Surya Deva
Well-Known Member
There are many technical definitions within Hinduism which are used regularly on these forums, which not everybody knows. Thus it would be helpful for RF to have a glossary of Hindu terms used commonly on RF by Hindu members and non-Hindu members alike.
Some very common terms:
Aryan: Noble, divine, pious quality. The word Aryan has been misused by certain political groups to mean a nordic race for racial supremacy, but its actual meaning in Sanskrit does not refer to a race of people, but to a culture. The Vedic religion is known as an Aryan culture.
Atman: Similar to soul, but does not mean soul exactly. Is used to refer to the same transcendent being that underlies all individual things, and can be more accurately understood as over-soul.
Brahman: The substratum of all existence. More correctly understood to be the transcendent reality. The Hindu scriptures declare: Atman = Brahman, suggeting that the transcendent being and the transcendent reality are one and the same, or as elsewhere declared: consciousness is existence,
Deva/s: The deities. The Devas means the shining ones, divine ones. The devas are various manifestations of Brahman and is considered to be its various energies, powers and principles. The Devas are innumerable in number, but the Hindu scripture declare there are only 33 principal Devas.
Dharma: Similar to the Platonic idea of the essence of something. More accurately the fundamental characteristics of something without which it ceases being what it is. In a religious context it means duty, religion, way.
Karma: The law of the cause and effect. The law of karma is a Hindu theory of causation and deals with all kinds of effects from objective to subjective. It is used in philosophical texts to refer to karmic effects of psychological forces and in physics texts for physica forces. It is more popularly known as a universal moral law and presupposes reincarnation whereby souls reap the fruits of their actions in future lives.
Nasadiya Sukta: One of the Hindu creation accounts, but the most famous. It says that in the beginning the universe was an infinite nothingness, unfathomably deep and all that existed was god. Then, owing to the will that arose in god, a tremendous heat rose and the universe came into being as a singe point and expanded outwards, containing within it the potential form all the evolutes of the universe. This account is often compared to the Big Bang theory because of its uncanny resemblance. The similarity becomes near-identical in the Samkhya account.
Samkhya: An ancient dualistic and atheistic philosophical school of Hinduism, founded by Sage Kapila in 1000BCE or earlier. It is considered the oldest of the philosophical schools. The Samkhya consider the universe to made up of two principles: matter and spirit. Where matter is inert and made up of atoms, and spirit is dynamic and made of consciousness. They were the first to propose the theory of evolution and involution. It's account of creation is very similar to Modern physics and in fact Quantum Physics is partly based on Samkhya philosophy directly.
The Samkhya also foreshadow supersymmetry theory, which is based on the idea of fundamental forces being in balance in the beginning and the balance being upset by an outside event.
Sanskrit: An ancient and highy inflected Indian language. It is considered in Hinduism to be a perfect and scientific language, owing to its highly precise grammar which was described by Panini(400BCE) using algorithmic concepts which only later reappeared in modern computing, partly influenced by Panini. It was the academic language of ancient India, used by philosophers, intellectuals and high-caste members.
Santana Dharma: Another name for Hinduism. It means the eternal religion, and is based on the notion of Rta, eternal or comic laws and principles. Thus by definition Santana Dharma is a transcendental religion which bases itself on transcedental realities. However, despite being ultimately transcendental, Santana Dharma considers the eternal laws and principles to also be immanent and thus subscribes to the scientific understanding of these principles through empirical and rational means of knowing, of which it admits of: perception, logic, testimony and intuition. It is known by many to be a scientific religion.
Sattvic: Meaning pure. It is based on ancient Samkhya Philosophy which considered everything that existed was the play of thee Gunas or qualities, Sattva(neutral, pure) Rajas(active, passion) and Tamas(inertia, ignorance). Something which is considered sattvic is said to have the dominance of sattva guna, which is considered desirable.
Upanishids: Philosophical commentaries on the Vedas. They are considered to be Vedanta(the conclusion of the Vedas) There are 108 principal Upanishads.
Vedas: The most authorative scriptures of Hinduism and the founding scriptures of Hinduism. There are four Vedas: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. They are composed mainly in hymn and poetry for and are believed to be the master framework of all of HInduism. Everything in Hinduism can be traced to them.
Yagna: Sacrifice. The act of taking up some kind of austerity for gain. A type of Yagna is Yoga. A popular Hindu type of Yagna is a fire-sacrifice known as Agnihotra, Havan or Homa, where food stuff like rice and fruits are given as offerings while chanting Vedic Mantras.
Yoga: The method or technique via which the mind is brought in union with the supreme soul. Yoga is not as commonly misunderstood an exercise regimen(Hatha Yoga) rather that is only type of Yoga and forms the lower limb of Ashtanga Yoga(8-fold Yoga) where the emphasis is on meditation. There are various kinds of Yoga prescribed in the Hindu scriptures for various kinds of personalities. They are Bhakti, the Yoga of devotion; Jnana, the yoga of intellectuals; Karma, the Yoga of work and Raja, the Yoga of meditation. There are many more types of Yoga which have emerged in later traditions: Kriya Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga, Kundalini Yoga.
Some very common terms:
Aryan: Noble, divine, pious quality. The word Aryan has been misused by certain political groups to mean a nordic race for racial supremacy, but its actual meaning in Sanskrit does not refer to a race of people, but to a culture. The Vedic religion is known as an Aryan culture.
Atman: Similar to soul, but does not mean soul exactly. Is used to refer to the same transcendent being that underlies all individual things, and can be more accurately understood as over-soul.
Brahman: The substratum of all existence. More correctly understood to be the transcendent reality. The Hindu scriptures declare: Atman = Brahman, suggeting that the transcendent being and the transcendent reality are one and the same, or as elsewhere declared: consciousness is existence,
Deva/s: The deities. The Devas means the shining ones, divine ones. The devas are various manifestations of Brahman and is considered to be its various energies, powers and principles. The Devas are innumerable in number, but the Hindu scripture declare there are only 33 principal Devas.
Dharma: Similar to the Platonic idea of the essence of something. More accurately the fundamental characteristics of something without which it ceases being what it is. In a religious context it means duty, religion, way.
Karma: The law of the cause and effect. The law of karma is a Hindu theory of causation and deals with all kinds of effects from objective to subjective. It is used in philosophical texts to refer to karmic effects of psychological forces and in physics texts for physica forces. It is more popularly known as a universal moral law and presupposes reincarnation whereby souls reap the fruits of their actions in future lives.
Nasadiya Sukta: One of the Hindu creation accounts, but the most famous. It says that in the beginning the universe was an infinite nothingness, unfathomably deep and all that existed was god. Then, owing to the will that arose in god, a tremendous heat rose and the universe came into being as a singe point and expanded outwards, containing within it the potential form all the evolutes of the universe. This account is often compared to the Big Bang theory because of its uncanny resemblance. The similarity becomes near-identical in the Samkhya account.
Samkhya: An ancient dualistic and atheistic philosophical school of Hinduism, founded by Sage Kapila in 1000BCE or earlier. It is considered the oldest of the philosophical schools. The Samkhya consider the universe to made up of two principles: matter and spirit. Where matter is inert and made up of atoms, and spirit is dynamic and made of consciousness. They were the first to propose the theory of evolution and involution. It's account of creation is very similar to Modern physics and in fact Quantum Physics is partly based on Samkhya philosophy directly.
The Samkhya also foreshadow supersymmetry theory, which is based on the idea of fundamental forces being in balance in the beginning and the balance being upset by an outside event.
Sanskrit: An ancient and highy inflected Indian language. It is considered in Hinduism to be a perfect and scientific language, owing to its highly precise grammar which was described by Panini(400BCE) using algorithmic concepts which only later reappeared in modern computing, partly influenced by Panini. It was the academic language of ancient India, used by philosophers, intellectuals and high-caste members.
Santana Dharma: Another name for Hinduism. It means the eternal religion, and is based on the notion of Rta, eternal or comic laws and principles. Thus by definition Santana Dharma is a transcendental religion which bases itself on transcedental realities. However, despite being ultimately transcendental, Santana Dharma considers the eternal laws and principles to also be immanent and thus subscribes to the scientific understanding of these principles through empirical and rational means of knowing, of which it admits of: perception, logic, testimony and intuition. It is known by many to be a scientific religion.
Sattvic: Meaning pure. It is based on ancient Samkhya Philosophy which considered everything that existed was the play of thee Gunas or qualities, Sattva(neutral, pure) Rajas(active, passion) and Tamas(inertia, ignorance). Something which is considered sattvic is said to have the dominance of sattva guna, which is considered desirable.
Upanishids: Philosophical commentaries on the Vedas. They are considered to be Vedanta(the conclusion of the Vedas) There are 108 principal Upanishads.
Vedas: The most authorative scriptures of Hinduism and the founding scriptures of Hinduism. There are four Vedas: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. They are composed mainly in hymn and poetry for and are believed to be the master framework of all of HInduism. Everything in Hinduism can be traced to them.
Yagna: Sacrifice. The act of taking up some kind of austerity for gain. A type of Yagna is Yoga. A popular Hindu type of Yagna is a fire-sacrifice known as Agnihotra, Havan or Homa, where food stuff like rice and fruits are given as offerings while chanting Vedic Mantras.
Yoga: The method or technique via which the mind is brought in union with the supreme soul. Yoga is not as commonly misunderstood an exercise regimen(Hatha Yoga) rather that is only type of Yoga and forms the lower limb of Ashtanga Yoga(8-fold Yoga) where the emphasis is on meditation. There are various kinds of Yoga prescribed in the Hindu scriptures for various kinds of personalities. They are Bhakti, the Yoga of devotion; Jnana, the yoga of intellectuals; Karma, the Yoga of work and Raja, the Yoga of meditation. There are many more types of Yoga which have emerged in later traditions: Kriya Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga, Kundalini Yoga.
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