Final- Hindu Flashcards
Endless cycle of reincarnations
Samsara
Ethical duties based on caste, gender and stage in life
Dharma
Acts of devotion to a particular god or goddess
Puja
The goal in Hinduism, that is, release from the cycle of reincarnations
Moksha
Moral law of cause and effect, determines level of reincarnation, explains source of evil
Karma
The ultimate unknowable impersonal only being, the essence of everything and in fact is everything
Brahman
The highest caste in the caste system
Brahmin
The cosmology of Hinduism that there is only one reality
Monism
Cosmic illusion, does not exist, includes you and me as well as the physical universe
Maya
The part that got separated from the “one and only” like a drop of water that gets separated from the ocean, develops an ego and believed it exists as a separate being thus preventing moksha
Atman
Goal of pleasure within the bounds of ethical duties and karma
Kama
Goal of material success within the bounds of ethical duties and karma
Artha
Wandering ascetic after one has passed the other stages of life
Sannyasin
The highest level of the path of knowledge in which one becomes that which is known, the experience of the realization that the soul is Brahman, and that atman is Brahman, that Brahman is atman, practicing yoga helps achieve this
Samadhi
What most likely will result in moksha
Samadhi
Priests
Brahmin
Warriors and princes, rulers
Kshatriya
No caste, outcaste, untouchables, comparable to dogs, also called harijans, “god’s people” by matama Gandhi
Dalit
Merchants, businessmen, artisans, farmers, skilled laborers
Vaishya
Servants, unskilled laborers
Shudra
They collect dead animals, garbage, clean latrines, and cremate the dead
Dalit
They most likely will experience moksha when they die
Brahmin
In Hinduism what dies
Ego and body
In Hinduism what is reincarnated
Soul
What determines the level of reincarnation
Karmic record
Connection between the soul and Brahman
I am a caretaker of a soul, which is really not me but is Brahman
Why would a person be born a Dalit
The karmic record of a previous person which is attached to the reincarnated soul
Why would a person be born a vaishya
The karmic record of a previous person which is attached to the reincarnated soul
What is the goal of Hinduism
Get rid of self ego so that which is called “I” can be released from samsara and go to heaven
