Introduction to Hindu Dharma Illustrated

by Fitzgerald, Michael Oren

• ISBN13: 9781933316482
• ISBN10: 1933316489
• Edition: Illus.
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-05
• Publisher: World Wisdom

Summary

Understand authentic Hinduism directly from one of the most revered Hindu spiritual leaders of the twentieth century. This book consists of selections from the more than 2,000 discourses of Kanchi Sankaracharya (1894-1994). This book has the distinction of introducing both the sage and his spiritual legacy to the Western world in the form of an irreplaceable introduction to Hinduism.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Religion in General
Dharma Alone Protects	p. 1
Punya (Virtuous Action)	p. 2
The Purpose of Religion	p. 5
To Be a True Man	p. 6
Devotion Common to All Faiths	p. 6
The Unity of Religions	p. 7
Qualities of Religious Teachers	p. 9
The Vedic Religion: Introductory
The Religion without a Name	p. 13
Distinctive Features of Sanatana Dharma (Eternal Code of Conduct)	p. 14
The Vedas, the Root of All	p. 19
The Vedas in their Original Form	p. 19
The Vedic Religion and Varna (Caste) Dharma
What is Varna (Caste) Dharma?	p. 21
Divided by Work but Still of One Heart	p. 22
Why Only in This Country?	p. 25
The Conflict between Tradition and Modernity	p. 26
The Least Expected of Brahmins	p. 30
Preserving the Vedas: Why it Is a Lifetime Mission	p. 31
My Work	p. 36
The Sastras (Scriptures) and Modern Life
The Cure for the Disease Called Modern Civilization	p. 39
Religion and Society	p. 40
Neither too much Ease nor too many Comforts	p. 40
Sastra or Conscience?	p. 41
The Vedas
The Basic Texts of Hinduism: Our Ignorance of Them	p. 44
Eternal	p. 44
Sound and Creation (Sruti)	p. 45
Western Vedic Research	p. 46
Sound and Meaning	p. 46
Yajna or Sacrifice	p. 48
What is Advaita (Non-dualism)?	p. 49
The Threefold Purpose of Yajna (Sacrifice)	p. 49
To Discover the One Truth	p. 51
The Upanishads	p. 52
The Brahmasutra (Basic Text for All Vedantic Schools)	p. 54
Veda and Vedanta: Are They Opposed to One Another?	p. 55
Upanishadic Commentary on the Nature of the Self	p. 61
What do the Vedas Teach Us?	p. 64
Essence of Upanishadic Teaching	p. 65
Nyaya (Science of Reasoning)
Rational Way to Know God	p. 66
We Need All Types of Knowledge	p. 66
Puranas (Traditional Stories)
Magnifying Glass of the Vedas	p. 69
Itihasas (Two Great Epics) and Puranas (Traditional Stories)	p. 69
The Epics and their Greatness	p. 70
Why Differences among the Gods?	p. 70
Dharmasastra (Scripture on Code of Conduct)
Realizing the Ideals of the Puranas	p. 74
Freedom and Discipline	p. 75
The Forty Samskaras (Actions that Purify)
Samskaras (Actions that Purify)	p. 79
Paradise or the Path of Atmajnana (Self-realization)	p. 79
The Eight Qualities (Gunas)	p. 79
Gunas in Practical Life	p. 82
Samskaras Performed by Parents	p. 82
Why not All Samskaras for All?	p. 83
Brahmacaryasrama (Student-Bachelorhood)
Upanayana (Leading a Child to the Guru)	p. 85
Qualities of a Brahmacarin (Student-Bachelor)	p. 85
Naishtika Brahmacarya (Lifelong Student-Bachelorhood) and Family Life	p. 86
Domestic Life and Carnal Desire	p. 89
The Brahmin must Keep his Body Pure	p. 89
Gayatri (Invocatory Prayer) and Sandhyavandana (Daily Prayer)	p. 91
What About Women?	p. 93
The High Status of our Women	p. 95
Marriage
For the Practice of Dharma	p. 96
Make Marriages Simple	p. 97
Gruhasth-asrama (Householder Stage of Life)
Gruhastha (Householder), Gruhini (Wife of the Householder)	p. 99
Can a New Brahmin Caste be Created?	p. 99
Aupasana (Daily Rites with Sacrificial Fire) and Women	p. 100
Sacrifices	p. 100
Varna (Caste) Dharma for Universal Well-Being
Jatis (Sub-divisions of Caste) - Why so many Differences?	p. 101
Innate Quality and Vocation by Birth	p. 103
Vocations according to Guna (Character and Natural Inclination) - not in Practice	p. 105
A Wrong Notion about Brahmins	p. 105
The Eternal Religion	p. 106
The Fourth Varna (Sudras) has Its Own Advantages	p. 106
Removal of the Ego	p. 109
Cry "Grow" - Don't Cry "Perish"	p. 110
From Action to the Actionless State
Outward Karma - Inward Meditation	p. 111
How to Cultivate Character and Good Conduct	p. 114
What is the Meaning of Worldly Existence?	p. 114
Do We Need Rituals?	p. 117
The Starting Point of Yoga	p. 117
Dharmas Common to All
How to Control the Mind	p. 120
Guru-Bhakti (Devotion to the Guru)	p. 120
Ahimsa (Non-violence)	p. 123
Truthfulness	p. 124
To Serve Others Is to Feel Blessed	p. 127
Towards Mental Purity	p. 127
Fault-finding	p. 128
Anger	p. 129
Are We Worthy of Being Angry?	p. 131
Love and Sorrow	p. 131
Love	p. 132
The State and Religion
True Secularism	p. 134
Responsibilities of the State in Elevating the People's Mind	p. 134
Limitations of the Role of the State in Matters of Religion	p. 134
Independent Body of Representatives of All Religions	p. 135
Religious Leaders Should Not Involve Themselves in Politics	p. 135
What the Government Gains by Nurturing Religion	p. 136
Selected Wisdom	p. 137
Notes	p. 140
Biographical Notes	p. 142
Glossary and Index	p. 143
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