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| the understanding of the nature of the universe |
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| the capacity for seeing things from another's perspective, and an important methodological approach for studying religions |
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| a category of religious experienced by communing or uniting with the divine through inward contemplation |
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| the transmission of the divine will or knowledge to human beings, typically through myths or some form of religious experience |
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| For the Australian original religion, these are supernatural being or deities who emerged and roamed the earth during the time of dreaming, giving shape to the landscape and creating various forms of life. When the word is lowercase, it refers to the deceases, who can assist among the living while requiring religious devotion |
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| common to many religion, an entity such as a mountain, tree, or pole that is believed to connect the heavens and the earth, and is sometimes regarded as the center of the world; cotton wood tree of the plains Indians Sun Dance |
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| "Feathered Serpent" Mesoamerican creator god worshipped at Teotihuacan and by the Toltecs believed by the Aztecs to have presided over a Golden Age. |
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| Capital City if the Aztec Empire, believed to be the center of the world. Home of the Great Temple, or Serpent Mountain. Site of Present Day Mexico City |
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| a means of seeking spiritual power through an encounter with a gaurdian spirit or other medium usually in the form of an animal or other natural entity, following a period of fasting and other forms of denial; common to many primal peoples, including the Lokota and other tribes of the North American Plains |
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| "most sacred" Lakota name for the supreme reality, often referring collectively to sixteen separate deities |
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| material success and social prestige, one of the four goals of life |
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| the eternal self, which the Upanishads identify with Brahman; often lowercase; the eternal Self or should of an individual that is reincarnated from one body to the next and is ultimately identified with atman |
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| Sanskirt: The Song of the Blessed Lord, a short section of the epic poem Mahabharata in which the god Krishna teaches the great warrior Arjuna about bhakti marga and other ways to God; Hunduism's most popular sacred text |
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| "the path of devotion" The most popular of the three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing loving devotion to one's chosen god or goddess |
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| the eternal essence of reality and the source of the universe, beyond the reach of human perception and though |
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| ethical duty based on the divine order of reality; one of the four goals of life |
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| pleasure, especially of sensual love one of the four goals of life |
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| "the path of works" one of the three paths to salvation, emphasizing performing right actions according to dharma |
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| the destroyer, aids humans in liberating themselves from this world through knowledge and discipline |
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| the preserver, upholds orders, depicted with four arms; supreme protector and example of moral protection, takes on different avatars |
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| Libertions or release of the indicidual self, atman from the bondage of smasara; salvation; one of the four goals of like |
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| a trance like state in which self-consciousness is lost and the mind is absorbed into the ultimate reality; the culmination of the eight steps of Yoga |
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| the wheel of rebirth or reincarnation; the this-worldly realm in which rebirths occurs |
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| "sitting near teacher" a collection of over two hundred text composed between 900 and 200 b.c that provide philosophy commentary on the Vedas |
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| consist of the Samhitas (four collections of mantras), each associated with a particular priest or ritual |
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| the extinction of one's sense of separation existence before achieving union with Allah; the aim of Sufi Mystics |
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| specific religious and ethical requirements for Muslims: the Confession of Faith (Shahada), praying or worship fasting during Ramadan, Wealth sharing and the pilgrimage to MEcca |
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| the fifth of the five pillars, the journey to Mecca that all Muslims are to make at least once in their lifetime, if they can afford it and are physically capable |
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| "emigration" the emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina) in the year 622 ce, the founding event of the Muslim community |
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| "leader" the leader of the friday worship service who leads the prayers and delievers a sermon. |
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| "exertion" "struggle" sometimes counted as the sixth pillar of islam, the general spiritual struggle to be a devout Muslim. (holy war) supports only in self defense |
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| the stone cubical structure in the courtyard of the great mosque of mecca, believed to have been built by Abraham and regarded by Muslims as the sacred center of the Earth |
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| "recitation" Islam's primary sacred text, regarded by muslims as the direct works of Allah, revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel |
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| the ninth month of the Islamic calender during which Muslims fast, in accordance with the third of the Five Pillars |
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| the confession of faith the first of the Five Pillars and central creedal statement of Islam "There is no god except God. Muhammad is the messenger of God." |
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| the divine law, derived from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, all-encompassing in scope and setting forth in detail how Muslims are to live. |
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| an adherent of Sufism the form of Islam characterized by a mystical approach to Allah, who is experience inwardly |
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| "custom" or "tradition" the teaching and actions of Muhammad recorded in writings known as hadith which provide the known model for being Muslim; Islam's second most important acuthority |
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