NOTES:

I. HINDUISM

Bhagavad Gita

Karma: actions with moral and religious consequences

Part of the religious consequence is for the next rebirth

Karma and the problem of rebirth

Three types of religious practice (yoga): Karma, Bhakti, Jnana

Awareness of karma eventually leads to liberation, moksa

Rather than attachment to results, awareness of larger reality: awareness of other & Brahman

Tennis analogy: Roger Federer

Related to practical point: Planning versus Expectation of Result

Three Separate Paths to Liberation in Hinduism:

Path of householder

Path of ascetic yogi

Path of transgression

Attachment, Detachment, Non-attachment

Non-attachment is closely related to the 4-step logic

Both in this world and not in this world, neither in this world nor not in this world

From the Puranas, popular literature: Krishna’s foster mother is Yashoda

The story of Krishna, Arjuna, and of many stories and epics are grand dramas

If you understand this, then it is easy to see their influence on Bollywood films

II. BUDDHISM

Early Buddhism: Story of Śākyamuni Buddha, possible dates: 6th to 5th century BCE

(Bhagavad Gita: 5th to 2nd century BCE)

Story of Buddha: Hagiography: Sacred Biography

wandering yogi - asceticism - seeking liberation in nirvana: peace, spiritual repose

Śramana culture: Emerging culture of wandering seekers outside of the Four Caste System

The Buddha appears within this śramana culture.