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| A section of the Mahabharata epic recounting a conversation between Krishna [avatar of the god Vishnu] and the warrior Arjuna, in which Krishna explains the nature of God and the human soul |
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| A popular epic about the exploits of Krishna as child wonder worker, lover, and king, |
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| An epic recounting the life of Lord Rama, an incarnation of the god Vishnu and the rescue of his wife Sita from the demon Ravana, |
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| Literature like the Vedas including the philosophical Upanishads or the guide to rituals found in the Brahmanas that are viewed to be heard or revealed to the authors. |
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| Literature like the Gita or the Ramayana viewed as remembered, revealed but humanly composed |
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| A sacred esoteric text or school with spiritual practices honoring the divine in female form and focusing on controversial ritual practices, some of them sexual |
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| Philosophical texts in the form of reported conversations on the theory of the Vedic ritual and the nature of knowledge |
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| The four collections of hymns and ritual texts that constitute the oldest and most highly respected Hindu sacred literature |
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| Ignorance. The problem for humans is not sin but ignorance of the true reality of existence |
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| Individual soul or self, held by Upanishadic and Vedantic thought to be identical with Brahman, the world soul, |
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| Belief that there is one godness but different paths or expression of the one God. |
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| the law of cause and effect that keeps the wheel or reincarnation turning |
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| Condition of all persons in a cycle of birth and rebirth or reincarnation |
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| Loving and intense devotion to a deity seen as a gracious being who enters the world for the benefit of humans and one of the works to liberation explained in the Bhagavad Gita, |
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| Knowledge [particularly through meditation], one of the three avenues [paths, works, marga] to liberation explained in the Bhagavad Gita. |
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| One of the three paths to liberation explained in the Bhagavad Gita, the path of works, duty or obligation. Also, the law of cause and effect that keeps the wheel or reincarnation turning. |
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| Short, specific verses to be recited by priests in the context of their duties at sacrifices or the chanting of powerful words in Buddhism. |
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| Gift from the deity, especially food that has been presented to the god’s temple image, blessed and returned to the devotee, |
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| A practice and discipline that may involve a philosophical system and mental concentration as well as physical postures and exercises |
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| Varanasi or Benares or Kasi. |
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| Located in Uttar Pradesh. Hindu Holy City. Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganga River remits sins and that dying in the city ensures release of a person’s soul from the cycle of transmigrations. Ashes brought to the Ganga for ritual submersion. |
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| The ritual act of being granted the seeing of a sacred image, person or place. |
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| Festival of light in October-November, when lamps are lit. The main religious event if the worship of Laksmi, the Goddess of wealth in Hindu mythology, |
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| Spring festival celebrated by throwing brightly colored water or powder, on basic level an agricultural festival of fertility |
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| Nine nights, an autumn festival of worship and dance honoring the Goddess Shakti/Devi |
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| The elephant headed god of wisdom and good fortune. Represented as a pot-bellied king with the head of a one-tusked elephant |
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| In Hinduism the lotus represents beauty, and also non-attachment |
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| Portrayal of Shiva as a cosmic dancer. Shiva has four hands. One of the right hands holds an hourglass-shaped drum, symbolizing sound—both speech and the divine truth heard through revelation. The other right hand is making a gesture that grants fearlessness to the devotee. One of the left hands holds a flame, symbolizing the destruction of the world at the end time. The feet grant salvation and are worshipped to obtain union with Shiva. The left foot, representing the refuge of the devotee, is raised, signifying liberation. The other left hand points to this foot. [Oxford—World Religions]. |
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| Syllable chanted in meditation, interpreted as representing ultimate reality, or the universe, or the relationship of the devotee to the deity |
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| a dot or mark on the forehead made with colored powder, |
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