12 parts of Hinduism

Ataman

- The ataman is the non-material self that is always constant. The ataman transcends everything like race, origin, species, and nationality; it is constant throughout everything. Metaphor used for the ataman is that it is the driver and the body is a car. The car must have the driver to function. We sometimes discriminate against others because of their type or color of car, but we are all drivers, meaning that all of our atamans are the same.

Reincarnation and Samsara

- The ataman, being unchanged in life, is continued after death and carried into another body. When it is in the next body it is reincarnated. An incarnation is the embodiment of the ataman so being reincarnated is to leave a body and be put back into another. Samsara is the perpetual cycle of this reincarnation of the Ataman.

The Law of Karma

- Karma, meaning action, is only generated in the Human form because humans are the only species with free will. Human life is to be responsible for one’s actions. Karma has three states according to the bhagavad-gita, those being karma for elevation, vikarma for those who degrade, and akarma for those who cause neither good or bad.

Prakriti and Guna – how does the world work

- ataman are trapped within mortal bodies made up of matter or prakriti. All matter goes through 3 stages of existence; it is created, remains for some time, and is inevitably destroyed. These three phases correspond with the three gunas or qualities/modes of material nature. The gunas are that passion creates, goodness sustains, and ignorance destroys.

Maya (illusion) – why do we get into difficulty in this world?

- under the gunas the soul is misled by matter and entangled and trapped. Because of Maya the ataman mistakenly identifies with the body and takes on trivial bias, racism… this causes to serve the soul with greed lust and desire and fall deeper into illusion.

Moksha and liberation

- Moksha is the ultimate goal in the eyes of most Hindus. Moksha is a state of unity with God. This happens when the souls sense of individual is removed and the soul realizes it is among others exactly alike with it. They then share similarities with God therefore becoming Godlike obtaining Moksha.

Is there a God? If so, what is he/she like?

- There is a God in Hinduism, and he is perceived in three ways. Brahman residing everywhere, Antaryami residing within, and Bhagavan residing outside. Brahman is also known as the all pervading soul, Antaryami means the controller within, and Bhagavan means one endowed with ultimate opulence and refers to the beyond material God.

- God, in Hinduism, could very well encompass all other forms of god from primitive religions to modern ones. Even so, hindus view two different theories with god, monism (advaita) and monotheism (dvaita). Monism views God to be impersonal and without form or qualities. Monotheism views God as personal, with qualities, with a form, and performing activities.

Sanatana-dharma

- A dharma is much the same as a Mitzvah it is a religious obligation. But a dharma is something more necessary to the object, like sugar to be sweet. Sanatana-dharma is dealing with the soul and the spiritual part of a person. Sanatana-dharma rules and obligations are like the Ataman, they transcend prescribed reality and are universal.

Varnashrama-dharma

- Varnashrama-dharma has to do with duties performed within the four varnas or social divisions and four ashrams. These have to do with completing a task or way of living in one area that another would be repulsed by from its utter …wrongness (?).

One Goal, Different Paths

- Moksha is the ultimate goal, while some traditions accommodate material accomplishment even though it is temporary. Usually one must go through the first three goals before reaching moksha. These four are dharma or righteousness, artha or economic development, kama or sensual enjoyment, and finally moksha or liberation/ultimate goal.

Sources of Authority – Scripture and Guru

- Scripture is called shastra sometimes from the original translation shabda­brahman or spiritual sound. They were written some 5000 years ago and are considered to be the most reliable form of authority in the religion. The guru is plays the role of intermediary between the soul and the supreme. Many schools one must have a spiritual guide to bypass maya.

Kala – time

- the concept of time, like the concept of the ataman, is eternal. They have a notion of two-way eternity, the past doesn’t exist to us and neither does the future, it is all eternal.

Creation

- With the notion of cyclical time, the world is continually destroyed and recreated. Also, the world is one part of three in this universe, and this universe is one part of many. Hinduism is also not earth centered, but puts emphasis on many other planes of existence too, like the heavens.

Vocab

Hinduism Vocab

Sanata Dharma – Eternal/Universal righteousness – the origional name for Hinduism

The Vedas – the oldest scriptures of Hinduism and the first large body of texts

Upanishads – philosophical texts in Hinduism the oldest are the most important

Bhagavad Gita – “Song of God” a sacred text of Hinduism also considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. Lord Krishna is the teacher of the text and is refered within as Bhagavan – the Divine One

Ramayana – an ancient Sanskrit epic – in the part of the Vedas. Tells the story of Rama’s journey

Atman – the soul or a person. Continuing cycle of rebirths until enlightenment is achieved

Avatar – Sanskrit for descendant, meaning direct descendant to a deity, an incarnation of a god

Bhajans – any type of Indian devotional song. Mostly expresses love for a deity.

Brahman – the eternal, the ultimate truth, unchanging, all matter, energy, time and space are him

Trimurti – a concept where the creation sustentation and destruction of the earth are personified in the forms of the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer

Brahma – the hindu god of creation and one of the trimurti

Vishnu – the hindu god of maintenance - part of trimurti

Shiva – the god of destruction – part of trimurti

Darshan – sanskrid word meaning sight – a vision, apparition or glimpse

Gunas – Sanskrit meaning strand or single thread, may mean subdivision of species, kind….

Tamas – Sanskrit for darkness – also translated in to indifference to action

Rajas- responsible for motion and energy preservation

Sattva – Sanskrit for purity – literally existence and reality

Guru - a respectable person with saintly qualities and great knowledge, ,he is a teacher who aims to enlighten his student

Ishta-Devata – literally means cherished divinity and is referring to a worshippers favorite deity

Krishna – means the dark one in sanskrit, in some traditions Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu and in others the supreme being

Rita – truth or order in sanskrit it is the cosmic order. This concept led to the doctrines of dharma and karma

Akriti - meaning comming beyond space and time

Law of Karma – the concept of action or deed, and it is understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect

Maya – multiple meanings centered around the concept of illusion. Maya is principal deity that governs dreams and illusion and illusion in the phenomenal universe

Moksha – means release or to let loose. The liberation from samsara and eternal suffering involved in the cycle of reincarnation

Puja – Sanskrit for reverence or honor. A ritual done by hindus as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons, or special guests.

Samsara – meaning continuous flow it is the cycle of reincarnation and death

Shruti – term for the sacred texts of Hinduism, they have influence on the dharma of Hinduism and the Hindu law.

Smriti – literally means that which is remembered and refers to a specific group of scriptures. Is also a part of the Hindu customary law. It portrays the rules of on dharma

Varna – this refers to the main division in Hindu society, being shown in the maurya period which was about 321 BCE to 185 BCE

Jati – term meaning thus born, used to announce the appearance of communities and sub communities.

Yoga – traditional physical and mental disciplines, one of the orthodox schools of Hinduism, and in Jainism it is the sum of all activities – mental, verbal, and physical

Bhankti – descrives the spiritual paractice of giving love and devotion to a god

Jnana – also known as the path of knowledge

Karma – the discipline of action yoga and is one of the four paths to realization

Raja – also knows as classical yoga and is concerned with the development of the mind and the finding of reality and achievement of enlightenment

Huston Smith Hinduism part I

What do people want?

In Hinduism you can have what you want. People want pleasure, and Hinduism says to go after it yet, seek it intelligently. Another thing people want is worldly success. People also want to go down the paths of desire and renunciation.

What do people really want?

Firstly, everyone wants to be nobody normally wants to die and people would normally want to be rather than not to be. Secondly we want to know. We are curious and have the desire to understand everything. The third thing people really want is joy, happiness and freedom from frustration and boredom.