| Word |
Definition |
| ahimsa |
non-violence |
| Akbar |
16th-C ruler who tried to unite all Indian religions |
| Aryans |
ancient people who spoke pre-Indo-European languages |
| ashramas |
4 stages of life |
| atman |
real self |
| avatars |
incarnations of gods/goddesses |
| bhakti |
personal devotion to the gods |
| brahmin |
Vedic priests |
| caste |
social class |
| dharma |
duties & obligations in society |
| Jainism |
mix of Hinduism & Buddhism |
| karma |
the moral law of cause & effect |
| guru |
spiritual guide or teacher |
| maya |
illusions |
| moksha |
liberation from cycle of rebirth |
| samsara |
the transmigration of souls (between lives) |
| Sanskrit |
liturgical & scriptural language of Hinduism |
| satyagraha |
passive resistance |
| shruti |
scripture containing the Vedas (older) |
| Sikhism |
mix of Hinduism & Islam |
| smriti |
scripture containing great Hindu epics (newer; less authoritative) |
| transmigration |
passing of a soul from one body to another |
| Ultimate Reality |
innermost soul (atman) of each person |
| untouchables |
people considered too low to appear on the caste system |
| Vedas |
earliest Hindu scriptures, from Aryan times |
| Brahma |
Creating god |
| Krishna |
one of two avatars of Vishnu |
| Rama |
one of two avatars of Vishnu |
| Shiva |
Destroying god |
| Vishnu |
Preserving god |
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