Religious Life

Question 1

Origins of the caste system- Purusha, the cosmic being
Rig Veda 10:90

Answer 1

“His mouth was the Brahmins, His arms were made into the kshatriyas, His two thighs were the vaishyas, And from his feet the sudras were born”

Question 2

Origins of the caste system
Bhagavad Gita

Answer 2

“These are the works of a kshatriya, a heroic mind… trade, agriculture and the rearing of cattle is the work of a vaishya, and the work of a sudra is service”

Question 3

Varnashramadharma
Ian Jamison

Answer 3

“The significance of the varna system is thus fundamentally spiritual: It was created by the gods and is inherently dharmic”

Question 4

Bramacharya-Student stage
Manu samhita

Answer 4

“Restrain his senses which run wild among alluring sense objects”

Question 5

Vanaprastha- Retirement Stage
Manu Samhita

Answer 5

“He should be engaged in regular study, control his senses, keep friendly behaviour with everyone and keep a tranquil mind”

Question 5

Grihasta- householder stage
Desai

Answer 5

“All ashramas subsist on the support of the grihastha. It is important to note that if the grihastha does not live in the prescribed way, the three other ashramas are affected”

Question 6

Sannyasin- Renunciation Stage
Swami Vivekananda

Answer 6

“A sannyasin cannot belong to any religion, for his life is a life independant thought, which draws from all religions: his is a life of realisation”

Question 7

Dalits
Gandhi

Answer 7

“I am ‘touchable’ by birth but
‘untouchable’ by choice…. what I
should delight in dying for is the
eradication of untouchability…”

Question 8

Varna vs Caste
Gandhi

Answer 8

“Castes are innumerable and in their present condition they are a drag upon Hinduism…Varna stands on a different footing, and it means profession”

Question 9

Untouchability
Ambedkar

Answer 9

“I was born a hindu but i will not die a hindu”

Question 10

Untouchability and caste
Ambedkar

Answer 10

“You cannot build anything on the
foundation of caste.”

Question 11

Ahimsa
Gandhi

Answer 11

“Ahimsa is the highest duty. Even if
we cannot practise it in full, we must
try to understand its spirit and refrain
as far as is humanly possible from
violence”.

Question 12

Ahimsa Definition
Gandhi

Answer 12

“Ahimsa, non-violence, comes from strength, and the strength is from God, not man. Ahimsa always comes from within”

Question 13

Ahimsa is an active concept
Gandhi

Answer 13

“Ahimsa is not merely a negative state of harmlessness, bit it is a positive state of love, of doing good even to the evil-doer”