ASIA 150: Intro to Indian Religions
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
QUIZ 2 STUDY GUIDE
Geography
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Can you locate the Indus River Civilization on a map?
Can you recognize a map of the spread of the Aryan/IE civilization?
Can you recognize a map of the centre of Vedic Brahmanism?
Can you recognize a map of where devotional (Bhakti) Hinduism began?
Where in India is Hinduism popular today?
Definitions of Hinduism
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What is the definition of Hinduism?
What did “Hindu” mean to the Persians and Greeks? What did “Hindu” mean to the Muslims?
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Why would some people claim that “Hinduism” didn’t exist before the 19 century?
What do most Hindus call their religion?
Origins of Hinduism
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What is the traditional narrative of the beginnings of Hinduism?
Why do some people argue with this narrative?
The Indus River Valley Civilization:
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What elements did the Indus River Valley Civilization contribute to Hinduism?
How did the Indus River Valley Civilization use these relics? How do we know?
What do the stories say about what these relics represent? What are the stories based on?
The Aryans / Indo-Europeans:
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What did the Aryan/IE people contribute to Hinduism?
What are the 4 Varnas (social classes)? What are their jobs and roles in society?
What does the Rig Veda say about Varna (in “Hymn of Man”)? Did the Rig Veda invent the idea of the
social classes? Which classes were traditional to the Aryans/IE and which one was new?
Where did the Aryans/IE spread the Varna system?
Who are the Dasa/Dasyu? What were their relationship to the Aryans/IE? Which Varna did the
Dasa/Dasyu belong to? Why?
According to Theology: How and why are ideas of dharma and karma linked to social class (Varna) and
caste? How does a person determine their dharma?
According to Sociology: Which group(s) benefits the most from the class system? Which group(s)
benefits the least? Why would the Shudras have accepted their place in the class system?  see
discussion question #1
According to the reading “Sociology of Caste” (by Kinnabiran), what situation does Ambedkar claim
causes enforced widowhood, widow burning (sati), and child/girl marriage?  see discussion questions
#2, #6, #7
Can you compare Ambedkar’s theory of “imitation” to Srinivas’ theory of “imitation” in the reading
“Sociology of Caste” (by Kinnabiran)?  see discussion question #8
According to the reading “Sociology of Caste” (by Kinnabiran), what kinds of things do lower classes do
to achieve “Sanskritization”?  see discussion questions # 11 and #12
What did the Aryans/IE say about the “Untouchable” caste? When and why did the “Untouchable”
caste arise? Why did the Untouchables change their name to “Dalits” in the 1950s? What did Gandhi
call the Untouchables?
Hindu Scriptures
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What kinds of things can religious texts be used for?
Vocabulary: rishis, shruti, smrti, dharma, karma, Rta, moksha, samsara
Early Scriptures (the Vedas)
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What does the word “Veda” refer to?
How many Vedas are there? What is the “earliest” Veda? What are the 4 sections of each Veda?
Why were the Vedas called “shruti”?
According to the “Creation Hymn” in the Rig Veda, what was there before the universe was created?
How did the universe form? When did the Gods arise? Who knows the answer?
How would the four approaches to religious studies respond to the “Creation Hymn” in the Rig Veda?
What kind of Theology is represented in “Hymn of Man” in the Rig Veda? What is created by dividing up
The Man in ritual sacrifice?
Why did Vedic Brahmins perform rituals? What kinds of rituals did they perform? What kinds of actions
are described in “The Sacrificial Priests” and “The Sacrifice of the Horse”?
How many gods are there in the Vedas? What are the three main categories of Gods?
What kinds of gods do we find in the Vedas? What would Phenomenologists and Cognitive Scientists
say about these types of gods?
Who is Indra? Who is Agni? Who is Soma? How is each god described? What is each god’s role?
What themes do we see in “The Killing of Vitra” in the Rig Veda? What would each of the 4
perspectives say about the meaning of this hymn?
Later Scriptures (The Upanishads)
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What does “Upanishads” mean? What does “Vedanta” mean?
What are the main differences between the early Vedic Hymns and the later Upanishads?
What were the changes in society that led to the rise of Upanishadic scripture?
What/Who is Brahman in the Upanishads? How is Brahman described in the Upanishads? What kind of
Theology is this?
How does a person evoke or experience Brahman?
What are three different Hindu opinions about the relationship between Atman and Brahman? What
kind of Theology does each one correspond to?
Latest Scriptures (The Epics, Puranas, Dharmashastras)
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Why are these scriptures called “smrti”?
What are the names of the two Epics? Could you recognize their main characters and basic plots?
What did the narratives of the two Epics have in common? What would a Sociologist say about this?
What are the 4 “Key Life Stages”? What tension did “The Key Life Stages” solve for Hindu philosophers?
What/Who is Brahman in the Mahabharata? How is Brahman described in the Mahabharata? What kind
of Theology would describe this Brahman?
What are the 3 paths to liberation described by Krishna in the Mahabharata? Can you describe them?
Which 3 gods became most popular due to the Epics and Puranas? Who is Vishnu? Who is Shiva?
Who is Devi/The Goddess? How is each god described? What is each god’s role? Can you name
some of the avatars of each god?
What is the Trimurti? What is the difference between Brahma and Brahman?
What are the Laws of Manu? What is the main topic of the Laws of Manu? How does the Laws of
Manu describe the caste system? Why?
Practice
Devotion:
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Where and when did Devotion (Bhakti) first develop?
Southern Devotion: Who were the Nayanmars and the Alvars? Which god did each group worship?
How did they worship their god? Which class/caste of society were they from? How did they feel about
temple worship? What two practices did they inspire instead? What did they believe about the power
of sound?
Northern Devotion: How was Northern devotion similar to Southern Devotion? How was it different?
Who were the Sants? What did Kabir, Nanak, and Dadu have in common? How did they differ?
What is a linga? What does it represent symbolically? Which god is represented by the linga? What
would each of the 4 perspectives say about the use of linga to represent this god?
What forehead mark (tilaka) would followers of Shiva wear? What kind of mark would followers of
Vishnu and Krishna wear? What kind of mark would followers of Devi/The Goddess wear?
Temples:
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Food:
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What do the Vedas say about temple worship?
When did temples become important in Hindu worship?
Who does the praying in the Hindu temples? Who leads the rituals? What are the most common types
of rituals done in Hindu temples today? What is circumambulation?
What are murtis? How do Hindus treat murtis in the temple? What are 3 very different Hindu opinions
about murtis?
What is the location of the temple said to be? Which of the 4 approaches would agree with this?
Besides worship, what other functions do temples often serve? Which approach would agree with this?
What is unusual about the Vishnu temples at Tiru Venkatam and Thiruvananthapuram (in India)?
What is unusual about the Shiva temple at Bakheng and Bakong (in Cambodia)?
What is interesting about the Vishnu temple of Ankor Wat (in Cambodia)?
What is unusual about the Shiva temple on Oahu in Hawaii (in USA)? What does the linga there
represent? What would Phenomenologists say about this?
What is unusual about the Vishnu temple in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (in USA)?
Are all Hindus vegetarian? Which of the 4 main Hindu sects are the most strict vegetarians? Which
social class is most likely to be vegetarian? What religious reason is given for vegetarianism?
What are two “practical reasons” why Hindus stopped eating cows?
Why would Brahmins only eat food prepared by people of their own caste? How would a Theologist
answer? How would a Sociologist answer?
Festivals:
 Can you basically describe/recognize the festivals of Holi, Deepavali/Divali, Navaratri, Thaipusam?
Late and Modern Hinduism
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What shift in India’s government happened in the 1700s? Why did it lead to a reform of Hinduism?
What did Ram Mohan Roy, Dayanda Sarasvati, and Swami Vivekananda have in common? What
unique contributions did each man make to Hinduism?
What is the difference between: acharya, sadhu, guru, swami, rishi?
Who was Mohandas Gandhi? What four things was he most famous for? Why was he killed?
Where are the biggest Hindu diasporas? When did Hinduism become popular in South-East Asia?
When did Hinduism become popular in USA? What compromises have Hindus had to make in USA?
So Hum meditation
 Vocabulary: So Hum, Atman, Brahman, japa, ajapa-japa, mudra, yoga, asana
 What were your experiences with So Hum, Tree Pose, carnatic music, scripture (cards)?