Learn: World Religions: Hindu, Yoruba, and Lakota Terms

Ascetic

Giving up comforts and pleasures for spiritual reasons.

Brahman

The ultimate spiritual reality that connects everything.

Caste System

The traditional Hindu social class system.

Cosmology

Beliefs about how the universe began and how it is made.

Dharma

Doing your duty and living according to moral order.

Divination

Trying to learn about the future through spiritual methods.

Diviners

People who perform divination.

Indigenous

Traditional beliefs of people native to a place often passed down orally.

Karma

Spiritual cause and effect based on a person's actions.

Maya

The illusion that hides the true reality of Brahman.

Moksha

Freedom from the cycle of rebirth.

Monism

The belief that all reality shares one basic essence.

Monotheism

The belief in one God.

Mysticism

A direct spiritual experience of the divine.

Nontheistic

A belief system that does not require belief in a God.

Olorun

The supreme being in Yoruba religion.

Orishas

Divine beings in Yoruba religion that people pray to.

Pantheism

The belief that the divine exists throughout everything.

Polytheism

The belief in many gods.

Samadhi

A deep meditative state of absorption into ultimate reality.

Samsara

The cycle of birth death and rebirth.

Sundance

A Lakota community ceremony connected to spirituality and nature.

Sweat Lodge

A Lakota ceremony connected to purification and spiritual renewal.

Transtheism

A religious approach that goes beyond focusing on belief or disbelief in a supreme God.

Vision Quest

A spiritual journey to seek a vision or guidance.

Wakan Tanka

The Great Spirit or sacred ultimate reality in Lakota tradition.

Antyesti

Hindu funeral rites marking the soul's transition after death.

Bhagavad Gita

A popular and important Hindu sacred text.

Rig Veda

One of the oldest and most sacred Hindu texts.

Upanishads

Hindu texts that explore spiritual knowledge and ultimate reality.

Brahma

The creator in the Hindu trinity.

Vishnu

The preserver or sustainer in the Hindu trinity.

Shiva

The destroyer and transformer in the Hindu trinity.

Experiential Dimension

The dimension about personal spiritual experiences.

Mythic Dimension

The dimension about sacred stories.

Doctrinal Dimension

The dimension about religious beliefs and teachings.