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Hinduism
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Shakta | worshiper of the divine in female form. |
| Shaivite | worshiper of Shiva. |
| rishi | A sage |
| reincarnation | after death, rebirth in a new life. |
| puja | Ritual worship |
| prana | the invisible life force |
| moksha | liberation |
| karma | our actions and their effects on this life and lives to come. |
| kali yuga | the present degraded era |
| guru | sprititual teacher. |
| dharma | moral order, righteousness, religion. |
| deva | A deity |
| darshan | visual contact with the divine. |
| chakra | A subtle energy center in the body. |
| Caste | An occupational category. |
| brahmin | Priest or member of the priestly caste. |
| bhakti | Intense devotion to a personal manifestation of Suprem Reality. |
| Brahman | The Supreme Reality. |
| avatar | An incarnation of a deity. |
| atman | The individual soul. |
| ashram | A usually ascetic spiritual community of followers gathered around their guru. |
| yoga | practice for union with the true self. |
| Vaishnavite | worshiper of Vishnu or one of his manifestations, such as Krishna. |
| Tantra | A sacred esoteric text with spiritual practices honoring the divine in female form. |
| sutra | Terse spiritual teaching. |
| secularism | The constitutional principle of not giving favored statues to any religion. |
| Sanskrit | The ancient language of the Vedas. |
| sannyasin | Renunciate spiritual seeker. |
| samsara | The worldly cycle of birth, death and rebirth. |