RELI103 - Midterm Review

Hierophany

a manifestation of the divine in a human form. Usually, these figures possess some form of divine revelation, such as the prophet Muhammad. Other times the person can literally be a manifestation of God in corporeal form, such as with Jesus Christ. These figures are often central to a given religion and serve as a sign that God takes an active role in the world. 

Theophany

manifestation of the divine. This gives humanity a visual representation of divine work, and is usually seen as a sign to act in a certain way. A good example of this phenomenon would be the burning bush in the story of Moses, who is a manifestation of God who calls Moses to free the Jewish people of Egypt from their oppressors. By taking the form of a burning bush, God gives Moses a visual and auditory sign to take action on his behalf.

Axis Mundi

center of the world. Throughout different religious canons, divine events happen in places, making those places sacred. To followers of these religions, those places become the center of the world because of their spiritual importance. This phenomenon is prominently displayed in the city of Mecca, where every Muslim must go at least once in their lifetime in order to see the Ka’ba, making it the center of the world to many Muslims.

Monism

the belief that the universe is composed of one reality. This means that rather than having two realities, such as physical and spiritual, monists believe that the world is only either physical or spiritual, and reject the idea that there can be both. This also means that God does not have a personality, nor does he intervene in reality like he does in major world religions like Christianity.

Panentheism

the belief that a God is greater than the universe itself and extends beyond it. This means that the universe as we know it was created as a result of intervention by a presence that surrounds it. In Christianity, God was present before the creation of the universe, willing it into existence at the beginning of time.

Pantheism

the belief that god and the universe are one in the same. There was no outside consciousness that created the universe, rather that God is the universe. This gives the physical world a divine quality, imbued with the majesty of a higher power.

Vedic Sacrifice

In ancient Hindu texts, an avatar of brahman allows himself to be dismembered in order to create the world. In order to receive blessings and maintain the order of the universe, vedic priests would emulate the ritual themselves. This is an early example of using ancient texts as a guide for how religions perform their own rituals.

Moksha

 Moksha is the end of the cycle of reincarnation in Hinduism. When one reaches neutral karma through becoming unattached to the physical world, one rejoins Brahman and the universe and is no longer subject to living in heaven, hell, or earth. Achieving Moksha is the ultimate goal of Hinduism, with the soul becoming one with the rest of the universe and detaching from the physical reality. 

Samsara

the cycle of of birth and death in Hinduism where one is reincarnated until they reach moksha. In this cycle, one’s karma decides if they go to heaven or hell when they die, and after the karma is burned off, they reincarnate into a new body depending on where they came from. This cycle occurs until one escapes it by having neutral karma, achieved by accepting one’s place in the world and acting neither out of virtue nor vice.

Karma

ritual action and is the byproduct of actions that an individual takes, and can either be good or bad. When one accrues good karma, they go to heaven and are reincarnated as something good, but when one accrues bad karma they go to hell and are relegated to something lesser when they reincarnate. The ultimate goal is to accrue neutral karma, which will allow one to escape the cycle of reincarnation and return to brahman. 

Hindu Dharma

a concept that refers to one’s duty, either to his caste, the universe, or to his age group. In the universal sense, this means that one has to follow the divine plan for his life. When referring to the caste, it means that one must fulfil the role given to them at birth, regardless of if they get to live as a mighty noble or as a pitiful servant. 

Three Qualities of Nature

saatva, rajas, and tamas. Saatva is lucidity, which means that matter has a conscious component that is associated with inner peace and tranquility. Rajas is passion, which means that matter has desires that attach it to the physical world. Finally, tamas is inertia, or lack of action or willpower that leads someone down a path of sloth or dullness.

The Four Paths to Liberation

 dicipline of knowlege, dicipline of action, discipline of devotion, and discipline of meditation. By following these steps, one achieves a net total of no karma. This allows for one to achieve moksha, ending the cycle of reincarnation. 

Krishna

the avatar of Vishnu, a prominent Hindu deity, and appears in the Bhagavad-Gita as an advisor to Arjuna. When Arjuna has a crisis of confidence regarding having to kill his cousins in battle, Krishna has a long conversation about why Arjuna should not worry about it, citing his dharmic duty as a warrior along with the eternal nature of the soul. 

Arjuna

is a warrior-prince demigod from the Rig-Veda. In the Bagavad-Gita, he has a conversation with Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, about his worries regarding killing his cousins in battle. Krishna reminds Arjuna of his dharmic duty as a warrior and reveals his true form to him, leading Arjuna to steel himself and head into battle once more. 

Brahman

Brahman is monistic deity of the Hindu religion. Brahman does not have a personality, but manifests himself in other gods such as Vishnu. Brahman inhabits all living and nonliving things, making every part of the world divine. 

Atman

Atman is the soul or eternal presence that resides in a body. When one dies in one body, their soul enters heaven or hell, and then enters a new body. The soul remains constant throughout this process, meaning that death in one life is not the end of the “self”. The Atman is finally ended whenever neutral karma is achieved and the soul enters moksha and returns to Brahman.

Buddha

 the central figure of Buddhism who lived in Nepal around the 6th century BCE. In his previous lives, he engaged in enough acts of merit and self sacrifice to eventually enter enlightenment. As a “prince” in Nepal, he gave up a life of luxury to become a monk, preaching the way to end suffering in the physical world and how to enter nirvana. 

Hinayana/Theravada

The “lesser path” of Buddha’s knowlege. These texts primarily came in early buddhist works, and are said to be the way of the elders. These teachings come directly from the oldest buddhists, and is primarily used by individual monks to attain enlightenment. 

Mahayana

The greater vehicle for enlightenment in Buddhism. This expands on the teachings of the lesser path in order for more individuals to attain enlightenment. This philosophy believes that you do not have to be a monk or live a monistic lifestyle to achieve enlightenment, and applies the teachings of Buddha to all walks of life. 

Buddhist Dharma

the teachings of the buddha. These teachings are meant to lead one toward nirvana through the rejection of desire and the acceptance of the four noble truths. By following the dharma, one can rid themselves of the suffering that comes with reality and ascend to a higher plane of existence. 

Nirvana

the ultimate goal of Buddhism and is the end of the karmic cycle. Unlike Heaven, Nirvana is not a place, but rather a process of being that is empty and without attachment to the physical world. It is similar to the extinguishing of a flame, where greed, hatred, and ignorance no longer exist and affect the world.

Anatman

a concept that means that there is no true self. As one ages and experiences new things, they change and are not the same person they were when they were born. One also presents different sides of their personality to different people, and as a result, no one presentation or stage of life can claim to be the true “self”. This also implies that there is no soul, meaning that there is no constant being moving between bodies in the cycle of reincarnation. 

Bodisatava

This can refer either to the Buddha himself or those who choose not to enter enlightenment so that they may help other reach it before them. Buddha was the original, helping to spread the message of enlightenment throughout the world. In the modern day, some people elect to not ascend past the limitiations of the physical world in order to help those who might need guidence along their path to enlightenment.