Hinduism

Hinduism Chapter Review

1.Moksha is the Hindu for liberation.it also means release in Sanskrit. It is a release from the ordinary, finite, limited realm of existence into the infinite ocean of the divine.

2. Monism is the doctrine that all reality is one. An analogy for this is all the bodies of water in the world. They appear to be different but they all share the common essence, water.

3. Brahman is the essence of all things, which means the outside world. Atman is eternal self, which is within you. Since all reality is one Brahman is Atman.

4. Each deity is considered a mask for the one essence or god. They are used as accessible ways for people to interact with the divine. Each mask is for a different person so that the interaction with that god will be effective.

5. Samsara or the wheel of rebirth is about how an individual is reincarnated from one life form to another.

6. Hinduism most sacred text is the Bhagavad Gita.

7. The two principles are karma and dharma. Karma is actions or deeds. It works with samsara in picking the next life you are but in. Good actions lead you to a better life and bad actions do not. Dharma is the ethical duty based on divine order of reality. It is the complete rule of life.

8. The four caste system classes are Brahmins, which are the priest, Kshatriyas, which are the warriors and administrators, Vaishyas, which are the producers such as farmers and artisans, and finally the Shudras, who are the servant and laborers.

9. Krishna tells Arjuna to engage in war because it is his sacred duty and if he goes against it he will earn evil.

10. The first stage is right after by reaches puberty. The boy becomes a student studying the Vedas and other sacred scriptures. The next stage begins with marriage. This stage is when a household is formed and the priorities are raising a family and having a career. The third stage is the birth of the first grandchild and is called the forest dweller stage. This stage is when the man, sometimes with his wife retreats to the forest. The fourth and final stage is the sannyasin or wandering ascetic. The forest dwellers are able to go back into society but remain detached.

11. The four goals of life are Sensual Pleasure, Material Success, Harmony with Dharma and the Bliss of Moksha. Sensual Pleasure or kama is to be embraced by whoever desires it provided that it is within the limits of dharma. Material Success or artha is about social and material success. It is unfulfilling in the long run. Harmony with Dharma is highly desired, but has limited joy because of samsara. The Bliss of Moksha is reaching the infinite or the great ocean in which everything flows.

12. The first path is The Path of Works. This path is for the active and deals with doing your ethical duty and being unselfish. The next path is for the Philosophical. It is the Path of Knowledge and the shortest but steepest accent to liberation. It requires a great deal of learning and mediation.  You also have to three schools of philosophy called Vedanta, Sankhya and Yoga. The third path is The Path of Devotion. This path is for the emotional. This path directs spiritual energy outward in worship of the deity.

13.The first school is the Vedanta. This school is most faithful to the predominant monism of Hinduism. The philosopher Shankara espouses the predominant form of it. This belief is that the world and all finite beings within it are the stuff of maya or cosmic illusion. Sankhya is contrary to monism. It asserts that reality is composed of two distinct categories, matter and an infinite number of eternal selves. Yoga is a school that emphasizes physical and psychological practices. Yoga carefully acknowledges the connection between the self and the other parts of our human makeup. Yoga is used to free the eternal self from bondage by stripping away the many levels of personhood in which that self is wrapped.

14.The three main important gods are Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer.

15. An avatar is an incarnation or living embodiment of a deity who is sent to earth to accomplish a divine purpose. Krishna and Rama are avatars for Vishnu.

16. The Bhagavad-Gita is similar to the bhakti marga.

17. The three aspects of Hindu devotional life are household and village rituals, holy places, and cow veneration.

18. Gandhi insights fuel Hinduism‘s tendency to accept all wisdom as lighting the way to the divine.

19. The government of India forbade discrimination against outcastes. The government is also trying to start the promotion social and economical rights.

20. Sati is the practice of burning a widow on the same funeral pyre as her husband. Sati is now forbidden but it still occurs rarely.

21. In 1947, India was partitioned. Muslims moved to Pakistan and the area that is now called Bangladesh so they could have a homeland. This became bloody as many people on both sides were killed as they moved. The tension between Pakistan and India are still around today.