)
Hinduism in the Modern World
Some groups in India are attempting to make it more nationalistic
Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-Hindu nationalist group
Secularism-established by India’s government
Indian Supreme Court Definition of Hinduism
1.Acceptance and reverence for the Vedas as the foundation of Hindu philosophy
2.A spirit of tolerance, and willingness to understand and appreciate others’ points of view, recognizing that truth has many sides
3.Acceptance of the belief that vast cosmic periods of creation, maintenance, and dissolution continuously recur
4.Acceptance of belief in reincarnation
5.Recognition that paths to truth and salvation are many
6.Recognition that there may be numerous gods and goddesses to worship, without necessarily believing in worship through idols
7.Unlike other religions, absence of belief in a specific set of philosophic concepts
*Notes from Living Religions, 6th edition, by Mary Pat Fisher
Oh, and if you don't understand my notes, most likely I don't understand them, sorry.
