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136 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Adharma |
-Jain -one of the six substances of Jain physics (alongside souls, matter, space, dharma, and time); ‘the quality of space is to give room, of dharma to cause motion, of adharma to cause rest’ |
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Arjuna |
-Hindu -Third of the Pandava brothers; protagonist of Mahabharata with Krishna, and of Bhagavad Gita; Learnt how to wield a bow and arrow under Drona’s tutelage; -Was overcome by deep spiritual despondency when faced with relatives and friends on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Krishna then convinced him that he would be committing a sin if he did not perform his own duty as a warrior; ‘for a kshatriya there does not exist another greater good than war enjoined by dharma |
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Aryan |
-Hindu -Invaded India from the northwest about 1500 B.C; Brought religious concepts consisting of a pantheon of naturalistic gods, and ritualistic sacrifice of fire and soma; this religion was embodied in a collection of hymns called the Veda |
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Artha |
-Hindu -One of the four ends of man; when the object of one’s activity is some material gain, it is called artha. While material gain and pleasure are necessary for life they should however be controlled by considerations of dharma. While dharma insists on righteousness of both means and ends, Artha concerns itself primarily with the attainment of ends irrespective of means |
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Ashoka |
-Buddhist -Ashoka was part of the Mauryan dynasty and became a Buddhist. He was so moved by remorse at the carnage cause by his own war that he embraced Buddhism; In his reign the message of Buddhism was spread over the whole of India; Ashoka had a reaction to the ways of Artha Shastra and preferred the ways of dharma |
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Atman |
-Hindu/Jain -the innermost reality of a person, the animate, spiritual principle of life Hindu: =brahman, brahman is underlying substance of the cosmos -Jain: soul is jiva, souls are in animals, plants, and elements |
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Babur |
-Islam -First Mughal Ruler -Just as the macrocosm is viewed universally as an extension of Vedic mythological concepts, specifically brahman, the microcosmic nature of the human self or soul, atman, is explained. Brahman = Atman (one of the most significant equations of the Upanishads); Brahman is seen as the substance underlying the whole cosmos, and as identical with the atman, the universal self which the yogic element of the Indian tradition had sought deep within the mind |
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Bhajan |
-Hindu devotional song |
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Bhagavad Gita |
-Hindu -Hindu scripture part of the Hindu Epic of the Mahabharata -based on dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna -sometimes considered the greatest of the Hindu Upanishads |
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Bhakti |
-devotion according to the Bhagavad Gita -various ways that god is worshipped -in the Gita, devotion is a discipline (bhaktiyoga) involving the performance of disciplined action (karmayoga) without personal attachment and with dedication of the fruits to Krishna -devotion enables one to engage in the world with spiritual freedom |
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Bhishma |
-Eight son of Kuru King Shantanu -vowed not to have children of his own for his father -great archer and warrior |
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Brahmacharya |
-Hindu -First stage to attaining religious salvation in the Upanishads -student of sacred knowledge |
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BrahmAn |
-Hindu -He who recites Brahmanas -The magical power inherent in the sacrificial prayers developed into spells called brahman, he who recited them was a pray-er, or one related to prayer. from this concept developed the brahman, or priestly caste |
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Brahmanas |
-Metrical hymns and chants of the Vedas gave rise to ritualistic prose interpretations called Brahmanas, and so are ritual expository texts that are attached to the Vedas. He who recited them was a ‘pray-er’ (brahmAn) ; |
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Brahman |
-In the Gita: “infinite spirit,” “absolute.” In Vedic literature it means “prayer” or the power for the ritual word. In Vedanta it comes to mean the ultimate reality underlying phenomenal existence; It is vast, unqualified, and imperishable. in the Gita, the macrocosmic infinite spirit (brahman) corresponds to the microcosmic self (atman) within each individual. When the self has achieved identification with the infinite spirit, one has found “the pure calm of infinity.” In the Gita, the infinite spirit is superseded by Lord Krishna, who says that he is the very foundation of the infinite. |
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Buddhism |
-nontheistic religion -based on teachings of the Siddhartha Gautma -two main groups Theravada, and Mahayana
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Buddha |
-Siddharthata Gautma -Was a member of the Shakya tribe, and gained enlightenment under a sacred pipal tree at Gaya -Lived between 6th and 4th centuries BC |
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Dara Shikoh |
-Islam -Shah Jahan’s son; represented the eclecticism of Akbar but was defeated by his brother Aurangzeb who climbed to the throne; tolerant of un-Islamic ideas and practices; Dara Shikoh represented the mingling of the two seas of Muslim mystical pantheism and Hindu pantheism to the dislike of the orthodoxy |
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Drona |
-Hindu -Taught Arjuna how to wield a bow and arrow; character in the Mahabharata |
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Dhritarashtra |
-Hindu -Blind king of Hastinapur at the time of Kurukshetra and was the patriarch of the Karuavas; was Duryodhana’s father |
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Devanagari |
-script used to write sanskrit, Hindi, and Nepali |
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Dharma |
-in the Gita: sacred duty, order, law; basic meaning is “that which sustains,” i.e., the moral order that sustains the individual, the society, and the cosmos -generally refers to religiously ordained duty in the Gita, as in other Hindu texts, this means the rules of conduct appropriate to the various diverse groups in a hierarchically ordered society, articulated in terms of class, stage of life and kinship structures -The general notion exists that if each unit/group in the complex universe performs its own function correctly, the whole (the individual, the society, and the cosmos) will be harmonious and ordered. |
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Duryodhana |
-Hindu -Son of Dhritarashtra; chief antagonist of the epic after the return of the Pandavas from the forest of exile |
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Fatehpur Sikri |
-Akbar constructed this city and moved his capital there. Notable sites there include the Hall of Worship where all faith traditions of India would gather for an audience with Akbar and discuss religion |
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Four Castes |
-Brahman (priest) -Kshatriya (noble) -Vaishya (the bourgeois) -Shudra (serf) |
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Four Types of Vedas |
-Rig Veda -Yajur Veda -Sama Veda -Atharva Veda |
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Four Noble Truths |
-Truth of Sorrow: Birth is sorrow, age is sorrow...all five components of individuality are sorrow -Truth of Arising of Sorrow: It arises from craving which leads to rebirth, which brings delights and passions that seek pleasure here and now, such as sensual pleasure -Truth of Stopping Sorrow: It is the complete stopping of that craving, so that no passion remain -Truth of Noble Path which Leads to Stopping of Sorrow: Eightfold Path |
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Five Pillars of Islam |
-Ritual purification -Prayer -Alms -Fasting -Pilgirmage |
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Ganges |
-Holy river in india -worshipped as the goddess Ganga |
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Gaya |
-holy city for Jainism, Hiduism, and Budhdism
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Gokul |
Location of Krishna's foster parents |
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Gobind Singh |
-Sikh -Tenth guru was founder of the khalsa, the sworn brotherhood of fighting sikhs |
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Granth Sahib |
-sikhs Gobind Singh made his obeisance and offering to the Granth Sahib and made it the guru after him. |
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Guru Nanak |
-Sikh -Nanak was a Hindu and a kshatriya; his personal working faith proclaims the majesty and unity of God, the insignificance of prophets and the fleeting vanity of worldly life -His teachings have come down in Adi Granth are in the form of hymns |
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Hadith |
-Islam -This is the name given to the corpus of canonical tradition about Muhammad; it became a report of what the Prophet, his Companions and followers would have said or done if they had been obliged to do so; They are secondary to the Quran in terms of authority |
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Ijtihad |
-Islam -Legal interpretation whereby student of Sharia arrives at determinations of the Holy Law in circumstances not already covered by previous decisions; this is the sole manner in which Sharia can be adapted to changing social circumstances |
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Individuality (ahamkara) |
-The ego, “I-maker,” the subjective sense of individual identity. The empierical world cannot emerge before an individual consciousness (aham) has evolved. Implicitly this means that liberation from empirical existence involves the negation of individuality. |
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Jainism |
-indian religion -path of nonviolence towards all living beings |
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Jnana |
-wisdom -aim of upanishadic teachings -one of the themes of the Gita, the knowledge that the eternal soul cannot be slain |
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Kabir |
-He was a lower caste weaver in Banaras, and was the pioneer of the Hindi devotional verse; Though his fundamental concepts are Hindu, Muslim influence is reflected in his holding to a strict theism; reflects strong Sufi influences; Was very anti-Brahmin and anti-rituals |
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Kalinga |
-city important in the mahabharata |
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Kama |
-(Desire) - sensuous love, emotional feeling of attachment. In ancient Indian thought it is recognized as the stimulus of action and personified as the god of erotic love. in the Gita- as in Buddhism, it is the source of attachment to the world and the great impediment to spiritual freedom. |
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Karma |
-(Action) - the force of one’s actions in determining what one is and will be, to one’s role in making one’s own destiny. Karma is a store of good and bad actions accumulated over many lives, and it is this store of actions that binds one to phenomenal existence. In the Gita--Only when one acts without concern for the consequences, or fruits, of one’s action can one escape the bondage of action. Krishna’s teaching that action is inescapable is central to the entire Gita |
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Kashi |
-varanasi -holy city |
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Kauravas |
-Losing family in the Mahabharata; they were led by Duryodhana and were descended (like the Pandavas) from Kuru |
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Khalsa |
-Army of sorts gathered together by Gobind Singh [10th Guru] in face of opposition from the Mughal rule of the time |
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Krishna |
-avatar of vishnu -friend of arjuna -born, and king wanted him killed, parents smuggled him out of jail, grew up a cowherd |
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Kshatriya |
-Part of the castes of Hindu society, each of which have to fulfil their own duties -Protection of the people, giving away of wealth, performance of sacrificial rites, study and non-attachment to sensual pleasures are the duties of a kshatriya |
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Kurukshetra |
Battlefield of Mahabharata between Pandavas and Kauravas |
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Mahabharata |
-hinud epic -ancient saga |
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Mahavira |
-Jain Both major traditions (Digambara [sky clad]; Svetambara [white cloth clad]) agree that age 30 certain gods appeared and urged him to renounce the world; The Great Renunciation: According to Digambara tradition he removed clothing and pulled out his hair by hand; Svetambara tradition holds that Mahavira isolated himself and fasted for two days, then put on a divine cloth Mahavira’s Austerities: Jains point with pride that Buddha gave up extreme austerities for the middle path, and this led the buddhist order to fall eventually into various sorts of laxity The Enlightenment: Attainment of kevalajnana took place twelve years, six months, and fifteen days after he set out on the mendicant’s path |
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Moksha |
-freedom; from the Sanskrit root muc, “to release.” in the Gita, liberation from bondage of worldly action based on detachment and freedom within oneself |
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Mughals (birth order) |
-Babur -Hamayun -Akbar -Jehangir -Shah Jahan -Aurangzeb [brother was Darashikoh whom he killed] |
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Nirvana |
-buddhism: transcendent state where there is no suffering, desire, or sense of self -moksha |
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Noble Eightfold Path |
-It is the Middle Way which allows man to escape the base and common desires which lead to rebirth and ignoble things -Namely they are: Right Views; Right Resolve; Right Speech; Right Conduct, Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; and Right Concentration [Need to concoct an easy way to remember these] |
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Om |
-most sacred mantra -appears at beginning and end of most Sanskrit recitations, prayers, and texts |
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Pali |
-language used in the Theravada teachings |
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Pandava |
Brothers who fought and won in the epic Mahabharta against the Kauravas; their father was Pandu; Yudhisthira gambles away the kingdom during a rigged game of dice; |
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pandit |
-scholar and teacher in the sanskrit language -mastered the four vedic scriptures -tutored under a guru |
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Pataliputra |
-buddhist holy site -site of the early buddhist councils -one of the largest cities under Emperor Ashoka
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Purusha |
The “cosmic man”; Offered himself as an oblation in the primeval sacrifice |
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Samanas |
Buddhist/ Jain Were wandering philosophers; rejected the Vedic tradition and wandered free of family ties; sought to find a basis of true and lasting happiness in a changing and insecure world |
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Samaj |
-hindu reform movement to promote Vedas |
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Samsara |
-Vedas: the world, course/passage -cycle of birth, life, death, reincarniation |
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Samskara |
-hindu rituals |
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Sanskrit |
-classical language of Inidan and liturgical language of hindusm, buddhism, and jainism |
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Sannyasa |
-Renunciation -“to cast down” - (in the Gita)- surrendering all actions to Krishna, being without hate and desire, giving up actions based on desire. Disciplined action and relinquishment are spiritually more effective than renunciation |
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Soma |
Hallucinogenic drink used by Aryans magical drink whole hymn devoted to it nectar of immortality amrita |
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Shiva |
-one of the supreme gods -the destroyer |
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Shruti |
-what is heard; Orthodox Hindus believe that the ultimate truth in matters of religion is to be found in the Veda, which is called shruti tradition. |
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Shudra |
-Lower Caste Hindu; Fourth caste; workers, artisans, serfs; -Shudras were denied all access to the Veda, the Vedic sacrifices, and the Aryan sacraments; ‘The lord has prescribed only one occupation [karma] for a shudra, namely, service without malice of even these other three castes’ |
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Smrti |
-what is remembered; Later scriptures from the Veda represent interpretations or codifications of the truth in the Vedas and are therefore called Smriti (human) tradition |
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Theravada |
Main body of Buddhism that claimed to maintain the true tradition transmitted from the days of the founder took to calling their system Theravada; from the third century the doctrines have remained the same that everything in the universe is in a constant state of flux and resistance to the cosmic flux of phenomena and craving for permanence lead to inevitable sorrow |
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Tirthankara |
24 enlightened jain teachers of which Mahavira was one |
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Tripitaka |
-Conduct (vinaya); Rules of conduct of monks and nuns -Discourses (sutta): most important; contains discourses attributed to Buddha -Supplementary Doctrines (Abhidamma): systematization of ideas contained in the discourses |
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Tyaga |
-to relinquish or to abandon. In the Gita - “relinquishing all fruit of action” in contrast with renunciation. Relinquishment means that action is to be performed but without concern for the fruit |
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Upanishad |
-vedanta -end of the veda -wisdom -authority -attached to each of the Vedas |
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Varinasi |
-Buddhism: After Buddha gained knowledge under the tree of wisdom at Gaya, he proceeded to Varanasi where he found five ascetics, in the presence of whom he ‘set in motion the Wheel’ by preaching the sermon that outlined the Four Noble Truths, the Middle Way and the Eightfold Path; it is basically the city where Buddha gave his first sermon -Kabir: He was a lower caste weaver in Banaras, and was the pioneer of the Hindi devotional verse; |
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Varuna |
-one who sees everything we do -described like monotheistic god -soverign of the world -one who sees and upholds our integrety |
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Vishnu |
-supreme deity -preserver or protector -krishna is an avatar |
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Yogi |
-practitioner of yoga |
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Yamana |
-sacred river |
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Yudhisthira |
-eldest son on king pandu and kunti -son of dharma -rightful king? |
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Dham |
a dwelling place of the deity |
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Tirtha |
-A crossing place -A ford |
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Yatra |
a journey |
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Pitha |
a seat of the deity |
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Tirthayatra
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-A trip to tirtha -a pilgrimage |
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Aryan Migraiton theory |
-aryans came into into from outside -interacted with, superceded indus civilizaiton |
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Cultural migration theory |
-aryan civilization is transformation of Indus civilization |
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Out of India Theory |
-Aryans were ancient, indigenous to india |
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Samhitas |
the collections |
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Sarasvati |
-river -wisdom |
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Indra |
-Warrior -drinker of soma -stretched out the heavens -released the waters of heaven |
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Agni |
-God of fire -fire alter ritual -no temples in vedic period -messenger of the gods |
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katenotheism |
-worship of one god at a time -each fills the horizon of consciousness -max muller |
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Brahmanda |
-the universe -the whole cosmos -brahma's egg |
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Srishthi |
-the act of creation -pouring forth |
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asat |
what is not non being |
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Kama |
desire |
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prana |
atman breath |
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Purusha |
person transcendent and immanent |
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Yajna |
cosmic ritual sacrifice |
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Shamanas |
renunciants spiritual strivers |
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Kshatriyas
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kings as seekers and teachers |
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Anitya |
impermanence |
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Anatma |
no self
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Duhka |
suffering |
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bodhi |
enlightenment |
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Siddhartha Gautma |
became the buddha |
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buddha |
awakened one
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nirvana |
going out as a fire goes out |
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Lumbini |
birthplace of the buddha |
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bodh gaya |
site of buddha's enlightenment |
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sarnath |
place of the buddha's first teaching |
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kushinara |
place of the buddha's death |
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Ashoka |
indian emperor who adopted buddhism |
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Dharma/dhamma |
teachings of the buddha |
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Four noble truths |
-suffering exists -there is an origin to suffering -there is a cessation of suffering -suffering can be ended though the eightfold path |
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Seven Tattvas |
realities of the jain tradition |
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Jiva |
jain lifeforce or soul of each being |
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ashrava |
jain influx of karma |
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bandha |
jain bidning of karma to the jiva |
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samvara |
jain stopping of karmic influx |
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Nirjara |
jain destroying of karmic accretion |
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Moksha |
jain freedom |
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Karma (jain) |
jain action and the results of action a kind of matter stains, clouds the jiva encrusts the jiva influx of karma on jiva weight it down |
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ahimsa |
non harm five vows |
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five vows of jainism |
non-violence truth non-stealing chasitiy non-attachment |
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Three Jewels of Jainism |
-right faith or vision -right knowledge or understanding -right conduct |
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Anekantavada |
jain relativity of views intellectual ahimsa |
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Digambaras |
sky clad jain monks |
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Svetambara |
white clad jain monks and nuns |
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Saguna |
with qualities |
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nirguna |
without qualities |
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Guru Nanak |
Sikh founder |