| Word |
Description |
| Adharma |
contrary to what is right; evil. Cf. dharma |
| Aditi |
Vedic goddess, the 'mother' of the gods |
| Adityas |
Vedic sun deities, offspring of Aditi |
| Advaita Vedanta |
non-dualistic Vedantic philosophy |
| Agamas |
mystical scriptures pertaining to specific Hindu sects such as Vaisnavaites or Saivites |
| Agni |
fire; sacred fire; fire god |
| Ahimsa |
non-violence |
| ainism |
Aryan teaching emphasizing non-violence |
| Amma |
mother, a compound often used in the names of female goddesses |
| Amrta |
a nectar which was believed to bestow immortality |
| Ananda |
bliss; the bliss of union with Brahman |
| Ancha Karma |
five Ayurvedic purification methods |
| Anna |
food, rice |
| Anuman |
the monkey God, protagonist in Ramayana |
| Aranyaka Vedic |
forest texts or writings |
| Arjun |
one of the sons of Pandu and the main (human) character of the Bhagavad Gita |
| Artha |
worldly wealth, pursuit of wealth and social status |
| Arti |
act of worship celebrating light |
| Aryans |
the migrant invaders of India from approximately 1500 b.c; people of spiritual values |
| Asanas |
yogic postures |
| Asat |
non-being, that is to say the unreality of the world as opposed to the true Being (sat) which is Brahman. |
| Ashram |
hermitage, retreat or place of quiet and solitude, often in a forest, where a Hindu sage lives alone or with his disciples |
| Asramas |
the four stages of life in Hinduism |
| Asvamedha |
probably the most prestigious of Vedic sacrificial rites, where a horse is sacrificed in a yajna by the king whose supremacy has been acknowledged by the neighbouring kings |
| Atharva Veda |
'Knowledge of Incantations', the fourth Veda |
| Atman |
the presence of Brahman as the deepest essence of the self in all entities; the Divine Self, a synonym of Brahman |
| Aum |
the sacred sound and symbol which represents Brahman in its unmanifest and manifest aspects |
| Avatar |
literally 'descents', incarnation of God, usually the incarnations of Visnu and his consort Laksmi |
| Avidya |
ignorance |
| Ayurveda |
Vedic Medicine |
| Bhajans |
hymns in praise of a deity |
| Bhakta |
ardent devotee of a deity who expresses loving-devotion to the divine |
| Bhakti marga |
the path of devotion |
| Bhakti Yoga |
Yoga of Devotion |
| Bhakti |
ecstatic loving-devotion to the Almighty |
| Bhuktis |
planetary time periods, minor |
| Bindi |
mark (usually a round, red) worn on the centre of the forehead to show that a woman is married |
| Brahma |
form of the Hindu trinity governing creation or the Creator God |
| Brahmachari |
young boy at the first of the four stages of life, the stage of the student |
| Brahmacharya |
control of sexual energy; state of life of learning and purity |
| Brahman |
the Absolute or ultimate reality |
| Brahmanas |
Vedic ritualistic texts or manuals of instruction on the Vedas |
| Brahmins |
a priest and member of the most privileged of the four social classes of Hinduism |
| Brihaspati |
Vedic God of the ritual, the planet Jupiter |
| Buddha |
ninth avatar of Vishnu |
| Buddhism |
non-orthodox form of Vedic / Aryan teaching founded by the Buddha or enlightened one |
| Chakras |
nerve centers of the subtle body; |
| Charvakas |
materialistic philosophers of ancient India |
| Chela |
disciple and student of a guru |
| Cit |
the Pure Consciousness equated with moksa when the egoistic self is consort of Vishnu, sometimes called Sri |
| Darsanas |
writings of the six philosophical schools of Hindu religious thought |
| Darshan |
literally 'view' or 'sight of' referring to audience with a deity |
| Dashas |
planetary time periods |
| Deva |
male deity; literally 'shining one' |
| Devi |
female deity |
| Dharana |
yogic concentration or attention |
| Dharma |
what is right for the self - moral piety, religion, honor, the clan, karma or work, society and the universe |
| Dharma Sastras |
Law Books forming part of the scriptures of Hinduism |
| Dhatus |
bodily tissues in Ayurvedic Medicine |
| Dhyana |
meditation |
| Divali |
Hindu festival of lights |
| Doshas |
biological humors of Ayurvedic medicine |
| Durga |
the Goddess as the destroyer of demons, one of the energy forms of Siva |
| Dussehra |
Hindu festival that celebrates the defeat of the demon King Ravan at the hands of Lord Ram (found in the epic Ramayana ). It is also the worship of goddess Durga. |
| Dvandva |
dualities; pairs of opposites |
| Dvija |
twice-born, referring to the Brahmins, (formerly even the Ksatriyas and Vaisyas), who undergo initiation into the Hindu religion at a sacred-thread ceremoni |
| Ganesh Chaturthi |
worship of god Ganesha in the month of September |
| Ganesha |
elephant-headed God who takes away all obstacles and is the God of good fortune |
| Garbagriha |
literally 'womb-house', the central part of a temple where the main deity is enshrined |
| Gauna |
the ceremony marking the departure of a bride for the home of her new husband |
| Gayatri |
Vedic chant for awakening the soul |
| Gopis |
cowherdesses (celebrated in the myths of Lord Krishna) |
| Gramadevatas |
village deities |
| Grihastha |
person at the second of the four stages of life, the stage of the householder |
| Gunas |
prime three qualities of nature - sattva (spiritual), rajas (worldly) and tamas (unholy), which constitute all life |
| Guru |
enlightened spiritual teacher |
| Hanuman Chalisa |
the book containing prayers/hymns for the deified monkey God Hanuman |
| Hatha Yoga |
Yoga of the physical body |
| Havan |
an offering of fire in Hindu worship |
| Hinduism |
Vedic knowledge and teachings |
| Holi |
Hindu festival of colours |
| Homa |
Vedic worship, Fire offerings |
| Hum |
great mantra of Agni and Shiva |
| Indra |
Vedic God of storm and thunder who was also king of the gods |
| Ishta-devata |
chosen deity |
| Ishvara or Ishwara |
Lord, the term used of God in manifest form; the cosmic Creator |
| Itihasas |
Hindu epics or scriptures which convey historical and mythological sagas and tales |
