MindMindMindMind

Who am I? What am I? What is it to be human?

What makes me a person? What makes me me?

The Divided SelfThe Divided SelfThe Divided SelfThe Divided Self

• I think of myself as unified, as being one self.

• Yet I often feel conflict within myself.

• How is this possible?

The Divided SelfThe Divided SelfThe Divided SelfThe Divided Self

• I must consist of different components.

I want to do a

I should do a

I don’t want to do a

HinduismHinduismHinduismHinduism

• Hinduism is the primary religion of India.

• It regards the Upanishads (-900- -200) as sacred.

HenotheismHenotheism

• There are many gods,• But all are forms of one being, Brahman.

Rg VedaRg Veda

• “They have styled Him Indra (the Chief of the Gods), Mitra (the Friend), Varuna (the Venerable), Agni (Fire), also the celestial, great-winged Garutma; for although one, poets speak of Him diversely; they say Agni, Yama (Death), and Matarisvan (Lord of breath).”

• All these gods exist, but as diverse appearances of one God, “the divine architect, the impeller of all, the multiform.”

Bhagavad GitaBhagavad Gita

• “Even those who are devotees of other gods,And worship them permeated with faith, It is only me, son of Kunti, that even theyWorship, (tho’) not in the enjoined fashion. For I of all acts of worshipAm both the recipient and the Lord. . . .”

• “I see the gods in Thy body, O God. . . .”

Concepts of BrahmanConcepts of Brahman

• Nirguna brahman: God without attributes; neti . . . neti (not this)

• Saguna brahman: God with attributes

Attributes of GodAttributes of God

• Abstract: • Sat: being • Chit: awareness• Ananda: bliss

• Concrete• Creator (Brahma)• Preserver (Vishnu)• Destroyer (Shiva)

Vishnu, Shiva, BrahmaVishnu, Shiva, Brahma

ShivaShiva

Six orthodox schools (darshanas)Six orthodox schools (darshanas)

• Vedanta (end of Veda, or sacred knowledge)

• Samkhya (nature)• Yoga (discipline) • Purva Mimamsa

(exegesis, interpretation)

• Vaisesika (realism) • Nyaya (logic)

VedantaVedanta

• Brahman: the Absolute, ground of all being, reality as it is in itself

• Atman: the soul.

AdvaitaAdvaita• Nondualism: soul

(atman) = Brahman• Monism: Everything is

ultimately one• Everything is Brahman• Brahman is the child

and the elephant, you and me

• We are one with everything

• Everything is holy

AdvaitaAdvaita

• Idealism: The world as it appears is not real

• Distinctions are illusory

• The world is maya (play, illusion)

TheismTheism

• Dualism: soul (atman) ≠ Brahman

• Not everything is identical with everything else

• Realism: Some aspects of the world are independent of us

• At least some distinctions are real

SamkhyaSamkhya

• “Analysis of nature”

• Dualism: reality consists of two irreducible elements:

• nature (prakrti) and

• the conscious being (purusa).

Strands (gunas) of natureStrands (gunas) of nature

• sattva (light, clarity, intelligence)• rajas (passion, dynamism) • tamas (darkness, inertia, stupidity)

Conscious beingConscious being

• the body and senses • the sensational or emotional mind (manas)• the ego-sense (ahamkdra)• the rational mind, or intelligence (buddhi)

Katha UpanishadKatha Upanishad

Know thou the soul as riding in a chariot,The body as the chariot. Know thou the intellect as the chariot-driver, And the mind as the reins. The senses, they say, are the horses; The objects of sense, what they range over. The self combined with senses and mindWise men call "the enjoyer."

Hindu SelfHindu SelfHindu SelfHindu Self

Plato & HinduismPlato & Hinduism

• Plato's chariot has no passenger.

• Plato's horses are desire and emotion, not the senses.

• Plato’s picture is closer to the Hindu account of the strands (intelligence, passion, inertia) than to the distinction between soul, intellect, mind, and senses.

Mind, Body, and SoulMind, Body, and Soul

• The soul is separable from body, mind, and intellect

Separability of the soulSeparability of the soul

• Consequences:

• Enlightenment: You can detach yourself from each manifestation of nature

• Reincarnation: The soul may occupy a different body and mind.

The self is a hierarchy The self is a hierarchy

• Great Self

• Intellect

• Mind

• Objects of sense

• Senses

To master yourselfTo master yourself

• Higher items must control lower items firmly:

• Objects of sense —> senses: be objective, see the world as it is. Pay attention!

• Mind —> objects of sense: be active, focus!• Intellect —> mind: reason —> thoughts and

emotions• Soul —> intellect: Brahman is ultimate

reality; follow path of renunciation

Path of desirePath of desire

• Pleasure• But the self is too

small

• Success: wealth, fame, power• Exclusive, competitive,

precarious• Insatiable• Self is too small• Rewards are ephemeral

Path of renunciationPath of renunciation

• Duty: Service to Community

• Transitory• Imperfect• Tragic

• Liberation (moksha)

Four waysFour ways

• Strands:• Intelligence —>

passion

• Intelligence —> inertia

• Yoga, discipline

Four kinds of yogaFour kinds of yoga

• Jnana yoga: knowledge• Bhakti yoga: love (devotion)• Karma yoga: work• Raja yoga: meditation

Raja YogaRaja Yoga

• Ethical restraints

• Ethical observances

• Asanas (postures)

• Breath control

• Withdrawal of the senses

• Meditation

Meditation, 1Meditation, 1

• Concentration: “binding the mind to a single spot”

Meditation, 2Meditation, 2

• “Meditation”: “cessation of the fluctuations of mind and (self-)awareness”

Meditation, 3Meditation, 3

• Mystic trance: “illumination only of the object as object, empty, as it were, of what it essentially is”

Goals of MeditationGoals of Meditation

• Aloneness (kaivalya): “reversal of the course of the strands, now empty of meaning and value”

• Liberation (mukti)

Ethics in the GitaEthics in the Gita

• Divine command theory: God’s command is what makes right action right

• “Perform thou action that is (religiously) required”)

• Western examples (14th - 16th centuries): William of Ockham (Occam), Luther, Calvin

What is religiously required?What is religiously required?

• Liberation: “Be thou free from the three Strands”• Ignore consequences: “On action alone be thy

interest, Never on its fruits”

The Euthyphro ProblemThe Euthyphro Problem

• Euthyphro: What is right is what the gods love

• Socrates: Is it right because the gods love it, or

• Do the gods love it because it is right?

Ethics and ReligionEthics and Religion

• If the gods love it because it is right, • There is an independent

standard of right and wrong

• We can describe it independently of religion

• A divine command is just a guide

• It does not define what is right

Divine Command TheoryDivine Command Theory

• If it is right because the gods love it,• There is no

independent standard

• Ethics cannot be separated from religion

• We cannot morally evaluate the divine

Five ethical restraintsFive ethical restraints

• Noninjury (ahimsa): Do not harm

• Property: Do not steal• Chastity: Do not

fornicate• Truthfulness: Do not lie• Lack of avarice: Do not

covet

Five observancesFive observances

• Cleanliness• Contentment• Self-control• Studiousness• Contemplation of the

divine

Stages of lifeStages of life

• Student• Habits, skills,

information

• Householder• Pleasure, success, duty

• Retirement• Understanding,

philosophy

• Renunciation