Eastern Religions

Hinduism 3:

Vedantic Hinduism

1. Important Vedic Gods2. Maya, Samsara and Asceticism3. Vedantic Philosophy

Note: Gold and White

Important Vedic Gods

4

Varuna: Lord of Heavens and Oceans

Grk. god Poseidon

Grk. god Ouranos

vr=to surround

the preserver ofmoral order

Roman god Uranus

Roman god Neptune

The CosmicJudge

rta = order

Genesis 1: 6-8God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”

Omniscience of VarunaThe Thousand Eyes of Varuna

Surya, the Sun God

Mitra = “Friend”

right: Mithraic cult in Rome

GreekHelios

Greek Apollo

Surya = “Supreme Light”

Gayatri Mantra

"We meditate on the (brightly shining) glory of the divine Light;

may he inspire our understanding."

this translation is by

SarvepalliRadhakrishnan(1888-1975)

Philosopher

1st VP of modern India2nd President of

modern India

Rig Veda 3.62.10

Indra: Thunder God

Indra became the most important of the Vedic Gods

Indian warriors were very impressed with this warrior God who was most like them.

The Slaying of Vritra

Indra was a hero. He fought the enemies of the gods.

Zeus

Jupiter

Thor

Taranis

An awesome power that warriors wanted to tap into.

European Counterparts

Rudra: the Wind and Storm God

called “the wild one” and “the howler”

Messenger of the godsGod who inspires us

Mercury Hermes

Agni: the Fire God

Heraclitus,early Greek Philosopher

a witness at Hindu weddings

REVIEW A

maya, samsara, and asceticism

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Axial Age

1. Upanishads (8th- to 5th- C BC)

2. Isaiah (8th-c BC)

3. Jeremiah (7th- to 6th-c BC)

4. The Mahavira (6th C BC)

5. Zoroaster (6th C BC)

6. Confucius (6th C BC)

7. Lao Tzu (6th C BC)

8. The Buddha (c.6th- to 5th-C BC)

9. Socrates (5th C BC)

10. Plato (5th- to 4th C BC)

11. Aristotle (4th C BC) "the spiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently... And these are the foundations upon which humanity still subsists today.“--Karl Jaspers

800-200BC

The Origin and Goal of History

by Karl Jaspers

Vedanta

Veda anta

end

Vedic Sacrificeto maintain the order of the world

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Maya(Illusion)

“Maya” by Kathleen Scarboro

Acommonrefrain

in Vedantais

“neti neti”

“not this,not that”

What I’m looking for is not of this world!This world seems to be one of whirling, overlapping confusion.

Samsara

The Wheel of this Earthly Life

A Whirlpool of Existence in this World

literally, a “continuous flow” of existence, it is(1) cycle of Birth, Life, Death, and Rebirth (Reincarnation)

(2) a cycle of suffering

Samsarais a flow,or cycle,

of Karmic

connections

Asceticism

John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in Franco Zefferelli’s film “Jesus of Nazareth”

Withdrawing from the World in order to Focus on Spiritual Life

The Answer for Some:

Riches or God?Jesus argued that you can’t serve both.

"You cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 16:13b)When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Luke 18:22)

Monastic Movement

St. Dominic, St. Francis (top), St. Benedict, and St. Anthony

ChristianAsceticism

These saintsestablished monasteriesfor focus on

the spiritual life.

And likeBuddhist

monasteries,they hada close

relationshipwith the

communities thatsupported them.

Asceticslive off of whatthey can find in nature, oralms.

Alms:charity, or gifts to the poor

SadhuA Hindu ascetic is called a

Holy Man

This is how Jainism, Buddhism, and Vedantic Hinduism got their starts.

Forest DwellersThe earliest Sadhus were

Upanishads

Philosophical reflections on the Vedas

Seated at the feet(of the Guru)

The new holy texts of the Vedanta were called the

Guru(A teacher who Brings Light into the Darkness)

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

The word swami means “master.”

GurumayiRamakrishna

Vivekananda

The Forest BooksThe first Upanishads are called the

R

REVIEW B

vedantic philosophy

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The question then becomes: What DO you want?

Hinduism in a Nutshell:You can have what you want!

Huston Smith

1. Pleasure (kama)2. Worldly success (artha)

(wealth, fame, and power)

Paths of Desire

Can you ever have ‘enough’? Can these things really bring you

lasting happiness/satisfaction?

3. Social Duty (dharma)(1st level of renunciation: service to something greater than yourself)

Paths of Renunciation

Causes of Suffering

Limits to:

SAT space and timeBeing

CHIT Knowledge

ANANDABliss

Moksha (Liberation)

Huston Smith tells us that to the Hindu, the purpose of life is “to pass beyond imperfection altogether.”

Infinite SAT, CHIT & ANANDA.

InfiniteBEING,KNOWEDGEand BLISS

“Follow your bliss!”

What we really want is

R

REVIEW C

Brahman

ब्रह्मन्is

SatchitanandaINFIITE BEING, INFINITE KNOWLEDGE, INFINITE BLISS

OMNIPRESENT, OMNISCIENT, OMNIPOTENT

Brahman

Chinese Tai Chi

Purusha

Shang Ti (Shangdi)

Yahweh

Allah

“The Absolute”Godhead

theAll-Embracing

Originof all things.

Purusha,like otherVedic gods,fades inimportance.

ब्रह्मन्

Tat Tvam Asi: That Thou Art!

“They say ‘you can have what you want’. But wait until you here the punch-line: you alreadyhave it!”

It’s there inside of you!

(That you are!)

We are dropsfrom the great

Oceanand we return to the great Ocean.

“Little drops makea great ocean.”

--Hindu saying

“Atman is Brahman!”

The True Selfand

the Divineare One

A New Lensthrough which to

See the World

“Neti, neti!”

becomes

“Tat Tvam Asi!”

“That Thou Art!”

Shiva NatarajThe Lord of the Dance

Shiva’sfoot on theback of the

dwarf, which represents

the ego.

gives rise toLILA,

the Divine Play

By putting our egos in place, we can participate in the Divine Play of the Universe.

Hindu Greeting. meaning “The divine within me honors the divine within you.”

Namaste

Union with the Divine“What the realization of our total being is like can no more be

described than can a sunset to one born blind; it must be experienced. The biographies of those who have made the discovery provide us with clues, however.

“These people are wiser; they have more strength and joy. They seem freer, not in the sense that they go around breaking the laws of nature (though the power to do exceptional things is often ascribed to them) but in the sense that they seem not to find the natural order confining. They seem serene, even radiant. Natural peacemakers, their love flows outward, alike to all. Contact with them strengthens and purifies.”

--Huston Smith

Isha Upanishad

1. ALL this, whatsoever moves on earth, is to be hidden in the Lord (the Self). When thou hast surrendered all this, then thou mayest enjoy. Do not covet the wealth of any man!

…6. And he who beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, he never turns away from it7. When to a man who understands, the Self has become all things, what sorrow, what trouble can there be to him who once beheld that unity?

--translation by Max Müller

“If all the Upanishads and all the other scriptures happened all of a sudden to be reduced to ashes, and if only the first verse in the Ishopanishad were left in the memory of the Hindus, Hinduism would live for ever.”

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