Brahmanism IPT PDF

Preview

Summary

CONCEPT OF BRAHMANISMSUBMITTED TOPROFESSOR VIPIN KUMAR MALHOTRADepartment of Political Science,Sri Aurobindo College (University Of Delhi)SUBMITTED BYSARA DWIVEDIB. Political Science Hons.Roll No. 6029/Q. WHY IS IT BELIEVED THAT HINDUISM EVOLVED FROM BRAHMANISM?INTRODUCTION(Reasons for presenting th...

Description

CONCEPT OF BRAHMANISM

SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR VIPIN KUMAR MALHOTRA Department of Political Science, Sri Aurobindo College (University Of Delhi)

SUBMITTED BY SARA DWIVEDI B.A. Political Science Hons. Roll No. 6029/17

Q. WHY IS IT BELIEVED THAT HINDUISM EVOLVED FROM BRAHMANISM?

INTRODUCTION (Reasons for presenting this paper) Brahmanism predates every other contemporary religion in India, but has had an impact, directly or indirectly on all of them. This paper focuses mainly on the mysterious past of Brahmanism and how Hinduism evolved from it.

Brahmanism is an ideology and a way of life, originating from the history of the Vedas, often called a philosophy, practiced on the basis of specific inferred beliefs. The fundamental and principle belief of Brahmanism defines Brahman and its attributes & elements that was first captured by Rishi's who compiled the Vedas"that which existed before creation, which constitutes the existent whole, and that into which all creation dissolves is the all pervading Brahman, and the cycle of creation, sustenance & destruction of universe is endless."The ideology of Brahman originated from the Vedas, which became the central theme of those following the Vedas and its principles. Brahman as the Ultimate Reality, the Universal Intellect that is endless, without beginning, middle and end is a metaphysical concept which forms the Brahmanism. Brahmanism is considered to be the predecessor of Hinduism. Brahmanism is the central theme basis and belief of Vedic followers, its thoughts and philosophical concept gave rise to the primary and socio-religious belief and conduct in Hinduism. The original religion of India is recognized as Brahmanism latter it was known as Hinduism. The two terms are frequently used synonymously although they have different origins. "Brahmanism" is the religion which gets its name from itself. The term is derived from the Indian priest or Brahman caste and refers normally to those Indians who recognize the Brahmans and their teachings as their belief. The word "Hinduism" was originally a foreign term invented by the Muslims who were trying to invade India. It was derived from the Indus River; it was used to designate all Indians who were not Muslims. The term "Brahmanism" has been in use since around 1000 B.C. when the Brahman priest caste first attained their

prime status, while Hinduism can be traced back further to the ancient Indian indigenous religion.1

Indian religion is commonly regarded as the offspring of an Aryan religion brought into India by invaders from the north and modified by contact with Dravidian civilization. The early Hinduism was quite different from what we came across in the late period. The reason behind this is basically the settlement and spread of the Aryans. The best way to know the development of Hinduism is to go through ancient literature. Hinduism is widely accepted as the oldest living religion in the world. It is not founded by any individual or by a specific text or book like most other major religions. It would be more appropriate to call it dharma. Hinduism is not just a religion- 'it is a way of life, a way of light, and a way of truth.' While it has positive ideas and accepts a wide variety of beliefs and practices, it does not believe in mechanical uniformity of belief or worship. Acceptance of Vedas as source of Ultimate Knowledge, intuition and inference combines the various philosophical schools of India. The Hindu society was based upon the ancient Varna system. The Varna system was thus based not on birth but on quality and action. The Varna’s were well established at the time of the Rig-Veda; therefore, the theory of Varna was based on guna and karma, (quality and action)."Hindu society has traditionally been divided into four classes, called Varna’s. The first reference to the four Varna’s appears in a hymn from Rig-Veda which is of a late origin. At the time of its composition, it was believed that the four Varna’s were produced from the body of Prajapati who sacrificed his body for the benefit of all creatures. "The Brahman was his mouth; of both his arms was the Kshatriyas made. His thighs became the Vaishya; from his feet the Shudra was produced''. a) The Brahmins: teachers and priests; b) The Kshatriyas: warriors, nobles, and Kings; c) The Vaishyas: farmers, merchants, and businessmen; and d) The Shudras: servants and labourers.2

1 Bhikhu Parekh ‘ Some Reflections on the Hindu Traditions of Political Thought ’, in T.PANTHAM and K. deutsch (eds.), POLITICAL THOUGHT IN MODERN INDIA, New Delhi pp.17 2 Subhash C Kashyap Abhaya Kashyap, “Understanding India Rele vance of Hinduism”, P-158.

It was undoubtedly the sharp antithesis in colour, race and religion, especially colour —between Aryan and Dasyu that led to the extreme rigidity of the Hindu caste system. In this way the Aryan sought to guard the purity of his blood. The movement in the direction of caste rigidity began during the Rig-Veda period, for in one of the latest hymns the four fundamental orders are mentioned. Caste forms the very structure and foundation of Hindu society down to the present time, and more than anything else marks off Hindu social organization from that other nations. Varna system define the individual obligations and responsibilities within the nation, society, community, class, occupational subgroup and family. Within Varna, there are many religious and ethical principles which defined human virtue.

BRAHMANISM The most fundamental of the philosophical concepts of India are Brahman, atman, Maya, Karman and Punarjanama. Brahman occurs often in the RigVeda in the sense of 'sacred formula', 'prayer', and 'spell'. It was the inherent potency of the sacred formula, due to a magical conception thereof, which led finally to supreme conception of Brahman as identical with atman, the 'soul' of the universe.' Maya often occurs in the sense of 'mysterious power', the source of the magic transformations that take place in nature. The transition to3 the later philosophical meaning of 'magic power', 'illusion', 'non-reality', was easy. Karman (karma), the later meaning is fruit of work, recompense, was not difficult. It is the result of our own past actions. The Vedas, Hinduism's revered scripture, tells us if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil. Punarjanama, 'transmigration' does not occur in the Rig-Veda, but the participles punah punarjayamana 'being bom again, again', as applied to Usas, navonavo Jayamanah 'being bom anew, anew', as applied to the Moon point in the direction of the later technical term. The most pregnant conceptions of Rig-Veda are impersonal, rita 'order', Karman, ‘work', Brahman 'word' and Maya 'power'. Veda’s signifies wisdom or knowledge; or it 4can be termed as a sacred knowledge, holy learning and the scriptures of Hindus. They are composed in complex meters and filled with various sophisticated plays on the sounds of words. They are composed in a language (Sanskrit), which is filled with synonyms indicating a long 3 4

-Ibid, P-339 -Radha Kumud Mookerji, “Ancient Indian Education”, pp. 3-4

and rich development. "The Hindu scriptures are a rather diverse assemblage, but are considered to be the authoritative source of knowledge about the moral world order, the law of cause and effect of deeds, the rights and duties of all living beings, and natural, spiritual and social hierarchies. The most important texts are the four Vedas (Holy Hymns) with associated Brahmanas (Holy Treatises) and the Upanishads (Secret Teachings). These scriptures are believed by orthodox Hindus to be of supernatural origin and constitute the "Basic Dogmas" of all Hindu systems. The texts are the source of a broad common." Vedic texts are often categorized into four classes - Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. The Vedas which are called Samhitas are classified into the four Vedas, namely, Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda and Atharva-Veda. "The collection of Mantras is called Samhita. For ages the Vedic Mantras remained one and undivided till the needs of worship became more and more systematized scheme. Tradition ascribes this division to Krishna-Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa, who made a fourfold division of the Vedic Mantras and created out of them four Vedic Samhitas known as Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva, which he imparted in the first instance respectively the 17 of his pupils named Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini, and Sumantu." Here Samhitas means which are the collections of hymns, mantras and chants. Indian philosophy has always been dynamic."The Vedas are thought to be the epitome of holy revelation and comprise an immense collection of texts written between 1500 B.C. and 1500 A.D., in other words over a period of 3000 years. They consist of four collections of sayings and songs (Samhitas)”. The Brahmanas are the explanations of the meaning and substances of the Vedic hymns. They are written by learned priests to explain the vedic texts in simple prose. The Arnayakas are the concluding portions of the Brahmanas. They deal with philosophy and stress the path of knowledge. The Vedangas or the limbs of the Vedas deal with sciences such as Grammar, Phonetics and Astronomy. The Upvedas deal with four secular subjects, namely: a) Ayurveda or medicine, b) Dhanurveda or military science, c) Gandharvaveda or music, d) Shilpaveda or Architecture arts. The Sutras represent the last phase of vedic literature. They are written in a very compressed style. They deal with the Vedic rituals and customary laws. The Sutras describes the rituals of greater sacrifices. The Grihyasutra describes the

ceremonies connected with the domestic life from birth to death. The Dharmasutras are the earliest works on law, both religious and secular. The Upanishadas, the philosophical literature of the Hindus, are the concluding parts of the Brahmanas and are, therefore, collectively called the Vedantas. They contain deep philosophical ideas regarding Prakriti (matter), Atman (soul), Brahman (God). They fell what is truth and ultimate reality, a knowledge which is necessary to enable a person to attain moksha or salvation. They revolve round the two conceptions of Brahman or the Absolute and the Atman or the individual self. They are opposed to ritualism and sacrifices. There are two hundred Upanishadas of which about a dozen are considered important. In India in ancient time, Brahmins believed that the universe and man were created by Brahma and that the human beings created by him were divided into four castes. In the Rigvedic latest hymns the four fundamental orders are mentioned. During the Vedic period, great changes were witnessed in the religious life of the people. In the course of time, the Vedic religion lost its simplicity became more complex. The religious rites became more elaborate, complicated and expensive and this naturally increased the importance of priestly class of Brahmans. The various problems that the Vedic period had led to creation of new religious traditions. They came to be known as Buddhism and Jainism which emerged as a solution to evil and ill practices of the earlier Vedic traditions. With the change in socio-religious climate, new religious movement sprang up. Neo- Brahmanism was another important faith which emerged in the country. Jainism and Buddhism gave a setback to old Brahmanism of the 6th century BC by condemning its elaborate rituals and sacrifices. The old Brahmanism was further weakened by the impact of ascetism or Shamanism, doctrines preached both by the Jainas and the Buddhists. In order to save their religion from the opposition of the new faiths, while retaining its old features. This changed Brahmanism and it was later called Neo- Brahmanism or Puranic Brahmanism. It had faith in Puranas, Dharmshastras such as Manusmriti, Vishnu Smriti, the two epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana and the Puranas such as Vishnu Purana and Vayu Purana. The puranic Brah5manism was divided into several sects most important being Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktisim. The vaishnavs worshipped Lord Vishnu and his avtaras. They rejected all sacrifices and believed that salvation can be 5

- Raghunath Rai, “Themes in Indian History” pp. 69-80

attained through bhakti. The other important sect is Shaivism, it has worshippers of Lord Shiva. Worshipped in forms of Lingas and Yoni. GROWTH OF BRAHMANISM INTO PURANIC HINDUISM. (CRITICAL APPRAISAL) Hinduism, like no other religion, gives its believers freedom in metaphysical and philosophical questions. It is up to the individual whether he sees himself as a theist, pantheist or atheist, whether he sees Vishnu or Shiva as the highest personal guiding force in the World, or prefers to think of this concept in a personal term. The theories about the formation of worlds and the interplay between their material and non-material components, as well as the relationship between body and soul, are similarly not universally binding. The Indian mind does not have a need to systematize this wide range of religious views and practices. Nowhere is this diversity better expressed than in the metaphysical and philosophical declarations. The philosophical views are fixed in the "sutras" (scriptures) and certain systems of thought known in Sanskrit as "darshana" (literally: the way of seeing from "drishti"- to see, see the truth), and are often intended merely as guidelines.' Hinduism not only provided a basic background for the development of various religions so as to make of Hinduism an ever-developing banyan tree, but went farther in developing certain principles of dealing with human life and various stages through which human life normally develops, and it took care to provide in the scheme of life subtle flexibility. It is in this context that it is rightly pointed out that Hinduism is not really a religion but a way of life. The subtlety and complexity of the frame of Hinduism, or the frame of Hindu way of life, can be seen by the fact that it provided to each individual the needed guidance, the required inspiration, and the needed law of development (dharma) by means of triple quartet.'' In the development of Hinduism, there came about a close connection with Buddhism and Jainism. The history of both these religions intermingled with the history of Hinduism, and in the spiritual realm. Buddhist yoga and Jain yoga formed an essential part of the total spiritual tradition that characterizes synthetic complexity of Indian culture. Even though the problems of communal harmony still continue, there is a deep and ardent seeking in Hinduism for arriving at a new turn that could ensure larger inter-faith understanding and consequent growth of spiritual sense and practice of brotherhood, in the alchemy of which all religions can meet in harmony....