Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions, among others. The term dharma is held as an untranslatable into English ; it is understood to refer to behaviours which are in harmony with the "order and custom" that sustains life; "virtue", or "religious and moral duties". The antonym of dharma is adharma.
Naraka is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to schools of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, Naraka is a place of torment. The word Neraka in Indonesian and Malaysian has also been used to describe the Islamic concept of Hell.
Guru is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple or student, with the guru serving as a "counselor, who helps mold values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student". Whatever language it is written in, Judith Simmer-Brown says that a tantric spiritual text is often codified in an obscure twilight language so that it cannot be understood by anyone without the verbal explanation of a qualified teacher, the guru. A guru is also one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the guru has already realized.
Bhakti is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love. In Indian religions, it may refer to loving devotion for a personal God, a formless ultimate reality or for an enlightened being. Bhakti is often a deeply emotional devotion based on a relationship between a devotee and the object of devotion.
Śruti or shruti in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism. Manusmriti states: Śrutistu vedo vijñeyaḥ meaning, "Know that Vedas are Śruti". Thus, it includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas, the Upanishads, the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas.
Smṛti, also spelled smriti, is a body of Hindu texts representing the remembered, written tradition in Hinduism, rooted in or inspired by the Vedas. Smṛti works are generally attributed to a named author and were transmitted through manuscripts, in contrast to Vedic or śruti literature, which is based on a fixed text with no specific author, and preserved through oral transmission. Smṛti are derivative, secondary works and considered less authoritative than śruti in Hinduism, except in the Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy. The authority of smṛti accepted by orthodox schools is derived from that of śruti, on which it is based.
Upanayana is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a guru or acharya, and an individual's initiation into a school in Hinduism. Some traditions consider the ceremony as a spiritual rebirth for the child or future dvija, twice born. It signifies the acquisition of the knowledge of and the start of a new and disciplined life as a brahmāchārya. According to the given community and its regional language, it is also known by numerous terms such as mekhal in Kashmiri (मेखल), janeo in Punjabi (ਜਨੇਓ), jaanoi in Gujrati (જાનોઇ), janya in Sindhi (जन्य), janev in Bhojpuri (जनेव), munja in Marathi (मुंजा), munji in Konkani (मुंजी), poite in Bangla (পৈতৈ), brataghara in Odia (ବ୍ରତଘର), logun dioni in Assamese, bratabandha in Nepali (ब्रतबन्ध), chewar in Newari (छेवार), upanayana in Kannada (ಉಪನಯನ), upanayanamu in Telugu (ఉపనయనము), upanayanam in Malayalam (ഉപനയനം), and upanayanam or poonool in Tamil. The Upanayanam ceremony is arguably the most important rite for Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, and Vaiśya males, ensuring his rights with responsibilities and signifying his advent into adulthood.
Brahmacharya is a concept within Indian religions that literally means "conduct consistent with Brahman" or "on the path of Brahman". Brahmacharya, a discipline of controlling the senses, is seen as a way to liberation. Though sexual restraint is a part of brahmacharya, brahmacharya encompasses all striving toward a passionless state.
Āpastamba Dharmasūtra is a Sanskrit text and one of the oldest Dharma-post vedic smriti related texts of Hinduism that have survived into the modern age from the 1st millennium BCE. It is one of three extant Dharmasutras texts from the Taittiriya school which is relatively newer in comparison to Maitrayaniya shakha of Krishna Yajurveda, the other two being Baudhayana Dharmasutra and Hiranyakesin Dharmasutra.
Dharmaśāstra are Sanskrit Puranic Smriti texts on law and conduct, and refer to treatises (śāstras) on Dharma. Like Dharmasūtra which are based upon Vedas, these texts are also elaborate law commentaries based on vedas, Dharmashastra themselves evolved from dharmshutra. There are many Dharmashastras, variously estimated to number from 18 to over 100. Each of these texts exists in many different versions, and each is rooted in Dharmasutra texts dated to the 1st millennium BCE that emerged from Kalpa (Vedanga) studies in the Vedic era.
Āstika and Nāstika are concepts that have been used to classify the schools of Indian philosophy by modern scholars, as well as some Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts. The various definitions for āstika and nāstika philosophies have been disputed since ancient times, and there is no consensus. One standard distinction, as within ancient- and medieval-era Sanskrit philosophical literature, is that āstika schools accept the Vedas, the ancient texts of India, as fundamentally authoritative, while the nāstika schools do not. However, a separate way of distinguishing the two terms has evolved in current Indian languages like Telugu, Hindi and Bengali, wherein āstika and its derivatives usually mean 'theist', and nāstika and its derivatives denote 'atheism'. Still, philosophical tradition maintains the earlier distinction, for example, in identifying the school of Sāṃkhya, which is non-theistic, as āstika (Veda-affirming) philosophy, though "God" is often used as an epithet for consciousness (purusha) within its doctrine. Similarly, though Buddhism is considered to be nāstika, Gautama Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu in some Hindu denominations. Due to its acceptance of the Vedas, āstika philosophy, in the original sense, is often equivalent to Hindu philosophy: philosophy that developed alongside the Hindu religion.
The guru–shishyatradition, or parampara ("lineage"), denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in Indian-origin religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism. Each parampara belongs to a specific sampradaya, and may have its own gurukulas for teaching, which might be based at akharas, gompas, mathas, viharas or temples. It is the tradition of spiritual relationship and mentoring where teachings are transmitted from a guru, teacher, or lama, to a śiṣya, shramana (seeker), or chela (follower), after the formal diksha (initiation). Such knowledge, whether agamic, spiritual, scriptural, architectural, musical, arts or martial arts, is imparted through the developing relationship between the guru and the disciple.
The Smartatradition, also called Smartism, is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. It reflects a synthesis of four philosophical strands, namely Uttara Mīmāṃsā, Advaita, Yoga, and theism. The Smarta tradition rejects theistic sectarianism, and is notable for the domestic worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal – Ganesha, Shiva, Shakti, Vishnu and Surya. The Smarta tradition contrasted with the older Shrauta tradition, which was based on elaborate rituals and rites. There has been a considerable overlap in the ideas and practices of the Smarta tradition with other significant historic movements within Hinduism, namely Shaivism, Brahmanism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.
The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Hindu culture and associated cultures’ traditions, which are expressed as words in Sanskrit or other Indic languages and Dravidian languages. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Hinduism all in one place.
Samskara are sacraments in Hinduism and other Indian religions, described in ancient Sanskrit texts, as well as a concept in the karma theory of Indian philosophies. The word literally means "putting together, making perfect, getting ready, to prepare", or "a sacred or sanctifying ceremony" in ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts of India.
Dvija means "twice-born". The concept is premised on the belief that a person is first born physically and at a later date is born for a second time spiritually, usually when he undergoes the rite of passage that initiates him into a school for Vedic studies. The term also refers to members of the three varnas in the traditional Hindu social system, or social classes — the Brahmins, Kshatriyas (warriors), and Vaishyas — whose samskara of the Upanayana initiation was regarded as a second or spiritual birth.
Sri Vaishnavism is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi, as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who are together revered in this tradition.
Ajari (阿闍梨) is a Japanese term that is used in various schools of Buddhism in Japan, specifically Tendai and Shingon, in reference to a senior monk who teaches students; often abbreviated to jari. The term is a Japanese rendering of the Chinese transliteration for the Sanskrit "âcârya," one who knows and teaches the rules." In the Sōtō tradition, this title is used in reference to any monk that has completed five ango—a way of demonstrating respect and reverence for them.
Jainism and Hinduism are two ancient Indian religions. There are some similarities and differences between the two religions. Temples, gods, rituals, fasts and other religious components of Jainism are different from those of Hinduism.
In Hinduism, Śāstra pramāṇam refers to the authority of the scriptures with regard to puruṣārtha, the objects of human pursuit, namely dharma, artha, kāma (pleasure) and mokṣa (liberation). Together with smṛti, ācāra, and ātmatuṣṭi, it provides pramana and sources of dharma, as expressed in Classical Hindu law, philosophy, rituals and customs.
