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82 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
agni
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hindu god of fire
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ahimsa
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In Sanskrit, literally, "noninjury.
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ajiva
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All the material, non-spiritual aspects of the cosmos
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Ashram
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A place where devotees live, often the house of a guru
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Artha
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Artha literally means "success." It is one of the four main religious goals of Hinduism
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Aryans
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A group of people who emigrated from the west into the upper Indus Valley and the nearby territory around 1500 bce
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Ascetic
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A general term for a person who denies themselves some of the necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter
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Atman
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An individual's soul or self. The ultimate goal in Hinduism is to achieve moksha through the realization that one's Atman and Brahman are the same thing
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Avatar
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A manifestion of a god in an earthly form, usually that of a human or animal
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Avidya
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Avidya literally means "ignorance," and is the opposite of Vidya
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Bhagavad-Gita
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The section of the Mahabharata in which Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna and in a long theological discussion describes the main components of karma yoga.
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bhakta
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A worshipper. One who shows devotion to a god or goddess
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bhakti
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Practices of worship or devotion to a Hindu god or goddess.
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bhakti yoga
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A type of yoga in which a person worships a god or goddess
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Brahma
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Brahma is the manifestation of Brahman into the world of maya.
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Brahman
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The power behind and within the cosmos that makes it function and live. Can also be seen as the Ultimate Reality
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Brahmanas
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Early, Vedic commentaries about Hindu ritual
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Brahmin
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The highest of the four main Hindu castes or Varnas. It is the priestly caste
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Caste
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The western term for varna. Castes provide the major divisions of Hindu society
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deva, devi
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Hindu terms for god and goddess
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Dharma
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In Hinduism, Dharma means virtue
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Dravidians
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The oldest known inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent
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Durga
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One of the wives of Shiva. She is the goddess of retribution and justice
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Ganesha/ Ganesa
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The god of good fortune. He takes away obstacles and brings success
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gopi
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A milk-maid or the daughter or wife of a cowherder
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Guru
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A holy teacher. Occasionally, a Brahmin who teaches
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Hatha yoga
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The form of yoga devoted only to bodily control
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Householder
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The second of the four stages of human life. This is when one takes on the responsibilities of adult life
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Ishvara
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Ishvara literally means "Lord of the Universe."
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japam
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A form of worship or meditation in which the name of a deity or a mantra is repeated
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jati
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The Hindu term for sub-caste. A varna is made up of many jatis
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jiva
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The soul of a person, essentially the same as Atman. It is made of spiritual or divine matter
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jnana
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The Sanskrit term for "knowledge."
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jnana yoga
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The discipline in which one learns the true nature of the cosmos and then uses that knowledge to connect oneself with the Atman
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Kali
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A goddess who is one of the wives of Shiva. She represents the wild, destructive character
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Kama
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Pleasure, one of the four encouraged goals of life in Hinduism.
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Karma
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an individual's karma-this store of the results of actions-determines whether one is reborn in a higher or lower status.
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karma yoga
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The goal is to achieve moksha through the elimination of one's karma through work, that is, involvement in life and business
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Krishna/Krsna
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A god who is one of the avatars of Vishnu
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kshatriya
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The second of the four main Hindu castes, or Varnas. This is the caste of warriors, leaders, and administrators.
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Lakshmi
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The goddess of prosperity. She and her consort Vishnu are discussed further in the discussion of the Cosmos
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lila
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The Hindu term for play, drama, and sport.
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linga
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An oblong, upright stone that serves as a symbol of Shiva
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Mahabharata
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The second-century bce epic about Krishna and the five royal Pandu brothers who must battle their Kuru cousins
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Mantra
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A sequence of sounds used as a focus of meditation
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maya
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The true nature of the cosmos we can see
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moksha
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Liberation or release from the cyle of death and rebirth, or samsara
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om
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The most famous mantra, used as a meditational device in many forms of yoga
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Parvati
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One of Shiva's wives. She represents erotic and sensual love, the love of courtship and wooing
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puja
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An offering (usually flowers, food, adoration, music, etc.) to a god or goddess
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Puranas
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A group of writings about the adventures and activities of Hinduism's gods and goddesses
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raja yoga
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A disipline that uses psycho-physical means--i.e., meditation--to achieve moksha
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Rama
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A popular hero god who is an avatar of Vishnu. His wife is Sita
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Ramayana
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The long epic that tells the story of Rama and his love for Sita
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Reincarnation
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The cycle of death and rebirth
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Retirement
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This is the third of the four stages of human life. contemplates their life and attempts to formulate an understanding of "what it's all about."
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Sadhu
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This is a person who renounces life and everything that goes with it (religion, caste, family, etc.) and essentially becomes a wandering hermit seeking moksha
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sakti/shakti
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Literally, "power." Usually, the worship of the goddesses, who all represent some form of power
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samadhi
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The eighth and final stage of meditation in raja yoga in which a person's mind realizes the Ultimate Reality
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samsara
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The cycle of death and rebirth in both Hinduism and Buddhism
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Sanatana Dharma
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What Hindus call Hinduism.
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sannyasin
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The fourth stage of the Hindu understanding of the human life cycle
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Sanskrit
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The language in which the Vedas and other Hindu sacred texts are written
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Shaivism
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The worship of Shiva, including beliefs and rituals
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Shiva/Siva
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One of the two main gods of Hinduism. He is associated with a number of goddesses, the main four are Parvati, Umma, Durga, and Kali. See sakti
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shudra
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The fourth and lowest Hindu caste. It literally means "slave."
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Sita
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The wife of Rama. Often seen as the epitome of faithfulness
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Student
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The first of the four stages of human life. This is the time from adolescence to about age 20 when one learns and studies
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Transmigration
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This is the notion that after death, a person's soul is born-again into another individual (human, animal, etc.)
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Twice-born
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The upper three castes whose males go through a "re-birth" ceremony when they come-of-age at around 12.
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Umma
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One of Shiva's wives. She represents motherhood, nuturing, and family
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Untouchables
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The Untouchables are the fifth caste. They are outcaste. Westerners would be put into this caste
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Upanishads
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The latest of the writings to be considered part of the Vedas, written between the eighth and third centuries bce
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vaishya
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The third Hindu caste, that of the merchants, traders, farmers and craftsmen
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Vaishnavism
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The worship of Vishnu, often in the form of one of his avatars, Rama and Krishna
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varna
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The Hindu term for caste, a social division into which a person is born
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Vedas
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The oldest collection of Hindu sacred texts
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Vedic
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An adjective refering to the Vedas, the people who originally created and used the Vedas
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Vidya
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both to intellectual knowledge acquired through study and to spiritual knowledge acquired through spiritual activity and leading to enlightenment.
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Vishnu
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One of two main gods in Hinduism. He is usually worshiped in the form of one of his avatars, Krishna and Rama
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yoga
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organized form of discipline that leads to a goal. This discipline usually involves practices of meditation, mental concentration, exercises of the body including both ones of control and asceticism
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yogi
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A person who practices some form of yoga. Male-yogin, female-yogini.
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