(Image taken from Wikipedia Article on Vishnu)
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Overview: My Thoughts at the Start of the Semester
I have taken one class on India before, which was also online. So far I do not see a huge connection, but I think I will further into the semester. I also think this class will fill in the gaps where my previous class left off. In that course, we studied a lot about the caste system in India and how it affected everyday life when the British ruled over India. It was interesting but frustrating at times because characters would reference various deities as if the audience would most certainly be familiar with them already, but I was not! I am a religious studies major, but this year is the first semester our department has had a professor of Hinduism since I have been a student at OU--or maybe ever! I have not yet had a class with the new professor, but hopefully I will get to take a class with her in the fall before I graduate. So far I am most interested in Rama and the whole concept of avatars. I have heard of Vishnu but I don't really know anything about him. I used to think I had a statue of Krishna in my apartment, but I am thinking now it is actually Vishnu! The statue has many, many arms. Hopefully I will know for sure by the end of the semester. My overall goal isn't really to memorize all the deities of Hinduism--I'm not sure that's possible! But I would like to learn more about some of the major gods and how the beliefs of Hindus influenced the great Indian Epics.
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Val,
ReplyDeleteI should start off by mentioning that I chose to comment on this post because I’ve already posted on your introduction. Sadly, this post has no comments – so that is where I come in. I find it interesting that you study religion. I think your major would be very – unique. I’m curious as to whether your background in religious studies has helped you in any way to discern some of the principles of Hinduism; I have only been able to come across bits and pieces.