HUMA 1865 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Jnana Yoga, Trimurti, Hindu Philosophy
Jan 17, 2017.
HINDUISM II - The Epic or Classical Period & Schools and Communities of Theology
Monotheism – belief in one God
Polytheism – belief in many gods
Henotheism – “one-God-at-a-time-ism”
Kathenotheism – coined by philologist Max Müller in reference to the Vedas, where each
deity is treated as supreme in turn.
Classical hinduism
Post-Vedic literature called smrti (“that which is remembered”)
➢ Considered inspired human compositions
➢ Includes epics, ancient stories (Puranas), and codes of law and ethics
The Ramayanas
-Sita: ideal wife
-Rama: paragon of human virtue
-Performed in South and Southeast Asian drama and dance traditions
The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita
-One of the longest poems in world literature (approximately 100,000 Sanskrit verses). -
Narrative framework of conflict between cousins (Kauravas and five Pandava brothers,
including Arjuna).
-Bhagavad Gita extracted from Mahabharata espouses devotion to a personal god (Krishna)
in an important shift in Hindu theology.
The three ways of liberation
Action (karma yoga): unselfish duty performed neither in fear of punishment nor in hope of
reward
Knowledge (jnana yoga): transforming wisdom destroys one’s past karma
Devotion (bhakti yoga): surrender to the gods who forgive all sins
The deities of classical hindu
-Vishnu comes down to Earth in various forms (avataras) to rid the world of evil and
establish dharma or righteousness
-Shiva appears simultaneously in paradoxical roles: as creator and destroyer, as exuberant
dancer, and as austere yogi .
-The Goddess (Devi) is manifest as Parvati, the wife of Shiva; she is also Durga, the warrior,
and Kali, the fierce mother. Sarasvati, the consort of the creator god Brahma is a Vedic
goddess later becomes the goddess of learning.
-Ganesha, elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati who removes obstacles is invoked to
begin ventures.
-Murugan, another son of Shiva also known as Skanda is popular in the Tamil region of
South India.
-Hanuman, the monkey god who a model devotee of Rama and Sita, is everyone’s protector.
-Sri (Lakshmi) bestows wisdom and salvation and is grace incarnate.
The Hindu Trinity
Symbolic coalescence of the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva into one form with three faces
-Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the destroyer.
Most sectarian Hindu worshippers focus their devotions on only one deity, whether Shiva,
Vishnu, the Goddess, or a local deity.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are not performed separately, but as an
integrated process for which their own particular supreme god is responsible.
Ages of time
-Puranas refer to cosmological schemes of creation, preservation, and destruction
-Day of Brahma: 14 manvantaras, each 306,720,000 years •
-Four ages (yugas), with steady decline in dharma
➢ Krta (1,728,000 human years)
➢ Treta (1,296,000 human years)
➢ Dvapara (864,000 human years)
➢ Kali (432,000 human years)
Castes and laws of manu
-Laws of Manu: one of many dharmashastra treatises which set out normative moral duties
and roles of castes.
➢ Rules were not necessarily followed strictly and the system is more complex and
flexible than the laws suggest
Indian philosophy
-There are six schools of philosophy in the Hindu tradition.
-These orthodox systems accept the Vedas as eternal truth.
-Jainism and Buddhism are the heterodox, or unorthodox systems in Indian philosophy; that
is, they do not uphold the eternal truth of the Vedas.
School and communities of theologies
Six orthodox schools:
➢ Samkhya
➢ Yoga
➢ Nyaya
➢ Vaisheshika
➢ Mimasa
➢ Vedanta
Orthodox system
➢ Samkhya
➢ Nyaya
➢ Vaisheshika
➢ Mimamsa
➢ Yoga
➢ Vedanta
Vedanta
-Vedanta – end of the Vedas – the philosophy of the Upanishads.
-The Upanishads emphasize knowledge as the path to liberation (moksha) from the cycle of
birth, death, and rebirth .
-Specifically, the knowledge of the identity of Atman and Brahman.
-It is the illusion (maya) that there is a self that persists independently of Brahman that keeps
one tied to samsara.
Note: three schools to focus on in textbook Samkhya, Advaita Vedanta, Yoga.
Heterodox or Unorthodox Schools of Indian Philosophy
Jainism
Buddhism
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Hinduism ii - the epic or classical period & schools and communities of theology. Kathenotheism coined by philologist max m ller in reference to the vedas, where each deity is treated as supreme in turn. Post-vedic literature called smrti ( that which is remembered ) Includes epics, ancient stories (puranas), and codes of law and ethics. Performed in south and southeast asian drama and dance traditions. One of the longest poems in world literature (approximately 100,000 sanskrit verses). Narrative framework of conflict between cousins (kauravas and five pandava brothers, including arjuna). Bhagavad gita extracted from mahabharata espouses devotion to a personal god (krishna) in an important shift in hindu theology. Action (karma yoga): unselfish duty performed neither in fear of punishment nor in hope of reward. Knowledge (jnana yoga): transforming wisdom destroys one"s past karma. Devotion (bhakti yoga): surrender to the gods who forgive all sins.
