required text #1 - university of washington · 2019-09-25 · 3 the course title examined: “intro...
Post on 05-Mar-2020
5 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
1
Wk01 Wednesday, Sep 25
Required Text #1
2
Required Texts, #2 & #3
Summer Reading
3
The Course Title examined:“Intro to Indian Philosophical
Literature”
“Intro”
“Indian”
“Philosophical”
“Literature”
Indian vs. Hindu
Sanskrit Sindhu = river or ocean.
Persian hindū = inhabitant of Hind, country through which the river Sindhu (Indus) flows = non-Muslims living in the Indus Valley
4
Some Course Housekeeping
Get Acquainted Signup Sheet Reading Feedback via Canvas
– Short response on assigned readings– For each reading, in brief (1 pg max, total) What did you like not understand? What would you like to further discus?
– Due by 11:30am of every lecture (MW)– 10 pts, 8 = ~B, pts off missing sections, late
Housekeeping, cont’d
Weekly Reflection via Canvas– 2-3 sections, each 10 pts, 1.5 pg max– Reflection questions to be kept in mind as one
reads– Due by Sat 11am
15% Class Participation grade
5
Housekeeping, cont’d
Be sure to check both websites:1. Class Home Page: http://tiny.cc/Asian2252. Canvas Course Page
Don’t hesitate to ask questions!– prem@uw.edu– In person: GWN 231 Outside of Office Hrs, M-F 8-9, ThF 11:30-12:30,
right after we meet MW 3:30-
“Ṛg Veda, Upaniṣad, Gītā” or“Rig Veda, Upanishad, Geeta”?
Diacritics – what & why? Sanskrit phonology
– 14 vowels– 33 consonants
Importance of “sound” Bottom line – Survival Guide
6
Sounds like … Sounds like …
a u in but, a in chamaleon j hard, as in just
ā father jh lodge-hut
ai as in aisle k as kart
au as in loud ṃ nasalization of preceding vowel
bh club-hut ṅ ~ n
c church ṇ ~ n
ch birch-hut ñ like Spanish niña
ḍ ~ d o as in go
ḍh ~ mud-hut ṛ as in river
e say, longer Spanish e ś shun
g hard, as in get, go ṣ ~ shun
gh log-hut ṭ ~ t
ḥ echo of preceding vowel ṭh ~ ant-hill
i pin u pull
ī machine ū rūleSurv
ival
Gui
de t
o Pr
onun
ciat
ion
ScheduleMonday Wednesday
Week 1 Sep 25:
Introduction,What is “Indian Philosophy”?The Vedic Context
Week 2 Sep 30: Selections from the Ṛg Veda Oct
2: Selections from the Ṛg & Atharva Vedas
Week 3 Oct 7: Selections from the Atharva VedaIntro. to the Upaniṣads Oct 9: Upaniṣads: Bṛhadāraṇyaka 3 & 4
Week 4 Oct 14: Upaniṣads: Taittirīya 2 & 3, Chāndogya 6 Oct 16: Upaniṣads: Kena, Kaṭha
Week 5 Oct 21: Upaniṣads: Praśna, Muṇḍaka Oct 23: Upaniṣads: Māṇḍūkya, Īśāvāsya
Week 6 Oct 28: Diwali: No Class Oct 30: Yogasūtras: Introduction
Week 7 Nov 4: Yogasūtras: Chs. 1, 2 Nov 6: Yogasūtras: Chs. 2, 3
Week 8 Nov 11: Veterans Day: No Class Nov 13: Yogasūtras: Chs. 3, 4
Week 9 Nov 18: Yogasūtras: Summation Nov 20: Bhagavad Gītā: Intro.
Week 10 Nov 25: Bhagavad Gītā: Chs. 1-6 Nov 27: Bhagavad Gītā: Chs. 7-12
Week 11 Dec 2: Bhagavad Gītā: Chs. 13-18 Dec 4: Presentations
Finals Week Dec 9:
Final Paper Due 2:00pmIn class:: 2:30-4:20pm,
SAV 168
7
Origins of Vedic Culture?
Sanātana dharma, eternal dharma• Dharma = religion, law, morality, order,
justice, ethics, merit, duty …
Considered anādī, beginning-less Revealed to ṛṣi-s, “seers”
Some historical evidence however…
2600-1600 BCE Indus Valley Civilization
8
Hints of Early Religion?
Harappan “Priest” Proto Shiva?
Aryan Invasion/Immigration Theory
9
1500-500 BCE. Vedic corpus “composed” – śruti
Veda from √vid, to know
Maintenance of cosmic order
“sacrifice” to Agni,fire god transports offerings to other gods.
Brāhmins Date controversy
Vedas
4 Vedas:
• ṚgVeda – collection of hymns sung during rituals
• SāmaVeda – chants sung during Soma ritual
• YajurVeda – prose formulas, mantras
• AtharvaVeda – collection of charms & spells for every purpose (health, wealth, sorcery)
10
Vedic corpus
Brāhmaṇas – “theological textbooks” explaining all aspects of Vedic rituals
Āraṇyakas – wilderness texts discussing more secret & ‘dangerous’ rituals
Upaniṣads 600 BCE – beg. CE – secret teachings, beginnings of philosophical speculations: where do we come from, why are we here, where do we go after death?
500 BCE - 400 CE: Challenges
450-370 BCE: The Buddha, SiddārthaGautama
Heterodox challenges to Vedic system
Weakens Hinduism “6 Schools of
Philosophy” develop in response
11
400 BCE-200 CE: Development of the Rāmāyaṇa epic
400 BCE-400 CE: Development of the Mahābhārata epic
12
200 BCE-100 CE: Bhagavad Gītā, Song of the Lord
More than the Vedas, this is the text studied by the average Hindu
smṛti (as opposed to śruti)
confirmation of śruti, Vedic dharma, Upaniṣads
Message of Kṛṣṇa, reconciling the conflict between doing one’s duty and following one’s desires
At the same time…
200 BCE-400 CE: Dharma-śāstras• texts prescribing authoritative code of ethics
for all of society
1-200 CE: Yoga Sūtras of Pātañjali• text on meditation• 8 limbs: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma,
pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi
13
Philosophical Schools
6 orthodox schools, ~200 BCE• Nyāya & Vaiśeṣika – logic, atomism
• Sāṃkhya & Yoga – inert matter, spirit and their admixture
• Mīmāṃsā & Vedānta – Vedic exegesis, Upaniṣadic thought
Today, only Vedānta and Nyāya schools “survive,” rest absorbed
Bhakti, devotion & surrender
Seeds in MB, Gītā Purāṇas Starts to come to
the fore around 7th
cent.
14
Beginnings of Vedic Speculation
Ṛg Vedic Ritualism
Hymns of praise to personifications of nature– fire, rain, wind– sun, moon
Complicated rituals Performed by priestly
class. Complexity grows to
where gods become subsidiary.– Only rich persons can
afford these rituals.
15
Atharva Veda – Popular Religion
“Lower” ritualism, popular belief
Available to the masses “Magic” spells, charms Healing, prosperity,
victory
No opposition to Ṛg Veda Ideas from “lower”
sphere contribute to the “higher”
Henotheism, Monotheism, Monism
Henotheism = acceptance of many gods, with one deity as the supreme– “mitigated polytheism”– Ritual context
Monotheism– tentative glimpses in RV, AV
Monism– abstract, ultimate First Principle
top related