Maya

What is Maya?

-        The word maya is mentioned several times in the Rigveda and Atharvaveda. In that context though, it wasn’t considered to mean illusion, like it is now. Instead, it was considered to mean magic, might, and power. In the Puranas, Maya is described as one of nine shakti’s of Vishnu. It is heavily associated with sleep, and it is Vishnu’s maya that envelops the world when he awakes to destroy evil. As time progresses, Maya takes on a new connotation. In Vedanta, māyā is to be seen throughin order to achieve moksha Ahamkāra (ego-consciousness) and karma are seen as part of the binding forces of māyā. It is at this time that Maya is held to be an illusion, a veiling of Brahman.

From this, we will transition into what maya is now, which will place more emphasis on Maya as an illusion. This will be reinforced by the following clip from the matrix:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8eKxVCFoUk
After this, we will discuss the role that Maya plays in our lives today, and how it can differ. This will bring up the concept of good maya vs. bad maya. We will also discuss what are some of the different kinds of Maya that we encounter today, and why they can be classified as maya. This will lead into the following clip from House MD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbE2ch-9ZFc

What are the different kinds of Maya, and what different forms have you encountered?

                                                Why is Maya necessary?

The importance will be explained by a clip from Avatar, which shows how everything is connected while demonstrating examples of Maya. Like the veteran who was helped by the illusion, despite him knowing it was an illusion, we can grow by fighting through maya. By attaining moksha, we removed our sense of duality. 

Dis-attachment in Hinduism

The concept of detachment is one that is often misunderstood and confused with indifference. This complex topic is one that leaves people with little understanding of what Hinduism is asking of them. To begin to unravel this, we must first discuss what the texts say. The Bhagavad Gita is the most notable text that deals with detachment.

....from  attachment springs desire, and from (unfulfilled) desire ensues anger. From anger arises delusion; from delusion arises confusion of memory; from confusion of memory arises loss of discrimination (buddhi); from the loss of discrimination the individual perishes....
- Chapter 2 Bhagvad Gita

Here it seen that detachment leads to the eventual ruination of a person. But what is detachment? Is it cutting ties with the world? Is it attaching yourself to moksha? No. Instead we must realize that detachment is often confused with indifference, a dangerous counterpart.

"Though engaged in all kinds of activities, My pure devotee, under My protection, reaches the eternal and imperishable abode by My grace."

Bhagavad-gita 18.56

maatru devo bhava pitru devo bhava

aachaarya devo bhava atithi devo bhava

- Taittiriya Upanishad

"Perfection is characterised by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless spiritual happiness, realised through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being so situated, one is never shaken even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all mis­eries arising from material contact."

- Bhagavad-gita 6.20–23

We see here that detachment is not indifference. Indifference is a shallow, misleading form od detachment. Indifference is to separate yourself from your actions and the world, detachment is to invest in the world as your own and separate yourself from your karma. The most profound understanding of detachment comes when you can see yourself in everything, and everything in yourself. Where you no longer show discrimination in who you love, but show that you love everyone as the Eternal. 

Circular Time

Time is a complex idea in Hinduism, and philosophy in general. We discuss in this meeting the ideas of linear, circular, among other forms of time. Specifically, we look to discover whether the Hindu concept of time truly is circular or not. Some questions to consider are: Is time circular, linear, or something else? Why or why not? Additionally, there are many measures of time specified in the book: Surya Siddhanta. One of which is the atom. How can the atom be used as a measure of time? Is the atom, as a measure of time, the same thing as the atom that we consider in science? If not, how can it be described? 

Three Gunas

Guna is defined as a fundamental operating principles or 'tendencies' of prakṛti (universal nature).  There are three of them, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas- each having its own defining characteristics.  In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says to Arjun: 

“Oh mighty armed one, the qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance thus produced by the material energy enslaves the immutable, consciousness of the self within the body.” BG 14:5 This ties in with the fact that tunas are HUMAN tendencies.  

Sattva Guna:

“Of these, Sattwa is by the purity of its quality a cause of light and illumination, and by virtue of that purity produces no disease or morbidity or suffering in the nature: it binds by attachment to knowledge and attachment to happiness, O sinless one.” -Bhagavad Gita, 14:6

In other words:

• Represents harmony and balance
• Provides happiness and contentment
• Quality of intelligence: ideas
  
• The force of love that unites all things together

Rajas Guna:

“Rajas, know thou, has for its essence attraction of liking and longing; it is a child of the attachment of the soul to the desire of objects; O Kaunteya, it binds the embodied spirit by attachment to works.” -Bhagavad Gita, 14:7v

in other words:

• Heat of the moment (passion)
• Causes imbalance, pain, and suffering
• More desires, selfishness, restlessness and sadness arise
• Rajas karma is money-oriented and calculative
• We care about what is easy and agreeable to us.
• Our attachment to material desires reduces our concern about universal dharma.
• The doer always remains attached to the gains

Tamas Guna:

“But Tamas, know thou, born of ignorance, is the deluded of all embodied beings; it binds by negligence, indolence and sleep, O Bharata.” -Bhagavad Gita, 14:8

In other words:

• Quality of:

• dullness
• darkness
• inertia
• Brings about ignorance and delusion in the mind
• Promotes insensitivity, sleep and loss of awareness

To get a better understanding of the differences, here is a chart!

 

Sattva	Rajas	Tamas
Truth / Goodness	Activity	Inertia
Light / illumination	Passion/ Desire	Darkness
Spiritual Essence	Energy	Mass / matter / heaviness
Upward flow	Expansion	Downward flow
Intelligence / Consciousness	Movement	Sloth / dullness
Binds by means of attachment to knowledge and joy.	Binds by passion born or craving and attachment	Binds by means of ignorance and obstruction.
Is the ruling trait when the light of knowledge shines forth.	Is the ruling trait when greed, excessive, projects, cravings and restlessness arise.	Is the ruling trait when darkness, dullness, stagnation, indolence, confusion, torpor, and inertia appear.

Analyzation:

Think about the batman's character. Think about his character in regards to the three gunas. 

DQ1: Can one dominate over the other?

DQ2: Is it necessary to have all three gunas present?

now take a look at this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrzvY0JNT0U

DQ3: Does this clip influence, change or support your answer to the previous question and why?

With this video, you can see that Batman only had two gunas present, even just in the clip, rajas and tamas. Sattva was not present; if it was, then it was ever so slightly.  Because he did not take the time to think before he acted, Batman was not successful.  So the point we are trying to make is that, the three gunas are needed to maintain balance for a healthy lifestyle.  

One way that can improve a higher quality in life, is to have the sattva guna consistent throughout life through yoga and mediation.  By simply breathing with your stomach and not your chest, it allows more for your soul to open instead of your mind; thus opening yourself up to more ideas and knowledge.  Another way is by chanting the Gayatri mantra.  W

e first relieve ourselves of Tamas guna, by engaging in the activities of Rajas guna, and then we relieve ourselves from Rajas guna, driven activities and move up towards Sattva guna. And then we go beyond even Sattva guna to realize the bliss and peace of the supreme Consciousness – this is Gayatri.

So, to inspire and channel this subtle ego of ours we have the Gayatri Mantra.

Even though we aim to keep a balance among the three gunas, our ultimate goal is to attain moksha or enlightenment. Moksha is the absence of the three gunas. As Krishna tells Arjun, “One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” BG 14:26 In other words, those who transcend these three gunas will be liberated from the cycle of birth, growth, death and rebirth and attain moksha.

4 Ashrams of Hinduism

In Hinduism, human life is believed to comprise four stages. These are called "ashramas" and every man should ideally go through each of these stages:

• The First Ashrama - "Brahmacharya" or the Student Stage
• The Second Ashrama - "Grihastha" or the Householder Stage
• The Third Ashrama - "Vanaprastha" or the Hermit Stage
• The Fourth Ashrama - "Sannyasa" or the Wandering Ascetic Stage

Brahmacharya - The Celibate Student:

This is a period of formal education. It lasts until the age of 25, during which, the young male leaves home to stay with a guru and attain both spiritual and practical knowledge. During this period, he is called a brahmachari, and is prepared for his future profession, as well as for his family, and social and religious life ahead.

Grihastha - The Married Family Man:

This period begins when a man gets married, and undertakes the responsibility for earning a living and supporting his family. At this stage, Hinduism supports the pursuit of wealth (artha) as a necessity, and indulgence in sexual pleasure (kama), under certain defined social and cosmic norms. This ashrama lasts until around the age of 50. According to the Laws of Manu, when a person's skin wrinkles and his hair greys, he should go out into the forest. However, in real life, most Hindus are so much in love with this second ashrama that the Grihastha stage lasts a lifetime!

Vanaprastha - The Hermit in Retreat:

This stage of a man begins when his duty as a householder comes to an end: He has become a grandfather, his children are grown up, and have established lives of their own. At this age, he should renounce all physical, material and sexual pleasures, retire from his social and professional life, leave his home, and go to live in a forest hut, spending his time in prayers. He is allowed to take his wife along, but is supposed to maintain little contact with the family. 

Sannyasa - The Wandering Recluse:

At this stage, a man is supposed to be totally devoted to God. He is a sannyasi, he has no home, no other attachment; he has renounced all desires, fears and hopes, duties and responsibilities. He is virtually merged with God, all his worldly ties are broken, and his sole concern becomes attaining moksha, or release from the circle of birth and death. (Suffice it to say, very few Hindu men can go up to this stage of becoming a complete ascetic.) When he dies, the funeral ceremonies (Pretakarma) are performed by his son and heir.

What About Women?:

A woman's role is of a dependent nature since, traditionally, they need the protection of a responsible male at every stage of life.

Since the majority of us are in the Brahmacharya Stage, what can we do in our daily lives to make sure that we are successful in this part of our life?

What is gained or lost by not achieving the Sannyasi stage?

Interfaith Religions Panel

There are many religions in the world and many people around us that follow each of these religions.  But how much do we really know about these other religions that we coexist with?  Our Interfaith Religions Panel helps clarify those misconceptions and questions that people have about different religions, specifically: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, the Baha'i Faith, Sikhism and Judaism.  Here are some of the questions that were asked to each of the religions:

1)What does your faith believe is the purpose of an individual s life?

2)How would you describe your religion's end goal?

3)Can science and religion ever work together ?

4) What is your/ your religions response to pressured conversion?

Vegetarianism and Ahimsa

Yagnas were some of the oldest rituals, they were mentioned in the Vedas. There are three general steps to yagnas: Starting the sacrificial fire, Invocation of deities, The making of offerings to them using fire as the media. Lord Agni, the God of Fire, is the messenger that takes the offerings to the deities.  One common form of sacrifice involved animals, it is mentioned in the Rig Veda in multiple places. There is also archaeological evidence that points to this. Horses (ashva) and cow (go) were sacrificed and it was necessary to eat the meat from the sacrifice.

“Sacrifice was to endue the sacrificer with power and wealth from the gods” (Rig 1.111.2)

“The dappled goat goes straight to heaven, bleating to the place dear to Indra and to Pusan.” (Rig 1.162.2)

“What part of the steed’s flesh the fly does not eat or is left sticking to the post or hatchet, or to the slayer’s hands and nails adheres, among the Gods, too may all this be with thee. Food undigested steaming from his belly and any odor of raw flesh that remains, let the immolators set in order and dress the sacrifice with perfect cooking. What from thy body which with fire is roasted when thou art set upon the spit distills let not that lie on earth or grass neglected, but to the longing Gods let all be offered.”  (Rig  1.162.9-11)

There was a change in how cows were viewed. Practically, cows were used to judge wealth, Moving towards farming society – cows became more useful with farm work, Provided milk – looked to as a mother figure. The concept of Ahimsa, which dates back to the vedas, was re-introduced around 500 CE causing Non-vegetarianism to decline.  The importance of cows gets taken out of context which leads to the idea of cows being sacred. Beef soon became taboo for the upper classes and the lower classes followed suit.

Which the rising notion of vegetarian in the world in mind, how do vegetarians perceive non-vegetrains and vice versa?

Texts in Hinduism

Shruti vs. Smriti

All the Hindu scriptures can be classified into two parts.The first is called Shruti. This form of text is “What has been heard” So this this means that this knowledge actually came directly from God and so is considered to be “revealed.” The texts that were written after that were considered to be what have been remembered, or Smriti. All the texts that come after the Vedas are considered Smriti because they have been remembered not revealed. This form of text is more of the traditional texts that have rituals, codes of law, and stories.

What are some Hindu scriptures that you have heard of and what are the divisions?

Vedas:

The Vedas are dated back to 1500- 500 BCE also known as the early Vedic period and is the Sanskrit word for “knowledge”.  The Vedas are the only texts in Hinduism that are Shruti because they are believed to have been directly revealed thus relating back to the definition of shruti “what is heard”.  The Vedas have four divisions: the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and ArtarvaVeda. From the different divisions you can see that the Vedas consists of very concrete and ritualistic material.  Everything is very natural and abstract.  

QUOTE: “Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning.  All this was an indistinguishable sea.  That which becomes, that which was enveloped by the void, that alone was born through the power of heat.” –RigVeda-

Here we can see that this text is very natural and abstract especially when it mentions “void”.  It really represents the Rig Veda scripture because of its description of the origins of the world. Here you can see that it is very broad and does not pertain to a certain individual.

Upanishads:

The actual sanskrit translation for Upanishad is sitting down near. This refers to the students that sat near their teacher and heard and learned these texts. Since they are what was remembered by the acharyas - they are smriti texts. Though they aren’t Sruti, they were written in the vedic time period towards the end. This is why sometimes they are also referred to as vedanta because antam means the end so its the end of the vedas. The upanishads are considered to reveal truths about the nature of ultimate reality which is brahman, and moksha which a form of human salvation. There are also other commentaries of the vedas in the upanishads in the form of sutras. As you can see, the upanishads are still very abstract but here it is more accessible and organized. These become easier to use than the Vedas.

Dharmashastras:
The dharmashastras were written after the vedic time period and therefore they are considered smriti. In fact, these set of texts have been extracted from the vedas. This very large set of scriptures is the code of law of hindu dharma. It is everyone’s religious and legal duty. Dharmashastra is as much or more about religious life as it is law. However during the time of british colonization, the dharmashastra was used as the law of the land for Hindus in India. The dharmashastra is actually divided into three mains topics - acara, vyavahara, and prayascitta.

Sruti is what has been revealed directly from God and smriti is what has been remembered. However, on an everyday basis, not everyone lives by the vedas. Many people use codes of law such as Dharmashastra or lessons from stories such as the Bhagavad Gita to live their daily lives spiritually.

Do you believe one form of scripture is more important than the other? Do you believe that one warrants more authority than the other?

Itihasas:

Itihasa were written during the Classical time period.  The Itihasas literally means “so indeed it was” and are refered to as “historical events.”  They are basically stories or epics; thus they are classified as Smriti because they are “what are heard”.  There are three major epics in Hinduism.  Two of them we discussed last meeting: the Mahabharat and the Ramayan.  In both you see that they are stories of dieties who decended to earth and the conflict between good and evil.  Throughout the epics, different morals and lessons are taught.  The Bhagavad Gita, which is widely known in Hinduism is actually specific part of the Mahabharat where Krishna teaches Arjun about the importances of Dharma right before the big battle as well as provide a guide to self realization.

Bhagavad Gita is both Shruti and Smriti.

Krishna is talking so it is “coming from God”

But the Gita was told by a bystander who heard Krishna talking to Arjun so is Smriti

QUOTE: “He by whom the world is not afflicted or troubled, who also is not afflicted or troubled by the world, who is freed from the troubled agitated lower nature and from its waves of joy and fear and anxiety and resentment, he is dear to Me.”

The vedas do talk about moksha but in a more broad sense as opposed to a specific individual.  However, in this quote from the Bhagavad Gita, you can see that it is more specific to a certain individual.

Puranas:

The Puranas are literally translated from Sanskrit to mean “of ancient times”.  They primarily consist of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods as well as descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography!  Some examples are stories such as how Ganesh got his elephant head or the numerous stories of Krishna when he was younger or the stories of the creation of the universe.  So in other words, the Puranas can be described as Hindu mythology. An important note about the Puranas is that not all of Hindu mythology comes JUST from the Puranas, a lot of them do come from the Vedas but most of them are found in the Puranas.  

If we look at the transition from vedic literature to dharmashastra to the itihasa and puranas, there is a shift in the writing. From a more natural, ritualistic, and abstract form of writing, it goes to stricter and more specific codes of law to supernatural stories.

Why do you believe this shift took place? Is it necessarily beneficial or detrimental

Conclusion:

So as we have discussed we can see that there has been many shifts throughout the texts in Hinduism.  Starting with the Vedas and Upanishads which are very ritualistic and abstract and natural, we then have the dharmashastras which provided more control by providing codes of law to the Itihasa or the epics which are very supernatural and involve stories that are more relatable to us on a day to day basis.  But now Hinduims has shifted again to be more personal and spiritual.  So what we would like for y’all to take away from this meeting is the question: do you think Hinduism will develop more texts that will reflect this more personal and spiritual characteristic? and where do you think Hinduism will go towards in the next couple of hundred years?

There is a shift between the Texts in Hindusim.

Do you think Hinduism will develop more texts that will reflect a more personal and spiritual characteristics?

Mahabharat vs. Ramayan

The Mahabharat and Ramyan are two well-known epics that have shaped Hinduism. Both epics are distinct in their differences and similarities, and have contributed to the way Hinduism is practiced today.  In the Mahabharat vs. Ramayan meeting, we first scratched the surface of both epics by looking at the major/minor characters and their plotlines, and then we went into depth by looking at the similarities and differences in both of the epics.

                The Ramayan is a story about when Rama is sent to exile for fourteen years because of King Dasaratha’s second wife Kaikeyi (Rama’s second mom). Kaikeyi used her two boons given by the king to make her own son, Bharath, the king and send Rama, the next heir to the throne, away to exile. When Rama was in exile, his wife Sita and Laxaman accompanied him as well. Ravan who was seeking vengeance for a long time, found Sita’s need for a golden deer as a perfect time to kidnap her to Sri Lanka. After Rama and Laxman discovered that Sita was kidnapped by Ravan, they teamed up with Hanuman and his monkey army to attack Sri Lanka. In the end Ravan was killed, and Sita was rescued. But before Sita returned safely to Rama, she had to pass the test of purity. In Sita’s second test of purity, she exclaimed Mother Earth to take her if she is pure and within moments a crevice opens and Sita is engulfed into the earth. Sita’s engulfing marked the end of the Ramayan. (*It is important to note that this is a brief overview of the Ramayan, which means important details may have been left out for the purpose of trying to discuss the similarities and differences between both epics.)

                The Mahabharat is a story that is based around what happens after Bhishma declares his celibacy in order for his brother to be king. Somewhere down the lineage, Pandu and Dhirtarastra were the next in heirs. Pandu had five sons; the eldest was to be the next heir to throne after his uncle (Dhitarastra) who had taken over because Pandu’s health was not doing so well. King Dhirtarstra also had sons of his own, and the eldest Duryodhan believed he deserved the throne after his brother rather than his eldest cousin. This led to a conflict between the five brothers and Duryodhan. During a gamble, the Pandu’s five sons gambled away their kingdom and go for thirteen years of exile. Upon the end of the exile, Duryodhan did not want to give them the kingdom which resulted in a major war known as the Kurkshetra. (*It is important to note that this is a brief overview of the Mahabharat, which means important details may have been left out for the purpose of trying to discuss the similarities and differences between both epics.)

Ø  Discussion Question: Is this information worth knowing and why?

Ø  Discussion Question: Upon looking at both storylines, what are some similarities and differences found in both of these epics?

Some of the similarities we found in the Mahabharat and Ramayan are:

Ø  Battle between good and evil

Ø  Major war and exile in both

Ø  The avatar is a major character in both

Ø  Strong brotherly love

Ø  Both Dhritarastra and Dasaratha were weak in will

Some of the differences we found in the Ramayan are:

Ø  Rama was the protagonist

Ø  War is strictly good versus evil

Ø  Sita’s kidnapping was the direct cause of the war

Ø  Manthara causes discord

Ø  Ramayan ends when Sita commits suicide

Ø  Tells how man should live

Some of the differences we found in the Mahabharat are:

Ø  Krishna was not the protagonist

Ø  War is within the family

Ø  Bhishma’s celibacy was the direct cause of the war

Ø  Shakuni causes discord

Ø  Mahabharat ends with Krishna’s death

Ø  Tells how man should not live

In conclusion, the Maharabharat and the Ramayan are well known epics that are referred to from time to time as a way to live our everyday lives and how not to live them as well. These two major texts are just some of the texts in Hinduism that shape the way Hinduism is practiced and interpreted today. There are so many other texts that have also played a vital role in in how Hinduism is perceived, and we encourage you to come next week to discover some of these other texts and their roles in Hinduism.