Introduction to Indian Literature – Hinduism – Bhagavad Gita

Sri Venkateshwara Temple

Indian Literature

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India• 7th Largest country• 1 Billion inhabitants• 81% practice Hinduism• Highest mountains – Himalayas• Major rivers – Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra• 16 Official languages from 1,000 languages

Sanskrit•ancient sacred and literary (Classical – 500 BCE)

•Devanagari script

• official language of Uttarakhand

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How does the Indian culture view language?

What is a familiar example of sacred sound?

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What is the great epic of India where we find Bhagavad Gita?

Major classical works:

• epics Mahabharata (including Bhagavad-Gita),

the Ramayana

• poetry the Vedas,

the Upanishads

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What was importance of memorywith regard to Sanskrit literature?

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Terms related to Indian LiteratureRelated Terms

Hinduism

• major world religion• a way of life• system of social classes (castes)• desire for liberation from earthly evils• reincarnation • complex polytheism of deities as avatars

for aspects of one God• view that many opposing theories are aspects of one central truth•assimilates rather than excludes2010 Photo by Riza Nugraha at http://www.flickr.com/photos/44115070@N00/2260184731/

In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says:

“Whatever god one worships, it is I who answers the prayer.”

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• a "descent" of the divine into the realm of material existence

• referring to incarnation and representation of Brahman

avatar

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Brahma

2006 Photo of “Brahma” by Calvin Krishy at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brahma_Halebid.jpg 2003 Photo of “Vishnu” by Steve Jurvetson at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/3782562009 Photo of “Shiva” by RoseMania at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:India_statue_of_nataraja.jpg

ShivaVishnu

Creator Preserver Destroyer

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Shakti

Mother GoddessLakshmi, Parvati, Saraswati

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Ganesha

Remover of Obstacles

• one’s own right action or duty

. . . according toVedic ritual, ethics, and civil and criminal law

dharma

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• sum of one's actions, good or bad• attached to the soul as it transmigrates and each new body is affected by previous karma

karma

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reincarnation

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• spirit, after the death of the body, returns to Earth in a newborn body

• transmigration of souls

samsara

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• concept of wheel of life ~~ reincarnation

• “to flow on”

• essence of Brahman present in the individual

• one's true self, beyond worldly existence

Ātman

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• a "descent" of the divine into the realm of material existence

• referring to incarnation and representation of Brahman

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Brahman

• in Hinduism, eternal, infinite divine God

• Absolute Reality

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Brahmin

• member of the priestly class

devout, well versed in Vedic texts and sacred knowledge

Brahma

• member of the priestly class

devout, well versed in Vedic texts and sacred knowledge

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Om

• sacred syllable used in meditation• A U M in Devanagari

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Yoga

• meditative practice in the mental, verbal and physical

• “yoking” (Sanskrit)

• contemplation, absorption

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Yoga

In Bhagavad Gita Karma yoga: actionBhakti yoga: devotionGnana yoga: knowledge

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Bhagavad Gita

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QUOTE1

GITA QUOTE 1 -- from Book 1

Facing Bhishma and Dronaand all the great kings,he said, “Arjuna, seethe Kuru men assembled here!”

Arjuna saw them standing there:fathers, grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and friends.

QUOTE2

GITA QUOTE 2 -- from Book 2I see nothing that could drive awaythe griefthat withers my senses;even if I won kingdomsof unrivaled wealthon earthand sovereignty over gods.

[Sanjaya]Arjuna told this to Krishna — then saying“I shall not fight,”he fell silent.

QUOTE3

GITA QUOTE 3 -- from Book 2

[Lord Krishna]You grieve for those beyond grief,and you speak words of insight;but learned men do not grievefor the dead or the living.

Never have I not existed,nor you, nor these kings;and never in the futureshall we cease to exist.

QUOTE4

GITA QUOTE 4 -- from Book 2

Nothing of nonbeing comes to be,nor does being cease to exist;the boundary between these two is seen by men who see reality.Indestructible is the presencethat pervades all this;no one can destroythis unchanging reality.

Our bodies are known to end, but the embodied self is enduring,indestructible, and immeasurable;therefore, Arjuna, fight the battle!

QUOTE5

GITA QUOTE 5 -- from Book 2

As a man discards worn-out clothesto put on newand different ones,so the embodied selfdiscardsits worn-out bodiesto take on other new ones.----- If you think of its birthand death as ever-recurring, then too, Great Warrior,you have no cause to grieve.

QUOTE6

GITA QUOTE 6 -- from Book 2 In this quote "it“ refers to"death“

Rarely someonesees it,rarely anotherspeaks it,rarely anyonehears it ---even hearing it,no one really knows it. The self embodied in the bodyof every being is indestructible;you have no cause to grievefor all these creatures, Arjuna! Look to your own duty.

QUOTE7

GITA QUOTE 7 -- from Book 11

[Arjuna to Krishna] Tell me ---who are you in this terrific form?Homage to you, Best of Gods!Be gracious! I want to know youas you are in your beginning.I do not comprehendthe course of your ways.

QUOTE8

GITA QUOTE 8 -- from Book 11

You are the gods of wind,death, fire, and water;the moon; the lord of life;and the great ancestor.Homage to you,a thousand times homage!