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Home , Hinduism and Sikhism

SYNTHESIS OF MAJOR RELIGIONS (COMMON FEATURES OF ALL MAJOR RELIGIONS)

Ques 1 What is the meaning of the term “Religion”? Ans 1 The word Religion is derived from the term “Re-ligare” which means “being bound to” i.e. being bound back to one’s source which is God.

Ques 2 What does "The Prodigal Son", a Parable of Jesus, tell us? Ans 2 We have to go back to the protecting care of our Father, sooner or later. Our bond with God alone is the indissoluble bond; all the rest, all other relationships are mere make-believe, transitory and illusory.

Ques 3 Who wrote “Autobiography of A ”? Ans 3 Sri Yogananda Paramahamsa

Ques 4 “It is I who have watched over thee, life after life, in the tenderness of many mothers-see your mother in Me.” Who said this to Yogananda Paramahamsa and when? Ans 4 Mother said this to Yogananda Paramahamsa when he lost his mother. As he was also unable to be with her during her last moments, he was very upset and nobody was able to console him. It was at this point of time in his life, that he got the vision of Mother Kali who comforted him with these words

Ques 5 Fill in the blanks: Man is said to have been made in the ______of God. Ans 5 Image.

Ques 6 Fill in the blanks: At the level of the ______and ______, we are unlike one another, but at the deepest level in us, at the level of the spirit, we are all like one another. Ans 6 body and mind.

Ques 7 Fill in the blanks: All religions emphasize on ______of ______& ______of ______and the kinship of all beings and all existence. Ans 7 Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of man

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 1 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ques 8 Fill in the blanks: In vernacular languages, the word used for religion is and the word used for mind is mathi. Putting these words together, it can be said that ______is meant to strengthen & straighten the _____ Ans 8 Matha, Mathi.

Ques 9 Match the following: Aspects Religions 1. Spiritual radiance a. Buddhism 2. Faithful obedience b. Christianity 3. Noble c. Islam 4. Vision of Divine love d. Judaism 5. Spirit of resignation to the e. Sovereign Lord Ans 9 1-e 2-d 3-a 4-b 5-c

Ques 10 Fill in the blank: Hinduism is based on the ancient wisdom of the ______. Ans 10 .

Ques 11 Fill in the blank: ______is one of the oldest religions like Hinduism. Ans 11 Zorastrianism.

Ques 12 Fill in the blanks: ______& ____ had been born when religions had degraded into mere rites & rituals. Ans 12 Buddhism and Jainism.

Ques 13 Fill in the blanks: Buddha and Mahavira were prompted by compassion towards all beings and therefore upheld ______as the supreme religious value. Ans 13 .

Ques 14 What did Jesus Christ preach? Ans 14 Jesus preached high moral standards, love and more than anything else, service to the needy and relieving the suffering of others, as the religious virtues.

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 2 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ques 15 Fill in the blank: Islam mans ______to the will of Almighty. Ans 15 Total Surrender.

Ques 16 Fill in the blank: ______is one of the youngest religions. Ans 16 .

Ques 17 Fill in the blank: ______religion synthesizes the best of Hinduism and Islam. Ans 17 Sikhism.

Ques Answer the following: 18a Fill in the blank: There are _____ major religions in the world today. 18b What are the 3 major classifications of these religions? Ans 18a 11 18b Classification of the 11 major Religions of the world ______|______| | | SEMETIC MONGOLIAN Hinduism Hebrewism(Judaism) Taoism Jainism Christianity Confucianism Buddhism Islam Shintoism Zorastrianism Sikhism

Ques 19 Match the following: 1. Budhism & Jainism were born a. when society was ruined by rank materialism and bankrupty of moral values. 2. Islam was born b. when men were becoming too selfish & unconcerned for the plight of others. 3. Sikhism was born c. when society was torn by clashes between & Muslims in many parts of . 4. Christianity was born d. when religion had degraded into mere rites & rituals, and innocent animals were sacrificed for the supposed purpose of appeasing Gods. Ans 19 1-d, 2-a, 3-c, 4-b

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 3 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ques 20 Match the following: Religion Preachings 1. Budhism & Jainism a. High Moral standards, Love and service to the needy 2. Islam b. Strict moral code of life; Emphasis on truth, love & non violence as the supreme virtues & disciplines for religious life 3. Sikhism c. Spirit of total surrender to the Will of Almighty God 4. Christianity d. Discarded idolatory & superstitions of Hindus and rigidity of Muslims; Accepted the Hindus' spirit of tolerance for other religions and Islam’s spirit of universal brotherhood Ans 20 1-b, 2-c, 3-d, 4-a

Ques 21 Fill in the blanks: All the religions were founded between ______and ______with the exception of Hinduism and Sikhism. Ans 21 7th century B.C and 7th century A.D.

Ques 22 Fill in the blanks: a) Hinduism is an ancient religion and has ______origin. b) Sikhism was founded only in the ______century. Ans 22 a) No b) late sixteenth.

Ques 23 Name the founders of the following religions: Hinduism, Zorastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Budhism, Jainism, Sikhism. Ans 23 Hinduism – No founder[Sanathana ]; It is believed that it had emanated from God himself through the medium of the Vedas. Zorastrianism – Zoraster Judaism – Moses Christianity – Jesus Christ Islam – Prophet Mohammed Buddhism – Buddha Jainism – Mahavira Sikhism – Nanak

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 4 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ques 24 Fill in the blanks: All religions were born in ____and hence it is said to be the cradle of all religions. Ans 24 Asia

Ques 25 Name the Holy Books/ Scriptures of the following religions: Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Ans 25 Christianity – The Bible Islam – Koran Hinduism – Prastana Traya (, and )

Ques 26 Fill in the blanks: Religions are divided into sects in the course of history such as: ______and ______in Christanity, ______and ______in Islam, ______and ______in Budhism. Ans 26 Catholics and Protestants in Christianity, Shias and Sunnis in Islam, Mahayana and Hinayana in Budhism.

Ques 27 Who is called Arhat? Ans 27 The Buddhists and Jains do not directly refer to God but they speak of the Divine principle of Perfection. When this Divine principle of perfection is embodied in a human being, he is called Arhat.

Ques 28 What is called as the state of Nirvana? Ans 28 According to Budhists and Jains, the highest state which man has to achieve is the State of Nirvana or . It is a state in which all earthly passions, desires and needs are sublimated.

Ques 29 Who is Kevalin? Ans 29 The Buddhists believe that the highest state which man can reach is the state of the Buddha. He is Divine, the Kevalin or Mukta or an embodiment of Love & .

Ques 30 What are the names by which God is called in Different religions? Ans 30 Hinduism Iswara, Paramatma, Iswara is the concept of God in religion but in vedantic Philosophy, it is conceived as Brahman- the Absolute.

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 5 www.sssbalvikastn.org Zorastrianism Ahura Mazda – (The Wise one) The God of Truth, Wisdom and Illumination. Jainisim Arhat; Kevalin. Buddhism State of Buddha – Nirvana (Abhoot, Akshar, Dhruva, and ) The embodiment of Love and Prajna. Judaism Jehova. Taoism Tao meaning ultimate reality and truth. Islam Allah- the Merciful, the Compassionate and the sole Lord of Creation (There is only one God & Mohammed is His messenger) Sikhism Sat or (There is but one God whose name is truth and who is Eternal). Christianity Father in Heaven.

Ques 31 Answer the following: a. Fill in the blank: All religions believe in ______functions of God. b. Name these functions. c. Explain these functions with examples from Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Sikhism. Ans 31 a. Three. b. Creation, Protection and Destruction. c. Hindus attribute these functions to Brahma, , Maheshwara; the triple aspects of Brahman. Christians refer to Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Judaism refers to God as Creator, Preserver and Maker of Laws. refer to God as Creator, Caretaker & unto whom all things ultimately revert.

Ques 32 All religions talk about Man’s relationship with God. Fill in the blanks with reference to this aspect: a. Hinduism says : Man is ______. b. Zorastrianism says : As eye is near the nose, so ______c. Judaism Christianity say : God created man from _____ and blew the _____ in him. Islam d. Buddhism says : ______is the master of man. e. Sikhism says : ______is within you. f. Judaism says : _____ is the ground of all existence. Ans 32 a. part and parcel (an aspect) of God. b. God is near me c. Dust, spirit

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 6 www.sssbalvikastn.org d. Atma e. God f. God

Ques 33 Fill in the blank: All religions believe in secondary gods or ______Ans 33 Angels

Ques 34 Answer the following: a. How many Worlds or Lokas do all religions believe in? b. What are they? c. What is the inner significance of these Lokas? Ans 34 a. There are 3 Worlds. b. Earth Heaven Hell c. The inner significance is that these three represent different states of consciousness. Earth means human. Heaven means Divine. Hell means sub human.

Ques 35 All religions believe in the principle of soul or spirit. Fill in the blanks with reference to this aspect: a. Body dies but not the ______says the Gita b. ______thou art and to ______thou returnest was not spoken of the soul, says the Bible Ans 35 a. soul b. Dust , dust

Ques 36 Fill in the blank: All religions believe in equality of ___ as all are children of God. Ans 36 man

Ques 37 Fill in the blank: ______is the golden link between man and God. Ans 37 Prayer

Ques 38 What are the benefits of prayer? Ans 38 All religions emphasize on the supreme value and efficacy of prayer. Prayer is the golden link between man and God. It is a means of of intimate communion and rapport with the Almighty. It promotes concentration, purifies the heart and brings peace within and without.

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 7 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ques 39 What is the ultimate goal of all religions? Ans 39 The ultimate aim and goal of all religions is to make man perfect.

Ques 40 List the common beliefs of all the religions Ans 40 Some common beliefs of all the religions are: · Belief in God · Belief in the three-fold functions of God · Belief in man's relationship with God · Belief in secondary gods or angels · Belief in 3 Lokas - Earth, heaven & hell · Belief in the principle of soul or spirit · Emphasis on the value of sacrifice · Belief in Equality of man · Belief in the efficacy of prayer · Stress on the necessity of ethical life · Belief that religion unites man with God and transforms him to become “God- like”

Ques 41 Give the meaning of: a. Asatoma sat gamaya b. Tamasoma jyotir gamaya c. Mrityorma amritam gamaya. Ans 41 a. Lead us from untruth to truth. b. Lead us from darkness (ignorance) to light (knowledge). c. Lead us from mortality to immortality.

Ques 42 When Baba addresses us as Divyatma Swarupas, what does it mean? Ans 42 Embodiments of Divine Atma - It is meant to say that the Universal Divine Principle is indeed the true and very core of our being

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 8 www.sssbalvikastn.org