Hinduism Vocabulary

Question 1

Atman

Answer 1

The eternal self or soul

Question 2

bhakti

Answer 2

Devotion

Question 3

Brahmin

Answer 3

A member of the highest class, traditionally a priest

Question 4

darshan

Answer 4

The act of having a view or sight of a holy image, place, or person

Question 5

dharma

Answer 5

Proper social behavior; virtuous behavior; social duty; acting in prescribed ways; the proper way or things

Question 6

guru

Answer 6

A spiritual master

Question 7

Jainism

Answer 7

An indigenous Indian religion dating back to the sixth century B.C.E. in which there is a heavy emphasis on asceticism

Question 8

karma

Answer 8

The moral law of cause and effect by which one reaps what one sows

Question 9

mandala

Answer 9

A symbolic rendition of the cosmos; a stylized diagram of the world

Question 10

mantra

Answer 10

A sacred formula or verse

Question 11

moksha

Answer 11

Release from bondage to karma and samsara and the goal of the spiritual quest in much of Hinduism

Question 12

prasad

Answer 12

(lit. “grace”) Food or some other offering given to a deity and then returned to a devotee as a blessing

Question 13

puja

Answer 13

Worship, usually of a deity or the image of a deity

Question 14

purusha

Answer 14

(lit. “male”) In yoga and later Hinduism the spiritual essence of an individual, which is eternal and unchanging

Question 15

samsara

Answer 15

Rebirth; the realm of individual existence generally

Question 16

sannyasi

Answer 16

One who has renounced the world and wanders about begging one’s food

Question 17

untouchables

Answer 17

Members of the lowest castes, who traditional occupations are believed to be highly polluting by the higher castes

Question 18

yoga

Answer 18

A system of physical and mental exercises that aims at disentangling the adept from the bonds of material existence; also the name of a school of Hindu philosophy

Question 19

yogi

Answer 19

One who practices yoga

Question 20

Brahman

Answer 20

Ultimate reality; the eternal, unchanging essence that underlies all things