Wk01 Wednesday, Sep 25

Required Text #1

1 Required Texts, #2 & #3

Summer Reading

2 The Course Title examined: “Intro to Indian Philosophical Literature”

 “Intro”

 “Indian”

 “Philosophical”

 “Literature”

Indian vs. Hindu

 Sanskrit Sindhu = river or ocean.  Persian hindū = inhabitant of Hind, country through which the river Sindhu (Indus) flows = non-Muslims living in the Indus Valley

3 Some Course Housekeeping

 Get Acquainted Signup Sheet  Reading Feedback via Canvas – Short response on assigned readings – For each reading, in brief (1 pg max, total) . What did you like not understand? . What would you like to further discus? – Due by 11:30am of every lecture (MW) – 10 pts, 8 = ~B, pts off missing sections, late

Housekeeping, cont’d

 Weekly Reflection via Canvas – 2-3 sections, each 10 pts, 1.5 pg max – Reflection questions to be kept in mind as one reads – Due by Sat 11am  15% Class Participation grade

4 Housekeeping, cont’d

 Be sure to check both websites: 1. Class Home Page: http://tiny.cc/Asian225 2. Canvas Course Page

 Don’t hesitate to ask questions! – [email protected] – In person: GWN 231 . Outside of Office Hrs, M-F 8-9, ThF 11:30-12:30, right after we meet MW 3:30-

“Ṛg Veda, Upaniṣad, Gītā” or “Rig Veda, Upanishad, Geeta”?

 Diacritics – what & why?  Sanskrit phonology – 14 vowels – 33 consonants  Importance of “sound”  Bottom line – Survival Guide

5 Sounds like … Sounds like … a u in but, a in chamaleon j hard, as in just ā father jh lodge-hut ai as in aisle k as kart au as in loud ṃ nasalization of preceding vowel bh club-hut ṅ ~ n c church ṇ ~ n ch birch-hut ñ like Spanish niña ḍ ~ d o as in go ḍh~ mud-hut ṛ as in river esay, longer Spanish e ś shun g hard, as in get, go ṣ ~ shun gh log-hut ṭ ~ t ḥ echo of preceding vowel ṭh~ ant-hill ipinupull ī machine ū rūle Survival Guide to Pronunciation Survival

Schedule

Monday Wednesday Introduction, Sep Week 1 What is “Indian Philosophy”? 25: The Vedic Context Sep Oct Week 2 Selections from the Ṛg Veda Selections from the Ṛg & Atharva Vedas 30: 2: Selections from the Atharva Veda Week 3 Oct 7: Oct 9: Upaniṣads: Bṛhadāraṇyaka 3 & 4 Intro. to the Upaniṣads Upaniṣads: Taittirīya 2 & 3, Chāndogya Week 4 Oct 14: Oct 16: Upaniṣads: Kena, Kaṭha 6 Week 5 Oct 21: Upaniṣads: Praśna, Muṇḍaka Oct 23: Upaniṣads: Māṇḍūkya, Īśāvāsya Week 6 Oct 28: Diwali: No Class Oct 30: Yogasūtras: Introduction Week 7 Nov 4: Yogasūtras: Chs. 1, 2 Nov 6: Yogasūtras: Chs. 2, 3 Week 8 Nov 11: Veterans Day: No Class Nov 13: Yogasūtras: Chs. 3, 4 Week 9 Nov 18: Yogasūtras: Summation Nov 20: Bhagavad Gītā: Intro. Week 10 Nov 25: Bhagavad Gītā: Chs. 1-6 Nov 27: Bhagavad Gītā: Chs. 7-12 Week 11 Dec 2: Bhagavad Gītā: Chs. 13-18 Dec 4:  Presentations  Final Paper Due 2:00pm Finals Dec 9: In class:: 2:30-4:20pm, Week SAV 168

6 Origins of Vedic Culture?

 Sanātana dharma, eternal dharma • Dharma = religion, law, morality, order, justice, ethics, merit, duty …  Considered anādī, beginning-less  Revealed to ṛṣi-s, “seers”

 Some historical evidence however…

2600-1600 BCE Indus Valley Civilization

7 Hints of Early Religion?

Harappan “Priest” Proto Shiva?

Aryan Invasion/Immigration Theory

8 1500-500 BCE. Vedic corpus “composed” – śruti  Veda from √vid, to know  Maintenance of cosmic order  “sacrifice” to Agni, fire god transports offerings to other gods.  Brāhmins  Date controversy

Vedas

 4 Vedas: • ṚgVeda – collection of hymns sung during rituals •SāmaVeda – chants sung during Soma ritual • YajurVeda – prose formulas, mantras • AtharvaVeda – collection of charms & spells for every purpose (health, wealth, sorcery)

9 Vedic corpus

 Brāhmaṇas – “theological textbooks” explaining all aspects of Vedic rituals

 Āraṇyakas – wilderness texts discussing more secret & ‘dangerous’ rituals

 Upaniṣads 600 BCE – beg. CE – secret teachings, beginnings of philosophical speculations: where do we come from, why are we here, where do we go after death?

500 BCE - 400 CE: Challenges

 450-370 BCE: The Buddha, Siddārtha Gautama  Heterodox challenges to Vedic system  Weakens Hinduism  “6 Schools of Philosophy” develop in response

10 400 BCE-200 CE: Development of the Rāmāyaṇa epic

400 BCE-400 CE: Development of the Mahābhārata epic

11 200 BCE-100 CE: Bhagavad Gītā, Song of the Lord

 More than the Vedas, this is the text studied by the average Hindu  smṛti (as opposed to śruti)  confirmation of śruti, Vedic dharma, Upaniṣads  Message of Kṛṣṇa, reconciling the conflict between doing one’s duty and following one’s desires

At the same time…

 200 BCE-400 CE: Dharma-śāstras • texts prescribing authoritative code of ethics for all of society  1-200 CE: Yoga Sūtras of Pātañjali • text on meditation • 8 limbs: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi

12 Philosophical Schools

 6 orthodox schools, ~200 BCE •Nyāya & Vaiśeṣika – logic, atomism •Sāṃkhya & Yoga – inert matter, spirit and their admixture •Mīmāṃsā & Vedānta – Vedic exegesis, Upaniṣadic thought

 Today, only Vedānta and Nyāya schools “survive,” rest absorbed

Bhakti, devotion & surrender

 Seeds in MB, Gītā  Purāṇas  Starts to come to the fore around 7th cent.

13 Beginnings of Vedic Speculation

Ṛg Vedic Ritualism

 Hymns of praise to personifications of nature – fire, rain, wind – sun, moon  Complicated rituals  Performed by priestly class.  Complexity grows to where gods become subsidiary. – Only rich persons can afford these rituals.

14 Atharva Veda – Popular Religion

 “Lower” ritualism, popular belief  Available to the masses  “Magic” spells, charms  Healing, prosperity, victory

 No opposition to Ṛg Veda  Ideas from “lower” sphere contribute to the “higher”

Henotheism, Monotheism, Monism  Henotheism = acceptance of many gods, with one deity as the supreme – “mitigated polytheism” – Ritual context  Monotheism – tentative glimpses in RV, AV  Monism – abstract, ultimate First Principle

15