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| Noninjury, nonviolence, noncoersion; a reverence for all life. |
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| A nomadic group that migrated into India in 1800-1500 B.C.E., conquered the Dravidians, and began the caste system. |
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| The eternal self or soul, identical to Brahman; the self or inner essence of the universe and of man. |
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| The "descent" of the divine; the incarnation of Vishnu in different animal and human forms. Traditionally there are ten. |
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| "Song Celestial"; scriptural text from the Mahabharata concerning Krishna who teaches the ways of salvation particularly through devotion. Perhaps the most influential of all Hindu scriptures. |
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| The creator god, who is one of the Hindu Trimurti. |
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| The absolute; the ultimate ground underlying everything; the reality that is the source of all being and all knowing. |
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| The priests of Hinduism; the highest of the social castes. |
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| Prehistoric inhabitants of India who initially lived in the Indus Valley and were later conquered by Indo-Aryans. |
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| Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha |
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| The popular name of ISKCON and its adherents. |
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| "Children of God"; the "out-castes" of India, who were given this name by Gandhi; also known as "untouchables." |
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| International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) |
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| A movement centered in devotion to Krishna, who is worshiped through service, study, meditation, and chanting. |
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| The moral law of cause and effect by which one reaps what one sows. All of one's deeds, from all of one's lives, are balanced against each other to determine the nature of one's next incarnation. |
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| The eight avatar of Vishnu which reestablishes dharma. Inner Lord who personifies spiritual love and lives in the hearts of all beings. |
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| A member of the warrior caste; the second caste. |
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| The "great mantra" chanted by adherents of ISKCON. |
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| The father of humanity; the Hindu equivalent of Adam and Noah.Reputed author of the Laws of Manu, a classic text of Indian juridical theory. |
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| The illusion that there is a reality apart from the one reality of Brahman-Atman. |
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| A technique of transcending the senses to bring one to release; also, release itself. It is the name of the fourth permissible goal of life. |
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| The oneness with Brahman-Atman which extinguishes any sense of individuality and is attained when one is released from the cycle of reincarnation. |
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| Hindu scripture telling the story of the heroic exploits of Rama, an avatar of the god Vishnu. |
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| India's first religious text, one of the four Vedas; product of Indo-Aryan thought. |
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| The experience of oneness with Brahman-Atman attainable in this life; the experience of enlightenment which guarantees release from the round of rebirths at death. |
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| "The Destroyer," the third member of the Trimurti. |
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| The body of primary revelation in the Hindu scriptural canon, consisting of the four Vedas, the Upanishads, the Aranyakas, and the Brahmanas. |
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| The Indian prince who founded Buddhism; considered by Hindus as the ninth avatar of Vishnu. |
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| All Hindu scripture not comprised in the shruti, such as the Puranas, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and law codes such as that of Manu. |
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| The fourth Hindu caste, consisting of slaves, servants, or menial workers. |
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| The Hindu trinity of gods: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. |
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| Ancient mystical documents found at the end of each of the four Vedas. |
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| A member of the third Hindu caste; a merchant. |
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| Scriptural books of hymns, charms, and formulas used in Hindu worship; these constitute some of the oldest of the Hindu scriptures. |
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| The second deity of the Hindu Trimurti; the preserver. Personal experience of Brahman-Atman and is often worshiped through his two avatars, Krishna and Rama. |
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