2 Groups that form Hinduism

and characteristics of each group:

Dravidians:

• dark-skinned
• peaceful
• came into India 3500 BCE
• Central Asian origin

Aryans:

• light-skinned
• cowboys/warriors
• worship forces of nature
• nomadic
  

2 ideas that created caste

Varna:

• color of skin marks you social standing

Jatil:

• idea of being born into the occupation

4 main features of Vedic Religion

1. tripartition - things grouped in 3s
2. strong warrior theme
3. worship natural elements as God
4. cult of fire/horse sacrifice

• anthropomorphized - turn element into man-shape

3 Vedic Gods

1. Indra - created universe, god of storm/war/thundercloud/illusion
2. Agni - god of fire : unites souls, messenger to the gods, carries souls to heaven
3. Soma - god of altered states of consciousness, (drug) helped to bestow god-like qualities

4 caste

what part of Purusha represents them

1. Head: Brahmin
2. Arms: Kshatriya
3. Thighs, Genitals: Vaishya
4. Feet: Shudra

• Purusha - disembodiment of man creates caste
• Outcaste - "untouchables" Dalit

Represent forces of

Creation, Preservation, and Destruction

(People who worship these forces)

1. Brahma - creator
2. Vishnu - preserver (Vaishnavas worship Vishnu) 2 most human avatars: Krishna & Rama (Srivaishnavas worship Krishna) Krishna's 3 forms are: infant, cowboy, and King/god
3. Shiva - destroyer (Shivacharyas worship Shiva)

2 hot/unmarried goddesses

Explain why they are "hot"

Durga - beautiful, fair complexion, golden lion, carries weapons of the gods (8-18 arms), kills Mahisha (buffalo demon)

Kali - ugly hag, The Black One, ferocious, depicted standing on Shiva (Ascetic), 4 arms, destroys ignorance

• "hot" goddesses are: angry, violent, repressed sexual energy, child-less

Central focus of the Veda Samitas versus the Upanishads?

Veda

Orthoprax - focus on ritual

Upanishads

Orthodox - focus on belief/knowledge

Samsara

Cycle of rebirth and the suffering that goes with it

Maya

Illusion, as reference to the material world

Moksha

Freedom of Atman from Samsara

(Nirvana - great peace/no suffering)

Famous type of literature which was remembered as a revelation from the universe

Shruti literature

Veda

4 Samitas

• Rig - hymn knowledge
• Yajur - ceremonial knowledge
• Sama - chant knowledge
• Atharva - knowledge from the teacher

Brahmanas

• 800 BCE
• commentaries on Veda Samitas
• deeper meaning of ritual, explains why

Aranyakas

• 800 BCE
• end summary of the Brahmanas
• "forest document/treaty"

Dharma and Karma

Dharma

(religious practices)

Karma "ACTION"

-reaction

-law of cause and effect

-determines rebirth

Ahimsa

Non-injury to any living things

Atman and Brahman

Atman

-universal self

-"the conditioned self" (no memory)

Brahman

-timeless,changeless, underlying holy reality

-no conscious

-no attributes

Shakti (Sakti)

• feminine energy/power
• the ability to act
• Gods borrowed it from Goddesses/female consorts
• Goddesses embody Shakti

Upanishads

4 main teachings

1. Atman & Brahman
2. Samsara - karma
3. moksha - detachment from the material world
4. moksha comes through meditation

Bhagavad Gita

• 700 verses from Mahabharata form this poem
• means Song of our Lord (Krishna)

4 margas (paths to moksha, salvation)

1. Jnana - way of knowledge, understanding reality, disciplined concentration
2. Karma - way of work, action based on dharma (Laws of Manu - outlines caste duties)
3. bhakti - way of devotion, different types of worship, temple visits, pilgrimage
4. raja - way of physical discipline

Dualism

Ascetic - gives up materialism, deny body, strenthen the mind, nomadic

Erotic/tantric - sexual practice to test control on the body

4 Legitimate Life Goals

1. karma - pleasure, sex, food, sports, poetry
2. artha - wealth/power
3. dharma - duty to caste
4. moksha - liberation

Sati

• Shiva's 1st wife "virtuous woman"
• practice of Sati - Hindu widows self-immolate at husbands cremation