Hinduism

Question 1

ahimsa

Answer 1

In Sanskrit, literally, “non injury” It is the principle that a person should do no harm

Question 2

Artha

Answer 2

literally means “success.” Material success and social prestige, one of the four goals of life

Question 3

Aryans

Answer 3

a group of people who emigrated from the west into the upper Indus Valley and the nearby territory around 1500 BCE

Question 4

Ascetic

Answer 4

a general term for a person who denies themselves some of the necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter, for the sake of spiritual advancement

Question 5

Atman

Answer 5

The eternal self, which the Upanishads identify with Brahman; the eteran self for soul of an individual that is reincarnated from one body to the next and is ultimately identified with Atman

Question 6

Avatar

Answer 6

a manifestation of a god in an earthly form, usually that of a human or animal

Question 7

Brahman

Answer 7

The power behind and within the cosmos that makes it function and live. Can also be seen as the Ultimate Reality

Question 8

Caste

Answer 8

the western term for varna. Castes provide the major divisions of Hindu society

Question 9

Dharma

Answer 9

means virtue. In particular, it refers to the duties of a person’s caste

Question 10

Kama

Answer 10

pleasure, one of the four encouraged goals of life in Hinduism

Question 11

Karma

Answer 11

The Sanskrit term meaning “action” It refers to a concept in which the results of one’s actions accumulate over one’s life

Question 12

Maya

Answer 12

the true nature of the cosmos we can see

Question 13

Moksha

Answer 13

Liberation or release from the cycle of the human condition

Question 14

Samsara

Answer 14

The cycle of death and rebirth in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Reincarnation

Question 15

Twice-Born

Answer 15

the upper three castes whose males go through a “re-birth” ceremony when they come-of-age at around 12.

Question 16

Bhagavad-Gita

Answer 16

“The song of the Blessed Lord” a short section of the epic poem Mahabharata in which the god Krishna teaches the great warrior Arjuna about bhakti marga and other ways to God; Hinduism’s most popular sacred text

Question 17

Bhakti Marga

Answer 17

“The path of devotion” The most popular of the three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing loving devotion to one’s chosen god or goddess

Question 18

brahmin

Answer 18

The highest of the four classes of the caste system, traditionally made up of priests

Question 19

jnana marga

Answer 19

“the path of knowledge” One of three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing knowing the true nature of reality through learning and meditation

Question 20

karma marga

Answer 20

“the path of works” One of three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing performing right actions according to dharma

Question 21

kshatriya

Answer 21

The second of the four classes of the caste system, traditionally made up of warriors and administrators

Question 22

Rig Veda

Answer 22

A collection of 1017 Sanskrit hymns composed of about 1500 BC or earlier; Hinduism’s oldest sacred text

Question 23

samadhi

Answer 23

A trancelike state in which self-consciousness is lost, and the mind is absorbed into the ultimate reality; the culmination of the eight steps of Yoga

Question 24

Sankhya

Answer 24

A system of Hindu philosophy and one approach within jnana marga, “the path of knowledge,” asserting that reality conprises two distinct categories: matter and eternal selves.

Question 25

sannyasin

Answer 25

A wandering ascetic who has advanced to the fourth and highest stage of life

Question 26

sati

Answer 26

the traditional practice of burning a widow on her husband's funeral pyre; outlawed in 1829, though it still occurs rarely

Question 27

shudra

Answer 27

The lowest of the four classes of the caste system, traditionally made up of servants and laborers

Question 28

Upanishads

Answer 28

"sitting near a teacher" A collection of over two hundred texts composed between 900 and 200 BC that provide philosophical commentary on the Vedas

Question 29

vaishya

Answer 29

The third of the four classes of the caste system, traditionally made up of producers, such as farmers, merchants and artisans

Question 30

Vedanta

Answer 30

A system of Hindu philosophy and one approach within jnana marga holding that all reality is essentially Brahman; most notable advocate is the medieval Hindu philosopher Shankara.

Question 31

Yoga

Answer 31

A system of Hindu philosophy and one approach within jnana marga seeking to free the eternal self from the bondage of personhood, culminating in the experience of samadhi; physical and psychological techniques for spiritual advancement.