key terms

• Brahman

  Hindu supreme God
• Nirguna Brahman

  The supreme God as spiritual presence only
• Saguna Brahman

  The supreme God shown in form
• Vaikuntha

  A spiritual realm
• Antaryami

  God within
• Bhagavan

  God beyond-exsiting in a world of spirits and deities
• Deity

  A God
• Avatar

  10 animal or human forms in which Vishnu appeared on the Earth
• Murti

  An image or statue of a deity
• Shakti

  A term used for any goddess, but especially Parvati
• Atman

  A soul
• Karma

  Destiny and the consequences of ones actions
• Karma

  Destiny and the consequences of ones actions
• Samsara

  A continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth
• Reincarnation

  Being born again in a new body
• Transmigration

  The movement of the atman from one body to another
• Moksha

  The ultimate goal for Hindus as it is liberation form samsara
• Purusharthas

  The 4 main aims of life from Hindus-Kama, Artha, Dharma and Moksha
• Dharma

  Duty in life
• Artha


  Trying to gain more wealth through lawful means
• Kama 


  Delight of the senses
• Sanatana Dharma

  Eternal truth. Doing what is right, Hindu religion/way of life
• Varnashrama Dharma

  Religous and social duties being appropriate for each social group and stage of life
• Varna

  Social classes Hindus are born into (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishyas, Shudra, Dalit)
• Ashrama

  Hindu stage of life (Brahmacharaya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sannyasa)
• Ahimsa

  Non-violence
• Cosmology

  Ideas about the universe
• Gunas

  Qualities (the tri-guna is Sattva-light, Rajas-passion, Tamas-darkness)
• Prakriti

  Matter
• Maya

  Illusion
• Om/Aum

  The sound and symbol of Brahman
• Polytheism

  Belief in many Gods/Goddesses
• Pluralism

  Belief in many forms of one supreme God
• Pantheism

  Belief that God is everywhere
• Monotheism

  Belief in one God