Vocab

Hinduism Vocab

Sanata Dharma – Eternal/Universal righteousness – the origional name for Hinduism

The Vedas – the oldest scriptures of Hinduism and the first large body of texts

Upanishads – philosophical texts in Hinduism the oldest are the most important

Bhagavad Gita – “Song of God” a sacred text of Hinduism also considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. Lord Krishna is the teacher of the text and is refered within as Bhagavan – the Divine One

Ramayana – an ancient Sanskrit epic – in the part of the Vedas. Tells the story of Rama’s journey

Atman – the soul or a person. Continuing cycle of rebirths until enlightenment is achieved

Avatar – Sanskrit for descendant, meaning direct descendant to a deity, an incarnation of a god

Bhajans – any type of Indian devotional song. Mostly expresses love for a deity.

Brahman – the eternal, the ultimate truth, unchanging, all matter, energy, time and space are him

Trimurti – a concept where the creation sustentation and destruction of the earth are personified in the forms of the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer

Brahma – the hindu god of creation and one of the trimurti

Vishnu – the hindu god of maintenance - part of trimurti

Shiva – the god of destruction – part of trimurti

Darshan – sanskrid word meaning sight – a vision, apparition or glimpse

Gunas – Sanskrit meaning strand or single thread, may mean subdivision of species, kind….

Tamas – Sanskrit for darkness – also translated in to indifference to action

Rajas- responsible for motion and energy preservation

Sattva – Sanskrit for purity – literally existence and reality

Guru - a respectable person with saintly qualities and great knowledge, ,he is a teacher who aims to enlighten his student

Ishta-Devata – literally means cherished divinity and is referring to a worshippers favorite deity

Krishna – means the dark one in sanskrit, in some traditions Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu and in others the supreme being

Rita – truth or order in sanskrit it is the cosmic order. This concept led to the doctrines of dharma and karma

Akriti - meaning comming beyond space and time

Law of Karma – the concept of action or deed, and it is understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect

Maya – multiple meanings centered around the concept of illusion. Maya is principal deity that governs dreams and illusion and illusion in the phenomenal universe

Moksha – means release or to let loose. The liberation from samsara and eternal suffering involved in the cycle of reincarnation

Puja – Sanskrit for reverence or honor. A ritual done by hindus as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons, or special guests.

Samsara – meaning continuous flow it is the cycle of reincarnation and death

Shruti – term for the sacred texts of Hinduism, they have influence on the dharma of Hinduism and the Hindu law.

Smriti – literally means that which is remembered and refers to a specific group of scriptures. Is also a part of the Hindu customary law. It portrays the rules of on dharma

Varna – this refers to the main division in Hindu society, being shown in the maurya period which was about 321 BCE to 185 BCE

Jati – term meaning thus born, used to announce the appearance of communities and sub communities.

Yoga – traditional physical and mental disciplines, one of the orthodox schools of Hinduism, and in Jainism it is the sum of all activities – mental, verbal, and physical

Bhankti – descrives the spiritual paractice of giving love and devotion to a god

Jnana – also known as the path of knowledge

Karma – the discipline of action yoga and is one of the four paths to realization

Raja – also knows as classical yoga and is concerned with the development of the mind and the finding of reality and achievement of enlightenment