1. Brahmins: Highest Ranking Priestly Class (Head)

Hinduism

I. Concepts A. Varna: class system based on birth groups and occupations; four levels; cosmic and organic nature 1. Brahmins: highest ranking priestly class (head) 2. Kshatriyas: warriors and rulers (arms) 3. Vaishyas: merchants and farmers (thighs) 4. Shudras: servants (feet) B. dharma: specialized duties and order; refers to divine, social, and ethical order of universe; cosmic order C. karma: individual action that plays a key role in the preservation of universal harmony and order (dharma); also affects individual’s involvement in social and material world; every deed generates a result contributing to one’s involvement in or withdrawal from this world D. Brahman: universal soul; uncreated, limitless, all embracing; eternal; the ultimate reality; single essence that underlies all existence and animates all living things E. atman: innermost self or soul of each individual F. moksha: spiritual liberation when one is freed from all restraints of the mind and body; achieved with unity of atman and Brahman; the final and ultimate goal; achieved when true knowledge of self is identified with the world soul; brings freedom from attachments, desires, ignorance, and the cycle of rebirth G. samara: cycle of rebirth by which the individual soul is repeatedly reincarnated; cycle ends when moksha is achieved H. yogas: broad paths of spiritual growth; refers to many types of disciplined activity and concentration; Hatha Yoga is the system of exercise familiar to Westerners II. Four Aims of Life (purusarthas): categories of essential aims that motivate individuals to act and be involved in the world; recognized as natural desires; teaches that desires that are pursued selfishly can trap a person in vicious cycles of unhappiness, greed, and ignorance. A. dharma: virtuous fulfillment of one’s responsibilities B. artha: material gain, success, and wealth C. kama: pleasure and love D. moksha: spiritual fulfillment achieved by release from attachment to social, worldly, and material gains III. Four Stages of Life (ashramas): stages in spiritual and social lives that mark progress of development; pertains primarily to men; women’s duties are in service to dominant male (father, husband, son) A. student: undergoes rigorous course of study of religious texts, guided by guru B. householder: initiated by marriage; husbands and wives are partners in dharma during this stage; centers on children and family welfare C. hermit: enters this stage when there are signs of gray hair or grandchildren; has completed social and householder responsibilities; begins detachment process from material world and withdrawal from everyday society; prepares for final stage D. ascetic: completes renunciations of previous attachments; becomes absorbed in the mystery of understanding the nature of self and its relationship to the universe IV. Sacred Texts A. the Vedas: considered divinely inspired and authored; oldest and most revered; “veda” means knowledge; composed by Aryans and transmitted orally; believed to be divine accounting of universal and eternal truths; four collections 1. Rig Veda: over 1000 hymns praising 33 gods and associated rituals 2. Sana Veda: sets verses of Rig Veda to music sung at sacrifices 3. Yajur Veda: formulaic verses recited by priests who oversee sacrifices 4. Atharva: collection of chants and incantations 5. supplementary texts: uncludes the Upanishads which focus on questions of self and self’s relationship to universe B. texts which are divinely inspired but authored by humans: more accessible and popular 1. Mahabharata: longest and most complex of India’s epics; offers extensive study of role of duty; includes parables, poetry, essays; covers topics like history, civil law, ethics, religious law, ritual, and cosmology; topics interwoven in narrative about a war between related dynasties; Bhagabad Gita (Song of the Lord) is most influential passage with a message of liberation 2. Ramayana: best known and most popular of Hindu legends; epic narrative of good vs. evil; tells story of Rama who is believed to be an incarnation of Vishnu V. Hindu Divinity A. Sacred Elements: divinity is ritual part of the world, not separate from it; exists in rocks, rivers, trees, etc. 1. natural forces (fire, earth, wind, atmosphere, sky) 2. seasons, months, days 3. plants 4. water 5. human imagination 6. animals B. gods: multiplicity of gods are all considered to be manifestations of the one ultimate god as conceived by Brahman 1. Vishnu: most popular deity; preserver who protects and sustains world; handsome four armed man; descends to earth to defeat evil and restore harmony; different incantations a. Krishna: most dynamic and beloved; stories from Mahabharata; worship of Krishna is illustrated with path of bhakti (devotion) in which mosksha is attained by surrendering to the power of god’s love b. Rama: hero of Ramayana: represents ideal man (obedient son, conscientious ruler, loving husband); prayed to in the mornings by Hindus: “Ram, Ram” is a common greeting throughout India c. Sita: Rama’s wife; the model woman (devoted to husband); together, she and Ram represent universal harmony 2. Shiva: the 3rd in the triad of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; he is the destroyer; also has power of re-creation and fertility; together, the three represent the interconnected processes of birth, death, and rebirth; worship of Shiva goes back to the Vedas; worship allows access to the potential making all things possible