This quiz is designed to motivate you to study the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava scriptures in specific, and the Sad Darshanas in general, which are necessary to understand Gauḍīya philosophy properly.
Jnana or knowledge related to bhakti is also part of bhakti. In fact, hearing, which includes studying shastra, is the first limb of bhakti. Learning, followed by consolidating and then testing our knowledge in the form of a quiz is a fun and effective way to help us retain information.
This quiz is in multiple-choice questions format. (MCQs). If you see the response that you anticipated simply click on it. The quiz will immediately show which answers are correct or incorrect so we can learn as we go.
1 / 10
Why did the great sage Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa compose the great epic, the Mahābhārata?
In Śrīmad Bhāgavata, Sūta Gosvāmī says:
strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnāṁ trayī na śruti-gocarākarma-śreyasi mūḍhānāṁ śreya eva bhaved ihaiti bhāratam ākhyānaṁ kṛpayā muninā kṛtam
"Seeing that women, śūdras, and the unqualified among the twice-born classes were prevented even from hearing the Vedas, the great sage [Vyāsa], moved by compassion, compiled the great historical narration called Mahābhārata so that those who were unaware of how to act for ultimate good might also attain auspiciousness." (SB 1.4.25)
The verse cited above means that Śrīla Vyāsa compiled Mahābhārata for the benefit of humanity in general.
Similarly, in the Third Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavata Vidura says to Maitreya Muni:
munir vivakṣur bhagavad-guṇānāṁsakhāpi te bhāratam āha kṛṣṇaḥyasmin nṛṇāṁ grāmya-sukhānuvādairmatir gṛhītā nu hareḥ kathāyām
"Your friend, the great sage Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, composed his great work, Mahābhārata, with the intention of describing the transcendental qualities of Śrī Bhagavān. In this work, he has drawn the attention of the mass of people to the descriptions of Śrī Hari by embedding them within the framework of mundane topics." (SB 3.5.12)
2 / 10
Why is the Mahābhārata considered equal to the Vedas in purpose?
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī quotes the following two verses to show that Mahābhārata is equal to the Vedas
The "munir vivakṣur bhagavad-guṇānāṁ" verse (SB 3.5.12) shows how Śrīla Vyāsa compiled Mahābhārata for the benefit of humanity in general and to draw the attention of the mass of people to the descriptions of Lord Hari. To fulfill His intention, Vyāsa included Bhagavad Gītā in the Mahābhārata.
After Śrīla Vyāsa compiled the four Vedas, there still remained one billion verses from the original Yajur Veda. These verses became the original Purāṇa, which is still available in the celestial planets. Out of compassion for the people of Kaliyuga, Vyāsadeva extracted five hundred thousand essential verses from this original Purāṇa. Four hundred thousand of these he divided into the eighteen Purāṇas. The remaining verses formed the Itihāsa called Mahābhārata. The Itihāsas and Purāṇas are therefore called the fifth Veda because they were produced from the original Veda.
3 / 10
How long is a day of Brahma in earth years?
The cosmos exists for the duration of Śrī Brahmā’s life, one hundred years according to his time scale, in which one day lasts for one thousand cycles of the four yugas— Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali.
By human calculation, therefore, a day of Brahmā lasts 4,320,000,000 years. For managerial purposes he divides each of his days into fourteen periods, called manvantaras.
4 / 10
Which of the following is a type of laya or dissolution as described in the Bhāgavata purāṇa?
Four kinds of laya or dissolution are described in the Bhāgavata purāṇa – pṛākrta laya (SB 12.4.22), naimittika pralaya (SB 12.4.4), ātyantika laya (SB 12.4.34) and nitya-laya (SB 12.4.35).
Constant dissolution (nitya-laya) refers to the self ’s daily dissociation from gross and subtle forms occurring in deep dreamless sleep. Total dissolution (prākṛta-laya) occurs when Hiraṇyagarbha, or Brahmā, dies at the end of his life span and the whole cosmos is dissolved. Occasional dissolution (naimittika-laya) takes place at the end of Hiraṇyagarbha’s day when the lower planets up to Svarloka are destroyed. Ultimate dissolution (ātyantika-laya) transpires when a person becomes liberated through Brahman realization or by becoming free of avidyā, the very root cause of the universe.
5 / 10
After a dissolution what needs to happen first, before creation can begin again?
During the total dissolution everything in the cosmos becomes unmanifest, a state called prakṛti or pradhāna. In this state, the three guṇas of primordial nature remain in a state of equilibrium. Creation cannot begin again until the guṇas are destabilized and thrown out of balance.
This same principle applies to human beings: When a person is satisfied, peaceful, and equipoised, he will not initiate some new activity; some stimulus must unsettle his equilibrium and motivate him to act. One engages in sex, for example, when one’s mind and body are stimulated by lust or the desire to procreate.
6 / 10
What causes the original perturbation of the pradhāna?
The original perturbation in pradhāna is caused by the glance of the Supreme Lord, with which He impregnates prakṛti (primordial nature), with the conditioned jīvas.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this in Bhagavad Gītā, “The vast material nature, called Brahman, is My womb, into which I sow the seed of living beings” (mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadāmy aham, Gītā 14.3).
Here, the word brahma means prakṛti, not Bhagavān’s feature as absolute unqualified being.
7 / 10
Which of the following statements is true about the three states that the jīva experiences — wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep?
The jīva experiences three states — wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep — but these states are modifications of the faculty of intellect (buddhi) combined with the three guṇas of material nature.
Wakefulness is the result of buddhi mixed with sattva-guṇa; dreaming, with rajo-guṇa; and deep sleep, with tamo-guṇa.
8 / 10
According to Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, what is viśuddha sattva?
In Anuchheda 99 from the Bhagavat Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva begins by quoting a famous verse from the Viṣnu Purāṇa:
hlādinī sandhinī samvit tvayy ekā sarva-saṁsthitau hlāda-tāpa-karī miśrā tvayi no guṇa-varjite
The one energy, having the three divisions of hlādinī (bliss), sandhinī (eternal existence) and samvit (knowing), exists in you, the support of everything. But the energy that yields material happiness, misery and their mixture, does not abide in you, because You are free from the gunas. (VP 1.12.69).
The idea is that Bhagavān, who is one, has only one intrinsic energy or svarūpa śakti, but this energy is divided into three because He has three aspects to Him: sat, cit and ānanda (ekasyaiva tattvasya saccidanandatvachaktirapyeka tridha bhidyate). Śrī Jīva identifies this one svarūpa śakti as viśuddha sattva. The viśuddha sattva is divided into hlādinī (bliss), sandhinī (eternal existence) and samvit (knowing) energies, which have distinct functions.
Śrī Jīva defines viśuddha sattva as follows:
tad evaṁ tasyā mūla-śaktes try-ātmakatvena siddhe yena sva-prakāśatā-lakṣaṇena tad-vṛtti-viśeṣeṇa svarūpaṁ vā svayaṁ svarūpa-śaktir vā viśiṣṭaṁ vāvirbhavati tad viśuddha-sattvam
That is viśuddha sattva,
9 / 10
Based on its different self-revealing functions, viśuddha sattva takes on different names. When the viśuddha sattva is dominated by its sandhinī aspect what is it called?
Because viśuddha sattva has the nature of being self-revealing, it can be analyzed based on what it reveals or manifests. Based on its different self-revealing functions, viśuddha sattva also takes on different names.
10 / 10
What is arundhatī-pradarśana-nyāya?
arundhatī-pradarśana-nyāya is the technique of pointing out the star Arundhatī.
It is customary in Vedic culture to show this star to a bride just after her marriage, as Arundhatī is the protector of chaste womanhood. But it is not so easy to spot this star. To indicate it, the priest first points to the constellationcalled Saptarṣi (the Seven Sages), or Ursa Major. Next he points to one of the stars in Ursa Major, and finally to Arundhatī, which is next to the star named Vasiṣṭha.
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