THE HINDU VIEW OF MAN

Upanishads
Upanishads are a collection of philosophical texts which form the theoretical
basis for the Hindu religion.
The Upanishads are considered by orthodox Hindus to contain revealed truths
(Sruti) concerning the nature of ultimate reality (brahman) and describing the
character and form of human salvation (moksha).
The main teaching of the Upanishads is that Atman is Brahman.

Brahman
Brahman is "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world", which
"cannot be exactly defined". It has been described in Sanskrit (being-
consciousness-bliss) and as the highest reality.
It is the ground of all things.
It is the Absolute (Pure Consciousness) that stands transcendingly in the
heart of man and of every contingent being.
Atman
Atman is a Sanskrit word that means 'inner-self' or soul the principle of life.
It is the inmost essence in man.
Five Sheaths of Man
A Kosha usually rendered "sheath", one of five coverings of the Atman, or
Self. They are often visualized like the layers of an onion.
1st Sheath self dependent on food (annamayatman).
This is the material layer of man better known as the physical or
corporate self.
2nd Sheath self as vital breath (pranamayatman).
This is the biological layer.
3rd Sheath Self consisting of will (manomayatman).
This is the psychological layer.
4th Sheath Self or consciousness (vijanamamayatman).
This if the intellectual layer.
5th Sheath Final essence of the self as pure bliss (anandamayatman).
This approximates the Brahman which is Pure Bliss.
These sheaths are considered as dark coverings of ignorance that lie
underneath the whole created world.

Annamaya kosha

This is the sheath of the physical self, named from the fact that it is nourished by
food. Living through this layer man identifies himself with a mass of skin, flesh, fat,
bones, and filth, while the man of discrimination knows his own self, the only reality
that there is, as distinct from the body.

Pranamaya kosha

Pranamaya means composed of prana, the vital principle, the force that vitalizes
and holds together the body and the mind. It pervades the whole organism, its one
physical manifestation is the breath. As long as this vital principle exists in the
organisms, life continues. Coupled with the five organs of action it forms the vital
sheath. In the Vivekachudamani it is a modification of vayu or air, it enters into and
comes out of the body.

Manomaya kosha

Manomaya means composed of manas or mind. The mind (manas) along with the
five sensory organs is said to constitute the manomaya kosa. The manomaya kosa,
or mind-sheath is said more truly to approximate to personhood than annamaya
kosa and pranamaya kosha. It is the cause of diversity, of I and mine. Sankara likens
it to clouds that are brought in by the wind and again driven away by the same
agency. Similarly, mans bondage is caused by the mind, and liberation, too, is
caused by that alone.

Vijnanamaya kosha

Vijnanamaya means composed of vijnana, or intellect, the faculty which

discriminates, determines or wills. Chattampi Swamikal defines vijnanamaya as the
combination of intellect and the five sense organs. It is the sheath composed of
more intellection, associated with the organs of perception. Sankara holds that the
buddhi, with its modifications and the organs of knowledge, form the cause of mans
transmigration. This knowledge sheath, which seems to be followed by a reflection
of the power of the cit, is a modification of prakrti. It is endowed with the function of
knowledge and identifies itself with the body, organs etc.

This knowledge sheath cannot be the supreme self for the following reasons;

It is subject to change.

It is insentient.

It is a limited thing.

It is not constantly present.

Anandamaya kosha

Main article: Anandamaya kosha

Anandamaya means composed of ananda, or bliss. In the Upanishads the sheath is

known also as the causal body. In deep sleep, when the mind and senses cease
functioning, it still stands between the finite world and the self. Anandamaya, or
that which is composed of Supreme bliss, is regarded as the innermost of all. The
bliss sheath normally has its fullest play during deep sleep: while in the dreaming
and wakeful states, it has only a partial manifestation. The blissful sheath
(anandamaya kosha) is a reflection of the Atman which is bliss absolute.

Indian Society and its Caste Systems

The logic behind the Caste is that every man is born to his own place in the
world.
His duty is to show it, to live it and make known both in appearance and
action just what is his role in the world drama.
Caste is regarded as forming an innate part of character;
Divine moral order (dharma)
The correct way of dealing with every life problem is indicated by the laws
(dharma) of the caste & the particular state of life proper to ones age.
In India, a caste system organizes division of labour and power in human society. It
is a system of social stratification,[1] and a basis for affirmative action.[2][3]
Historically, it defined communities into thousands of endogamous hereditary
groups called Jtis.
The Jtis were grouped by the Brahminical texts under the four well-known caste
categories (the varnas): viz Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. Certain
people were excluded altogether, ostracized by all other castes and treated as
untouchables.
It is widely believed across regions of India, for example in Tamil Nadu, that caste
system was created for to exploit advantages of social system by group of people at
later part of the Vedic period in Hindu religion.
4 Stages of the Ideal Life Course of Individual
1st Stage the Pupil
2nd Stage the Householder
3rd Stage the Hermit
4th Stage the Wandering Ascetic (sannyasa )
I. Pupil
Pupil goes to spiritual teacher (guru) to receive divine knowledge & magic
craft of his vocation.
The mere natural man is sacrificed.
The first is the brahmacarya, , or the stage of the student

(brahmacr ). For boys, the student is supposed to go live with a teacher

(guru, ), who is a Brahmin, to learn about Sanskrit, the Vedas, rituals, etc. The
dharma, , of a student includes being obedient, respectful, celibate, and non-
violent. "The teacher is God." The student is supposed to be respectful of the
teacher even behind his back. A comparable status of the teacher, without
quite the same religious dimension or obligation, can be found in China. For
girls, the stage of studenthood coincides with that of the householder, and
the husband stands in the place of the teacher. Since the boys are supposed
to be celibate while students, Gandhi used the term brahmacri to mean the
celibate practitioner that he thought made the best Satyagrahi, the best non-
violent activist. There may be an echo in this of the provision in the Laws of
Manu that a student, a Brahmin in particular, may remain with his teacher's
family for his entire life. This is one of the points in the tradition that conflicts
with another proposition in Manu, that "if a twice-born seeks renunciation
without studying the Vedas, without fathering sons, and without offering
sacrifices [i.e. discharged the "three debts"], he will proceed downward [The
Law Code of Manu, translated by Patrick Olivelle, Oxford, 2004, 6:37, p.101].
In completing his time with a teacher, the student takes a ritual bath, and
thus becomes a , sntaka, a "bath-graduate." This may be regarded as the
equivalent of becoming a householder, but it is distinct both from the ritual
return to the parents, the samvartana, and from the marriage that genuinely
establishes a householder. These ritual separations are also consistent with
the practice of disfavored alternatives, such as continuing as a student for life
or renouncing ordinary life as a forest dweller or wandering ascetic. Because
of this possibility, one dharma authority called the pre-graduate student a
vidyrtha, , "desirous of knowledge," and only the post-graduate student a
true brahmacr. This distinction, however, did not catch on.
II. Householder
From youth to a young man, he is married and takes over the paternal craft,
business or profession and forms a family of his own.
He gets into 3 of the 4 ends of Hindu life: wealth an power (artha); pleasure
of his caste married life (kama) and rights, & duties of his caste (dharma).
The second stage is the grhasthya, , or the stage of the householder, which is
taken far more seriously in Hinduism than in Jainism or Buddhism and is usually
regarded as mandatory, like studenthood, although debate continued over the
centuries whether or not this stage could be skipped in favor of a later one
(especially with Brahmins). Being a householder is the stage where the principal
dharma of the person is performed, whether as priest, warrior, etc., or for women
mainly as wife and mother. Arjuna's duty to fight the battle in the Bhagavad Gita
comes from his status as a householder. Besides specific duties, there are general
duties that pay off the three R.n.a, , "Debts":
1. a debt to the ancestors, the Manes in the comparable and probably related
Roman practice, that is discharged by marrying and having sons. One may
not be regarded as a true householder until married;

2. a debt to the gods that is discharged by the household rituals and sacrifices,
which in general cannot be performed except by man and wife together; and

3. a debt to the teacher and the seers that is discharged by becoming a student
and then appropriately teaching one's wife, children, and, for Brahmins, other
students.

The three debts are sometimes associated with the three Gods of the Trimrti -- the
ancestor debt with Brahm, the gods debt with Vis.n.u, and the teacher debt with
Shiva. One way the debts were discharged is through the five daily Mahyaja, , or
"Great Sacrifices":

1. the pitr.yaja, offerings of food and water to the ancestors, without which the
Manes were originally believed to suffer in the afterlife, a reference to which
still occurs at Bhagavad Gita 1:42;

2. the devayaja, sacrificial offerings to the gods, as a fire oblation, requiring

that a sacred fire be kept in the house (like the Persian fire altar), a ritual act
that, again, can only be performed by husband and wife together;

3. the brahmayaja, Vedic recitation or study as devotion;

4. the bhtayaja, offerings to all beings, the bali, , offering, which may be food
thrown into the air and largely consumed by birds; and

5. the manushyayaja, human (manushy) offerings, through charity or

hospitality.

What we do not see in these specific practices it anything that would discharge the
debt to the teacher, unless it is the brahmayaja. Nevertheless, while the number
the debts is all but universally given as three, there are texts that add a debt of
hospitality as a fourth. Thus, there is a curious connection between the three debts
and the five sacrifices, which is reminiscent of that between the three gun.as and
the five elements, seen elsewhere. The original three elements clearly match up
with the gun.as, but later expand, while the sacrifices may easily be seen as
discharging particular debts -- hence the temptation to posit a debt of hospitality.
The two systems, however, have resisted complete systematization and
identification.

The burden of the debts and the sacrifices addresses the first and socially most
important of the four aims or values of life, the purus.rtha, . While it has become
common to link the purus.rtha to the shramas, this is a recent occupation that is
based on no classic texts. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to wonder how the aims
and the stages of life do relate to each other.
1. dharma, , the manner of one's duties, determined by caste, sex, and stage of
life. Dharma applies in being a student, a householder, and, in attenuated
form, a forest dweller. The wandering ascetic is beyond dharma and beyond
caste but, however, is restricted to men.

2. artha, , is material success in life, and the word can mean business, work,
profit, utility, wealth, money, and also political experience and knowledge. It
can involve practical wisdom at both the personal and public level. As such, it
is a concern only for householders, and not in the least for students, forest
dwellers, or wandering ascetics. The householder, indeed, surrenders his
possessions to his sons on becoming a forest dweller. However, the wisdom of
the forest dweller or even the wandering ascetic sometimes may have
application in public affairs.

3. kma, , is pleasure, which is a concern that also may be confined to the

householder, but it can also exist in attenuated form, or as a matter of yogic
practice, in the forest dweller.

4. moks.a, , is liberation or salvation, which in Hinduism (as in Jainism and

Buddhism) will mean leaving leaving the cycle of rebirth. This is the primary
concern and occupation of the forest dweller and the sole concern of the
wandering ascetic. The doctrine of karmayoga, , expounded in the Bhagavad
Gita, means that liberation can be obtained by the householder in the course
of practicing his dharma. Also, we would expect that the life long student,
who never becomes a householder, would also have this as an exclusive
focus, even while fulfilling his duties to his teacher. Karmayoga, however, has
not been a popular practice in modern religion, and is sometimes not even
regarded as a means to salvation.

III. Hermit
Second half of his life cycle after serving the community & having prepared
his children to be independent from him in life, he steps away from the 3
ends of life to enter in this 3rd stage of life.
The third stage is the vnaprasthya, , the stage of the forest dweller, or
vaikhnasa, , the anchorite. This may be entered into optionally, according to
Manu, if (ideally) one's hair has become gray, one's skin wrinkled, and a
grandson exists to carry on the family. Husbands and wives may leave their
affairs and possessions with their children and retire together to the forest as
hermits. A hermit cannot step on plowed land. This does not involve the
complete renunciation of the world, for husbands and wives can still build a
shelter, have sex (once a month), and a sacred fire still should be kept and
minimal rituals performed. This stage is thus not entirely free of dharma. The
Forest Treatises were supposed to have been written by or for forest dwellers,
who have mostly renounced the world and have begun to consider liberation.
I am not aware that forest dwelling is still practiced in the traditional way. The
modern alternatives seem to consist of the more stark opposition between
householding and becoming a wandering ascetic. Forest dwelling is an
institution that doesn't really develop as such in Jainism and Buddhism,
although we do have the Buddha repairing to a forest outside the traveling
season -- a practice that will develop into Buddhist monasticism. Hinduism,
which might be said to now lack true monasticism -- i.e. there are no
monasteries or convents -- nevertheless has mendicants and hermits, where
the hermits include these forest dwelling married couples. The idea that
husbands and wives would engage in ascetic practices together, without
celibacy, would appear extraordinary. In those terms, it is an unfortunate loss
if the institution does not continue in modern Hinduism. We see a good deal
of forest dwelling in the Mahbhrata, where Pan.d.u, who himself is on a kind
of retreat with his wives in the forest, hoping to overcome his strange
reluctance to consummate his marriages, accidentially kills an adept and his
wife, who have assumed the form of animals, in the very act of their
copulation -- and so is cursed. Pan.d.u and his wives had previously accepted
(non-sexual) instruction from this very couple. Such an episode not only
illustrates various uses for forest dwelling, but it reveals that specifically
sexual practices can be among them. It is ironic that forest dwelling should
have become obsolete, when the term shrama, , originally meant a
"heritmage," and when it continues in modern usage, as Hindi shram, to
mean a spiritual retreat, not unlike the original forest dwelling. The modern
Ashram, however, is not seen as part of traditional life and is often associated
with non-standard or even disreputable teachings and practices from popular
and sometimes heterodox gurus.
IV. Wandering Beggar
If a man desires, he may continue on to this stage, but his wife will need to
return home;
The sannys has renounced the world completely, is regarded as dead by
his family (the funeral is held), and is beyond all dharma and caste.
He surrenders the sacred thread he received when he came of age, and all
the sacrifices and rituals of daily life are abandoned.
Not just ritually but legally the sannys is released from debts and contracts,
cannot enter into legal transactions or be a witness in court, and is supposed
to be immune from fines, tolls, and taxes. Indeed, with no possessions, it is
not clear how an ascetic could be responsible for the latter. When a sannys
enters a Hindu temple, he is not a worshiper but one of the subjects of
worship.
He is utterly free & attains the fourth end of life spiritual release (moksha)
He is entirely concerned with meditation on the absolute or true reality,
Brahman.
The fourth stage is the sannysa (snysa), , or the stage of the wandering
ascetic, the sannys (snys), , sdhu, , or biks.u, . If a man desires, he may
continue on to this stage, but his wife will need to return home; traditionally she
cannot stay alone as a forest dweller or wander the highways as a mendicant
ascetic, begging for food. The sannys has renounced the world completely, is
regarded as dead by his family (the funeral is held), and is (usually) beyond all
dharma and caste. He (usually) surrenders the sacred thread he received when he
came of age, and all the sacrifices and rituals of daily life are abandoned. Not just
ritually but legally the sannys is released from debts and contracts, cannot enter
into legal transactions or be a witness in court, and is supposed to be immune from
fines, tolls, and taxes. Indeed, with no possessions, it is not clear how an ascetic
could be responsible for the latter. When a sannys enters a Hindu temple, he is
not a worshiper but one of the subjects of worship. Not even the gods are sannyss
(they are householders), and so this is where in Hinduism, as in Jainism and
Buddhism, it is possible for human beings to be spiritually superior to the gods. It
has long been a matter of dispute in Hinduism whether one need really fulfill the
requirements of the Laws of Manu (gray hair, etc.) to renounce the world. The
Mahbhrata says that Brahmins may go directly to Renunciation, but it also says
that the three debts must be paid -- and the debt to the ancestors could only be
paid with husbands and wives living together either as householders or, if
renunciates, as forest dwellers (indeed, the Pn.d.avas are all born in that way).
There are definitely no such requirements in Jainism or Buddhism. The Buddha left
his family right after his wife had a baby, to the distress of his father, which would
put him in the middle of his dharma as a householder (today there would be
lawsuits). Buddhism and Jainism thus developed monastic institutions, with monks
and nuns. For a while, it looked like something similar might develop in Hinduism.
By the 8th century AD, a Brahmin might enter a monastery, a mat.ha, ; but such
institutions seem to have died out, and the dharma authorities never recognized a
renunicatory way of life apart from mendicancy. Today, while wandering ascetics are
rather like mendicant monks, we lack monasteries and nuns, and the Hindu ascetics
are, ideally, supposed to have already lived something like a normal, lay life. Of
course, there is no certification or enforcement of this, as historically it has been
often disputed. Chapter Three of the Bhagavad Gita embodies a debate of just such
an issue. What if someone renounces the world and changes their mind? Having
abandoned caste and dharma, he does not get them back. The authorities regarded
an ascetic "apostate" as an Outcaste; and if he marries, his children will also be
Outcastes.