Hinduism

What is Shruti?

Authorless divine revelation (e.g. Veda, Upanishads); highest authority.

What is Smriti?

Human-authored sacred tradition (e.g. Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Dharma Shastras); guides daily practice.

What is the Veda?

Oldest Hindu scripture (1500–500 BCE), Shruti, centered on ritual sacrifice.

What is the Rig Veda?

Oldest collection of Vedic hymns to deities.

What are the Brahmanas?

Shruti texts explaining the meaning and method of Vedic rituals.

What are the Upanishads?

Philosophical Shruti texts teaching Atman/Brahman, moksha, renunciation.

What is the Aryan Migration Thesis?

View that Indo-Aryans migrated into India bringing Vedic religion and Sanskrit.

What is the Cultural Transformation Thesis?

View that Vedic religion evolved within India from earlier native cultures.

What is the purpose of Vedic ritual?

To maintain cosmic order and interact with gods through sacrifice.

Who is Agni?

Vedic fire god who carries offerings to the gods.

Who is Indra?

Warrior-storm deity and king of the gods in the Rig Veda.

Who is Varuna?

Sky deity who preserves cosmic and social order.

What are the Dharma Shastras?

Smriti legal texts outlining duty, caste, law, and life stages.

What does “dharma is context-sensitive” mean?

Dharma changes based on one’s role (varna) and life stage (ashrama), not universal rules.

What is Varna?

Four social classes (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra) each with distinct dharmic obligations.

Who are Dalits?

People outside the varna system; historically marginalized and excluded from varna-based dharma.

What does “no absolute difference” mean in Hinduism?

Apparent differences are conventional; ultimately all is grounded in one reality.

What is Dharma?

Context-dependent duty tied to role and life stage; maintains moral and cosmic order.

What is Varna?

Four social classes (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra), each with distinct dharmic obligations.

Who are Dalits?

Those outside the varna system; historically marginalized.

What is Ashrama?

The four life stages: student, householder, forest-dweller, and renouncer.

Who is a Householder?

One in the 2nd stage of life performing social and ritual duties such as marriage and sacrifice.

Who is a Renouncer?

One who leaves society to pursue moksha through knowledge and detachment.

What is Samsara?

The continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth driven by karma.

What is Karma?

The moral law of cause and effect—actions generate future results determining rebirth.

What is Moksha?

Liberation from samsara, achieved through knowledge, devotion, or selfless action.

What is Atman?

The true self beyond body and ego; identical with Brahman in Upanishadic philosophy.

What is Brahman?

The ultimate, unchanging reality underlying all existence.

What does 'Atman = Brahman' mean?

The true self (Atman) and ultimate reality (Brahman) are one; realizing this unity leads to moksha.

What is Yoga?

A disciplined spiritual path to transform the self and attain moksha through body, mind, or devotion.

What is Raja Yoga?

The “royal” path focused on mental discipline and meditation to still the mind and know the Self.

Who is Patanjali?

Author/compiler of the Yoga Sutra who systematized classical yoga into a structured path.

What is the Yoga Sutra?

Foundational text outlining the eightfold path to restrain the mind and achieve liberation.

What is Hatha Yoga?

A physical yoga using posture and breath to prepare the body for deeper spiritual practice.

What is Asana?

Physical posture in yoga; originally meant stable seated positions for meditation rather than exercise.

What is Kundalini Yoga?

A yoga practice aimed at awakening spiritual energy at the spine and raising it through chakras.

What are Chakras?

Energy centers along the spine that can be activated to transform consciousness.

What is Modern Postural Yoga?

Contemporary physical yoga emphasizing fitness and health rather than moksha.

What is Jnana Yoga?

The path of knowledge taught in the Gita—liberation through insight into the nature of reality and self.

What is Karma Yoga?

The path of selfless action without attachment to results; purifies and prepares for liberation.

What is Bhakti Yoga?

The path of loving devotion to a deity; emotional surrender as a means to moksha without renunciation.

What is the Mahabharata?

A major Smriti epic about a dynastic war between the Pandavas and Kauravas; includes the Bhagavad Gita.

Who are the Pandavas and Kauravas?

Rival royal families in the Mahabharata whose conflict explores dharma and moral duty.

What is the Bhagavad Gita?

A section of the Mahabharata where Krishna teaches Arjuna about dharma and the three yogas.

Who is Arjuna?

A Pandava warrior in the Gita who hesitates to fight and receives divine teaching from Krishna.

Who is Krishna in the Gita?

An avatar of Vishnu who reveals divine wisdom on duty, action, and devotion as paths to liberation.

What is the Ramayana?

A Smriti epic narrating Rama’s exile, Sita’s abduction, and their restoration of dharma.

Who is Rama?

An avatar of Vishnu and hero of the Ramayana; ideal king and symbol of righteous duty.

Who is Sita?

Wife of Rama; model of purity, devotion, and loyalty.

Who is Hanuman?

Devotee of Rama; symbol of perfect bhakti and selfless service.

What are the Puranas?

Mythic Smriti texts preserving theology, devotion, and stories of gods and avatars.

What is the Bhagavata Purana?

A Purana centered on Krishna’s divine play (lila) and Bhakti devotion.

What is an Avatar?

A divine descent of Vishnu taken to restore cosmic order and protect dharma.

Who is Vishnu?

The preserver deity associated with sustaining order and sending avatars like Rama and Krishna.

Who is Shiva?

The destroyer and ascetic deity; embodies both renunciation and creative power.

Who is Parvati?

Consort of Shiva; represents fertility, power, and household life.

Who is Ganesha?

Elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati; remover of obstacles and lord of beginnings.

What is Nataraja?

A depiction of Shiva as the cosmic dancer performing creation and destruction.

What is a Lingam?

An aniconic symbol of Shiva’s generative and transcendent power used in worship.

What is Puja?

A devotional worship ritual meant to establish relationship with a deity through offerings and presence.

What is a Murti?

A physical image/form in which a deity is present for purposes of worship.

What is Darshan?

The act of seeing and being seen by the deity during puja; believed to transmit divine grace.

What is Arti?

The offering of flame or lamp before a deity at the end of puja.

What is Prasad?

Food offered to a deity and then returned to devotees as blessed grace.

What is Upanayana?

A rite of passage initiating a student into Vedic learning, including recitation of the Gayatri Mantra.

What is the Gayatri Mantra?

A sacred Vedic mantra learned after Upanayana as part of student dharma.

What is Hindu Marriage as a rite?

A samskara marking entry into householder life and fulfillment of social dharma.

What is the Hindu Death Rite?

Rituals ensuring correct transition of the dead and right relation to ancestors.

What is Vaishnavism?

A devotional tradition centered on Vishnu and his avatars, emphasizing bhakti.

Who are the Alvars?

Tamil poet-saints whose hymns shaped early Vaishnava devotion (Tamil Veda).

What is the Tamil Veda?

Alvar devotional hymns treated as scripture in Vaishnavism.

What is the Monkey school?

The view that salvation requires joint effort by devotee and divine (like a baby monkey clings).

What is the Cat school?

The view that salvation depends on divine grace alone (like a kitten carried by its mother).

What is Gaudiya Vaishnavism?

A branch teaching Krishna as the supreme source; emphasizes ecstatic devotion and Caitanya’s example.

Who is Caitanya?

A Vaishnava saint revered as Krishna in embodied form who taught ecstatic bhakti.

What is Shaivism?

A devotional tradition centered on Shiva as supreme reality in multiple forms.

Who is Rudra?

An early Vedic deity later identified with Shiva.

What is Mount Kailasa?

The mythic abode of Shiva as ascetic lord.

What is the Outer Path (atimarga)?

According to Flood: a renouncer-oriented path outside social order emphasizing austerity.

What is the Path of Mantras (mantramarga)?

According to Flood: a tantric/ritual path using mantras and temple worship within social order.