Religion 130: Religions of India Winter 2001 Dr. Timothy Lubin Washington and Lee University 23 Newcomb, ext. 8146, lubint@wlu.edu

Course Description

This course introduces the central ideas and practices of the Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jains, and Sikhs, as they developed in India.  We will read and discuss important texts (devotional poetry, mystical instruction, myths and legends), and study the ways in which Indians have worshiped and sought to live religious lives.  Topics will include the different Indian conceptions of the divine in the world, how Indians have understood the human condition, and the role of religion in Indian society, past and present.  Classes will include slides and videos, supplemented by visits to local Hindu and Buddhist centers.

Books for Purchase

Richard Blurton, Hindu Art = HA
Edward Conze, Buddhist Scriptures = BS
Ainslie Embree, ed., Sources of Indian Tradition,  vol. 1 = SIT
Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Religions of India in Practice = RIP
plus occasional individual readings.

Course Requirements

1. Class attendance.  For every class missed for reasons other than significant illness a student must turn in a two-page reflection on the assigned readings (due at the next class meeting); otherwise, such absences will lower the final grade (2% per absence.
2. Preparation for and participation in class discussion (considered as a weighting factor in the final grade).
3. Four quizzes (12.5% each).
4. Two essays (4-5 pp., 25% each); guidelines will be made available.
        [Please click here for advice on paper writing.]

Class Schedule

I. THE BRAHMIN'S  SCIENCE OF RELIGION

Week One     Veda and Vedanta: Sacrifice and Wisdom as Outer and Inner Paths
 1/8    Introduction
 1/10  RIP, pp. 3-14; SIT, ch. 1.
 1/12  SIT, ch. 2; RIP, ch. 37 (Ascetic Withdrawal or Social Engagement).

Week Two     Rival Ideas of Dharma, and Two Ways to Reconcile Them
 1/15  SIT, pp. 203-253.
 1/17  SIT, pp. 254-273.
 1/19  SIT, pp. 274-296.  NOTE: FOUNDERS' DAY CONVOCATION -- ADJUSTED CLASS SCHEDULE

II. THE MONK'S THERAPY OF DESIRE

Week Three    Two Rejections of Worldly Values: The Buddha and the Jina Mahavira
 1/22  RIP, pp. 14-21 (top); SIT, pp. 93-104; Conze, pp. 19-66, 182-183.
 1/24  Conze, pp. 146-162.
 1/26  SIT, pp. 49-89.    QUIZ 1

Week Four     Ways and Means in Buddhism and Jainism
 1/29  SIT, pp. 125-149; Conze, pp. 69-97.
 1/31  Conze, pp. 98-133.
 2/2    RIP, chs. 26 (Jain Stories Inspiring Renunciation), 19 (Veneration of Jina Images), and 42 (Jain Q&A: Who Is God?).

Week Five     The Great Vehicle (Mahayana)
 2/5    SIT, pp. 153-185; Conze, pp. 134-144, 238-242.
 2/7    Conze, pp. 162-180, 211-217,  221-236.
 2/9    SIT, pp. 188-199.    FIRST ESSAY DUE

III. BHAKTI: ENCOUNTERING THE PERSONAL GOD(S)

Week Six       The Hindu Deity, Its Bodies, and Its Houses  /  The Mythology and Cult of Shiva, the Ascetic God
 2/12  RIP, pp. 21-31, 37 (bottom)-41 (top); SIT, pp. 319-331; HA, pp. 32-75.
 2/14  HA, ch. 3; RIP, chs. 17 (How to Worship at Shiva's Temple) and 45 (The Origin of Linga Worship).    QUIZ 2
 2/16  ** no class meeting **

            SPRING RECESS

Week Seven     Cultivating Divine Love  /  The Mythology and Cult of Vishnu, the Divine King and Lover
 2/26  HA, ch. 4; SIT, pp. 342-359; Summary of the Ramayana.
 2/28  SIT, pp. 359-369; RIP, ch. 13 (Love of Krishna).
 3/2    RIP, chs. 3 (Poems of Tukaram) and 40 (The Exemplary Devotion of the "Servant of Hari").

           See also: The Mahabharata retold by Rajagopalachari

Week Eight       The Cult of the Goddess
 3/5    HA, ch. 5; SIT, pp. 369-371; RIP, ch. 1 (Bengali Songs to Kali).
 3/7    RIP, chs. 21 (The Goddess Shashti Protects Children) and 24 (The Smallpox Goddess, Shitala).
 3/9    RIP, chs. 29 (Mother Ten's Stories) and 33 (How a Girl Became a Sacred Plant).

IV. CHALLENGES AND SYNTHESIS

Week Nine       Islam Established in India
 3/12  RIP, pp. 31-37; SIT, pp. 381-407; RIP, ch. 8 (In Praise of Muhammad).
 3/14  SIT, pp. 408-436.
 3/16  SIT, pp. 437-446; RIP, chs. 39 (India as a Sacred Islamic Land) and 44 (The Rebuilding of a Hindu Temple).

Week Ten        Sufism and the Sant Movement
 3/19  SIT, pp. 447-489; RIP, ch. 35 (Conversations of Sufi Saints)
 3/21  SIT, pp. 371-378; RIP, ch. 2 (Kabir).
 3/23    QUIZ 3

Week Eleven     The Sikhs  /  Tantric Methods of Experiencing Divine Union
 3/26  RIP, pp. 43-44;  SIT, ch. 16; RIP, chs. 30 (Life of Guru Nanak) and 18 (Khalsa Initiation).
               Click here to see a news article on a recent political dispute over the separate identity of the Sikhs.
 3/28  RIP, pp. 41-43 (top); SIT, pp. 330-333; RIP, chs. 20 (Vaishnava Sahajiya Traditions) and 9 (Baul Songs).
 3/30  RIP, chs. 15 (The Ocean of Mercury) and 25 (The Wonders of Sri Mastnath).     SECOND ESSAY DUE

Week Twelve     Religion in Modern India
 4/2    RIP, pp. 44-52;  “Mahatma Gandhi: Nationalist India’s ‘Great Soul’” SIT, vol. 2, ed. S. Hay, pp. 243-274.
 4/4    RIP, chs. 14 (Women's Songs), 27 (A Holy Woman of Calcutta), and 31 (Autobiography of a Female Renouncer).
 4/6    Readings on religious nationalism in South Asia.    QUIZ 4

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