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The reading preparation tests are given every two weeks to ensure that you are prepared for the more complex thinking required for team assignments, before you meet with your team. These tests measure (1) basic comprehension of essential terms, (2) awareness of primary sources, and (3) recognition of key images.
NOTE: each RPT takes place after an in-class study session, but before in-depth processing of the reading material in class. Therefore, doing well on RPTs requires more than attending the in-class study session. Most students find themselves needing to allow more time than they are used to for reading assigned materials.
Students may raise their RPT score for a given unit by submitting a summary of one of the optional primary sources listed in the schedule, next to the date of the RPT for that unit. Any points earned from summaries are added directly to the the immediately RPT of the unit to which the optional sources pertain.
Instructions:
In order to receive full credit, these summaries must concisely and insightfully incorporate the following:
Other Requirements:
Each summary may add up to five points to your RPT score, for a maximum of ten points for two summaries. One word of CAUTION: the shortest extra credit readings are not necessarily the easiest ones to summarize!!
Terms & Excerpts (from required primary sources):
for
RPT #0 (Trial)
[based on Dimensions of Religious Culture, "The
Hindu Calendar," & CP, 1-6a, 17b-19a, 105-23]
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Terms: supernatural
practice
community
nakshatra
Hindu
Hinduism
brahman
Brahma
Vishnu
Shiva
Excerpts:
"At the end of this time, the clay images are returned to a body of water--the sea or a river--which is the proper way to dispose of an image that has once been the temporary focus of worship. Back home in India at the conclusion of [the ceremony], there are great processions in which worshipers bring hundreds of images...from neighborhood and temple shrines to the seacoast for the rite of immersion, called visarjana. In 1991 Hindus from all over the San Francisco Bay area launched this tradition in America. Gathering at the Baker Beach parking lot, they formed a parade with their painted clay images..., carrying them to an artillery site in the old Presidio that they have converted into a temple for the occasion....and then immersed the images--all biodegradable--in San Francisco Bay."
"How does one explain all this to people encountering it for the first time? Why so many gods? Why the images? These certainly are the questions of anyone reared in the monotheistic traditions of the West. Not only the many gods, but the prolific imaging of the divine is a problem. The taboo against the 'graven image' runs deep in our consciousness, and most people don't take the time to study Hinduism and ask just what it all means. My own metaphor has always been the kaliedoscope, with its multitude of tiny parts and pieces, colors and forms, the whole glittering altar [of a Hindu temple.] And yet, with a twist of the wrist, all these pieces fall into a different pattern; there are many centers and many intricate displays of the periphery."
"The event began with a meal, which the boys shared with their mothers, in former times marking the last such meal they would share with the women of the household. In the long series of rites that followed, the boys significed their readinesss for what lay ahead by standing on a stone slab, symbolic of the firmness of resolve that must accompany a life of learning. Each received the sacred thread, a white three-stranded cord that was tied by the father and the guru around the boy's chest, over the right shoulder, and under the left arm. They will wear this sacred thread for the rest of their lives. Toward the end of the ceremony, the whole assembled family was called to attention for the...receiving of the sacred teachings."
"Volunteers were sweeping and cleaning the shrines inside the temple. They prepared the central shrine for the image of Lakshmi, the auspicious goddess of wealth and blessings. The shrine on the right would house the image of Vishnu and the left, Ganesha. The dark granite images of the gods, sculpted by sacred artists south of Madras, had been shipped to Boston in crates. For weeks they had stood in the construction site, unconsecrated but carefully and respectfully treated. Now, during this week of ceremonies, they were prepared and bathed. All of us were amused at the distinctive and ingenious arrangments for the ritual bathing: large, brand new, plastic spalshing pools, covered with Big Bird, the Cokie Monster, and other characters from Sesame Street."
[TOP]
for
RPT #1
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Terms: veda/Vedic
Agama
bhakti
karma
moksha
fire-offering/sacrifice
(yajña)
puja
temple
mantra
Rta
Shaiva
Siddhanta
Excerpts:
"Arising from Rudra's fire, and fierce (raudra), Canda is the color of lampblack, dreadful, carries trident and hatchet, and has four faces and four arms. He spits great flames from his mouth, and has twelve red eyes. The crescent moon adorns his matted locks, a snake is his bracelet, and another snake is his sacrificial thread. He holds a rosary and an ascetic's water-pot, and sits on a white lotus throne. He removes all pain from those who bow with devotion."
"Yoking the gods, as they go to heaven with their mind and to the firmament with their thought, may Savitr stimulate them to create the lofty light.
They yoke their minds, they yoke their thoughts, those inspired poets of the lofty poet.
That one along who knows the patterns has apportioned the offerings. Resounding is the praise of the god Savitr.
I with adorations the ancient formulation of you two. The praises spread wide, like th suns on their course.
All the sons of the immortal hear them, when they have reached the heavenly abodes."
"The eight-part prostration is to venerate by touching eight bodily parts to the ground: the head, both hands, both ears, the chin, and both arms, with the legs stretched out their full length. The five-part prostration is to venerate by touching five bodily parts to the ground: the head, both hands, and both knees, with only the legs below the knee stretched out. The three-part prostration is pressing both hands together on the head. Prostrations should be done three times or five times or seven times or nine times or twelve times. Doing it only once or twice is a mistake."
"Through his own power of will, he himself entered into subsequent creations, thus cloaking the first creative moment in mystery.
Where did he stand when he took his position? What supported him? How was it made?
From what did the Maker of All Things, beholding all things, fashion the earth and shape the splendor of the skies?
With eyes looking in every direction, with faces everywhere, with arms and feet extendning to all places,
The god--alone--creates the heavens and the earth, He welds them together with [air blown by] his arms and wings."
[TOP]
for
RPT #2
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Terms: monsoon
Brahmin
dharma
sutra
vinayaka
Purana
Ganapati/Ganesha
caturthi
Maharashtra
ashtavinayaka
B.G.
"Lokamanya" Tilak
Excerpts:
"Boiled rice, a sweetmeat made of ground sesamum and sugar, boiled fish and raw fish, such alike two sorts of meat (i.e., raw and cooked), variegated flowers, sweet scents, three sorts of wine, radish, purika (a kind of cake), pupa (a preparation of wheat fried with clarified butter), similarly garlands made of the fruits of Ricinus Communis, boiled riced mixed with curd, thickened milk, treacle, cakes with Modaka--having collected all these in one vessel, he should offer them; and, afterwards keeping his forehead on the earth he should sit before Ambika,...offering her arghya [water] and handful Durva-grass blades, sesame seeds and flowers, [he should pray,] "O you endowed with lordly powers, give me beauty, fame and good luck; grant me sons and riches and confer on me all desired-for objects."
"When food is brought without being held with both hands, evil-minded demons forcibly snatch it away. Keeping himself ritually pure and with a collected mind, he should set down on the ground properly the side dishes, such as sauces and vegetables; milk, curd, ghee, and honey; various kinds of foods and delicacies; roots and fruits; and delicious meats and fragrant drinks. After bringing all these, he should dish them out gradually with a collected mind and keeping himself ritually pure, pressing all the side dishes on them. He must never shed a tear, become angry, tell a lie, touch the food with his foot, or flip it around. A tear makes the food go to ghosts; anger, to enemies; a lie, to dogs; touching with the foot, to fiends; and flipping around, to evil-doers."
"Reciting verses from the Purushasukta, along with single-word mantras, the patron touches his heart, the top of his head, the tuft of hari at the crown of this head, his chest, hist two eyes and the subtle third eye betwen them. Then, with his hand raised above his head, he makes a snapping sound with his thumb and forefinger....Through these gestures the patron identifies the various parts of his body with those of the deity and the universe, thereby bringing into a single center the microcosm and macrocosm. A similar series of identifications takes place in the Purushasukta itself when the dismembered pieces of the sacrificed Purusha are identified with various parts of the universe. In this way the patron becomes redefined, brought out of the merely human realm into a the sacred arena....Like the deity he has invited, the patron is now homologous with the cosmos."
"Garland Maid took fragrant unguent, smearing it gently, and with her hands the beautiful [servant] anointed the Goddess’s limbs, which shone like gold. And Parvati considered whether that greasy sweat could be of some use. Garland Maid then hastened off to have her bath; when she had gone, that Lady of the Mountain created, out of secretions, an elephant-faced, four-armed, brawny person endowed with auspicious marks. And having created him, she released him upon the earth, resting again on her throne. Garland Maid [,having returned,] bathed her head with perfume and laughed out loud. Seeing her then smiling gently, O Narada, Uma asked Garland Maid, 'Why do you alternately smile timidly and laugh so hard?'"
[TOP]
for
RPT #3
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Terms: Durga
Mahisha
Durga Puja/Navaratri
Mahabharata
sacred sword
navapattrika
Dasara
yama-damshtra-kala
Indra
pauranika
Shakti
Excerpts:
"The homa goes on for the nine-days the festival lasts, the period of nine days being, for the purpose, divided into three sub-periods of three days each, each sub-period being devoted to the propitiation of one aspect of the Devi. Thus, during the first sub-period, the Goddess is propitiated in her manifestation of Mahakali--for obtaining immunity from diseases, poverty and grief; in the second, she is worshipped in her avatar of Mahalakshmi--for securing wealth, happiness and prosperity; and in the third, puja is offered to her in her incarnation of Mahasarasvati--to obtain purity of mind, intellectual eminence and spiritual bliss.'"
"The heads of some fell (to the ground), others were pierced in the middle, and other great Asuras, with their legs cut off, fell to the earth.
Others were cut in half by the Goddess, having (in each part) a single arm, eye, and leg. Some, when their heads were cut off, fell (and) rose again.
Healess trunks, (still) grasping the best of weapons, fought with the Goddess, and others danced in battle, keeping time to the sound of the drums,
Headless trunks, with borken heads, with sword, spear, and double-edged sword still in hand. Other great Asuras cried out, 'Stop! Stop!' to the Goddess.
The earth became impassable with the fallen chariots, elephants, horses and Asuras which had come together where the great battle occurred."
"The Brahmins who take refuge in you, the bearer of oblations, O goddess,
Whether ignorant or knowing a great deal: 'he leads us over all difficulties.'
Those twice-born who praise the one who has the color of Agni, auspicious, beautiful,
She causes them to cross over difficulties: 'Agni (does this) as one (crosses over) the stormy sea with a boat.'
In difficulties, in battle that is painful or terrifying, in peril from enemies,
In attacks of fire and theft, in the warding off of seizers, O one who wards off wicked seizers, (you abide): Om, hail!
In difficulties, in calamities, in battles, and in forests are you.
Having deluded..., they take refuges (in you); make me unafraid of those (circumstances), make me unafraid of those (circumstances): Om, Hail!"
"'O my swami, it's a beautiful calf!
O little calf with four black feet, with black-and-white tail,
and a spotted forehead.
O little calf, with many-colored back and bumblebee shoulders! O my swami,
I'll take him home. O buffalo calf! I'll raise you well, my adopted son.
I'll raise you well, I have no children. O buffalo calf, I'll raise you well!'
'Listen, Devi! You're being follish! He's neither pure nor very smart.
You never do a thing I tell you. His caste is of a line of demons."
[TOP]
for
RPT #4
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Terms: Shri-Lakshmi
Di(pa)vali
Ramayana
Sita
Rama
Janaka
Ravana
Ayodhya
brata (=vrata)
Ram Lila
Bhagavata Purana
Excerpts:
"O blessed one, beloved of Hari, beautiful one, one who makes the triple world prosper, be gracious to me.
One rejoices in the lustre of Shri, full life, health respelendent...
(Also) grain, wealth, cattle, acquisition of many sons, (and) long life of a hundred years.
The spouse of Vishnu, tranquil goddess, the sweet one, beloved of Madhava,
Lakshmi, the dear friend, the goddess who is dear to Vishnu, do I revere.
We both worship the great Lakshmi and would receive the spouse of Vishnu.
Therefore may Lakshmi inspire us."
"In the fight between Ram and Ravana, Lakshman was wounded. The only thing that would revive him was an herb that grows in the Himalayas. It is boiled in milk over a fire of dung cakes. Hanuman brought back the mountain with the herb and medicine was made. Ram won the war (Dassehra) and returned Home (Diwali). Then he remembered that his brother Lakshman was saved by the cows and decreed that the day after Diwali was to be dedicated to the welfare of cows and that all the cow dung be examined to see if it is firm, thus indicating that the cows are in good health."
"As he sacrificed, there arose from the sacred fire a great being of incomparable radiance, enormous power, and immense might. He was black and clothed in red. His mouth was red, and his voice was like the sound of a kettle drum. The hair of his body, head, and beard were as glossy as that of a yellow-eyed lion. He bore auspicious marks and was adorned with celestial ornaments. His height was that of a mountain peak, and his gait that of a haughty tiger. His appearance was like that of the sun, and he looked like a flame of blazing fire. In his arms he held, as though it were a beloved wife, a broad vessel fashioned of fine gold and covered with a silver lid. It seemed as though it were fashioned directly from creative energy itself, and it was filled with a celestial porridge."
"Ravana goes to wake up his giant brother Kumbhakarna who sleeps for six months after gorging himself on meat and wine. After much shouting and pounding with heavy objects, Kumbhakarna wakes--he is fed a meal of a herd of water buffalo, and a million jugs of wine.... Kumbhakarna fights many of Rama's army, and then meets Rama himself in battle. ...Rama shoots off Kumbhakarna's right arm, then his left, then his head, and still the body rages on until a final arrow cuts it in two. ...first one arm drops, then the other, the head comes off and rolls on the ground, and at last the trunk, detaching at the waist, crashes to the ground....In a way, it is like the violence of the silent film comedians-so exaggerated as to be absurd; it is the opposite of the naturalistic blood violence of television and films today."
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