Shruti literally means “that which is heard.
Veda means “knowledge” or “sacred lore.”The Vedas are the earliest
known Sanskrit literature from the Brahmanic period and oldest
scriptures of Hinduism.
Upanishads the term Upanishad literally translates as “sitting down
near” or “sitting close to as it implies listening intently to the mystic
teachings of a spiritual teacher who has fully understood the universal
truths.
Shmriti literally means “that which has been remembered.”
Rig-Veda is the most important and oldest book that dates back to
around 1500 B.C.E. to 1200 B.C.E.
Yajur-Veda or the “knowledge of rites” is the second book.
Sama-Veda or the “knowledge of chants.” this book is a collection of
verses from the basic hymns recited by priests during sacrifices.
Atharva-Veda or “knowledge given by the sage Atharva” that date back
around 1500 B.C.E. to 1000 B.C.E. This book contains rituals used in
homes and popular prayers to gods.
Lakshmi the goddess of fortune, who is seated on a lotus between two
elephants with their trunks raised above her.
Saraswati the goddess of science and wisdom.
Parvati the daughter of the sacred mountain Himalaya and the goddess
of love, fertility, and devotion, is the most modest, conservative, and
benign of Shiva’s consorts (Bowker 1997).
Patanjali The philosophy of yoga. He is considered as the “father of
modern yoga” as he codified the teachings of yoga in his Yoga Sutra
(Hopfe 1983).
Diwali or “Festival of Lights”.A national celebration in honor of Rama
and his consort.
Holi The national celebration of spring and the New Year.
Sri Vaishnavas An honouring of Vishnu and his consort Sri, celebrated
in Madras at the beginning of the hot season; Images of Vishnu are
taken from the temples to the seashore.
Vishnu is God for the Vaishnavites, especially in his incarnations
Krishna and Rama.Vishnu, the preserver.
Shiva the Compassionate One, is God for the Saivites. Followers of
Shaivism value self-discipline and philosophy. Shiva, the destroyer.
Shivaratri A national honoring of Shiva; Worshippers fast during the
day, and an all-night vigil held at Shiva temples.
Brahmins were revered as an incarnation of knowledge itself, endowed
with the precepts and sermons to be discharged to all Varnas of
society.
Brahma the creator.
Sati or suttee wherein widowed women are expected to jump on the
funeral pyre of their husbands to prove their loyalty and help save the
soul of their husbands in the afterlife. In spite of the fact that sati was
already demolished by the British in India, there are still cases of sati
being reported in modern times.
Shudras is one of the four varnas of the Hindu caste and social system
in ancient India.The last Varna represents the backbone of a prosperous
economy, in which they are revered for their dutiful conduct toward life
duties set out for them.
Vaishyas is the third Varna represented by agriculturalists, traders,
money lenders, and those involved in commerce.
Jainism one of the three religions developed in India.
Buddhism is one of the most practical among the world’s great
religions because its belief system intends to meet basic human needs
and solve humankind’s spiritual problem without depending on
supernatural forces (Brown 1975).
Daoism also spelled Taoism, indigenous religio-philosophical tradition
that has shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years.
Hinduism is the world’s oldest organized religion that began on the
Indian subcontinent with no specific moment of origin and no specific
founder. Belief in different gods ang goddesses
Ramakrishna Paramhansa was an Indian mystic and yogi during the
19th-century. He was one of the foremost hindu spiritual leaders of
india.
Kocherii R. Narayanan a dalit who became the tenth president of India
from 1997 to 2002.
Sri Aurobindo The great Indian nationalist and philosopher , described
the Upanishads as the “supreme work of the Indian mind.”
Parshurama Brahmin destroyed the warrior class
Sutra Pitaka (Discourse) contains the conventional teaching delivered
by Siddhartha on different occasions. Buddha’s doctrinal discourses;
short poems to long prose narratives about Siddhartha’s previous lives
Vinaya Pitaka (Discipline) contains the disciplinary code required of
Buddhist monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunis).Rules of discipline;
stories that illustrate Buddhist moral principles
Adhidharma Pitaka (Ultimate Doctrine) is a work on moral
psychology.Systematic analysis of the categories of Buddhist thought.
Lotus Sutra the most definitive teachings of the Buddha.
Dharmakaya is identical with perfect enlightenment that is absolute
and beyond existence or non-existence. Body of absolute truth;
absolute nature of all beings
Sambhogakaya is already enlightened but remains distinctive. Body
that experiences bliss of enlightenment
Nirmanakaya is the physical body that undergoes birth, inhabits the
world, and dies in the end. Body that manifests the world; embodiment
of dharmakaya in human form.
Soka Gakkai a religious movement based on the teachings of Nichiren
Buddhism.
Mahasamghika (“of the Great Sangha”), one of the early Buddhist
schools, may have been the source for the initial growth of Mahayana
Buddhism, especially during the “Second Buddhist Council” that
occurred a hundred years after Buddha’s parinirvana.
Delai Lama is the most prominent face of Tibetan Buddhism who has
been living in exile in India since he fled Chinese occupation of Tibet in
1959.
Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism
Vairocana is the great Buddha.
Amitabha the god who supervises over a western paradise, is the focus
of this sect.
Mahamaya a Koliyan princess. Who dreamt of a brilliant white light
shining down on her from the sky.Mahamaya died shortly after giving
birth to Siddhartha.
Mahapajapati Mahamaya's younger sister who became his father’s
second wife and the first woman to request ordination from the
Buddha.
Yasodhara beautiful and refined young woman ,(also Siddhartha’s
cousin), who later gave birth to their son Rahula.
Rahula (Siddhartha's son)
Dharma appropriate behavior
Samsara reincarnation (the cycle of rebirth)
Dukkha may be manifested in misery, distress, agony, emptiness, or
conflict. The Pali term for unsatisfactoriness or suffering is dukkha
Artha the pursuit of legitimate worldly success
Kama the pursuit of legitimate pleasure
Moksha nirvana, release from rebirth
Atman soul
Arhat one who is “worthy of honor.”
Manusmriti the “Laws of Manu” states that women should be honored
in Hindu society, women have always been considered inferior to men
in almost all aspects of life.
