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OLM/THEO/WR FLF12 HINDUISM GLOSSARY ADVAITA VEDANTA Shankara’s monist view of atman being the same as Brahman. AHIMSA BRAHMIN The highest varna or priestly caste. In Sanskrit, literally, "non-injury." In Jainism, this restriction includes all living creatures. Practiced by Gandhi. DEVA, DEVI ANATTA-ANICCA DHARMA For advaitists, the real nature of ‘beings’ and ‘egos’ as illusory and impermanent. ASANAS Yogic postures such as the Lotus. ASAT-ATTA ‘Beings’ and ‘egos’ under the spell of maya. ATARAXIA A state of complete numbness or indifference to all things that characterizes nirvana. ATMAN The real individual soul or self that must be freed from maya, avidya, klesas and samsara. AVATAR An earthly manifestation of a god in human or animal form. Vishnu as Krishna or Rama. AVIDYA "Ignorance" For Shankara and Advaita Vedanta, it is the delusion of duality. BHAGAVAD-GITA The section of the Mahabharata in which Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna in a long theological discussion about karma yoga. BHAKTI YOGA A type of yoga in which a person worships a devi-deva by showing love and reverence. BRAHMA The aspect of Brahman that creates the world. Associated with Vishnu (sustainer) and Shiva (destroyer). Hindu terms for god and goddess. Cosmic order and laws, harmony, duty, fate. It applies to the law of karma or to the varnas. DIWALI The autumn festival of lights celebrating the victory of good over evil, Vishnu over Bali, Rama over Ravana, Krishna over Naraka, moksha over samsara, atman over maya… DVAITA Duality atman-brahman. Also opposed to Advaita Vedanta. the Vedic school GURU A preceptor giving personal religious instruction. HATHA YOGA A form of raja yoga for bodily control. In the West, what is called "yoga." HENOTHEISM The worship of many gods but the belief in one divine principle as supreme. HOLI The spring myths. festival centered on Krishna’s JAINISM A blend of Hinduism and Buddhism founded by Mahavira in the 6th century BCE. It rejects Brahminism and advocates ahimsa. JNANA YOGA The discipline in which one meditates upon the true nature of things. KARMA The ABBA ‘power’ or Ultimate Reality. "Action" The law of cause and effect applied to the samsara cycle. One's actions determine one’s fate in the next life. BRAHMANAS KARMA YOGA Part of the Shruti collection. Vedic commentaries about Hindu rituals. A discipline of selfless through service and duties. BRAHMAN work especially RAMAYANA KLESAS The ‘poisons’ or afflictions of ignorance, craving (upadana-clinging) and aversion that explain avidya, dukka, bad karma and samsara. Part of the Smriti collection. story about Rama and Sita. A long epic KRISHNA An avatar of Vishnu. The hero of the Bhagavad Gita who explains to Arjuna the basics of dharma, karma, yoga, samsara or moksha. MAHABHARATA Part of the Smriti collection. The secondcentury bce epic about Krishna and the Pandara wars. It contains the famous Bhagavad Gita. MANDALA A sacred sand painting ‘circle’. It represents the impermanent cosmos and it’s making is accompanied by meditation and prayers of blessing and healing. MANTRA A sequence of sounds used as a focus of meditation. The most famous mantra consists of the three creative and cosmic sounds "aa", "oo", "mm". MAYA The great "illusion" about the reality of the material and psychological realms. It is only the gods’ cyclical dreams and it explains our avidya, dukka, karma and samsara. MOKSHA RISHIS The ‘seers’ and anonymous sources of the Vedas. SAMSARA The karmic cycle of transmigration of an individual soul to a new body after death. Reincarnation or metempsychosis. SAMSKARAS The rituals of a Hindu’s life cycle, from birth to death. SHRUTI The ‘revealed’ Hindu scriptures. The oldest and most sacred texts of Hinduism, they include the Vedas, the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. SIKHISM A blend of Hinduism and Islam founded by guru Nanak and his 9 reincarnations, in Pakistan during the 15th century. It is henotheistic and professes moksha, karma and samsara. The five sacred K’s must be worn by its members. SMRITI The ‘remembered’ Hindu scriptures. The most popular texts of Hinduism, they include the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Sutras, the Tantras and the Purunas. Liberation from samsara. MUDRAS Yogic hand gestures. SUTRAS NIRVANA Part of the Smriti collection. They are sayings on Vedic doctrine. ‘Blowing off’ The state of oneness and ataraxia resulting from moksha. Part of the Smriti collection. They Medieval yogic and ritualistic Hindu texts. OM-AUM The original creative sound or Word. The most famous mantra in ‘Om mane padme om.’ are UNTOUCHABLES The ‘group’ of people who are below the fourth varna, the outcastes. PRAKRITI The elemental or natural world under the spell of maya. PUJA An personal loving offering (flowers, adoration, music, etc.) to a devi-deva. TANTRAS food, PURANAS A popular group of Smriti writings about the adventures of Hindu deities. RAJA YOGA A discipline of psycho-physical exercises designed to control the basic functions and activities of body and mind. UPANISHADS Part of the Shruti collection They are stories, discussions, and philosophical instructions about Atman and Brahman. VARNAS The Castes that reflect the divisions of the body and provide the major divisions of the Hindu society. They are karmic, hereditary and segregated. There are four major castes: Brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra. Each Varna can be divided into a number of jatis. VEDAS Part of the Shruti collection. They include four samhitas and the best-known Rig-Veda. They were ‘revealed’ to the rishis and written down between 1500 and 1000 bce. YOGA An organized form of ‘discipline’ or exercises that unites with the divine. There are four types of yoga: karma, jnana, raja, and bhakti. It includes asanas, mudras, mantras or pujas.