Ø
Atman
Ø
Dharma
Ø
Varna
Ø
Karma
and Samsara
Ø
Purushartha
Ø
Brahman
and God
Ø
Guru
Atman
Atman means 'eternal self'.
The atman refers to the real self beyond ego or false self. It is often
referred to as 'spirit' or 'soul' and indicates our true self or essence which
underlies our existence.
There
are many interesting perspectives on the self in Hinduism ranging from the self
as eternal servant of God to the self as being identified with God. The
understanding of the self as eternal supports the idea of reincarnation in that
the same eternal being can inhabit temporary bodies.
The
idea of atman entails the idea of the self as a spiritual rather than material
being and thus there is a strong dimension of Hinduism which emphasises
detachment from the material world and promotes practices such as asceticism.
Thus it could be said that in this world, a spiritual being, the atman, has a
human experience rather than a human being having a spiritual experience.
Dharma
Dharma is an important term
in Indian religions. In Hinduism it means 'duty', 'virtue', 'morality', even
'religion' and it refers to the power which upholds the universe and society.
Hindus generally believe that dharma was revealed in the Vedas although a more
common word there for 'universal law' or 'righteousness' is rita.
Dharma is the power that maintains society, it makes the grass grow, the sun
shine, and makes us moral people or rather gives humans the opportunity to act
virtuously.
But
acting virtuously does not mean precisely the same for everyone; different
people have different obligations and duties according to their age, gender,
and social position. Dharma is universal but it is also particular and operates
within concrete circumstances. Each person therefore has their own dharma known
as sva-dharma. What is correct for a woman might
not be for a man or what is correct for an adult might not be for a child.
The
importance of sva-dharma is illustrated well by the Bhagavad Gita. This text,
set before the great battle of the Mahabharata, depicts the hero Arjuna riding
in his chariot driven by his charioteer Krishna between the great armies. The warrior
Arjuna questions Krishna about why he should fight in the battle. Surely, he
asks, killing one's relatives and teachers is wrong and so he refuses to fight.
Krishna
assures him that this particular battle is righteous and he must fight as his
duty or dharma as a warrior. Arjuna's sva-dharma was to fight in the battle
because he was a warrior, but he must fight with detachment from the results of
his actions and within the rules of the warriors' dharma. Indeed, not to act
according to one's own dharma is wrong and called adharma.
Correct
action in accordance with dharma is also understood as service to humanity and
to God. The idea of what has become known as sanatana dharma can be traced back
to the puranas - texts of antiquity. Those who adhere
to this idea of one's eternal dharma or constitution, claim that it transcends
other mundane dharmas - that it is the para dharma, the ultimate
dharma of the self. It is often associated with bhakti movements, who link an
attitude of eternal service to a personal deity.
Varna
An
important idea that developed in classical Hinduism is that dharma refers
especially to a person's responsibility regarding class (varna) and stage of life (ashrama). This is called
varnashrama-dharma. In Hindu history the highest class, the Brahmins, adhered
to this doctrine. The class system is a model or ideal of social order that
first occurs in the oldest Hindu text, the Rig Veda and the present-day caste
(jati) system may be rooted in this. The four classes are:
· Brahmans or Brahmins - the intellectuals and the priestly
class who perform religious rituals
· Kshatriya (nobles or warriors) - who
traditionally had power
· Vaishyas (commoners or merchants) - ordinary
people who produce, farm, trade and earn a living
· Shudras (workers) - who traditionally served
the higher classes, including labourers, artists, musicians, and clerks
People
in the top three classes are known as 'twice born' because they have been born
from the womb and secondly through initiation in which boys receive a sacred
thread as a symbol of their high status. Although usually considered an
initiation for males it must be noted that there are examples of exceptions to
this rule, where females receive this initiation.
The
twice born traditionally could go through four stages of life or ashramas. The
ashrama system is as follows:
·
Brahmacarya - 'celibate student' stage in which
males learned the Veda
· grihastha - 'householder' in which the twice
born male can experience the human purposes (purushartha) of responsibility,
wealth, and sexual pleasure
·
Vanaprastha - 'hermit' or 'wilderness dweller' in
which the twice born male retires from life in the world to take up pilgrimage
and religious observances along with his wife
· Samnyasa - 'renunciation' in which the twice
born gives up the world, takes on a saffron robe or, in some sects, goes naked,
with a bowl and a staff to seek moksha (liberation) or develop devotion
Correct
action in accordance with dharma is also understood as service to humanity and
to God. The idea of what has become known as sanatana dharma can be traced back
to the puranas. Those who adhere to this idea, addressing one’s eternal dharma
or constitution, claim that it transcends other mundane dharmas – that it is
the para dharma, the ultimate dharma. It is often associated with bhakti
movements, who propose that we are all eternal servants of a personal Deity,
thus advocating each act, word, and deed to be acts of devotion. In the 19th
Century the concept of sanatana dharma was used by some groups to advocate a
unified view of Hinduism.
Karma and Samsara
Karma is a Sanskrit word
whose literal meaning is 'action'. It refers to the law that every action has
an equal reaction either immediately or at some point in the future. Good or
virtuous actions, actions in harmony with dharma, will have good reactions or
responses and bad actions, actions against dharma, will have the opposite
effect.
In
Hinduism karma operates not only in this lifetime but across lifetimes: the
results of an action might only be experienced after the present life in a new
life.
Hindus
believe that human beings can create good or bad consequences for their actions
and might reap the rewards of action in this life, in a future human rebirth or
reap the rewards of action in a heavenly or hell realm in which the self is
reborn for a period of time.
This
process of reincarnation is called samsara, a continuous
cycle in which the soul is reborn over and over again according to the law of
action and reaction. At death many Hindus believe the soul is carried by a
subtle body into a new physical body which can be a human or non-human form (an
animal or divine being). The goal of liberation (moksha) is to make us free from this cycle of
action and reaction, and from rebirth.
Purushartha
Hinduism
developed a doctrine that life has different goals according to a person's
stage of life and position. These goals became codified in the 'goals of a
person' or 'human goals', the purusharthas, especially in sacred texts about
dharma called 'dharma shastras' of which the 'Laws of Manu' is the most famous.
In these texts three goals of life are expressed, namely virtuous living or
dharma, profit or worldly success, and pleasure, especially sexual pleasure as
a married householder and more broadly aesthetic pleasure. A fourth goal of
liberation (moksha) was added at a later date. The purusharthas express an
understanding of human nature, that people have different desires and purposes
which are all legitimate in their context.
Over
the centuries there has been discussion about which goal was most important.
Towards the end of the Mahabharata (Shantiparvan 12.167) there is a discussion
about the relative importance of the three goals of dharma, profit and pleasure
between the Pandava brothers and the wise sage Vidura. Vidura claims that
dharma is most important because through it the sages enter the absolute
reality, on dharma the universe rests, and through dharma wealth is acquired.
One of the brothers, Arjuna, disagrees, claiming that dharma and pleasure rest
on profit. Another brother, Bhima, argues for pleasure or desire being the most
important goal, as only through desire have the sages attained liberation. This
discussion recognises the complexity and varied nature of human purposes and
meanings in life.
Brahman and God
Brahman
Brahman is a Sanskrit word
which refers to a transcendent power beyond the universe. As such, it is sometimes
translated as 'God' although the two concepts are not identical. Brahman is the
power which upholds and supports everything. According to some Hindus this
power is identified with the self (atman)
while others regard it as distinct from the self.
Most
Hindus agree that Brahman pervades everything although they do not worship
Brahman. Some Hindus regard a particular deity or deities as manifestations of
Brahman.
God
Most
Hindus believe in God but what this means varies in different traditions. The
Sanskrit words Bhagavan and Ishvaramean 'Lord' or
'God' and indicate an absolute reality who creates, sustains and destroys the
universe over and over again. It is too simplistic to define Hinduism as belief
in many gods or 'polytheism'. Most Hindus believe in a Supreme God, whose
qualities and forms are represented by the multitude of deities which emanate
from him. God, being unlimited, can have unlimited forms and expressions.
God
can be approached in a number of ways and a devoted person can relate to God as
a majestic king, as a parent figure, as a friend, as a child, as a beautiful
woman, or even as a ferocious Goddess. Each person can relate to God in a
particular form, the ishta devata or desired form of God. Thus, one
person might be drawn towards Shiva, another towards Krishna, and another
towards Kali. Many Hindus believe that all the different deities are aspects of
a single, transcendent power.
In
the history of Hinduism, God is conceptualised in different ways, as an all
knowing and all pervading spirit, as the creator and force within all beings,
their 'inner controller' (antaryamin)
and as wholly transcendent. There are two main ideas about Bhagavan or Ishvara:
1.
Bhagavan
is an impersonal energy. Ultimately God is beyond language and anything that can
be said about God cannot capture the reality. Followers of the Advaita Vedanta
tradition (based on the teachings of Adi Shankara) maintain that the soul and
God are ultimately identical and liberation is achieved once this has been
realised. This teaching is called non-dualism or advaita because it claims
there is no distinction between the soul and the ultimate reality.
2.
Bhagavan
is a person. God can be understood as a supreme person with qualities of love
and compassion towards creatures. On this theistic view the soul remains
distinct from the Lord even in liberation. The supreme Lord expresses himself
through the many gods and goddesses. The theologian Ramanuja (also in the wider
Vedanta tradition as Shankara) makes a distinction between the essence of God
and his energies. We can know the energies of God but not his essence. Devotion
(bhakti) is the
best way to understand God in this teaching.
For
convenience Hindus are often classified into the three most popular Hindu
denominations, called paramparas in Sanskrit. These paramparas are
defined by their attraction to a particular form of God (called ishta or devata):
· Vaishnavas
focus on Vishnu and his incarnations (avatara,
avatars). The Vaishanavas believe that God incarnates into the world in
different forms such as Krishna and Rama in order to restore dharma. This is
considered to be the most popular Hindu denomination.
· Shaivas
focus on Shiva, particularly in his form of the linga although other forms such
as the dancing Shiva are also worshipped. The Shaiva Siddhanta tradition
believes that Shiva performs five acts of creation, maintenance, destruction,
concealing himself, revealing himself through grace.
· Shaktas
focus on the Goddess in her gentle forms such as Lakshmi, Parvati, and
Sarasvati, or in her ferocious forms such as Durga and Kali.
Guru
The terms guru and acharya refer to a teacher or master of a
tradition. The basic meaning is of a teacher who teaches through example and
conveys knowledge and wisdom to his disciples. The disciple in turn might
become a teacher and so the lineage continues through the generations. One
story that captures the spirit of the teacher is that a mother asks the teacher
to stop her son eating sugar for he eats too much of it. The master tells her
to come back in a week. She returns and he tells the child to do as his mother
says and the child obeys. Asked by the mother why he delayed for a week, he
replied 'a week ago I had not stopped eating sugar!'
Gurus are generally very highly revered and
can become the focus of devotion (bhakti) in some traditions. A fundamentally
important teaching is that spiritual understanding is conveyed from teacher to
disciple through a lineage and when one guru passes away he or she is usually
replaced by a successor. One guru could have more than one successor which
leads to a multiplication of traditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment