Notes on Hinduism | Religion: Analysis and Interpretation | REL 2011, Study notes of World Religions

Download Notes on Hinduism | Religion: Analysis and Interpretation | REL 2011 and more Study notes World Religions in PDF only on Docsity! Hinduism 04/02/2010 17:03:00  Hinu: people from India  Indus River  Idustand (land of Indus)  Indus (people from the land of Indus)  India (in own language= Barat)  British got to India in 16th Century  Learned sacred text (written in Sanskrit) the Veda (name of sacred text)  People who taught scripts were priests called Brahmins)  Hinduism: The indigenous religions of India  -------------------------------------------------  Myth (Creation)  Prakrti (stuff)  then brahma (a G’D) shapes it into everything there is.  After that Brahma the Creator is “out of the picture” He looses interest in creation.  Vishnu: The Preserver.  He “keeps world moving” after Brahma starts it.  Vishnu always holds a battle weapon, a wheel/chackra, and has a 7- hooded snake.  Ways Vishnu takes care of world:  1. By Sleeping, while a cobra holds him up.  He dreams of “this world”  Maya: That which is not fully real or unreal  Budh: To be awake  Budha: Thhat who is awake/ knows difference between dream and reality/ understanding.  Moksha: Nirvana  2. Incarnation: Avatara (to step down)  Adharma: (not dharma) Chaos  Dharma: Order  When there’s chaos he incarnates in the world to re-establish that order.  How to live in the world in the right way  Some Incarnations: Krishna, Rama, Buddah, Kalkin Etc.  Shiva: The Destroyer.  Mount Kailash- Sits on the Himalayas.  Has many different forms.  Teaches how to transcend the world (not live in like Vishnu, but how to go beyond it.)  Carries a staff/trident and has India’s greatest river coming out of his head.  He Meditates/ he is a peaceful mind  He is a Yogeshvara (Yoghi)  He is married: wife’s name Parvati (Daughter of the mountains, mother of the universe)  She is beautiful, but he meditates all the time, she is bored/ (wants to go dancing).  When he stretches, the world shakes creating earth quakes, Vishnu wakes up- ending dream therefore world ends.  (Shiva turns to  Natyaraja (lord of dance) & Parvati turns to  Kalima (carries a severed head and trident and harvesting instrument in order to cut attachment to this world.)  Kali is often seen on a corpse of Shiva  Shakti: power/ G’D (any and all  If G’D was left on its own, it would meditate and do nothing  Bhakti: Devotion (loving G’D, singing, dancing, chanting, drumming, etc. all for G’D) 3 Qualities of Nature:  Sattva: intellect and light  Rajas: action and strength  Tamas: inertia/ laziness 3/3 correspond to one another in the order presented (i.e. Jnana to Sattva) Priests: Communicate with a G’D for the people Gods and Goddesses 04/02/2010 17:03:00 Next Class- Pandit Chamanlal Raina March 4th- Rabi Farber March 11- test (Hinduism and Judaism) March 12- essay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Puja: worship- incense, etc. Brahman:  subtle all-pervading essence  written about in “Upanishads” mystical texts  Being-COnciousness-Bliss SATCITANANDA  Ca not be persieved by senses  Is everywhere Shiva:  Yogeshwara: meditation  Natyaraja: dancing (destruction of the world)  Lingam: aniconic – fertility (three horizontal lines= shive or shiva’s family) Shakti: (with shakti: energy)  Parvati: mountains  Kali/Kalima: Destructive Ganesha:  Second son of shiva and parvati  Elephant G’D: shiva got mad, took head off, replaced w/ elephant  Lord of beginnings  Lord of obstacles  Trident Subramanyam/Skanda/Kartakeyya:  First son of Shiva and Parvati  Warrior G’D  Lance Vishnu:  Incarnations to show humans how to live in the world  Carries various things (i.e. diskus/wheel to keep order)  Married to Lakshmi: Goddess of wealth  Avatara: incarnation o Rama:  Military  Husband (rescues zita [wife])  Shows how to be a responsible and good family man  Hanuman: monkey-face G’D