Atman and Brahman

1) Jnanamarga – the way of mystical knowledge. First appears in the Upanishads

a) Respected throughout Indian society at all levels

b) A new form of religious life that doesn’t center on ritual and social duties

c) Jnana (or “mystical knowledge”) implies a religion based on secret wisdom – taught by sages, based in mystical experience, esoteric sources

2) The Upanishads = “secret teaching,” “sitting at the feet of,” “connection or equivalence”

a) 100s of Upanishads, 13 principle Upanishads = shruti

b) Reaction against tradition, criticism of priestly trads.

c) A stratified caste system in place, supported by notions of karma and rebirth.

3) Moksha

a) Heaven is temporary, no permanent refuge

b) Suffering pervades human existence: the endless cycles of suffering, death, rebirth

c) The Solution = moksha. Liberation from the endless round.

d) A new concept of the ultimate reality

4) Brahman: A single pervasive power and essence, source of all things

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 reside s in all beings, including the gods

c) Svetaketu (boy) and Uddalaka (his father): Sve hasn’t heard of world soul

d) Fleeting names and forms outside (nama-rupa or “names and forms”), one underlying reality

e) Brahman is the essence and source of the whole phenomenal world

5) Atman: the reality that is the lasting and indispensable basis of one’s being

a) Self as identical with Brahman

b) Tat tvam asi – “you are that”!