Hinduism Vocab Flashcards
1
Q
Puja
A
Hindu term for worship, literally meaning ‘to give respect’
2
Q
Bhakti
A
To practice showing love to Brahmin or a deity
3
Q
Murti
A
A statue or image a deity used in worship
4
Q
Mandir
A
Hindu term for temple
5
Q
Arati ceremony
A
The waving of lighted lamps before an image of god
6
Q
Havan ceremony
A
An ancient fire ceremony
7
Q
Darshan
A
The act of seeing a holy person or the image of a deity
8
Q
Japa / Mantra
A
The meditative repetition of a mantra or divine name
9
Q
Bhajan / Kirtan
A
A devotional song
10
Q
Guru
A
Religious teachers or leaders
11
Q
Ashram
A
A retreat hermitage, monastic community, or a place of religious importance
12
Q
Sadhu
A
A holy man, sage or astetic
13
Q
Sannyasin
A
A Hindu religious mendicant
14
Q
Swami
A
A male Hindu teacher
15
Q
Pilgrimage
A
A holy journey to a sacred religious place
16
Q
Pilgrim
A
Someone who goes on a pilgrimage
17
Q
Circumambulation
A
Walking round a holy site, often involving prayer
18
Q
Celibacy
A
Giving up sexual activity on a pilgrimage
19
Q
Penance
A
Doing something to make up for bad karma
20
Q
Varanasi
A
A holy city by the river Ganges
21
Q
Ghat
A
Steps into a holy river
22
Q
Kumbh Mela
A
Where all three holy rivers meet
23
Q
Krishna
A
An avitar of Vishnu
24
Q
Kama
A
Enjoying life responsibly
25
Ahimsa
‘Non harming’
26
Stewardship
The belief that we should look after the world
27
Sustainable
The ability to maintain itself through its use of natural sources
28
Banyan tree
A holy type of tree, that houses the spirits of the dead
29
Langur monkey
A monkey that is connected to Hanuman, the monkey deity
30
Goshalla
Sanctuary for cows, calves and ox
31
Tree hugging
A form of protest to protect against deforestation
32
Vrindavan forest project
A project launched to restore ecological order
33
Social justice
The view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities
34
Inclusion
Everyone has a right to be valued and to be accepted into the wider community
35
Dana
Giving
36
Sewa
‘Selfless service’
37
Sewa international
A humanitarian non profit service organisation
38
ISKCON food for life
Words largest vegetarian food distribution program
39
Indus Civilisation
An ancient civilisation from around 600BC
40
River Ganges
A river that flows through north east India
41
Shruti texts
Religious texts that are unquestionably the truth
42
Smriti texts
Less reliable but still important texts to Hindus
43
Brahman
The overarching God that essentially made everything
44
Aum symbol
The symbol that represents Brahmen
45
Monotheism
Religions with one god
46
Nirguna Brahmen
The belief that Brahmen is beyond time and space
47
Saguna Brahmen
That Brahmen has “forms” and “qualities”
48
Deities
Different manifestations of Brahmen with different jobs/ roles
49
Bhagavan
Good existing in physical form, but in the world of spirits
50
Antaryami
The power of God residing in each humans soul.
51
Ganesha
Seem as the God of Luck and gatekeeping
52
Hanuman
Seen as the God of strength and authority
53
Parvati
Seen as the God of fertility and motherhood
54
Saraswati
Seen as the Goddess of learning
55
Lakshmi
Seen as the Goddess of prosperity and wealth
56
The Trimurti
A group of the 3 most significant Gods: Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu
57
Brahma
The God who created the world
58
Shiva
Seen as the God who will end our universe
59
Maya
Distractions from our soul
60
Shaivism
Hindus who follow the diety Shiva
61
Vishnu
Seen as the God of preservation
62
Avatar
The protector and preserver of the universe
63
Dharma
Good or virtue
64
Adharma
Evil
65
Rama
An avatar of Vishnu (defeats Ravana)
66
The Ramayana
A holy book that tells Rama’s story
67
Ravana
The demon Rama defeats
68
Sita
The princess and lover of Rama
69
Krishna
An avatar of Vishnu that teaches love <3
70
The Kurukshetra War
An Indian poem describing a war
71
The 4 Aims of Life
Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha
72
Kama
Enjoying a responsible, positive life
73
Moksha
The true aim of Hindus where their Atman goes to Brahmen
74
Dharma
Duties that you should do to reach Moksha
75
Sanatana Dharma
Hindu term for responseibilities that apply to all hindus
76
Varnashrama Dharma
Hindu term for the duties and responsibilities that apply differently to different people depending on who you are
77
Varna
Divides Hindu society into 4 Varna’s
78
Free will
The choice to do what’s wrong/ right
79
Ahimsa
“Non-harming”
80
Atman
The soul
81
Transmigration
Where your soul goes after you die
82
Samsara cycle
The continuous cycle of birth to death to rebirth
83
The law of karma
Good actions lead to good consequences
84
Reincarnation/Rebirth
The atman taking on a new physical body
85
Punya
‘saintly’ or ‘virtue’
86
Papa
Bad actions
87
Prakriti
Matter - the substance everything’s made from
88
Purusa
Spirit - the non physical aspect of life
89
Jiva
An entity imbued with life force
90
Maya
Distractions from our soul
91
Cosmology
Ideas and beliefs about the universe
92
The cycle of four ages
The cycle of the universe is within four ages
93
Yuga
A stage in the cycle of four ages
94
Golden yuga
Time of perfection, lasts 1.7 mil years
95
Silver yuga
Human qualities start to decline! Lasts 1.2 mil years
96
Copper yuga
Humans become distant, war begins, lasts 800000 years
97
Iron yuga
Era of ignorance and hatred, last era, lasts 400000
98
Kalki
Final avitar of Vishnu
99
Tri guna
The three stages matter goes through
100
Artha
Pursuit of wealth
