Hinduism Vocabulary

Mrs Jacobs World Religions

Bhakti

The devotional way of achieving liberation from the cycle of death & rebirth, emphasizing a devotee’s faith in Gods

Asceticism

The practice of self-denial & self-discipline, particularly for religious or spiritual reasons

Sanskit

“Perfected”; an ancient Indo-Aryan language that is the language of Hinduism & the Vedas

Caste 

One of the hereditary social classes in Hindu India that determines the occupation & social possibilities of it’s members.

Ultimate Reality

Brahman is the highest reality in the universe

Vedas

Ancient scriptures composed in Sanskrit that are the foundation of Hinduism. Veda → Knowledge. Rig Veda is most important (1,028) hymns praising gods of the Aryan tribes who invaded Indian from the northwest starting 2000 BCE

Guru

From the Sanskrit for “teacher”; a Hindu teacher & guide in philosophical & spiritual matters

Transcendent

Means “lying beyond the ordinary range of perception.”

Karma

The sum of a person’s actions in this & previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

Samsara

The endless cycle of birth, death, & rebirth until one has achieved oneness with Brahman Hindus believe that the illusion that a person is an individual rather than…

Brahaman

Ultimate Reality or absolute Reality; the ultimate ground of all being

Shruti

“That which is heard”; the most revered body of Hindu sacred scripture

Smriti

“That which is remembered”; Hindu scriptures is the form of epics & stories that shed light on the more abstract & esoteric Shruti Scriptures.

Ahimsa

The intentional avoidance of violence or injury against another living thing by acts of omission or c omission, be it word or deed.

Mahabharata

Hindu smriti Scriptures; epic about the feud between the pandava & kaurava families over inheritance

Bhagavad Gita

One of the stories within the Mahabharata epic, the most quoted of all Hindu scriptures throughout the centuries

Ramayana

Part of Hindu smiriti scriptures, an epic about the adventures of prince Rama, who journeys to rescue his wife

Transcendental Meditation

A trademark meditation technique derived from Hinduism that promotes deed relaxation (recitation of a mantra)

Rishis 

Hindu holy persons or sages 

Soma

A hallucinogenic beverage that was used in ancient India as an offering to Hindu gods & in vedic ritual sacrifices.

Atman

The individual soul or essence

Avatar

Incarnation of a Hindu god, especially Vishnu in human or animal for.

Maya 

Sanskrit for “illusion”; a teaching of the upanishads that only Brahman is permanent; everything else is only an illusion

Moksha

The transcendent state of ultimate liberation from samsara, the endless cycle of rebirth

Yogas

Paths to Moksha that endeavor to unite action (body), knowledge (mind), & devotion (soul).

Satyagraha

The policy of nonviolent resistance initiated by Mohandas Gandhi in the first half of the 20th century as a means of pressing for political reform

Brahmins

Hindu priests; also the highest social class in the Hindu caste system

Puja

The worship of a God or goddess in both Hinduism & Buddhism

Murti

The image of a deity in artistic form. Not an idol to be worshipped, it points to the deity.

Yugi

A practitioner of yoga, particularly in its meditative forms

Iconoclasm

“breathing of Icons”; the belief that there should be no human depiction of the sacred, for it places the icon rather than what the image represents as the object of worship.

Devas

From the Sanskrit for “shining ones”; celestial beings in the Hindu tradition.