Instructions: For each question, click on the radio button beside your answer. When you have completed the entire quiz, click the “Submit my answers” button at the bottom of the page to receive your results.

Question 1:

Hinduism is NOT ________.
a) a name derived from the river Sindhu (Indus)
b) an umbrella term that was used by the British
c) a religion that is a singular tradition with one set of core beliefs
d) a concept that only came into popular usage in the nineteenth century

Question 2:

The Vedas ________.
a) have only ever been studied by the Brahmin caste
b) are believed to represent eternal sounds and words
c) are rewritten every few hundred years
d) have seven sections

Question 3:

According to the philosopher Shankara, the phrase “tat tvam asi” or “you are that” refers to ________.
a) a human soul being identical to Brahman
b) Brahman being equal to the cosmos
c) Atman being the same as a person
d) a human soul being equal to its karma

Question 4:

The Bhagavad Gita contains ________.
a) the Mahabharata epic
b) a shift in how the Supreme Being is conceptualized
c) the longest poem in the world
d) a story of destruction and creation through Shiva

Question 5:

The god Shiva is often represented by a ________.
a) consort
b) naga
c) yoni
d) linga

Question 6:

Ganesha is NOT ________.
a) the son of Shiva and Parvati
b) a god with an elephant head
c) a patron goddess of knowledge
d) the remover of obstacles

Question 7:

The rulers and warriors in Hindu society make up the ________.
a) brahmin class
b) vaishya class
c) kshatriya class
d) shudra class

Question 8:

The Vedanta school of Hindu thought ________.
a) has the singular view that Brahman equals Atman
b) is the most important and sustained school of philosophy
c) contains the thinking of one interpreter of the Vedas
d) is found only in Northern India

Question 9:

Hinduism spread to Southeast Asia through ________.
a) trade routes
b) the god Vishnu
c) missionaries
d) yoga practice

Question 10:

The concepts of ________ underpin the Brahmo Samaj movement.
a) rationalism, goddess worship, and polytheism
b) goddess worship, humanism, and social reform
c) humanism, polytheism, and rationalism
d) social reform, rationalism, and humanism

Question 11:

The Hindu text that most influenced M.K. Gandhi was the ________.
a) Ramayana
b) Rig Veda
c) Bhagavad Gita
d) Laws of Manu

Question 12:

In contrast to acharyas, gurus ________.
a) teach a particular sectarian tradition
b) are almost invariably male
c) emphasize universal and humanist messages
d) belong to a specific lineage

Question 13:

Linga and yoni represent ________.
a) creator and destroyer
b) male and female forces
c) good and evil
d) gods and goddesses

Question 14:

During domestic rituals, women turn to ________ because of their immense spiritual power.
a) female ancestors
b) young girls
c) brahmins
d) deceased kings

Question 15:

Deepavali is NOT ________.
a) a celebration that is only practised in India
b) a word meaning “necklace of lights”
c) a celebration whose meaning varies
d) celebrations are determined by a lunar calendar

Question 16:

The dharmashatras state that the only way a man can repay his birth-debt to the ancestors is by ________.
a) getting married
b) honouring his parents
c) performing his domestic duties
d) raising children

Question 17:

Mostly, domestic rituals are performed by women for the benefit of ________.
a) their liberation
b) their ancestors
c) members of their family
d) the local brahmin

Question 18:

Sound is ________.
a) not an important feature of the Hindu tradition
b) an integral part of Hindu worship
c) smrti, “that which is heard”
d) a recent addition to the Hindu tradition

Question 19:

Temples in diaspora Hindu communities ________.
a) are not as important as in India
b) are central features for cultural and religious identity formation
c) are built only when a miraculous event occurs
d) serve the same function as those in India

Question 20:

The Hindu tradition is ________.
a) too ancient to adjust to modernity
b) an unchanging entity
c) not relevant in cultures outside India
d) a dynamic religion that adapts to new contexts

Higher Education

World Religions: Eastern Traditions, Fourth Edition—Chapter 2