A

Advaita Vedanta                 non-dualistic form of Vedantic philosophy
Agamas Shaivite                 scriptures
Agni Vedic                      sacred fire
Ananda                          bliss
Anna                            food
Aranyaka Vedic                  forest texts
Artha                           pursuit of wealth
Aryan                           people of spiritual values
Asanas                          yogic postures
Ashram                          state or stage of life
Atharva Veda                    fourth Veda
Atman                           the Divine Self
Avatar                          incarnation of God
Ayurveda                        Vedic Medicine
Ashram                                                 A hermitage or settlement of a holy person.
Avatara                                                   A partial or fully empowered incarnation of God who comes to the world for a                                                                 particular mission.

B

Bhagavad Gita        scripture of the avatar Krishna
Bhakti Yoga         Yoga of Devotion
Bhuktis             planetary time periods, minor
Brahmacharya        control of sexual energy; state of life of learning and purity
Brahma              form of the Hindu trinity governing creation
Brahman             the Absolute or ultimate reality
Brahmanas           Vedic ritualistic texts
Brahmins            people of spiritual values
Brihaspati          Vedic God of the ritual, the planet Jupiter
Buddha              ninth avatar of Vishnu
Buddhism            non-orthodox form of Vedic\Aryan teaching founded by the Buddha or                       enlightened one
Baksheesh                        a tip, donation, or bribe
Bhakti                              devotional service to God.
Bhang                               leaves of the intoxicating Indian hashish (Cannabis indica).
Brahma                            the god of creation and usually portrayed sitting on a lotus sprouted from Lord Vishnu's naval.                                          He has four heads and is the father of Lord Siva. His consort is the goddess Saraswati.
Brahmin                           a teacher, a member of the highest order in Vedic society according to the occupational                                          divisions
Buddhism                         In the 5th Century BC, Buddha revolted against a certain kind of Hinduism called, the Vedic                                          religion, or known as Brahmanism. The Buddhism religion is based on non-violence and simple                                          living instead of ritualism. Buddha is also thought to be the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

C

Chakras             nerve centers of the subtle body
Charvakas          materialistic philosophers of ancient India
Cit                 consciousness

Caste:                            There are about 3000 castes in India marked by a set of socio-cultural characteristics. Usually                                        caste implies a collection of families or groups of families bearing a common name, having a                                        common descent (human or divine), and following what they think is their hereditary calling.                                        These groups are also divided into sub-groups. The caste system perhaps maintains its strength                                        in Indian society by conditioning the consciousness of the lower castes (those below Brahmin) in                                        accepting their inferior status in the ritual hierarchy as a part of the natural order.

Chai                              Tea
Chapati                         Unleavened Indian bread
Chappels                       Sandals traditionally worn by Indians
Cows                            Cows are sacred because they are very dear to Lord Krishna. The cow supplies milk and is                                       considered to be one of the mothers of mankind
Crore                            Ten million. Written as 1,00,00,000
Curd                             Yogurt

D

Dashas             planetary time periods, major
Dharana           yogic concentration or attention
Dharma            teaching or religion; honor or status
Dhatus            bodily tissues in Ayurvedic Medicine
Dhyana            meditation
Doshas            biological humors of Ayurvedic medicine
Durga             the Goddess as the destroyer of demons
Dal                                lentil soup, often used to mix with plain rice and eaten with chapatis
Dalit Movement            a protest against untouchability and aims to lift Dalits into a non-untouchable category
Dalits                             people, regardless of caste or sub-caste, against whom others discriminate on the grounds that                                       they are untouchable.
Devdasis System          female servants of God. The girls were dedicated to sing and dance before the idols. They then                                       became "sacred" prostitutes at the temples.
Dharma                         the law of being. Every living creature has taken up its form and has come into the world of                                       objects for one great purpose, which is to gain an exhaustion of its existing mental impressions.
Dhobi                            a person who washes clothes.

Dosas                           a very large, thin pancake made of fermented rice flour. They are often wrapped around a                                       spiced potato filling and then called masala dosa.

Dowry                          refers to movable and immovable property that a bride brings with her at the time of marriage to                                      her husband and/or his parents/guardians, often on their explicit and occasionally on their implicit                                      demands.

E

F

Forehead markings:

• Vertical markings mean devotees of Lord Vishnu; horizontal markings mean devotees of Lord Siva.

G

Ganja:

• An intoxicating Indian hemp.

Ghee:

• Clarified butter used for cooking.

Gita, The:

• Also known as the Bhagavad-gita or song of God. This is the Hindu bible. It teaches that you are not your body but an eternal spirit soul temporarily encased within a material body.

Guru:

• A spiritual master or spiritual instructor.

H

Hinduism:

• A main characteristic of Hinduism is the doctrine of an eternal soul and its rebirth. One can find four main schools of thought: Vaishnavas (those who worship Lord Vishnu and Krishna), Shaivites (who worship Lord Siva), Shaktas (who worship the goddess Durga), and Smartas (who worship Vishnu, Siva, Shakti, Ganesha, and Surya the sun god).

Holy Places:

• Dwarka. West coast of Gujarat where Lord Krishna spent the later part of his life.
• Varanasi. Town dear to Lord Siva. A boat ride on the Ganges in the early morning is very interesting.
• Vrindavana and Mathura. Birthplace and childhood home of Lord Krishna.

I

J

Jains (Jainism):

• An Indian religion that arose against Brahmanism and laid stress on right actions and good deeds instead of sacrifices and prayers.

K

Karma:

• The Hindu thought that whatever someone does will come back at a later date in this life or in transmigrations. Man attains salvation by worshipping God through performances of one's own duties (e.g., as a member of a caste system) as decided by the religious scriptures.

L

Lakh:

• One hundred thousand (100,000). Written as 1,00,000.

Lassi:

• A sweet or salty yogurt drink.

Lorry:

• A truck.

M

Mahal:

• Palace or house.

Mahatma:

• A great soul or saintly person, e.g., Mahatma Ghandi.

Mandala:

• A territorial unit in India.

Mantra:

• A prayer or chant.

Maya:

• In Hindu thought, that which is not, unreality, deception, forgetfulness, material illusion.

Moghul:

• The Muslim dynasty of the Indian Emperors starting from Babur.

Moksa:

• Liberation, in Hindu thought, from the cycle of re-birth.

Monsoon:

• The rainy season from June to September.

N

Naan:

• Baked leavened bread.

Nirvana:

• In Hindu thought, freedom from material existence.

O

Other Backward classes (OBC):

• No firm definition exists for this classification although it is commonly used. Usually it refers to people who are below subsistence level; identified by their low social position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society.

P

Paise:

• 100 paise equals one rupee.

Palanquin:

• A seat that can be carried by four men, usually used to transport great personages or ladies.

Pan:

• Betel leaf (what many chew).

Pradesh:

• Meaning "state." E.g., Andhra Pradesh.

Puja:

• In Hindu practice, an offering of worship to a god or goddess.

Pujari:

• A priest.

Q

R

Rupee:

• The main unit of currency used in India (at the present time, 1996, exchange is at 35/$1)

S

Sadhu:

• A saint.

Sanskrit:

• The Vedas, or India's holy scriptures are written in Sanskrit.

Sari:

• The traditional Indian dress worn by Indian women - six yards long as a rule.

Sati:

• The higher castes believed that the faithfulness of their wives was proved by their jumping into the funeral fire in which the bodies of their husbands were cremated.

Scheduled Castes (SC):

• An Indian government decision. Before 1935, scheduled castes were known as the "depressed classes." The Indian Constitution allows the President to draw up the lists of what castes, classes, or tribes will constitute the Scheduled Castes. Makes up about 15% of the Indian population. The government maintains these lists to protect and promote the interests of the Scheduled Castes.

Scheduled Tribes (ST):

• An Indian government decision. A small-scale grouping that displays cultural continuity as well as unity. Its members have a self-conscious image and recognize affinity with one another. In India, they are some of the oldest inhabitants of the land, live in relative isolation of hills and forests, their sense of history is shallow, they have a low level of techno-economic development, and their cultural ethos stand out from the other sections of society.

Sikhs:

• From the Sanskrit word meaning disciple. The Sikhs are followers of Guru Nanak Dev and nine other Gurus. Their teachings are based on the Unity of God, rejection of caste and ritualism, and brotherhood of man. Most Sikhs live in Punjab and have the family name Singh.

Social Orders:

• Vedic or Hindu society is usually broken down into four social orders: Brhamins, teachers or spiritual advisors; ksatriyas, or administrators and warriors; vaisyas, or farmers and businessmen; sudras, or laborers and craftsmen. In today's India, people are born into these castes rather than thinking they must function in one of these ways.

T

Tadi:

• Fermented juice of the palm tree.

Temples:

• In many temples throughout India, non-Hindus are not allowed entry. Even though entry may be permitted, one may not enter the inner sanctum where the deity is located.

U

Untouchable:

• A corollary of the caste system. The notion of external behavior that results in defilement, pollution, contamination, and the ways and means of getting rid of that defilement. Later, untouchability became associated with the caste system to distinguish and to keep the lower caste from the higher caste.

Upanishads:

• 108 philosophical treatises found within the Vedas.

V

Vedas:

• The religious scriptures of the Hindu.

Vedic:

• One who follows the teachings of the Vedas. The Vedic religion refers to that set of beliefs that follow the teachings found in the Vedas.

W

X

Y

Z

 

 

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