Comments, additions, and corrections are welcome. Please send them to Michael Kagan Le Moyne College Department of Philosophy Syracuse, NY 13214 Email: KAGAN@maple.lemoyne.edu
Discuss the problem that Hinduism addresses according to Smith in terms
of the conflict of finitude, and the conflict between what we want
[infinite being, knowledge and joy] and what we have. Remind them of
Browning. Discuss Smith's characterization of the teaching of Hinduism
as "you can have what you want". The issue becomes making sense of this
claim and figuring out what we really want. Point out that one
way of finding out that one's ultimate needs aren't satisfied by a given
y is to receive y and find out that one is not yet happy. Candidates
for y are:
(1-2) [path of desire] pleasure, worldly success [wealth, fame,
power],
(3-4) [path of renunciation], duty; mukti [complete liberation
from life's limitations (p. 27 Smith)
I. Discuss the concept of
Atman, the problem of what underlies change, some of the arguments for
the existence of the soul/Soul. [see HS pp. 36.
II. The four ways to getting there
A. Jnana Yoga [knowledge
B. Bhakti Yoga {love}
(1) Japam: repeating the name of God
(2) "Ringing the changes on love" [loving G in many
aspects]
(3) Worship of one's chosen ideal [narrowness increases
intensity.
C. Karma Yoga {work}
(1) Lo lema'an lekabel pras--the work is not done for one's
own sake, but rather with steady concentration and de-
tachment.
(2) Another way of seeing this is as acting from duty.
D. Raja Yoga {royal road/psychological exercises}
(1) function of Hindu concept of person:
(a) body
(b) conscious
(c) individual subconscious
(d) being-itself [Atman?]
(2) The eight step process
1. 5 abstentions [injury, lying, stealing,
sensuality, and greed]
2. 5 observances [cleanliness, contentment,
self-control, studiousness, and contempla-
tion of the divine]
3. Asanas [postures] for disciplining the body
enough to keep it from being distracting; e.g.,
lotus position, half-lotus, corpse, and c. See
if there are any volunteers out there.
4. Breathing exercises [prajna yoga?]
5. Anaesthesis through inner focus
6. concentration
7. concentration without subject/object dichotomy
8. samadhi [togetherness with the ultimate one]
ineffable, beyond formal characterization,
limitation, or description.
III. The Four Stages [p61ff]
"People are different. . . . serious attention to it is one of
Hinduism's distinctive features." [Briefly discuss stage theories of
human development with their crisis and task orientations. Refer them
to Erikson as an example.]
A. Student [traditionally 8-12 years + 12 more years]
B. Householder [marriage till approx. 20-30 years later, after
the arrival of the first grandchild]
1. Family [pleasure]
2. Vocation [success]
3. Community [duty]
C. Retirement
1. Time to leave, to focus on discovering/developing one's own
identification with the Atman.
D. Sannyasin "one who neither hates nor loves anything"
[remember that love and hate are thought of as relations between at
least two entities]
NOTE that the Sannyasin is free to return, and note that this theme of
return recurs throughout many religious traditions.
IV. The Stations of Life [the issue of caste] {I am here also
relying on Radhakrishnan and Moore's Sourcebook in Indian
Philosophy selections from the Laws of Manu [pp. 184-189]
from which I intend to read during lecture to illustrate a classic
Indian view}
NOTE the defense which Smith offers for this is along the lines of that
offered by Plato in the Republic. Discuss the different kind of
theories of power arrangement with respect to their theories of the
human person, if time permits.
A. Brahmin [priest or teacher]
B. Kshatriya [king or prince or warrior]
C. Vaishya [tradesman]
D. Shudras [workers]
Philosophical Theology
God
I. Via Negativa "neti . . . neti"
II. Brahman [from brih "to be great"]
A. Given transcendent attributes [nirguna Brahman]
1. Sat [being--point out that I'm assuming //ism in
HS]
2. Chit [awareness]
3. Ananda [Bliss]
B. Given personal attributes [Saguna Brahman]
1. Ishwara or Bagavan [supreme person]
C. Described in terms of relation to the world [HS describes
this as part of Saguna Brahman
1. Brahma [creator]
2. Vishnu [preserver]
3. Shiva [destroyer]
Psychology
I. Samsara "passing through intensely" [reincarnation/the
wheel]
A. Karma [by the human level Karma bears on process of what HS
describes almost as social promotion]: "moral law of cause and effect".
EVERYTHING an individual experiences is a function of his/her previous
thoughts, attitudes, and actions. This results in:
1. complete personal responsibility
2. no chance or accidents
3. [HS does not point this out] Justification of the Caste
system
Cosmology
I. Cyclical oscillating universe [in-out/on-off]
II. Karmic universe, +/- with respect to good and evil; not
perfectible, rather a training place for soul-making.
III. Reality of the universe grounded in God
A. Dualist says "and it's real enough"
B. Non-dualists say "and it's illusion" arguing that this is
seen in higher experience as hallucination is revealed by ordinary
experience. MAYA.
1. Lila [God's play]
C. As HS points out, "It is no accident that the only art form
India failed to produce was tragedy." [85] Discuss this as an
advantage and a disadvantage.
Doctrine of the Many Paths
Discuss Ramakrishnah's imperative to worship where others do while
remaining faithful to your own religion. [p. 87 HS]