Hinduism

ahimsa

"nonharm", "nonviolence"

ashram

A spiritual community.

Atman

The spiritual essence of all individual human beings.

avatar

An earthly embodiment of a deity.

Bhagavad Gita

A religious literary work about Krishna.

bhakti

Devotion to a deity or guru.

bhakti yoga

The spiritual discipline of devotion to a deity or guru.

Brahma

God of creation.

Brahman

The spiritual essence of the universe.

brahmin

Member of the priestly caste.

caste

One of the major social classes sanctioned by Hinduism.

Devi

"Goddess"; the Divine Feminine, also called the Great Mother.

dhyana

Meditation

Durga

"Awe-inspiring", "distant"; a mother-goddess, a form of Devi.

guru

A spiritual teacher.

hatha yoga

The spiritual discipline of postures and bodily exercises.

jnana yoga

The spiritual discipline of knowledge and insight.

Kali

"Dark", a form of Devi; a goddess associated with destruction and rebirth.

karma

The moral law of cause and effect that determines the direction of rebirth.

karma yoga

The spiritual discipline of selfless action.

Krishna

A god associated with divine playfulness; a form of Vishnu.

kundalini yoga

A form of raja yoga that envisions the individual's energy as a force that is capable of being raised from the center of the body to the head, producing a state of joy.

mantra

A short sacred phrase, often chanted or used in meditation.

maya

"Illusion"; what keeps us from seeing reality correctly; the world, viewed inadequately.

moksha

"Liberation" from personal limitation, egotism, and rebirth.

monism

the philosophical position that all apparently separate realities are ultimately one; the belief that God and the universe are the same, and that the universe is divine.

puja

Offerings and ritual in honor of a deity.

raja yoga

The "royal" discipline of meditation.

Rama

A god and mythical king; a form of Vishnu.

samadhi

A state of complete inner peace resulting from meditation.

samsara

The everyday world of change and suffering leading to rebirth.

sannyasin

A wandering holy man.

Shiva

A god associated with destruction and rebirth.

Trimurti

"Three forms" of the divine -- the three gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Upanishads

Written meditations on the spiritual essence of the universe and the self.

Vedas

Four collections of ancient prayers and rituals.

yoga

A spiritual discipline; a method for perfecting one's union with the divine.