Doctrinal
This is the eternal essence of reality and the source of the universe, beyond the reach of human perception and thought.
Brahman
This word means “action” in Sanskrit. It is the moral law of cause and effect. It determines the nature of one’s reincarnation
karma
This is Hinduism’s oldest sacred text. It is a collection of 1,017 Sanskrit hymns composed about 1500 BCE or earlier.
Rig Veda
This famous Indian Hindu (born-1869; died-1948) once marched 400km (approx. 250 miles) from Ahmanadab to Dandi to make his own salt, thereby bypassing the newly imposed British tax on salt and breaking the law.
Mohandas Gandhi
This is a Sanskrit word meaning “release” (from this ordinary, finite, limited realm of existence into the ocean of the divine). It is the final goal of life in the Hindu imagination
moksha
This is the preserver-deity. He is one of the important triad of deities who represent facets of ultimate reality. He is widely worshiped and celebrated in his numerous avatars - such as Krishna
Vishnu
This is ethical duty based on the divine order or reality. It is the third of four goals of life in Hindu imagination
dharma
This an incarnation or living embodiment of a deity, usually Vishnu, who is sent to earth to accomplish a divine purpose. Krishna and Rama are very popular examples
avatar
Thomas Merton (born-1915 France; died-1968 Thailand), a priest and monk at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in the Kentucky and perhaps the most influential American Catholic in history once called this “certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States.”
the non-violent civil rights movement
In order from less spiritually advanced to most spiritually advanced, these are the four goals of life in the Hindu imagination. Hint: One symbolic significance of the swastika pertains to these four goals.
1. kama
2. artha
3. dharma
4. moksha
This is the creator-deity. It is one of the important triad of deities who represent facets of ultimate reality. He is rarely worshiped directly
This is ”the path of works”. It is one of three paths to salvation, emphasizing performing right actions according to dharma
This is “Song of the Blessed Lord” in Sanskrit. It is a short section of the epic poem Mahabharata in which Krishna teaches the great warrior Arjuna the way to God. It is Hinduism’s most popular sacred text
The Bhagavad Gita
The British Rule of India ended in 1947 through the successful nonviolent tactics of Mohandas Gandhi, though the country was partitioned along religious lines into these two Muslim-majority regions and the Hindu-majority India. While Gandhi worked for the liberation of India, he did not support the partition isolating these two regions from the rest of India.
Pakistan
Bangladesh
This philosophy is directly related to the Upanishads. The term literally means the “end” or “goal” or “conclusion” of the “vedas”
Vedanta
This is the destroyer-deity. He is one of the important triad of deities who represent facets of ultimate reality. He is widely worshiped and celebrated in his numerous avatars
Shiva
This is the wheel of rebirth or reincarnation
samsara
These are often called vedanta because they represent the central aim of the Veda and contain the highest and ultimate goal of the Veda, moksha or Supreme Bliss. This word literally means “sitting nearby devotedly”
Upanishads
According to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, regarding the tactics pertaining to the struggle of oppressed people for their freedom “the way of this leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community"
non-violence
According to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, regarding the tactics pertaining to the struggle of oppressed people for their freedom “the way of this leads to moral and spiritual suicide"
acquiescence
This the eternal Self, which the Upanishads identify with Brahman. When it is lowercase, it refers to the soul of an individual that is reincarnated from one body to the next and is ultimately identified with this
Atman
This is “the path of knowledge”. It is one of three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing knowing the true nature of reality through learning and meditation
jnana yoga (aka jnana marga)
Diwali is a Hindu holiday that falls on a slightly different date each year based on the Hindu lunar calendar (sometime in October or November). Diwali is also celebrated in this religious tradition. [Hint: 3 possible answers]
Jainism
or
Buddhism
or
Sikhism
What Adolf Hitler used as a symbol of the Aryan race in the Third Reich (1933-1945) was not a faithful representation of a swastika (from the Sanskrit “su” for “good” and “asti” for “prevailing”) but this
hakenkreuz (German for "hooked cross")
This is the cosmic illusion brought about by divine creative power. The world and all finite beings within it are the stuff of this
maya
This is the doctrine that reality is ultimately made up of only one essence (God)
monism
This is “the path of devotion”. It is one of three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing loving devotion to one’s chosen murti(s)
bhakti yoga (aka bhakti marga)
Diwali celebrates this story. [Hint: 5 possible answers]
the Pandavas return from exile (from the epic Mahabharata) OR
the homecoming of Lord Rama from exile (from the epic Ramayana) OR
the victory of the goddess Kali over the demon king Raktabija OR
the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon king Narakasura OR
the rebirth of the goddess Lakshmi
This great Hindu spiritual master, was born in Calcutta, India in 1836 and died in 1886.
[Hint: He once said, "There are pearls in the deep sea, but you must hazard all perils to get them. If you fail to get at them by a single dive, do not conclude that the sea is without them. Dive again and again, and you are sure to be rewarded in the end. So also in the quest for the Lord, if your first attempt to see Him proves fruitless, do not lose heart. Persevere in the attempt, and you are sure to realise Him at last.”]
Sri Ramakrishna
According to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, regarding the tactics pertaining to the struggle of oppressed people for their freedom “the way of this leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers"
violence