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Wk01 Wednesday, Sep 25

Required Text #1

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Required Texts, #2 & #3

Summer Reading

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Hints of Early Religion?

Harappan “Priest” Proto Shiva?

Aryan Invasion/Immigration Theory

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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)

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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

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400 BCE-200 CE: Development of the Rāmāyaṇa epic

400 BCE-400 CE: Development of the Mahābhārata epic

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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

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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.

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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.

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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