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Introduction 
“Hinduism, as a faith, is vague, amorphous, many-sided, all things to all men. It is hardly possible to 
define it, or indeed to say definitely whether it is a religion or not, in the usual sense of the word. In its 
present form, and even in the past, it embraces many beliefs and practices, from the highest to the 
lowest, often opposed to or contradicting each other. Its essential spirit seems to be to live and let live.” 

• Hinduism represents a wide array of practices, rituals, beliefs, etc.—it is a family of beliefs 
– Think of it like a huge palace that started out as a single-room cottage and grew 
• Hinduism was the label imposed by Western analysis, specifically the British in the 19th 
century for the purpose of census-taking 
• For the purposes of clarity, we will look at the ​Brahmanic t​radition of Hinduism, the 
tradition that takes the Vedas as the core 
– It is derived basically from the quest for Brahma, or Brahman or the Supreme Being 
 
Brief History 
Harrapan Age​(~3300 BCE) 
• The Indus Valley Civilization 
– Shorthand name for a cluster of communities in and around the Indus Valley region 
– ~3300 BCE (Egypt and Mesopotamia—the first three civilizations!) 
– Almost nothing is known about these people 
– No one really knows what happened or why the communities started to decline and 
disappear around 1900 BCE 
Vedic Age (​1500 BCE-300 BCE) 
• The “Aryan Invader” theory 
– Nomads from the north (present-day southern Russia) swept down and conquered 
what is present day India 
– On this theory, the Vedas, which are the foundational religious texts, were a 
combination of the invaders and the Indus Valley peoples 
– According to some sources, due to the “invaders” use of horses, they conquered the 
people in the region and set themselves at the top of the social ladder 
– The consensus currently​: It seems that while the invasion theory is grossly 
exaggerated (i.e. they didn’t have superior culture), much of it is true 
○ The “invaders” weren’t there to conquer at all, but, like most people, simply in 
search of a better place to live 
– This “Aryan Invasion Theory” is still widely contested 
– Deciphering the language of the Indus Valley civilization might give us some clues, but 
that has yet to be done  
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• Ritual became popular and already branches began to form; pure ritual gave way to those who 
went into the forest to meditate (Aranyakas) which gave way to more philosophical 
ruminations (Upanishads) 
• It was around this time the Caste system makes its appearance 
Classical Period​(300 BCE-1000) 
• Hinduism defines itself against Jainism and Buddhism 
• Around this time, bhakti probably became popular 
Medieval Period​(1000-1800 CE) 
• Contact with Islam/Muslim invaders  
• Hinduism became a “text” 
• Many things happened in this period 
– Differences between the North and South in India 
– A retreat from political and outwardly social worship and into personal and inner 
development (due to being ruled by outsiders) 
– Caste system was legitimized in order to ostracize Muslims  
• Poets and devotional Hinduism thrived in this period  
• Of note is rigid devotion to the cow (which was before just a vague veneration)—this was 
probably in response to Muslim threats 
– Many Muslim emperors, however, outlawed the slaughter of cow as deference to 
Hindus and Jains 
Modern Period​(1800-1947) 
• Contact with Western powers, science, Christianity 
– The reaction though was not the same as earlier with the Muslim threat: the Vedas 
were not looked at as infallible or absolutely authoritative, exalting religious experience 
over religious authority 
• This is where we get the Gandhian, universalist approach 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Philosophical and Metaphysical Origins 

• Shruti texts—“that which is heard” 
• The Vedas (​“knowledge,” “wisdom”)  
– Collection of ancient sacred hymns praising the deities and exploring the nature of the 
cosmos 
– Not the work of any human beings, but rather they have been ​revealed​ to sages (rishis), 
rather than written by mortals, and eventually collected and compiled 
– Likely composed between 1500 BCE and 500 BCE 
– The symbol of the religion as a whole though not everyone has read it (Constitution) 
– Oddly enough, anything ​not ​in conflict with the Vedas was deemed admissible (again, 
openness and flexibility) 
– The R ​ ig Veda​(“hymn knowledge”) 
▪ Praises and implores the blessings of the devas, which are the controlling forces 
of the in the cosmos, deities who consecrate every part of life 
▪ Devotional hymns 
▪ Major Devas: Indra (god of thunder and bringer of rains), Agni (god of fire), 
Soma (sacred drink soma), Ushas (goddess of the dawn) 
▪ Other Vedas: ​Sama (​“chant knowledge”), Y ​ ajur (​“ceremonial knowledge”), 
Atharva (​“knowledge from the teacher”) 
 
• Each of the Vedas has four parts: the B ​ rahmanas (​directions about performances of the ritual 
sacrifices—literally means priest), ​Aranyakas ​(treatises written by people who went into the 
forest to meditate), and the …  
 
The Upanishads (​the philosophical texts) 
• Teachings from spiritual masters 
• Developed around 600 to 100 BCE 
• Mystical insights from sages, or rishis, who sought to uncover the ultimate reality through 
meditation 
• The cream of Indian philosophical and metaphysical thought 
• Not taught to the masses; a focus not on outward expression but inner experience 
• The rishis experience the higher level of consciousness 
• Later Hinduism, with its focus on the Upanishads, is Vedantic rather than Vedic. The 
Upanishads came to matter most in Vedantic (literally “end of the veda”) Hinduism. 
 
 
 
 
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Concepts in the Upanishads 

• Everything is in flux; everything changes—even things that are apparently static 
• Enter Brahman 
 
• Brahman (​“to grow”) 
– The underlying reality and root of all that is 
– Invisible, ungraspable, eternal, without any qualities whatsoever 
▪ Once you get negate everything that ​is​, you have Brahman 
▪ Pure, undifferentiated existence, not some ​thing 
– Everything in life, living or not, comes from Brahman  
▪ All the deities come from Brahman 
▪ Brahman = sun /// deities = sun’s rays 
▪ We cannot experience the sun directly but we can its rays 
– Brahman is in all things and each thing is a part of Brahman 
– Not​ a God, but an It, since God would give it a gender; Brahman is formless  
– Totally beyond human comprehension and description 
▪ But can be felt/known ​directly  
– The source of experiencing Brahman is discovering one’s a​ tman ​or soul within 
oneself—and peace and bliss follow 
 
• Atman 
– “Deepest self” ... n ​ ot​ soul 
– The t​ rue​ self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of an 
individual 
– Experiencing atman is synonymous with experiencing Brahman 
▪ We all have the divine in us 
▪ Atman is the indwelling of Brahman in every sentient creature 
▪ Atman is not a p​ art​ or e​ manation​ of Brahman—it I​ S​ Brahman 
– Brahman: the experience of the sacred Absolute in nature and the external world 
– Atman: the experience of the sacred Absolute within oneself  
– You are Brahman! To really know this, to uncover and know the Atman 
within oneself, is the ultimate goal of life. 
– At root, then, all is one 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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• Samsara & Reincarnation  

– The cycle of birth, death, rebirth 
– Many believe Atman begins this cycle at the lowest form of sentient life 
▪ Progression is upward until one reaches human life 
▪ Birth as a human being is a precious and rare opportunity for the soul to 
advance toward its ultimate goal of liberation (moksha) from the cycle of 
rebirth and merging with Brahman (escaping Samsara) 
▪ Unlike previous stages, humans are capable of reflection and can become 
corrupt and even move down to lower forms of sentient life 
– Where one ends up in the hierarchy is determined by karma 
 
• Dharma (​“to hold”) 
– The inner law that upholds the Order of Nature 
– Natural Law 
– Cosmic law, the rules that created the universe from chaos 
– Human behaviours considered necessary for order of things in the universe, principles 
that prevent chaos, behaviours and action necessary to all life in nature, society, family 
as well as at the individual level 
– To be in accord with Dharma is the proper state of all things  
▪ Until humans arrives, everything was Dharma—the apple falling from the tree, 
the Earth turning, the lion pouncing on the antelope 
▪ But humans can willfully substitute human desire for the good of all and 
harmony 
– Enter karma... 
 
• Karma 
– Not​ a system of rewards and punishments 
– Action and consequences; our deeds in the here and now determine and affect our 
next reincarnation 
– The natural outcome of the play of Dharma 
 
• Moksha 
– Liberation from the limitations of space, time, and matter through realization of 
ultimate reality; a desire to get beyond our earthly existence; takes a long time 
– In the grand unfolding of Dharma, s​ amsara ​is the slow progression of the 
Brahman-Atman to ever higher levels of consciousness through the procession of 
successive rebirths 
– Samsara i​ s Brahman’s long quest for ultimately perfect rediscovery of Self 
– To be freed from the turning wheel of ​samsara​—that’s what it’s all about 
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– The only thing that stands in the way is ego: the grip of the illusion of ego 
– In m
​ oksha​, the ego—the illusion of the separate self—dissolves into the sea of peace 
that is Brahman 
– The awakened man or woman—the person in whom the ​atman h ​ as awakened to the 
experience of m​ oksha​—lives daily life in a state of perfect peace, free from fear and 
suffering