Final Lecture on Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism)

Jul 1, 2024

Final Lecture on Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism)

Puja and Worship

  • Puja: Translated as worship.
    • Involves offering flowers, food, or drink to a god or goddess.
    • Central to Bhakti Yoga, the largest school of yoga.

Practices in Hinduism

  • Fasting: Demonstrates the connection between the physical and the spiritual.
  • Pilgrimages: Traveling to holy or sacred places.
    • Example: Amarnath Cavern known for sexual imagery (lingam and Yoni symbols).

Cultural Context

  • Human Sexuality: Viewed naturally without shame or guilt.
  • Reverence for Nature: Sexual symbols in nature are considered sacred.
  • Rivers: All rivers are considered sacred and holy.

Caste System

  • Four Primary Castes:
    1. Brahmins: Priests and religious leaders.
    2. Kshatriyas: Military leaders, nobility, and royalty.
    3. Vaishyas: Farmers, ranchers, and merchants.
    4. Shudras: Manual laborers.
  • Untouchables: Outcast group, believed to have bad karma from a previous life.
    • Mahatma Gandhi referred to them as the "children of God".

Four Stages of Life (for Men)

  1. Brahmacharya: Student life; committed to celibacy and learning (birth to 25).
  2. Grihastha: Householder phase; working and raising a family (26 to 50).
  3. Vanaprastha: Hermit stage; retirement, meditation, and study (51 to 75).
  4. Sannyasa: Renunciant stage; living in the wilderness, fasting, and prayer (75+).

Religious and Societal Tensions

  • New Religions: Jain Dharma and Buddha Dharma emerged in Northeast India.
    • Stressed pacifism, lived peacefully with Hindus.
  • Muslim Interaction: Initial peaceful coexistence which later turned to conflict.
    • Established border leading to the creation of Pakistan (Muslim nation) and India (Hindu nation).
  • European Colonization: Led to exploitation and use of native people for economic prosperity.

Pluralism and Fundamentalism

  • Parable of the Elephant and the Blind Men: Illustrates the belief in multiple paths to truth.
    • Encourages humility and open-mindedness.
  • Hindu Fundamentalism: Arissen due to tensions with Islam.
    • Seemingly contradictory as Hinduism is fundamentally pluralistic and pacifist.

Official Hindu Identity Essentials

  1. Based on the Vedas.
  2. Tolerance for others, respecting multiple truths.
  3. Belief in creation, maintenance, and destruction cycles (Brahman, Vishnu, Shiva).
  4. Reincarnation.
  5. Multiple paths to Salvation.
  6. Worship of statues and images for reverence, not idolatry.
  7. Religion transcends human-made philosophies.

Hinduism in the West

  • Bhakti Yoga: Less popular due to strange animal stories.
  • Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga: More accepted due to focus on meditation.
  • ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness): Most well-known Hindu organization in the West.