Philosophy of Religion Course Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Supplemental Hinduism notes, from the "Religions of the World" CD-ROM ------------------------------------------------------------------------ History The word 'Hindu' comes from a Persian word 'Sindhu' which originally referred to the river Sind which is now known as the Indus. The word referred to the people living in and around the Sindhu or Indus valley. Later it was used to refer to the people living in the whole of India and the religion they practiced. As India consists of many different areas, towns and villages, it is not surprising that there is a wide diversity of beliefs and practices under the name of Hinduism. The first known dates relating to Hinduism are when the area of north-west India was invaded by Aryans - a light-skinned race who brought with them their own customs, including a religion which was similar in many ways to those of ancient Rome and Greece. The Aryans brought their own sacred books, the Vedas. These date back to before 1,000 BCE, and are still in existence as part of the Hindu scriptures. (The Vedas are a collection of hymns of praise to the gods of nature) The earliest form of Hinduism was a type of nature worship. The early gods were the forces of nature: Surya - the sun god; Indra - the storm god, and Agni - the god of fire. As time passed, the religion changed. Other sacred books were written, and the caste system grew in strength dividing the people of India into four groups. Around 300BCE, the two great epic poems were written: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. As Hinduism grew, the ancient Vedic gods became less prominent in worship, and were replaced by the gods of the later writings - the Upanishads which also introduced the ideas of karma, samsara, and moksha. Over the four to five thousand years of its development Hinduism has grown and developed in many ways, and today there are over four hundred million Hindus in India alone. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Scriptures: Some of the earliest Hindu scriptures writings were brought to the Indus Valley by the Aryans around 1,000 BCE and are among the oldest writings in existence. Hindu sacred writings are divided into two main categories - Shruti and Smriti. * Shruti means 'what was heard'. This relates to that literature which is thought to have been handed down to ancient seers directly from the gods. It includes the earliest of the Hindu scriptures, the Vedas and the Upanishads. * Smriti means 'what was remembered'. This relates to literature which is said to have been remembered and handed down by tradition. It includes the later scriptures such as the Tantras and the Puranas. It is very difficult to give a date to any of the Hindu scriptures as they all have a long oral tradition. They also have a history of being composed over a number of years by a variety of different writers. Modern scholars have offered these dates as general guidelines: * The Vedas (including the Upanishads) 1,200 BCE - 600 BCE * The Great Epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata) 400 BCE - 50 BCE * The Ramayana is the story of the Avatar Rama - Rama and his wife Sita are revered as being symbolic of the ideal man and woman. * The Mahabharata has been identified as the longest epic poem in all history. The most important book of this poem for Hinduism is the Bhagavad Gita. This book tells the story of the Avatar Krishna and his appearance to Arjuna during a pivotal battle. * The Puranas 300 CE - 650 CE : these tell the stories and teachings of the lives of the great Avatars, Saints and Sages. * The Tantras 650 CE - 1000 CE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vedas These writings can be divided into two main groups - the Vedas and the Upanishads. There are four collections of writings making up the Vedas. These were composed by the Aryans who invaded India between 1,700 - 1,500 BCE and are written in Sanskrit. The most important of the Vedas is the Rig Veda which is a collection of 1,028 hymns written in praise of the most important gods of the Vedic period - Agni (god of fire), Indra (the storm god), and Varuna (the god of the night sky). These hymns were probably used during ancient sacrificial worship. * The Sama Veda is a samhita (collection of hymns) taken from the Rig Veda and arranged for use during worship. * The Yajur Veda is a collection of instructions to be used by the brahmin when making sacrifices. * The Atharva (or Brahma) Veda was the last of the four to be written down, but it is thought to reflect the beliefs of the people living in the Indus valley prior to the coming of the Aryans. Upanishads The Upanishads are a collection of writings composed between 600 and 200 BCE. They are concerned with learning about Brahman (the all-pervading life-force) and the relationship between Brahman and the universe. In these teachings the ideas of karma, samsara and moksha are introduced for the first time. Almost all the Upanishads are concerned with the relationship between atman (the individual soul) and Brahman (the universal soul). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Krishna Krishna is one of the most popular of all Hindu deities. He is the eighth avatar of Vishnu but is also worshipped as a god in his own right. The stories of Krishna are told in the Puranas, especially in the Bhagavata Purana. He was born the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Before he was born an evil ruler called Kamsa had been warned that the ninth son of his cousin Devaki and Vasudeva would destroy him, so Vishnu kept the birth a secret from Kamsa. Krishna was an extremely beautiful baby with dark skin and enormous eyes and he was born wearing jewellery fit only for a king. Vasudeva took him to live with a cow-herding couple in the village of Gokula. The wife, Yashoda passed Krishna off as her own son. He grew up in the village and was a playful child who played tricks on the gopis (milkmaids). The festival known as Holi is linked to one of the stories of how Krishna threw coloured water and powder at the milkmaids for fun. Krishna is usually portrayed as the 'blue' god. He became blue by drinking poisoned milk given to him by an evil monster who was trying to kill all the babies in his village. Krishna did not die, but remained a blue colour. He is often shown playing a flute and on many occasions he is with his partner Radha. Krishna finally died when he was inadvertently shot in the foot, and returned to heaven. He is one of the best loved of all the Hindu gods. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Caste Beliefs about caste are linked to the ideas of karma and samsara. There are four varnas (castes) which represent the divisions of Indian society. Within these varnas, there are many jati (caste groups). Hindu belief is that every Hindu is born into a particular caste as a result of their behaviour in a previous life. The first and highest caste is that of Brahmin (teacher or priest), followed by Kshatriya (ruler or warrior), then Vaishya (merchant or farmer) and finally Sudra (servant or labourer). People who do not fit into any of the castes are Pariahs (untouchable or outcast). The caste system has a great affect on almost everything a person does in India, where there are thousands of small jati. Marriages would normally be made between members of the same caste. Some Hindus will not eat with, or accept food from, members of other castes. Enforcement of the caste system is now illegal under the Indian constitution, but many Hindus still prefer their children to marry within the same caste. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ashramas - stages of life In the Upanishads there are four stages of life which are suggested for the devout male Hindu. These stages are known as ashramas and are as follows: * The brahmacharya ashrama - the student. This ashrama lasts until the age of 25. During this time, the young male leaves home to stay with a brahmin. * The grihastha ashrama - the householder. This ashrama begins when a man gets married, has a family, earns a living and serves others. It lasts until around the age of 50. The Laws of Manu say that when a person sees the wrinkles in his skin and his hair whitens, he should go out into the forest. * The vanprastha ashrama - the hermit. The man should leave his home and go to live in a forest hut. Here he should spend his time in prayer. * The sannyasa ashrama - the wandering holy man. In this ashrama, the man totally devotes his life to God. He has no home or any other attachments. All worldly ties are broken, and the sole concern is moksha - release. These stages of life should be viewed more as 'ideals' than as common practice. Very few Hindu men ever become sadhus - holy men - as in the fourth ashrama. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ahimsa Ahimsa is having respect for life. It is often translated to mean non-violence, but it is more than this. It is about having an attitude of love and humility towards all other beings and revolves around the idea of respect for all life which is central to Hinduism. It is because of the belief that Brahman is in all things, animals as well as people, that many Hindus are vegetarian. Hindus believe that violent and harmful actions against others in the present life will lead to more harm in the future. Those who hurt others will build up bad karma. As this will hinder the quest to achieve moksha, most Hindus try to avoid causing any sort of harm in the world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The paths to moksha There are three ways in which moksha can be achieved: * Jnana-yoga - the path of knowledge. This is achieved through meditation, as in that way it is possible to know the truth and be released from the attachments of this world. If a person does this, the chains of karma will fall away, and they will attain moksha. * Karma-yoga - the path of self-realization. This is achieved by living free from the desire for selfish gain and dedicating everything one does to God. * Bhakti-yoga - the path of devotion. This is the path followed by most Hindus. It is devotion to God, and is achieved through daily worship, in prayer and in offerings. This path is God-centered, where a person's actions are performed for God and not for themselves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ End of supplemental notes on Hinduism ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ copyright 1997©Michael J. Connelly, Longview Community College One of the Metropolitan Community Colleges "Where a Smart Future Begins" An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Inquiries to:connelly@longview.cc.mo.us last update: 2/14/1997 (file address: www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/socsci/philosophy/religion/hindu2.htm)