Sacred Literature

& the Bhagavad-gita

RELS181 World Religions: An Introduction

Lecture � Part A:

�  General Introduction to Sacred Literature

� Part B: �  Sacred Literature in Hinduism �  The Bhagavad-gita

Sacred Literature -Preconceptions

�  Primary of written texts as authoritative �  Why?

� b/c Primacy of written word in Christianity?

�  Not all religions are so scripturally centred as Christianity

Sacred Literature - Origins �  No written texts �  Circulated in oral form �  Stories, teachings, practices passed on

orally sometimes for centuries before written down

Sacred Literature - Forms �  Some uniform, some diverse in literary types �  Genres:

� Poetry � History �  Law � Philosophical discourse � Hymns � Wisdom sayings � Parables � Ritual prescriptions �  (Legendary) Narratives, myths, epics

Sacred Literature - Nature � Can be regarded by Community as

�  Possessing Sacred power �  Transforming effect upon reader/hearer �  Earthly expression of eternal/divine wisdom �  Object of reverence, veneration

Sacred Literature - Purpose �  Authoritative/normative guide to everyday

life �  Oral use in ritual & worship �  Instruction & educational purposes �  Object of worship itself �  Religious meditation & devotion

Sacred Literature: Hinduism �  Oral transmission preferred over written form �  Communication largely in ritual settings �  Canon formed very slowly �  Not written down for longest time

�  Eg Rg Veda (1500-900 BCE) written down after 300 CE

�  words have transformative power �  Eg ‘OM’or ‘AUM’ mantra = primordial vibration

Overview: Hindu Scriptures Shruti (“That which is Heard”) Vedic Sacred Literature

1.  Samhita – “Collection” (of hymns) 1.  Rig-Veda – 1028 hymns (ca. 1500-900 BCE) 2.  Sama-Veda - “Chant” (Verses of Rig-Veda arranged for liturgical use) 3.  Yajur-Veda - ”Sacrifice” (200 years later) 4.  Atharva-Veda - magical spells and incantations

2.  Brahamanas (ca. 850 BCE)-key concepts: Varna (caste) 3.  Upanishads “Vedanta” (ca. 500 BCE)- philosophical works

Smriti (“That which is Remembered”) Non-Vedic Sacred Literature

1.  Vedantas – phonetics, grammar, etymology, prosody, medicine 2.  Dharma Shastras – conduct, hygiene, administration 3.  Nibandhas – codifications of Vedic laws 4.  Puranas and Epics – popular literature

a)  Puranas (esp. Bhagavata Purana, Suta Samhita) b)  Epics: Ramayana, Mahabharata

5.  Darshanas – six schools of philosophy 6.  Agamas or Tantras (Sectarian scriptures) 7.  Writings of revered gurus

(Taken from Noss, A History of the World’sReligions, 2008: p. 105)

Includes Bhagavad Gita

Sruti � “that which is heard” � Eternal word in content & form �  Intended to be used orally � Brahman priests �  rules/explanations for vedic ritual sacrifice � Upanishads –shift to philosophical

knowledge regarding liberation (moksha) from cycle of birth, death, rebirth (samsara)

Smrti � “that which is remembered” �  Important in everyday religious life � Myths, epics � Ramayana (750-500BCE)

�  Story of Rama (vishnu incarnate) & rescue of wife from Ravana

� Mahabharata (500-400BCE)

Mahabharata �  story of rivalry between warring cousins

�  Pandavas vesus Kauravas

�  Krsna (Krishna) fights on side of Kauravas

�  Serves as charioteer to Arjuna

�  Bhagavad-gita features centrally in epic

�  focusing on the existential plight or crisis of

conscience of one of the central characters,

Arjuna

�  In ‘Gita’ that Krsna reveals himself as God (Vishnu)

�  dilemma is age old: to fight or to yield, to renounce kingship in favour of a peace, but knowing that in choosing the latter injustice and indecency will prevail (Rodrigues, 2006: p. 154)

�  In Hindu terms, his dilemma is between ahimsa or belief in nonviolence and his dharma as a warrior to fight

Bhagavad-gita �  Astounding that such a short piece gained

such notoriety & reverence

�  considered on par with Shruti literature despite positioning as smirti

�  Mahatma Gandhi believed Gita contained all that one needed to know about Truth

�  For Gandhi, who coined the term satyagraha or “holding fast to truth” which involved active peaceful resistance to injustice, truth was a way of life

Arjuna’s Dilemma �  rise in status and importance of the warrior

caste (kshatriyas) in relation to the Brahmin caste

�  important to acknowledge access Arjuna (as non-Brahmin) has to Krsna (or Krishna), an important Hindu deity

�  Such access signals a pivotal shift in the nature of Hinduism and Hindu orthodoxy.

�  See the following quote from Hillary Rodrigues, Introducing Hinduism, London: Routledge, 2006: p.157)

The householder versus the renouncer

The period of the epics marked a pivotal shift in the nature of Hinduism, and in the features of Hindu orthodoxy. The worship of older Vedic gods, such as Prajapati, Indra and Agni through yajna was beginning to yield to the worship of other deities, as well as to a questioning of the metaphysics that valorized Vedic-styled ritual religion…there was certainly mounting pressure from other disenfranchised groups for fuller participation in religious life, and for authorization of their capacity to engage with it in a meaningful way. They were undoubtedly already engaged in their own forms of worship, some of which may have mimicked, while others may have sharply deviated from orthodox styles. The Buddhist response was to permit women, sudras, and Untouchables to join their renunciant order. It is from within this milieu of contrasting spiritual values and demands for religious inclusion and empowerment that the Bahagavad Gita presented its teachings.

Central Characters: Krsna & Arjuna

Assignment 2 �  Assignment 2 concentrates on Chapter XI of

the Bhagavad Gita

�  need only focus on the themes raised in this chapter, the most important of which concerns the idea of “Deity”

�  “Deity” generally refers to a divine, supernatural, usually immortal being (or beings) significant to a religious community

�  how is/are the god/s depicted?

Depicting Krsna � Krsna central to the meaning and

significance of the Gita

�  Who/what is Krsna? �  How are we to understand him/her/it in the

context of Chapter XI? �  What is his/her/its nature?

True Identity �  Chapter XI describes one of the greatest

theophanies in sacred literature �  Theophany: the appearance or manifestation of a

deity (or deities) to one or more individuals. �  Krsna (the deity) reveals his true identity to Arjuna

(human individual) in Chapter XI and it is stupendous

�  Arjuna is awestruck & overwhelmed by the visible manifestation of Krsna, despite having been given a ‘celestial eye’

�  Asks for Krsna to return to his human form

Chapter 11: 43-45 You are the father of the world of moving and unmoving things, You their venerable teacher, most highly prized; none is there like You – how could there be another greater? – in the three worlds, Oh, matchless is your power. And so I bow to You, prostrate my body, crave grace of You, [my] Lord adorable; bear with me, I beg You, as father [bears] with son, or friend with friend, or lover with the one he loves, O God! Things never seen before I have seen, and ecstatic is my joy; yet fear-and-trembling perturb my mind. Show me, then, God, that [same human] form [I knew]; have mercy, Lord of gods, home of the universe!

Who is Krsna? �  Krsna is transcendent and immanent (see next slide)

�  Krsna is reached through devotion (bhakti) �  Krsna is the real force/power behind everything �  Krsna is the Supreme Godhead, the Absolute Truth �  He creates, preserves, destroys �  He is the cause of all causes and the source of all

things �  Humans are instruments in his hands �  Krsna often appears as an avatar, and some

authors interpret Krsna as an avatar of Visnu in the Gita. Therefore, is the Gita monotheistic? Polytheistic? Or Something Else? Henotheistic?

Transcendence/Immanence � Transcendence

�  In religion, understood as the state of being or existing independently of the world/universe

�  Immanence �  The state or presence of a god in the world,

usually as the source of some action regarding human affairs. (They might nevertheless remain somewhat distinct).

Summing Up �  Read Chapter XI of the Bhagavad Gita (on Moodle)

�  Translations of entire Bhagavad Gita available from web

�  Once you’ve read Chapter XI return to these notes and begin researching the topic more widely

�  important to have some familiarity with sacred literature of the various religious traditions

�  The aim of assignment 2 is to provide students with an opportunity to get close to a sacred text that they might otherwise never encounter

�  I hope you enjoy the reading

Procession of gods in a festival in Varkala (Kerala) By Philippe Raffard