REL 101 Class notes, Week 2, Lecture 1

 

I. Rig Veda (continued)

1500-1000 BCE: Development of early Vedas (incl Rig Veda)

Creation Narrative

  1. "Gods" come after the initial creation and thus are not the source of creation
  2. The Source of creation is expressed in both impersonal and personal terms, as "it" and "he."
  3. Comparison and Contrast with Genesis from the Hebrew Bible

Form of Logic and Use of Language

  1. Reflects four-step logic of Catus-koti, in particular, the first line of Rig Veda's creation narrative reflects the last of the four steps, "neither existent nor non-existent"
  2. Questioning is as much of a part of this narrative as straightforward description.
  3. Use of paradox, such as description of ultimate reality in both personal and impersonal terms (as both "He" and implied "It).

 

II. Upanishads

600-200 BCE: Development of Upanishads

Relation between Essence and Appearance (Atman-Brahman)

  1. Use of Metaphors
  2. Asceticism and Meditation - Yoga, Yogi
  3. karma, samsara (cycle of life and death), rebirth, and moksa (liberation)

III. Bhagavad-Gita

400-100 BCE: Development of Bhagavad Gita - Part of a great epic known as the Mahabharata.

  1. Story of the warrior Arjuna and the Demigod Krishna - duty versus holy life
  2. Karma, attachment, detachment, non-attachment

IV. Dance of the Gopis

300-800 CE: Development of Puranas, popular literature, of which the Dance of the Gopis is a part

  1. Four kinds of religious life: Brahmin-Priest (Sacrifice); Yogi-Ascetic; Lay-Duty; Krishna-Transgression
  2. Passion and Devotion
  3. Again, attachment, detachment, non-attachment
  4. Four types of attachment

V. Contemporary Relevance and Practical Issues

  1. In addition to the linear logic (based on Aristotle's three-step logic), one can think about the everyday applicability of the non-linear logic (the four-step logic) found in the Vedic scriptures as well as later Hindu works.
  2. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna admonishes the warrior Arjuna to not become attached to results but to focus more on karmic awareness and liberation through devotion and union with Brahman, ultimate reality. This might be related to larger concerns about getting entangled in expectations. Planning may be necessary, but too much emphasis on expectations for results may become a hindrance in awareness of process and one's own humanity within that process.