Sept. 30th

Hinduism Notes

Hinduism

• The Mathematics of Divinity
  • Hinduism is the oldest of the great religions, beginning over 2500 years ago.
  • Third largest religion, 900 million followers.
  • Least dogmatic and most diverse religion.
  • No founder or leader.
  • No shared creed or mechanism for excommunication.
  • Do share a scripture and a sacred symbol, The Vedas and Om.
  • Hindus worship many gods aka polytheism and have many paths (margas), disciplines (yogas), and philosophies ( darshanas).
  • Some say there is one supreme God underlying many gods, others say there is no God at all.
  • Most people become Hindu by birth rather than conversion, but some do still convert.
• Samsara and Moksha
  • Samsara is the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Both humans and the cosmos repeat this cycle.
  • Moksha, Hindus see samsara as ultimately something to escape through moksha, or spiritual liberation from the cycle.
  • Does not believe in sin or salvation, but still seeks escape from heaven and hell all together.
  • Hindus realize that not everyone will reach or strive of moksha. Therefore, they acknowledge four different aims in life:
    • Karma, sensual pleasure or desire.
    • Artha, wealth and power.
    • Dharma, behaviors that are in harmony with the universe, moral duties.
    • Moksha, ultimate goal aka spiritual liberation.
  • Yogas, or disciplines, to reach the Moksha:
    • Karma Yoga, right action.
    • Jnana Yoga, knowledge and wisdom.
    • Bhakti Yoga, devotion and love to God of your choosing.
    • Raja Yoga, discipline of the body and mind.
• Four Historical Layers of Hinduism
  1. Indus Valley Civilization
     • 2500 to 1500 BCE
     • In the area of modern day Pakistan.
     • Large, urban, technologically unadvanced population.
     • Some figurines may be predecessors of Hindu gods.
  2. Vedic Religion
     • The Vedas, the worlds oldest holy books, sanskrit for knowledge. ]
     • Two categories of scripture, scruti and smrti.
     • Scruti, that which is heard. Authored by divinity.
     • Smrti, that which is remembered. Authored by gifted human beings called rishis or seers.
     • The Vedas are technical manuals for priests for the proper performance of rituals.
     • Rite, means right/correct. The rituals are meant to create and sustain social and cosmic order (rita) by appealing to the Gods for help and favor.
     • Yajna, fire sacrifice. Transactional, the Gods are “fed” with animals, milk, grain, etc in exchange for order.
     • Caste system, may have originated in Vedic sacrifice of purusha or primeval man.
     • Brahimins, priestly caste (mouth).
     • Kshatriyas, warriors (arms).
     • Vaishyas, merchants (thighs).
     • Shudras, servants (feet)
     • Dalit, untouchable. Lowest, do all the dirty work, like handling corpses.
  3. Philosophical Hinduism
     • Mystics, rather than priests, are the religious exemplars.
     • Focus less on cosmic or social order and more on the nature and destiny of the individual human soul.
     • Wandering and homeless sages who wrestled with the big questions surrounding ultimate reality.
     • The Upanishads complied beginning in 6th century BCE. Collection of wisdoms that these Mystics compiled.
     • Sanyassins, renouncers who drop out of regular life to pursue moksha full time.
     • Humans are essentially spiritual, with an enchanging and eternal soul.
     • That soul is trapped in our bodies and the illusions of the mind, which is ignorant of ultimate reality.
     • Karma, aka action. Universal law, evil actions produce evil consequences and good actions produce good consequences. There is no God that punishes.
     • Both good karma and bad karma result in rebirth into samsara. Only moksha frees the person from karma, ignorance, and rebirth.
     • Yoga, to yoke or unite things.
     • Maya, the veil of illusion that keeps us from seeing ultimate reality.
     • Atman, the essence of the human, the self or the soul.
     • Brahman, the essence of divinity.
     • Attman and Brahman are essentially the same thing.
  4. Devotional Hinduism
     • Around the time of Jesus, people wanted a path to moksha that did not require being a priest of philosopher.
     • Bhakti Yoga, the discipline of devotion, love and devotion to one’s chosen God.
     • Shift from self help to other help.
     • The grace of your chosen deity can bring both moksha and happiness in this lifetime.
     • Most popular path to the divine.
     • Rooted in Mahabaratha and Ramayana, epic tales from the Hindu tradition.
     • Unlike philosophical Hinduism, bhakti practioners see God as personal and emotional.

November 6th

STUDY GUIDE

Judaism

• The Story of Exile and Return

  Hebrew Bible begins with God’s creation of the world in seven days, six days of labor and one day of rest.

  Adam and Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden, first example of Exile.

  God’s only law, do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

  Adam and Eve give in to temptation, break the law, and are banished.

  This sets in motion two primary rythmic themnes of Judaism

• The Nature of God

  God is just, he punished wrongdoing.

  God is merciful, he provides opportunities for repair.

  God calls Abraham and his descendants to be his people and promises them a special land.

  But the Israelites must wander for forty years and escape slavery.

  God delivers to Moses the Torah, or law, on Mount Sinai as a new covenant.

• Torah

• A Religion and A People

• On Converts and Creeds

• Exile and Return]

• The Sabbath and Minor Holidays

• Zionism and The Holocaust

• Feminist Theology and Kabbalah

• Origin Story

• Four Noble Truths

• From Suffering to Nirvana

• Budda, Dharma, Sangha