terms Flashcards
Ganesha(Gaṇeśa)
Ganeshais a popular, elephant-headed Hindu deity known as the lord of beginnings and remover of obstacles. He is the son of Shiva and Parvati, he has a round belly and enjoys sweets, and he paradoxically is said to ride on a mouse. Ganesha is frequently invoked by Hindus at the beginning of new ventures and at various types of thresholds.Historically, the main festival associated with Ganesha (Ganesh-Chaturthi) has both religious and political significance
Sarasvati(Sarasvatī)
The goddess of knowledge, music, and language. She is said to have a light complexion and wears light clothes. She was a vedic river goddess associated with vac and creativity.
the word “Hinduism”
“Hinduism” comes from several languages, originating from the Sanskrit word “Sindhu”, the Persian word “hind”, the Greek words “India” and “Indos”, the Arabic word “al-Hind”, and later in English, the words “India”, “Indus”, and “Hindu”. The first known usage of “Hinduism was by Rammohun Roy in 1816.
Orientalism
Hinduism is often approached from an Orientalist perspective where ‘the East’ is seen as a static, exotic, backwards place. Orientalism is a view of ‘the East’ from the Western perspective in which it is examined and both exoticized and demonized. For instance, the way the West Depicts Eastern countries in media.
Indus Valley Civilization
IVC existed at its peak from 2200-1900 BCE in modern day Pakistan. Was centred around the Indus river. It had two major cities, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. It has proof of life through streets, sewers, and buildings, domesticated animals, metals, grain storage, and wheeled transport.
Veda/Vedas
Veda literally means “knowledge” (specifically sacred knowledge). The Vedas are a collection of sacred texts. They include the Rg Veda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda. Each Veda has 4 levels: Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads.
Upanishads(Upaniṣads)
The Upanishads are the last level of each Veda and mean “sitting down (near a teacher) in the appropriate way” to learn special or secret teachings. They were composed around 8/7th BCE in India. They were a continuation of early Vedic tradition with a new emphasis on Knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita
Means the “Song of the Lord”, found in the Mahabharata, important texts that some people take as the “Hindu Bible”. It is set at the start of the war, set on the field of dharma where Krishna and Arjuna are talking.
Agni/agni
In early Vedic ritual, agni is the ritual fire and also represents the diety Agni, which is deified ritual fire who recieves and transports offerings to the gods.
dharma
Comes from the root ‘dhr’ which means “to uphold”. In early vedic context, it means ritual activity. In later contexts, refers more to righteousness, right action, sacred duty, and that which sustains order in the world.
varnashrama-dharma (varṇāśramadharma)
Dharma according to one’s social position and stage of life -> depends on one’s class (varna) and stage of life (ashrama)
atman (ātman)
Means “self” or “soul”, the self takes on bodies but there is an enduring soul that remains throughout various lives. Some people believe that the atman is connected to brahman.
brahman
An underlying truth and reality that connects all existence; supreme reality that relates to everything. We can understand brahman by looking inward to atman some people people.
purusharthas (puruṣārthas)
The four goals of life (originally three); areas or orientations of human activity; literally the aims of beings:
dharma: right action, moral order, duty
artha: political and financial success
Kama: enjoyment and sense pleasures
moksa: liberation, release form cycle
samskara (saṃskāra)
rite of passage, life cycle ritual, meaning literally “construction”
Advaita Vedanta
One of the schools that takes the Upanishads as their central text, the most famous one. Believes that brahman=atman, lead by Shankara called a great teacher.
Krishna
An incarnation of Vishnu. In the Bhagavad Gita, he is a friend, ally, and counsellor to the Pandavas as Arjuna’s charioteer. Some people are devoted to Krishna as the supreme diety, this is called the Hare Krishna Movement.
avatara (avatāra)
incarnation of diety in the world, usually Vishnu for the sake of Dharma
karma-yoga
The path of action
- ex) Gandhi, called the Gita his spiritual dictionary, he wrote about it in jail. He emphasized action as primary and theological statements as secondary. Taught non-violent action
jnana-yoga(jñāna-yoga)
The path of knowledge
- ex) Shankara, the great leader of the Aidveta Vedanta believed in the power of knowledge and non-dualism.
