The Mahābhārata, the Bhagavad Gītā, & Bhakti Flashcards
1
Q
What does Mahabharata mean?
A
“The great story of the descendants of Bharata” or “The great war of the Bharatas.”
2
Q
When was the Mahābhārata composed?
A
200 BCE – 300 CE.
3
Q
What kind of text is the Mahābhārata considered to be?
A
Considered to be smṛti - “that which has been remembered”.
4
Q
How many verses are in the Mahābhārata?
A
100,000 verses
5
Q
Is there one Mahabharata?
A
- Extremely fluid – there is no single Mahābhārata
- Comics, television series, films.
- Hundreds of myths and folktales, philosophical discourses, religious parables.
6
Q
When were the events in the Mahabharata said to take place?
A
- Events said to have taken place at the end of Dvāpara Yuga.
- -Superior to present Kali age but a time of less perfection than earlier ages.
- Reflected in the characters – more human – more flaws and shortcomings than heroes of Rāmāyaṇa.
- Wonder what to do when confronted with hard choices and at times make wrong choices.
7
Q
The Mahabharata is primarily concerned with the dharma of which class?
A
Also primarily concerned with kṣatriya dharma
8
Q
Which author is the mahabharata attributed to and who is said to be the scribe?
A
- Authorship attributed to the sage Vyāsa.
- Name means “the separator”.
- Gaṇeśa is said to be the scribe.
9
Q
Who were the two families involved in the mahabharata?
A
- The kauravas (Dhrtarastra and Gandhari, had 99 sons and 1 daughter and Duryodhana)
- the Pandavas (sonsof pandu). Pandu had two wives Kunti (who had three sons: Yudhissthira, Bhima and Arjuna) and Madri (who had two sons: Nakula and Sahadeva)
10
Q
What kind of things are discussed in the Mahabharata?
A
- Discussions about dharma, spiritual peace and liberation from saṃsāra.
- Vedic sacrifices.
- Debates about ahimsa and the justice of war.
- Challenges to and justifications for the class structure.
- The start of the sects and sectarianism.
- Great gods of classical Hinduism.
- Pilgrimage.
- Concern for the dharma of warriors, the goal of mokṣa, and the importance of devotion to the gods.
11
Q
What are the three layers of meaning in the Mahabharata?
A
- Mundane – the epic story about the war between cousins.
- Ethical – war as conflict between dharma and adharma – the final victory of dharma.
- Transcendental – war is between the higher and lower self in man.
- - Kṛṣṇa – charioteer – divine power that drives the lives of all persons.
- - Pāṇḍavas – internal virtues
- - Kauravas – innumerable psychological obstructions (anger, greed, vengeance, etc.).
12
Q
What is the mahabharata war symbolic of?
A
The Mahābharata war – symbolic representation of the inner battle between our quest to live dharmically and the internal forces that draw us to adharmic deeds.
13
Q
What did the early vedic religion focus on?
A
- Focused on ritual sacrifice for this wordly benefits and to maintain social order. Conventional practices associated with householders way of life (sacrificial rites).
- Goal: Dharma
14
Q
What was the sramana philosophies/ upanisadic worldview?
A
- Focused on renunciation and the practice of meditation.
- Quest for Self-realization and ending of suffering.
- Goal: moksa
15
Q
How did brahman orthodoxy suggest compromise for the two conflicting goals?
A
- Two conflicting goals – Brahminic orthodoxy suggested compromise: Included Upaniṣads, varṇāśramadharma, The goals of dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa could all be pursued.
- Many wanted to devote their lives to mokṣa.
- Mounting pressure for religious inclusion from other disenfranchised groups.
- Buddhism responded by permitting women, śūdras, and untouchables to become monks and nuns.
- This was the social backdrop for the emerging teachings of the Bhagavad Gītā.
16
Q
What was the view on Asceticism by the epic period?
A
- By the time of Mahābharata– asceticism regarded with considerable respect.
- Depicted as powerful.
- Śiva, the ascetic god, is given some importance in Mahābharata – attests to increasing importance of world renunciation.
17
Q
What two central scenes are set in the context of this tension?
A
Two central scenes are set in the context of this tension and seek to provide solutions:
- Arjuna’s reluctance to fight before the great battle (Bhagavad Gītā).
- Yudhiṣṭhira’s dilemma (to rule his kingdom or renounce after the battle).
The solutions provided, permit a balance.
18
Q
What was Yudhiṣṭhira’s dilemna?
A
- Now heir to the kingdom.
- Disheartened by the battle and death of his allies - wanted to renounce - seek peace and liberation in the forest.
- To rule as king would require he punish others in order to maintain order – sick of misery and pain.
- Best path is renunciation.
- Brothers, counselors and wife object to his desire to renounce the world.
19
Q
What were the counter-arguments from Draupadi (Yudhiṣṭhira’s) wife?
A
- inconsistent
- Brother’s fought for him, no reward for them?
- Calls manhood into question
20
Q
What were Arjuna’s counter arguments for Yudhiṣṭhira’s?
A
- he should follow custom]
- disorder and chaos will result
- bad karma- lowly rebirth
- violence is natural and meritorious for a king in administration of kingly duties
- violence is natural order of things
- use of violence by king is divinely sanctioned
21
Q
What were the brothers counter arguments for Yudhiṣṭhira’s?
A
- Gods use violence against their enemies .
- To administer punishment and fight in battle - sacred rites for a king.
- All of the world, including the gods, depends on the king doing his duty.
- Householder stage superior to all the rest.
- True renunciation is renunciation of desires.
- Renunciation before fulfilling ones obligation to society - unnatural and untraditional.
- Put it off until later – follow the stage of life appropriate to his age.
22
Q
What is the conclusion of Yudhisthira’s dilemna?
A
- After all this, he takes the throne.
- At end of the Mahābhārata when he is old, he does abandon the world.
- So – not convinced of the superiority of worldly life - just of its necessity.
- Still views renunciation as ultimate path to liberation – convinced that it should be put off until a more appropriate time/stage of life.
23
Q
What does the Bhagavad gita mean?
A
(“Song of the Lord”)
24
Q
What is the bhagavad gita?
A
- 200 BCE – 200 CE.
- Found within the Mahābhārata but read as a stand-alone text.
- 18 chapters in length.
- One of the holiest books in the Hindu tradition.
- Widens the parameters of what composes Hinduism.
25
What were the three paths to liberation that emerged from the Bhagavad gita?
Discusses three major approaches (marga) to liberation.
- the Jñāna Marga (The Path of Knowledge)
- the Karma Marga (The Path of Action)
- the Bhakti Marga (The Path of Loving Devotion).
26
What happens between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad gita?
- A conversation between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa (avatar/ incarnation of the god Viṣṇu).
- Takes place on the eve of the great battle between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas.
- Arjuna asks his charioteer, Kṛṣṇa, to take him out on battlefield so he can see the enemy assembling.
- Arjuna sees his family, friends and beloved teachers on the side of the enemy.
- He loses the will to fight.
- In refusing to fight, Arjuna calls into question the virtue of his social role as a warrior and the importance of upholding social order.
- Vedic ideal his duty is clear – as warrior it is his responsibility to combat forces that threaten order.
- He suggests to Kṛṣṇa that it will be preferable to renounce.
- Kṛṣṇa tells him that it is correct to fight for what is right – must fight for righteousness (dharma).
27
What does Krishna offer to Arjuna as a compromise for his conflicting ideals?
- Kṛṣṇa offers Arjuna a brilliant compromise between conflicting ideals – the three paths:
- - Jñāna Marga (Path of Knowledge)
- - Karma Marga (Path of Action)
- - Bhakti Marga (Path of Loving Devotion).
28
What are the teachings of the Bhagavad gita?
- Appeals to dharma:
- The true Self endures beyond death.
- Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa and all the warriors assembled have always existed and always will.
- True Self changes bodies with each rebirth as a person changes clothes.
29
What is the Jnana Marga?
- Jñāna means “knowledge.” (path of knowledge)
- True knowledge = insight into real nature of the universe, divine power and human soul.
- Teaches Arjuna many conventional ways to attain the highest knowledge.
- Self restraint, concentration of mind, yoga.
30
What is the Karma Marga?
- One should perform one’s ordained duty, act – yes.
- Key is performance of action with the proper understanding/attitude/knowledge.
- Actions themselves are not binding - desire that prompts actions that cause bondage.
- Acting with expectation of future reward (or repercussion) leads to bondage and unhappiness.
- Karmaphalasanga – karma = action/act, phal = fruit, results, asanga = without attachment (niṣkāma karma - action without attachment)
- True renunciation is not renunciation of one’s social role and retirement from society but renunciation of desires for the fruits of actions.
- Doesn’t matter what a person’s social role may be, anyone may seek liberation while remaining in society if one disciplines one’s actions.
- May gain mokṣa by doing this.
31
When Arjuna asks how the path of action is possible, what did krishna say?
- Arjuna asks how this is possible.
- Kṛṣṇa recommends that he perform every action as a sacrifice to him.
- “Whatever you do – what you take, what you offer, what you give, what penances you perform – do as an offering to me, Arjuna!”
32
What is the Bhakti Marga?
- First text to elaborate upon the meaning of bhakti.
- Bhakti grants access to worship and mokṣa to all.
- Sincere devotees uplifted to the highest status.
- Kṛṣṇa teaches that even those who worship other deities with sincerity actually worship him.
- Kṛṣṇa identifies himself with every deity that receives genuine devotion.
- Important in understanding Hinduism’s characteristic tolerant polytheism.
- All devotion – regardless of the form this devotion takes or to whom the devotion is directed – leads the devotee to to liberation.
- Kṛṣṇa is a god with qualities (saguna) whom Arjuna can love and and reach union with the god without qualities (nirguna) - Brahman
33
Who is Krsna?
- Shows Arjuna his universal form (viśvarūpa).
- Makes statements that mark a shift in Hindu theology.
- Identifies himself with Upaniṣadic Brahman.
- And with the traditionally imagined 4-armed Viṣṇu.
- He is the ultimate deity, a personal god, incarnates periodically to protect humans.
34
What do the Bhagavad Gita's teachings allow for?
- Gītā’s teachings allow for the understanding that God is embodied within the creation.
- Allows a panentheistic formulation.
- Panentheism – the belief that God encompasses the creation and yet is greater than it - God is both within and also transcends the creation.
- Rationale for traditional form that pūjā, Hindu devotional worship, takes.
35
How does the Bhagavad gita make a compelling case for the bhakti marga?
- Makes compelling case for Bhakti Marga.
- It links the other paths to devotion.
- Jñāna Marga - effective, but highest knowledge (knowledge of God) most easily attained through loving devotion.
- Karma Marga – detached/selfless action best applied to devotion to God.
- Only by fixing one’s mind on God through loving devotion can one’s true Self, come to God.
36
How does the gita redefine the meaning of action and sacrifice?
- The Gītā, while not contradicting Vedic views – redefines the meaning of action and sacrifice.
- ”Action” -not only the performance of sacrificial rituals.
- ”Action” becomes more encompassing – includes all of one’s thoughts, words and deeds.
- Sacrifice then becomes offering up these actions with devotion, while renouncing attachment to their fruits – this is the supreme sacrifice – can obtain liberation.
- Fuses renunciation with the householder way of life.
- Synthesizes the world-maintaining view of the Vedic tradition and the world-denying view of Upaniṣads.
