HINDUISM

HUM130

07/29/2012

HINDUISM
In Hinduism there are three major philosophical systems “Samkhya, Advaita Vedanta, and Yoga. Each of these systems represents a path towards enlightenment. Although the underlying theory and beliefs of these systems are similar, there are also striking dissimilarities between each philosophy.

SAMKHYA
The Samkhya is thought to be the oldest system of Hindu belief. Founded by the mythical sage Kapila, Samkhya teaches that there are two states of reality. The first state; known as the Purusha, or self, which is eternally wise, pure, and free, beyond chance, beyond cause. (citation needed) The other is Prakriti, the cause of the material universe. All suffering is said to come from out confusion of Prakriti with Purusha. Being able to separate and understand the two is a key part of finding true transcendent reality.

Advaita Vedanta Unlike the Samkhya philosophy Advaita Vedanta teaches that there is only one single reality. The current view of Advaita Vedanta comes from the teachings of Shankara. The old views of Vedanta taught that the human self (Atman) is an emanation of Brahman. Shankara’s teachings state that Atman and Brahman are actually one and the same, and that the material life is not another reality as is believed in Samkhya but an illusion. The absolute spirit (Brahman) is considered to be the essence of everything with no beginning and no end. An analogy that is often used to describe this is the ocean and waves. The ocean is the absolution (Brahman) while the waves are simply temporary illusions; that are quickly given form before dying. There is a power by with the “absolute power” hides itself. This is called Maya. This illusion teaches us that the world we perceive is real. The goal of Vedanta is to see beyond the ignorance of the illusion and the idea that we exist as individuals.

Yoga

Yoga is a spiritual discipline designed to clean the mide and support a state of sentence, detached awareness. This desired state of balance, wisdom, and peace of mind is called Sattvic. In everyday life there are considered to be two overriding states of mind. The first is active and restless; the other is dull and lethargic. Yoga teaches us that both of these states are ineffective and asks us to reach another state, the Sattvic state.

There are four major disciplines of Yoga. These disciplines are geared towards specific personality types. Each is designed to help its practitioners achieve their optimal mental state
The four basic disciplines organized by personality type are: * Meditative – Raja Yoga; The path of mental concentration * Rational – Jnana Yoga; The path of rational inquiry * Naturally active- Kharma Yoga; The path of right action * Emotional- Bhakti Yoga; The path of devotion

The Hindu way of life is heavily steeped in rituals and traditions. From rites that are performed at various stages of life to the public ceremony of ritual and worship. The Hindu carries their religion as a part of their everyday lives far more than most other religions. They have rituals that pertain most significant events in a person’s life. They also have gone through various changes as a people over the years. Public worship is a huge part of the Hindu culture; this is called Puja. Puja is performed by Pujaris; or Brahman preists. Many of these worship ceremonies make use of all of the 5 human senses to make the presence of deities into a tangible experience. This is done visually through the worship of images or statues of deities as if they were in the presence of a living kind or queen. These statues are often treated as if they are living creatures. They are washed and dressed each day in a royal fashion. and may even be dressed for bed at night. Food is sacrificed to the deities and then eaten by devotees who see it as sacred and believe that they are being spiritually charged by the food. Particularly important to the Hindu way of life is the “Caste” system. While in a legal sense the caste system as it existed previously in Hindu culture is now illegal many Hindus still honor the system on a cultural level. The caste system is derived from the Hindu’s need for organization and for everyone to do their parts. There are four acceptable levels to the caste system.
The Brahman priest’s that presided over ceremony
The Kshatriyas - The nobles of feudal India; Kings and warriors that were charged with guarding and preserving the society.
Vaishyas: Economic specialists such as farmers and merchants
Shudra: Manual labor and artisans.

Below the four most basic castes stood the “untouchables”. The untouchables were a societal group who did the worst work of society; such as cleaning human waste and removing corpses. These people’s occupations made them largely unacceptable and offensive to others. The caste system became hereditary and whole families would be locked into certain economic and social standings. This system would be made illegal in the mid 1900’s after many complaints that the system was considered to be socially unjust. With none other than Mohatma Ghandi being one of the central figures that led the fight for change and the acceptance of the “untouchables”.

References
Living Religions, Sixth Edition, by Mary Pat Fisher. Published by Prentice-Hall. Copyright © 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc.