WR / Hinduism Theology / OLM11
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ADVAITA VEDANTA soul of each individual human.
Shankara’s monist view of atman being the same as Brahman. The doctrine of absolute BRAHMANAS non-duality.
AHIMSA
In Sanskrit, literally, "non-injury." In
Jainism, this restriction includes all living creatures. Practiced by Gandhi.
ASANAS
Yogic postures.
ATMAN
Early, Vedic commentaries about Hindu ritual.
BRAHMIN
The highest of the four main Hindu castes or Varnas. It is the priestly caste.
CASTES
The western term for varnas. Castes reflect the divisions of the body and its activities and provide the major divisions of Hindu society. Varnas are hereditary, An individual's soul or self. The ultimate goal in Hinduism is to achieve moksha through the realization that one's Atman and Brahman are the same thing. This is segregated, and ruled by karma and dharma.
DEVA, DEVI
Hindu terms for god and goddess. accomplished through different types of yoga.
AVATAR
DHARMA
In Hinduism, Dharma means virtue. In particular, it refers to the duties of a A manifestion of a god in an earthly form, usually that of a human or animal. The god
Vishnu has two main avatars: Krishna and
Rama, and eight others.
AVIDYA person's caste (varna).
DIWALI
Avidya literally means "ignorance." In
Sankara's thought (preserved in Advaita
Vedanta), it became the delusion that prevents one from seeing beyond the duality
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…
GURU of this world.
BHAGAVAD-GITA
The section of the Mahabharata in which
Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna in a long
A preceptor giving personal religious instruction.
HATHA YOGA theological discussion about karma yoga.
BHAKTI YOGA
A type of yoga in which a person worships a god or goddess by showing love and subordination to him or her.
BRAHMA
Brahma is the manifestation of Brahman into the world of maya. He is often mentioned as an equal with Vishnu and Shiva.
BRAHMAN
The ‘power’ behind and within the cosmos that makes it function and live. Can also be seen as the Ultimate Reality. One of the recurring goals in Hinduism is to
A form of raja yoga devoted only to bodily control. In the West, it is often seen as the only type of yoga and is simply called
"yoga."
HENOTHEISM
The worship of many gods but the belief in one divine principle as supreme.
HOLI
The spring festival centered on Krishna’s myths.
JAINISM
A blend of Hinduism and Buddhism founded by understand the link between Brahman-the force behind the cosmos-and the Atman--the
Mahavira in the 6 th century BCE. It rejects
Brahminism and advocates ahimsa.

JNANA YOGA
The discipline in which one learns the true nature of the cosmos and then uses that knowledge to connect oneself with the
Atman-the true nature of Brahman. In this way, a person can attain moksha.
KARMA
The Sanskrit term meaning "action." It refers to a concept in which the results of one's actions accumulate over one's life.
Upon death, an individual's karma-this store of the results of actions-determines whether one is reborn in a higher or lower status.
KARMA YOGA
A discipline of work or "action." The goal is to achieve moksha through the elimination of one's karma through involvement in life and business.
Essentially, if a person can serve selflessly, then the results cancel part of their karma rather than adding to it.
KRISHNA
A god who is one of the avatars of Vishnu.
He plays a key role in the Mahabharata. In the Bhagavad Gita he explains to Arjuna the basics of karma, yoga, samsara or moksha.
MAHABHARATA
The second-century bce epic about Krishna and the five royal Pandu brothers who must battle their Kuru cousins. It contains the famous Bhagavad Gita.
MANDALA
A sacred sand painting ‘circle’. It represents the impermanent cosmos and it’s making is accompanied by 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 personal realms. It is the gods’ dreams and explains avidya, karma and samsara.
MOKSHA
Liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, or samsara.
MUDRAS
Yogic hand gestures.
NIRVANA
The state of oneness resulting from moksha.
OM-AUM
The most famous mantra, used as a meditational device in many forms of yoga.
This sound is believed to be an aspect of the creation of the cosmos.
PUJA
An offering (usually flowers, food, adoration, music, etc.) to a god or goddess.
PURANAS
A popular group of smriti writings about the adventures of Hindu deities. Most were composed during the classical period of
Hinduism.
RAJA YOGA
A discipline that uses psycho-physical means-meditation-to achieve moksha. A person learns to control the functions and activity of their own body and the mind so that they can use the mind to concentrate exclusively on the Ultimate Reality.
RAMAYANA
The long epic that tells the story of Rama and his love for Sita, her capture, the long series of battles and quests Rama carries out to free her, and the aftermath.
REINCARNATION
The cycle of death and rebirth. The transmigration of an individual soul to a new body after death. This is samsara.
RISHIS
The ‘seers’ and anonymous sources of the
Vedas.
SAMSARA
The cycle of death and rebirth in both
Hinduism and Buddhism. Reincarnation.
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 15 th 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 and the Purunas.
SUTRAS
Sanskrit sayings or collections of sayings on Vedic doctrine dating from about 200 ad onwards.
TANTRAS
Medieval yogic and ritualistic Hindu texts.
UNTOUCHABLES
The Untouchables are the fifth caste, or more precisely, they are the people who are below the fourth varna and indeed outside the caste system altogether. They are outcaste. Westerners would be put into this caste.
UPANISHADS
The latest of the writings to be considered part of the Vedic period, written between the eighth and third centuries BCE. These are collections of stories, discussions, and instructions addressing issues of the relationship between the human and the ultimate realms.
VARNA
The Hindu term for caste, a social division into which a person is born. There are four major castes in Hindu society: Brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra. Each Varna can be divided into a number of jatis.
Below these four varnas are the untouchables.
VEDAS
The oldest collection of Hindu sacred texts. 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 that unites with the divine. The goal is that of moksha, the release of the soul from samsara. There are four types of yoga: karma, jnana, raja, and bhakti. It includes asanas, mudras, mantras or pujas.