Hinduism Packet Questions

1. Moksha is the Hindu term that means liberation or release of their inner selfs from being reincarnated continuously.
2. Monism- something such as thinking about categories can describe monism. For instance, there are thousands of different types of trees such as oak, maple, or poplar. However, all of these trees are under the category of tree allowing them all to be considered one. Monism is like this because it describes all reality as one.
3. Brahman- is the eternal essence of reality and the source of the universe, beyond human perception.
Atman- is the eternal "self" or soul of an individual that is reincarnated from one body to the next.
Consistent with the idea that all reality is one, Hindus believe that Brahman is Atman or Atman is Brahman; they are one in the same.
4. Hindu gods are extensions of the one reality and help provide humans with a way to contact either Brahman or Atman in their own ways and characteristics.
5. Samsara- is the wheel of rebirth/reincarnation. Humans' "self" is reincarnated over and over until it reaches moksha.
6. Bhagavad-Gita
7. Karma and Dharma.
Karma- the idea of actions causing certain effects and determine into which life a person is reincarnated.
Dharma- one of the four goals and the duty that each human has in life.
8. Brahmin-priests
Kshatriya- warriors and administrators
Vaishya- farmers, merchants, and artisans
Shudra- servants and laborers
9. Krishna encourages Arjuna to fight with the idea that the atman is separate from the physical body therefore if you kill the body the "self" continues on to a new body.
10. Four Stages of Life
1. Student- around puberty, a boy starts studying the Vedas
2. Householder- pursuing a career and raising a family
3. Forest Dweller- begins at the birth of the first grandchild and begins the spiritual quest.
4. Sannyasin (ascetic)- forest dwellers return to society but are detached from attractions and distractions of social life.
11. Four Goals of Life
1. Sensual Pleasure (Kama)- the seeking of pleasure within the limits of dharma
2. Material Success (Artha)- social power and prestige along with an accumulation of material things.
3. Harmony with Dharma- a desire to duty and an ethical approach to life.
4. Bliss of Moksha- the final goal of life, to acheive the bliss of moksha or release from reincarnation.
12. Karma Marga, Path of Works- for the active, people engaged in day-to-day tasks like having a family and career.
Jnana Marga, Path of Knowledge, for the philosophical, a person who can dedicate time to learning and meditation.
Bhakti Marga, Path of Devotion, for the emotional, consists of worshiping deities.
13. Vedanta, Sankhya, and Yoga. All three regard the attainment of knowledge over the ignorance that binds the self to samsara.
14. Brahma- the creator, although hardly worshipped
Vishnu- the preserver, protector
Shiva- destroyer, making way for new creation
15. Avatar- an incarnation of a deity sent to earth for divine purpose. Krishna and Rama are avatars of Vishnu
16. Bhagavad-Gita
17. Household and village rituals- Hindus have many deities that they pray to and have shrines for them in their homes that they pray to.
Holy places- pilgrimages are made to holy places and festivals are held, or a holy place could be a river or other nature.
Cow veneration- the cow represents life
18. He lead India to independence and influences Hinduism's tendency to accept all wisdom as lighting the way to the divine.
19. The government has outlawed discrimination of outcastes and tried to increase their rights in society.
20. Sati is the practice of ritual suicide of a widow where she is burnt alive. Sati today is forbidden.
21. In 1947, India was partitioned dividing a piece of India into Pakistan for Muslims. The migration to Pakistan and India was bloody.