Two types of scripture

•      Shruti - "to hear" 

•      Smriti - "to remember"

•      upa (near) - ni (down) - shad (to sit); so lit. "to sit down near (a guru).

•      Over 200 of them written between 800 B.C.E. to 200 B.C.E.  13 principal ones.

Upanishadic themes

•      Inward turning and introspective  vs. more external perspective of Vedas.

•      Yoga:

•      Internal spiritual liberation vs. gaining favor and power of the gods in Vedic religion.

•      Spiritualization of the Varnas  (Lit. color, castes). 

•      Tension between impersonal monism and personal theism.

•      Law of Karma, Samsara, and reincarnation.

•      Maya (lit. "measure" or "magic") 

•      Brahman: a new God or Godhead.

Tat tvam asi

•      Lit. “That Thou Art”

•      “That” must mean?

•      sa + guna = vs. nir + guna

•      “Thou” could mean either Atman the spiritual self or jiva, the empirical self.

•      Most likely meaning:

The “is” of predication

•      Example: The house is red.

•      What if the “art” is the “is” of predication?

The “is” of identity

•      Example: The morning star is the evening star.

•      The subject and the predicate share exactly the same attributes.

•      For the Upanishads this would mean that Atman is identical to nirguna Brahman.

•      Shankara and Advaita Vedanta.

•      Shankara is not a pantheist because?

Comparative points

•      “Not I (jiva) but Atman [in me]; “Not I, but the Buddha nature [in me]; “Not I, but Christ [in me].”

•      “Jesus is God” by the “is” of predication means?

•      “Jesus is God” by the “is” of identity means?

•       

•       

Which “is” for Jesus?

•      If Jesus and God are identical, they share the same predicates.

•      If Jesus is a Jew, then God is a?

•      Therefore, the “is” of predication is the only intelligible way?

Which “is” for Brahman?

“Atman is (=identical to) Brahman” is not absurd, but

As an exercise see if any of the combinations of saguna or nirguna Brahman or Atman lead to absurdity.

Ways of liberation

•      Jnana Yoga –

•      Karma Yoga

•       

•      Bhakti Yoga

•       

•      Dhyana Yoga

•       

•      The Yoga of Renunciation

•       

•      Tantric Yoga