Developments in Hindu Thought | OCR A-Level Religious Studies (H573)

Developments in Hindu Thought

217 questions
12 subtopics
Components 03 to 07: Developments in Religious Thought, one religion of five
Components 03–07

Component 07, one of the five Developments in Religious Thought options.

The origins and diversity of Hinduism, its scriptures, Brahman and atman, karma and liberation, dharma and varnashramadharma, the Vedanta schools, and Hinduism's encounter with India, the West and reform.

Sample questions from Developments in Hindu Thought

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The 12 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Origins and diversity in Hinduism	Recall questions on why Hinduism has no clear date of origin, the Indus Valley civilisation and its evidence, the Vedic period and the four Vedas, Vedic religion, Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism, the paths to liberation, and whether Hinduism's diversity undermines its coherence.	18
Hindu scriptures and holy persons	Recall questions on shruti and smriti, the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana and the Manusmriti, sadhus, yogis, gurus and sannyasis, initiation, holy persons and the four stages of life, and whether scripture or holy people carry authority in Hinduism.	18
Brahman, atman and moksha	Recall questions on Brahman, atman and samsara, sat-chit-ananda, neti neti and tat tvam asi, teachings from the Chandogya and Katha Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita on the self, moksha, and whether Hinduism is monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic or monistic.	19
Samsara, karma and liberation	Recall questions on karma and its three aspects, sakam and nikam karma, the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads on action, desire and rebirth, anugraha and prapatti, the monkey and cat analogies, bhakti, and whether karma is just or leaves room for free will.	20
Dharma and adharma	Recall questions on the meaning of dharma in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, adharma, the decline and restoration of dharma, the purusharthas, punya, svadharma and sadharana dharma, whether dharma is the same as ethics, and whether it is too relative to guide.	18
Varnashramadharma and Hindu virtues	Recall questions on varnashramadharma, the four varnas and the Purusha Sukta, the four stages of life, links to the purusharthas and karma, the virtues of ahimsa, detachment and self-restraint, varna and jati, caste in Hindu life, and whether the ideal is workable today.	17
Vedanta and its schools	Recall questions on the origins of Vedanta and the Upanishads, Shankara's Advaita and maya, Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, Madhva's Dvaita and how the three compare, Neo-Vedanta and Vivekananda, other schools of Hindu philosophy, bhakti, and moral action in Vedanta.	24
Is Hinduism a single religion?	Recall questions on where the words Hindu and Hinduism come from, sanatana dharma and sadharana dharma, Neo-Hinduism, the case for and against one religion, Hinduism as liberation, overcoming maya, uniting with Brahman or a way of life, and whether outsiders invented it.	15
Hinduism and India	Recall questions on India as a holy land, Hindutva and Hindu-ness as identity, caste and non-Hindus, India as a secular state, religious diversity and conversion, scheduled castes and family law, the prohibition on brahmin sea travel, and Hindu efforts to reform Hinduism.	17
Hinduism and the West	Recall questions on Hindu communities outside India and how practice, funerals, festivals and varna change there, portrayal and stereotypes in Western culture, responses to Western science, interreligious relationships, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and Gandhi, and yoga in the West.	18
Caste, gender and discrimination	Recall questions on Brahminism, untouchability and dalit voices, the range of Hindu positions on caste, stridharma, marriage and children, why sons have been valued more than daughters, sati, resources for women's equality, and whether caste is social or religious.	17
Hindu social reform movements	Recall questions on Hindu women's movements, widows, daughters and the education of women, caste and the feminist movement, attitudes to untouchability, dalit education, Dalit Solidarity Networks and dalit movements, and whether reform can come through religion or from within.	16

Developments in Hindu Thought is 217 of the 1,584 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

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.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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.
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.