History and theory of religions. Vedic literature (most important)

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History and theory of religions. Vedic literature (most important)

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19. Vedic Literature

Vedic literature was formed during a long and complex historical period, which begins with the arrival of the Indo-European Aryans in India and ends with the emergence of the first state formations. Vedic literature is divided into several groups of texts. These are the four Vedas; the oldest and most important of them is the Rigveda (a collection of hymns). The Rigveda contains more than 10 verses arranged in 1028 hymns. Somewhat later are the Brahmanas - the manuals of the Vedic ritual, of which the most important is the Shatapathabrahmana.

The Upanishads (literally: "to sit near" - to sit near the teacher to listen to his exposition of the content of these texts) form the completion of the Vedic literature. The Old Indian tradition has a total of 108 of them, today there are about three hundred different Upanishads. In the Upanishads, the entire complex of Vedic ideology, in particular the absolutization of the victim and its all-pervading power, is subject to revision. However, the Upanishads do not provide an integral system of ideas about the world; one can find only a mass of heterogeneous views in them. The dominant place in the Upanishads is occupied, first of all, by a new interpretation of the phenomena of the world, according to which the universal principle acts as the fundamental principle of being - an impersonal being (brahma), which is also identified with the spiritual essence of each individual (atman). In the Upanishads, Brahma is an abstract principle designed to comprehend the eternal, timeless and supra-spatial, many-sided essence of the world. The concept of atman is used to denote an individual spiritual essence, the soul, which is identified with the universal principle of the world. An inseparable part of this teaching is the concept of the cycle of life (samsara) and the closely related law of retribution (karma). The law of karma presupposes constant inclusion in the cycle of rebirths and determines the future birth, which is the result of all the deeds of previous lives. Only those who performed good deeds, lived in accordance with the current morality, will be born in a future life as a representative of the highest caste. The one whose actions were not correct may in the next life be born as a member of the lower varna (estate). Here is an attempt to explain property and social differences in society as a consequence of the ethical result of the activity of each individual in past lives.

The Upanishads are basically an idealistic teaching, however, it is not holistic in this basis, since there are views close to materialism in it. The Upanishads had a great influence on the development of later thinking in India.

Author: Pankin S.F.

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