Theme 3 (Religious Life) Flashcards
What are the 4 ashramas?
1) Student Stage (Brahmacharya)
2) Householder Stage (Grihastha)
3) Retirement Stage (Vanaprastha)
4) World Renouncer Stage (Sannyasa)
What does the Brahmacharya stage involve?
- boy lives away from home & studies with a guru
- begins after ritual of sacred thread when they are reborn
- must remain celibate
- study Vedas and other texts
- serving guru and collecting alms for him
- could choose a career
- learn how to set up and maintain household puja
What does the Grihastha stage involve?
- become member of the community
- marry and have kids
- Artha & kama
- perform sacrifice
- observe religious rituals
- give to charity
- teach children spiritual values
- protect family
What does the Vanaprastha stage involve?
- going on pilgrimage “forest dwellers”
- sexual relations forbidden
- devoting time to spiritual matters
- retire from, family & social life (son takes over)
- begin to lose possessions
- practice puja
- little contact with family
What does Sannyasin stage involve?
- focusing mind on supreme
- becoming fully dependent on God as protector
- awareness of self and god
- food must be given or found
- meditate
- lead Kumbh Melah
- become wandering hermits
Why is the ashrama system not practiced by many people in India?
+ Why did the system come about?
- 1/3 of Hindu population are Sudras and it is rare for them to follow this
- women are religiously excluded
+ to give people their dharmas
How does following the ashrama system allow one to reach Moksha?
+ why was the second ashrama introduced?
Based on the ideal that to renounce materialism & worldly pleasures should be an important aspect of the later stages of life
+ as celibacy meant people weren’t having children and male sons are needed to protect shakti
Which stage of life do most Hindus achieve?
+ what can Hindus not do after progressing to the next stage
Householder stage
+ revert back
What are the 4 castes?
Brahmins (priests, teachers & intellectuals)
Kshatriyas (warriors, police & administrators)
Vaishya (farmers & business people)
Shudra (workers)
What are the duties of Shudras?
+ Why is marriage compulsory?
- render service to others
- take pride in their work and be loyal
- to follow moral principles (to move up in next life)
- to marry (compulsory)
+ as they often can’t afford to complete the student stage
Who are Vaishyas?
+ What are their duties?
- twice-born
- accept sacred thread
- allowed to take part in more religious action than Sudras (e.g touching Vedas)
+ protect animals
+ create wealth & prosperity
+ produce goods for workers
+ to give taxes to Kshatriyas
Who are Kshatriyas?
+ what are their duties?
- Protectors of society
- Twice-born
+ protect citizens from harm especially vulnerable groups
+ accept all challenges
+ ensure others do their dharma
+ take advice from Brahmins
+ ensure an heir
Who are Brahmins?
+ what are their duties?
- providers of education and spiritual leadership
+ study and teach the Vedas
+ perform sacrifices and religious ceremonies
+ accept and give to charity
+ offer guidance
+ develop ideal qualities (honesty, wisdom etc)
What is the origin of the Varna System?
- dates back to the second millennium BCE
- The Aryans invaded India & divided society into 4 classes
- Aryan scriptures (Rig Veda) contains a hymn about a huge primeval man called Purusa (4 classes come from him)
Which 4 body parts of Purusa do the 4 varnas come from and why?
+ Purusa quote
Brahmins (head)
- they talk to others and educate them on Hinduism
Kshatriyas (arms)
- they are fighters and protecters
Vaishyas (thighs)
- hold up society
Shudras (feet)
- always closest to the dirty ground and are walked on
“The Brahman was his mouth The arms were made the Prince”
What is the importance of the Varna System?
(Who supported this system?)
- helps to keep an ordered & structured society
- encourages working together (community)
- works with Samsara
- traditional
- encourages completing dharma & aiming for Moksha
- Shakti controlled
- ensures Brahmins are respected
(Gandhi)
What determines what caste you are born into?
What does jati mean?
Due to your parents’ Varna or as a punishment/reward for past life karma
Subcaste. The division of each Varna into a number of castes
Why is it important that the Varna System provides Hindus with an assigned occupation?
+ How is purity involved in the Varna System?
Ensures social harmony and the fulfillment of each role
+ The higher a person is in the system, the higher their level of purity (to get to Moksha). The lowest are most likely to transmit impurity.
Purity restrictions (marriage, food, drink & touch) ensure the varnas are separated.
What are Shudras restricted from doing? Why?
+ Why is the Varna System now illegal in India?
- worship
- hearing the Vedas out loud
- thread-bearing ceremony
- entering Mandirs
(not twice-born)
+ it promotes inequality and discrimination
What is Catuvarnashramasharma?
What is Santana Dharma?
The duties for the individual according to their position in the four varnas and the four ashramas
‘eternal law’. Universal principle which all Hindus should obey
Facts about Santana Dharma
+ Examples of Santana Dharma
- purpose of every being is to perform seva (service)
- duties that sustain spiritually & materially
- consists of virtues & refraining from harming living beings
- sometimes VSD may go against it
- analogy of the Sun explains it (same thing but called diff names in diff countries)
+ show respect to elders and care for the needy
+ trying to reach Moksha
+ remembering Brahman in your heart and mind
Who are Dalits?
+ where did their name originate from?
‘untouchables/outcastes/the oppressed’
- too impure to be ranked in the caste system
+ Govn of India Act 1935 called them ‘exterior/secluded caste’
+ Ghandi called them Harijans = ‘children of God’ but also ‘bastard’
Examples of duties and jobs the Dalits are given to do
- Sewer cleaning
- Bury the dead
- Produce food
- Clear dung
- Cultivate the caste peoples’ land
- Play drums at funerals and festivals
Examples of the treatment of Dalits
- Live in graveyards outside the village
- Believed to be polluted
- Can’t use well & Temple of caste people
- Wear clothes of dead people
- Considered ‘sub-human’
Reasons why it is bad to be a female Dalit
+ they are discriminated against
+ seen as ‘private property’
+ can’t go anywhere without their husband’s permission
+ are often raped
+ young girls forced into child labour
+ must do housework & childcare on time or will be beaten by their husband
Which two people showed support for the Dalits?
Ambedkar
Gandhi
Who was Ambedkar? Why was his life hard?
An Indian politician & social reformer born into the Hindu Mahar caste (untouchable) & he was discriminated against throughout his life for this (e.g through segregation in school)
How did Ambedkar help the Dalits?
+ Created a newspaper called “Mooknayaka” = leader of the silent as a way of reaching people
+ opposed the work of Gandhi as calling them Harijans is wrong as they are equals
+ converted to Buddhism as he disliked caste system
+ created Bahujan Samaj Party to represent lowest levels in society
How did Gandhi help the Dalits?
(Gandhi Equality Quote)
+ He renamed them Harijans
+ wore the same clothes and identified w them
+ Gandhi welcomed and accepted a Dalit family to his community
+ Did a hunger strike (not afraid to die as his soul is eternal)
( “ what I will be prepared to die for, is the removal of untouchability, forever. There should be equality for all”)
Consequences of Gandhi’s support for the Dalits
+ (criticisms of Gandhi’s support for Dalits)
- Wealthy caste members stopped giving money to Gandhi’s ashram
- People said his ashram would scare Hindus away
- Gandhi was thrown into prison
- Government accepted untouchables and made them a recognised caste
+( he supported caste system & didn’t do much to stop it and was born a Brahmin which is not relatable)
What is ahimsa? (Where did this idea originate?)
What are the Laws of Manu?
respect for all living things and avoidance of violence towards others (Jainism)
a work of Hindu philosophy composed by Brahmin priests. A representation of human life & the world and how it should be used (ahimsa info found in these)
Ahimsa Quotes
“He who killed it without a lawful reason will suffer violent death in future births”
“Do not injure, abuse…torture or kill any creature”
How may you practice ahimsa?
+ what jobs are forbidden due to ahimsa?
- vegetarianism
- cow sanctuaries
- caring for the earth
- sweeping bugs
- wearing cloth over the mouth
- Cultivate positive and loving thoughts
+ slaughterhouse
+ hunters/poachers
+ prison worker
How did Gandhi likely discover Ahimsa?
+ how was he involved with other religions?
From his Jain neighbour
+ critical of all faiths
+ influenced by other religious texts such as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
What did Gandhi believe about ahimsa?
+ Quote
- it is the highest duty
- it does not equate to non-killing
- accepted killing was necessary for some (duty & with non-selfish motives)
“Ahimsa always comes from within”
What does Satyagraha mean & what is it?
‘truth force’
+ principle developed by Gandhi
+ those who speak the truth or act with truth have a particular strength or authority
(truth is a key aspect of Brahman)
What are Apartheid Laws?
+ examples of these
a policy where different races are kept apart
+ schools
+ beaches
+ toilets
+ class sizes 1/60 vs 1/22
What did Gandhi do in South Africa?
+ why?
- Burnt passports publicly
- Studied religion
- fought for Indian citizenship rights
- asked people to forget about religious and caste differences
+ he was disgusted with the treatment Indians faced by white settlers
What did Gandhi do in India?
+ why?
Opposed the British rule without using violence by walking 241 miles to collect salt from the sea
+ law said salt could only be made and sold by the British and tax put on salt
What was the result of the salt march?
- Ghandi arrested
- many followed his example
- Indians protested peacefully despite being met with violence as they were banned from working in the salt works (showing ahimsa)
Strengths & Weaknesses of Gandhi’s approach
+ makes a change in the end
+ people protecting atman & their bodies
- lots of injury and death
- took a long-time
- fundamentalists don’t agree with Satygraha
- other principles more important
- can be contradicting (BG talks about violence being possible)
