Transcript Document

Ancient Roots of Hinduism
Jeffrey L. Richey, Ph.D.
REL 231
Religions of India and Tibet
Berea College
Fall 2003
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WHAT IS HINDUISM?
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Hindu = from Persian
Hind (India);
originally ethnic, not
religious, label
Since medieval period,
“Hinduism” denotes
broad set of
devotional,
philosophical, and
scriptural traditions
rooted in ancient India
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THE INDUS RIVER VALLEY
CIVILIZATION
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Original inhabitants of
northwestern India-Pakistan
(c. 2500 BCE)
Indus society:
Agricultural
Urban
Mercantile
Indus religion:
Polytheistic (esp. goddesses)
Fertility-oriented
By 1500 BCE, on brink of
collapse, perhaps due to
combination of natural and
human disasters
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THE “ARYAN INVASION”
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Around 1500 BCE, “Aryan”
peoples from southern Russia
enter Indus region
Aryan society:
Pastoral
Nomadic
Equestrian
Aryan religion:
Polytheistic
Patriarchal
Aryan language was ancestral
to Sanskrit, oldest known in
Indo-European family
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INDO-EUROPEAN
LANGUAGE & MYTHOLOGY
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Words in Indo-European
languages share common
ancestors:
English -- father
German -- Vater
Latin -- pater
Greek -- pater
Sanskrit – pitar
Other examples:
English – divinity / ritual
Latin – divus / ritus
Sanskrit – deva / ŗta
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Deities in Indo-European
traditions share common
origins:
Norse -- Alfodr (“All Father,”
i.e., Odin)
Latin – Diespiter (“Day
Father,” i.e., Jupiter)
Greek – Zeuspater (“Father
Zeus”)
Sanskrit – Dyauspitar (“Sky
Father”)
Thus, Sanskrit reveals deep
links between ancient Indian
and Western cultures
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INDO-ARYAN SOCIETY
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Divided into 4 hereditary occupational
divisions (varņas = colors):
1. Brāhman (priest)
2. Kşatriya/Rājanya (warrior)
3. Vaiśya (merchant/artisan)
4. Śūdra (peasant)
On margins of fourfold society are
Dalits (so-called “untouchables”),
who perform menial and polluting
tasks:
1. Corpse handlers
2. Executioners
3. Hunters and fishermen
4. Leatherworkers
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THE VEDAS
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Concerned with orthopraxy (proper
action) in ritual
Brāhman authors edit oral liturgical
traditions, producing Vedas
(“knowledges”), c. 1200-600 BCE
By 600 BCE, sūtras (“threads,”
commentaries), or summaries of
Vedas, become popular
4 collections (samhitās) of Vedas:
1. Ŗigveda (ŗic = praise stanzas
sung by priests in ritual)
2. Sāmaveda (sāman = songs
sung by priestly entourage)
3. Yajurveda (yajus = short
incantations uttered by priests’
assistants in ritual)
4. Atharvaveda (therapeutic
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spells and hymns used by
atharvans = healers)
KARMAMARGA:
THE WAY OF ACTION
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Ātman (“breath”) =
Essential element of person
Coexistent with body
Separable at death, when it
ideally rejoins ancestors
Ŗta (“right, rite”) =
Correct pattern
Cosmic order
Accomplished by orthopraxy
Dharma (“law”) =
Fixed principles
Social order
Accomplished by obedience to
varņa-specific obligations
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Ashramas (“stages of life”) for males
of of three upper varņas:
1. Brahmaçarya (study with guru
or master)
2. Grihastha (marriage, family,
career)
3. Vānaprastha (partial withdrawal
from social life)
4. Sannyāsa (complete
renunciation of society, devotion
to spiritual life)
Women participate only in
householder stage, with two likely
fates:
1. Marginalization as widow
2. Predeceasing husband
Gradually, goal of improved
reincarnation through right action
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(karma) replaces reunion with
ancestors
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