Name ______Date ______Class ______Period _____ Dharmic Religions Directions: Read the quotes below and answer the related questions. Then, at the end, answer the Quaestio in paragraph form, using what you learned both from last night’s homework and today’s class.

They have called him , , Varuna, , And the divine fine-winged ; They speak of Indra, , Matrarisvan: The One Being () wise men call by many names. Source: Rig Veda 1.164.46 (earliest holy text of )

Based on the quote, does this sound more like monotheism or polytheism (or both)? Explain. ______

During the time the were being written, 1500-500 BCE, people worshipped early gods of nature, such as Indra (the god of thunder) and Agni (the god of fire). They worshipped these gods mainly by making sacrifices of food to the gods, burning them in a holy fire. From 500-200 BCE, Indian philosophers composed writings called the , which explained the Vedas in new ways and introduced new ideas. These new ideas became part of and Buddhism, and also became part of the Hindu tradition. Much later, during the Gupta Empire (320-500 CE), people began to focus on one god as their main god, and saw other gods as lesser versions of their main god. For example, some people focused on as their main god, others focused on . Source: Peter Casey, Global History teacher, 2013

According the explanation above, how did Hinduism change over the centuries? ______

***** ASCETIC = a person who practices severe self-discipline and avoids from all desires. *****

[The centuries from about 500 BCE to 50 BCE were] the period that created many of the [beliefs that are common to] later Indian religions. Some of the fundamental values and beliefs that we generally associate with Indian religions in general and Hinduism in particular were in part the creation of the ascetic* tradition. These include the two [of the most important beliefs of Indian religions]: Samsara - the belief [in the cycle of birth and death through reincarnation] /Nirvana - the goal of existence [to be released form the cycle of rebirth and unite with Brahman] Source: Gavin Flood, The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, 2003

According the explanation above, was belief in reincarnation and moksha always part of Hinduism? ______

The excerpt below comes from the , a book that tells the story of a warrior named Arjuna who learns about life and religion from , who some believe to be the god Vishnu in human form. The Bhagavad Gita is part of a much longer epic poem called the . The soul is never born and never dies…The soul is eternal [and] timeless, and is never destroyed when the body is destroyed… As a person puts on new clothes and discards old and torn clothes, similarly a… soul enters new… bodies, leaving the old bodies. Source: Bhagavad Gita 2:20-22 (completed between 300-400 CE)

What concept, common to Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, is being described in the quote above? ______

Quaestio: ______

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