Hinduism: Eternal Self Flashcards
1
Q
What is Atman?
A
- The part of you that makes you you:
“He who inhabits all beings but is within them, whom no being knows, whose body is all beings, and who controls all beings from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad) - The eternal self: the part of you that never ceases
- We are an Atman plus a body; the Atman is reincarnated:
“Even as a man casts off worn-out clothes, and puts on others which are new, so the embodied casts off worn-out bodies, and enters into others which are new” (Bhagavad Gita - The Way of Knowledge) - We have millions of lives - the only way to escape the cycle of samsara is to purge all the karma attached to your Atman
- The Atman then ceases to exist
2
Q
Explain the relationship between Atman and Brahman.
A
- Brahman is the only thing in the universe that really exists
- It is the only permanent thing
- Some Hindus think Brahman is the Universe
- Everything in the universe is a tiny part of Brahman
- Shankara came up with Advaita Vedanta: the idea that Atman and Brahman are identical but different things. If you achieve Moksha you become Brahman, like a drop of water joining the ocean
- An older view is that when you join Brahman, you cease to exist
3
Q
What are the four types of yoga?
A
- Jnana Yoga (knowledge)
- Karma Yoga (action/detachment)
- Bhakti Yoga (spiritual devotion)
- Raja Yoga (meditation)
