What do you think of the Hindu openness to different paths to god (yogas)?

Respond to any of my notes, the textbook or the videos in the “Chapter 2–Hinduism and Jainism” section under Assignments. Or you can address one or more of the following questions.
What do you think of the Hindu openness to different paths to god (yogas)?
Does your religious faith or personal morality include something similar to karma?
Is reincarnation an appealing idea, allowing for many opportunities to live and improve one self?
How realistic is the Jain ideal of non-violence?
Professor’s Notes:
We now begin our look at organized religions, with the oldest of these traditions–Hinduism. This is the oldest in that it goes back in recorded time longer than any of the others. As a reminder, this is an academic class, and so we are looking at the religions through that lens versus that of faith. For instance, those of you from the Christian background might claim to be part of the oldest faith based on the creation stories in the book of Genesis. However, even Judaism as a specific religion doesn’t begin with creation, but with Moses and the laws God gave to him later in the Bible. Christianity is not quite 2,000 years old as a distinct religion, and Islam is not quite 1,400 years old. By the time Jesus was born, all of the eastern religions had been long established.
* Hinduism is our only tradition we will study that does not have a human founder. Faithful Hindus might argue that this is because it has been around since the beginning of time. A more traditional term for this religion is Sanatana Dharma, which can be translated as the “eternal order.”
* Hinduism originated in the subcontinent of India (which includes the modern nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Tibet). Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism also began in India, while almost all world faiths have followers there. India is, and has always been, an incredibly spiritual place.
* Hinduism is a polytheistic tradition, meaning it has a belief in many, many gods–perhaps millions of them. We will see as we go through the course that each faith tries its best to do the impossible–put into human words what an all powerful god is. While some religions insist that no images of God be allowed, Hinduism embraces the idea of many gods, with a wide range of images representing them.
* The greatest of the Hindu gods is Brahman, one for which you will find no image and also typically no direct worship at temples.
* Other major gods include Brahma (Creator god), Vishnu (preserver of life) and Shiva (destroyer of life). These three symbolize the cycle of birth, life and death that all living beings go through. Other well known gods include Krishna, Lakshmi, Hanuman, and Ganesh.
* Check out this video link to see some of the images of these deities (don’t worry about taking any notes or remembering the gods and their traits…but get a sense of their images).

* Why do Hindu gods have such interesting characteristics, such as blue skin, multiple arms or legs, or half animal and half human bodies? Scholars suggest this is Hinduism’s effort to represent the unknowable god, in ways that we are not likely to actually encounter in our day to day existence. With Brahman, the highest god, no image is shown as a way to acknowledge that ultimately, we cannot comprehend god. However, god can still be approached through one of the lesser deities.
* Many Indian traditions share the belief in reincarnation. Also known as “transmigration of the soul,” reincarnation is the belief that each soul moves through many, many bodies before it is able to reach enlightenment and the cycle of rebirth. Reincarnation is mysterious–you tend not to remember previous lives, there is no way to know how many lives you have to lead, you might or might not be in only human bodies (some believe souls begin in plant life and then move into animals and eventually humans). In essence, the journey to enlightenment takes multiple lifetimes for your soul to be prepared.
* Enlightenment itself is also mysterious…it tends not be a place, like Heaven or Hell, but an end to life in bodies, and all the suffering that we endure as humans. Even if you live a long, healthy life, there is suffering in losing those close to you and ultimately in dying.
* If you are from the western tradition, which teaches we live only one life and that you end up in Heaven or Hell, you can see that reincarnation and enlightenment are almost the exact opposite. However, no one knows what happens after we die as we have no evidence. Someone may die with faith they will be reincarnated, or faith they will go to Heaven or a belief that there is nothing after death–and in the end each of us will find out for ourselves which of these was right.
* The process of reincarnation is determined by karma, which is basically the law of action and reaction. From the moment you are born, everything you do or say builds good or bad karma. At death, this accumulation of karma leads to a rebirth in a better or worse state than the life you just lived. In this way, Hinduism is all about personal responsibility for one’s own actions.
* As you live your life, Hinduism encourages everyone to live as good a life as possible it is also open to the idea that the path to god is different for everyone. The textbook details four primary ways to reach god and enlightenment. These are known as yogas–but spiritual disciplines as opposed to stretching and exercise. 1) Jnana yoga is the path of intellectual study 2) Bhakti yoga is the path of prayer and devotion to god 3) Karma yoga is the path of service to others 4) Raja yoga is the path of meditation. Each of our personalities is different, and Hinduism respects that. Do you enjoy sermons and reading scripture? Then Jnana yoga may be right for you. But if you fall asleep in lectures or reading, that’s okay…perhaps volunteering is where you feel closest to god (Karma yoga) or when you are praying to your god (Bhakti yoga).
* Be sure to read over the Stages of life and the Stations of life in the textbook for more on Hindu traditions.
Here are some videos on the Hindu tradition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkAwQ3HqBac

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