272 hinduism Flashcards
1
Q
hinduism compared to other world religions 7
A
- only one with no founder or current leader
- 3rd largest in the world
- least dogmatic
- no shared creed
- absorbs new influences, very fluid
- no excommunication
- only one comperable to judaism in age
2
Q
3 groups that encountered
A
aryans, dravidians, animists
3
Q
aryan 4
A
- from sanskrit meaning “noble ones”
- came originally from scandinavia, then through persia to india
- had horses
- fine features
4
Q
dravidians 4
A
- from sanskrit meaning “people of the penninsula”
- came to india over islands, maybe all the way from australia
- had boats
- dark features
5
Q
what all 3 groups had in common 5
A
- ritual purity linked to water
- socio-religious unity (religious and political head the same)
- used fertility figures
- holy persons in a transstate
- nature deities
6
Q
male force of life
A
lingam
7
Q
female force of life
A
yoni
8
Q
lingam and yoni together 2
A
- deity present, symbol of blessing
9
Q
what caused the development of the caste system 2
A
- differences in race, culture, language, labour, lifestyle
- aryans got ahead because they had horses
10
Q
caste system 3
A
- 4 castes, one outcaste
- very rigid, must stay where born into
- smaller divisions within
11
Q
order of caste system 5
A
- brahmins
- kshatriyas
- vaishas
- shudras
- pariahs/harijans/untouchables/outcasts/dalits
12
Q
brahmins
A
religious teachers and priests, head of govt
13
Q
upper varnas 3
A
- brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishas, shudras
- descendents of aryans
- can have spiritual salvation if a man
14
Q
kshatriyas
A
aristocrats, military, gov admin, warriors, “old money”
15
Q
vaishas
A
skilled workers, merchants, large-scale farmers
16
Q
shudras 3
A
- unskilled labourers, subsistence farmers, slaves, indentured workers
- descendents of dravidians
- lower/inferior varna
17
Q
outcasts/pariahas/untouchables/dalits/harijans 2
A
- lowest of low
- descendents of animists
18
Q
interactions between castes
A
- don’t touch hands or objects, money
- don’t eat together, intermarry
19
Q
brahman 8
A
- divine life force
- recognized but not worshipped
- oozes and occasionally spills into history, creating gods that eventally go back to brahman
- symbolized by ocean or desert - moving and changing
- no personality or morality
- can’t be collected or manipulated
- nothing outside of brahma, if you think there is, you’re living in illusion (maya)
- different spills make dif timelines
20
Q
brahma 5
A
- creator god
- all-knowing (several heads)
- all-seeing (many eyes)
- all-powerful (many arms)
- wise (beard)
21
Q
sarasvati 3
A
- brahma’s consort
- goddess of education and arts
- multiple heads = knowledge
22
Q
shiva 5
A
- can morph into various forms
- 3 main manifestations
- river ganges from forehead - life force
- snake around neck - control over nature
- 3 lines on forehead - past, present, future
23
Q
shiva’s 3 main manifestations
A
- creator, sustainer, destroyer
24
Q
shiva as creator
A
manifests as lingam, life force, can never be extinguished
25
shiva as sustainer 3
- meditative yogi
- keeps gravity working, sun and moon cycles, seasons through his concentration
- beats out rhythm of universe on drums
26
shiva as destroyer 3
- destroyer of obstacles
- lord of dance, one leg raised to show he's above the earth
- tramples on the demon of ignorance
27
parvati 3
- shiva's consort, called his shakti or power
- most powerful consort
- has 4 main manifestations
28
parvati's 4 manifestations
- parvati - consort, gentle
- annapurna - mother, eternally pregnent
- durga - warrior
- kali - death and judgement
29
more on kali 2
- saved humanity by eating demons
- kills with purpose, before you can do too much bad, mercidul
30
ganesha 5
- shiva and parvati's son
- shiva was startled and accidentaly cut his head off, so elephant asked to give head and unites species with gods
- grants fortunes
- wrote holy books with broken off tusk
- rides bestie rat mooshika
31
vishnu 4
- the preserver
- asleep on remains of last universe
- dreaming, has dreamt up work of brahma
- lotus flower brahma sits on comes from his belly button
32
vishnu's dream 4
- our history is vishnu's dream
- suffering not real, Maya
- shiva breating drum louder and louder, eventually will wake up vishnu and this world will go back to brahma
- at various times in his dream he enters (avatars/incarnations) - 10 times total
33
lakshimi 2
- vishnu's consort
- goddess of fortune and beauty
34
vishnu's first three avatars 4
- all had to do with global flood
- fish - warned people
- tortoise - rescued treasures
- boar - raised up land to dry again
35
vishnu's avatars 4-6 4
- killed evil demons
- lion
- dwarf
- parusha
36
rama 4
- helped by hanuman (monkey king) who reunites him with sita
- him and sita ideal married couple
- led home from sri lanka to india with lights, showing light triumphs over darkness (origins of diwali)
- becomes king after being wrongly exiled (story of redemption, good will win)
37
vishnu's 10 avatars in order
fish
tortoise
boar
lion
dwarf
parusha
rama
krishna
buddha
kalki
38
vishna's avatars 7-9 4
rama, krishna, buddha
worshipped as ind'l gods
39
krishna 4
- lived in farm town, connection to cows
- plays flute
- becomes great warrior
- radha consort
40
vishnu's last avatar 4
- kalki
- only one yet to come
- to pronounce judgement at the end of the dream
- comes on white horse with sword of judgement
41
spiritual problem 2
- samsara
- wandering, vicious cycle of life, death, and rebirth
42
spiritual solution 2
- moksha
- release, spiritual liberation from reincarnation, allowing for union with Brahman
43
karma 3
- means deeds (stuff done) or words
- locked sequence of events: what you do now directly effects your future
- gives hope: control over what you do to make future better
44
darma
- duty within your cast to move up and gain good karma
45
sin 3
- ignorance of theology
- neglect of religious duties
- violation of caste rules
46
salvation 3
- knowledge of theology
- devotion to religious duties
- works
47
death 3
- people go to varanasi to die near ganges river
- put ashes in there for faster reincarnation, or else their spirit wanders for longer
- cremate dead
48
suttee 2
- for a woman to be burned alive on her husbands's funeral pure, act of devotion
- outlawed but still happens.
49
private practice 3
- yoga
- goal is self-transcendence and union with the divine
- restricting body in order to free the soul and mind
50
4 steps of yoga
- way of spiritual exercises
- way of works
- way of knowledge
- way of devotion
51
way of spiritual exercises 3
- way to open inner life forces w/in you
- 7 chakras and 3rd eye - where life force is felt in body
- includes 4 types of yoga
52
hatha yoga 4
- strives for balance of opposing parts of body (ha=sun, tha=moon)
- combines postures, breathing techniques, meditation
- slow
- where western yoga gets positions from
53
kundalini yoga 2
- serpent yoga
- goal is to awaken snake that moves up spine and enters brain to enter a state of ecstasy
54
tantric yoga 3
- sex as yoga
- goal is to climax at same time to understand what it's like to be opposite gender, connection to universe
- not for rship, procreation, or pleasure, but spiritual exploration
55
way of works
ceremonies, darma
56
way of knowledge
in a transstate
57
way of devotion 2
- bhakti
- ultimate goal of yoga, to form union b/w human and divine
58
guru 4
- gu = darkness, ru = light, leader from light to darkness
- trains aspiring yogi
- has vertical lines on head to mark body like temple. purifies and protects, followers of vishnu
- gives aspiring yogi mantra
59
corporate practice 5
- temples
- small but very decorated
- house of deity
- often built in ganges
- often have a mandala or meditation aid on floor
60
communal practice
- festivals
- many many people
- to honour deities
