TS 6th Class Social 18th Lesson Questions and Answers Telangana – Devotion and Love towards God

Telangana SCERT 6th Class Social Study Material Telangana 18th Lesson – Devotion and Love towards God Textbook Questions and Answers.

Devotion and Love towards God – TS 6th Class Social 18th Lesson Questions and Answers Telangana

Question 1.
Imagine a discussion between a Buddhist monk and a hunter – gatherer and how they learnt from each other. Write a short dialogue between them.
Answer:
Buddhist Monk : Buddham Saranam Gachchami
Dharmam Saranami
Saranam Gachchami

Hunter-gatherer : Sami, move aside, I have to hit that bird.

B.M : No man, it is sin. You should not do such‘himsa’.

H.G : Then how can we get our daily food ? Some birds and animals are born for our food. And it is my

B.M : The God gave us many plants, fruits, vegetables and grains for our food. So we should not kill them. Even though, they cannot express their feelings, they curse us in their thoughts.

H.G : Let them curse. Nothing will happen to us. Leave me Sami, let me do my work. B.M : Let me complete my son. We believe in one universal rule – “what we sow, so we reap.” If we do harm to others, in return we have to receive it in double. So don’t kill them. Let them be happy in the nature. Then you will be happy in the world.

H.G : Is it true Sami ? Oh! I am doing mistakes for all these years. How can I come out from this ?

B.M : Your repentance is enough. Say the three jewels
Buddham Saranam Gachchami
Dharmam Saranam Gachchami
Sangham Saranam Gachchami
Every sin will be vanished: But remember one thing, repeating the mistakes is not good for you.

H.G : No Sami, I will never do it again. I will work in some other field and feed my family. Namaste Sami Namaste.
Buddham Saranam Gachchami
Dharmam Saranam Gachchami
Sangham Saranam Gachchami
In this conversation the Buddhist monk learnt that ‘need’ leads the human behaviour. Hunter-gatherer learnt that ‘one should bear one’s sins.’

Question 2.
Can you see any similarities and differences between the early and the Vedic reli¬gion ?
Answer:
Similarities:

1. Both religions believed in rebirth.
2. Both worshipped dead ancestors.
3. Both believed in one supreme God.
4. Both worshipped animals and plants.
5. Both performed idol worship.

Early religion	Vedic religion
1. They worshipped mother goddess, . snakes, animals, trees and dead ancestors.	1. They performed yagnas and yagas with prayers and pithru karmas.
2. They do not know any indestructible being like AtmAnswer:	2. They perform Tapasya to know ‘atma’ or brahman.
3. The religious beliefs were carried to next generations by practicing.	3. They had many discussions regarding several questions and improved their religion.

Question 3.
In what ways were the early Bhagavata and Shaiva thinking different from that of the Buddhists and Jains ?
Answer:

1. Buddhists or Jains or Upanishadic thinkers did not emphasise worship of any god as the road to salvation or mokshAnswer:
2. They advocated meditation, abandoning desires or purifying oneself through penance etc.
3. But the Bhagavatas believed that intense devotion and worship of Vishnu alone could relieve us from all problems and would lead to salvation.
4. They thought that yagnas or giving alms to Brahmins etc., or even reciting the Vedas was not necessary. They built temples and worshipped images of KrishnAnswer:
5. Shaivas too built small temples with images of Shiva or a lingam. Some people also worshipped goddess Durga in the same manner.
6. Even as Vishnu or Shiva or Durga was being worshipped as Supreme God, the Buddhists and Jainas also began worshipping the Buddha and the Tirthankaras.
7. They made beautiful images of the Buddha and the Tirthankaras and set them up in stupas or temples called Chaityas. Eg : Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda,Phanigiri and Nelakondapalli.
8. Even though Buddha or Mahavira did not claim to be gods, they began to be treated as supreme god’s representatives by now.

Question 4.
Discuss how the Puranas helped in bringing together different religious practices in the country.
Answer:

1. The stories about Vishnu or Shiva were written down as Puranas.
2. These Puranas, besides combining various religious traditions also extolled one or the other god as the Supreme God who was all powerful, all knowing etc.
3. They advocated worshipping of the God as the easy way to solve one’s problems and attain salvation.

Question 5.
Can you point out the most important difference between the early beliefs and the beliefs of the Bhaktas of Tamilnadu ?
Answer:

1. About 550 CE in Tamilnadu there arose a new movement of devotion to God.
2. They were the followers of Vishnu and ShivAnswer:
3. They did not believe in performance of any elaborate ritual like yagnas or animal sacrifices.
4. They did not pray for solving problems or for riches or power, but for union with God.
5. These above two are important differences between the early beliefs and the beliefs of the Bhaktas of Tamilnadu

Question 6.
In what way did the prophet Mohammad explain the equality of all human beings?
Answer:

1. The founder of Islam was Prophet Mohammad.
2. He was born in Arabia at Mecca in 570 CE.
3. He opined that the way all the children are equal before their parents, all human beings are equal before god.
4. God or Allah has no shape and therefore it is wrong to worship idols.
5. He emphasised the importance of love for whole of humanity.

Question 7.
Read the para under the title ‘The belief in a Supreme God’ of page 136 (160) and write your comment.

The Belief in a Supreme God

Can you see some common ideas emerging among the Hindu Bhaktas, Christian and Muslim religions ? They all believed in the existence of one Supreme God and the need to worship Him. They also believed in equality, love and respect for all human beings irrespective of their wealth, education or social status. These ideas were increasingly adopted by a very large number of people. Kings and rulers also adopted these ideas and started encouraging their subjects to practice these religions. They built vast temples, churches or mosques in which people could worship.
Answer:
The belief in a ‘Supreme God’. This can also be called as Monotheism. This belief was developed in all the religions. Many rulers and people adopted this belief. This means that there is only one supreme reality. To practice this many temples, churches and mosques were built.

Question 8.
Write your view on the religious programme held recently in your areAnswer:
Answer:
In our village ‘Sripalle’ a religious programme was held on Karthika pournami. My father Sir., Yellomraju Madhava Rao and my mother Smt. Rajyalakshmi celebrated this with our relatives and villagers. We performed ‘Abishekams’ and ‘Lakshapathri Pooja’ to Lord SivAnswer: On the next day we performed ‘Chandi Homam’ in the temple. All the villagers gathered there and performed Gowri Pooja also. It was really a wonderful occasion. The temple was decorated with leaves, flowers and lights. Vedic Chantings were continued for two days. To say… 1 feel the presence of the Goddess in the ‘Homam’. At the end ‘Santarpana’ was organized with the help of the committee members and villagers.

Question 9.
Point out the following in the world map.
a) Jerusalem
b) Mecca
c) Kerala State
d) Chennai
e) Amaravati

I. Conceptual Understanding

Question 1.
Who are Alvars and Navanars ?
Answer:
a) Alvars : Twelve main devotees of Vishnu were called the Alvars – the most important among them being Periyalvar and Nammalvar. Andal the daughter of Periyalvar is the only woman among them. Most of them travelled to different temples of Vishnu and composed and sang songs called Pasurams. Nammalvar considers Vishnu to be the creator of the universe,

b) Nayanars : The Navanars were 63 in number and were devotees of ShivAnswer: They came from different castes, including Kannappa, a hunter and Nandanar, a Pulaiya, or an outcaste. Some of them like Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar went from one temple to another and composed songs in praise of ShivAnswer: A couple of them like Karaikkal Arraiyar were women.

Question 2.
Why does Nammalvar feel that God is playing hide and seek ?
Answer:
In his song “You dwell in heaven ………… will you always play hide and seek?”
Nammalvar is pointing out that the Lord is present everywhere but he is not appearing before him. He is desperately seeking a vision of God, but the God is not showing himself to Nammalvar. He is unable to have a glimpse of God.

Question 3.
Write a short notes on ‘Christianity’.
Answer:

1. Just as people in the Indian subcontinent started worshipping a Supreme God and believed that love and devotion to God is the path for salvation, people in other parts of the world too developed similar ideas.
2. In the Middle East in the region now called Israel and Palestine developed a new religion called Christianity started for Jesus Christ.
3. He was born at Bethlehem near Jerusalem about 2000 years ago.
4. Jesus Christ preached that all people are equal. He taught us to love one another. He taught the importance of peace, love and compassion.
5. Saint Thomas a follower of Jesus Christ came to India with Roman traders and brought with him the teachings of Christ. St. Thomas propagated Christianity in South India

Question 4.
Give a brief account of Islam.
Answer:
The Islam religion was founded by Prophet Mohammad. Prophet Mohammad was born in Arabia at Mecca in 570 CE. Prophet taught that there is only one God and all human beings are his creation. The way all the children are equal before their parents all human beings are equal before god. God or Allah has no shape and therefore it is wrong to worship idols. He taught that all men are brothers. He emphasised the importance of love for the whole of humanity. Mohammad is considered as a Prophet or messenger of Allah. The teachings of Allah are written in a book called Quran. It is the holy book of Islam.

Question 5.
What are the common ideas emerging among the Hindus, Christians and Muslims?
Answer:

1. They all believed in the existence of one Supreme God and the need to worship him.
2. They also believed in equality, love and respect for all human beings irrespective of their wealth, education or social status.
3. These ideas were increasingly adopted by a very large number of people.
4. Kings and rulers also adopted these ideas and started encouraging their subjects to practise these religions.
5. They built vast temples, churches or mosques in which people could worship.
6. Kings and emperors also encouraged such ideas and often tried to claim to be representatives of those Supreme Gods themselves.

II. Reading the Text (given), Understanding and Interpretation

Question 1.
Can you compare the religious beliefs of the Vedic period and the Bhakti movement ?
Answer:
The religious beliefs of the Vedic period :

1. The Aryans believed in the existence of one supreme power as the creator of the entire universe. The gods were represented as great and powerful.
2. The earliest religious ideas of the Aryans were based on nature worship. Indra, Agni. Surya, Varuna etc., are their gods.
3. The Gods were worshipped by means of sacrifice and prayers. So yagnas occupied a very important place in the religion of early Vedic period.
4. In later Vedic period Indra and Varuna lost their pre-eminence. Praja Pathi Brahma came to occupy a supreme position as the creator of the universe. Vishnu came to be regarded as the protector of life. Rama and Krishna were believed to be the incarnations of Vishnu.
   5) Under the influence of the brahman as the cult of sacrifices (yagnas) became the corner stone of Aryan culture. Simple ceremonial worship gave place to elaborate rituals and sacrifices.

The religious beliefs of the Bhakti movement:

1. The Bhaktas were the followers of Vishnu or Shiva.
2. They believed in one God “Vishnu”.
3. Bhaktas did not believe in performance of any elaborate ritual like yagnas or sacrifices.
4. They believed that intense love for Shiva or Vishnu and a desire for union with him alone was the path for salvation.
5. All Bhaktas together sang songs of love for the God and danced in jey.

Question 2.
In what way was Nammalvar expressing his intense love for Vishnu ?
Answer:
Nammalvar considers Vishnu to be the creator of the universe, but at the same time talks of him as being his own father and lord. Thus all powerful God is as close as father to his son. In his verse in that original moment (Vishnu), our lord and fath …….. And the gods of rain.” He expressed his intense love for Vishnu.

III. Information Skills

1. Read the following passage and answer the following questions.

About the same time, some other people began to worship Shiva in a similar manner. They too built small temples with images of Shiva or a Lingam. Some people also worshipped goddess Durga in the same manner.

As Vishnu, Shiva and Durga were being worshipped as Supreme Gods, the Buddhists and Jainas also began worshipping the Buddha and the Tirthankaras (Earliest Jaina gurus).They made beautiful images of the Buddha and the Tirthankaras and worshipped , them.These are found in many places like Phanigiri and Nelakondapalli in Telangana and at Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayyapeta, Bhattiprolu in Andhra Pradesh.

1) Where does the images of Buddha found ?
Answer:
They were found in Phanigiri and Nelakondapalli in Telangana and at Amaravathi, Nagarjunakonda, etc. in Andhra Pradesh

2) Who was being worshipped as Supreme God ?
Answer:
Vishnu, Shiva and Durga vas being worshipped as Supreme God.

IV. Reflection on Contemporary Issues and Questioning

Question 1.
What were the important teachings of Jesus Christ ?
Answer:

1. The Lord Jesus Christ founded the religion “Christianity”.
2. This religion preached love, kindness and mercy.
3. It preached repentence, non-violence and truth.
4. Christ preached that love and faith in God is an early way to the kingdom of God.
5. God is all powerful in the universe.
6. Love thy neighbour as thyself.

V. Mapping skills

A) Map Pointing:
Locate the following on the world map :
1) Europe
2) Asia
3) Africa
4) India
5) Mecca

B) Map Reading:
Observe the following world map and answer the following questions. African, Asian and European Territories Conquered by Arabs in 7th Century
Answer:

1) Where was Prophet Mohammad born ?
Answer:
In Arabia at Mecca
2) Where was Madina ?
Answer:
To the north of Mecca

3) In which continents was the Islam spread ?
Answer: Asia Africa and Europe

4) Where was Spain ?
Answer:
In Europe

5) Where is Sindh now ?
Answer:
In Pakistan

VI. Appreciation and Sensitivity

1. Can you see the similarities between the Bhagavatas, the Shaivas and the Buddhists ?

Bhagavatas	Shaivas	Buddhists
They worshipped images of Krishna	1. They worshipped with the images of Shiva or a lingam.	1. They worshipped Buddha and the Tirthankaras.
They believed that intense devotion of Vishnu alone could relieve us from all problems. .	2. They believe that Shiva could relieve us from all problems.	2. Buddhists believe that the worship of God as the road to salvation.
Bhagavatas built temples some 2000 years ago in Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.	3. The earliest lingam images of Shiva probably carved more than 2000 years ago.	3. Many monasteries were organised in £ dramatic way. Buddhism was essentially a missionary religion.
They built temples in Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.	4. Gudimallam in Chittoor district.	4. eg: Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda, Bhattiprolu, Phanigiri and Nelakondapalli in Telangana.

Question 2.
Can you compare the religious belief of hunter-gatherers and the Bhakti movement and point out the similarities and differences?
Answer:
a) Similarities:

1. Painting and dance were important parts of the religious lives of the hunter- gatherers. They probably painted hunting scenes or danced to imitate a hunting scene in the belief that this will give them a good hunt. Bhaktas also believed that anyone irrespective of their caste or community could love god. All devotees together sang songs of love for the God and danced in joy.
2. Hunter-gatherers believed that life continues even after death and hence made there arrangements for the after life of the dead persons.
3. Instead Bhaktas believed that intense love for Shiva or Vishnu and a desire for union with him alone was the path for salvation.

b) Differences:

Hunter gatherers	Bhakti Movement
1. They wandered from place to place in search of food.	1. They stayed out one place.
2. They believed that the forest and wild animals were sacred and had to be worshipped.	2. They believed devotion to a particular deity.
3. They offer diety meat, honey, fruits, flowers to the gods and goddesses of the forest.	3. They did not believe in performance of any elaborate ritual like yagnas or animal sacrifices.

3. Can you list the similarities and differences between the religious feelings ?
Answer:
Similarities:

1. They all believed in the existence of one Supreme God and the need to worship him.
2. They also believed in equality, love and respect for all human beings irrespective of their wealth education social status.
3. They built vast temples, churches or mosques in which people could worship.

Differences:

1. Many people were very unhappy about this growing inequality and the suppression of the poor and the powerless.
2. Some historians feel that Buddhism and Jainism which emphasised meditation and control over one’s own desires lost their popularity.
3. Some in fact did not believe in the existence of an all powerful God at all.

TS 6th Class Social 18th Lesson Notes – Devotion and Love towards God

• Sculptures : Work of art that is solid figure or object made by carving or shaping wood, stone, clay, metal, etc.
• Incarnations : A period of life in a particular form. This is called avatarAnswer: Vishnu took birth on the Earth in various forms of incarnations to save the world from evil.
• Salvation : The state of being saved from the power or evils.
• Jataka Stories : The Buddhist stories were written down as the Jataka stories.
• Sramanas : The Sramanas of Buddhist and Jaina established Viharas and Stupas and preached the teachings of Buddha or Jaina.
• Bhakti Movement : About 550 Common Era, in Tamil Nadu there arose a new movement of devotion to God. They were the followers of Vishnu or ShivAnswer: They didn’t believe in performance of any elaborate ritual like yagnas or animal sacrifices. Ramanuja, Ramananda, Kabir, Gurunanak, etc., were prominent saints.
• Bhagavatas : A new kind of religious belief called BhagavatAnswer: The Bhagavatas worshipped Vishnu or NarayanAnswer: They believed that Vishnu was the ultimate God and creator of universe
• Tirthankaras : The earliest Jaina gurus are called Tirthankaras. They are spiritual leaders. Vardhamana Mahavira was the 24th Tirthankara
• Bhaktas : Bhaktas were the followers Vishnu or ShivAnswer: They didn’t believe in performance of any elaborate ritual like yagnas or animal sacrifices.
• Puranas : The stories about.Vishnu or Shiva were written down as Puranas.
• Alvars : Tweleve main devotees of Vishnu were called the Alvars – the most important among them being Periyalvar and Nammalvar.
• Nayanars : The Nayanars were 63 in number and were devotees of ShivAnswer: They came from different castes including Kannappa, a hunter and Nandanar, a Pulaiya or an outcaste
• Holy books : These are connected with God ora particular religion. The Bible is the holy book of the Christians. Quran is the holy book of Muslims.

Mind Mapping: