The Upanishads, Vedanta, and Influence of the Vedic Tradition

Question 1

what is dharma?

Answer 1

Comes from the root ‘dhr’ meaning ‘to uphold’
In early vedic context it means the proper ritual activity

Question 2

What does karma mean?

Answer 2

means action but refers to Vedic ‘ritual action’

Question 3

Where were the Upanishads compiled?

Answer 3

India in the 1st millenium
probably composed b/w roughly 8th/7th century BCE through the start of common era.

Question 4

What is ascetic withdrawal?

Answer 4

renunciation, separating from normative life

Question 5

What is social engagment?

Answer 5

being present the world with others

Question 6

What is the newer interpretations of Dharma?

Answer 6

refer to more to proper actions of an individual to engage in the world.

Question 7

What does Upsnidhad mean?

Answer 7

‘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

Question 8

How is the new emphasis on knowledge central in the Upanishads?

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

explain rebirth , karma, and samsara

Answer 9

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

Question 10

What is moksha?

Answer 10

freedom from the cycle; associated with release

Question 11

What is atman?

Answer 11

‘self’ or ‘soul’, the individual self takes on bodies but there is an enduring self beneath it

Question 12

What is brahman?

Answer 12

an underlying truth/ reality that connects all existence; supreme reality underlying everything

Question 13

How are atman and brahman connected?

Answer 13

We can understand the world (Brahman) by looking inward to the self (atman). A link og individual to cosmos

Question 14

What is the horse sacrifice?

Answer 14

fill in

Question 15

What is tat tuam asi?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

How do vedic rituals impact Hindu rituals

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What is samskara?

Answer 17

life cyle rituals, rite of passage to be constructed as a social being, literally means “refinement”
- Connects chapters of life together

Question 18

What is Upanayana?

Answer 18

the rite of initiation and investiture of the sacred thread

Question 19

What theological and philosophical ideas were influenced by early vedic tradition?

Answer 19

ideas like atman, brahman, samsara

Question 20

What are Vedanta schools?

Answer 20

schools that take the upanishads as central teachings

Question 21

What is the Advaita Vedanta?

Answer 21

most common school of Vedanta
taught by Shankara (the great teacher)

Question 22

What did Shankara believe?

Answer 22

non-dualism; brahman=atman
the libertating power of knowledge, used the classic snake and rope example.
- also important to monasticism

Question 23

How was social order impacted by early vedic tradition?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What is the diff between perscriptive and descriptive?

Answer 24

prescriptive: how the world SHOULD be
Descriptive: how the world IS

Question 25

What other supporting systems of knowledge came from Vedic tradition?

Answer 25

astrology, agurveda (medicene), grammar

Question 26

How is Veda a symbol of orthodoxy?

Answer 26

commitment to veda is not only teh acceptance of a specific set of doctrines, veda as marker for ‘traditonal’, ‘ancient’, or ‘conservative’