ABSTRACT

In part II of his book The Religions of India Weber deals with the holy teachings of intellectuals, both of the orthodox Hindu religion and of heterodox religions, i.e. Jainism and Buddhism. In this chapter we shall mainly deal with his views on the teachings of intellectuals of the orthodox Hindu religion, while the teachings of the other two religions will be discussed in the next chapter. Among the teachings of intellectuals belonging to orthodox Hindu religion he confines his study in this portion to their teachings in the ancient period before the coming of Jainism and Buddhism. Among these he specially refers to the following teachings: (1) the anti-orgiastic and ritualistic character of brahmanism; (2) the position of Brahmans and other holy intellectuals in society; (3) vashisha dharma and the absence of the concept of natural law; (4) rights and duties of the king; (5) the development of knowledge, asceticism and mysticism; (6) yoga and the development of religious philosophy; (7) salvation doctrines; (8) six schools of religious philosophy; (9) the professional ethics of Mahabharata; (10) the holy teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita.