Recently in Hinduism Category

Today is kind of a funny day. Since we had a significant number of absences, we'll use the beginning half of class to both discuss some of the articles and to review materials that people may have missed or be confused about.

Later in the block, we take the Hinduism Multiple Choice Quiz. It will be 25 questions. (Remember, you can bring in a sheet with up to 75 words of notes.)

"Bright but hidden,

the Self dwells in the heart.

Everything that moves,

breathes, opens, and closes,

lives in the Self.

He is the source of love

And may be known through love

but not through thought.

He is the goal of life.

Attain this goal!

- Upanishads

These are the articles from the Hinduism packet for today:

• "Best Revolution; The Peacemaker," The New York Times, April 18, 1999
• "The Other Face of Fanaticism," The New York Times, February 2, 2003
• "All in the Family," The New York Times, August 26, 2007
• "India's Internal Partition," The New York Times, August 15, 2007

In religion all other countries are paupers;
India is the only millionaire.
- Mark Twain

These are the articles for discussion today:

• "'Love Guru,' Panned in U.S., Heads to India," The New York Times, June 20, 2008
• "India Swears in 13th Prime Minister and First Sikh in Job," The New York Times, May 23, 2004
• "Turbans Make Targets, Some Sikhs Find," The New York Times, June 15, 2008
• "The Beliefs of the Jains," New Statesman, January 16, 2007
• "Camp Joins Summer Fun With Teaching Hinduism," The New York Times, July 21, 2007

Religions influenced by Hinduism: Jainism and Sikhism

We will divide into four groups. Two will do some research and reading on Sikhism, and two will do the same with Jainism. We will present and discuss your findings.

DO THIS: Two of the four groups will investigate each religious faith that branches off from Hinduism: Jainism or Sikhism. (Buddhism, which also has its roots in Hindu tradition, will get more thorough coverage beginning soon.) You will probably have a little more than a half-hour to consult the web pages and sources provided.

Your job is to develop a "top ten" list of things you believe it is important for someone wanting an introduction to the faith to know. Notice that you are "required" to include certain items for each of the faiths. Some portion of your group will present the list to the rest of the class.

You might consider answering questions like these: Obviously, they are not all applicable to both of the faiths.

* When and how was the faith founded?
* Who was the founder of the faith?
* What other religions, if any, were "blended" with this faith?
* What values or beliefs are central to the religion?
* What symbols or rituals are associated with the religion?
* Where are adherents to the faith most heavily concentrated today?
* About how many people adhere to the faith?

Jainism:

Required terms and concepts: Mahavira, ahimsa, "Three Jewels"

Suggested Web Resources: Consult texts/books provided as well.

General Facts About Jainism: Pretty much what it sounds like.

Jain Students Group at University of Michigan: This has good links to a number of useful resources.

About.com: Jainism: There are good links to a number of Jain resources here. This is a very user-friendly site.

Sikhism:

Required terms and concepts: Guru Nanak, Punjab, "Five K's", Golden Temple

Suggested Web Resources: Consult texts/books provided as well.

About.com: Sikhism: There are good links to a number of Sikh resources here. This is a very user-friendly site.

The Sikhism Home Page: This site contains a number of useful links and graphics on the basics of the faith.

The SikhNetwork: This Sikh-maintained site links to many useful resources.

History of the Sikhs: The title pretty much says it all on this one.

HOMEWORK for next session: Hinduism - Day #5

You should continue with your reading in the Hinduism packet of articles.

You should have completed reading the Hinduism chapter in Huston Smith's The World's Religions. Blog Entry #2 - Hinduism is due by the start of class on Thursday, September 25th.

Your second Independent Assignment is also due on Thursday, September 25th. Consult the blog pages on the right for specifics.

We'll take a quick look at a couple of additional aspects of Hinduism, and we'll wrap it up with an excerpt from a series done by Bill Moyers and Huston Smith...

Here's an article about Lakshmi, the young girl whose "extra" limbs were removed last year in an operation.

These were the articles for today:

• "An Opulent and Pugnacious Champion of India's Outcasts," The New York Times, May 4, 2003
• "Holy Cow a Myth? An Indian Finds The Kick Is Real," The New York Times, August 17, 2002
• "For Hindus and Vegetarians, Surprise in McDonald's Fries," The New York Times, May 20, 2001
• "McDonald's To Settle Suits On Beef Tallow in French Fries," The New York Times, March 9, 2002
• "A Religious Tangle Over the Hair of Pious Hindus," The New York Times, July 14, 2004
• "How India Reconciles Hindu Values and Biotech," The New York Times, August 21, 2005

Sacred Literature of Hinduism- As I mentioned, even attempting to read a small section of Hinduism's sacred literature might occupy a lifetime. Rather than attempting to be at all comprehensive, we'll highlight some of the more important works below.

Vedas - These are the oldest and most sacred of the Hindu scriptures, the "breath of the eternal." They were long known only in oral form, and they deal predominantly with ritual.

Divided into four samhitas (collections):

• Rig-Veda - composed 2300 to 1200 BCE? - hymns of praise to the gods
• Yajur-veda - largely about sacrifices to the gods
• Sama-veda - chants for worship
• Atharva-veda - healing, "magic" spells

Upanishads - "sitting down beside" - composed orally between 800 - 400 BCE, written down much later. They focus on two broad types of thought:

• What is the essence of the human self?
• What is the essence of the ultimate reality?

Mahabharata - considered the longest epic in the world, tells the story of a war between two Bharata tribes. This includes the full text of the Bhagavad-Gita , which is perhaps the most widely read of the Hindu sacred literature. It tells the story of the warrior Arjuna and his interaction with Krishna, one of the avatars of Vishnu. (Here are some interesting visual images from an edition of the Gita. Scroll down past the gurus and swamis and click on the images...)

Ramayana - This epic tells the story or Rama and his wife, Sita. Each represents an ideal model for Hindu life, and it is later revealed that each is a manifestation of the divine (Vishnu and Lakshmi).

The Laws of Manu - These were compiled somewhere between 200 BCE and 200 CE, and they serve as a sort of "guide" to ancient Hindu life. They offer rules and guidelines for caste, gender responsibilities, and many similar topics.

DO THIS: Browse a number of the links above to get a feeling for the various types of literature. Please bookmark or clip at least three quotations or other points of interest to share with classmates.

The Hindu Concept of Time - I've got a couple of visual representations of the reckoning of time according to the Hindu world view. While we are well into the "final" portion of this cycle of the universe, you can see that we don't exactly need to start panicking...

Lead me from the unreal to the real.

Lead me from darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality.

- Upanishads 




DAY #2- HINDU SOCIETY, SYMBOLS AND WORSHIP

These are the Hinduism packet articles for discussion today.

• "With Each Warm Embrace, A Guru Shares Her Message"
• "In India, the Deity to Know"
• "Discarded Hindu God Does Not Bless India's Water"
  
• "When Hindus Brave a Big Crush for a Little Dip"
  
• "India: Hindu Holy Men Say Ganges is Too Dirty for Sin"
  

The Hindu yoga- "Assignment" from last class: You were asked to look at two Hindu yoga. You'll be asked to discuss a specific type of Hindu yoga and ways it might be be applied to your life in pursuit of your goals.

Four Basic Hindu Yoga:

• jnana - the way of knowledge
  
• bhakti - the way of love and devotion
  
• kama - the way of work/effort
  
• raja - the way of meditation
  

The Four Stages of Hindu Life:

Defining terms: guru, sannyasin

Remember that the "Four Goals" we discussed were as follows:

• dharma: duty

• artha: participation

• kama: pleasure

• moksha: release

Consider how these goals are emphasized in the different life stages.

• brahmacharya: student stage

• grihasthya: householder stage

• vanaprasthya: retired stage

• sannyasin: spiritual pilgrim- ascetic

Caste System:

Defining terms: jatis, Vedas, Purusha

For a graphic and textual introduction to the caste system, check out this site. It also has useful information on the life stages.

You should be able to identify each caste and some of its prominent attributes.

• Brahmins- "mouth," intellectual-priestly class

• Kshatriyas- "arms," nobility-warrior class

• Vaishyas- "legs," merchant-administrator class

• Shudras- "feet," servant-laborer class

* Panchamas- "Untouchables"

How prevalent is caste in Hindu society today? How prevalent should it be?

The Hindu Pantheon:

Defining terms: Trimurti, avatars

The Hindu Trimurti:

• Brahma
• Vishnu
• Shiva

The Hindu Pantheon has extensive written descriptions of the symbolism and roles of many influential deities. In addition, there are a series of links at the bottom to actual images.

Hinduism: Pantheon of Deities