Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Religious Studies Hinduism A2 > Foundations of Hinduism > Flashcards

Foundations of Hinduism Flashcards

1
Q

what is the meaning behind the word ‘Hindu’

A
  • etic discourse - what the invaders called people living near the Indus river
  • not a description of a religion but of a people and a way of life
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

why is Hinduism so complicated?

A
  • there is no definitive truth as to what the beliefs are

- immensely diverse

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

when did the IVC begin?

A

-about 4,600 years ago

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what is Harappan culture?

A

-all the local cultures which joined the IVC

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what was the IVC?

A

-an organised, urban culture focused around towns and cities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

describe the houses:

A
  • were planned before being built
  • built on brick platforms to protect from floods
  • houses were 2 storeys
  • houses had a bathing area with water draining into city sewers
  • all the bricks were of standard size
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

why might people say it was a hierarchal society?

A
  • because of the difference between large buildings and citadels and smaller ones in residential areas
  • some toys were made out of more expensive material than others
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

some urban features:

A
  • sewers
  • granaries
  • industrial areas
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

describe the management of water:

A
  • access to local wells
  • a system for removal of waste through sewers
  • settlements were built on slopes to allow water to flow from reservoirs into the city
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

where was a ‘great bath’ found?

A

Mohenjo-Daro

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what was special a special feature?

A

standard weights and measures

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

why is it so hard to find out information about the culture and people?

A

the texts and remain untranslated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what is some evidence for life after death?

A

-seals and clay models were buried/general possessions with the people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

IVC culture and Vedic Hinduism possible links with fire:

A
  • two fire places

- fire sacrifices

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

IVC culture had a possible social hierarchy how is this linked with Vedic Hinduism?

A

varna system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

IVC culture and Vedic Hinduism possible links with water:

A
  • great bath

- ritual washing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what animal do both IVC culture and Vedic Hinduism have in common?

A

bulls - symbol of power - Rig Veda

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

links between IVC and modern Hinduism (2):

A
  • great bath and washing for purification

- female figures and clay figurines and goddesses and murtis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what might female figurines represent and why?

A

-fertility goddesses because of exaggerated feminine characteristics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what opposing ideas do goddesses represent?

A
  • traditional ideas of femininity such as motherhood e.g. Ganga Ma, ma meaning mother
  • also powerful sometimes wrathful figures such as Durga or Kali
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what is the name for feminine power of the divine?

A

shakti

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

what is a view that makes female goddesses important?

A

that male devas are powerless without their consort

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

why is venerating murtis so common?

A

because for many the point of worship is to gain darshan, or a glimpse of God ‘meeting the gaze of God’
-so murtis often have big eyes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what are the two links of the figurines in the IVC?

A
  • worship of goddesses

- worship of murtis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

description of ‘Proto-Shiva’ figure:

A
  • appears to have antlers
  • sitting in yoga position
  • erect phallus
  • surrounded by animals
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

what are the different forms Shiva is portrayed as in Hinduism? (4)

A
  • lingha: a phallic symbol representing his creative power (anthropomorphic because some say it is dangerous to worship him as a man)
  • Shiva maha-yogi: who maintains the universe through meditation
  • Shiva paraputi: surrounded by animals and wearing antlers
  • Nataraja: cosmic ecstatic dancer (dancing on a demon symbolising ignorance, maya)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

what might some scholars argue that the yogi postion might mean?

A
  • Kak and Frawley
  • evidence for yoga being practised in the IVC
  • however this argument is overstated
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

hierarchal society links:

A
  • to varna (caste) system

- rigid spiritual hierarchy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

why might IVC houses have two fireplaces?

A
  • one for cooking and warmth

- one possibly for fire sacrifices

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

what kind of account was given of the Aryans in the Vedas?

A

accurate rather than mythological account

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

what does Aryan mean?

A

‘the noble ones’

32
Q

who were the Aryans?

A

-nomadic pastoralists and warriors who were invaders

33
Q

what seems to have happened to the Indus Valley sites?

A

-abandoned and inhabitants driven away

34
Q

how did the Aryans describe themselves and how did they describe the people they supplanted?

A
  • tall and fair skinned

- ‘dark skinned, squat nosed, phallus worshippers’

35
Q

what kind of gods did the Aryans worship?

A
  • war like gods

- particularly Indra ‘smasher of cities’

36
Q

where could the varna system originate from?

A
  • keeping the two groups separate

- forbidding marriage across the racial divide

37
Q

what fact supports the theory that the Aryans invaded?

A

no weapons

38
Q

what is Sanskrit seen as?

A

a European ‘proto-language’

39
Q

what are the problems with an Aryan invasion:

A
  • the IVC was incredibly large
  • the cities were abandoned not ‘smashed’
  • no signs of warfare
40
Q

what is likely to be the cause of abandonment?

A

water shortage caused by the drying of the saraswati river

41
Q

what theory do the majority of scholars believe?

A
  • the Aryan migration theory

- they migrated over thousands of years

42
Q

when were the Vedas believed to be have written?

A

1500 BC

43
Q

what does the term Vedic religion mean?

A

used to describe the religious ideas in a group of Sanskrit texts called the Vedas

44
Q

why are they still important today?

A

contain beliefs and practises that are still part of contemporary Hindu practise

45
Q

what does it mean when they are used as a benchmark?

A

meaning if you accept the vedas as the most important religious texts then you are a Hindu

46
Q

who brought about the idea of the vedas being a benchmark?

A

Dayananda Saraswati

47
Q

are the vedas shruti or smriti?

A
  • the vedas are shruti
  • meaning that which is heard
  • meaning they are words heard by rishis
  • thus ultimately authored by God
48
Q

what does the word ‘veda’ mean?

A

‘to know’

49
Q

what varna are they still important to?

A

the Brahmin priests who incorporate sections into daily rituals

50
Q

what was Vedic religion centred around? (2)

A
  • yajna, the fire sacrifice

- worship of the devas

51
Q

what is the yajna based upon? and what makes it a sacrifice?

A
  • making offerings to the devas by placing them in the fire

- the specific ritual and Sanskrit words makes it a sacrifice

52
Q

was early Vedic religion monotheistic or polytheistic and why?

A

polytheistic because many scholars identify 33 devas

53
Q

what categories were the devas divided into?

A

sky, atmosphere, earth

54
Q

who was the principle deva?

A
  • varuna
  • sky deva
  • celestial or heavenly being
  • creator of the world
  • maintained the universe in accordance with rta-‘the way things should be’
55
Q

about Indra:

A
  • ‘thunder god’
  • god of battles
  • thrashes the evil spiritual powers of the universe
56
Q

about Rudra:

A
  • controlling the primal powers of nature - storm, sickness, and possibly even death
  • widely feared so invocations called upon him were not called upon directly but through Shiva
57
Q

what devas were the most important?

A
  • those associated with the yajna

- terrestrial devas

58
Q

what would you do if you wanted something?

A

-pay a Brahmin priest to perform a yajna

59
Q

what ideas about the afterlife hadn’t been developed in the Vedic times?

A

reincarnation or a cyclical existence

60
Q

what was the most common sacrifice?

A

horse

early records suggest human but it probably wasn’t common

61
Q

what happened at the end of the vedic period to sacrificial gifts?

A

they were standardised to ghee, grains, fruit and milk

62
Q

what is another significant element of yajna?

A

the preparation and drinking of soma, a hallucinogenic

63
Q

what happened over time to the devas in relation to yajna?

A
  • they became less important

- elements of the sacrifice were worshipped and deified

64
Q

who were the deities of the yajna? (3)

A
  • agni god of fire
  • soma the deva who represented the symbolic liquid offering
  • brihaspati the divine priest
65
Q

what is special about sanskrit?(2)

A
  • is not a human language, divine, shruti
  • the thing and word aren’t different, not a way of describing external reality but a way of participating even controlling reality
66
Q

is sanskrit shruti or smriti?

A

shruti

67
Q

what is a mantra?

A

a phrase in the language of the gods, a powerful utterance

68
Q

what is believed to happen when one says a mantra correctly?

A

can bring about changes in the universe

69
Q

what is special about Agni in relation to the 3 realms of the cosmos?

A

he is part of all 3

  • earth-fire
  • sky-sun
  • atmosphere-lightning
70
Q

what did the polytheistic religion change to?

A
  • pantheism

- a single being or entity underlies all the different phenomena of the world

71
Q

what is the difference between shruti and smriti?

A
  • shruti ‘that which has been heard’ - unquestionable truth from God
  • smriti ‘that which has been remembered
72
Q

are the vedas shruti or smriti?

A
  • shruti
  • revealed to rishis
  • without beginning
73
Q

what would the majority of the orthodox say about the vedas?

A
  • that they are impersonal, not the ‘word of God’

- pre-existent, an embodiment of eternal law

74
Q

what is the oldest text?

A

the Rig veda, a collection of hymns

75
Q

what does the term Veda describe?

A
  • the 4 samhitas-collections

- importance is to do with yajna

76
Q

meaning of shruti:

A

shruti means revealed

77
Q

meaning of smriti:

A

smriti means remembered

Religious Studies Hinduism A2 (4 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions