Midterm 1 Flashcards
The continuing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth; also the this-worldly realm in which this cycle occurs.
Samsara
Liberation, the final release from samsara
Moksha
The eternal self or soul that is successively reincarnated until released from samsara through moksha
Atman
For monistic Hindusim, the supreme, unitary reality, the ground of all Being,; for Dualistic Hinduism Brahman can refer to the supreme god
Brahman
Moral order, duty, righteousness, religion; basis for living in a way that upholds cosmic and social order
dharma
A systematic approach to spiritual realization, one of the Hindu philosophical systems (uniting of self with God)
yoga
Action and the consequence of action
Karma
The path of knowledge
Jnana
The path of devotion
Bhakti
A member of the priestly class of the varna, or caste system
Brahmin
Self designation of people who had traditionally been classified as untouchables or outcastess. Opressed
Dalit
Hindu God “The Destroyer”
Shiva
Hindu God “The preserver”
Vishnu
Hindu God “remover of obstacles or luck” elephant head,
Ganesha
Hindu Goddess “Mother of Love”
Devi
Monkey God
Hanuman
Controlling forces in the cosmos, deities who consecrate every part of life
Devas
Part of the Vedas that focuses on philosophical questions, contain teachings from highly realized spiritual masters reserved for advanced seekers of spiritual truth
The Upanishads
The religious texts often referred to as the foundations of Hinduism, revered collection of ancient sacred hymns, praising the dieties and exploring the nature of the cosmos
Vedas
How did the Vedas originate
Still unknown, Hindus say revealed to them and not written by mortals,
some people say “Aryans’ came from north to Indus Valley because language close to Sanskrit (noble person in Vedas, racial category outside)
Sacred Tree in Hinduism
Peepul Tree
A Hindu Sage
Rishis
Verse in Vedic hymn that is still chanted daily by the devout as the most sacred of prayers
Gayatrimantra
The oldest Vedic scripture that praises and implores the blessings of the devas
Rig Veda
Deva: God of thunder and bringer of welcome rains
Indra
God of fire
Agni
God associated with a sacred drink
Soma
Goddess of dawn
Ushas
The controlling forces in the cosmos, deities who consecrate every part of life, both opaque earth gods and transparent deities of the skies
Devas
Eighteenth and nineteenth century scholars supported the theory of the Aryan invasion of he Indus Valley through
Similarities between classical European languages and Sanskrit
The Vedas are considered shruti texts by orthodox Hindus because they
Are revealed rather than authored
The ultimate liberation from the limits of space and time
moksha
Intense devotion to a personal aspect of the deity, devotional
bhakti
Spiritual Literature that represented ultimate reality as a supreme being or rather as various human-like deities with richly detailed stories about their lives and relationships
epics and Puranas
The World is divided into four ages called
yugas
Name the four yugas
- Dharma - moral order in the world and people’s duty to act in accord with that order
- People must be taught their proper roles in society
- values are no longer recognized, people lose their altruism dn willingness of self-denial and there are no more saints
- Kali Yuga imbalanced as a cow trying to stand on one leg. World at its worst with egotism ignorance, recklessness and war rampant
Age we are currently living in
Kali Yuga
Vishnu’s avatars
Krishna and Rama
Epic that deals with good and evil, symbolized by battles involving human reincarnation of Vishnu as Rama. Rama takes sons duty, goes into ascetic life with wife Sita. Long poetic narrative, Ravana ten-headed demon steals Sita, Rama kills him with a blessed arrow
Ramayana
Sanskrit poem, plot concerns the struggle between the songs of a royal family for control of a kingdom near what is now Delhi. Teaches importance of sons, duties of kingship, and benefits of ascetic practice and righteous action and the qualities of the gods. Shows all sides of human nature not just idealized characters. Teaches happiness of others is essential to one’s own happiness
Mahabharata
Eighteenth book of the Mabharata, Song of the Supreme Exalted One in which Krishna revered as manifestation of the Supreme appears as the charioteer of ariuna
Bhagavad Gita
Ancient compendium of mythological narratives of the orgins of the cosmos, life, deities, and humanity; stories of legendary or canonical heroes and the actions of divine beings
Puranas
Includes the life story of Krishna. the supreme personality of Godhead is portrayed first in its vast dimensions- the Being whose body animates the material universe. He is a child
Bhagavata Purana
Epics and Puranas represent the Supreme as
various human-like deities
Upanishads depict absolute reality
as abstract depictions
In the Ramayana Sita undergoes a trail by fire when she is reunited with Rama in order to…
prove to Rama that she was faithful to him
Epic poem that centers on a philosophical conversation between Arjuna and Krishna is the
Bhagavad-Gita
I which period of Indian history were special fire and sacrificial rituals of central importance
The Vedic Era
Worsip the Mother Goddess
Shaktas
Worship the god Shiva
Shaivas
Worship the god Vishnu
Vaishnavas
Used to refer generically to the goddess in all her forms, understood as the supreme Divine Mother the totality of all the energy of the Cosmos in Shaktas faith
Devi
Shaktas goddess is often represented as a beautiful woman with a gentle face but ten arms holding weapons with which she vanquishes the demos who threaten the dharma; she rides a lion
durga
The goddess in Shaktas the goddess in her fierce form. Portrayed dripping with blood, carrying a sword and a severed head and wearing a girdle of severed heads and a necklace of skulls symbolizing her aspect as the destroyer of evil. Cuts away all personal impediments to realization of truth and opens her arms to those who love her
Kali
Goddess in Shakta who embodies wealth, generosity, good fortune beauty and charm. Depicted as radiant woman sitting on a waterborne lotus flower
Lakshmi
Goddess in Shakta associated with knowledge, the arts, and music, and great river Saraswati
Sarawati
Shakti worship incorporating worship of the male gods as…
Eternal unity of male and female. Femal is conceived as the life-animating force; the transcendent male aspect is inactive until joined with the productive female energy
The natural material world of the universe
prakriti
the creative Power that pervades prakriti
Shakti
The every changing differentiating and self-veiling qualities of the omnipresent unity
Maya
Shiva’s devote spouse whose union cosmic energy flows freely seeding and liberating the universe
Parvati
Shivas believe in balance of male and female qualities within a person, how is this unity often expressed
Lingam within a yoni
Fromless symbol for the unmanifest transcendent nature of Shiva that which is beyond time, space, cause and form
Lingam
represent the manifest aspect
Yoni
Practices of the Shivas
-wear lingams
refusing caste divisions
practice strict vegetarianism
regard men and woman as equals
Son of Shiva with an elephant head, guards threshold of time and space and invoked for his blessing at the beginning of any new venture
Ganesh
In Vaishnava iconography the continual rebirth of the world is symbolized by
a lotus growing out of Vishnu’s navel
Shaktas worship
A mother goddess
The generic term for the goddess in all her forms, understood as the Divine Mother is
Devi
The worship of the divine female is correlated with the Ganges River because she is associated with
the worship of nature, particularly great trees and rivers
3 common features associated with Brahmanic Hindu traditions
- deep roots in vedas and other scriptures and also direct personal experiences of truth through mediation
- Hold ethics to be central to orderly social life. Attribute suffering to the law of karma, incentives for more ethical behavior
- Hold ultimate cause of suffering is people’s ignorance of the Self, which is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, perfect and eternal
Three philosophical systems that are related to the Vedas
Samkhya, Advaita Vedanta, and yoga
Thought to be the oldest philosophical system in India. Founder Kapila. Hold that material universe consists of 3 qualities (sattva, rajas, and tamas)
Samkhya
3 essential qualities of Samkhya
Sattva- fine illuminated balance
Rajas - active, passionate
Tamas- heavy inert coarse
Interaction and tension between the equilibrium of sattva, the activity of rajas, and the resistance to action of tamas govern the development of the world.
Philosophical system founder is said to be Vyasa. Nondualistic Based on the Upanishads and is generally monistic
Advaita Vendanta
Believing in the concept of life as a unified whole, without a separate “spiritual” realm
Monistic
Advaita Vendanta believe…
Everything is changing. Mistake to identify with the body or the mind which exist but have no unchanging reality. Everyone has Brahman in them
Philosophical practice for developing this desired state of balance, purity, wisdom, and peacefulness of mind are known collectively as…. meaning “yoke” or “union”
yoga
Union in yoga refers to…
union with the true self, goal described in the Upanishads
The path of mental concentration
raja yoga
Path of rational inquiry ask “Who am I”, ignorance is considered the root of all problems
Jnana Yoga
Path of right action
Karma Yoga
The path of devotion (for emotional people)
Bhakti yoga
1st limb The state of peaceful spiritual absorption
samadhi
2nd limb of yoga - physical postures used to cleanse the body and develop the mind’s ability to concentrate
asanaas
Regulated breathing exercises are also used to calm nerves and increase invisible life energy called…
prana
Subtle energy centers along the spine
chakras
The highly analytical Samkhya system holds that the material universe consists of 3 essential qualities:
sattva, rajas, and tamas
Advaita Vedanta is generally considered to be…
monisitic
Yogic practice that emphasizes helpful action in the world rather than contemplation is called
karma
The physical postures used to develop the mind’s ability to concentrate are called
asanas
Jnana yoga might continually ask themselves, “Who am I>” in order to
overcome the ignorance of their own self-conception as separate from the Absolute
Thousands of groups denoted by shared geographical orgin, language, food practices, common customs and beliefs, occupations and endogamy (marriage only within their group)
jati
A more general traditional fourfold division of labor that ultimately became hereditary
varna
Caste of priests and philosophers, specialists in the life of the spirit
Brahmins
Nobility of feudal India: kings, warriors, and vassals
Kshatriyas
Caste of the economic specialists: farmers and merchants
Vaishyas
Caste of the manual laborers and aritsans
Shuras
Dalit leader who was instrumental in getting anti-discrimination clauses written into the Constitution, inspired Dalits to get better education and led half a million “untouchable” Hindus to convert to Buddhism
B.R. Ambedkar
Text that has laws governing all aspects of life, including proper conduct of rulers, dietary restrictions, marriage laws, daily ritual, purification rites, social laws, and ethical guidance. Used for class distinction. Condemns Untouchables from living in the village, and bars shudras from owning land, subservient status of woman and importance of hospitality
Code of Manu
4 goals of Hinduism to live a good life
- dharma - carry out one’s responsibilities and duties
- artha - success in wordly activites (pursuit of wealth and advantage)
- kama - love and sesual pleasures and also aesthetic expression
- moska - liberation from cycle of death and rebirth
A cord of three threads to be worn across the chest from the left shoulder for spiritual training men (initiation ceremony)
sacred thread
4 life stages for Brahmin male
- chaste student at the feet of a teacher
- householder stage (expected to marry
- detatch himself from worldy pursuits (meditation and scriptural study)
- withdraw from society and become a sannyasin
A retreat community of younger age men joined a monastic order
ashram
An enlightened spiritual teacher
guru
Do gurus always behave as a loving parent
No
How many rituals in Hinduism
16
Public worship preformed by Brahmin priests, make devotions, shiva-lingams anointed, also home ____ which is conducted daily
puja
Visual contact with the divine through the eyes of images
darshan
Food that has been sanctified by being offered to the deities and/or one’s guru
prasad
Fireplace
havan
What happens to bodies when they die
cremated
Riotously joyful celebration of the death of winder and the return of colorful spring
Holi
Festival of lights on the night of the new moon. Explained as the return of Rama after his exile, Lashmi (goddess of wealth) and New Year on Indian calanders
Divali
Woman who achieved high level of spiritual realization and became a saint by using the bhakti approach
Andal
Woman (poet) who denounced being Brahman and devoted to Shiva told woman that people in lower castes are closer to God because not bound by anything
Akka Mahadevi
In India, life continues to be shaped by hierarchies and inequalities derived from…
jati and varna
Hospitatlity to human guests as described in the Code of Manu, iis a duty for people of all castess because
every person is the deity incarnated
The sacred presence is made tangible in Hindu public worship through
devotions hat employ every sense
What actions does a sannyasin take
He leaves his family and wanders thru India to beg for food and water, seeking release from samsara
Movement that spread Hindusism
Ramakrishna Movement
Movement that excluding Muslims and Christians as aliens in India and that the relgion of India was Hindusim
Hindutva
Mahatma Gandi viewed Hinduism as…
the universal religion
The religious movement that wasa begun by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960s is called
Transcendental Meditation
The leader of the RSS in India publicly asserted that all Indians were actually
Hindus
The Babri Mosque in Ayodhya was torn down by Hindus in 1992 because
It was believed to have been built on top of Rama’s birthplace
“Hindu” was introduced as a term in the 19th century as
a category for census-taking
Although the orgins and antiquity of the Vedas are stil unknown, most scholars agree the Vedas were composed and redacted
from 1500- 500 BCE
According to the Ramayana, Vishnu incarnates into Rama in order to
kill the demon king of Sri Lanka
People make a pilgramige to the river, p
Kumbh Mela
