A STUDY GUIDE TO MAJOR LIVIW~ RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD Hinduism Buddhism Confucianism Taoism Zoroastrianism Judaism Christianity Islam By Douglas Straton Part I .. Hinduism Buddhism For the exclusive· use of students of the University of Oregon Grateful appreciatj.on is hereby acknowledged for permission of publishers to quote from sources herein noted., HINDUISM I. History II,.. Literature III., Basic Ideas IV. The Orthodox Schools V. Yoga Discipline and Hindu Ethics VI. The Ways of Salvation VII. The Bhagavnd-Gita VIII. Personalistic Developments: Ramanuja. IX.. Hinduism in Main Philosophical Themes X., Popular Hinduism XI., Questions HINDUISM ,l.. HistO!;l 1 .. Vedic Hinduism, or the per:j.od when the~ were written, 1500-800 B.,C"' Lyrical writings, embodying nature worship, praise of the gods, prayer, petition; the four castes mentioned, Rig .. V* 10:12., 90 .. Aryan invaders had descended from the north and suppressed the native black people. 2., Classic, Brahmanic Hinduism: 800-500 B. c. a.., Early priestly formalism, and the writing of the Brahmanas. Formulation of sacrifice and rite in worship of the gods,. b. Develo~ment of philosophical Hinduism by Brahm.in sages and the writing of the Ut,mishads, which had taken their distinctive form by the 6th centu:rJ 599-500 B., C.,). The main intellectual content of Hinduism develops in this period., The basic concern was with the problem of evil, pain and suffering, which attended selfhood; realization of the distinction between mind and matter was thought to be essential for the solving of this problem. The type of life, or method, or way of salvation resulting from this outlook was to attain mystic knowledge, by ascetical practices, that would identify the self with Brahman or Absolute Being,. Knowledge of this identification would cancel the sense of the reality of physical, material existence,. with its expe­ rience of individuality and evil, and thus bring release from pain and suffering .. See list of terms below,. Ballou p, 102• 3 .. The remaining intellectual and religious history developed a rivalry of techniques for obtaining such release, as the doctrines of the Upanisha~s came to be variously interpreted and expanded,. a,. Heretical or reform movements: Jainism(founder: M?~~), stressed extreme asceticism.. Buddhism (founder: Gautama), repudiated extreme asceticism, finding a middle way between it and sensual indulgence,. b.. Developnent ,Q! Six Orthodox schools of philosophic thought and philo­ sophies of religion within Hinduism from the 6th century B.. C,. to the 9th century A,. D• ., with the most intense period of growth between 200 and 850 A. D. The three starred systems are of chief importance for an introductory study: ·%Vedanta (and Mimamsa) Sankara, great 9th century A. D,. interpreter of Vedanta. 1E$ankhya and 1fY'oga Isvara Kaila, 6th century B. C. founder of Sankhya P tan·ali, 2nd century A. D. interpreter of Yoga (Vaisheshika and Nyaya) (For these and the Mimatnsa systems see Noss pp 243 and 245n) c. Developnent of ways of salvation in addition to: Jnana Ma.:rga: the way (or ways) of philosophic knowledge, above outlined,.. Hindu piety: selects one of three ma.jo:r ways, or combinations of ways: Jnana Marga: the way of knowledge .. Karma Marga: the way of works., Bhak.ti 1-darga: the way of devotion,. The popular or cultic forms of Hinduism, developing most intensively between 200 and 1700 A. D.. (see later discussion and Noss p,. 248f) were various expressions of the way of works and the way of devotion.. .Among other emphases the famous Bhagavad-Gita is a primary scripture of devotion.. d,. Personalistic thinkers, i.e. those who came to think of Brahman as a Personal Being, or so interpreted the meaning of the Upanishads, which :remained ambiguous at this point,. Ramanuja, llth century A.. n. Ramananda, 13th n Kabir, 15th u e,. Modern reform movements: l9th-2oth centuries: Brahma Samaj: pro-Christian Arya Samaj: anti-Christian Scientism, secularism, Communism f. Some noted modern Hindus: Sri Ramakrishna Rabindranath Tagore Mohandas Gandhi Sarvepalli Radhak:rishnan Vinoba Bhave Jawaharlal Nehru Important Terms Philosophic• religious Caste terms: Cultic terms: Gods, ethical The classic four: etc. Brahma (n) Brahm.in: Brahma atman priests Shiva sansara Kshatriya: Vishnu karma. nobles/rulers Rama avid.ya Vaisya (iivassaln): Krishna maya common people Kali samadhi Shudra: avatar moksha non-Aryan blacks shak.ti jruma yoni-linga yoga - and others. dharma outcasts or ahimsa untouchables - and others. II, Main Hindu Literature ' - l. Of the earlier classic period: - a. Vedas, 1500-800 B,. c.. Lyrical nature worship in praise of gods,. Tagore on: t8poetic reaction to wonder and awe of nature and existence8i:e {fo b .. Brahmanas., 800-500 B., c. Brahmanic Hinduism, sacrificial formalism .. c,. Upanishads, 6th century B. C,... Philosophic Hinduism-. Tagore: a1calm of meditation, seeking manVs release from fear of cosmic forces" .,.,'f. The term HUpa.nishadsn literally means tvsittings near a teacher": - Secret, forest writings of the ascetics who had withdrawn to meditate., - No single system of philosophy - Rather the U. a source of many systems and doctrines. - Set forth techniques of meditation designed to solve life ?s proble.ms through a system -of salvation by a.scetic knowledge .. d. .Qod,e of Manu, taa, collection of rules of life composed by legalistically minded priests about 200 B., c.. vt (Noss p., 226)., -~'f. 2. Devotional/more popular literature: - e. Rama:yana Epic 500 B., c.. V,ishnu iil form of Barna. f,. Mahabharata Epic: 200 B. c.. - 200 A,,. D., Vishnu Bhagavad-Gita: 200 A., D4 Vishnu in form of Krishna., Tagore: napproach to reality through devotion, or disinterested livingi~ .. g .. E1u:.....~: narrative and didactic literature: 300 B., C., - 900 A... D. E.. G,. Bhagavata-Purana: Krishna Vs boyhood, 900 A.. D. h~ Tantric literature .. Ritual, magic 3 phallic (sex magic)., Shiva and shaktism prominent .. Compiled about 1300 A., D. ·It· From Hindu Scriptures, N,. Macnicol, ed.,, E., P,. Dutton & Co .. ** John B., Noss, ManVs Religions. The Macmillan Co.,., 1956 .. III., Basic Ideas of Classic Hinduism In order to become acquainted with Hinduism it is necessary to know the basic philosophic ideas of the major early scripture)) particularly the Upanis~. These ideas are conveyed by fundamental, S1.1:i: 1.skrit terms,., The following analysis is based on the !Jtianisha.c!§. and later writings., L. h,t:nw_11 means the divine 9tbreath9?, or ~~spirit•e, 9isouln, or 99 seJ.fi? that 1:1.ves in all men universally .. It is that spark of psychic reality that cont:i.nues through the many individual, bodily reincarnations., It is deeper than personal consciousness or individual personality (which is rendered by the term pu:ru.sh9 ).,, The individual, material existence of atman, embodied in earthly life, is the primary evil association, Ballou 10.2,-.::]g~ 2., grahman or f?r11..hman-Atm is the neuter impe:r-sonal ground of all being, the ultilnate Whole or Unity behind all natural phenomena.. For one t.hingi, it would be the unity of all the atmans of indiv'i.dual men in the univers3.l Atman or Life Spirit .. The following are major characteristics, qualitieG, or wiattributesn of Brahman as set forth by the Ved~ and the Upanishads: Ballou pp., 3; 38-9; 4.0; 56-9; 62 ... 71; 74-6; lll-112r. (1) Behind all physical forms -- physical forms are merely modes of his/its ex.i.stence, 3; 38-40; 63; 66; 70,. Brahn:an Vs all-pervading unity is il1.ustrated by the parables of the honey and the sea, pp<) --65-6; J.llD (2) Immanent in all things, pp .. 68-9; 1Q (3) Yet in itself other than any finite mode or form, pp,. 68-69 - thus i9transcendentvi, 1-.m (4) Timeless, pp., .Q.2.; 142 (5) Non- or trans-material, pp,. 69; 71; 1§., where expressions ?1incorporialn and 0 cteep darkness" used., Is i•S;d.i~itvv., (6) The ultimate repository of all knowledge and truth., p., 12,A-B; known by mind alone, p., 58C .. (7) Non-conscious/impersonal - analogy of sleep and death, pp,. 21_; §2; 'lJ..C,. Yet see 1§; 12.§B; lllD-112., where Brc:thman is described as personal,. (8) Moral distinctions lost in Brahman, PP• ,ilBC, 2.§:D (9) The world is an illusion, 70D-71A.. Brahman is beyond all evil,. Other related terms are: Brahma: tt.e personalized Creator of popular Hinduism -­ a remote figure., Brahmin: 2, caste or cult designation, referring to a member of the highest caste in India; and the religious outlook of the Brahmin. priests,. Brahminfam or Br,:1run,,3,nism: the thought and practice of classic philosophic, orthodox Hinduism Sankara on Bra~ (Sankara: noted orthodox Hindu philosopher, 788-820 A.. D.. This selection was taken from He.rtshorne and Reese: ™-lo~o-pj}ers SJ?.eak ~ .QQ.g, Univ .. of Chicago Press, 1953, P• l 70f o trans.9 George Thibaut) ttBrahman, which is all-knowing and endowed with all powers, whose essential nature is eternal purity, intelligence, and freedom, exists.~...Brabman as the eternal subject..,,(the inward Self) is never an object, and .. ,.the distinction of objects known, knowers, acts of knowledge, etc..,.,is fictitiously createdc.., That srune highest Brahman constitutes -- as we know from passages such as 9 ?that art thou -- the real nature of the individual sou.1 9 while its second nature, i.e •. that aspect of it 'Which depends on fictitious limiting conditions, is not its real nature 0 ¥the True, the Real, the Self, whose nature is pure intelligences, .... knowing itself to be of the nature of unchangeable, eternal Cognit:i."on, .. .,.lifts itself above the vain conceit of being one with this body, and itself becomes the Self, whose nature is unchanging, eternal Cognition .