ENG 2800 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Upanishads, Vedas, Dharma
Document Summary
The way to get closer to your unity is the pursuit of two interrelated practices. Meditation: detaching your mind from the material world. Asceticism: avoiding pleasure, controlling your body, extreme self denial. The ultimate goal is detachment from your body, and your mind. The main obstacle from being detached from the world is karma. Through constant action and interaction we are tied closely to this world. An endless cycle that lasts thousands of years. Ultimate goal of detachment is to escape from rebirth. This was the basis of the caste system in the society. You can dharma your way into a higher social status in the next life. Only certain people in the elite of the priest could pursue meditation, and asceticism. These people had to withdraw from society, inaction. Buddha was born into the warrior caste with privilege. He eventually left his life behind, and living the life of an ascetic.
