The Mahabharata is one of the great texts of Asian Philosophy. It is one of the two main texts that influenced the philosophies and culture of India and Southeast Asia (1). It is an epic that had great historical significance and encompasses much of the ethics and religious teachings of the Hindu culture through story and lesson (2). Within the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad-Gita. It is located in the middle of the epic within a section containing only about 700 verses (3). In comparison to the entire Mahabharata, this is only a small subset. Overall, The Bhagavad-Gita is symbolizes the struggle between ‘ego’ and ‘higher nature’ (4). The underlying themes in this text are used as tools in the teachings of Yoga; the teachings of unity of the mind and body, calmness, practice and spirituality (5). The Gita speaks of awareness and what one needs to do to achieve enlightenment, while also providing the steps to do so.
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Yoga and Sankhya are discussed. Sankhya encompasses the idea that purusha (consciousness) and prakriti (nature) joining in unison is the bases for the universe. The purusha refers to atman. Atman is the Self or the eternal person. Prakriti is what is fundamentally natural. The three gunas sattva, rajas, and tamas demonstrate this. Sattva is peace and serenity, like sunlight. Rajas is activity and restlessness like lightning, and laziness and stupidity like a rock (6). The major theme in this is that most would assume that enlightenment is sattva, but even peace and serenity have to be overcome.
To really understand the difference between Sankhya and Yoga more explanation is necessary. Sankhya and Yoga is like knowledge and action. Although they seem separate, they are rooted in ...
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... can focus their attention on God and the self. (8)
The Asanas are the poses that provide discipline to the body and the mind through a physical means. The places focus on the distribution of energy. Going into the pose creates it, holding the pose organizes it and circulates it through the body, and coming out of the pose holds and keeps the energy. When these poses become rhythmic and effortless, the body, mind and self come together to isvara pranidhana, which is devotion to God. Pranayama controls the mind while pratyahara detaches one from the world around them like their senses and perceptions. Within breath control one can move to the stage of pratyahara to move inward and detach from their senses and desires. (8)
These last three are very interconnected and are the meditative stages. The Bhagavad Gita provides instructions on how to achieve this:
Yoga is a discipline both involving physical and mental control that originated in India. The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word, "yug", meaning union and it means the joining of the individual spirit with the universal spirit. The type of yoga known as Hatha Yoga, ("Ha"- sun, "tha"-moon) is what is most commonly practiced and this yoga involves the path of the mind and body and is the most physical. There are eight limbs or steps of Hatha Yoga, the first step being the five Yamas. There are five yamas and these concern your behavior to the world.
The founder of Buddhism was a man named Siddharta Gautama. He was born as a prince of a small kingdom located near today’s Nepal, around 500 B.C.E. (Gurinder 1). According to the legends, Siddharta was raised in the lap of luxury. He was given the finest clothes, riches, and a mansion for every season (Fisher 136). Despite having anything his imagination could conjure, he was unconvinced of their value (136). As the story continues, he was presented with the four sights that were being kept from him (136). These sights included death, sickness, old age, and a monk seeking lasting happiness rather than material possessions (136). After these sights, Sidhharta began his long path to enlightenment. After six years of searching, he had reached his goal of an ultimate consciousness called Nirvana, or enlightenment that is above ordinary human states of mind (Gurinder, Numrich, Williams 1-2). After his discovery of the ultimate consciousness, he was given the title of Buhhda, which means “Enlighten One” (2).
In this term paper I will be comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Hinduism. Comparing both Hinduism belief, sacred text and overall view of how the world SHOULD be. Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the most influential and complex religions around the world. Both religions have similar philosophies and originated in India before 500 B.C. Both are among the top five major religions being practiced in today’s world. Hinduism ranks as the third most popular organized religion and is much older than Buddhism. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, or Lord Buddha, who considered himself a Hindu before being called to his path and attaining enlightenment, and therefore given this fact, it follows that Buddhism share many similarities and some very distinct differences in certain doctrinal sacred texts, ideals, practices, and beliefs of Hinduism.
In this paper, I will be explaining how Siddhartha had arrived at the Four Noble Truths. The first paragraph contains how Siddhartha’s life was full of suffering, pain, and sorrow. The second paragraph will be the cause of suffering is the desire for things that are really illusions in Siddhartha’s life. Following, in the third paragraph I will be explaining how the only way to cure suffering is to overcome desire. Finally, I will be explaining that the only way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.
Mindfulness: In meditation, one overcomes their delusions and becomes familiar with virtuous minds. The mind is considered to be a formless, separate entity from the body.
The third main spiritual path that can lead to enlightenment was established by the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi. Ramana Maharshi lived in Southern India during the first half of the 20th century. Because of the need to have guidance or a guru in many of the above spiritual paths, it is great that there is this spiritual path that can lead to enlightenment without the guidance of an enlightened teacher. The core of his teaching is that we can start asking the most fundamental question of a human being: who am I in my deepest identity? (Ramana 1902; Ramana 1995; Osborne 2000). We are not our bodies, minds, thoughts or emotions. Our soul is the witness of those things. However, we are not even our soul in the deepest sense, because our soul receives its power from an even deeper source. So, who then are we? This is the final question of all other questions we may face.
Upon the reading of chapters 1-6 of the Great Scripture of Hinduism, The Bhagavad Gita (the 'Lord's Song';), I am completely and utterly fascinated. The story's emphasis on selfless acts, devotion, and meditation is like no other I have ever encountered before. Through the narration of Sanjaya and the conversation of Sri Krishna (Vishnu incarnate) and Prince Arjuna, the principles of Hinduism are eloquently illustrated.
The Bhagavad Gita is the song of the god Krishna, created in order to spread his eternal message. The ancient Sanskrit text is a seven hundred verse text that tells readers that in order to achieve nirvana, or eternal peace, one must rid themselves of evils and sins, selfishness and greed, and attractions. The Hindu god Krishna tells the Indian Prince Arjuna, that one must surrender to the god incarnates will in order to reach nirvana. When surrendering oneself to Krishna, they must void themselves of their egotistical nature. Krishna goes on and explains that although the body dies, “the soul never takes birth and never dies at any time nor does it come into being again when the body is created… (Bhagavad Gita ch. 2:20)” Krishna describes the soul as an eternal entity that is timeless, because a soul is neither born or can die, there for can last forever.
He describes not only the objective of meditation, but also the means of achieving it, “Shutting out external objects, steadying the eyes between the eyebrows, restricting the even currents of Prâna and Apâna inside the nostrils; the senses, mind, and intellect controlled, with Moksha as the supreme goal, freed from desire, fear and anger: such a man of meditation is verily free for ever” (Srimad). The quote suggests the body is to remain still and the mental focus is to release the mind of all thoughts and physical attachments which will enable Arjuna to be introspective.
Up until about 40 years ago, yoga was practically unknown to most Americans. When it was introduced to the United States in the '60s, people believed in the incorrect stereotype that it was done only by "hippies," "flower children," and "druggies." Today the term "yoga" is more widely known, now that it is becoming trendier.
The Bhagavad-Gita, a portion of the great epic the Mahabharata, is the “most typical expression of Hinduism.” It is eighteen chapters long and was composed around the first century BCE. The sage Samjaya recites the story to the blind king Dhrtarastra, the father of the Kaurava princes. While presenting ideas of wisdom, duty, and liberation in the midst of the rivalry between the Kauravas, the Bhagavad-Gita epitomizes the teachings of Krishna. Focusing specifically on the moral struggle of the Pandava prince Arjuna, the Bhagavad-Gita’s major themes include yoga, karma, dharma, and moksa. Yoga, being discipline or the strict and “attentive cultivation of mental character and meaningful action” , is crucial to the text because it is dharma yoga, acting properly according to one’s dharma, and bhakti yoga, a disciplined life of devotion that allows one to achieve moksa, or liberation, one of the four aims of li...
PROF. HR NAGENDRA,, . "Karma Yoga Questions & Answers." SVYASA University. n. page. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
For Hinduism, the ultimate liberation is returning to Braham. According to Bhagavad Gita, there are three ways of practice that lead to liberation.¬¬¬¬. These are janna-yoga (the way of knowledge), bhakti- yoga (the practice of devotion) and karma-yoga (the course of action). In other words, one can practice any of these methods to achieve union with God. This paper I will analyze some important aspects of bhakti-yoga and how it can lead one to attain ultimate liberation—return to Atman. In doing this investigation, I hope to help the reader broaden their knowledge on liberation in Hinduism. As Radhakrishnan says we may climb the mountain from different paths, but the view from the summit is identical for all.
In this document Sri Krishna describes “the intellectual explanation of Sankhya.” (qtd. Easwaran 44) This is vital in describing Buddhism, which was derived from the Sankhya school of thought. “Death means the attainment of heaven; victory means the enjoyment of the earth. Therefore rise up, Arjuna, resolved to fight! Having made yourself alike in pain and pleasure, profit and loss, victory and defeat, engage in this great battle and you will be free from sin.
...atman to take control. The Bhagavad Gita shows that the body is considered second to the soul. Through the practice of rejecting the body, an individual will conquer the art of yoga. To Krishna yoga is the way to gain mediation and peace, which will allow the atman to be one with Brahman. The larger realization is that the body is not the way to Brahman. Arjuna must reject his personal beliefs and his body temptations to encourage the soul to take over him. The body is portrayed as negative because the body has no real purpose in life but to contain the soul. The soul is considered the main reason for the body’s movements and thought process. The soul cannot be harmed while the body can be destroyed. It is this philosophy in the Bhagavad Gita that the body is temporary, but the soul will live forever and become part of the greater good.