Deck 4: Hinduism

Question 1

What is the definition of the following term:
-arati:

Answer 1

(ah-rah'tee; Sanskrit) Worship with light, involving the waving of a lamp in front of the deity.

Question 2

What is the definition of the following term:
-atman:

Answer 2

(aht'-muhn; Sanskrit) The eternal self or soul that is successively reincarnated until released from samsara through moksha.

Question 3

What is the definition of the following term:
-bhakti marga:

Answer 3

(bhuhk'tee mahr'guh; Sanskrit) The path of devotion.

Question 4

What is the definition of the following term:
-Brahman:

Question 5

What is the definition of the following term:
-brahmin:

Question 6

What is the definition of the following term:
-dalit:

Question 7

What is the definition of the following term:
-darshan:

Question 8

What is the definition of the following term:
-dharma:

Question 9

What is the definition of the following term:
-hindutva:

Question 10

What is the definition of the following term:
-jati:

Question 11

What is the definition of the following term:
-jnana marga:

Question 12

What is the definition of the following term:
-karma:

Question 13

What is the definition of the following term:
-karma marga:

Question 14

What is the definition of the following term:
-kshatriya:

Question 15

What is the definition of the following term:
-mantra:

Question 16

What is the definition of the following term:
-maya:

Question 17

What is the definition of the following term:
-moksha:

Question 18

What is the definition of the following term:
-OM:

Question 19

What is the definition of the following term:
-puja:

Question 20

What is the definition of the following term:
-Purana:

Question 21

What is the definition of the following term:
-samsara:

Question 22

What is the definition of the following term:
-sannyasi:

Question 23

What is the definition of the following term:
-Shaiva:

Question 24

What is the definition of the following term:
-Shakta:

Question 25

What is the definition of the following term:
-shruti:

Question 26

What is the definition of the following term:
-shudra:

Question 27

What is the definition of the following term:
-smriti:

Question 28

What is the definition of the following term:
-Tantra:

Question 29

What is the definition of the following term:
-Upanishad:

Question 30

What is the definition of the following term:
-Vaishnava:

Question 31

What is the definition of the following term:
-vaishya:

Question 32

What is the definition of the following term:
-varna:

Question 33

What is the definition of the following term:
-Vedanta:

Question 34

What is the definition of the following term:
-Vedas:

Question 35

What is the definition of the following term:
-yoga:

Question 36

The word Hindu was initially a term used by the

A) ancient Persians.
B) Dravidians.
C) Greeks.
D) Mughals.

Question 37

One of the most fundamental differences in Hinduism is the split between viewpoints that are monistic and

A) atheistic.
B) dualistic.
C) polytheistic.
D) transtheistic.

Question 38

The traditional number of Hindu gods and goddesses eventually grew to

A) 144.
B) 10,000.
C) 10 million.
D) 330 million.

Question 39

The primordial sound OM

A) encompasses all words and all things they represent.
B) means "emptiness."
C) is too sacred to be voiced by Hindus of the vaishya and shudra classes.
D) typically is produced using a sitar.

Question 40

For Hindus, the worship of cows is

A) an expression of respect for creatures that help humanity.
B) causes all Hindus to be vegetarian and not to practice animal sacrifice.
C) considered to be a thing of the distant past.
D) required for members of the vaishya class.

Question 41

In a famous passage from the Upanishads, Svetakatu's father tells him "You are that, Svetakatu!" The implied meaning is

A) Atman is Brahman.
B) Krishna is in everyone and everyone is in Him.
C) Svetakatu is destined to become a great sage.
D) This life is illusory, and our sense of individual existence needs to be overcome.

Question 42

The Laws of Manu is a text from the period 200 bce to 200 ce that contains

A) descriptions of the physical universe, some of them in keeping with modern science.
B) detailed prescriptions for correct behavior in all aspects of life.
C) instructions on the sacred rites of kings.
D) manuals for ethical behavior on the part of monks and nuns.

Question 43

Renunciation is understood

A) only by Hindus of the brahmin class.
B) to make one stronger.
C) to be the most effective life situation for working to achieve moksha.
D) to make one into a saint.

Question 44

Rama was a(n)

A) avatar.
B) priest.
C) sage.
D) philosopher.

Question 45

Most of the early sacred works in Hinduism were written in

A) Hindi.
B) Prakrit.
C) Sanskrit.
D) Telegu.

Question 46

The word karma literally means

A) action.
B) consequences.
C) duty.
D) renunciation.

Question 47

Samsara is

A) liberation.
B) religious doctrine.
C) sacred duty.
D) the continuing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Question 48

Brahman is the

A) god of time.
B) god of creation.
C) supreme, unitary reality.
D) name for the priestly class.

Question 49

The word dharma means

A) duty.
B) law.
C) righteousness.
D) All of the above

Question 50

In the Purusha Sukta, from the mouth of the cosmic man emerged

A) the agriculturalists and artisans.
B) brahmins.
C) warriors and kings.
D) servants.

Question 51

In addition to the four major classes or varnas of the Purusha Sukta, a fifth class later emerged called

A) prostitutes.
B) saints.
C) ascetics.
D) untouchables.

Question 52

The word dalit means

A) leaders.
B) seers.
C) sages.
D) oppressed.

Question 53

One can marry within jati communities that are

A) above one's position.
B) below one's position.
C) equal in social and ritual status.
D) of the three higher classes or varnas.

Question 54

Which of the following is not one of the four Hindu aims of life?

A) Ascetic renunciation
B) Sensual enjoyment
C) Material wealth and prestige
D) Duty or righteousness

Question 55

The Vedas were composed between

A) 2000 and 1700 bce.
B) 1600 and 1300 bce.
C) 1200 and 900 bce.
D) 800 and 500 bce.

Question 56

The Upanishads are significant for describing for the first time

A) the Hindu myth of creation.
B) the concepts of karma, samsara, reincarnation of the soul, and the soul's immortality.
C) mystical states necessary for achieving a heavenly afterlife.
D) health, wealth, and happiness in life.

Question 57

In the Ramayana, Rama went to the forest for fourteen years

A) to kill demons.
B) to protect sages.
C) because he was banished.
D) to serve the gods.

Question 58

In the Ramayana, Rama is aided by

A) giant eagles.
B) serpent people from the underworld.
C) monkeys and bears.
D) winged elephants.

Question 59

According to the Bhagavad Gita, a person is to

A) give up the fruit of action.
B) perform worship three times a day.
C) recite the names of Krishna.
D) study the scriptures with a love in one's heart.

Question 60

Shiva's consort is

A) Lakshmi.
B) Parvati.
C) Radha.
D) Saraswati.

Question 61

Shaktas are devotees of

A) the Great Goddess, or Devi.
B) Indra.
C) Shaiva.
D) Vishnu.

Question 62

The most important of the ancient Vedic gods, such as Indra and Agni,

A) play no part in later Hindu mythology.
B) continue to play a subordinate part in the later Hindu pantheon.
C) are conquered by the later Hindu gods.
D) dominate the Hindu pantheon today.

Question 63

The rise of devotional Hinduism took place during the age of the

A) Cholas.
B) Mughals.
C) Pallavas.
D) Guptas.

Question 64

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1774-1833)

A) was among the first members of the Indian upper classes to visit Europe.
B) campaigned for the abolition of sati.
C) established the Brahmo Samaj.
D) All of the above

Question 65

Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883)

A) rejected caste in both its forms of varna and jati.
B) rejected the epics and Puranas as departing from the purity of the Vedas.
C) founded the Ramakrishna Math.
D) All of the above

Question 66

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) was assassinated by a

A) Christian.
B) Hindu.
C) Muslim.
D) Sikh.

Question 67

Gandhi referred to the people called untouchables as

A) Harijans.
B) dalits.
C) great souls.
D) freedom fighters.

Question 68

V. D. Savarkar's (1883-1966) concept of hindutva sought to

A) advocate harmonious interaction and interfaith dialogue.
B) make India a nation that respects the religious beliefs of its citizens.
C) reinstate traditional Hindu ethics and values.
D) unite Hindus in repelling all dangerous foreign influences.

Question 69

The Sangh Parivar ("Family of Associations") is an umbrella group of organizations, each of which espouses Savarakar's hindutva ideology. The religious wing is the

A) RSS (Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh).
B) VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad).
C) BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party).
D) Hindu Mahasabha.

Question 70

The arati ritual involves

A) fanning the deity with yak-tail fans.
B) bathing the deity in auspicious substances.
C) carrying the deity in procession.
D) waving lamps before the deity.

Question 71

Many of the earliest pilgrimage sites were located

A) at sacred rivers and pools.
B) at the tombs of saints.
C) in ancient cave temples.
D) in sacred mountaintop shrines.

Question 72

The Hindu holiday that encourages the inversion of social and gender hierarchies is called

A) Holi.
B) Diwali.
C) Navaratri.
D) Vijayadashami.

Question 73

The Ram Lila ("The Play of Rama") usually coincides with

A) Holi.
B) Diwali.
C) Dussehra.
D) Vijayadashami.

Question 74

Persons who identify as neither male nor female and who recently have attained through India's Supreme Court the designation of a third gender are

A) dalits.
B) hijras.
C) holis.
D) samas.

Question 75

The Bhagavad Gita contributes to Hindu environmentalism by teaching that

A) Arjuna, as a member of the Kshatriya class, is required to care for the natural world.
B) Devi, the Great Goddess, is in the equivalent of Nature or Mother Earth, and therefore to worship her is to care for the environment.
C) achieving harmony within oneself of the three gunas naturally causes one to be in perfect harmony with the natural world.
D) the natural world is both completely dependent upon and permeated by Brahman.

Question 76

The Hindu dualistic viewpoint understands divine reality as God, a personal being separate from the rest of reality.

Question 77

Many monistic Hindus believe that God is simultaneously one and many.

Question 78

Krishna's teaching on desireless action in the Bhagavad Gita insists that we should act as little as possible.

Question 79

The caste system refers to hierarchical social organization that depends primarily on a young adult's performance on mandatory exams.

Question 80

Brahmins, with their ritual knowledge, gave legitimacy to kings who might come to power.