Assignment Code: MPYE-005/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: MPYE-005

Assignment Name: World Religions

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Note:

i) Give answer of all five questions.

ii) All five questions carry equal marks.

iii) The answer of questions no. 1 and 2 should be in about 500 words.

1. Write a note on the concepts of Reality and liberation in Jainism. 20

Ans) In the sixth century BC, Jainism emerged as a result of widespread opposition to the formalised ritualism and hierarchical structure of the Vedic religion. The Jinas was compelled to offer the people a new orientation and new interpretation as a result of the Vedic religion's inability to satisfy their needs, the meaningless forms of sacrifice that did not grant release from samsara, and the ruthless killing of animals in the context of sacrificial rituals. Their teachings placed a strong emphasis on self-improvement and claimed that anyone who is willing to learn can find salvation. They placed an emphasis on individual effort and practise rather than theoretical speculation, and personal experience—rather than textual authority or logical argument—was used to demonstrate their validity. According to Jains, the Jaina religion is timeless and has been repeatedly revealed throughout history by countless Tirthanakaras.

Liberation must entail the soul's total dissociation from matter if the soul's association with matter is what holds it captive. The removal of matter from the soul is liberation. The complete and total dissociation of all karmas occurs as a result of the elimination of the bondage-causing factors as well as the dissociation of the bound karmas. This is freedom. The soul is completely and entirely free from all karmas during liberation, and as a result, it is established in its pure and pristine state. The soul's desire for sensual pleasures is the root of all the suffering it encounters in the world. The only afflictions we encounter in the world are those brought on by a desire for sensual pleasures. In the end, ignorance is the root of all passions and the afflictions for sensual pleasures. People who suffer from delusional or ignorant desires enjoy engaging in these kinds of activities.

Anger, conceit, infatuation, and greed are all products of our ignorance regarding the true nature of our souls and other matters. Ignorance can be overcome by knowledge alone. Therefore, the Jainas emphasise the importance of having true knowledge, or samyag-jnana. Only by carefully studying the teachings of the omniscient tirthankaras, or teachers, who have already attained liberation and are therefore qualified to lead others out of slavery, can the correct knowledge be attained. However, before we are compelled to study the teachings, we must have a general understanding of their core principles and faith in their teachers. This kind of faith, known as samyag-Darshana, is regarded as essential because it creates the conditions for right knowledge, also known as samyag-jnana. But without application, mere knowledge is useless. Therefore, the Jaina consider right conduct (Samyak Caritra) to be the third essential requirement for liberation. In order to behave properly, a man must restrain his emotions, senses, thoughts, speech, and actions in the context of correct knowledge. Liberation is thus only possible through the human body according to Jainism. The three gems of Jaina ethics are therefore right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct (triranta). Right conduct, right knowledge, and right faith are the keys to liberation. These three together have the effect of liberation. The idea that a soul returns to this world in the form of incarnation after attaining absolute freedom is rejected by Jaina philosophy.

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Discuss the idea of God and trinity in Christianity. 20

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2. Discuss and critically evaluate the idea of Karma Vada in Hinduism. 20

Ans) In Hinduism, moksha, or liberation through selfless service, is known as karma Vada. The Sanskrit verb kr, which means "to do," is the root from which the word "karma" is derived. Every action has a reaction. In other words, karma applies to every action. Every moment of a man's life requires some sort of action. Nature forbids him from being idle. So, it makes sense to spend one's life performing karma that will benefit them in this life or an afterlife. Hindus hold the belief in rebirth after death, with the soul's advancement based on the virtues amassed in a person's prior life.

According to the Bhagavad Gita's karma yoga, a man should perform his duties without worrying about the outcome rather than choosing inaction. Get rid of the shackles of karmaphala, or the fruits of action, in order to achieve liberation from the cycles of birth and death. The Bhagavad Gita states that while karma, or the merits or demerits accrued through the performance of works, cannot be destroyed, their shackles can be broken.

According to the Bhagavad Gita, a true aspirant carries out his duties with samatvabuddhi, or equanimity of thought and action, meaning that he is not concerned with the positive or negative effects of his actions. The aspirant has no attachments to either enjoying sense objects or to karma. Nevertheless, he is not averse to taking action. Karma comes in three varieties: Sanchita, kariyamana, and prarabdha. Kriyamana are the actions that are currently being carried out. Prarabdha refers to the kriya mana actions that have begun to show results. Sanchita refers to the accumulation of kriyamana actions that don't result in anything.

According to the karma doctrine, any suffering or pleasure a person experience is the result of their own actions, whether they were good or bad in a previous life. Every action has a dual outcome (phaal), which can be either pain or pleasure depending on the nature of the action. Therefore, the advancement of morality depends on how we channel and control our propensities for action. Everything that occurs on a moral level has been preordained. It conveys the notion of moral punishment. "Whatever we knowingly do will eventually result in the outcome we deserve." There is no way out; "what we sow, is what we shall reap."

A preceding cause determines how things happen in life. The Law of Karma is fundamentally ethical rather than mechanical. Choosing the order of karma is the goal of moral education. According to the Mahabharata, a man's actions will eventually come back to haunt him, just as a calf will seek out its mother among a herd of cows. There are four types of karma: 1) Sanchita Karma, or the cumulative effects of past deeds 2) The present birth itself is the result of Prarabdha Karma, which is a part of Sanchita Karma. Additionally known as pre-destination 3) Kriyamana Karma, present-day free will, or both 4) Agami Karma, also known as the immediate effects of our current deeds. A necessary corollary of the karma theory is the concept of transmigration.

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Compare the concept of reality of Sikhism and Buddhism. 20

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3. Answer any two questions in about 250 words each. 2*10= 20

a) Compare Karma Theory of Hinduism and Buddhism. 10

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b) Write a note on the concept of varnashrama dharma and svadharma. 10

Ans) Varnasrama vyavasha is the name of the Vedic system of life. Varna-dharma is the Sanskrit term for social class. Along with promoting personal harmony and growth, it is intended to maintain social order, social progress, and social harmony. The word "varna" in the Rg Veda refers to skin tone. Humans are divided into Aryans and Dasas in this instance. Dasas are people with dark skin, while Aryans are people with fair skin. The word "Varna" comes from the root "vr," which means to pick or choose. Varna, which is divided into brahmana, ksatriya, Vaishya, and sudra classes, denotes a specific group or class in a society. The term vana is used to refer to the four functions in human society generally in Purusa-sukta (Rg X.90). The terms brahmin, rajanya, Vaishya, and sudra appear in purusa-sukta. However, these terms are not used to denote the four varnas but rather the four functions of society as a whole. The entire universe, according to purusa-sukta, is a manifestation of the purusa, or universal self.

Similar to the caste system, jati-based or birth-based Varna is now oppressive and exploitative. As the foundation of Vedic sociology is Vedic psychology, Varna is based on one's personality, svabhava, or guna. The human mind has three characteristics, propensities, or temperaments, according to Vedic psychology. They reveal an individual's true character. They are rajas, active; tamas, inactive; and sattva, non-active, quality of purity, goodness, wisdom, and knowledge. Varna is the method of choice used by the person to advance his mental development.

c) Write a note on the moral philosophy of Buddhism. 10

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d) Discuss the idea of essence and existence in Islamic Philosophy. 10

Ans) One of the most well-known Islamic philosophers, Ibn Sina, claimed that everything else in the universe was created by God alone because He is the only being who is necessary in and of himself. It is logically possible for anything to exist, but in order to become actual, it needs a catalyst, and this catalyst is ultimately God. God sets in motion a series of events that eventually produce everything that actually could exist. This may appear to be incorrect because, as it were, there are things that could exist but will never do so because they can never be "moved into existence." For Ibn Sina, this is unquestionably the case; since they will never be realised, certain possibilities remain unrealized indefinitely. A thing needs something to bring it into existence in order for it to exist. This theory has an intriguing resemblance to that of his main rival, al-Ghazali, who also contends that something must bring something into existence in order for it to exist, and that something is ultimately God. Al-Ghazali and Ibn Sina both clearly distinguish between existence and essence. For the latter, only God has an essence that makes it inescapable that he will exist; everything else was created by something else. According to al-Ghazali, there can never have been a time when God did not exist, and everything that does exist was created by God and is maintained by Him.

4. Answer any four questions in about 150 words each. 4*5= 20

a) ‘Human soul is not a particle or part of God’ evaluate this idea of Christianity. 5

Ans) There is no natural consubstantiality between a human and God because they are not made from His substance, His spittle, His seed, or His blood. The Egyptian and Assyro-Babylonian myths, which taught the consubstantiality of the soul with the divinity, are vastly different from the Biblical creation storey. This notion of a natural consubstantiality is rejected by Christianity. God creates each individual soul as a brand-new soul. They are fundamentally and ontologically different from God, their Creator, in that they are created souls. All living things are just starting to exist and give birth. They live in a world that is constantly being created and in which all living things start to exist every day. The human soul is a gift from God, given by the Godly Spirit, who endows it with immortality. The nature of immortality is not eternal. After passing away, the soul remains; it does not transmigrate, but it remembers what was done on earth.

b) Critically evaluate Islamic epistemology. 5

Ans) Islam acknowledges the possibility of knowledge. Human happiness can only be attained through the intellect's understanding of these universals, which are the immaterial forms, the pure essences, or the universals that make up the natures of the things. The Qur'an and the Hadith frequently discuss knowledge, including the benefits of learning new things and the limitations of knowledge (Nuseibech 1996; Mohamed 2006). The immaterial forms, natures, essences, or realities of things are what Muslim philosophers define as knowledge. They all agree that things can either have material or immaterial forms (existing in themselves). While the latter can be known for what it is, the former cannot be known unless their materiality is first removed. The pure forms serve as the knowledge's pillars once they are inside the mind. From these forms, the mind creates objects, and using these objects, it makes judgments. Accordingly, Muslim philosophers divided knowledge in the human mind into two categories: assent (tasdiq), or an understanding of an object with a judgement, and conception (tasawwur), or an understanding of an object without a judgement. The latter, in their view, is a mental relation of correspondence between the concept and the object for which it stands.

c) Write a short note on the moral philosophy of Jainism. 5

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d) Write a short note on the Concept of Rta. 5

Ans) The common translation of Rta is "Cosmic Order." This cosmic order should be viewed as a "sacrificial order" rather than a rigid physical or mathematical rule. Sacrificial order upholds cosmic order. Varuna controls the universe through Rta. Rta is the supreme foundation on which everything else rests. Rta is the universal law or order that is represented by sacrifice. It is an outward manifestation of the primal dynamism that underlies everything and also possesses its own internal coherence, which acts as a unifying force and might be regarded as the essence of sacrifice. Rta refers to the sacrifice's proper rhythm or actual operation. Gods and humans work together through sacrifice, not only for the upkeep of the universe but also for its very survival. Thanks to sacrifice, reality continues. A sudra, not a brahmin, is a brahmin's son who exhibits sudra tendencies. In other words, anyone can become a brahmin. Valmiki, Vyasa, Vasishta, and Narada are a few examples.

e) Write a note on the concept of Appearance in Sikhism 5

Ans) Maya is a concept that Sikhism uses to explain the manifested reality. In Sikh philosophy, the word "maya" has a different meaning than it does in Hindu philosophical traditions. Although the Rg Veda is where the idea of maya first appeared, Sankara is credited with giving the word a philosophical connotation. Through Gaudapada, Sankara owes Buddhism for the idea of maya. According to Sankara, maya is both anirvacaniya, or indescribable, and the creative power of Brahma. Thus, according to Sankara, maya is not entirely unreal but rather somewhat real. Ramanuja believed that the Supreme Reality and maya are one and the same real energy.

According to Sikhism, the universe has varying degrees of relative reality (sat). The dynamic principle Ik manifests in the universe in both its personal and impersonal forms. Due to an intuitive insight into the fleeting nature of the phenomenal world, Guru Nanak came to the concept of maya.

5. Write short notes on any five in about 100 words each. 5*4= 20

a) Concept of God in Zoroastrianism 4

Ans) In the Gathas, a collection of 17 hymns that are thought to have been written by the Prophet Zarathushtra, which are strict monotheists who demand that all worship be devoted to Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord), Zarathushtra establishes his teachings. They are the most revered writings in Zoroastrianism. Ahura Mazda is referred to as the eternal and pure creator of everything that is visible and invisible. The keeper of asha is Ahura Mazda (truth, order, righteousness, or holiness). He is the one who made the heavens and the earth, day, and night, light and darkness, and the ethical framework in which Zarathushtra formulated his solution to the issue of evil (Yasna).

b) Kabbalah 4

Ans) Further explanations about God are found in the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah, which are not accepted by all Jews. For instance, it acknowledges the possibility of reincarnation, which non-mystical Jewish theologians and philosophers typically reject. It also holds that there are three levels of the soul: the lowest, or Nefesh, dissolves into the elements, the middle, or ruach, travels to Gan Eden (Paradise), and the highest, or neshamah, seeks union with God. According to Judaism, the creation of the world was necessary for "Tikkun Olam," or world repair. The world needs to be "repaired," according to the Jews.

c) The idea of Kami 4

Ans) Although closely related, the various concepts of kami that are included in Shinto belief represent not only distinct concepts but also various interpretations of the same concept. Kami can be used to describe either beings or a quality that beings have. Thus, the term is used to describe both the essence of existence and beingness that permeates everything as well as specific objects that eloquently convey the essence of existence. However, even though everything contains kami, the term "kami" only refers to things that exhibit their kami-nature in a particularly striking way. The sacred or mystical component in almost anything is known as kami.

d) Moral philosophy of Shintosim. 4

Ans) The Japanese have practised Shinto, also known as Kaminomichi, or the way of the Kami or gods, for as long as they can remember. Shintoism did not have a founder like the other major world religions did, nor did it produce any theological writings or moral guidelines. Shintoism's minimalism and lack of sophistication, as well as the excessive complexity of the encroaching religions' ideologies and systems, in no way diminished the significance or originality of this tradition. The internal transformation that Shintoism undertook as a task to be completed in response to the threat posed by the superiority of the external religions and the systematisation of external religious icons has endured the test of time despite the risk of being absorbed by the other religions.

e) Navajote 4

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f) Pratityasamutpada 4

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g) concept of God in Islam 4

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h) Gehinnom 4

Ans) The Jewish idea of the afterlife for the wicked is not given much thought. Its roots are in the pitch-black pit that the Torah describes and is also referred to as Gehinnom (Gehenna in Yiddish) or Sheo'l. They have ties to a real location where paganism was practised, including child sacrifice and child burning. Unrighteous Jews and Gentiles will ultimately end up in Gehinnom. Some claim that the punishment meted out to the souls in Gehinnom is limited to a year. Many people think that the righteous go to Gan Eden after undergoing the proper purification. The truly evil, however, go through the entire year of punishment before being destroyed or getting worse.