1.
From external to
Internal Sacrifice:
a.
Vedic religion – Many gods; humans need
to benefit from gods’ powers, right rels b/gods and humans through ritual
b.
No notion of liberation,
karma, rebirth. Goals of religion focused on this world, this life;
divine-human reciprocity
c.
Sacrifice, by priestly class, for
the maintenance of universe
d.
This involved an
emphasis on action. Growing importance
of sacrifice leads to increasing importance of priestly knowledge of
correspondences, laws of cause and effect known as karman
– not the will of the gods
e.
Subsequent changes: kingdoms and cities, trade,
mobility, individual initiative, freedom, speculation, criticism of priestly
traditions, forest dwellers. This leads to a new form of religious life that
doesn’t center on ritual and social duties
f.
Jnanamarga = the way of knowledge.
First appears in the Upanishads. Jnana
(like gnosis) implies a religion based on secret wisdom – taught by forest
sages, based in mystical experience, esoteric sources.
i.
Dominant metaphor
is the “internal sacrifice” = an abstract, mystical reading of the earlier
Vedas.
2.
The Nature of the Universe and Time
a.
Cyclical Time and the Yugas (cf.
Vishnu and the lotus stem)
i.
Individual,
society, history = insignificant. Even
the gods are trapped in the cycle and eventually fall
b.
Moksha: Liberation from the endless
round = A new concept of the ultimate
c.
Upanishad =
“secret teaching,” “sitting at the feet
of,” “connection or equivalence”
i.
100s of
Upanishads but 13 principle
Upanishads
ii.
Shruti & Smrti
3.
Brahman: A single
pervasive power and essence, source of all things, one
a.
That from which
these beings are born; on which, once born, they live; and into which they pass
upon death – seek to perceive that? That
is brahman!”
b.
Totality of
sacred words in the Veda; gives unlimited power to sacrifice; Essence of the
entire world; the power that resides in all beings, including the gods
c.
Svetaketu (boy) and Udallaka (his
father): Sve hasn’t heard of world soul
d.
Fleeting names
and forms outside, one underlying reality [Chandogya
Upanishad, Embree p. 36] Brahman, the source of whole
phenomenal world
e.
The inadequacy of
ordinary language - Neti-Neti: “neither this nor
that”
4.
Atman: the
reality that is the lasting and indispensable basis of one’s being
a.
Soul as core
reality obscured by multiple sheaths, concentric rings of material stuff
i.
Causal body:
karmic matter clings to the soul throughout births
ii.
Subtle body:
irreducible atoms related to sight, taste, touch…
iii.
Gross body:
outermost rings
b.
Soul as pure
consciousness: four states [Chandogya Upanishad, Embree p.33]
i.
Waking
ii.
Dreaming
iii.
Dreamless Sleep
iv.
Atman
5.
Looking within
for the Ultimate
a.
Brahman as pure
consciousness, truth, and bliss – sat
chit ananda
b.
Concentration and
psychophysical discipline (yoga)