| 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 |
