RG ST 3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Brahmacharya, Upanishads, Vanaprastha
LAST LECTURE CONTINUED (Aims and Stages of Human Life)
Response to the Upanishads
As sacrificial religion declined, priests developed strategies to
preserve status quo
○
Key formulations sought to co-opt trend toward rejecting existing
social and religious order
The four castes (varna)
§
The four aims of human life (purusha-arthas)
§
The four stages of life (ashramas)
§
○
•
The Four Aims of Human Life (purusha-arthas)
Virtue, duty, morality (dharma)
Living according to ethical and social duties
§
○
Pleasure and love (kama)
Sensual (including sexual) enjoyments, happiness
§
○
Wealth, prosperity (artha)
Success, power, prestige, security
§
○
Liberation (moksha)
Liberation from samsara, cycle or birth and death
§
○
•
The Four Stages of Life (ashramas)
Student - brahmacharya
Live and study with a guru from age 5-24
§
○
Householder - grihastha
Fulfilling social and family duties from age 25-49
§
○
Forest dweller - vanaprastha
Withdraws from world to study and meditate ages 50-74
§
○
Renunciant - sannyasin
Complete withdrawal from society to pursue moksha
§
○
•
Balancing ideals
In theory, these allow one to fulfill their duties (dharma) and pursue
liberation (moksha)
○
Integrate worldly values of wealth, pleasure, and status with
spiritual values of righteousness (dharma), detachment, and
liberation
○
Both are attempts by priests to maintain status quo while
acknowledging changing social and religious landscape
○
•
Devotion (bhakti): Background
Upanishads focus on Absolute Reality (brahman), its identity with
one's self (atman), at illusory nature of the world (maya)
○
Develop idea of rebirth and re-death (samsara) and possibility of
liberation from it (moksha)
○
Obstacle to attaining liberation is cognitive -- one is reborn due to
ignorance of one's true nature
To overcome this obstacle ant attain moksha, one must
understand that brahman = atman
§
○
Nirguna in Upanishads means brahman has no characteristics and
cannot be described
A concept usually found as cold, sterile, and impersonal
§
○
Saguna: an absolute with characteristics usually in the form of a god
○
It is possible to have a relationship with the Absolute understood as
a god (Ishvara)
○
Common and satisfying type of such a relationship is of love,
adoration, devotion (bhakti)
○
Bhakti is a major type of Hundi religious practice
Like the Upanishads, bhakti is a path leading to liberation form
samsara (moksha)
§
○
Bhakti derived from the verb "bhaj" meaning to share, partake, or
worship
○
Denotes divine-human relationship from human perspective
○
Bhakti is a theistic movement Distinguished from non-theistic or
polytheistic religions
○
Usually focuses on a single god such as Vishnu, Shiva, or the
Goddess
○
•
Vishnu•
Shiva•
Goddess (devi)•
Examples of Bhakti•
Bhakti Moods
Bhakti described according to moods and emotions of the devotee
○
These moods (bhava) and emotions (rasa) based on human
relationships such as:
Servant to master (respectful subordination)
§
Friend to friend (joking familiarity)
§
Parent to child (parental love and concern)
§
Lover to beloved (all 3 + passionate love)
§
○
•
Types of Bhakti•
Religious Devotees (bhaktas)•
Lecture 5: Aims, Cont…. Bhakti Pt. 1
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
10:33 AM
Document Summary
Last lecture continued (aims and stages of human life) As sacrificial religion declined, priests developed strategies to preserve status quo. Key formulations sought to co-opt trend toward rejecting existing social and religious order. Liberation from samsara, cycle or birth and death. Live and study with a guru from age 5-24. Fulfilling social and family duties from age 25-49. Withdraws from world to study and meditate ages 50-74. In theory, these allow one to fulfill their duties (dharma) and pursue. In theory, these allow one to fulfill their duties (dharma) and pursue liberation (moksha) Integrate worldly values of wealth, pleasure, and status with spiritual values of righteousness (dharma), detachment, and liberation. Both are attempts by priests to maintain status quo while acknowledging changing social and religious landscape. Upanishads focus on absolute reality (brahman), its identity with one"s self (atman), at illusory nature of the world (maya) Develop idea of rebirth and re-death (samsara) and possibility of liberation from it (moksha)
