What do the letters ISKCON stand for, and when was the movement founded?

They stand for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which was registered in New York in 1966.

Who was A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada?

He was born Abhay Charan De in Calcutta in 1896, worked in the pharmaceutical business before taking sannyasa, and was charged by his own guru with carrying the teaching of Chaitanya to the English-speaking world; he died in 1977.

Describe how Prabhupada reached the United States.

He sailed from Calcutta in 1965 at the age of sixty-nine on a cargo ship, with a trunk of his own books and almost no money, and suffered heart attacks during the passage before arriving in New York.

Which older Hindu tradition does ISKCON belong to?

It belongs to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the Bengali devotional tradition descending from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who lived from 1486 to 1534.

What is meant by Krishna consciousness?

It is the condition of holding Krishna in mind at every moment, so that eating, working and speaking all become acts of loving service and the soul recovers its natural relationship with God.

WJEC A-Level Religious Studies 603-0277-X

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Sikhism: Religious Life and Moral PrinciplesSikhism

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Sikhism: Practices and Religious IdentitySikhism

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Ethical Thought: Divine Command, Virtue and Egoism

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Aquinas and Natural Law

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Utilitarianism

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The Nature of Religious Experience

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Christianity: Historical Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview Christianity and secularisation in the UK Christianity and the challenge of science Pluralism, exclusivism and inclusivism Evaluating secularism, science and pluralism

Christianity: Social Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview Christian attitudes towards wealth Migration and Christianity in the UK Feminist theology and the roles of men and women Evaluating wealth, migration and equality

Christianity: Movements, Change and Contemporary Issues

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Islam: Texts, Authority and Key Figures

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Islam: Historical Developments in Religious Thought

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Islam: Social Developments in Religious Thought

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Islam: Movements, Change and Contemporary Issues

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Judaism: Texts, Authority and Key Figures

Topic overview The Talmud: Mishnah, Gemara and the two recensions Midrash, halakhah and aggadah Rashi and Maimonides as interpreters Debates about the Talmud, midrash and the commentators

Judaism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview Zionism, nationalism and the challenge of secularisation Judaism and the challenge of science Holocaust theology Debates about Zionism, science and Holocaust theology

Judaism: Social Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview Reform Judaism, the Pittsburgh Platform and pluralism Family life, gender and Jewish feminism Jewish life as a minority in Britain Debates about pluralism, equality and assimilation

Judaism: Movements, Change and Contemporary Issues

Topic overview Hasidic Judaism and the Baal Shem Tov Kabbalah, the Zohar and the experience of God Embryo research and Jewish ethics Debates about Hasidism, mysticism and Jewish medical ethics

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Topic overview The Pali Canon and the Tipitaka The Heart Sutra and the Parable of the Burning House The Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh Debating the Canon, the Mahayana sutras and contemporary teachers

Buddhism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview Zen, Pure Land and Nichiren in Japan Buddhism and the challenge of science Secularisation, Stephen Batchelor and David Brazier Debating Japanese Buddhism, science and the secular reading

Buddhism: Social Developments in Religious Thought

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Hinduism: Texts, Authority and Key Figures

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Hinduism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview The growth of ISKCON and the work of Prabhupada Hinduism, secularisation and science The purusharthas, wealth and poverty Evaluating ISKCON, secularisation and Hindu attitudes to wealth

Hinduism: Social Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview Hindu pluralism, ishtadeva and other faiths Migration, minority status and Hindu identity in Britain Changing roles of men and women in Hinduism Evaluating pluralism, British Hindu identity and gender

Hinduism: Movements, Change and Contemporary Issues

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Sikhism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview The aspiration for Khalistan Equality and the changing roles of men and women Sikh attitudes to other religions and worldviews Debates on persecution, gender and religious diversity

Sikhism: Social Developments in Religious Thought

Topic overview Sikhism, science and secularisation The Sikh community in Britain Miri and piri and life as a minority Debates on science, secularisation and minority life

Sikhism: Movements, Change and Contemporary Issues

Topic overview The Rahit Maryada and the Rahit Namas Naam japo, the shabads and the khands Sikhism, infertility and assisted reproduction Debates on the code of conduct, naam and bioethics

Meta-Ethics

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Determinism and Predestination

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Free Will and Libertarianism

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Psychological Challenges and Atheism

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Religious Experience and Miracles

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Religious Language: Cognitive and Analogical

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New Testament: ParablesNew Testament

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New Testament: MiraclesNew Testament

Topic overview Types of miracle and the characteristics of the accounts The purpose of the miracle accounts and how they are interpreted Close study of the centurion's servant, the Gerasene demoniac and the feeding of the five thousand Debates about the miracles and their historical validity

New Testament: The Letters (1 Peter)New Testament

Topic overview Authorship, Silvanus and the readership of 1 Peter The purpose of 1 Peter and its place among the New Testament letters Close study of the set passages of 1 Peter Debates about authorship, submission and suffering in 1 Peter

New Testament: Apocalyptic LiteratureNew Testament

Topic overview Defining apocalyptic literature and its characteristics The purposes of apocalyptic writing and how Revelation is interpreted Close study of Revelation 1, 6 and 21 Debates about Revelation's genre, violence and value

Hinduism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought

4 subtopics
11 things to know
A2 Unit 3

What Hinduism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought covers

Hinduism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought is examined in A2 Unit 3, A Study of Religion — the Hinduism option, studied instead of the other five. It covers the growth of ISKCON and the work of Prabhupada, Hinduism, secularisation and science, the purusharthas, wealth and poverty and Evaluating ISKCON, secularisation and Hindu attitudes to wealth.

Where it is assessed

A2 Unit 3

A Study of Religion — the same religion, in depth.

Check the WJEC specification ↗

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Describe the daily regime in an ISKCON temple.

Numbers

What is Hindutva, and where does the term come from?

Key term

How does Samkhya show an early Indian interest in the analysis of matter?

Key term

Explain how the four aims are meant to fit together.

Key term

What does Manu teach at 4:12 and 4:15 about wealth and happiness?

Key term

Give the case that factors other than Prabhupada explain ISKCON's growth.

Key term

Give the case that Hindu responses to science are unsatisfactory.

Key term

Give the case that the Hindu attitude to wealth and poverty is relevant and practical today.

Key term

What does ISKCON teach about the status of Krishna?

Numbers

In what sense is India a secular state?

Key term

Name the four purusharthas.

Take Hinduism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What do the letters ISKCON stand for, and when was the movement founded?
Model answer
They stand for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which was registered in New York in 1966.
2
Who was A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada?
Model answer
He was born Abhay Charan De in Calcutta in 1896, worked in the pharmaceutical business before taking sannyasa, and was charged by his own guru with carrying the teaching of Chaitanya to the English-speaking world; he died in 1977.
3
Describe how Prabhupada reached the United States.
Model answer
He sailed from Calcutta in 1965 at the age of sixty-nine on a cargo ship, with a trunk of his own books and almost no money, and suffered heart attacks during the passage before arriving in New York.
4
Which older Hindu tradition does ISKCON belong to?
Model answer
It belongs to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the Bengali devotional tradition descending from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who lived from 1486 to 1534.
5
What does ISKCON teach about the status of Krishna?
Model answer
It teaches that Krishna is not one avatar among others but the supreme personality of Godhead himself, the source from which the other forms of the divine proceed.
6
What is meant by Krishna consciousness?
Model answer
It is the condition of holding Krishna in mind at every moment, so that eating, working and speaking all become acts of loving service and the soul recovers its natural relationship with God.

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Hinduism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought revision questions

What does Hinduism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought cover in WJEC A-Level Religious Studies?: 4 subtopics: the growth of iskcon and the work of prabhupada, hinduism, secularisation and science, the purusharthas, wealth and poverty and evaluating iskcon, secularisation and hindu attitudes to wealth. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Hinduism: Historical Developments in Religious Thought organised?: By the WJEC 603-0277-X specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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