Download Asian Religions Study Guide: Exam #1 - Understanding Hinduism and Indigenous Religions - P and more Study notes World Religions in PDF only on Docsity! Asian Religions Study Guide: Exam #1 (Multiple-choice, in-class, Thursday, September 17, 2008) Here is a Guide for your first exam, which will be Multiple Choice. Remember that this is a Guide only! Study the readings so as to understand the central concepts we have discussed in class. Please also refer to the Chapter Outlines posted under “Assignments” on Blackboard. Check the glossary at the end of each section in your Ludwig text (on Hinduism, for this exam) for the meanings of some terms. Chapter 1: A working “definition” of religion as a system: of symbols, ideas, objects, words, stories/myths, ritual acts, and ethics; the function of religion: eg, explaining “God,” or Ultimate Reality, offering answers to evil and suffering, the afterlife; suggesting paths/steps towards spiritual transformation (praxis); what is the “insider/outsider” approach to understanding different religions? How is religion variously expressed? (fine arts, theater, architecture, etc.) Are religious beliefs included in indigenous medicinal systems? [the use of the root turmeric in cooking, cosmetics, ritual purification at weddings, etc., for eg.) Chapter 2: What theories about the origins of religion did Tyler, Freud and Durkheim offer? Did prehistoric peoples (like the Neanderthals) have some version of religion? [The Shanidar Flower burial, 60K years ago in Iraq]; present readings of cave art and its meaning. What role did religion/ritual serve for especially the rulers of early civilizations? Do contemporary tribal peoples have religious beliefs? What are definitions of monotheism, polytheism, monism? Chapter 3: What do we know about the religion of the indigenous, pre-Aryan Indus Valley Civilization? (themes and gods)? Who were the Indo-Aryans? What were the earliest Hindu scriptures, their themes and gods (Vedas, the god Indra)? In the Upanishads and philosophical schools, what is the relation between Atman/atman/Brahman? What kind of “union” is yoga about? Are the two Epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata of historical significance?; What is the Bhagavad Gita about, and in which epic does it appear? What is “nondualism” (the philosopher Shankara, 8-9 CE)? What is Bhakti (devotional) Hinduism? Why did it emerge? How do Bhakti Hindu beliefs see the relationship between human and divine? When does “Hinduism” emerge? Know the later developments in Hinduism during British rule (societies like the Brahmo Samaj, the Arya Samaj; the Ramakrishna Mission), how Mahatma Gandhi drew from Hindu and Jain beliefs to fight Britain for Indian independence; the meanings of ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (reaching for the truth) that Gandhi preached, his ideas on non-violent protest and civil disobedience that influenced Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela of South Africa Chapter 4/class lecture (which took from Ch.5 also): Hindu concepts of Time as cyclic (the eons or yugas); Origin myths of Purusha (Primal Man) in Rig Veda, the Brahmanda (Brahma-egg) in Upanishads, Siva-Shakti in Tantras; Know the Indian terms/meanings of: dharma; samsara; karma; maya; Shakti; moksha; What are the three paths to transformation (praxis) in Hindu belief (knowledge, action and devotion)? How many pan-Hindu caste groups are there? What religious principle separates caste Suchitra Samanta Page 1 11/28/2020
