RG ST 71 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Diana L. Eck, American Civil Religion, Model Minority
Origins of Hinduism
Swami Vivekananda
➔The first Hindu missionary to America
➔Parallel to Dharmapala
◆Was not the typical conservative, traditional Hindu
● Part of the modern reform movement
➔Trying to systematize Hinduism for the west through the Four Yogas
◆Jñāna yoga: discipline of knowledge and one’s own divinity
● The divine resided within each being
● No divide between a person and the divine
◆Bhakti yoga: discipline of love/devotion to divinity
● One’s goal was the love God
○ Actions: chant God’s name
● Alternative to the harder Jñāna study
○ Instead required you to open your heart and live in ecstasy with
God
○ More about the heart and practice
◆Karma yoga: discipline of selfless action and duty to realize one’s own divinity
● Service to others
◆Raja yoga: “royal path” control of the mind to the realization fo one’s divinity
● Meditation
● This is the one that Vivekananda presented to the world
Sikhism in North America
➔Divided between Sikhs of South Asian origin and non-South Asians
➔Yogi Bhajan
◆South Asian who brought a form of Sikhism to America that matched orientalist
expectations
● Meditation
Immigrant/south asian communities
➔pre-1965 : primarily Sikh
➔1971 Immigration Act/Barred Zone Act: specifically designed to keep South Asians out of
the US
➔South Asian religious diversity
◆Sikh, Hindu traditions, Islam, Jain, Christian
I. Literary Hinduism
➔the exploration of the traditions through literature (texts)
➔Text centered vs ritual practices
➔Aimed at cultural elites, counter cultural individuals
➔Search for authenticity of ancient/original forms of Hindu traditions in texts
➔Universal application of Hindu ideas and concepts / disregard for specific cultural
traditions
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
➔Hinduphobia and Hinduphilia
◆Fascination with the texts but fear of the people who practice Hinduism
◆Desire for Hindu religious ideals but aversion to the people who practice it (South
asians)
Ralph Waldo Emerson/Henry David Thoreau
➔Work influenced by Bhagavad Gita and Vedas
➔Fond of the concept of “nondualism” (advaita)
◆No separation between the self and the divine
New England Transcendentalism
➔Reaction against intellectualism and formal/strict Christianity
➔The spiritual transcends the material and empirical
➔Christianity sets up an antagonism between creation and nature
◆Overcome the ability of the individual to be locked into Christian theology
◆The spark of the divine allows them to transcend
Theosophy
➔Movement of westerners determined to retrieve the power and meaning of Asian
traditions
➔1875 Theosophical Society is organized
➔H.P. Blavatsky
◆Sailed to India to promote Indian religions in opposition to missionary Christianity
● West imposing itself on the East to make sure they remain Eastern
➔Goals:
◆Treat all human beings the same regardless of color
◆Promote the study of Eastern literature, religions, and sciences
◆Investigate the hidden mysteries of nature and the psychical powers latent in
man (divine spark)
➔1893 Theosophy represented at World’s Parliament of Religions
◆Emphasized Universal Brotherhood
➔Core concerns:
◆Esoteric interest investigating spiritual phenomena and discovering the occult
laws undergirding them
◆Esoteric interest in promoting the theory that all religions are essentially one
➔Influence and legacy
◆Dharmapala and Paul Carus
◆Instilled oriental religions into American culture
● Karma, reincarnation, ascended masters, and the idea of Atlantis
II. Age of Gurus
III. Pervasive Hinduism
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Was not the typical conservative, traditional hindu. Trying to systematize hinduism for the west through the four yogas. J na yoga: discipline of knowledge and one"s own divinity. No divide between a person and the divine. Bhakti yoga: discipline of love/devotion to divinity. Instead required you to open your heart and live in ecstasy with. Karma yoga: discipline of selfless action and duty to realize one"s own divinity. Raja yoga: royal path control of the mind to the realization fo one"s divinity. This is the one that vivekananda presented to the world. Divided between sikhs of south asian origin and non-south asians. South asian who brought a form of sikhism to america that matched orientalist expectations. 1971 immigration act/barred zone act: specifically designed to keep south asians out of the us. Sikh, hindu traditions, islam, jain, christian: literary hinduism. The exploration of the traditions through literature (texts) Aimed at cultural elites, counter cultural individuals.
