This is a compilation of all of the quiz questions from the Gita Wisdom Long Island Podcast Series.
Results
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#1. Which is not a category of avatar?
Most avatars fall into the Vishnu-tattva category — those directly descended from Vishnu, the Supreme Being. Rama and Parashurama are examples of Vishnu-tattva avatars. The other category of avatar is jiva-tattva. Jiva souls are like us: individual sparks from the fire that is the Supreme Being. An example of jiva-tattva avatars is the shaktyavesha avatar: beings empowered by Vishnu to carry out a mission. Jesus, Buddha, and the guru are examples of shaktyavesha avatars. Maha-tattva refers to the cosmic material manifestation—the total energy of the material world—and is not a category of avatars.
#2. The Vedic histories are known as the
#3. The cycle of birth and death is known as
#4. The path of devotional yoga is known as
#5. Jada Bharata, in his previous life as King Bharata, was thinking about what at the time of his death?
#6. Realization of Brahman or Paramatma is incomplete. Which quality can be experienced only through realization of the Supreme Being?
#7. The Gita offers advice on how to give up material attachments with the phrase “param dristva navartate”, which can be interpreted to mean
#8. What type of guru is authorized to give formal initiation to a disciple?
We’ll talk about three types of gurus here. The vartma-pradarsaka guru is the person who first introduces you to devotional practices.
A shiksha guru is an instructing teacher, someone who offers guidance and is there to answer questions. One can have more than one shiksha guru.
A diksha guru is authorized to officially initiate disciples into their lineage. When one accepts initiation from a diksha guru, they are agreeing to follow vows and seriously pursue spiritual life. The guru agrees to guide the disciple through as many lifetimes as is needed for the disciple to become liberated.
It’s possible that these roles may all be filled by the same person, though this is generally not the case.
#9. When a disciple is initiated into a Vaishnava lineage they are given a new name ending in das or dasi. What does the word das mean?
Upon initiation, disciples are given a name of Krishna, Radha or some place or activity associated with them, followed by das for men or dasi for women. The word das means “servant of”. For example, Krishna das means “servant of Krishna” and Yogesvara das means “servant of Krishna, who is the master of mystic yoga”.