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Hinduism A2 > Philosophy > Flashcards

Philosophy Flashcards

1
Q

What does Vedanta mean

A

‘the end of the Vedas’

Because they complete the religious ideas initially explained in the Vedas.

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2
Q

What does Advaita mean

A

‘non-dual’

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3
Q

What does Advaita Vedanta stand for (3)

A
  • emphasize unity, a lack of duality
  • only one thing exists, brahman
  • brahman is understood as nirguna, without qualities/attributes
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4
Q

How would Advaita Vedanta describe brahman

A

They wouldnt, brahman is beyond description, can only be described in negative sense, may be termed apophatic (someone which can only be described through negatives)

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5
Q

What does Advaita Vedanta teach (3)

A
  • no separate/ independent atmans in living things, there is only brahman
  • Uddalaka Aruni - brahman is invisible, yet fills the universe as salt fills sea water. Everything else is maya. (illusion)
  • the entire physical world is an illusion, you are not a distinct individual. Your consciousness is brahman and thus is identical to all other consciousnesses.
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6
Q

What does Advaita Vedanta think Jnana is

A

knowledge that you are brahman, moksha is achieved by recognizing and experiencing this.

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7
Q

Shankara life (3)

A
  • born in Kerlea 788CE, died at 32.
  • Became sannyasin at early age
  • traveled through India, wrote books, founded monasteries, whose abbots are still recognised today, like Shankaracharyas, wrote hymns to istadeva Shiva.
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8
Q

Shankara teachings (5)

A
  • Upanishads where inspiration arises from
  • the atman exists ‘for everyone is conscious of the self, and no one thinks ‘i am not’’.
  • way to jnana is to try experience brahman, need to see through the nature of maya and achieve moksha.
  • first philospher to set clear different between brahman nirguna and saguna.
  • the physical world is a series of appearances produced by maya. There are three levels of reality, illusory reality, mundane / empirical reality and ultimate reality.
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9
Q

Shankara: what is illusory reality (2)

A
  • the subjective, internal constructions of our minds, such as dreams, hallucinations, fantasies and optical illusions.
  • They can take a ‘real’ quality, seem real, but this can be destroyed by thinking about it, such as a dream can be recognized as a dream when we wake up.
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10
Q

Shankara : what is mundane reality (3)

A
  • the world of senses that our bodies inhabit, it empirically real, consistent and predictable, is amendable to scientific study.
  • not absolutely real, its a product of maya. An illusion which conceals ultimate reality - brahman.
  • Describes it as avidya, translates as unknowing, the absence of true knowledge.
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11
Q

Shankara: what is ultimate reality (2)

A
  • Brahman nirguna is ultimate reality, its the only thing which is real, everything else is maya, it is empirically real but not ultimately real.
  • Experiential knowledge of brahman is called brahmavidya. It is the only true knowledge but it utterly beyond discussion and description.
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12
Q

Shankara: Adhyasa

A

Superimposition

Refers to human tendency to superimpose that which is not real upon that which is real.

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13
Q

Shankara: Maya (2)

A
  • maya derives from brahman, it is the creative power of God and is the source of all physical phenomena.
  • Is the order and structure which God applies to the world.
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14
Q

What is the difference between Advaita Vedanta and Dvaita Vedanta & Vishishtadvaita Vadanta?

A

Advaita Vedanta focuses on the impersonal brahman nirguna whereas the other two focus on brahman saguna.

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15
Q

What does Dvaita Vedanta mean

A

dual vedanta

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16
Q

Jamison analogy for Dvaita vedanta

A

Teardrop and ocean, both consist of salt water, made of same stuff, but their points of origin and sizes are radically different.

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17
Q

Dvaita Vedanta: how to reach moksha?

A

through bhakti or loving devotional service to Vishnu.

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18
Q

Advaita Vedanta: how to reach moksha?

A

knowledge that you are in reality, brahman

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19
Q

Who is principle thinker of Dvaita Vedanta school

A

Madhva, 1238-1317 CE

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20
Q

What does Vishishtadvaita Vedanta mean

A

qualified non dualism

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21
Q

Vishishtadvaita Vedanta: Jamison analogy, bucket of water

A

Helpful analogy of bucket of water taken away from the sea, could take it far away from coast, where no one has ever seen the sea. Could appear to be a bucket of salty water with no connection to the sea. But if you return to the coast a pour it back into the sea, it will lose its appearance of independence.

22
Q

Teachings of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (3)

A
  • atman is a small part of brahman
  • Atman is detached from brahman, it seems separate but when one attains moksha is merges with brahman.
  • physical universe is maya, an unreal illusion designed to distract the mind from searching for experience of truth.
23
Q

Who is principle thinker of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta

A

Ramanuja

24
Q

Ramanuja life (4)

A
  • born in 1017 CE , according to tradition lived until 1137
  • samnyasin at age 32
  • opponent of Shankara and Advaita vedanta
  • istadeva is Vishnu
25
Q

Ramanuja’s work (2)

A
  • Shri Bhyasa ~ commentary of Brahma Sutras, written as a refuation of Shankara’s commentary of the same texts
  • Maha Siddhanta ~ arguments against Shankaras point of view.
26
Q

Ramanuja against Shankara (3)

A
  • argued against shankara’s assertion that Brahman is the one thing that underlies everything else, because we can only identify things by the difference between them.
  • argued against Shankara’s differentiation between mundane and absolute reality. If brahman is only thing which exists then cannot be understood to have any existence from the world that we can appreciate.
  • seven impossible tenets, arguments about the nature of avidya.
27
Q

Ramanuja teachings (4)

A
  • the individual self is the knower, rather than brahman. Because the atman possesses consciousness.
  • brahman is saguna, can be identified as ishvara. When upanishads talk of brahman nirguna, he says they are referring to brahman as being ‘without inauspicious (negative) attributes’, rather than having no qualities at all.
  • 3 things exist: ishvara/ jiva / prakriti
  • Jiva and prakriti are dependent and made by ishvara. God is the ultimate inner control within each soul, yet each soul remains totally free to fulfil its desires and gain knowledge.
28
Q

Ramanuja: how to attain moksha

A
  • as a result of selfless devotion to ishvara and ishvara’s grace.
29
Q

Ramanuja: what is avidya

A

failure to comprehend jiva’s dependence upon and relationship to ishvara,

30
Q

quote from brhadaranyaka Upanishad about karma

A

‘according as one acts, according as one conducts oneself, so does one become. The doer of good becomes good. The doer of evil becomes evil.’

31
Q

Sankara atman and the body, from holm and bowker (5)

A
  • Sankara argues that atman is separate from mind and body. The atman witnesses all body and mental changes but it itself free from all change.
  • atman is the same in all periods of time, it is regarded as sat (eternal).
  • awareness and consciousness is intrinsic to atman, whereas everything else is inherent.
  • atman is said to be ananta or ananda, which indicates its fullness and freedom from limitations.
  • the nature of atman can be explained by the expression sat-cit-ananda (reality awareness joy)
32
Q

Sankara on atman and brahman, from holm and bowker (2)

A
  • atman is free from limitations and is therefore identical to brahman. The terms brahman and atman are interchangeable, two terms describing the same realities.
  • tat twan asi (that thou art) teaches the unequivocal identity of atman and brahman, from chandogya Upanishad.
33
Q

Sankara on how to reach liberation from holm and bowker (3)

A
  • on becomes established in the knowledge of the self through yoga, it helps to steady and purify the mind.
  • the self if always available, but misunderstood, knowledge is the direct means of liberation.
  • Moksha is synonymous with the gain of self knowledge since the fundamental problem is one of ignorance. Attaining brahman though jnana is identical with liberation.
34
Q

Sankara on brahman and the world from holm and bowker (2)

A
  • brahman and his transcendental nature far exceeds the universe, because the universe has characteristics of change which is opposed to the nature of brahman.
  • infinite brahman runs through all finite effects. Brahman is both the cause and the source of the world.
35
Q

what does Sankara think about brahman? (4)

A
  • brahman is the only reality, only thing which exists and is absolutely real.
  • brahman is beyond description except from in an apophatic sense.
  • neti neti, not this not that, difficult to use any language to describe God.
  • sat cit ananda, being consciousness and bliss.
36
Q

what does Sankara say about maya & Rodriguez quote (2)

A
  • Rodriguez quote ‘maya is the creative power through which brahman like a great magician conjures up the world of seeming multiplicity and separate selves.’
  • maya is ignorance, the entire physical world is illustionary.
37
Q

what did sankara say about souls

A
  • there are no separate souls, it only appears to be this ay in the mundane level of reality.
38
Q

What does Sankara say about atman? (3)

A
  • atman witnesses all bodily and mental changes but does not change itself, it remains the same in all periods of time.
  • it is eternal, and passive, does not act in the mind, and is unknowable to the intellect.
  • atman and Brahman are the same, tat tvam asi, you are that, A & B are IDENTICAL.
39
Q

what does sankara say about avidya/ human condition? (2)

A
  • inability to see that the oneness of the divine.

- we can only get over maya by higher experience of Brahman through yoga.

40
Q

what is the key to liberation according to sankara (3)

A
  • the path of transcendental knowledge which is jnana
  • we need to remove the ignorance of our own nature which keep us bound to the phenomenal world.
  • not brought about by gods grace, what achieves salvation is a higher knowledge formed in mystical experience.
41
Q

what is moksha according to sankara

A
  • realisation of ones true nature as Brahman.
42
Q

according to Ramanuja what is brahman (2)

A
  • brahman is creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe. Isvara, lord of creation.
  • brahman contains within himself a real diversity, consisting of unconscious matter (acit) and conscious selves (cit).
43
Q

what does Ramanuja say about souls (2)

A
  • there is a plurality of selves distinct from each other.
  • souls and matter described using body analogy, they constitute the body of God. Our souls are part of Gods body. God is the inner controller called antaryamin.
44
Q

what does ramanuja say about jivas (2)

A
  • jivas are distinct from god and yet participate in God.

- the relatioship between jivas and God is one of inseparability, the self if wholly dependent on God.

45
Q

what does ramanuja say about god (2)

A
  • for him god is vishnu, he is the creator destroyer and redeemer
  • god has two sides, one is the supreme aspect of God in his inner nature/ essence, the other is his outer nature and accessibility of his love.
46
Q

what does ramanuja say about the human condition & quote from klostermaier (3)

A
  • ‘whereas God is absolute, humans are only cintgent to him and whereas God is whole, humans are only parts. ‘
  • original nature of human beings was pure and blissful but because of certain limitations they became entangled in samsara.
  • parable of prince lost in forest
47
Q

what is ramanujas parable about the prince getting lost in the forest, how is this related to our souls (3)

A
  • young prince gets lost in the forest, compassionate forester took him in and brought him up.
  • one day a courtier recognises the lost prince and takes him back to his father the king, the young prince then remembers the truth.
  • symbolic of our souls getting lost in samsara and the world of the senses, we forget our divine origin, we need to be reminded by a trustworthy person, a guru, of our true nature.
48
Q

according to ramanuja, what is the key to liberation? (4)

A
  • gurus very important, seen as mediators between humans and God.
  • acquiring merit and grace, wirshipping and serving God for a life time.
  • karma, jnana and bhakti
  • intense love and self surrender towards god, the performance of the obligatory rituals.
49
Q

what is moksha according to ramanuja

A
  • when the soul realises its nature as a part of Gods body, but retains its individuality and distinctiveness from God and other souls.
50
Q

Rodruiguez on maya

A

maya is the creative power through which Brahman like a great magician conjures up the world of seeming multiplicity and separate selves

51
Q

Holm and Bowker: Ramanuja and Brahma

A

H&B: contains within himself a real diversity, consisting of unconscious matter (acit) and conscious selves (cit).

Hinduism A2 (7 decks)

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