1st Vocab Test Flashcards
What are the 4 aims of life?
Moksha, Dharma, Artha, Kama
What is Moksha?
The ultimate goal of life, liberation from samsara cycle
What is dharma?
Duties he or she should do eg goodness and virtue
What is Artha?
Trying to gain more or earn wealth though lawful means.
What is Kama?
Enjoying pleasure of life responsibly
What is the symbol of Brahman?
Om/Aum which is the first sound at the start of all creation
What is the Hindu name for supreme being
Brahman
What is nirguna Brahman?
Brahman without form or shape
What is saguna Brahman?
God/ the Supreme being shown in form
What is bhagavan?
Brahman existing with spirits and deities
Who are the 3 main deities in the tri murti?
Brahma the creator,Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the destroyer
What does the trimurti represent
The three very important aspects of god which are emphasised
How long ago did the ancient civilisation of the Indus Valley exist?
Around 6000 years ago
When were the Persians established?
4000 years ago, 2000 years later after the indus people
What are shruti texts
That which has been heard eg upandishads and vedas
What are smriti texts
That which has been remembered eg Puranas and Ramayana
What is monotheism
The belief there is only one God
What are deities?
Individual manifestations of Brahman are called deities/gods/goddesses
What is antaryami?
The god within humans, animals, plants
Who is Ganesha?
Elephant head, son of shiva and Parvati, seen as good luck and remover of obstacles
Who is hanuman?
Monkey warrior, his mace symbolises strength and authority, patron of sportsman, soldiers and wrestlers
Who is Parvati?
Reincarnation of sati, symbolises motherhood her red symbolises destroying evil
Who is Saraswati?
Goddess of learning and doesn’t like earthly possessions, plays a musical instrument to symbolise harmony throughout the body
Who is lakshmi?
Symbolises beauty, prosperity and wealth, worshipped during festival of Diwali for new year. Perfect Union with vishnu and is brave protective and charitable.
What does ascetic mean?
Someone who is strongly against desires and pleasures such as not eating for a long time.
What does maya mean?
Illusion
What is shaivism?
Second largest group of Hindus, worship shiva and are normally ascetic who aim for liberation.
Who is Shiva?
Part of Trimurti, most complex Hindu god, in charge of destruction then recreating afterwards.
Who is Brahma?
Responsible for creation, 4 heads so responsible for whole created world.
Who is Vishnu?
Has 10 avatars, is the preserver and sustainer of the universe and consort is Lakshmi
What is vaishnavism?
Focuses worship on Vishnu, based on Upanishads, the Vedas and the Puranas and especially the Bhagavad Gita
What is an avatar?
Vishnu appearing in many forms
What is adharma?
Evil
Who is Rama
One of the two important Vishnu avatars, appeared on earth to help battle a demon, demonstrates power of good over evil and virtues such as courage and honour.
What is The Ramayana?
The story of Rama and Sita
Who is Ravana?
Evil demon who kidnapped Sita and battled Rama
Who is Krishna?
Important Vishnu avatar, helped bring peace to two warring nations
What is the Kurukshetra war?
The war in which Krishna helped bring peace after years of fighting, teaches armies about dharma and living honourable lives.
What does the 4 aims of life mean?
The 4 aims of life is something every Hindu should work towards
Wha is santana dharma?
Eternal truth
What is varnashrama dharma?
Responsibilities which apply to different people depending on their age, their status in society, their job etc
What is varna?
4 classes that Hindu societies base around, brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, shudras
What is free will?
Hindus believe very strongly in free will, your actions and choices are your responsibility. There are some elements of our lives we can’t control. Free will important because dharma makes sense with it
What are the 6 personal virtues?
Helps humans develop throughout their lives:
Ahimsa,
love,
respect,
humility,
control over the mind and senses
empathy
What is ahimsa?
Non violence even to the smallest living things
What is the Atman?
Real self, spirit inside every living thing, entirely pure, limitless and non human
What is transmigration
The movement of the atman from one body to another
What is the samara cycle?
Continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth
What is the law of karma?
Good actions = atman better life if bad actions then opposite
What is reincarnation?
The atman taking on a new physical being
What is Prakriti
Matter - the material substance that all physical things are made of
What is purusa?
Spirit - the non physical elements in the universe
What does cosmology mean
Ideas and beliefs about the universe
What is the cycle of the 4 ages?
Each time the universe is created, it goes through 4 ages. Each age gets more difficult and discordant then the last
What does yuga mean
Period of time
What is the tri-guna
The 3 stages all matter goes through, creation, maintenance and destruction.
Who is kalki?
One of Vishnu’s avatar who will destroy and recreate the universe because it is so broken and violent
What is the Golden Yuga?
A time of perfection and harmony
No evil or suffering
Humans are happy and virtuous
1.7 million years
What is the Silver Yuga?
Human qualities of truth virtue and goodness start to decline slightly.
War begins as power and control is fought over
Natural environment begins to be corrupted
1.2 million years
What is the Copper Yuga?
Humans are focusing on themselves not others.
War is frequent
Discord between humanity and animals
Natural disasters are common
800,000 years
What is the Iron Yuga?
Age of ignorance and self interest
War is frequent and brutal
Natural world is at breaking point, irreversible damage
400,000 years
