hinduism

Question 0

what are the 3 strands of hinduism

Answer 0

WHAT IS THE ANSWER!!!

Question 1

vedas

Answer 1

they go back to 1500bc

• ppl believe that they are the most sacred of texts
• they were passed on by memorization
• there are 4 vedas
• much of the meaning of the texts was forgotten, but the pronunciation was spot on

Question 2

vedic (1500-800bc)

Answer 2

they had metal weapons

• they were very nomadic
• this was considered the most important period

Question 3

indra

Answer 3

the god of war.

• responsible for the origin of the world
• was an ashura vritra

Question 4

vritra

Answer 4

enemy of the aryans

Question 5

agnihotra

Answer 5

fire rituals that are done by brahmans twice a day

• there was a household pot for this
• it was for the preservation of the sun
• done on the basis that ppl are the centre of everything, we keep the world running
• if done, the sun will continue to rise

Question 6

horse sacrifice (ashvamadha)

Answer 6

done by kings

• they would consecrate a horse
• then let it go for a year
• then catch it and bring it to the king to make a sacrifice

Question 7

world of the fathers

Answer 7

the question is “do the fathers live there forever?”

• you make offerings to live in the world of the fathers, then your relatives make sacrifices for you to live there after you die
• ppl realized that the world of the fathers must get overpopulated, so therefore ppl must get riencarnated when they die

Question 8

rita

Answer 8

dharma replaced rita

-it is the idea that the world is fragile

Question 9

sacrifice of the cosmic man

Answer 9

man was sacrificed to create the world which eventually developed classes. the face/mouth was the brahman. 3/4 of the man became the heavens and the sky, and the other 1/4 became the earth

Question 10

4 varnas

Answer 10

1. brahman=priest
2. kshatrya
   - the military class (kings soldiers)
3. vaishya
   - cultivators and pastonalists
4. shudra
   - servants

people said that the varnas werelike different races and should never be mixed

Question 11

jati/caste

Answer 11

means do not marry outside of your class

-there are certain occupations to go along with certain jati’s

Question 12

untouchables (outcasts or harijans)

Answer 12

1/7-1/5th of people are considered to be this

• they are considered completely impure in every way
• often they are beggars
• they are denied rights

Question 13

upanishads

Answer 13

(800-300bc)

-FIND OUT MORE

Question 14

atman/brahman

Answer 14

it is the soul substratum of reality sat cit anada

• everything that we see is actually an illusion
• union is envisioned as something that happens at death
• being liberated in life is highly unlikely
• reached by meditation and philosophy

Question 15

moksha

Answer 15

means liberation

• it is a world denying view. the world is characterized by suffering and we want to escape from it
• it is do someting and get something in return
• the goal is to obtain liberation

Question 16

sat, cit, anada

Answer 16

brahman is described by sat (real) cit (awake) anada (blissful)

Question 17

epics (make sure to know the whole story and the names)

Answer 17

mahabaratha and ramayana
M tells the story of the pandvas and the kauravas, a king had 2 sons, the eldest son was blind so the next son took over, and the younger son had some sons, then both sons of the sons wanted to rule, so they made an agreement that one would go into exile for 13 years, then come back, and when he came back the other ones still did not want to give up their place so there was a war.
R is the story of rama and sita, sita is captured by ravana and taken to sri lanka for revenge on rama

Question 18

kauravas

Answer 18

they were the ones that were in exile for 13 years, they were cousins of he pandavas

Question 19

pandavas

Answer 19

cousins of the kauravas, they were in rule when the kauravas were in exile

Question 20

rama

Answer 20

was a king and the husband of sita

Question 21

sita

Answer 21

was a queen and the wife of rama

Question 22

ravana

Answer 22

kidnaps sita in order to exact his revenge on rama

Question 23

puranas

Answer 23

there are said to be 18 major and 18 minor puranas

• they are full of myths
• there are many stories of gods and kings
• stories about how the universe began
• and law codes

Question 24

4 Reconciliations

Answer 24

1. manu-the 4 stages of life 2. bhagavad gita 3. manga (moksha) 4. bhakti

Question 25

manu

Answer 25

the person who wrote the philisophical text for brahmans that stated taht they should only have 4 stages in life

Question 26

4 stages of life

Answer 26

written by manu for the brahmans 1. student 2. householder (have a fam and a home) 3. forrest dweller (live in forest and do rituals with wifey) 4. samnyasin/renuciant (if you get here without the other stages you will go to hell)

Question 27

Bhagavad Gita

Answer 27

doing dharma without attachment to the fruit of ones actions | -discussion b\w two beings calles arjuna and krishna (who is an avatar)

Question 28

arjuna

Answer 28

- arjuna is an ahimsa, so not violent - he is told that it is his nature to fight - because someones dharma done poorly is better than anothers dharma done well - arjuna tries to be unattached when he fights in the war because he is against violence

Question 29

krishna

Answer 29

an avatar

Question 30

3 margas (moksha)

Answer 30

1.janna marhs-knowledge 2.karma marga 3. bhakti marga-the path of devotion eventually lead to moksha and something with their god or goddess who are the manifestations of brahman

Question 31

vishnu

Answer 31

he is a central god | he is the protector and the sustainor

Question 32

avatars

Answer 32

means: descent | - there are 10

Question 33

buddha

Answer 33

the buddha is an avatar.there were demonic beings that were devoted to the vedic and they were going to destroy the world.so vishnu descended to the world in the form of the buddha and taught buddhist teachings to the demonic beings and then they gave up their devotion to the vedic

Question 34

sarasvati

Answer 34

a great goddess who was initially a minor goddess (the river goddess) but then her river dried up and she remained, so she became known in school rituals

Question 35

shiva

Answer 35

the destroyer and lord of animals ppl who worship him are shivates -he is an outsider -also is a family man

Question 36

bhrama

Answer 36

he is one of the 3 central gods and is the creator

Question 37

lingam

Answer 37

the representation of shiva that is used in temples

Question 38

ganesha

Answer 38

son of shiva and parvati?? the elephant god that is riding a mouse

Question 39

nirguna brahman

Answer 39

brahman without charactaristics

Question 40

saguna brahman

Answer 40

brahman with characteristics (gods and goddesses)

Question 41

puja

Answer 41

there are 2 kinds of puja, temple and home puja - there can be a sculpture that priests wake up and wash it and brush its teeth ad feed it - you dont need to go to the temple to get the benifits, you just need to live near and donate - through puja, ppl offer something to their god - it is a ritual that uses all the senses - it is at the heart of a hindu's faith - it does not have to be elaborate, so even poor people can do puja