Hinduism

Question 1

indus valley civilization

Answer 1

• important element in the origins of Hinduism
• arose 3000-2000 BCE
• declined ~1600, arrival of Aryans

Question 2

Proto-shiva

Answer 2

• clay tablet that depicted man on dais, bull horns/face surrounded by animals
• associations with yoga, lordship of animals suggests identifications with later gods

Question 3

aryans

Answer 3

• mobile, warlike people
• sense of superiority over Indus
• competed for resources

Question 4

vedas

Answer 4

• earliest sacred literature of hinduism
• AKA shruti (“heard, revealed”)
• 4 types of text:
  1. Samhinas (prayers)
  2. Brahmanas (instructions)
  3. Aranyakas (deeper meaning)
  4. Upanishads (understanding meaning)

Question 5

Rishi

Answer 5

• “seers”

- vedic poets who translated visions into sacred speech

Question 6

Rig Veda

Answer 6

classic vedic text that contains collection of hymns

Question 7

4 Castes (varnas)

Answer 7

1. Brahmanas
   - priests
   - each family in charge of memorizing certain parts
   - in charge of sacrifices
2. Kshatriyas
   - warriors
   - in charge of maintaining rita, governing
3. Vaisha
   - merchants/agricultural farmers
4. shudra
   - slaves, below the caste

Question 8

soma

Answer 8

• juices from plant of immortality (amrita) sacrificed to gods
• gave people visions
• fluid itself is referred to as a god
• associated with the priestly caste

Question 9

Agni

Answer 9

• god of fire
• receives offerings, conveys them to other gods
• associated with priestly caste

Question 10

Intra

Answer 10

• associated with warrior caste
• warrior, successful general
• king of gods, thunder/lightning

Question 11

varuna

Answer 11

• god, keeper of divine order

- associated with priestly function

Question 12

upanishads

Answer 12

general teachings:

• subtle, eternal reality behind world
• “atman” divine self, deepest level of a person
• “brahman” absolute reality
• everything has an essence, all the same god
• discerned only through disciplined yoga/meditation in the forest

Question 13

upanishads connotation

Answer 13

suggests that students go to guru, sit close to learn

Question 14

who did the upanishads begin doubting?

Answer 14

the Brahmans and their expensive sacrifices

Question 15

what did the upanishads do for sacrifices?

Answer 15

burning tapas (inner fire/agni); thought to burn off karma

Question 16

maya

Answer 16

“illusions”

• world of time, space, causation
• upanishads believed the world was constructed of maya

Question 17

a world of maya…

Answer 17

means the person did not give up attachments to world, will be reborn and karma will continue

Question 18

Karma

Answer 18

circumstances of new birth are determined by karma

Question 19

samsara

Answer 19

the continuous wheel of birth and death, endless reincarnation

Question 20

moksha

Answer 20

liberation from samsara

Question 21

how do upanishads achieve moksha?

Answer 21

they must realize that the body is not the self

Question 22

the Four Aims of Life (purusharthas)

Answer 22

1. dharma (virtue, duty, morality)
2. kama (pleasure and love)
3. artha ( wealth, prosperity)
4. moksha

Question 23

why were the four aims of life created?

Answer 23

it was the Brahmanical response to the upanishads

Question 24

Four Stages of Life (ashramas)

Answer 24

1. Student (brahamacharya)
   - live, study with a guru
2. Householder (grihastha)
   - social and family duties
3. forest dweller (vanaprastha)
   - retire to study, meditate
4. renunciate (sannyasi)
   - complete withdrawal to pursue moksha

Question 25

bhakti

Answer 25

- devotion - relationship with god, one love, adoration - usually theistic

Question 26

what are the different bhakti moods?

Answer 26

- servant to master - friend to friend - parent to child - lover to beloved

Question 27

Bhagavad-gita

Answer 27

- gita: most widely read scripture of Hindi tradition - song of the lord - contains small part of the Mahabharata - teaches devotion to god as a means of moksha

Question 28

Mahabharata

Answer 28

- leader of Pandavas (vedic gods) loses kingdom to Kauravas (demons)in dice game - exile for 13 years - when they came back, Kauravas refused to return kingdom

Question 29

Krishna

Answer 29

- prince from branch of Pandavas family - offers himself as charioteer to pandavas - becomes pandavas hero

Question 30

Arjuna

Answer 30

- hero of the Mahabharata battle - gets anxiety before the battle, doesn;t want to kill friends or family - dramatic setting for Gita's teachings

Question 31

Puja

Answer 31

- personal worship | - way of expressing love and devotion to a certain deity

Question 32

Sannyasin

Answer 32

- a person that completely withdraws from society in hopes of achieving moksha - last stage of ashrama

Question 33

adharma

Answer 33

anything against dharma