Hinduism: God and Ultimate Reality | AQA A-Level Religious Studies (7062)
Hinduism: God and Ultimate Reality
- 49 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Component 2: Hinduism, one religion of five
- Component 2
Hinduism: how ultimate reality is understood and described.
Part of Component 2, sat only by students who take Hinduism as their chosen religion.
Sample questions from Hinduism: God and Ultimate Reality
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The Trimurti
What does the image of Shiva as lord of the dance express?
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It shows creation, preservation, destruction, concealment and grace held together in a single figure whose dance is the rhythm of the universe. -
The Trimurti
How do Shaivas and Vaishnavas treat the Trimurti differently?
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Each raises its own deity to the status of supreme Brahman and treats the other members of the Trimurti as subordinate powers. -
Vishnu and the Avatars
Name three of the animal or part-animal avatars.
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The fish, the tortoise and the boar, with the man-lion as a fourth. -
Vishnu and the Avatars
Contrast the Hindu avatar with the Christian doctrine of incarnation.
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Avatars are many, repeated and sometimes non-human, and God is not thought to be limited by the form, whereas Christian teaching holds to one unique and fully human incarnation. -
Nirguna Brahman and Neti Neti
Why can Nirguna Brahman not be described?
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Every description works by qualities and comparisons, and Brahman is beyond the reach of speech and thought, so language can only fail. -
Nirguna Brahman and Neti Neti
Define Saguna Brahman.
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Saguna Brahman is Brahman with qualities, the one reality known as a personal God who can be worshipped. -
Saguna and Nirguna Brahman and the Kena Upanishad
How does the pair of concepts explain how Hindus can have many gods and one God?
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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. -
Saguna and Nirguna Brahman and the Kena Upanishad
What follows from the Kena Upanishad for someone who claims to have understood Brahman?
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The text implies that the person who thinks he knows does not, so realisation carries humility rather than mastery.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The Trimurti | Recall questions on the three deities and their functions, why Brahma is rarely worshipped and why Shiva as destroyer is not regarded as evil. | 12 |
| Vishnu and the Avatars | Recall questions on why Vishnu takes an avatar, how many are usually listed, which is still to come and the animal forms among them. | 14 |
| Nirguna Brahman and Neti Neti | Recall questions on the definition of Brahman, what Nirguna Brahman means, why it cannot be described and the meaning of neti neti. | 8 |
| Saguna and Nirguna Brahman and the Kena Upanishad | 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. | 15 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Religious Studies Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 3,683 questions with their answers.