Test 1: Hinduism Flashcards
Cosmic law
rta
duty (according to caste, stage of life, gender, and universal)
dharma
Priestly caste
Brahmin
Renunciates. Holy men.
Sannyasi
impersonal ultimate reality/ “subtle essence” within everything.
Brahman
Brahman persomified. “man”/ primal “person”
Purusha
self”/ “soul” living essence as self-conciousness in everything
atman
The power of illusion/ the power of form
used to create the universe
maya
cycle of deaths/rebirths
Samsara
Fruit of ones actions. Determines the nature of ones rebirth.
Karma
Liberation from Samsara. Realization of oneness with atman-brahman
Moksha
“Knowledge” yoga. Emphasis on discovering upanisadic truth of atman-brahman oneness.
Jnana Yoga
“Action” yoga. Emphasis on detached action.
Karma Yoga
“Devotion” yoga. Emphasis on union through devotion to chosen deity.
Bhakti Yoga
Core scripture texts. “Heard revelations”
Sruti
“Knowledge”. Texts. Includes the Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Unpanisads.
Vedas
“Collections”. Includes Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajar Veda, Atharva Veda. Came before the Upanisads.
Samhitas
Hyms in praise of (largely nature) deities
Rig Veda
Musical arrangement of the Rig Veda hymns
Sama Veda
General sacrifical formulas (for upholding rta)
Yajur Veda
Specific spells/incantations (for indivdual requests)
Atharva Veda
Ex. Fertility, wealth, etc
“near-down-sit”. Most of them are dialouges that take place between a master and disciple. Mature philosophical orientation. Also referred to as Vedanta which means “end of Veda”. 123 in total; 13 principle ones
Upanisads
Volume of Mahabharata. “Song of the Lord”. Devotional classic, teaching 3 main paths of yoga. Is the volume that details the story of Krishna and Arjuna (battle)
Bhagavad Gita
“of ancient times” Encyclopedic collection of stories of gods/godesses.
Puranas
Perserver. Also seen as Purusha. Incarnates as Krishna, has 10 incarnations. Brings the world back to dharma and joy.
Vishnu
Incarnation of Vishnu. Grew up in the Vrindavan Forest. His mother Yasoda (adoptive) sees the universe in his mouth. Is always mischievous. Throws milk at girls, similar to celebration of Holi where ppeople throw pigments at each other to celebrate divine play (lila). His rosalila dance makes all girls feel like he thinks they are indivdually most important to him. Has sexual union with Radha.
Krishna
The creator god. Source of scholarship and the arts. Considered the author of the Vedas.
Brahma
Goddess of the arts and scholarship. Consort of Brahma. Commonly pictured sitting on a lotus flower and playing a musical instrument. Has very large following.
Saraswati
Consort of Vishnu. Goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Lakshmi
Represented as sannyasi, completely liberated. To get his attention you have to build up “tapas”, spiritual heat, he is said to have lots of tapas. Always shown with cobra snake, representing his mastery of yoga. Snake open hood represents cosmic consciousness. As destroyer, he releases tapas by doing a dance to dissolve maya. He dissolves ignorance so he is called illuminer.
Shiva
“descent”. Referes to the descent of divinity from heaven to earth and is typically used to describe an incarnation of god.
Avatara
Brahmin books
Brahmanas
