Beaconator
Valued Senior Member
what is eastern exactly?
I have a few questions on eastern philology
- Thread starter Beaconator
- Start date
aboydisappearing
Registered Member
FIRST OF ALL, PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LEARN THE BASIC FUNDAMENTALS OF HINDU MYSTICISM AND PHILOSOPHY WOULD FIND MY ANSWER TO BE IN ACCORDANCE TO THE BASIC PRINCIPLES AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE PERSON ASKING THIS QUESTION.
SPEAKING AS A HINDI, LIVING IN INDIA, LET ME JUST TELL YOU WHAT THE HINDU RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY ( Hindu scriptures are filled with incredibly rich philosophy which can be used in daily life ).
Some of the basic principles are as follows -
1. Principle number 1 - LIFE IS A SUFFERING, BECAUSE WE CHASE AFTER MATERIAL OBJECTS ( MAYA )
The root cause of suffering is desire and attachment to worldly influences ( money, sex, family, power etc etc ) which is termed as MAYA by hindu teachers. As long as a human being chases behind these worldly forces, he will find his mind constantly filled with jealously, negativity, depression and sorrow. The end result of all life is to break free from the "maya" and experience the ultimate reality behind life. This liberation from "being human"- if you may is termed as attaining NIRVANA and reaching MOKSHA.
#Easier said than done, obviously.
2. Principle number 2 - THE ONLY WAY TO LIBERATE FROM SUFFERING IS BY BECOMING "THE PERFECT MAN" ( discussed below )
The perfect man according to hinduism refers to a man who has realized the fact that life is suffering and whose actions are not directed towards pleasing the senses and chasing material objects. This ideal man knows that holding attachment to material objects, people and action itself is in vain. This detachment or indifference is not necessarily a bad thing, but allows a person to be mindful of his every action and emotion. By developing this level of detachment, a person will do things to the best of his ability and will never suffer since, his actions are in pure synchronicity with his personality. By performing the duties and responsibilities one is born with, a man will never come to grief ( KRISHNA, IN THE BHAGAVAD GITA ).
SUCH PERSON TREATS SORROW THE SAME AS JOY. SEES GOOD AS NECESSARY AS EVIL.
3. Principle number 3 - THE WORLD WE LIVE IN IS NOT REAL
Perhaps the most mind bending rule, said by every sage and indian philosopher is that the world we see, perceive and assume to be real is not real. Ranging from Krishna to every mystic in India, there is a strong emphasis upon ULTIMATE REALITY and the world being an illusion.
It is said that until and unless, a person does not liberate himself from MAYA, he shall never see things in the way they actually are. The ultimate reality, they say is not achieved only at death. But can be achieved through completely detaching oneself from the worldly objects. Only when a person notices the untrue, will he be able to see the truth.
I hope that I have answered the query you have in the best manner I can. I have so much to say, but at times like this, I can't seem to put my thoughts in words in the way I would like.
Anyway, you asked about what is eastern philosophy. Which is really far fetched to say.
There are many more aspects of eastern philosophy, with several distinct features than HINDUISM.
But it's a rich field. It's good that you are interested in this subject.
Wish you luck. And please forgive me if my answer didn't measure up to the mark.
OM SHANTI !!
SPEAKING AS A HINDI, LIVING IN INDIA, LET ME JUST TELL YOU WHAT THE HINDU RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY ( Hindu scriptures are filled with incredibly rich philosophy which can be used in daily life ).
Some of the basic principles are as follows -
1. Principle number 1 - LIFE IS A SUFFERING, BECAUSE WE CHASE AFTER MATERIAL OBJECTS ( MAYA )
The root cause of suffering is desire and attachment to worldly influences ( money, sex, family, power etc etc ) which is termed as MAYA by hindu teachers. As long as a human being chases behind these worldly forces, he will find his mind constantly filled with jealously, negativity, depression and sorrow. The end result of all life is to break free from the "maya" and experience the ultimate reality behind life. This liberation from "being human"- if you may is termed as attaining NIRVANA and reaching MOKSHA.
#Easier said than done, obviously.
2. Principle number 2 - THE ONLY WAY TO LIBERATE FROM SUFFERING IS BY BECOMING "THE PERFECT MAN" ( discussed below )
The perfect man according to hinduism refers to a man who has realized the fact that life is suffering and whose actions are not directed towards pleasing the senses and chasing material objects. This ideal man knows that holding attachment to material objects, people and action itself is in vain. This detachment or indifference is not necessarily a bad thing, but allows a person to be mindful of his every action and emotion. By developing this level of detachment, a person will do things to the best of his ability and will never suffer since, his actions are in pure synchronicity with his personality. By performing the duties and responsibilities one is born with, a man will never come to grief ( KRISHNA, IN THE BHAGAVAD GITA ).
SUCH PERSON TREATS SORROW THE SAME AS JOY. SEES GOOD AS NECESSARY AS EVIL.
3. Principle number 3 - THE WORLD WE LIVE IN IS NOT REAL
Perhaps the most mind bending rule, said by every sage and indian philosopher is that the world we see, perceive and assume to be real is not real. Ranging from Krishna to every mystic in India, there is a strong emphasis upon ULTIMATE REALITY and the world being an illusion.
It is said that until and unless, a person does not liberate himself from MAYA, he shall never see things in the way they actually are. The ultimate reality, they say is not achieved only at death. But can be achieved through completely detaching oneself from the worldly objects. Only when a person notices the untrue, will he be able to see the truth.
I hope that I have answered the query you have in the best manner I can. I have so much to say, but at times like this, I can't seem to put my thoughts in words in the way I would like.
Anyway, you asked about what is eastern philosophy. Which is really far fetched to say.
There are many more aspects of eastern philosophy, with several distinct features than HINDUISM.
But it's a rich field. It's good that you are interested in this subject.
Wish you luck. And please forgive me if my answer didn't measure up to the mark.
OM SHANTI !!
Yazata
Valued Senior Member
I don't think that the phrase 'Eastern philology' is used very much any more.
Actually, we don't see the word 'philology' used that often, except by scholars. (It's always been a technical word, I guess, more or less restricted to universities and to academic writing.) It refers to the very close study of written texts, in much the same way that the Bible or ancient Greek and Latin texts were studied in the West. The textual approach to scholarship has gone a bit out of style when applied to other cultures, replaced in many of the trendier universities by more anthropological approaches. (That's been accompanied by a decline in the intellectual quality of the work produced, in my opinion.)
In the late 19th century/early 20th century, I think that the 'Eastern' in 'Eastern philology' basically meant everything to the east of Europe on the Eurasian continent. That's grown problematic too, since there are a number of quite different different cultures and literary traditions located in that wide area. Chinese obviously, and a whole variety of written traditions in India using various languages there. Japanese, Korean, southeast Asia, Tibet... to say nothing of the broad Islamic world. So today, scholarship addressing these various cultures typically specifies which one is being addressed, so we have Tibetan philology, Sanskrit philology (usually qualified by a historical period), Chinese philology (again narrowed down by period) and so on. (I think that's a positive development.)
What about Women? Does this extend to "Perfect Woman" also?
The difference between eastern and western philosophy is eastern philosophy is more introverted and seeks perfection inside, whereas western philosophy is more extroverted and seeks perfection outside. Western philosophy is more resource intensive, since it projects outward and needs material resources for its outward expression.
Character is something you need to develop from the inside. You can't buy character at the store and wear it like clothes. On the other hand, you can buy the means to become a character through clothing and a social mask. In the east, you would try to remove this mask and find self esteem on the inside.
The west is more about material prosthesis, which does not last, but wears out. A western techie may need to buy a new computer, each upgrade cycle, to feel they are part of the cutting edge. If they don't have this prosthesis, they may feel empty or left out. In the east, you will do without this, in an attempt to find that same feeling, but in a way it becomes self generating without material prosthesis.
The Christian philosophy is not much different from the Eastern way. Christ said blessed are the poor. The poor had to learn to do without, thereby learning to find happiness and love in internal ways of simplicity.
The perfect woman is an oxymoron in eastern philosophy, since mother is about matter. The female has more material needs and therefore can't be as true to her maternal nature, by leaving material things behind. Men can live naturally through abstractions. A western married male will have more material needs than a western single male, due to the influence of a woman. Women are the biggest consumers in western families and the men go along.
Character is something you need to develop from the inside. You can't buy character at the store and wear it like clothes. On the other hand, you can buy the means to become a character through clothing and a social mask. In the east, you would try to remove this mask and find self esteem on the inside.
The west is more about material prosthesis, which does not last, but wears out. A western techie may need to buy a new computer, each upgrade cycle, to feel they are part of the cutting edge. If they don't have this prosthesis, they may feel empty or left out. In the east, you will do without this, in an attempt to find that same feeling, but in a way it becomes self generating without material prosthesis.
The Christian philosophy is not much different from the Eastern way. Christ said blessed are the poor. The poor had to learn to do without, thereby learning to find happiness and love in internal ways of simplicity.
The perfect woman is an oxymoron in eastern philosophy, since mother is about matter. The female has more material needs and therefore can't be as true to her maternal nature, by leaving material things behind. Men can live naturally through abstractions. A western married male will have more material needs than a western single male, due to the influence of a woman. Women are the biggest consumers in western families and the men go along.
I forgive you.
kmguru
Staff member
In this OP, I need to ask you...what have you learned about reincarnation in India? Thank you.
Write4U
Valued Senior Member
While I respect a lot in Eastern philosophies, I disagree with that concept.
IMO, the world is not an illusion but an *expression* of that lager wholeness.
David Bohm postulated a hierarchy of expressions, from the most subtle to gross expression in reality. In other words, he saw levels of reality, some which we cannot observe (such as the nano scale world) , some we can (such as the physically material world).
To me that sounds eminently reasonable.
Write4U
Valued Senior Member
After a reading a little on the subject, it struck me that part of any individual with offspring is already being physically reincarnated through his/her genetic material, which "contains" the instruction for a new individual from the combination of DNA from both parents.
Thus, at least in a physical sense a baby is the reincarnation of both parents. Moreover as we are in great part a product of our environment, the parents' lifestyle and moral behavior usually also shapes the life style patterns of the offspring. So far so good.
But reincarnation into a different species seems scientifically very problematic.
Thus, at least in a physical sense a baby is the reincarnation of both parents. Moreover as we are in great part a product of our environment, the parents' lifestyle and moral behavior usually also shapes the life style patterns of the offspring. So far so good.
But reincarnation into a different species seems scientifically very problematic.
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Ethernos D Grace
Registered Senior Member
eastern philosophy refers to philosophy from east and not just india...china, japan etc..
as well..,
as well..,
kmguru
Staff member
That is correct...Normally it is on Hinduism and Buddhism...and its off shoots...
My point was to go back when Lord Krishna was there between 13,000 years to 12,000 years BP. I could not get heavy duty interaction and hence basically gave up...But if you want to talk about it...please DO...
My point was to go back when Lord Krishna was there between 13,000 years to 12,000 years BP. I could not get heavy duty interaction and hence basically gave up...But if you want to talk about it...please DO...
Ethernos D Grace
Registered Senior Member
google play has English version of bhagvad gita....check it out if u want to.....all religion were philosophy at first, that would be the rule set to lead human to greater understanding of unverse without corruption of one's soul...i.e.mind....now it has been far away from its path....i guess free will made it such.....that is my understanding of philosophy
Ethernos D Grace
Registered Senior Member
Buddhism derived from Hinduism....lord buddha was a prince.he resided somewhere in india...i forgot the details.....
Ethernos D Grace
Registered Senior Member
best way to learn would be mastering sanskrit and it will all taste butter..
Seems to be a region of the world. I think Asia, which covers a healthy portion of the world. It strikes me as being one of the more diverse areas on the globe. Maybe the term "eastern" is more a reflection of Western ignorance. I'm not certain.
Write4U
Valued Senior Member
LOL....why do you question the use of the term Eastern when you, in the same sentence, use the the term Western.
Perhaps these arbitrary regions are a result of
Seems to me anything east from England is eastern and anything west of England is western. Of course there is also a region called Middle East, but strangely no region called Middle West, probably because that consists mostly of water.
Of course then we also have a region called Middle Earth, that's where the Hobbits live.
Write4U
Valued Senior Member
lol, if you want to give that area a unique identity apart from the rest of the US.....
