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noteguide: Hinduisms Flashcards

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1
Q

founder of Hinduism?

A

no identifiable founder

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2
Q

date of origin of Hinduism

A

around 2500 BCE, but no key event or revelation

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3
Q

hinduism is diverse, so refer to ____

A

Hinduisms, family of religions

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4
Q

main disagreement in Hinduism about historical setting

A

to what degree did “outsiders” influence early Hinduism? or did they at all?
- some say that Hinduism arose WITHIN present-day India
- some say that outsiders from the northwest had an influence

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5
Q

Indus Valley

A

highly developed civilizations
- Dravidian (aryan city in Central Asia; “noble ones”): due to famine, theory suggest that Aryan’s arrived in India in 1500 BCE

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6
Q

what happened when Aryan immigrants arrived in India in 1500 BCE?

A
  • they moved southeast to India (and some to Europe)
    -they brought religious beliefs (animistic, polytheistic, fire sacrifice) that combined with indigenous beliefs to produce Hinduism
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7
Q

Vedic Era dates

A

1500 BCE - 600 BC (~ 900 years)

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8
Q

what are the Vedas

A

sacred writings that are considered the oldest and most sacred books of Hinduism

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9
Q

4 basic Vedic texts

A
  • Rig Veda
  • Yajur Veda
  • sama veda
  • Atharva Veda
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10
Q

central gods of Vedic era: Indra

A

god of storm who defeats god of chaos

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11
Q

central gods of Vedic era: Agni

A

god of fire; sacrifices are made via fire

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12
Q

central gods of Vedic era: veruna

A

maintained order of the universe and forgave sins

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13
Q

central gods of Vedic era: minor gods who became major gods?

A

Vishnu

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14
Q

Brahma

A

creator God

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15
Q

Brahmin

A

priestly class/caste

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16
Q

Brahman

A

universal/cosmic/spiritual force; eternal and impersonal

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17
Q

“the sun would not rise if….”

A

priests did not sacrifice
-shows the centrality of the Brahmin class

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18
Q

example of reactions against unbalanced “priestly” power/control during the Vedic era

A

-Buddhism is a reaction
- new focus on a portion of the Vedas called the Upanishads, which was a transition from the priestly to the more personal.

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19
Q

Upanishadic Era dates

A

600 - 400BCE

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20
Q

Upanishads translates to?

A

“sitting near a teacher”: philosophical conversation between a teacher/student who are on a quest for insight/knowledge that will bring liberation

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21
Q

how many principle Upanishads are there? how many in total though?

A

14 principle; 200 total

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22
Q

central teachings of Upanishadic Era: One Power =

A

Brahman
- he is unthinkable; not a deity or being, but impersonal spiritual essence but also not a spirit
- foundation/essence of everything

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23
Q

central teachings of Upanishadic Era: Atman

A

our innermost soul/essence
- for many, Atman = Brahman
- body dies, but Atman is reborn in some other form via rebirth cycle
- what atman is reborn as depends on karma

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24
Q

central teachings of Upanishadic Era: Karma

Study These Flashcards
A
  • every deed/act has a consequence
  • good deed = good consequence
  • cycle of rebirth is NOT a positive (reborn into suffering)
25
central teachings of Upanishadic era: Moksha from Samsara
LIBERATION -person combines cosmic force (Brahman) to be no longer distinct
26
Upanishadic religion is a _______, _______ religion.
philosophical, cognitive
27
classical era dates
400 BCE - 600 CE
28
classica era includes the age of the_____, which is called....
Age of the Guptas; Golden Age of India
29
the classical era was a time of _____ of other _____
assimilation of other gods -reaction to philosophical upanishads
30
__________ is a sacred writing that contains the ________
Mahabharata contains the Bhagavad Gita -massive epic poem written over extended period of times
31
story of the BG
- It is a small section of the epic poem (Mahabharata) - study of 2 families that are in a battle. the BG is a dialogue between a warrior (Arjuna) and his chariot driver (who is really Vishnu in the form of Krishna). Arjuna does not want to with his family, but Krishna says that since he is a warrior, he needs to fulfill his duty of his caste. "and your cousin, if good, will have good karma when you kill them". -
32
what is the contribution of BG to hindu thought?
duties of caste = religious duties you must fulfill - if not, bad karma will lead to worst reincarnation - vishnu comes to earth in multiple forms (Krishna) - Moksha can be achieved through a variety of means
33
story of the Ramayana
- Rama = king - Sita = wife of king - sita is capture by demon power and rma rescues his wife - Rama = vishnu avatar
34
contribution of ramayana to Hindu thought
- shows the duties of the various relationships in society (of all creatures) - for example, how a king should behave
35
what is the law of manu?
NOT a story - it is an ethical text written over the course of 500 years - contains roots of social and religious modern structure of hinduism - system of social stratification - for example, women need care and protection of males
36
modern era of Hinduism: Central gods:
the Hindu "trinity": 3 foundational figures
37
the central gods of modern hinduism are..... ______ of ....
expressions of Brahman's functions
38
3 main gods (with their partners)
1. Brahma (creator) and wife Savarsvati 2. Vishnu (operator) and wife Lakshari but has other partners 3. Shiva (destroyer) and wife Paravati but has consort, Kali
39
Vishnu details
- god of love, forgiveness, play, etc. - incarnates (as avatars) to help humans - 10 reincarnations, 9 have already come
40
Shiva details
- destroyer - moment of death = moment of renewal - also god of fertility, renewal, rebirth - symbol = lingam-yoni --> combo of male and female genitalia representing fertility
41
the feminine power =
shakti - forms: devi goddess
42
name some popularly worshipped gods
- Ganesh (elephant) - Shiva - Krishna - Rama - etc
43
Schools of philosophy: Advaita Vedanta
atman = brahman - monistic view
44
schools of philosophy: Vishishta-Advaita Vedanta
* All beings are a part of God, connected to Vishnu but we aren’t the same as him
45
Schools of philosophy: Dvaita Vedanta
- distinction between Atman and Brahman - dualist view
46
origins of the caste system
traced back to the vedic era with more explication in the law of manu
47
caste system: subcategories
4 main categories with many subcategories: Jati = birth group; the determining factor in life
48
basic structures of the caste system
1. brahmin: priestly 2. kshatriyas: warriors 3. Vaishuhs: producers/farmers/merchants 4. Shudras: servants
49
below the caste system / outcasts
dalits = oppressed ones harijans = children of god (euphamism for child with absent/unknown father)
50
what beliefs kept the caste system in place?
- born into caste and Jati due to karma - rebelling against duties of caste just lead to more bad karma, which could lead to an even worse reincarnation
51
life stages (ideal for men in top 3 castes)
1. student 2. householder (longest) 3. retirement (withdraw from work and society) 4. wandering beggar (disconnect from fam and depend on others; final pilgrimage to holy site)
52
acceptable life goals: you do not have to seek ... or ... , but can instead legitimately seek any of these four goals
Moksha/Salvation 1. dharma 2. kama 3. artha 4. moksha
53
dharma
duties
54
kama
- the way of pleasure - within acceptable parameters (governed by dharma)
55
artha
material things and political power
56
moksha
release from rebirth cycle
56
four different avenues to achieve Moksha/Salvation:
1. karma yoga: way of works 2. Jnana yoga: knowledge and insight via meditation 3. Bhakti: way of devotion *** 4. raja yoga: way of physical discipline so the body can be free
57
Hinduism's basic perspectives of the world
- brahman is reality - law of karma - humans are atman that wears a costume - goal is moksha from samsara - most hindus are devoted to specific deity - you get wha u deserve
58
final form of vishnu
Kalit - white hrse and sword - parallels with christ

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