Reflection: The Hindu View of Life,

"Chapter II: Conflict of Religions: The Hindu Attitude"

   This chapter was helpful to understand how Hindus do not have one, certain set of beliefs and how they are generally more accepting of other religions. However, concepts in it were sometimes lost because I still do not understand who some of the gods are that Hindus worship or the rituals they practice. Furthermore, I felt there were too many Sanskrit words or Hindu references at times to muddle through in order to grasp the main concepts of the paragraph.

 

   The aspect of tolerance in Hinduism was something I can relate to and greatly appreciated. A few of the quotes that the author used, such as the ending quote from Swift, reminded me of one of my favorite quotes:

 

"Differences of habit and language are nothing at all

if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."

Chapters 7-9 (con't from last post)

Chapter 7: Wisdom from Realization

-Krishna: “I know everything about the past, the present, and the future, Arjuna; but there is no one who knows me completely” (v.26).

               Contradiction: said people who attain Wisdom will know him…?

-What is the Hindu version of Heaven?

-What is Brahman?

-Krishna: “Depend on me completely” (v.1).

            How so? How is one expected to do this?

-Krishna: “One person and many thousands may seek perfection, yet of these only a few reach the goal and come to realize me” (v. 3).

               Are there religions that contrast & state that you always continue learning?

Chapter 8: : The Eternal Godhead

-Krishna: “My highest nature, the imperishable Brahman, gives every creature its existence and lives in every creature as the adhyatma. My action is creation and the bringing forth of creatures. The adhibhuta is a perishable body; the adhidaiva is Purusha, the eternal spirit. The adhiyajna, the supreme sacrifice, is made to me as the Lord within you” (v.3).

               What is the sacrifice in the form of? (giving up the senses, etc? or different?)

-Krisha: “your concentration fixed in the center of spiritual awareness between the eyebrows” (166, 10).

               Like a 3^rd eye? Why that particular spot?

Krishna: “the day of Brahma dawns…” (passage of verses 17-19)

               What does this passage mean?

Chapter 9: The Royal Path

-Krishna: “I am he; I give and withhold the rain. I am immortality and I am death; I am what is and what is not” (v.19).

               Sounds like something from the Bible. Did the Bible come after this scripture?

Chapters 4-6

The Bhagavad Gita translated by Eknath Easwaran

  I am only posting one of the questions I had for each chapter, but I am bringing the other questions to class for discussion.

Chapter 4: Wisdom in Action

-Krishna: “The wise see that there is action in the midst of in action and in action in the midst of action. Their consciousness is unified, and every act is done with complete awareness. / The awakened sages call a person wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results; all his selfish desires have been consumed in the fire of knowledge. . . . Their security is unaffected by the results of their action; even while acting, they really do nothing at all. Free from expectations and from all sense of possession, with mind and body firmly controlled by the Self, they do not incur sin by the performance of physical action.” (v. 18-21)

                              -18: How does one pursue / apply this?                                  -19: Why is this “wise”?

                             -20: How does one do both action and inaction?                 -21: What sin? What type?

Chapter 5: Renounce & Rejoice

-Krishna: “Self-realization is (the wise’s) only goal” (v. 28).

               What else do they do? And, do they do anything else?

               Are they allowed to get married or have a job once they have accomplished this? Or, does this become their lifestyle, such as with a Catholic priest or nun?

 

Chapter 6: The Practice of Meditation

-Krishna: “The infinite joy of touching Brahman is easily attained by those who are free from the burden of evil and established within themselves” (v. 28).

               What form does “evil” take in their religion?

(con't next post Ch. 7-9 for whole assignment of reading)

The Bhagavad Gita: Chapters 1-3

The Bhagavad Gita translated by Eknath Easwaran

  I am only posting one of the questions I had for each chapter, but I am bringing the other questions to class for discussion.

Questions / Comments for Ch. 1: The War Within

-Who is fighting who? And, what is the difference between the Pandavas and the Kurus?

 

 

Questions / Comments for Ch. 2: Self-Realization

-By Krishna telling Arjuna that a good reason to kill his family is that people will ridicule him for eternity if he does nothing, isn’t he telling Arjuna to act selfishly? Arjuna would be worrying about himself instead of others. (This reveals some of the values of the religion.)

 

 

Questions / Comments for Ch. 3: Selfless Service

-I like the quote: “Selfish action imprisons the world. Act selflessly, without any thought of personal profit” (p. 105, l. 9).

**I did the citations to include the page numbers and then realized I have a different edition of the book, so I went back to include line numbers as well.

 

Hello!

Hello!

A Little About Me

   I am an English major and an undeclared Spanish minor. I plan to become an author and/ or teacher. I have written poetry, fiction and realistic nonfiction short stories, a play, and most recently, personal essays. I have begun drafts of longer works as well.
   I play softball for my college and am the Treasurer for the up-and-coming Quidditch club.

Why World Religions?

   In the seventh grade, I discovered my love of Greek and Roman mythology and more generally, ancient civilizations. I have done research on mythology and different theologies in the role as dramaturge in my high school's theater program. I have also read the book, Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom, which had a large influence on my view of religion. In the book, Albom's rabbi has a respect for all religions and all people. Some of the different religious topics discussed in the book sparked a curiosity in me to know about various belief systems.