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Rachna Dherwani Introduction to religious studies Professor Karapanagiotis 11 October 2020 A) According to Crest Jewel of Driscrimination; Brahman is the universal spirit. Atman is the personal spirit. Basic understanding in hinduism is that all reality is saturated with the devine supreme reality (Brahman) it is thought that all humans posses a divine and eternal essence of Brahman which is non-physical, immortal, perfect inner self (atman). Brahman is the 'ultimate reality' that cannot be sufficiently explained. "This absolute is called Brahman and everything in life whether living or not comes from Brahman" Brahman is considered to be eternal, genderless, omnipotent, without form and indescribable. Brahman is described as being composed of 3 qualities which include: ‘sat’; being pure,’chit’; pure consciousness or awareness and ‘ananda’ meaning pure bliss. Sanguna Brahman is god with attributes. Brahman is sometimes thought as having attributes such as those of a supreme person and is given titles such as Bhagavan (Lord). In Bhakti tradition someone who worships and adores god personally e.g. Worshiping Vishnu or shiva etc. Is an example of someone who understands god with attributes. Nirguna Brahman is God without attributes. God is also described as having no attributes or names since all descriptions are incomplete and limiting. Some devotees maintain that because god is ultimately beyond all words and thoughts which humans posses then representations of god can only lead the person astray and limit gods true scope.

The atman can be thought of as the spirit within every living thing, provides a 'life force' and consciousness or awareness of the world, described as being identical to Brahman "This is myself within the heart of Brahman" - upanishads A popular greeting in India is "Namaste" - 'I greet the divinity within you'. Hinduism differentiates between matter and spirit, spirit divided into 2 categories; jiva atman (the individual self or soul) and paramatman (the supreme self or god). The majority of Hindus believe the atman is eternal and is not limited to this existence. When each living thing dies the atman within passes on to another form of life, this transmigration is thought of as a trap which holds the atman in the physical world. Each soul creates its own identify according to the law of karma; the goal of Hindus is Moksha- liberation from the cycle of samsara and re-identification with the supreme Brahman. The relationship between Brahman and atman is raised through the Upanishads: some Hindus hold a monotheistic view of this relationship (atman is only a part of Brahman and not wholly identifiable with it) and others take a monistic view (believing that everything is made up of one essential essence and Brahman and atman are one).

The Svetaketu and Uddalaka story helps Hindus comprehend concept, Svetaketu could not understand theory so father told him to place salt in the water and assess it the next day; found the salt dissolved and was invisible but water still tasted salty- concluded that although the salt cannot be seen it is there and has come together as one form: similar to the relationship of Brahman and atman; although difficult to see Brahman and atman equal but one superemity. "Believe me my son an invisible and subtle essence is the spirit of the whole universe. That is reality. This is the atman." -upanishads

B) Hindus believe that the atman is trapped in samsara due to the law of karma. Until the chain of karma is broken, the atman's journey through rebirth will not end. The atman is stuck in this cycle because of our earthly attachments and ignorance of our true nature. In Hinduism, liberation from rebirth. A state of total/complete release. Hindus believe that moksha can be attained once they have ended the cycle of rebirth. Reincarnation can end if one overcomes their ignorance and illusion. Laws of Manu is a collection of ethical/religious guidelines that provide the pattern of right conduct laid down at the time of origins. Justifies the creation of the castes. States that the caste came from 'the will of the gods'. Stresses the importance of following one's own duty for their caste and not straying into others if they wish to possibly advance in caste ladder in next life or reach liberation from the cycle of rebirth. The Crest Jewel of Discrimination talks about "illusion" or super imposition; what keeps us from seeing reality correctly; the world, viewed inadequately. a fundamental concept in Hindu philosophy, notably in the Advaita (Nondualist) school of Vedanta. Maya originally denoted the magic power with which a god can make human beings believe in what turns out to be an illusion. By extension, it later came to mean the powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real. For the Nondualists, maya is thus that cosmic force that presents the infinite brahman (the supreme being) as the finite phenomenal world. Maya is reflected on the individual level by human ignorance (ajnana) of the real nature of the self, which is mistaken for the empirical ego but which is in reality identical with brahman. A Hindu deity which represents the aspect of the supreme reality that preserves and sustains the universe. vis=the pervader. absolute deities with major followings; remainder gives rise, visnu

sleeps on never ending snake while a lotus from his bellybutton opens to reveal brahma who opens his eyes on the world, thus creating it; In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is identical to the formless metaphysical concept called Brahman, the supreme, the Svayam Bhagavan, who takes various avatars as "the preserver, protector" whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces. His avatars most notably include Rama in the Ramayana and Krishna in the Mahabharata; Vishnu is usually depicted as having a pale or dark blue complexion and having four arms. He holds a padma (lotus flower-->ROYAL authority) in his lower left hand, Kaumodaki gada (mace) in his lower right hand, Panchajanya shankha (conch-->visnu is ksatriya so uses to communicate in battle) in his upper left hand and the Sudarshana Chakra (discus->weapon) in his upper right hand. A traditional depiction is Vishnu reclining on the coils of the serpent Shesha, accompanied by his consort Lakshmi, as he "dreams the universe into reality"....