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. In Sanskrit, guru means literally dispeller of darkness. 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 explains 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 literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity". It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to devotion and love for a personal God or a representational god by a devotee. In ancient texts such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the term simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor, while in the Bhagavad Gita, it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and towards moksha, as in bhakti marga.
The Bhakti movement refers to the trend that was brought forward by a number of Hindu saints in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. It was prominent in eighth-century south India, and spread northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.
Narayana Guru, IPA: [n̪ɐːɾɐːjɐɳɐ guɾu], was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual enlightenment and social equality.
Bhakti yoga, also called Bhakti marga, is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity. It is one of the three classical paths in Hinduism which lead to Moksha, the other paths being Jnana yoga and Karma yoga.
Jñāna yoga, also known as jñāna mārga, is one of the three classical paths (margas) for moksha in Hinduism, which emphasizes the "path of knowledge", also known as the "path of self-realization". The other two are karma yoga and bhakti yoga. Modern interpretations of Hindu texts have yielded systems, techniques and formulations such as raja yoga and kriya yoga.
The Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana or simply Bhagavata, is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (Mahapuranas). Composed in Sanskrit and available in almost all Indian languages, it promotes bhakti (devotion) to Krishna, integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy of Adi Shankara, the Vishishtadvaita of Ramanujacharya and the Dvaita (dualism) of Madhvacharya.
Chattampi Swamikal was a Hindu sage and social reformer. His thoughts and work influenced the launching of many social, religious, literary and political organisations and movements in Kerala and for the first time gave voice to those who were marginalised.
Nitya Chaitanya Yati was an Indian philosopher, psychologist, author and poet, best known for his commentaries on Advaita Vedanta as well as his literary criticisms. He was a disciple of Nataraja Guru, the successor to Narayana Guru. Yati published over 140 books in English and Malayalam including a commentary on Darsana Mala of Narayana Guru, titled, Psychology of Darsana Mala. Kerala Sahitya Akademi honoured him with their annual award for literary criticism in 1977.
Jagadguru, literally meaning the guru of the universe, is a title used in Sanātana Dharma. Traditionally, it has been bestowed upon or used for ācāryas belonging to the Vedānta school who have written Sanskrit commentaries on the Prasthānatrayī – the Brahma sūtras, the Bhagavad-gītā and the principal Upaniṣads. Historically, jagadgurus have established a lineage, established an institution to spread dharma, who have been based in Varanasi, the centre of Sanskrit study.
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.
Dakshinamurthy is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. This form represents Shiva as a teacher of yoga, music and wisdom, and giving exposition on the shastras. He is worshipped as the god of wisdom, complete and rewarding meditation. As per Hindu scriptures, if a person doesn't have a guru, they can consider and worship Dakshinamurthy as their guru. Eventually they will be blessed with a self-realised human guru, if they are worthy.
Ekasarana Dharma is a neo-Vaishnavite religion propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva in the 15th-16th century in the Indian state of Assam. It rejects focus on vedic ritualism and focuses on devotion (bhakti) to Krishna in the form of congregational listening (sravan) and singing his name and deeds (kirtan).
Param Brahma in Hindu philosophy is the "Supreme Brahman" that which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations. It is described as the formless that eternally pervades everything, everywhere in the universe and whatever is beyond.
The Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, often referred to as the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata, dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE and exemplary for the emerging Hindu synthesis. It is considered to be one of the holy scriptures for Hinduism.
The Yogatattva Upanishad, also called as Yogatattvopanishad (योगतत्त्वोपनिषत्), is one of the important Upanishads of Hinduism. A Sanskrit text, it is one of eleven Yoga Upanishads attached to the Atharvaveda, and one of twenty Yoga Upanishads in the four Vedas. It is listed at number 41 in the serial order of the Muktika enumerated by Rama to Hanuman in the modern era anthology of 108 Upanishads. It is, as an Upanishad, a part of the corpus of Vedanta literature collection that present the philosophical concepts of Hinduism.
"Atmopadesa Śatakam" is a Malayalam spiritual work by Narayana Guru in the form of a poem. It is considered as the classic work of Narayana Guru, who was a social reformer and spiritual leader of Kerala, India. The literal translation of the title means "One Hundred Verses of Self Instruction". "Atmopadesa Śatakam" contained 100 verses or stanzas, each of which describing a set of actions performed by the self on itself, affecting and recognising moments of transformation into an absolute value.
Varaha Upanishad is a minor Upanishad of Hinduism composed between the 13th and 16th centuries CE. Composed in Sanskrit, it is listed as one of the 32 Krishna Yajurveda Upanishads, and classified as one of 20 Yoga Upanishads.
The Mandala-brahmana Upanishad, also known as Mandalabrahmanopanisad, is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism and a Sanskrit text. It is attached to the Shukla Yajurveda and is classified as one of the 20 Yoga Upanishads.
The Dakshinamurti Upanishad is an ancient Sanskrit text and is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. It is attached to the Krishna Yajurveda, and classified as one of the 14 Shaiva Upanishads.
