- Read the Bhagavad Gita for 1/27. (Optional to read the notes.)

Questions to think about during reading: (These will not be collected.)

1. What advice does Krishna give Arjuna? Do you agree?
2. How does Krishna appear when he reveals his true nature? How is this picture of God similar to or different from Western religion?
3. What teachings do you find about the afterlife in the Gita?
4. What does Krishna say about those who worship other gods?
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*The instructor reviewed the differences between Western and Eastern religions.

Western Religions:
-emphasis on texts
-emphasis on linear history
-apocalyptic element (judgement day)
-birth, life, death, judgement/ Heaven or Hell

Eastern Religions:
-emphasis on religious experience (personal)
-history not very important- seen as being cyclical
-less emphasis on sacred people, places, events
-spiritual and moral lessons are seen as more important than the literal truths
-reincarnation; birth, life, death, rebirth, life...
-final destination= union with God (Brahman)
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*Beginnings of Hinduism:
-Hinduism resulted from the clash of 2 civilizations, the Harrapan civilization, and the Aryans.

*Harrapan Civilization
- 2500 BC, Indus River Valley
- group of people living in fairly sophisticated city states
- "modern" urban centers
- writing (still indecipherable today)
- engaged in ritual purifications in huge public baths (communal pools)
- fairly peaceful civilization
- dark skinned people
- fertility rites: that which makes things grow- important in agricultural societies
-babies
-crops
(there was an association between
what makes the two of these grow.)

*More on fertility rites:
- worshipped the Earth Mother and the Storm God. (Earth Mother was usually seen as more important.)
- Shiva began as a fertility deity
- the symbol for the god Shiva is a ritualized penis called a Lingum. It is a large black stone on an upraised platform, sometimes kept in gardens or worn around the neck.

*Aryan Invasion- 1500 BC
- Aryans= Noble Ones/ Came from Northern Iran
- nomadic warriors, worshipped sky gods and fire god. (Indra and Agni.) (Sky gods and storm gods are somewhat interchangeable.)
- had mostly male deities
- did not worship fertility deities because they were nomadic herdsmen. (It didn't make sense to have more children than you could carry.)
- needed to be able to fight/ Indra was a war-like, boisterous god who liked to fight (drank Soma, a hallucinogenic drink)
- Agni (fire god)/ accepts sacrifices/ also funeral god- carries soul up to God after cremation
- rigid authoritarian male model of doing things, so female deities weren't that important.
- puritanical society- sex is ok, but w/in certain confines
- light skin
- caste system

*Aryans invaded/ fusion of these 2 religions formed Hinduism today. (*note* there is some difference of opinion regarding whether or not this was an invasion or a migration/ evidence for invasion is stronger)

*Caste System= division of social roles according to birth or bloodlines
*4 Castes
-warrior
-priest
-worker
-servant

- originally all dark skinned native inhabitants were put into the servant caste
- after a while, the priest role became the most important caste, and switched places with the warrior role.
-priest
-warrior
-worker
-servant
-untouchables (added later)
(sewage workers, handled dead bodies)

*note* Mohandas K. Gandhi did a lot for the untouchable caste. Today in India it is against the law to discriminate against people according to their caste. (In old times, people would refuse to save drowning untouchable children.)

*Hinduism results from the clash of the 2 civilizations.

*Aspects of Hinduism that came from the Aryans:
- caste system
- Vedic gods (came from the Vedas- earliest texts in Hinduism)

*Came from the Harrapan Civilization"
- fertility element/ emphasis
- ritual purification
- the god Shiva

*Hinduism comes from the Persian word meaning Indian religion. There is no founder.

*Early/Vedic Hinduism (from the Vedas c1200-800BC)
- 4 Vedas: tell stories about gods, give instructions for sacrifices and rituals
- simple polytheistic religion
- petition and praise
- sacrifice
- drinking Soma (drink Soma, see the gods; similar to Native American peyote)
- live a good life, have faith in the gods, go to heaven

*Transitional phase
- priests asked- What is the real reason for sacrifice? What is the hidden symbolic meaning behind the rituals? Where do the Gods come from? How are they related to one another? Which is the best to worship?
- original reason for sacrifice= feeding/ placating the gods
- Brahman= ultimate reality: people began thinking of Brahman as a 'super-god' that all the other gods sprang from
- beginning to develop the idea of meditation
- hermits and ascetics; "you can't find the truth about existence and keep your day job at the same time"
- ideas of reincarnation and karma start to develop

*Later Hinduism
- Brahman fully developed:
Brahman (impersonal force)
- gods
- physical world
- human souls
- the physical world is conceived as "maya", an illusion, just a manifestation of the Brahman.
*"All is God and God is all."
*"Atmas is Brahman."- the soul (self)
is God. (Everything that exists is God)
Once you realize your divinity and
realize that God is all, you will
become one w/ God.
- karma and reincarnation
- karma= actions you do in this world will have consequences in the next. Desires (food, sex, status) tie you to the physical world.
- pessimistic view of mundane everyday life.
- reincarnation seen as a bad thing
- life is seen as painful drudgery
- pleasures are seen as being temporary, mundane, boring
- idea of "there has to be something more- is this all there is?"
- withdrawn, detachment
- The key to being enlightened is detaching yourself from day to day life.
- ascetic= deny bodily wants and needs for spiritual purpose
- when you're young and virile, do all the things to enjoy life/ when you're old, do the spiritual/ascetic thing
- mystical- trying to understand the oneness of things/ having spiritual experiences
- later Hinduism is really other-world oriented

*Reincarnation
- samsara= "the wheel" or cycle of reincarnation
- reincarnation is seen as bad- if you get reborn you haven't reached your goal yet. (Life is bad, and you want to escape from it.)

*3 Yogas (Paths/Disciplines)
1. Knowledge (Jnana Yoga)
- study of texts, study under a guru or teacher, philosophic thinking, dialogue (also meditation- later separated as Raja Yoga)
2. Works/Deeds (Karma Yoga)
- acting w/ detachment, doing your duty, good deeds
3. Devotion (Bhakti Yoga)
- devote yourself to the worship of a god. (Hindus see Christians as people practicing Bhakti Yoga w/ Jesus as their God.)

*Ways of losing yourself
- meditation
- helping others
- worship

*In later Hinduism, the study of texts and intellectual knowledge is considered inferior- more emphasis on spiritual experiences

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*Mahabharata Epic
- epic poem/ 80,000 verses
- one portion is the Bhagavad Gita (song of God)
- the B.G. is thought to encapsule the basic ideas of Hinduism

*In the Bhagavad Gita:
- Pandava Brothers vs. Kareva Clan (battling over Northern India)
- Prince Arjuna (one of the Pandava Bros.)
- civil war for control of Northern India
- Sanjava is the narrator
- 95% of the talking is the interchange between Prince Arjuna and the God Krishna
- Krishna- avatar of Vishnu. (Avatar is the physical manifestation of a God.)
- Krishna is Arjuna's charioteer- gives him all this advice. (The B.G. never comes back to the battle, which is between Arjuna's friends and relatives. We never know the outcome of the battle.)