Chapter 2 Hinduism

Varanasi

A tirtha, or "crossing place," from life to death and from death to spiritual liberation. According to many Hindus, if you die in this city, Shiva will whisper into your ear the mantra of the crossing, enabling you to achieve moksha, or release from rebirth and suffering.

Dalits

An oppressed social group previously known as "outcastes" and "untouchables."

In the Bhagavad Gita, what is Arjuna's dilemma?

Arjuna is bound by duty to fight against his own family. But if he does so, he will be forced to kill his own friends, relatives, and teachers.

Keya's religious tradition involves cultivating intense love for her chosen god (ishtadevata), whom she describes as her spiritual husband. Her spiritual practices include songs of praise, chanting, and ecstatic dancing. Which path (marga) is Keya most likely following?

Bhakti

Narendra Modi is the current prime minister of India and a member of what political party associated with Hindu nationalist policies?

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Trimurti of Hinduism

Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu

The four aims of life according to classical Hinduism

Dharma (righteous conduct), Artha (wealth/power), Kama (desire/pleasure), and Moksha (liberation).

Hindus have been content to think of theirs as a religion of a people rather than the religion of all people. For that reason, it has typically been classified as a[n]

Ethnic religion rather then a missionary religion

(T/F) The Vedas have been found written on stone tablets dating back to 1500 BCE.

False

Since its founding in or before 800 BCE, Varanasi has been independently governed by Hindus and even today its sacred spaces and places of worship are exclusively Hindu.

False

Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra are all names of

Hindu Castes (Class System)

Hinduism is an ancient religion and its focus has shifted over time. Arrange the ideas about what is "important" about Hinduism in chronological order from most ancient to most modern.

Hinduism is about fire sacrifices and ritual, Hinduism is about seeking the wisdom to overcome samsara, Hinduism is about with a god through powerful devotion (bhakti), Hinduism is about the nation of India and being a patriotic Indian

The view that only those who view India as both fatherland and holy land are true citizens of India is consistent with which idea?

Hindutva

Two deities featured prominently in the Vedas.

Indra, the warrior god, and Agni, the fire god

Karn is a Hindu whose spiritual path involves renouncing the world. Karn has quit his job and lives as a sannyasin so that he can focus entirely on attaining moksha. He studies the Upanishads and hopes to escape samsara by fully realizing that atman is one with brahman. Which path does Karn most likely practice?

Jnana

Three Yogas/Margas

Jnana, karma, bhakti

Pia is a Hindu who believes her tradition calls her to ethical and political engagement. She is inspired by Gandhi and she reads the Bhagavad Gita regularly. She interprets the yogic idea of acting without desire for results as a commandment to act through nonviolence. Which path does Pia most likely practice?

Karma

American Twentieth-Century Guru

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Devraj keeps a small shrine in his home. With his family, he lights a lamp and makes offerings of fruit, flowers, or even water to small statues of Hindu gods. What Hindu tradition are Devraj and his family participating in?

Puja

Which text tells the tale of the prince Rama and his wife Sita who is kidnapped by a demon king named Ravana?

Ramayana

the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) was founded by

Swami Yogananda

What text is most important for the emergence of bhakti (devotional) Hinduism?

The Bhagavad Gita

Why was 1965 an important year for Hinduism in America?

The Hart-Cellar Act was passed opening the doors to Indian immigration

Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj

The Hindu epics are merely myths, Polytheism, idol worship, karma, and reincarnation are superstitions. Designating Dalits as "untouchables" is undemocratic. Revelation cannot be supported by reason, including the Vedas.

Which text describes a great war between the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas?

The Mahabharata

In 1992, Hindu mobs destroyed a 450-year-old mosque in northern India. Thousands were killed in the ensuing violence. What larger pattern in Hinduism was this event related to?

The emergence of Hindu nationalism as a religious force

(T/F) Americans first encountered Hindu beliefs and ideas through texts and books, rather than living Hindu peoples.

True

Just as to be an American is to accept the Constitution as the law of the land, to be a Hindu is to accept the - as true knowledge.

Vedas

The god - is said to have ten forms, known as -, including a fish, a boar, a man-lion, and even the Buddha!

Vishnu, avatars

Why was Swami Vivekananda ideally suited to represent Hinduism at the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago?

Vivekananda emphasized that Hinduism was reasonable and compatible with modern science

A column of light, a pillar of ice, or a phallic-shaped stone can all be examples of what Hindu sacred object?

lingam

Divali

one of the most popular Hindu holidays and is also celebrated by Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists. In North India, it commemorates Rama and Sita's return from defeating the demon king Ravana. In South India, it commemorates Krishna's defeat of a demon king. Celebrations typically involve lights and fireworks.

For most Hindus, the ultimate problem is - and the ultimate goal is -

samsara, moksha

Swami founded the

the Vedanta Society,

Kumbh Mela

the largest gathering in human history.