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Large body of Sanskrit literature
Revered as revelation (sruti) and as the source of dharma
Means "knowledge"
Originally revealed to ancient sages (rsi), passed on as oral tradition
Reference point for the construction of Hindu identity and self-understanding |
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Earliest text of the vedas
Collection (Samhita) in ten books (mandala) of 1028 hymns to various deities, composed in vedic Sanskrit from as early as 1200 BCE over a period of several hundred years
Each book composed by sages of different families
Most important sources of knowledge about vedic society |
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| Book of songs (saman) based on the Rig Veda with instructions on their recitation |
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| A collection of short prose formulae used in ritual, of which there are two recensions, the 'black' and the 'white' - the former being a mixture of prose and verses, the latter being composed entirely of verses or mantras |
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A collection of hymns and magical formulae compiled around 900 BCE, though some of its material may go back to the time of the Rig Veda
Less connection with sacrifice and has been considered somewhat inferior to the other three Samhitas |
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| Category of Vedic text, four groups of text identified by four traditions |
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Discourse by the Brahmans on the srauta rituals, which attempt to explain ritual action and relate it to wider cosmic and mythological phenomena
"An explanation of a ritual act and of the mantras belonging to it"
Central Concern: establishing of such hidden or inner connections between the srauta rituals and their purposes |
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| "Forest treatise" - foundation for Upanishads |
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Not a homogenous group of texts
Completely re-evaluates the nature of ritual, seeing its internalization within the individual as the highest goal, and subordinating ritual action to knowledge
Attest to the existence of ascetic traditions and by the 6th or 5th century BCE, these traditions and world-renunciation for the purpose of spiritual knowledge and liberation had developed within and without the vedic tradition |
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The debt of ritual to the Gods
The central religious practice of the Vedic Aryans was sacrifice and sharing of the sacrificial meal with each other and with the many supernatural beings (devas)
Various deities (deva) invoked in ritual, the devas inhabit a hierarchical cosmos |
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The warrior king, empowered by soma who destroys obstacles with his thunderbolt club
Most famous myth is destruction of the snake Vrtra (whose name means 'obstacle'), symbolizing cosmic chaos, thus freeing the waters of the sky |
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| Sun God, naturalistic deity |
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Wrathful deity, stays away from human world
Also known as Siva, later becomes siva the archetypal ascetic, himself associated with the hallucinogentic plant datura
Terrible deity with long, braided hair, on the edges of vedic society, entreated not to harm communities by taking away cattle and children |
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Agni mysteriously pervades the world as heat and is identified with the earth as the sacred cow Prsni, with the sun, with the dawn and with fire hidden in its stomach
While being simply fire, Agni is particularly the sacrificial fire
Transports dead to realm of Yoma, the lord of death, and transports and purifies all offerings to the realm of the gods |
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Soma is a deity who intercedes between men and gods and is regarded as a link between the human and divine, the pillar of the sky and bringer of ecstasy and understanding of divine realms
Agni and Soma can be seen as bringers of culture, as things which distinguish the human world from the natural world |
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| Lord of the ethical order, asked for forgiveness and mercy for any moral transgression or for 'going against the current' |
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| Indus Valley Civilization |
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Urban civilization centered on a river and located in the basin of the Indus which flows through present-day Pakistan
This Indus Valley or Harappan civilization developed from about 2500 BCE, though its origins reach back to the Neolithic period, reached its peak around 2300-2000 BCE, was in decline by 1800 BCE and had faded away by 1500 |
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Two of the Indus Valley Civilization's most important cities, housed some 40,000 inhabitants who enjoyed a high standard of living
The cities had sophisticated water technologies, most of the houses having drainage systems, wells, and rubbish chutes emptying into wastepots which were emptied municipally
Grain was the basis of the economy and the large store-houses in the Indus towns may have been for grain collected as tax
There were trade contacts with the Middle East and with the hunter-gatherer tribes of Gujarat, the town of Lothal in Gujarat being one of the most important cenres for importing and exporting goods |
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An Indo-European people who originated in the Caucasus region and migrated into south Asia, spreading across the fertile, northern plains, which, throughout India's long history, have offered no obstacle to invaders or migrants
Hinduism might be regarded as the development over the next 2,000 years of Aryan culture, interacting with non-Aryan or Dravidian and tribal cultures |
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Primarily matriarchal, religion had to do with ceremonies of ritual purification, sacrifice, some form of a fertility cult, precursor to Shiva (animalistic)
Sedentary, agricultural people, representation of cow is prevalent, bull is symbolic of vertility |
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Cities subdued by the Aryans, comprised of circular, multiple, concentric walls
Corresponds with the hundreds of fortified Bronze Age villages in Bactria
Enemies of the Aryans, are not the inhabitants of the Indus Valley, but other groups who spoke an Aryan language, and whose migration preceeded that of the Aryans |
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Social stratification based on birth: Varnas, Castes (Jati)
Priests were so powerful that it was believed if they did not perform the rituals correctly, the universe would cease to exist |
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Solemn, public rites, older and require the burning of three sacrificial fires
Principle deities were the fire god Agni and the plant god Soma, to whom milk, clarified butter, curds, vegetable cakes, animals or the stalks of the soma plant itself would be offered into the fire |
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| Domestic and life-cycle rites, involves the burning of only one sacrificial fire |
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| Chief preist who would recite verses from the Rig Veda during the ritual rites |
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Life is characterized by suffering (duhkha), liberation from suffering (moksa, nirvana) is a form of spiritual knowledge of gnosis (vidya)
Spiritual salvation cannot be attained simply due to a high-caste birth, but only by liberating insight or understanding the nature of existence
The institution of world-renunciation or 'going forth' offers the renouncer (sramana) an escape route from worldly suffering, as well as from worldly responsibilities, and a life dedicated to finding understanding and spiritaul knowledge; a knowledge which is expressed and conceptualized in various ways according to the different systems |
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Community of aggressive warriors who lived on the edges of Aryan society and may have been connected with the Kesins
Practiced their own ceremonies, probably concerned with fertility and the magical renewal of life with the seasons
Demonstrate a close connection, found in later traditions, between asceticism and martialism, warrior brotherhoods, skilled in physical technique and the technologies of war, became associated with ascetic, renunciatory practices: the outer war becomes an inner war to subdue the body and the passions |
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Long-haired ascetics (kesin), either naked or wrapped in red tatters, ecstatic experiences, 'possesed by the gods', possess the ability to read minds, a power attributed to accomplished yogins in later yoga traditions
Associated with Rudra, who later becomes Siva |
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| "Silent One", acetic, similar to kesin, Buddha himself is a muni, led to the development of the renouncer tradition |
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| Writings against caste can also be found amongst the 'adepts' (Sanskrit - Siddha) |
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| Stage of life one is at, rules pertaining to these stages of life deal with performing domestic rites nd jurisprudence |
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| "Twice-born", male members of vedic society who have undergone an initiation, a rite of passage, which gives them access to being full members of society, who can marry and perpetuate the ritual traditions |
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| Brahmacharya / Brahmacharyin |
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Celibate student, traditional period after the high-caste initiation (upanayana) when a boy would go to the home of his teacher (acarya, guru) to learn the Veda
A student of Veda, 'one who moves or applies himself to brahman', is known as early as the Atharva Veda: begs for food, practises penances, wears and antelope skin, collects fuel, and practises heat-generating austerity (tapas) |
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| Householder, period after being a student, undergoes a home-coming ritual and is married, entered upon the householder's life |
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| Vanaprasthya / Vanaprasthyin |
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Hermit or forest dweller, period after householder (when he is old and grey), retires from householder's duties to live an ascetic life in the forest and to devote himself to ritual
"Constantly devoting himself to the recitation of the Veda, he should be controlled, friendly, and mentally composed; he should always be a giver and a non-talker, compassionate to all living beings" |
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| Renouncer, has gone beyond the vedic injunctions of maintaining his sacred fires; living entirely by begging he does not cook his own food, if fire and cooked food are symbols of culture and raw food of nature, thent he renouncer in relinquishing fire has, in a sense, relinquished cluture; he is attempting to transcend culture for a pure, trans-human realm of spiritual liberation |
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| Four classes of vedic society, highest are known as dvija - 'twice born' because their male members have undergone an initiation, a rite of passage, which gives them access to being full members of society, who can marry and perpetuate the ritual traditions |
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| Commoner or Merchant class |
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| Serf class, composed of non-Aryan Dravidians |
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| Chandala / Harijans / Dalits |
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| "Untouchables" - bottom of the caste system, most impure class of people |
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No direct semantic equivalents in any western languages which convey the resonance of associations expressed by the term, translated as 'duty', 'religion', 'justice', 'law', 'ethics', 'religious merit', 'principle', and 'right'
Dharma is the performance of vedic ritual by the Brahmans, the 'ritualistic order of Vedic sacrifice', which refers especially tot he performance of the 'solemn' rites enjoined on all Brahmans, to the domestic rituals, and to obligations appopriate to one's family and social group
Embraces ritual and moral behavior, neglect would have bad soical and personal consequences |
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There are three sources of Dharma according to the Dharma sutras: revelation (i.e. the Veda), tradition (smrti), and the customs or 'good custom' of the virtuous or those learned in the Veda
Concerned with customs and correct human conduct, rules for performing domestic rites, jusisprudence, and rules pertaining to the four stages of life (asrama) |
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Slightly later group of txts, though they contain older materila, which elaborates upon the topics of the Sutra literature
Particularly associated with smrti, composed in verse, give more explanation than Sutras, and contain more material of a juridical nature
Sources of dharma which provide clear indicatiosn for the high-caste householder as to what duties he should perform, what was expected of him, what was prohibited, and how these rules relate to a wider, cosmic sense of law and duty |
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| Philosophical tradition dealing with liberation from suffering and yoga |
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| Classification within Samkhya school, dualism between self (purusa) and matter (prakriti), both of which are real, yet ontologically distinct |
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| The first transformation from matter is translated as the 'intellect' or 'higher mind', also called the 'great one' (mahat), and refers to both an individual's psychological functioning and to a hgiher level in a hierarchical cosmolgoy |
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| From buddhi the sense of "I" or ego (ahamkara) develops |
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| Emergence of the mind (manas) from the buddhi |
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| Method of reaching spiritual knowledge, ascetic traditions and world-renunciation developed within the bounds of vedic tradition and outside these bounds |
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Classical yoga, 'eight-limbed' (astanga) or 'the best' (raja) yoga
yoga is a state of concentration in which the wandering mind, fed by sense impressions and memories, is controlled and made to be one-pointed (ekagrata) |
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"Yoga of discrimination", discriminating all that is not the self from the self, constantly reminding oneself, "I am not this body", I am not anything connected with the body, I am not the thoughts I have, not the sensations, not any concept
Constantly trying to be aware of your awareness, ultimately you want to realize that even the "I" is not who we are |
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Path that leads to enlightenment, focused ons elfless service, not being attached to the effects of one's actions
Want to reach a state where you can act without having any effect, must operate out of a completely enlightened state, must be continuously aware of your thoughts / feelings
Only through non-attachment can you move away from vritis |
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"Yoga of devotion" - for emotional people
Choosing an image that resonates with you emotionally, the image will eventually be internalized, you take on the characteristics of that object, become ONE with the object of devotion
Sometimes it can be a sound symbol - "OM" |
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"Yoga of Force", develops a system of elaborate and difficult postures (asana) accompanied by breathing techniques (pranayama)
Purpose: the realization of liberation during life, in which the self awakens to its innate identity with the absolute (sahaja), a realization made possible through cultivating a body made perfect or divine in the 'fire' of yoga |
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| A systematizer of yoga practice and philosophy, states that all is suffering to the spiritually discriminating person |
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| Ethics or restraint, comprising non-violence (ahimsa), telling the truth, not stealing, celibacy and not being greedy |
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| Discipline, comprising cleanliness, serentiy, asceticsim, study, devotion to the Lord |
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| Absorbed concentration comprising: (i) concentration with the support of objects of consciousness (samprajnata samadhi) sustained on four levels - initial thought, sustained thought, joy, and the sense of "I" (ii) concentration without the support of objects of consciousness |
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Rites of passage, which mold and help construct social identities
The putting together of a person as a social actor and even, to a certain extent, defining ontological status |
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| Impressions, formed during course of our lives, but also there subconsciously from former lifetimes |
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| Whorls or disturbances formed by Vasanas, which create more vasanas, which lead to traits and tendancies of future life |
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| Corporeal energy raised byt he symbolic dissolution of the cosmos within the body |
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| Centers or "Wheels" (cakra) located along central axis of body |
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Through hatha-yoga, the energy lying odrmant at the base of the central channel in the 'root center' (muladhara) is awakened
This energy is envisaged as the goddess Kundalinin, the 'serpent power', whcih flows up the central channel to the 'thousand petalled lotus' at the crown of the head, where the bliss of liberation is experienced |
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| The second cakra, Indian teachings place a lot of emphasise on celibacy, in order to raise and transmute this powerful sexual energy to the brain (or, more correctly, the Upper Tien Tan Centre, to use the Taoist paradigm), increasing higher consciousness. This is actually the basic principle behind celibacy in all religions, including Catholicism. In practice however, this noble ideal flounders, because the individual is not yet ready to renounce physical sex, and may become psychologically unbalanced, full of guilt, or turn to paedophilia or other unnatural forms of sex |
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| Perhaps it is this central Manipura or Lower Tan Tien centre that represents the red or Fire-polarity usually associated with the central part of the Tantric Manipura chakra; remember that in Tantra, the central and the rear chakra-series are confused |
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| Astrologically, there is no doubt that this centre corresponds to the Sun (although Ann Ree Colton makes the strange association that it is linked with Venus, perhaps because she wishes to reserve the sun for the "Tenth Chakra" [Kundalini West, p.298]. Colton reflects her Christian bias by locating "Jesus" in this chakra; in fact it is more likely that the Jesus-impulse is accessed through the front Heart chakra, not the rear will centre. Rudolph Steiner however associates the Sphere of the Sun spiritually with the "Cosmic Christ" or "Spirit of Form"; the Divine principle behind the Human Christ, and cosmic and human evolution. In the Kabbalistic linear series of Sefirot, the Anahata/Sun Centre corresponds to the Sefirah of Tifaret, representing the first stage of the initiate or adept, in which one recieves revelation from one's Higher Self or "Holy Guardian Angel" (represented by Keter, the highest Sefirah) |
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| Both Ann Ree Colton [Kundalini West, p.298] and Oscar Marcel Heinze [Tantra Vidya ] associated this centre astrologically with the planet Mars, and this is in keeping with the astrological series followed here. Mars represents dynamic energy, and rules the sign of Aries, initiating new beginnings. In the Qabalistic scheme too, in both the linear and the holistic/tree diagrams this centre is associated with the principle or Sphere of Mars |
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| The word Ajna means "command", in the sense of the Guru's command (spiritual guidance). The Tantric Ajna or Brow chakra has two petals, is associated with the tattwa of Manas or Mind (not to be confused with the Manas-Chakra), which is beyond even the most subtle elements (although still part of embodied existence). It is said to be white in colour. More recently in Western occult and New Age thought the Ajna chakra has been identified with the "third eye" (eye of psychic vision), and other such concepts not found in the original Tantrika system |
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| The majority opinion seems to be that above the Crown or Nirvana Chakra are not one but several higher centres, which, like the inner mid-line centres, are not a part of the regular microcosmic orbit. Sri Aurobindo mentions only one, the Sahasrara. Shyam Sundar Goswami [Laya Yoga] refers to two: the Guru Chakra, white in colour and possessing twelve petals, and the Sahasrara or Sahsradala Chakra, with a thousand petals, of golden or variable colour. In the Radha Soami system however there are five higher chakras, the first being the Crown or Sahasrara centre, and each corresponding to a particular heaven region and inner or yogic sound (nada or shabda). Ann Ree Colton speaks of five chakras above the Crown centre. Whatever the number, all agree that these higher chakras represent varying degrees of transpersonal or higher spiritual Intuitive Divine Consciousness. Barbara Brennan refers to the highest point in this central chakra line the ID point or individuation point; located about a metre above the head, it represents our first individuation out of the void or unmanifest Godhead [Light Emerging, p.289]. This would be the same as Ann Ree Colton's "Eternal Sustaining Atom" or "Atma" located above the head as far as the arms can reach, and which constitutes the highest sphere of spiritual consciousness. This is region of the superconscious principle and demiurgic hierarchies |
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| Channels by which the flow of energy (prana), or the life-force, which animates the body |
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The first step in Kundalini Awakening is balancing the flow of energy in Ida and Pingala. This means that equal amounts of Prana are flowing in the left and right sides. It is most readily evidenced by the breath flowing evenly in the two nostrils
There is a natural transition between Ida and Pingala from time to time during the day. For those with very healthy bodies and minds, this shift happens approximately every 90 minutes. For others, the shift may not follow so naturally, or energy may be more or less stuck in either Ida or Pingala for much longer periods of time during the 24 hours of the day |
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Meritorious action leads to merit (punya), while evil action leads to further evil (papa)
The self (atman) moves from body to body, as a caterpillar or leech moves from one blade of grass to another |
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Rebirth into this world, according to Karma
Idea of 'redeath' in vedic hymns, could also have originated with the renouncer tradition |
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| Synonomous with reincarnation, Salvation or liberation in most Hindu traditions is freedom from the cycle of samsara, which is to be freed fromt he store of action (karma) built up over innumerable lifetimes |
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| Salvation or liberation from the wheel of suffering (samsara) |
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One reality that underlies philosophy, power of the fire sacrifice
See an identity between external fire sacrifice and internal fire |
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| The truth (satya) is the absolute (brahman), which is also the self (atman) |
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| An illusory world, not the true real world identified with Krsna |
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Superimposition, we superimpose our own limited consciousness on reality
Brahman is not God, not a creator, does not create the illusion |
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Nirguna Brahman - Brahman as it is in itself, only can describe Brahman negatively
Saguna Brahman - Brahman with properties - limited perspective |
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| Personal god, distinct from Brahman |
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Most prominent form of Hindu philosophy, "end of the vedas" - philosophy of the Upanishads
Implications: Good and evil are realities, they are real, for as long as you are within this world of illusion, then all of the things that govern this world apply
Moral precepts apply, BOUND by the moral laws of our society
Must act ethically, even after enlightenment |
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Teaches complete and absolute MONISM, "all is one", there is one underlying reality, "UNQUALIFIED NON-DUALISM"
Only one reality, inner essence of each thing is the same |
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The most famous Indian philosopher ever to have lived
Vowed to become a renouncer, but mother would not let him, many philosophical texts and devotional hymns are attributed to him, author of the commentary on the Brahma Sutra |
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| A dualist form of Vedanta, Madhva maintains that the correct interpretation of sacred scripture is dualistic: that scripture maintains an eternal distinction betweent he individual self and the Lord |
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composes a commentary, the Sri Bhasya, on the Brahma Sutra, and a commentary ont he Gita, to refute the monism of Sankara
Argues vehemently against Sankara's monistic reading of sacred scripture, expressing himself forcefully and asserting that the Advaita position is against reason, against the firm understanding of themeaning of language, and goes against the scriptures |
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| Dvaita Vedanta, Difference or bheda is a cornerstone of his theology and scriptural interpretation, each thing in the universe is itself and unique and cannot be reduced to something else (an idea which is not dissimilar to Wittgenstein's contention that a thing is what it is and not another thing |
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| Maintains that the correct interpretation of sacred scripture is dualistic: that scripture maintains an eternal distinction betweeen the individual self and the Lord (Dvaita Vedanta) |
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| The atomist school, associated with Nyaya, which assumes the reality of the many; the constituents of existence do not arise from a shared source - rather, each phenomena is distinct and separate |
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| Concerned with correct action in accordance with dharma |
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| Epic poem, containing passages describing the practice of yoga |
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| Wrote a commentary on the Yoga Sutra listing eight magical powers or accomplishments: the ability to become as small as an atom, levitation, the ability to expand, all-pervasiveness, the power of irresistable will, control over the natural elements, the power to create, and the fulfillment of desires |
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| Epic story of King Rama, story of a heroic king who becomes deified, Rama is referred to as an incarnation of Visnu |
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Benevolent, solar deity, often coupled witht he warrior god Indra
"He who enters or pervades the universe"
Transcendent Lord dwelling in his highest heaven, Vaikuntha, at the top of the cosmic egg, where with their Lord's grace, his devotees go upon liberation |
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| Followers of the God Vishnu or an incarnation, individual soul wanting to become one iwth God |
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| Vishnu's most important manifestation in Vaishnavism |
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| Granted a cosmic vision, personal conception of God |
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| The four-headed creator of the universe |
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| Destruction - goes back to ancient Indus Valley Civilization |
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| Shiva is God-head, you've got to call god by its poper name |
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| Non-vedic revelation, sampradaya - developed within the wider mainstream of brahmanical worship based ont eh smrti texts, especially the parunas |
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| Heterodox follower of non-vedic material, particularly on ritual |
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| Caste, no mobility within this system, caste has to do with purity and impurity, manifest in who you can eat with / who can touch your food, and secondly who you can marry |
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| Prakriti evolves from trigunas: Sathva, Rajas, Tamas |
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