ritukala: (Sanskrit) "Fit or proper season." Time of menses.

A traditional ceremony marking a young lady's coming of age. Ritu also carries the meaning of "fertile time."

See: samskaras of adulthood.

(See also: Ritukala , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

annaprashana: (Sanskrit) "Feeding." The childhood sacrament of first solid food. See: samskaras of childhood.

(See also: Annaprashana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

NIRBIJA-SAMADHI: Samadhi wherein the Bija or seeds of Samskaras are fried by Jnana

(See also: NIRBIJA-SAMADHI , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

simantonnayana: (Sanskrit) "Hair-parting rite."

See: samskaras of birth.

(See also: Simantonnayana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

blessing: Good wishes; benediction. Seeking and giving blessings is extremely central in Hindu life, nurtured in the precepts of karunya (grace), shakti (energy), darshana (encountering/seeing the divine), prasada (blessed offerings), puja (invocation), tirthayatra (pilgrimage), diksha (initiation), shaktipata (descent of grace), samskaras (rites of passage), sannidhya (holy presence) and sadhana (inner-attunement disciplines).

(See also: Blessing , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

funeral rites:

See: cremation, bone-gathering, samskaras of later life, funeral rituals.

(See also: Funeral rites , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

vasana: (Sanskrit) "Subconscious inclination." From vas,

"living, remaining." The subliminal inclinations and habit

patterns which, as driving forces, color and motivate one's

attitudes and future actions. Vasanas are the conglomerate

results of subconscious impressions (samskaras) created

through experience. Samskaras, experiential impressions,

combine in the subconscious to form vasanas, which

thereafter contribute to mental fluctuations, called vritti.

The most complex and emotionally charged vasanas are

found in the dimension of mind called the subsubconscious,

or vasana chitta.

See: samskara, mind (five

states), vasana daha tantra, vritti.

(See also: Vasana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

vagdana: (Sanskrit) "Word-giving." Marriage engagement

ceremony.

See: samskaras of adulthood.

(See also: Vagdana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

namadiksha: (Sanskrit) "Name initiation." Also known as namakarana samskara.

See: samskaras of childhood.

(See also: Namadiksha , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Vasana: A bundle or aggregate of similar samskaras. Subtle desire; a tendency created in a person by the doing of an action or by enjoyment; it induces the person to repeat the action or to seek a repetition of the enjoyment; the subtle impression in the mind capable of developing itself into action; it is the cause of birth and experience in general; the impression of actions that remains unconsciously in the mind.

(See also: Vasana , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

keshanta: (Sanskrit) "Beard-shaving."

See: samskaras of adulthood.

(See also: Keshanta , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Samskara:

Samskara ("activator"): the subconscious impression left behind by each act of volition, which, in turn, leads to renewed psychomental activity; the countless samskaras hidden in the depth of the mind are ultimately eliminated only in asamprajnata-samadhi (see samadhi)

(See also: Samskara ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

pancha nitya karma (karmas): (Sanskrit) "Five constant duties." A traditional regimen of religious practice for Hindus:

1)   dharma (virtuous living),

2)    upasana (worship),

3)    utsava (holy days),

4)    tirthayatra (pilgrimage) and

5)    samskaras (sacraments.)

See: dharma, festival, samskara, tirthayatra.

(See also: Pancha nitya karma (karmas): , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

vivaha: (Sanskrit) "Marriage."

See: samskaras.

(See also: Vivaha , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

vidyarambha: (Sanskrit) "Commencement of learning."

See: samskaras of childhood.

(See also: Vidyarambha , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

nishchitartha: (Sanskrit) "Engagement (to be married); resolution of aim." Synonym for vagdana.

See: marriage covenant, samskaras of adulthood.

(See also: Nishchitartha , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Upanayana - a ceremony in which a guru initiates a boy into one of the three twice-born classes by investing the boy with the sacred thread, and teaching him the Brahma-gayatri mantra, whereupon he becomes eligible to study the Vedas under his guru. This is one of the Vedic samskaras, or purificatory ceremonies.

(See also: Upanayana , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

prenatal: Existing or occurring before physical birth, or relating to the time before birth.

See: samskaras of birth.

(See also: Prenatal , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Hinduism Lexicon on B

From backbiting to buddhi chitta.

Read more here: » Hinduism: Hinduism Lexicon on B

Hinduism Rituals: Hindu Samskaras

Hinduism prescribes both ritual and spiritual practices for the final liberation of men. The ritual aspect is meant to make man more spiritual in the end, not vice versa. Each and every important event in the life a Hindu, who has chosen to lead a normal householder's life calls for the performance of certain rites. These rites are intended mainly to invoke the blessings of various gods and ensure success in the performance of his ordained duties. They are performed during various stages in his life for different ends. Some of the important rites of Hinduism are described here.

Read more here: » Hinduism Rituals: Hindu Samskaras

The rites that pertain to the stages of life of man are called Samskaras. The Samskaras are purificatory rites which sanctify the life of the Hindu. They give a spiritual touch to the important events in the life of the individual from conception to cremation. They mark the important stages of a mans life. Just as the outline of a picture is lighted up slowly with the filling in of many colours, so also is Brahmanya with scriptural Samskaras. There are the Samskaras of childhood, of boyhood, of manhood and of old age and death.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Rituals: The Ten Scriptural Samskaras