Foundations of Hinduism Flashcards
what is the meaning behind the word ‘Hindu’
- etic discourse - what the invaders called people living near the Indus river
- not a description of a religion but of a people and a way of life
why is Hinduism so complicated?
- there is no definitive truth as to what the beliefs are
- immensely diverse
when did the IVC begin?
-about 4,600 years ago
what is Harappan culture?
-all the local cultures which joined the IVC
what was the IVC?
-an organised, urban culture focused around towns and cities
describe the houses:
- were planned before being built
- built on brick platforms to protect from floods
- houses were 2 storeys
- houses had a bathing area with water draining into city sewers
- all the bricks were of standard size
why might people say it was a hierarchal society?
- because of the difference between large buildings and citadels and smaller ones in residential areas
- some toys were made out of more expensive material than others
some urban features:
- sewers
- granaries
- industrial areas
describe the management of water:
- access to local wells
- a system for removal of waste through sewers
- settlements were built on slopes to allow water to flow from reservoirs into the city
where was a ‘great bath’ found?
Mohenjo-Daro
what was special a special feature?
standard weights and measures
why is it so hard to find out information about the culture and people?
the texts and remain untranslated
what is some evidence for life after death?
-seals and clay models were buried/general possessions with the people
IVC culture and Vedic Hinduism possible links with fire:
- two fire places
- fire sacrifices
IVC culture had a possible social hierarchy how is this linked with Vedic Hinduism?
varna system
IVC culture and Vedic Hinduism possible links with water:
- great bath
- ritual washing
what animal do both IVC culture and Vedic Hinduism have in common?
bulls - symbol of power - Rig Veda
links between IVC and modern Hinduism (2):
- great bath and washing for purification
- female figures and clay figurines and goddesses and murtis
what might female figurines represent and why?
-fertility goddesses because of exaggerated feminine characteristics
what opposing ideas do goddesses represent?
- traditional ideas of femininity such as motherhood e.g. Ganga Ma, ma meaning mother
- also powerful sometimes wrathful figures such as Durga or Kali
what is the name for feminine power of the divine?
shakti
what is a view that makes female goddesses important?
that male devas are powerless without their consort
why is venerating murtis so common?
because for many the point of worship is to gain darshan, or a glimpse of God ‘meeting the gaze of God’
-so murtis often have big eyes
what are the two links of the figurines in the IVC?
- worship of goddesses
- worship of murtis
description of ‘Proto-Shiva’ figure:
- appears to have antlers
- sitting in yoga position
- erect phallus
- surrounded by animals
what are the different forms Shiva is portrayed as in Hinduism? (4)
- lingha: a phallic symbol representing his creative power (anthropomorphic because some say it is dangerous to worship him as a man)
- Shiva maha-yogi: who maintains the universe through meditation
- Shiva paraputi: surrounded by animals and wearing antlers
- Nataraja: cosmic ecstatic dancer (dancing on a demon symbolising ignorance, maya)
what might some scholars argue that the yogi postion might mean?
- Kak and Frawley
- evidence for yoga being practised in the IVC
- however this argument is overstated
hierarchal society links:
- to varna (caste) system
- rigid spiritual hierarchy
why might IVC houses have two fireplaces?
- one for cooking and warmth
- one possibly for fire sacrifices
what kind of account was given of the Aryans in the Vedas?
accurate rather than mythological account
what does Aryan mean?
‘the noble ones’
who were the Aryans?
-nomadic pastoralists and warriors who were invaders
what seems to have happened to the Indus Valley sites?
-abandoned and inhabitants driven away
how did the Aryans describe themselves and how did they describe the people they supplanted?
- tall and fair skinned
- ‘dark skinned, squat nosed, phallus worshippers’
what kind of gods did the Aryans worship?
- war like gods
- particularly Indra ‘smasher of cities’
where could the varna system originate from?
- keeping the two groups separate
- forbidding marriage across the racial divide
what fact supports the theory that the Aryans invaded?
no weapons
what is Sanskrit seen as?
a European ‘proto-language’
what are the problems with an Aryan invasion:
- the IVC was incredibly large
- the cities were abandoned not ‘smashed’
- no signs of warfare
what is likely to be the cause of abandonment?
water shortage caused by the drying of the saraswati river
what theory do the majority of scholars believe?
- the Aryan migration theory
- they migrated over thousands of years
when were the Vedas believed to be have written?
1500 BC
what does the term Vedic religion mean?
used to describe the religious ideas in a group of Sanskrit texts called the Vedas
why are they still important today?
contain beliefs and practises that are still part of contemporary Hindu practise
what does it mean when they are used as a benchmark?
meaning if you accept the vedas as the most important religious texts then you are a Hindu
who brought about the idea of the vedas being a benchmark?
Dayananda Saraswati
are the vedas shruti or smriti?
- the vedas are shruti
- meaning that which is heard
- meaning they are words heard by rishis
- thus ultimately authored by God
what does the word ‘veda’ mean?
‘to know’
what varna are they still important to?
the Brahmin priests who incorporate sections into daily rituals
what was Vedic religion centred around? (2)
- yajna, the fire sacrifice
- worship of the devas
what is the yajna based upon? and what makes it a sacrifice?
- making offerings to the devas by placing them in the fire
- the specific ritual and Sanskrit words makes it a sacrifice
was early Vedic religion monotheistic or polytheistic and why?
polytheistic because many scholars identify 33 devas
what categories were the devas divided into?
sky, atmosphere, earth
who was the principle deva?
- varuna
- sky deva
- celestial or heavenly being
- creator of the world
- maintained the universe in accordance with rta-‘the way things should be’
about Indra:
- ‘thunder god’
- god of battles
- thrashes the evil spiritual powers of the universe
about Rudra:
- controlling the primal powers of nature - storm, sickness, and possibly even death
- widely feared so invocations called upon him were not called upon directly but through Shiva
what devas were the most important?
- those associated with the yajna
- terrestrial devas
what would you do if you wanted something?
-pay a Brahmin priest to perform a yajna
what ideas about the afterlife hadn’t been developed in the Vedic times?
reincarnation or a cyclical existence
what was the most common sacrifice?
horse
early records suggest human but it probably wasn’t common
what happened at the end of the vedic period to sacrificial gifts?
they were standardised to ghee, grains, fruit and milk
what is another significant element of yajna?
the preparation and drinking of soma, a hallucinogenic
what happened over time to the devas in relation to yajna?
- they became less important
- elements of the sacrifice were worshipped and deified
who were the deities of the yajna? (3)
- agni god of fire
- soma the deva who represented the symbolic liquid offering
- brihaspati the divine priest
what is special about sanskrit?(2)
- is not a human language, divine, shruti
- the thing and word aren’t different, not a way of describing external reality but a way of participating even controlling reality
is sanskrit shruti or smriti?
shruti
what is a mantra?
a phrase in the language of the gods, a powerful utterance
what is believed to happen when one says a mantra correctly?
can bring about changes in the universe
what is special about Agni in relation to the 3 realms of the cosmos?
he is part of all 3
- earth-fire
- sky-sun
- atmosphere-lightning
what did the polytheistic religion change to?
- pantheism
- a single being or entity underlies all the different phenomena of the world
what is the difference between shruti and smriti?
- shruti ‘that which has been heard’ - unquestionable truth from God
- smriti ‘that which has been remembered
are the vedas shruti or smriti?
- shruti
- revealed to rishis
- without beginning
what would the majority of the orthodox say about the vedas?
- that they are impersonal, not the ‘word of God’
- pre-existent, an embodiment of eternal law
what is the oldest text?
the Rig veda, a collection of hymns
what does the term Veda describe?
- the 4 samhitas-collections
- importance is to do with yajna
meaning of shruti:
shruti means revealed
meaning of smriti:
smriti means remembered
