Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles

What Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles covers

Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles is examined in AS Unit 1, An Introduction to the Study of Religion — the Hinduism option, studied instead of the other five. It covers varnashramadharma: the four varnas and four ashramas, the status of the Dalits, ahimsa, satyagraha and non-violence and Evaluating duty, varna and ahimsa.

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page. WJEC AS Religious Studies students sit this topic in the first year.

• Varnashramadharma: the four varnas and four ashramasTerm Varnashramadharma, four varnas and state the work traditionally assigned to each and brahmacharya ashrama.Open →
• The status of the DalitsWord Dalit, gandhi's position on untouchability and on varna and legal position on untouchability in India.Open →
• Ahimsa, satyagraha and non-violenceRecall questions on Jain origins and practices, Patanjali's yoga, Manu 5:38, vegetarianism and protection of the cow, classical limits on pacifism, Gandhi's campaigns, and means matching ends.Open →
• Evaluating duty, varna and ahimsaRecall questions on Hinduism as a religion of duty, the ashramas as ideal or rule, the practicality of varna and criticisms of it, and whether truth has an inherent force.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What account of the origin of the four varnas is given in the Purusha Sukta at Rig Veda 10:90 11-12?

   Model answer

   The hymn describes the sacrifice of the cosmic person, from whose mouth came the brahmana, from whose arms the kshatriya, from whose thighs the vaishya and from whose feet the sudra.

2. 2

   What does the term Varnashramadharma mean?

   Model answer

   It means the duty that belongs to a person according to their varna and their stage of life; it is sometimes given as Caturvarnashramadharma, since catur means four.

3. 3

   Name the four varnas and state the work traditionally assigned to each.

   Model answer

   Brahmanas study and teach the sacred texts and perform ritual, kshatriyas rule and protect, vaishyas trade, farm and keep cattle, and sudras serve and labour for the other three.

4. 4

   Which varnas are called twice-born, and what makes them so?

   Model answer

   Brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas are called twice-born, because the boys of these varnas traditionally receive the sacred thread at the upanayana ceremony, which counts as a second birth into religious study.

5. 5

   Distinguish varna from jati.

   Model answer

   Varna is the fourfold scheme set out in the texts, while jati is the lived reality of several thousand birth communities, each with its own occupation, customs and marriage rules, and it is jati rather than varna that governs everyday social life.

6. 6

   Describe the brahmacharya ashrama.

   Model answer

   It is the student stage, in which a young person lives celibately with a teacher, studies the sacred texts and learns self-discipline.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles revision questions

Is Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles examined at AS in WJEC Religious Studies?

Yes. It sits in AS Unit 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles cover in WJEC AS-Level Religious Studies?

4 subtopics: varnashramadharma: the four varnas and four ashramas, the status of the dalits, ahimsa, satyagraha and non-violence and evaluating duty, varna and ahimsa. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles organised?

By the WJEC 603-0277-X specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.