Deck 3: Hinduism

Question 1

Which of the following sacred books contains verses and hymns that are recited by priests during sacrifices?

A) Yajur-Veda
B) Sama-Veda
C) Rig-Veda
D) Atharva-Veda

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The Bhagavad Gita is an epic poem about

A) the creation of the world.
B) a great battle.
C) a great flood.
D) the coming of Lakshmi at the end of time.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The love of this couple is the central theme of the Ramayana, the second of the great Indian epic poems.

A) Vishnu and Ganesha
B) Vishnu and Parvati
C) Vishnu and Lakshmi
D) Parvati and Lakshmi

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In the Vedic tradition of sacrificial offerings, only kings could sacrifice this animal.

A) zebra
B) camel
C) wild boar
D) horse

Question 5

Both Jainism and Buddhism rejected the Vedic system of

A) asceticism.
B) foundations.
C) sacrifice.
D) gods.

Question 6

Which of the following is true of puja?

A) It is never practiced by men.
B) It occurs only in Hindu temples.
C) It is never practiced by women.
D) It occurs in households and Hindu temples.

Question 7

Early Indian society developed into three basic classes called

A) varnas.
B) Brahmins.
C) Shudras.
D) Indras.

Question 8

This god, one and undivided, is the ultimate reality at the core of Hindu thought.

A) Kali
B) Brahman
C) Ganesha
D) Lakshmi

Question 9

The act of worshiping the gods is known as

A) Yoga.
B) Vedanta.
C) puja.
D) prasad.

Question 10

The fundamental assumption of the Upanishads is that there is but one true reality in the universe, which is the

A) Vishnu.
B) Brahman.
C) Shiva.
D) Manu.

Question 11

In the first section of the Bhagavad Gita, this young warrior thinks about war and particularly interfamily war.

A) Shiva
B) Krishna
C) Trimurti
D) Arjuna

Question 12

Which of the following religions arose from Hinduism?

A) Daoism
B) Shinto
C) Jainism
D) Islam

Question 13

This second book of the Vedas relates to the knowledge of rites and contains a collection of materials recited during sacrifices to the gods.

A) Rig-Veda
B) Aranyakas
C) Yajur-Veda
D) Sama-Veda

Question 14

What is the term for the religion of the classical era in India?

A) Vedism
B) Brahminism
C) Sikhism
D) Jainism

Question 15

In postclassical Hinduism, this god known as "the destroyer" is responsible for death, destruction, and disease.

A) Shiva
B) Brahma
C) Yoni
D) Parvati

Question 16

The goal of most Indian religions is release from the cycle of death and rebirth, which is called

A) maya.
B) moksha.
C) ahimsa.
D) samsara.

Question 17

This branch of Vedanta, developed in the ninth century, means "non-dual" and indicates a monistic viewpoint.

A) Mughal
B) Jainism
C) Sikhism
D) Advaita

Question 18

This Sanskrit word means "to do or act" and is also a belief that every action and every thought have consequences.

A) atman
B) samsara
C) moksha
D) karma

Question 19

In the Vedas, most hymns are written to the god

A) Indra.
B) Rudra.
C) Yama.
D) Varuna.

Question 20

The god of fire, through whom offerings were presented to the other gods, was

A) Vishnu.
B) Lakshmi.
C) Kali.
D) Agni.

Question 21

This follower of non-dualistic Vedanta and a priest of Kali in Calcutta is known as perhaps the greatest religious reformer of the nineteenth century.

A) Narendranath Dutt
B) Mohandas K. Gandhi
C) Sri Ramakrishna
D) Vivekananda

Question 22

What does Hinduism share with most religions today?

A) issues over population control
B) issues over revitalizing the religion
C) issues over modernity
D) issues over immigration

Question 23

Discuss the three major gods in postclassical Hinduism. What are the characteristics of each? What form does devotion to each take? Discuss the wives, if any, of these gods and the roles they play as goddesses in Hindu devotion.

Question 24

This philosopher is known as the developer of the Advaita Vedanta system and fiercely opposed Buddhism.

A) Shankara
B) Gandhi
C) Vivekananda
D) Shiva

Question 25

The most popular Hindu festival is celebrated to welcome spring.

A) Kali
B) Divali
C) Dasehra
D) Holi

Question 26

William Carey, a nineteenth-century British missionary, objected to the practice of surviving Indian widows dying on their dead husbands' funeral pyres called

A) suttee
B) Holi
C) Dasehra
D) varnas

Question 27

Who were the Aryans and when did they come to India? Describe the basic characteristics of Aryan religion and discuss some of the ways early Hinduism preserved them, particularly in the Vedic literature.

Question 28

Hinduism boasts a rich and complex textual tradition. Explain, in particular, the basic tenets of the Upanishads and the concepts of karma, samsara, and moksha, and how these relate to the life of the Hindu.

Question 29

Discuss the Hindu philosophical tradition known as Vedanta. Explain the ideas of Shankara and the ways in which later medieval Hindu theologians modified and/or challenged his system. Discuss the thinkers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who kept this system alive and presented it to the world as the essence of true Hinduism.

Question 30

The caste system

A) was outlawed by India's constitution in 1948.
B) developed into its modern form in the seventh century C.E.
C) has roots in the Bhagavad-Gita.
D) exists in Pakistan but not India.

Question 31

The emergence of this religion in the fifteenth century represented an attempt at reconciliation between Islam and Hinduism.

A) Buddhism
B) Zoroastrianism
C) Sikhism
D) Greek Orthodoxy

Question 32

How do American Hindu temples differ from those in India?

A) They are smaller.
B) They are dedicated to the worship of many gods.
C) They are populated by non-Indian Hindus.
D) They are always in rural areas.

Question 33

Explain the contradiction some scholars see between the Upanishads and the other types of Vedic literature. How would someone who sees both as fundamentally similar challenge the attempt to contrast them?

Question 34

What is one reason that Hindus make pilgrimages to the Ganges River?

A) to be baptized
B) to fulfill their vows
C) to obtain water for use in the home
D) to wash any pets they have

Question 35

What are some of the challenges Hinduism and its practitioners face today? Give at least two examples of modern Hindu reformers and how they influenced Hinduism.