Hinduism: core beliefs
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Flip to reveal answersWhat do many Hindus call their own tradition?
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Question
What do many Hindus call their own tradition?
Answer
Sanatana dharma — the eternal teaching.
Question
Distinguish shruti from smriti.
Answer
Shruti ("heard") is held to be revealed — the Vedas and Upanishads, the highest authority. Smriti ("remembered") was composed by named sages — the Mahabharata with the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Laws of Manu.
Question
What is the atman?
Answer
The self or soul. In Advaita Vedanta it is held to be identical with Brahman; other schools hold it to be real but distinct and dependent on God.
Question
What is samsara?
Answer
The endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth in which Hindus hold the atman to be caught.
Question
What is karma, in most Hindu accounts?
Answer
A law by which actions carry consequences that shape future lives — not a verdict handed down by a judge. The guide adds that bad karma is held to corrupt the universe, not only the person acting.
Question
What is moksha?
Answer
Liberation: release from samsara and from the consequences of karma.
Question
Name the three yogas and what each asks.
Answer
Jnana yoga — knowledge, through study and realisation. Bhakti yoga — devotion to a personal God. Karma yoga — right action without attachment to its results.
Question
What is varnashramadharma?
Answer
Duty as shaped by social category (varna and jati) and by stage of life — the classical framework within which dharma is fulfilled.
Question
What is the central disagreement between Hindu philosophical schools?
Answer
Whether the atman is identical with Brahman. Shankara's Advaita Vedanta says it is; Ramanuja and Madhva hold otherwise.
Question
Name four main streams of Hindu devotion.
Answer
Vaishnava (Vishnu and his avatars), Shaiva (Shiva), Shakta (the Goddess), Smarta (several deities as forms of one reality).
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