Ashramas

(The stages and Goals of life)

Four stages of life. 

Males:

• -A young boy was initiated into studenthood, during which he remain celibrate and concentrate on learning. 
• -Repay his debts to society and his forefathers and his spiritual debts to the gods, by marring and earning a living to support his family and other students.
• -When a man's children have grown and become households themselves, he and his wife may retire to the forest and live a simple life.
• Finally, an elderly man would renounce the material world altogether and take up the ascetic life of the samnyasin. 

Reality is non-dual; the only reality is brahman and this reality is indescribable 

Brahman and Atman are identical.

Alvars: 

12 south Indian poet-saints

Yoga sutras

: classic yoga text, aphoristic fragments. 

Yoga

physical and mental discipline through which practitioner’s “yoke” their spirit to the divine. 

Patanjali’s yoga

o   System of moral, metal and physical discipline and meditation with a particular object, either physical or mental, as the ‘single point’ of focus. 

Dharana:

Perfection in concentration

Dhyana

meditation 

The Epics: The Ramayana 

-Young prince name Rama. 

-Wedded Sita 

-Brother Lakshmana 

-Hanuman (monkey king)

-Sita is captured by Ravana (demon) 

-After Rama came back to reclaim the throne, "ram Rajya" ~Kingdom rof rile of Rama. 

is the Hindu political ideal 

-Rama is also the ideal son and husband.

-Many hindus sees Sita as the ideal wife because she follows her husband to the forest. Other see her as a model of strength and virtue. 

-rama is the incarnation of the god Vishnu.

Maha (Great) + Bharata (descendents of a royal family) 

• -Two family (Pandavas and Kauravas)
• Arjuna (Pandavas) + Krishna (Incarnation of Visnhu) 
• One must try peaceful means, but if they fail one must fight for "dharma" (Righteousness) 
• Bhagavad Gita (Section of the mahabaharta)
• One of the holiest books in Hindu tradition. 
• teaches devotion to Krishna

describes three ways to liberation

-The way of actions

-The way of knowledge

-The way of devotion 

Great cultural and scholarly activity. 

-Concept of Zero and Decimal was introduced. 

Surge of religious and literary activitiy. 

-Temple building was encouraged, pilgrimages were undertaken. 

-hinduism "reign"

-Said Buddha (Siddbartha Gautama) was an incarnation of the god Visnhu

-Three popular god arises 

1. Visnhu
2. Shiva
3. Shiva's Consort ~ Parvata, Devi or the "goddess" 

Vaishnavas

"The all pervasive one" 

~Portray as coming to Earth in various forms, animal and human (Avataras) 

-total fo 10 incarnation

-9 already happened. 

-Wife (Lakshmi or Sri) 

Unlike Vishnu he did not reveal himself sequentially. 

-Appear in paradoxical roles

~Creator / destroyer

~often represented by a Linga

[image]

In later puranas, she was described as the ultimate power. 

She has many forms

Amba (motherly form)

~Durga (warrior)

-kali (Killer form) 

~Vedic Goddess of learning

-Consort of Brahma

-often depicted alone 

[image]

Brahma + Vishnu + Shiva

Creator + Preserver + Destroyer

Four fold structure

-Brahmin- Religious intelligentsia,  priests (religious)

Kshatriya: Rulers, warriors (political)

Vaishya-Merchant, traders, agriculturalists (economic)

Shudra: menial labourers

Brahmin

Religious intelligentsia, priests (religious) 

Kshatriya: 

Rulers, warriors (political)

Vaishyas

Merchant, traders, agriculturalists (economic)

Shudra: 

menial labourers

Renounce the material world altogetjer amd tale up the ascetic life of the Samnyasin. 

~Own nothing, spent the rest of his life seeking enlightment. 

8 anthologies 

~collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts.

Composed intense songs praising Rama.

His father Rama Brahma who is well versed in the vedas

became ascetic towards the end of his life.