RE 211 - Religions of India Nikky
Singh
Fall 2005 Lovejoy
x3175
Off hrs: Monday: 12-1; T/Th 2.30-3.30
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1. Kathopanisad (edited by Swami Sarvananda)
2. Barbara Stoller Miller (translator and editor), The Bhagavad Gita
3.
Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught
4. Annemarie Schimmel, Islam: An Introduction
5. Nikky Singh, The Name of My Beloved: Verses of the Sikh Gurus
6.
Khushwant
Singh, Train to Pakistan
REQUIREMENTS:
Regular Class attendance and participation
Short written papers on the readings due:
Sept 15 (Vedas)
October
4 (Bhagavad Gita)
Nov.
29 (Train to Pakistan)
Mid-term exam October 25
Group Discussions (see schedule for topics)
Final Examination 7-10 pages on an assigned topic
In this course we shall be studying the religions of Indian origin, namely, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Also, the Semitic tradition of Islam which today claims in India the second largest following after Hinduism. The study will mainly be through scriptural texts, art, and music of the various traditions. Our intention will be to comprehend the uniqueness of each religion and savor the richness of its thought and practice. An open mind and critical inquiry will be essential for such a cross-cultural study. Certain terms central to a given tradition, but not translatable into English, will be introduced in the original.
SCHEDULE
Sept 8 Introduction to Indian Religions
Methodology
Objectives
13 Indus Valley Civilization
Slide presentation
Reading on reserve: "Indus Valley Civilization" in
Indian Art, pp. 5-25
15,20 Vedic Hymns: Embree, pp. 2-28. (on reserve)
Written
response to your favorite Vedic hymn due Sept 15
22 Hindu rituals and ceremonies
Reading: Mary McGee, "Samskara" in The Hindu World (on reserve)
27 Kathopanisad
Ultimate Reality, Individual and the five sheaths
Atman-Brahman
Identity
29 Upanishads (contd.) Handout: Upanishads, pp. 259-264
(Start reading the Bhagavada Gita)
October
4,6 Barbara Stoller Miller, (Trans.) Bhagavada Gita
3 types of Yoga
The two forms of Krsna
Three-guna theory
Response
paper on the Gita due October 4
Fall break
13 Hindu
temples and pilgrimages: sacred space and time
18 Hindu Gods and Goddesses (slide show)
20 excerpts from Gandhi
Review for midterm
25 MID-TERM EXAMINATION
27 Film: Footprint of the Buddha
Introduction to Buddhism
Reading: Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught
November
1 continue reading Rahula, What the Buddha Taught
Buddha's First Sermon
Theory of Dependent Origination
Karma and Rebirth in Buddhism
3 John Strong, "Ashoka and the Buddha" (on reserve)
8 Reading: Annemarie Schimmel, Islam: An Introduction
10 Mughal Kings and Sufi Saints
Reading: S.B. Abbas, "Female Myths in Sufism" (on reserve)
Massignon, "Hindu-Muslim Unity: Dara Shikoh" (reserve
15,17 Sikhism: Metaphysics, Ethics, and Aesthetics
Reading: Nikky Singh, The Name of My Beloved, pp. 1-40
pp:
51-77; 81-136; 145-161
22 Film:
THANKSGIVING
29 Reading:
Khushwant Singh, A Train to Pakistan
Short
paper Due Nov. 29!
Dec. 1 Indian Religions in the USA
Reading: Diana Eck, "Afraid of Ourselves" (on reserve)
Group
4
6 Reading: Shashi Tharoor, " India at Forty-nine: Notes Toward an Impression of Indian Society and Culture Today" in India: From Midnight to the Millennium (on reserve)
8
Religion
and Globalization
Group 6