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.