Spiritual Transformations of the 2nd Century BCE

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Spiritual Transformations of the 2nd Century BCE

• Jeffrey L. Richey, Ph.D.
• REL 231
• Religions of India and Tibet
• Berea College
• Fall 2003

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THE MAURYAN EMPIRE (321-185 BCE)
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INDIA IN THE 2ND CENTURY BCE

• Unified under Mauryan Empire
• Host to multiple intellectual movements and
  religious traditions, including
• Vedic orthodoxy
• Upanishadic schools (Samkhya, Yoga)
• Non-Vedic heterodoxy (Jaina, Theravada)
• Popular religion (cults of deities such as
  Narayana, Vasudeva, Krishna)
• Development of 2 textual categories
• Sruti (that which is heard) revealed
  scripture, e.g., Vedas
• Smriti (that which is remembered) wisdom of
  sages, e.g., epics

• Emergence of 3 distinct spiritual paths within
  Vedic tradition
• Karmamarga (path of action) dharma-oriented,
  rooted in Vedas
• Jñanamarga (path of knowledge)
  asceticism-oriented, rooted in Upanisads
• Bhaktimarga (path of devotion)
  worship-oriented, rooted in epics
• Characteristics of the period
• Philosophically mystical
• Religiously eclectic
• Socially conservative

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THE BHAGAVAD GITA

• Song of the Lord
• Small portion of Mahabharata
• Longest poem in world
• Describes war of succession to leadership of
  ksatriya Bharata clan, c. 1000 BCE
• Attained final written form between 600 and 100
  BCE
• Technically smriti, but popularly regarded as
  sruti
• Concerns conflict between two families within
  Bharata clan
• Kauravas (majority)
• Pandavas (minority, including Prince Arjuna)

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THEMES IN THE GITA

• Reinterprets older concepts
• Brahman
• Dharma
• Karma
• Introduces avatara (incarnation) concept
  manifestation of ultimate reality (e.g., deity)
  in temporal form (e.g., human being)
• Develops 3 paradoxes
• nondualistic theism
• deterministic freedom
• universalistic sectarianism

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NONDUALISTIC THEISM

• How can Krishna be both Brahman and avatara?
• In Upanisads
• Brahman impersonal absolute force, all-in-all
• Atman collective identity of self in relation
  to whole
• Advaita nonduality as ultimate nature of
  reality
• In Gita
• Krishna personal deity
• Arjuna individual self
• Dvaita duality of deity/devotee, self/other,
  dharma/karma, etc.

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DETERMINISTIC FREEDOM

• How can Arjuna both choose to act and acknowledge
  the law of karma?
• Human freedom is constrained by 3 factors
• Nature (prakriti) basic material circumstances
• Karma consequences of previous actions that
  condition future actions
• Deity Krishna himself determines history
• Above all, human freedom is constrained by
  attachment to egoistic independence

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UNIVERSALISTIC SECTARIANISM

• How can one discern right action by cultivating
  karma and jñana and bhakti?
• Karma overcomes unrighteousness (adharma) that
  seeks to avoid action
• Jñana overcomes ignorance (avidya) about the
  nature of action
• Bhakti overcomes attachment (upadana) to the
  results of action
• All paths (margas) are valid contextually i.e.,
  in the context of a particular level of developed
  understanding
• Paradox is the consequence of this progressive
  theory of truth

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