Phil
206-01:
Philosophy
of Life and Death
Hinduism:
Key Terms
and Concepts
-
Avatar - Physical
incarnation of a deity, especially Vishnu who is believed to have taken
material form nine times to aid the forces of good in their struggle against
evil
-
Atman - Ultimate
or True self, believed in Hinduism to be identical to Brahman
-
Bhakti -
Devotion, love
-
Brahma - Member
of the Hindu trinity: the creator of the universe
-
Brahman - Ultimate
reality
-
Brahmin, Brahman
- A member of the highest caste in Hinduism, often a priest
-
Ganesh, Ganesha
-
Son of Shiva, elephant-headed god associated with power and strength
-
Kali, Kalki -
The tenth avatar of Vishnu, who will come to destroy the entire universe
-
Mantra - A sound
or phrase used as a focus in meditation
-
Maya - Hindu
doctrine that the world we typically take as real -- what we see, hear,
feel, and otherwise experience via our senses -- is but an illusion. Cf.
Brahman.
-
Moksha -
Liberation, enlightenment
-
Mudra -
A magical gesture or symbolic positioning of the hands, used in rituals
and meditation postures
-
Neti Neti -
A mantra: "Not this, not this"
-
Om, Aum
- The highest mantra: the sound of creation
-
Shiva - Member
of the Hindu trinity: the destroyer of the universe
-
Tat Twam Asi -
A mantra: "Thou art that" (you are that)
-
Vishnu - Member
of the Hindu trinity: the preserver of the universe
-
Yoga - A system
of Hindu philosophy that offers a path to enlightenment
Website constructed and maintained
by
Douglas Shrader / Shradedw@Oneonta.edu
Updated February 12, 2002