Video Transcript: Hinduism Lecture 2

We continue now our sessions on Hinduism by talking about the four stages of  life in Hindu doctrine. four stages of life, of course, has in mind, a Brahmin, a  male, who is born in the high caste, the highest of the castes, and what his  career should look like. And it becomes starts with being a student, and then  being married and establishing a household. And then finally, when someone  gets older, they should become a hermit, in their old age, go away and live on  their own, support themselves, concentrate on their spiritual welfare, try to divest themselves have attachments to the world of illusion, Maya, and then finally,  become a mendicant, a begging monk, who has severed every tie with earth  and every other person, and is longing only to achieve nirvana. The four goals or ways of life, course, correspond into three methods of attaining Nirvana. And the three main ones are the way of works, the way of knowledge, and the way of  worship in any one of these ways, is supposed to be equally good with any other in fact, that the way of knowledge has kind of edge, and then has a historical  superiority. But it wasn't open to everybody, to follow this to meditate on the  Vedas, and the Upanishads, and the Holy Writings, and devote oneself to  achieving through meditation, that state, which happens in a flash and in a  trance, and in which someone sees the truth, that there is only Brahman Atman,  and that all things are really one, and therefore loses attachment to the illusory  world, and is guaranteed, then, that upon death, they will not be reborn into yet  another life, in that wheel of fate called samsara. They these are ways of three  ways, I said, are given equal status, officially, but unofficially, this way of of, of  being a monk, and from the beginning and the priest is regarded as superior.  The way of works allows the average person to have hope of achieving nirvana.  And there is a code for this. It's called the code of Manu. It's mostly about how a  Brahmin should conduct his life, how a man should proceed, in order to achieve  Nirvana and try to escape the wheel of rebirth. But it has some things in it, that  are very remarkable about the role of women, which shows what I was saying  last time about women being on the very lowest scale of beneath the lowest  caste. It's pretty shocking stuff. But here's how some of it goes. There is no  other God on earth for a woman, than her husband, the most excellent of all  good works that she can do, is to seek to please Him by manifesting perfect  obedience to Him. Even if her husband is deformed, aged, infirm, offensive,  even if he's sick, immoral, a drunkard and a gambler. Even if he visits  prostitutes, and lives with them, has no affection for his home, behaves like a  raving lunatic, lives without honor. Even if he's blind, deaf, dumb, crippled in a  word, no matter what his defects are. A wife must always look upon him as her  God and lavish him with all her affection and care, paying no heed whatsoever  to his character, or his actions. Pretty fantastic stuff. And of course, the final  thing in the code of Manu is that if her husband dies, then they go to burn his  body. She's to jump onto the funeral pyre and commit suicide as the final act of  devotion to Him. In the act called Sati, sacrificing herself, and that guarantees 

that she will be reborn in the next life as a man. It's that practice that the British  tried to suppress when they ruled India. Under the Raj, they made it illegal. But it was still practiced in remote areas. And it survives to this day. It's again, it's it's  has had official rejection, sometimes from Indian governments. But no one is  really tried to stamp it out with any great success. So that's has to do with the  way of works. And the way of knowledge is that of the scholar, meditating on the holy writings, and devoting himself to achieving nirvana by this trance. And then  there's also the way of worship, which was, again, a way of opening up to the  average person, the hope of achieving a higher rebirth and, or achieving nirvana or at least a higher rebirth. And that worship, it comes mainly through writings  like the Bhagavad Gita, and in the worship has to do with being focused on  Avatars such as Krishna. Now this idea of an avatar is fairly unique to Hinduism.  And it's one I've had a Hindu priest say to me, that only Hinduism and  Christianity saw the need for an embodiment of God to appear on earth. And he  was equating avatar with incarnation, I'll have some more to say about that  when we get to Christianity, and we talk about the Incarnation, there are  remarkable and important differences between the two. But there is a common  idea there. An avatar is the appearance of a god in the form of a human. The  human isn't real. I mean, it's not really, really a human, it's illusion, like the rest  of the illusory world in which we live. But it is the appearance of a god. And  that's what Krishna is taken to be. And that all the stories about Krishna, are  have to do with his mediating knowledge of the divine and the divine way to  people, being able to manifest it by appearing to them in human form, and  engaging in them with them in in very human ways. Of course, In one sense, the whole of the our common sense reality, all the world that we live in, is an avatar  of Brahman Atman. Because their claim is that the this is all appearance, but it's  an appearance of what is really only Brahman Atman. Brahman is the only  reality and all the things that we experienced, that are different, that have  different qualities and different sizes and locations and shapes and things that  change that come into being and pass away and all that that's all Maya, it's all  mere appearance, illusion, because the being of those things is really Brahman  Atman is inconceivable and changeless. So in that sense, the whole reality is  already an avatar of Brahman Atman, but the avatars are regarded such as  Krishna are great regarded as having a special status, because they appear in  the world in order to make the divine known. And the rocks and trees and  mountains, clouds don't do that. But Krishna does. So they have to do with  achieving a better reincarnation. And of course, I mentioned last time that  reincarnation could also demote you. If you live a wicked and selfish and cruel  life, then you may come back as something much worse than what you lived in  this life. And one of the worst things you could come back as in Hindu opinion is  a jackal. The Indians look down on jackals is not not an honorable or admirable  animal. But you could come back as worse than that. You could come back as 

an insect or some such. 

So there is always that that threat. As the as time went on, Hinduism came in  greater contact with other religions, particularly Christianity. And then later again, Islam. Some of the ideas of Nirvana changed. There were thinkers who  proposed that they conceive of nirvana not as just a drop, being reabsorbed into the ocean, not the individual person passes into nirvana is just absorbed into  into Brahman Atman. And so escapes, pain and suffering, and woe. But some  thinkers change this idea Ramanuja, for example, in Madhva, and in in the  Middle Ages, what are the Middle Ages in the West, I thought of it more as  passing into the presence of Vishnu. And a life that's happy and free from  sorrow. It's virtually the Christian idea of Heaven transposed over into Hinduism. Because the Christian idea sounded much more attractive than just being  snuffed out, and absorbed, and escaping from sorrow and trouble. But he  promised an everlasting life of joy, and happiness and peace, and in the  presence of God, and then that's exactly what these thinkers proposed as a  change a version of Hinduism. So it's always, the Hindu tradition has always  been very flexible, and very ready to absorb new ideas, and to change. And in  the late 19th century, another thinker, Ramakrishna is a theologian of great  ability. And he rethought these Hindu doctrines and proposes that they be  altered and thought of in new ways, as well. And what he comes up with is very,  very close to Christianity. There is that about the divine, that's inconceivable, but there's that which is knowable as well. And he explains the relationship between  the, the world the common sense world in which we live and the divine, as the  this world was less real, but it is real, and it has a reality of its own, it isn't just  Brahman Atman. It's an it borders very closely on the Jewish Christian doctrine,  of creation. And, and it takes, in many ways, many steps close to that. Present  day popular Hinduism continues to be a very great mixed bag, there's still the  Hinduism of the Brahmin priests, the the old, call it pure Hinduism. There's  Brahman Atman. And that's the only reality in this, this world is illusion, and you  have to have been reborn into the Brahmin caste, to have the spiritual insight to  see the truth of that. And then you will, if born into that caste and you do the  proper meditations and so on, you will be absorbed and you will not be, you'll be reborn, you will not be reincarnated. But the popular Hinduism is all over the  place. There are local, tribal, or village gods there are there the three big ones  for in official Hindu theology, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. And there, these are  worshiped, people can find their own way. And it's a, I've often remembered  what a Hindu priest said to me one time that our holy writings aren't like yours.  He said to me, talking to me as a Christian. So they're not binding, but they are  there to help me have the experience that I'm seeking and to achieve nirvana. I  read them and I hear what they say. If they don't help me so much the worse for  them, I find my own way. I that's, that's what it's there to encourage me to find 

my own way. And they're there. They're not binding that they're there as aids  only. And so I think that's typical, of of what we find these days and the attitude  toward the world of how real it is. We've seen the old, original, it's kind of pure  Hinduism, this is all illusion. And then you have somebody like Ramakrishna  saying, Well, no, it's just that it's less real than the divine, but it has its own  integrity has its own reality. It's worth investigating. That attitude has prevailed  among especially the intelligentsia and like, the Brahmin class, and many of  them would become very distinguished scientists, the world is worth  investigating the world is worth finding out how it works. And technology is not to be despised. Science is to be pursued, and so on. And that it's a very open  attitude toward that. And I'm emphasizing that because these are some of the  ways Hinduism differs from Buddhism from the next religion that we're going to  take up. I also want to point out that all these doctrines in Hinduism, are not  historical in the sense that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are historical. And  what I mean by that, the stories about Krishna, and the avatars, and the holy  men and so on, don't depend for their value on whether they actually took place. Historically, if it turns out that these are just stories, so what the stories are there to tell us this truth. And it doesn't matter whether they took place historically,  Judaism is very different from this. In history, God has intervened into the world  has come into the world and contacted people, in order to redeem them, he's  come to seek and to save people who are lost, and make them his own, and  redeem them from death. And it happened here and here, and with this person,  and this person, that's very historical. And it's true if and only if those events  took place in Hinduism is not like that at all. If none of those events ever took  place, the truth that that they want to convey would still be conveyed. And so it's  not historical in the same sense, as others are going to be Judaism and  Christianity and Islam. But the, that doesn't mean the Hindu doesn't think that's  true, thinks that what is taught is true, certainly. So it's one of the major  differences, and I'm emphasizing it now, because I'll explain more about it, we'll  come back to it when we cover the others. This is a very complex and  complicated tradition. It varies very much from place to place, even within India,  the practices, the Holy Days, and so on. Getting into the Ganges River to purify  one of sin and so on, is a practice locally, they're not found in other places in  India. And the whole idea of evil and sin is very different from what you're going  to find again, in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Here, evil, that is that being  sinful, is tied to regarding this world is real. 

The great sin is to see this as the reality. If you do, you'll value it, you will put all  your value on it, if you think it's that this world is is real, then you're going to  want things and you're going to want money and you're going to want comforts  and honor and prestige and all that if you live for that, then you're just going to  bind yourself to this illusory illusion. It's either total illusion, or its least rest less 

real than the divine, which is what you want to be entered into in Nirvana. And  you're going to come back as something worse, or, at or at best, the same level  to try again, you have to achieve that insight that it's being attached to things of  this world. That is the source of evil. That again, is radically different from what  you find in Judaism and Christianity and Islam. You find there the Abrahamic  religions, that sin that comes out of a lack of love. In Jesus summary, wer'e to  love the Lord our God, with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and our  neighbor as ourselves. There's the religious And the moral and immoral, evil  results from lack of love of one's neighbor. It's has nothing to do with being  attached to the world, the world's real enough in the worlds okay? It's God's  good creation. But you do evil when you act unlovingly and unjustly to other  people. So it's what in Hinduism at the source is seen as something very  different. It's regarding it as real at all, and becoming attached to it. And that's  what you're what one tries to detach oneself from what in the advanced age of  life when one becomes a hermit, and then a wandering mendicant trying to  achieve the meditative trance that will transform that person, usher them into  nirvana and out of the cycle of rebirth. So I hope that these differences have  been made clear, sufficiently clear, is a great, great deal more to be said about  this tradition. This is by way of the most cursory introduction, some of the main  doctrines and the doctrinal differences that we're going to encounter between it  and other traditions. But if you are interested in this, you know, there's plenty  that are available to read, that will bring you more and more and more detail.  And I hope that you do pursue it and read it in much greater detail. Now, having  made that point about commending the study of Hinduism to you for the future,  there are two more points that I want to make about it, because they are have to do with how it will contrast with other religions when we get to them. And one of  those comes from the Bhagavad Gita. It's a very popular work among common  people. And it has a story in it that's very revealing of how Hinduism, bears on  moral attitudes. And it has to do with Arjuna who is in command of an army, and  he's about to go out and fight. And he has terrible misgivings about all of the  people who are going to be killed. And he cries out to Krishna, for some help,  some advice. It reads this way, Krishna, as I behold, come here to shed their  common blood, you concourse of our kin, my members fail my tongue dries in  my mouth, a shudder thrills my body, and my hair bristles with horror hardly I  can stand. What what Rich spoils could profit? What rule can recompense, what span of life seems we bought with such blood? Seeing that these stand here  ready to die, for his sake was life was fair and pleasure and power grew  precious. These people have grand Sire Sire sons, brothers, fathers of law, sons in law, elders and friends. So speaking in the face of these two armies, our  Judah sat, sank upon his chariot seat, and let the bows and arrows fall. Sick at  heart. Now what would you expect Krishna's answer to be? Well, comes  something as a surprise perhaps. You are grieving. Where no grief should be. 

You speak words that lack wisdom. For the wise heart. Don't mourn for these,  that live or die. Nor I nor You or any of these, there ever was, there ever will be  or all that lives lives forever. Learn this life is spreading life through all. But for  these fleeting frames which in informs with spirit deathless, infinite, an infinite,  they perish. Let them perish. Prince rise and fight, he shall say, Look, I've killed  someone, and how and who shall think, Oh, I'm killed. These both know nothing. Life cannot slay. Life cannot be killed. So they had vices. This world is only  illusory. The real life the reality behind all this is not going to be affected. So go  to it. In the night ward kill those people. A bit surprising from the standpoint of  the Abrahamic religions. And finally, I want to mention one other thing. That is  very typical of Hindu practice and that is that the priests and monks, take a very  tolerant attitude toward the great religious diversity in India and outside India.  Both the attitude is, suppose that we have people that are actually Animists,  there's a local village in a remote area, and they're worshiping spirits in the trees and the rocks and stuff like that. And the, the Brahmin piece, priests will come  by, and participate in their rituals and, and bless them. The idea behind it is this.  These people are doing the best they can with the religious insight that they  have, at this level of incarnation, of reincarnation. And maybe at the next level,  they'll be capable of greater spiritual insight, and greater and greater until finally, they're reborn as Brahmins and then they'll see what we know. So they take this, this attitude of great tolerance, because they look upon those other religions as  people just doing the best they can with what they're capable of doing. And they  look upon other religions that way too. They look upon Judaism, Christianity and Islam as inferior stages of religious insight, which, given enough time and  enough rebirths a person will outlive out grow and achieve new insights until  they come to the level of knowledge of a Brahmin and they know Brahman  Atman is the only reality and then they escape the wheel of rebirth and achieve  nirvana. So, this is a very brief intro has been a very brief introduction to  Hinduism. And we will close with this and next session we will begin our brief  introduction to Buddhism.