The Upanishads, Vedanta, and Influence of the Vedic Tradition Flashcards
what is dharma?
Comes from the root ‘dhr’ meaning ‘to uphold’
In early vedic context it means the proper ritual activity
What does karma mean?
means action but refers to Vedic ‘ritual action’
Where were the Upanishads compiled?
India in the 1st millenium
probably composed b/w roughly 8th/7th century BCE through the start of common era.
What is ascetic withdrawal?
renunciation, separating from normative life
What is social engagment?
being present the world with others
What is the newer interpretations of Dharma?
refer to more to proper actions of an individual to engage in the world.
What does Upsnidhad mean?
‘sad’ means sitting
‘upa-ni-sad’ means sitting down near a teacher in the appropriate way to learn special or secret teachings
semantically about secret connections
How is the new emphasis on knowledge central in the Upanishads?
- more speculation; more on theology(questions about life)
- emphasis on student-teacher relationship, development of the guru
- Socratic style texts
- introduce the idea of valuable knowledge and “neti-neti”
- new ideas of rebirth, karma, samsara, moksha, atman, brahman
-special practices like yoga, celibacy, asceticism
explain rebirth , karma, and samsara
people are kept in the world due to action (karma) and the cycle is called samsara and you continue to be reborn until you are release
What is moksha?
freedom from the cycle; associated with release
What is atman?
‘self’ or ‘soul’, the individual self takes on bodies but there is an enduring self beneath it
What is brahman?
an underlying truth/ reality that connects all existence; supreme reality underlying everything
How are atman and brahman connected?
We can understand the world (Brahman) by looking inward to the self (atman). A link og individual to cosmos
What is the horse sacrifice?
fill in
What is tat tuam asi?
translates to “that you are”, “thou art that”, etc
The idea that the subtle thing underlying everything is you.
ex. father and son on clayness
How do vedic rituals impact Hindu rituals
Many Hindu rituals are modifications of early vedic rituals.
- fire altar is based on vedic ritual
- the life cycle rituals are the same called samskara
- funeral rituals are similar as well as Upanayana, marriage, etc
What is samskara?
life cyle rituals, rite of passage to be constructed as a social being, literally means “refinement”
- Connects chapters of life together
What is Upanayana?
the rite of initiation and investiture of the sacred thread
What theological and philosophical ideas were influenced by early vedic tradition?
ideas like atman, brahman, samsara
What are Vedanta schools?
schools that take the upanishads as central teachings
What is the Advaita Vedanta?
most common school of Vedanta
taught by Shankara (the great teacher)
What did Shankara believe?
non-dualism; brahman=atman
the libertating power of knowledge, used the classic snake and rope example.
- also important to monasticism
How was social order impacted by early vedic tradition?
Many early vedic texts discussed social order but it is not clear whether it was intended to be perscriptive or descriptive so some people think dharma and social position are more prescriptive and others descriptive
What is the diff between perscriptive and descriptive?
prescriptive: how the world SHOULD be
Descriptive: how the world IS
What other supporting systems of knowledge came from Vedic tradition?
astrology, agurveda (medicene), grammar
How is Veda a symbol of orthodoxy?
commitment to veda is not only teh acceptance of a specific set of doctrines, veda as marker for ‘traditonal’, ‘ancient’, or ‘conservative’
