How do devotional theologians reverse that ranking?

They hold that the highest reality is a personal God with infinite good qualities, since a quality-less absolute could be neither loved nor worshipped.

Why is Saguna Brahman important for the great majority of Hindus?

Worship, prayer, offering and love all need a God who can be addressed, and a murti gives the mind something to hold.

Why is Nirguna Brahman important even for those who worship images?

It prevents any form being mistaken for the whole of God and holds all the deities together as one reality.

How does the pair of concepts explain how Hindus can have many gods and one God?

The many are Saguna forms of the single Nirguna reality, so plurality is at the level of appearance and unity at the level of being.

Which Upanishad is the set text on this question?

The Kena Upanishad, in the teaching of its first section, verses 3 to 8.

AQA A-Level Religious Studies 7062

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Miracles

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Ethical Theories

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Issues of Human Life and Death

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Free Will and Moral Responsibility

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Conscience

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Buddhism: Dialogue with EthicsBuddhism

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Buddhism: God and Ultimate RealityBuddhism

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Buddhism: Self, Death and the AfterlifeBuddhism

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Buddhism: Expression of Religious IdentityBuddhism

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Christianity: Self, Death and the AfterlifeChristianity

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Christianity: Good Conduct and Key Moral PrinciplesChristianity

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Christianity: Religion, Gender and SexualityChristianity

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Christianity: Dialogue with EthicsChristianity

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Christianity: Expression of Religious IdentityChristianity

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Hinduism: Religion, Gender and SexualityHinduism

Topic overview Hindu Reform and the Status of Women Brahmacharya, Marriage, Sexuality and the Texts on Women

Hinduism: Religion and ScienceHinduism

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Hinduism: Religion and SecularisationHinduism

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Hinduism: Religion and Religious PluralismHinduism

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Hinduism: Dialogue with PhilosophyHinduism

Topic overview Hinduism and Philosophy: The Dialogue

Hinduism: Dialogue with EthicsHinduism

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Hinduism: God and Ultimate RealityHinduism

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Islam: Religion and ScienceIslam

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Islam: Religion and SecularisationIslam

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Islam: Dialogue with PhilosophyIslam

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Islam: Dialogue with EthicsIslam

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Hinduism: God and Ultimate Reality

Saguna and Nirguna Brahman and the Kena Upanishad

3 things to know
Component 2

Overview

Recall questions on the Advaita and devotional accounts of Saguna and Nirguna Brahman and why each matters, and on the Kena Upanishad's teaching that Brahman lies beyond the known and the unknown.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

State the Advaita account of the relationship between Saguna and Nirguna Brahman.

Numbers

Which Upanishad is the set text on Saguna and Nirguna Brahman?

Key term

What follows from the Kena Upanishad for someone who claims to have understood Brahman?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
State the Advaita account of the relationship between the two.
Model answer
Nirguna is Brahman as it truly is, while Saguna belongs to the everyday level of experience and is valid for worship until knowledge dawns.
2
How do devotional theologians reverse that ranking?
Model answer
They hold that the highest reality is a personal God with infinite good qualities, since a quality-less absolute could be neither loved nor worshipped.
3
Why is Saguna Brahman important for the great majority of Hindus?
Model answer
Worship, prayer, offering and love all need a God who can be addressed, and a murti gives the mind something to hold.
4
Why is Nirguna Brahman important even for those who worship images?
Model answer
It prevents any form being mistaken for the whole of God and holds all the deities together as one reality.
5
How does the pair of concepts explain how Hindus can have many gods and one God?
Model answer
The many are Saguna forms of the single Nirguna reality, so plurality is at the level of appearance and unity at the level of being.
6
Which Upanishad is the set text on this question?
Model answer
The Kena Upanishad, in the teaching of its first section, verses 3 to 8.

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TimothyCorinthiansPeter

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