The Rise of Classical Hinduism

Why was Brahminism under attack in the early Classical Era? The emphasis on rituals was essentially meaningless to the population. The rituals were viewed as important but did not address the more existential questions of life – such as an explanation for suffering.

A Word About Buddhism Within a few centuries of its advent, Buddhism nearly took over India. By the mid-Classical period Buddhism could be found from modern day Afghanistan to China. Buddhism took the issue of suffering seriously in a way that Brahminism did not. It was so popular that the subcontinent almost went entirely Buddhist. It would take centuries for Hinduism to win back India. We will talk more about this religion later.

Shankara (788 – 820) He was the Thomas Aquinas of Hinduism. Created what is known as the ‘Advaita’ or “non-dualist” school. Atman and Brahman were the same thing. Known as Monism all things are one. Liberation was achieved by removing ignorance. False impressions of reality are what create ignorance. Used Buddhist forms of scholarship and reasoning to reassert Brahminism.

Ramanuja (Circa 12 th Century) Agreed with Shankara that reality was non-duality. Believed that the self was not an illusion but was the source of profound truth. The divine is not impersonal like it was for Shankara but personal. God is the inner controller of the Self just as the mind controls the body. Knowledge of God leads to liberation, but it also requires God’s grace and surrendering the self to the divine.

Madhva (13 th Century) Developed the Dvaita school – Dualism. Brahman and Atman were not identical. Atman in different selves was seen to be different from each other as well. The inner self was distinct from the divine but still made in the divine image and inhabited by an inner divine witness. In the end, it is divine grace, active devotion, and worshiping the Lord that liberates a person from Samsara.

Bhakti

Why Krishna and Radha? The love between the two has become the symbol of the divine/human relationship in Hinduism. A follower must be as devoted and enraptured with the divine as Radha is with Sri (Lord, Saint) Krishna. The devotion between the two is so great that one cannot tell where the human ends and the divine begins.

Darshan

What is Darshan? It is a ritual where one sees and is seen by the god. Unlike Protestant Christianity, where the emphasis is on the spoken word (the central part of the service is the sermon), in Hinduism the emphasis is on seeing. This is possible, because once an image is consecrated by giving it living breath (prana) and the divine manifests itself in the image. The icon is then treated as an honored guest.

The Mahabharata

The story is about five brothers fighting their five cousins over their wife. The climatic scene is when both sides gather great armies and Arjuna rides his chariot through no man’s land to look at the two sides. He has an extended conversation with his chariot driver, who is really the god Krishna, about dharma. This conversation became the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna reveals himself as the Lord of the Universe and convinces Arjuna to fulfill his dharma and go into battle because as a warrior that is his duty.

The Ramayana Epic about Lord Rama and his wife Sita. Rama is forced into exile from Ayodhya and his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana accompany him. Sita is captured by the demon king of Sri Lanka Ravana. Rama battles Ravana with some help from the monkey king Hanuman. Uncertain of her chastity while with Ravana Rama makes Sita go through an ordeal of fire. When they return to Ayodhya questions persist about Sita’s chastity so she is banished by Rama and Sita takes refuge with Valmiki who tells the story.