In this paper I am looking on depiction of "self" in the Upanishads and the Baghavad Gita focusing on "self" and "devotion".
In the Upanishads, two concepts of Brahman and Atman are used to refer to the self. Identity of Brahman and Atman is stated in Isha Upanishad.6 and Mandukya Upanishad.2. Brahman is the self in everyone and in all. It can be felt by each one of us as Atman. Atman is our own inner truth and is very different from ego which indicates no metaphysical entity. Atman is not born and will not die as we figure out in Katha 2.18. Chandogya 3.14 reveals that Brahman is smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest.
In the Gita, Brahman is the supreme and Atman is his spirit in man (Gita 8.3). It is eternal and never dies. As in chapter 2.12 Krishna tells Arjuna we all have been for all time and we all shall be for all time. The self in the Upanishads is very active since Brahman wins a victory for gods (Kena.3.1) and Atman is the charioteer of body (Katha3.3). In both of the texts self is always defined in terms of divine and is tightened to the whole universe...
Some of the most prominent aspects of Hinduism are the atman and samsara which is one the clearest distinctions between Hinduism and other religions. When Krishna states, “I have never not existed; nor have you, nor have these lords of men. Nor will we cease to exist, all of us, from now onwards” (Bhagavad Gita, 185), he is referring to the atman or the human soul which is believed to have always existed and will continue to exist. And when he says, “Just as one throws out old clothes and then takes on other, new ones; so the embodied self casts out old bodies as it gets other, new ones” (Bhagavad Gita, 187), he is talking about samsara and reincarnation. It is from this text, where Hinduism gets its defining characteristics. As long as the Gita continues to be relevant in India so will these philosophies. It reinforces the idea of reincarnation, the soul, and duty which shapes the way the Hindus live their lives. The goal for a Hindu is to break out of samsara and achieve Brahman, and according to the Gita, fulfilling one’s dharma is the way to accomplish this. The Bhagavad Gita is significant to Hinduism, because it has helped Hindus identify an ultimate goal and teaches them how to achieve
David Hume explores the issue of what exactly comprises the “self”. Hume states in his Treatise of Human Nature that
The self represents the coherent whole resulting from the union of an individual's consciousness and unconsciousness. It is formed through a process referred to as 'individuation', within which the diverse aspects of personality are merged. Jung often depicted the self as a square, mandala, or circle.
In every passage of the Upanishads man and his place in the universe is the subject. The five Sheaths metaphorizes the different stages of being, from Unreal to Real.(Embree, 33) Brahman holds the same significance as he does in the Vedas, but is presented out of the supernatural realm. “Nonexistent, verily, does one become if he knows that Brahman is non-existent. If one knows that Brahman exists, such a one people thereby know as existent.”(Embree, 33) Brahman is apart of every man as every man is in Brahman; one cannot be without the other. Unlike that which is purported in the Vedas, ritual and sacrifice is superfluous. The Gods are rarely mentioned and tales of their greatness are untold.
Anil Ananthaswamy describes the self as the role the brain plays in our notions of self and existence. That our sense of self is layered, pulling information from
Although many works of literature are very long, the main idea can be summarized in one or two of its lines. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the most important line is: “This above all, to thine own self be true, / And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man” (1.3, 78-80). Spoken by Polonius, this advice is present throughout the entire play, together with the motifs of truth and lying. The characters desire to be true to themselves; however, some of them are not true to others.
Hindus believe that when a soul expires, it acquires rebirth in a new body. This cycle is called samsara. To be set free from the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth one must discover their true nature in order to be with the Brahman in Nirvana. In figure G a picture of a Cambodian statue of the A.D. 900 of Brahma meditating is presented. Nirvana is a state where pain, worry and the outer world do not exist. When a person in Hindu religion has bad Karma, they must take rebirth multiple times. The sacred source of all existence is divided among three gods. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer. All three contribute to a person’s life and death and afterlife. In figure H a picture of a Vishnu sculpture is shown, and in figure I a picture of a sculpture of Shiva is
In Hinduism, the believer is guided to understand the relationship of Brahman and Atman. Brahman is the cause of all existence; it is the force of nature, the cosmos, the everything. Brahman is that which exists before existence, that which sparks before the fire burns. Atman on the other hand deals with the personal entity; it is the soul of the being. Atman exists before existence and exists even after death. Simply put, Brahman is cause of all existence, while Atman is the soul of the individual person. However, does Brahman and Atman exist? Discussed further are Upanishad texts which say so.
The better which a person develops an understanding of themselves and of the other people around them, the better able they will be able to develop intimate relationships. A person who has a negative model of self and has a negative model of others , otherwise known as Fearful, is going to shy away from attachment and be socially avoidant which obviously is going to affect the crisis of intimacy versus isolation. The example describes a person who is hesitant to make long term commitments and resists urges to display intimacy, but is capable of forming a dependency on him by the other in the relationship. A Preoccupied person has a negative self model and a positive model of others. They often tend to be overly dependent and ambivalent. The example suggests a person who might be shy and conservative but is capable of not displaying their awkward feelings to the other person. A Secure individual has a positive model of self and others. They are comfortable with intimacy and autonomy and often do not have a difficult time in forming intimate relationships. The example describes this person as someone who is very capable of healthy relationships and good communication skills. It seems like a secure person has all the good qualities that any relationship requires. And finally, a Dismissing person has a positive model of self but a negative model of others. They are characterized by denying attachment and their counter dependency. All of the differences among the different models result from past experiences in the individual’s life. How they were raised in terms of different parenting styles and methods of child raising affect an individuals internal working models of self and others.
All human beings have an immortal soul (atma) which is part of God and is on a journey to reunite with Him (Mukti).
Hindus believe that after death the soul is reborn in this world to live a new life. What the person and into which caste they are reborn into is decided by there karma. Karma will try to increase their goof karma by keeping dharma which is their duty to the Gods. The process of being born growing, dying and being reborn is called samsara. It is the goal of every Hindu to be freed from this cycle in order to be in the presence of God or become on with God. The idea of reincarnation derives from the Bhagavad-Gita. There are three four verses imparticular, the first one talk about the soul not ever being born or dying that it is always alive and it is therefore the body which dies. “It (the self) is not born, and It does not die; nor is it ever that this One having been nonexistent becomes existent again. This One is birthless, eternal, undecaying, ancient; It is not killed when the body is killed.” - Gita Ch. 2 Verse 20
Truth of oneself makes it visible when faced with absurd events in life where all ethical issues fade away. One cannot always pinpoint to a specific trait or what the core essence they discover, but it is often described as “finding one’s self”. In religious context, the essential self would be regarded as soul. Whereas, for some there is no such concept as self that exists since they believe that humans are just animals caught in the mechanistic world. However, modern philosophy sheds a positive light and tries to prove the existence of a self. Modern philosophers, Descartes and Hume in particular, draw upon the notion of the transcendental self, thinking self, and the empirical self, self of public life. Hume’s bundle theory serves as a distinction between these two notions here and even when both of these conception in their distinction make valid points, neither of them is more accurate.
6). Natural reincarnation is the one traditionally referenced when it comes to the topic. It is when the true self passes itself on to a new infant and life is begun anew (p. 6). Artificial reincarnation is the more disputed kind because it is less about the cycle of death and rebirth, and more about possession. It is believed to be possible for the true self to leave the body after death and take control of an “abandoned body.” That is, a body already in the world that would be a suitable replacement from their old body. Such is said to be the case with Richard Ingalese’s (1928) Hindu
make a choice between the love of your life and going to a football game, a
In Hinduism there is one ultimate God, Brahman, who lives within each individual. Hinduism is a belief system that is followed to help one find Atman, which is your personal part of Brahman inside of you. There are 330 million God/Goddesses that people can choose...