The philosophy of India has always been of particular interest. It is considered one of the oldest on earth. Religion of India is the most widespread and has a huge number of followers. Periodization is based on different sources of thought, most of which have been known to the world since antiquity. Let us consider some of the concepts of Hinduism.
Stages of development
The philosophy of India in its development has gone through several stages. They are:
- XV-VI century BC e. This stage is called the Vedic period - the stage of orthodox philosophy.
- VI-II centuries BC e. This stage is called the epic period. At this stage, the epics Ramayana and Mahabharta were created. They touch upon many problems of the era. At this stage, Jainism and Buddhism appear.
- II c. BC e. - VII century n e. In this period, short treatises were created - sutras that dealt with specific problems of the era.
Key features
They are listed in the work of Datta and Chatterjdi Advaita Vedanta. The main characteristics are:
- The practical focus of thought. It does not serve to satisfy idle curiosity, but is aimed at perfecting human life.
- The source of thought is anxiety for a person. It is expressed in the desire to warn people against mistakes that lead to suffering.
- Belief in “rita” is a moral, eternal world order that exists in the universe.
- The idea of ignorance as a source of human torment, the understanding that only knowledge can become a condition for saving people.
- Consideration of the universe as an arena for the commission of moral acts.
- The concept of continuous conscious concentration as the source of any knowledge.
- Understanding the need for submission to passions and self-control. They are seen as the only way to salvation.
- Belief in the ability to free oneself.
Treatises
Initially, thoughts received their canonical, orthodox expression in the form of collections. They totaled more than a thousand hymns, which included approximately 10 thousand verses. Holy books were based on the traditions of the Aryans and were issued in the middle of the II century. BC e. But the first 4 collections were subsequently combined under the general name Vedas. Literally, this name means "knowledge." The Vedas are religious philosophical treatises. They were created by the tribes of the Aryans who came to India after the 15th century. before. e. from the Volga region, Iran, Cf. Of Asia. Typically, the treatises consisted of:
- "Holy Scripture", religious hymns (Samhites).
- Descriptions of the rituals composed by the priests and used by them in the performance of rituals.
- Books of forest hermits (Aranyakov).
- Commentaries on the treatises (Upanishads).
Currently, 4 collections have been preserved:
- Rigveda. This is the foundational, oldest collection. It was framed by about 1200 BC. e.
- Samaveda. It contains songs and sacred spells.
- "Yajurveda." This collection contains sacrificial spell formulas.
- Atharva Veda. It contains magic formulas and spells that have been preserved since pre-Aryan times.
The researchers are most interested in the comments that philosophy contains. The Upanishad literally translates as "sitting at the feet of the teacher." The comments provide an interpretation of the contents of the collections.
Brahman
Monotheistic religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism, under the concept of God mean a certain creative force. At the same time, they consider the Creator as an inexpressible, to some extent, anthropomorphic entity. It acts as an object for prayer and spiritual communication. In this regard, the thinking of the Indians is fundamentally different from the worldview of representatives of other faiths. At the public (exoteric) level of consciousness there are thousands of goddesses and gods. In the classical pantheon, there are 330 million. All of them have a certain sphere of influence, geographical affiliation or patronize a certain type of activity. For example, it is believed that the elephant-headed god - Ganesha - contributes to success and brings good luck in scientific research. In this regard, scientists treat him with awe and respect. A special place is reserved in the pantheon of the triad. It is represented by three gods in functional and ontological unity: the creator of the world is Brahma, the keeper is Vishnu, the destroyer is Shiva. The crown of the triad is the concept of Brahman. She expresses the Absolute Reality. It means the entire completeness (emptiness) of the universe with all the many goddesses and gods. Brahman is seen as the unmanifest reality of all things. Secondary gods are only functionally limited and secondary aspects of it. The purpose of life is to unite with the universe, since its spiritual essence has all the properties that Brahman possesses. Thus, the identity of man and the creator of the world is proclaimed.
Atman
This in philosophy is precisely that internal in man which possesses the properties of Brahman. However, it is not some kind of mystical chimera. Atman is a completely accessible, obvious experience of his presence at a given moment in time. It is a psychic reality, a sense of being. In its pure form, it is experienced in the form of limitless freedom. Thinkers use this word to denote the Higher Self. It represents a personal aspect. The Atman is that which a person is experiencing right now, that moment in which there is life. The clearer the connection with him, the stronger the feeling of reality.
Explanations
In the afternoon, a person is awake, carries out some kind of routine activity. Moreover, he is relatively conscious. Meanwhile, if a person is asked to retell what happened to him throughout the day, including mental activity, movements, feelings and all the sensations of the sensory organs, he will not be able to remember a fraction of a percent. People remember only the basic points that he needs in the future. They are connected with the projections of their small self. The rest of the memory goes into the unconscious. It follows from this that everyday human awareness is a relative phenomenon. During sleep, her level drops even more. After waking up, a person can remember only very little, only the most vivid moments of sleep, and most often nothing. In this state, the feeling of reality is greatly reduced. As a result, it is practically not fixed in any way. In contrast to sleep, there is a superconscious state. In comparison, even a daytime wakefulness may seem like a lack of life and sleep.
Purpose of perception
Why do I need a higher self awareness? The layman is almost unaware of his existence. He perceives everything through one or another indirect experience. So, a person mentally fixes certain objects and draws conclusions about what he really is, because otherwise there would be no one to perceive this world. Questions about the practical value of awareness of mental reality are raised by an entity firmly entangled in the mind. Attention in this case is not able to break away from the mind and go into the depth, cause, essence of the processes taking place at the moment. When questions arise about the practical value of awareness, you need to pay attention to the following paradox. At the time of their appearance, the questioner himself is absent. What is the point of asking about the consequences if there is no understanding of the original cause of the phenomenon? What is the essence of the secondary manifestations of the "I", if a person does not realize him at all?
Difficulties
The Atman is a clear awareness of presence. People in ordinary life have vague sensations of soft, tasty, hard, boring, important, certain pictures, feelings, a lot of superficial thoughts. However, where is the Atman among all this? This is a question that makes one tear oneself away from the everydayness of things and look deep into one’s consciousness. A person can, of course, reassure himself. For example, he can accept as truth that I am the totality of everything. In that case, where is the line that separates presence from absence? If a person understands his self, then it turns out there are two of them. One is watching the other, or they are both watching each other. In this case, the third self arises. It oversees the activities of the other two. And so on. All of these concepts are mind games.
Enlightenment
Spirit (soul) for a person is considered beyond the reach of reality. She is God. Even a second awareness of this connection gives joy and awareness of freedom, which does not depend on anything. Atman - this is life in its absolute aspect, the invisible background is the true essence of man. In esoteric teaching, the acceptance of psychic reality is called enlightenment. The Advaita Vedanta speaks of awareness as who truly, truly is. In yoga, the acceptance of one's presence is described as Purush. It is characterized as subtle, beginningless, cognitive, conscious, eternal, transcendental, contemplative, tasting, spotless, inactive, generating nothing.
Awareness process
To open the Atman there is no need to do something, to strive for something, to strain in some way. At first this happens in the form of natural relaxation. The condition is like falling into a dream, but at the same time the person is awake. After that, individual reality opens up, it opens to what exists, has always existed and always will be. At this moment, the person realizes that nothing else was and could not be. This is life itself, naturalness, an invariable spiritual essence, which nothing can prevent. It just is, contains various moments. But along with this, nothing can affect her. At a conscious level, a person understands that energy has no beginning or end. Reality cannot increase or decrease. There is no attachment to something, rejection of anything, because everything that happens is a spontaneous river, in the contemplation of which everything is accepted as it is, without distorting the Truth and even its interpretation. A man only enjoys the voice of the stream, gives himself to him. The only thing you need is to trust in life. Everything flows naturally, it happens by itself.
Doubt
They are an illusion. Doubts confine a person to mental activity, to limited private knowledge. They make you worry and fear, cause dissatisfaction, instability. Confidence in life will make the mind tasteful, insightful, give an illuminating intuitive thinking. It is a manifestation of the connection of the relative and paradoxical world, man and the higher "I".
