final exam Flashcards
Which heterodox school or religion is best known for its ethical teaching that non-violence is the highest dharma resulting in its adherents wearing masks and sweeping the ground clear of insects before walking upon it?
Jainism
The famous phrase from the Upaniṣads “tat tvam asi” is translated as “you are that” and affirms the unity of the individual soul and the ultimate divine reality.
true
The Bhagavad Gītā is a chapter within the much larger Mahābhārata epic. The Gītā is said to have a Upaniṣad-like structure, with Kṛṣṇa as the teacher and Arjuna as the student.
True
In the famous Purusa Myth of the Rg veda, how is the world created?
through the sacrifice of a primal being
Saktas are devotees of Devi (the Goddess) and her divine power (sakti)
True
In the Vedic system of social classes or varnas, the priests are ranked above the noble or ruling class
true
In the Upaniṣads, what is the Sanskrit term for essential or absolute divine reality?
Brahman
During British colonial rule in India, which of the following was created as a rational, Upanisad-based Hinduism cleansed of its more “superstitious” elements and supportive of Western education, science, and the uplift of women?
Brahmo Samaj
According to Hindu theories of time, in which of the four yugas are we currently living in?
Kali
The BJP currently holds power in India
True
Svadharma refers to one’s personal dharma and changes based on one’s gender, class (varna), and life-stage.
True
This important plant deity of the earliest Vedas was considered an ideal offering and ingested by the rsis to receive or hear the first stories of the gods and goddesses.
Soma
According to Patanjali’s “Royal Yoga,” the final aim (and “limb”) is absorption (samadhi) into the divine, which is moksa.
True
Though an extreme ideal and rarely practiced, satī is the practice of widows sacrificing themselves on the cremation pyre of their husbands. It has been banned by the Indian government.
True
Bharat Mata is the name of the goddess equated with the subcontinent of India itself. She is Mother India and is often used as a symbol of Hindu nationalism.
True
There are typically nine Tantric chakras, the highest of which is called the “Thousand-petaled lotus.”
False
According to the orthodox tradition, both chastity and fasting enhance spiritual potency, power, and auspiciousness.
True
Which Hindu tradition has used images of deities in sexual embrace to symbolize spiritual teachings?
Tantra
Women are present in the literature of the Upaniṣads, including some who are portrayed as a guru or teacher.
True
Which of the following is not one of the the four varṇas or classes?
Untouchables
The Bhagavad Gita is a famous conversation between a Hindu god and a warrior. Which of the following are the two characters in conversation?
Krsna and Arjuna
What Hindu deity is most frequently represented as being at odds with social conventions and expectations?
Siva
Sankara’s Vedanta promoted devotion (bhakti) as the path to moksa while Ramanuja’s promoted knowledge (jnana)
False
Correct answer: Sankara’s Vedanta promoted knowledge (jnana) as the path to moksa while Ramanuja’s promoted devotion (bhakti)
In the city Gold studies in Provincial Hinduism, which deity (and form) has the greatest number of religious places of worship dedicated to them?
The Goddess as Durga
Of the daily rites performed by a temple priest, especially those in the morning and evening, which is considered the most important or high point and accompanied by a clamor of bells and noise?
the circling of flame before the image
Widows are generally considered to be inauspicious.
True
In discussions of karma, actions are often likened to ________________ which produce ________________.
Seeds, fruit
In the Upaniṣads, what is the Sanskrit term for the individual soul or self?
Ātman
Which of the following is a literal translation of Upaniṣad?
“To sit down next to”
In one of the most influential religious stories of the dharma of women, this wife saves her husband from Yama, the God of Death?
Savitri
What is qawwali?
music associated with Sufism
A religious basis for the caste system cannot be found in the Vedas.
False
Karma yoga consists of the renouncing of the “fruits of one’s __________________.”
actions
Which is the Sanskrit term for the Hindu theory of causality stating all actions produce effects, either positive or negative, in this life or another?
Karma
Which 19th century Hindu figure is most famous for reforming the role of the world-renouncers and ascetics? He thought they should balance the seeking of spiritual liberation with service to humanity.
Ramakrishna
Which deity is associated with liṅga worship?
Siva
Which is the commonly used Sanskrit term for the individual soul which moves from body to body and collects karmic residue?
Jiva
Krishna is associated with the cowherd women (gapis) and his divine play (rasa lila) with them.
True
This Sanskrit term means image or icon and refers to any representation of the divine.
Murti
In his analysis of regional groups and their unique religious features, Gold highlights the Singhis from Sindu, a region now in Pakistan. What religious traditions are the Sindhis traditionally most aligned with?
Sikhism
Both gurus featured in Provincial Hinduism taught a yoga called surat sabd through which the practitioner attains the divine. Through this practice, the meditator is said to __________.
enter a divine current of sound
Of the three ways of liberation in the Bhagavad Gita the ways of knowledge is singled out by Krsna as most important and the one he prefers
false
This term names the cosmic/sacred order that early Vedic ritual aspired to align with.
Ṛta
In Provincial Hinduism, Daniel Gold was surprised to find Hindus as the majority of worshippers at these types of religious shrines
shrines to Sufi saints
This term refers to blessed or consecrated food that is eaten by devotees after it has been offered to and partaken of by deities.
prasāda
Which Hindu movement arrived in New York City in 1969, featured chanting and dancing, and quickly became labeled a “cult” by the media and mainstream American religions?
International Society for Krsna Consciousness
In Provincial Hinduism, Gold (in agreement with other scholars) suggests European and American interest in Hinduism (especially the Upanishads) was a major factor in the development of the Hindu Renaissance.
True
Patańjali defines yoga as “the ending of _________________________.”
The Whirling of Thought
Of the four genres of Vedic literature which is primarily concerned with the proper practice of yajńa?
Brāhmaṇas
After the period of cosmic dissolution, and before the cosmos is regenerated, this deity is pictured reclining on the cosmic serpent Anānta?
Visnu
