Indian Ethics Questions and Answers

Q: The concept of Yajña-Cakra i.e. the relationship between Yajña, rainfall and agricultural produce is brought out in the :

The yajna-cakra is set out in the Bhagavad-gita.In chapter 3 (verses 14-16), the Gita describes a wheel of mutual dependence: beings come from food, food from rain, rain from sacrifice (yajna), and sacrifice from action. One who does not keep this wheel turning, Krishna says, lives in vain. It is part of the Gita's case for doing one's duty as an offering.The Brahma-sutras are aphorisms on the nature of Brahman, while the Astavakra Gita and the Avadhuta Gita are Advaita texts on the nature of the Self and liberation; none of them develops the cycle of sacrifice, rain and food.

Q: The concept of Svadharma is like :

Svadharma is like Bradley's idea of "My station and its duties".Svadharma, stressed in the Bhagavadgita, is one's own duty fixed by one's station in society (varna and ashrama). Bradley's essay in Ethical Studies argues that a person realises himself by fulfilling the duties of his particular place in the social organism. Both tie duty to one's position in a community.Mill and Bentham judge acts by consequences for happiness, and Kant's duty is universal, binding every rational being alike, not relative to one's station.

Q: In Indian ethics purity of means is insisted by :

Purity of means was insisted on by Mahatma Gandhi.Gandhi held that means and ends are inseparable: 'the means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree'. A good end cannot be reached through violent or untruthful means, so satyagraha must be truthful and non-violent at every step.K. C. Bhattacharya wrote on the subject as freedom and on 'Swaraj in Ideas', M. N. Roy developed radical humanism, and J. Krishnamurti rejected organised methods and authority; none made the purity of means his central doctrine as Gandhi did.

Q: In the Bhagavadg&imacr;t&amacr;, Sthitaprajña is said to be like :

The sthitaprajna is compared to a tortoise and the ocean.In chapter 2 of the Gita, the person of steady wisdom withdraws the senses from their objects as a tortoise draws in its limbs (2.58). Desires enter him as rivers flow into the ocean, which is filled yet stays unmoved (2.70).The cow is not one of the Gita's images of the sthitaprajna, which rules out B and D, and 'ocean and stream' leaves out the tortoise.

Q: The concept of 'Ṛta' is closely related to the concept of :

Rta is closely related to Satya.In the Rgveda, rta is the cosmic and moral order by which the world runs regularly and rightly. The hymns pair it constantly with satya, truth; both arise from tapas in the creation hymn (Rgveda 10.190), and later dharma inherits the idea.Dhyana and samadhi are stages of Yoga meditation, and asteya (non-stealing) is one of the yamas; none is the Vedic counterpart of rta.

Q: The concept of Brahmavih&amacr;ras as Maitri, etc. is stated in :

The brahmaviharas are found in Yoga as well as Buddhism.Buddhism teaches four sublime abodes: metta (friendliness), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy) and upekkha (equanimity). Yogasutra 1.33 recommends the same four attitudes, maitri, karuna, mudita, upeksa, to clear the mind.The Carvakas have no such meditative ethics, so B and C fail. The Gita praises friendliness and compassion (12.13), but does not set out the four as a group, so 'Yoga as well as Buddhism' is the best answer.

Q: Kaivalya is S&amacr;dhya, in P&amacr;tañjala-Yoga and S&amacr;dhana is :

The sadhana is eightfold.In Patanjala Yoga, the goal (sadhya) is kaivalya, the isolation of purusa from prakrti. The means (sadhana) is astanga yoga, the eight limbs: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi (Yogasutra 2.29).The path is a fixed discipline, not something done as we wish or left to accident. Devotion to Isvara is one optional aid, not the whole method, so 'God's wish' is also wrong.

Q: Jainism maintains that the goal of life is :

For Jainism the goal of life is moksa.Jainism holds that the soul is bound by karmic matter, and its final aim is liberation: stopping new karma (samvara), shedding the old (nirjara) and regaining infinite knowledge, perception, bliss and energy. The three jewels, right faith, knowledge and conduct, are together the path to it.Dharma, artha and kama are worldly ends at most, and in Jain metaphysics 'dharma' even names the medium of motion. None of them is the ultimate goal.

Q: K&amacr;ma is the fruit of :

Kama is the fruit of artha and dharma.In the scheme of the purusarthas, dharma regulates and artha supplies the means, and the enjoyment of desires (kama) results from wealth gained and used within the bounds of dharma. Classical texts on the trivarga present kama as following from artha that is pursued within dharma.Moksa is not a cause of kama. It is the separate, final end that transcends desire, so every option including moksa fails.

Q: Which hedonistic dimension gets highlighted by a dictum "Pigeon of today is better than a peacock of tomorrow" ?

The dictum highlights propinquity.Bentham's felicific calculus measures a pleasure by intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity (nearness in time), fecundity, purity and extent. Preferring a pigeon now to a peacock tomorrow values a pleasure for being near at hand rather than remote.Certainty concerns how sure a pleasure is, fecundity its tendency to produce further pleasures, and purity its freedom from accompanying pains. The saying turns on today against tomorrow, that is, on time.

41.

The concept of Yajña-Cakra i.e. the relationship between Yajña, rainfall and agricultural produce is brought out in the :

A.Brahma-sūtras
B.Bhagavad-gītā
C.Aṣṭāvakra-gītā
D.Avadhoot-gītā

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2023, SET Exam - 2023,

Answer: B

The yajna-cakra is set out in the Bhagavad-gita.

In chapter 3 (verses 14-16), the Gita describes a wheel of mutual dependence: beings come from food, food from rain, rain from sacrifice (yajna), and sacrifice from action. One who does not keep this wheel turning, Krishna says, lives in vain. It is part of the Gita's case for doing one's duty as an offering.

The Brahma-sutras are aphorisms on the nature of Brahman, while the Astavakra Gita and the Avadhuta Gita are Advaita texts on the nature of the Self and liberation; none of them develops the cycle of sacrifice, rain and food.

Discuss in Forum

42.

The concept of Svadharma is like :

A.Mill's utlitarianism
B.Kant's deontological ethics
C.Bradley's idea of "My station and its duties"
D.Bentham's Hedonism

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: C

Svadharma is like Bradley's idea of "My station and its duties".

Svadharma, stressed in the Bhagavadgita, is one's own duty fixed by one's station in society (varna and ashrama). Bradley's essay in Ethical Studies argues that a person realises himself by fulfilling the duties of his particular place in the social organism. Both tie duty to one's position in a community.

Mill and Bentham judge acts by consequences for happiness, and Kant's duty is universal, binding every rational being alike, not relative to one's station.

Discuss in Forum

43.

In Indian ethics purity of means is insisted by :

A.K. C. Bhattacharya
B.M. N. Roy
C.J. Krishnamurti
D.Mahatma Gandhi

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: D

Purity of means was insisted on by Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi held that means and ends are inseparable: 'the means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree'. A good end cannot be reached through violent or untruthful means, so satyagraha must be truthful and non-violent at every step.

K. C. Bhattacharya wrote on the subject as freedom and on 'Swaraj in Ideas', M. N. Roy developed radical humanism, and J. Krishnamurti rejected organised methods and authority; none made the purity of means his central doctrine as Gandhi did.

Discuss in Forum

44.

In the Bhagavadgītā, Sthitaprajña is said to be like :

A.Tortoise and ocean
B.Tortoise and cow
C.Ocean and stream
D.Tortoise, cow and ocean

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: A

The sthitaprajna is compared to a tortoise and the ocean.

In chapter 2 of the Gita, the person of steady wisdom withdraws the senses from their objects as a tortoise draws in its limbs (2.58). Desires enter him as rivers flow into the ocean, which is filled yet stays unmoved (2.70).

The cow is not one of the Gita's images of the sthitaprajna, which rules out B and D, and 'ocean and stream' leaves out the tortoise.

Discuss in Forum

45.

The concept of 'Ṛta' is closely related to the concept of :

A.Dhyāna
B.Samādhi
C.Satya
D.Asteya

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: C

Rta is closely related to Satya.

In the Rgveda, rta is the cosmic and moral order by which the world runs regularly and rightly. The hymns pair it constantly with satya, truth; both arise from tapas in the creation hymn (Rgveda 10.190), and later dharma inherits the idea.

Dhyana and samadhi are stages of Yoga meditation, and asteya (non-stealing) is one of the yamas; none is the Vedic counterpart of rta.

Discuss in Forum

46.

The concept of Brahmavihāras as Maitri, etc. is stated in :

A.Yoga as well as Buddhism
B.Yoga as well as Cārvāka philosophy
C.Cārvāka philosophy
D.Bhagavadgītā

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: A

The brahmaviharas are found in Yoga as well as Buddhism.

Buddhism teaches four sublime abodes: metta (friendliness), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy) and upekkha (equanimity). Yogasutra 1.33 recommends the same four attitudes, maitri, karuna, mudita, upeksa, to clear the mind.

The Carvakas have no such meditative ethics, so B and C fail. The Gita praises friendliness and compassion (12.13), but does not set out the four as a group, so 'Yoga as well as Buddhism' is the best answer.

Discuss in Forum

47.

Kaivalya is Sādhya, in Pātañjala-Yoga and Sādhana is :

A.eightfold
B.as we wish
C.God's wish
D.accidental

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: A

The sadhana is eightfold.

In Patanjala Yoga, the goal (sadhya) is kaivalya, the isolation of purusa from prakrti. The means (sadhana) is astanga yoga, the eight limbs: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi (Yogasutra 2.29).

The path is a fixed discipline, not something done as we wish or left to accident. Devotion to Isvara is one optional aid, not the whole method, so 'God's wish' is also wrong.

Discuss in Forum

48.

Jainism maintains that the goal of life is :

A.Dharma
B.Artha
C.Kāma
D.Mokṣa

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: D

For Jainism the goal of life is moksa.

Jainism holds that the soul is bound by karmic matter, and its final aim is liberation: stopping new karma (samvara), shedding the old (nirjara) and regaining infinite knowledge, perception, bliss and energy. The three jewels, right faith, knowledge and conduct, are together the path to it.

Dharma, artha and kama are worldly ends at most, and in Jain metaphysics 'dharma' even names the medium of motion. None of them is the ultimate goal.

Discuss in Forum

49.

Kāma is the fruit of :

A.Artha and Dharma
B.Artha and Moksa
C.Dharma and Moksa
D.Dharma, Artha and Moksa

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: A

Kama is the fruit of artha and dharma.

In the scheme of the purusarthas, dharma regulates and artha supplies the means, and the enjoyment of desires (kama) results from wealth gained and used within the bounds of dharma. Classical texts on the trivarga present kama as following from artha that is pursued within dharma.

Moksa is not a cause of kama. It is the separate, final end that transcends desire, so every option including moksa fails.

Discuss in Forum

50.

Which hedonistic dimension gets highlighted by a dictum "Pigeon of today is better than a peacock of tomorrow" ?

A.Fecundity
B.Propinquity
C.Certainty
D.Purity

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: A

The dictum highlights propinquity.

Bentham's felicific calculus measures a pleasure by intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity (nearness in time), fecundity, purity and extent. Preferring a pigeon now to a peacock tomorrow values a pleasure for being near at hand rather than remote.

Certainty concerns how sure a pleasure is, fecundity its tendency to produce further pleasures, and purity its freedom from accompanying pains. The saying turns on today against tomorrow, that is, on time.

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