Topic 2 Religious Concepts Flashcards
Who is Brahman
Brahman is the universal (macrocosmic spirit) The Physical world is sustained through the breath of Brahman.
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Quotes for Brahman
“In truth Brahman is all”
“He moves and He moves not. He is within all and is outside all”
“But with these divine eyes of yours you will not be able to see Me so i grant you divine sight”
“I am the orginal foundation of the eternal truth”
“He is the swan (sun)…. He is the true and great!
A famous Hindu Guru asked was asked how many God’s there are and he answered “three hundred and three thousand and three, then thirty, then two, then one” The prana (breath of life) The brahman he is that (one God).
Brahman as sat chit and ananda
Sat:pure being (Brahman can encompass all beings)
Chit: pure conciousness (can be found everywhere)
Ananda:pure bliss (He is the only source of eternal bliss in moksha)
Brahman exsists, is aware and is blissful but does not seek any further description.
Sanskrit meaning of Brahman
Brb meaning to burst forth as the ground of all beings from which everything emanates
root of hinduism
everything comes from Brahaman (burst forth into the world)
Brahman as Neti Neti
Term from the Brhadaranyaka is negative term and is the only way in which we can speak of brahman without confining to levels of human thought humans cant describe.
Not this not this (no attributes)
Saguna and Nirguna Brahman
Saguna Brahman: Brahman with form/ attributes. Is given titles like Ishvara or Bhagavan (lord). E.G. In bhakti tradition worshiping deity
Nirguna Brahman: Brahman with no attirbutes and no names as all descriptions are incomplete and limiting, God is beyond words and thoughts that human’s posses they can only lead you astray.
What is the atman
Atman: spirit and eternal soul within every living thing.
Namaste “i great the divine within you”
When each living thing dies the atman transmigrates to another form of life, each soul creates it’s own destiny according to the law of karma. (microcosmic spirit)
Sanskrit word for inner self
What is Jiva atman
and paramatman
Jiva atman: Indiivdual self or soul, constantly changes, our desires and experiences
Para atman: Supreme self or God, part which is Brahman
Quotes for atman
“Atman is the spirit of vision never born and never dies, Before him there was nothing”
Father asked son Svedtakeu to put salt in water and leave it over night. He asked where the salt was as it dissolved, He sipped the water it was salty. “In the same way you cannot see the atman But in truth he is here like an invisble and subtle essence”
Comparison to car:The driver (atman) controls body (car)
Comparison to space in a jar: Space in jar is the same outside the jar.
Describe Advaita Vedanta
- Adi Shankara was an early 8th century philosopher from India, He became a sanyasin at the age of eight and spent his lifetime writing books.
- Advaita vedanta is the oldest school of vedanta and states that Brahman is only reality and the world is illusionary (maya)
- Shankara disinguishes three different realities illusory, mundane (physical reality experienced by senses) and ultimate reality Brahman
“Brahman is the only truth, the world is unreal and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and atman”
Brahman and Atman are the same
Describe Dvaita Vedanta
- Madhva was a Hindu philosopher called his philosophy Tattvavaadaa ‘realist viewpoint’
- Dvaita Vedanta often called dual vedanta belives that the atman and Brahman are separate
- The world is reak and helps Hindu’s to perform duties so they can follow the path of devotiona Bhakti allowing them to reach moksha
Role element stage, ashrama and consort of the Tri-murti
Deity Role Element ashrama consort
Brahma creator earth student Saraswati
Vishnu Preserver water householder Lakshmi
Shiva Destroyer fire retirement Parvarti
Describe features of Brahma
- Holds a lotus flower symbolising power from which universe emerges, grows in dirty parts, represents spiritual beauty
- Rosary beeds 108 beads to keep track of universes time
- self born in lotus which grew from naval/gold egg
- no weapons
- four heads infaturation of wife, north east south west
- vedas symbolising knowledge
- Spoon represents pouring of holy ghee representing lord of sacrafices
- water pot representing beginning of creation
- less than 15 temples
- father of fathers
Why is Brahma the least important deity?
Legend 1: Brahma created a female diety Shatarupe and became infatuated with her as she moved to escape his gaze he developed new heads to watch her. Shiva thought this was wrong and ordered that he should no longer be worshipped
Legend 2:Great fire sacrafice ceremony took place Brahma was too busy listening to saraswati to pay attention to service. another version when saraswati was late to service he created a substitute wife
Describe Vishnu’s 10 avatars
- Matsya (fish) brought up four vedas from water
- Kurma (tortoise) Took newly created earth on his back to give it stability in the ocean
- Varaha (boar) when earth sank Varaha pulled it back up with tusks
- Narasimha (half man, half lion) Vishnu killed demon Hiranyakasshipu and was rewarded with not being able to be killed by man or animal
- Vamana (dwarf) Tricked demon king of bali
- Parashurama fought when kshatriyas became tyrants
- Rama (Ramayana story)
- Krisha
- Buddha
- Kalki will destriy evil and restart creation
Features of Vishnu
- Root word ‘Vis’ spread in all directions
- Four arms front represent physical exsisitence back represent spiritual presence
- Conch shell represents five elements music of cosmos
- wheel/discus six seasons of Hindu calender
- lotus symbolises concern with purity and truth in dharma
- mace symbolises kingly power
- Blue skin pervasive nature like sky and ocean
- Crown authority
- Earrings represnt opposites in knowled ignorance pleasure pain etc
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Quotes for Vishnu
“For protection of the good wicked put to flight i come into being age byy age establishing the right”
Quote for Shiva
“He watches over all beings and riles over their creation and destruction”
Features of Shiva
- Cresent fifth day moon
- Long matted hair lord of wind
- cobra necklacebeyond power of death
- Sat on tiger skin vehicle of shkati represents control of lust
- ashes represent philosophy of life and death
- trident three heads represent trimurti in his control
- 3 ash lines represents essence after impurties have been burnt in fire of knowledge
- drum universal word aum
- third eye destroys sin
- river ganges sacred river for purifying humanity
- androgynous
Key features of vaishnavism
- Worships Vishnu as supreme God
- Monothiestic
- Very devotional in nature
- Believe God and atman are separate
- main aim is to reach moksha highest path being bhakti allowing communication and grace from Vishnu
- Most important scriptures are Vedas and Puranas
Quotes for reincarnation
“As the embodied soul continually passes in this body from boyhood to youth to old age the soul similarly passes into a new body at death”
“As a man casts off his worn out clothes and takes in new ones the embodied soul cats off his owrn out bodies and accepts new ones”
What is karma in context of the samsara cycle
Karma means action. Theory of Karma compares to the Newtonian princible that every action produces an equal and opposite reaction. Re birth is necessary to work off accumulated karma from past lives.
Karmic debt: karma gathered throughout a person’s life which chains them to the wheel of samsara
Papa karma-bad karma
punya karma-good karma
What is Sanchita Karma
Accumulated ‘baggage’ karma from all past lives that is brought forward into the present life. This karmic debt needs to be erased in order for liberation from samsara
How does the game of snakes and ladders represent idea of karma?
Moksha Patamu is the ancient indian game snakes and ladders.Ladders are located on squares representing different positive karmic behavior the ladders represent rewards of reincarnation (closer to achieving moksha) Snakes represent forms of negative karmic behavior.
