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Sacred
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Set apart for worship of a deity or as worthy of worship
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Profane
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Nonreligious.
OUtside the Sphere of Religion.
Contemptuous of Religion
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Secular
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Not spiritual or religious
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Myth
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Story dealing with supernatural beings that represents the worldview of a people.
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Epic
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A narrative poem celebrating the acts of a traditional hero.
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Rituals
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Prescribed religious ceremonies
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Scriptures
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Sacred writings
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Rite of Passage
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A prescribed ceremonial act or series of acts.
The sign that a person is passing from one stage of life to another.
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Vedas
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Hinduism.
Knowledge or wisdom.
Scriptures
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Dravidians
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Hinduism
Dark-skinned inhabitants of India.
They differed from the light -skinned Arayans who entered from the northwest
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Arayans
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Hinduism
Indo-Europeans who entered the Indus Valley prior to 1000 BCE.
They expressed their evolving religion in the hymns of the rig-veda
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Varna
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Hinduism
Color once associated with caste
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Caste
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Hinduism
Permanent social group into which a person is born.
Social and religious obligations are determined for a lifetime by caste.
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Shruti
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Hinduism
Sacred Writings, such as the Vedas, based on what Hindu writers "heard" in revelation.
These writings are revealed knowledge.
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Brahmanas
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Hinduism
Commentaries and manuals prepared to instruct priests in the rites associated with the Vedas.
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Aranyakas
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Hinduism
A philosophical section interpreting ritual of the Vedas for ascetics living in the forest.
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Upanishads
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Hinduism
Sitting closely to a teacher; the last of the Vedas.
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Vedanda
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Hinduism
The end of the Vedas.
A name for schools of philosophy founded on teachings of the Upanishads.
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Agamas
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Hinduism
Scriptures from tradition.
These writings divide according to the deity worshipped in each
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Manu
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Hinduism
The first man
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Itihasa-Purana
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Hinduism
Ancient. 18 Puranas honor Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu
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Mahabharta
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Hinduism
A long epic powm featuring activities of the god Krishna
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Ramayana
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Hinduism
An epic of the ideal man, Rama, and Sita the ideal woman.
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Purusha
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Hinduism
Primal spirit, or soul of an individual
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Agni
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Hinduism
Fire
The Vedic god of fire.
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Indra
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Hinduism
Agod of the Rig-Veda. The Creator and ruler of the universe
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Soma
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Hinduism
Hindu deity of a plant that was intoxicating.
In the Vedas soma was used in worship
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Varuna
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Hinduism
Rig-Veda god of the high-arched sky.
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Rita
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Hinduism
God of order and priciples
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Mitra
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Hinduism
A deity of the Vedas.
A god of faithfulness and keeping promises.
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Brahmin
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Hinduism
name of the highest, priestly caste.
After the aryans were settled in India, the priests became more important than the warriors of the Kshatriya caste
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Brahman
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Hinduism
The highest diety, the Absolute
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Maya
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Hinduism
Appearance or illusion; power of creation
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Guru
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Hinduism
teacher of religous duties. For a student the guru represents the divine in human form
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Prakriti
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Hinduism
it refers to matter, as oppoosed to purusha(spirit)
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Moksha
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Hinduism
The release of the sould from a cycle of rebirths. It is one of the four acceptable goals of life for hindus
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saguna Brahman
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Hinduism
Form of Brahman with personlike qualities
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nirguna Brahman
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Hinduism
Brahman as himself...without attributes(impersonal)
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Kalpa
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Hinduism
a long period of the created world.
one world ends and a new period begins with another creation
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Reincarnation
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Hinduism
the soul leaves one body at death and is reborn in a new body. The soul remains the same.
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Law of Karma
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Hinduism
The inexorable principle in hinduism that a person's thoughts and deeds are followed eventually by desereved pleasure or pain.
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Samsara
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Hinduism
Concept of the wheel of rebirth that turms forever. Souls are reborn until they reach perfection
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Shudra
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Hinduism
the fourth caste, laborers. not even permitted to hear the readings of the Vedas.
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Vaishya
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Hinduism
The third hindu caste, that of merchants and artisans.
Its members participate in the Vedic practices of religion.
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Kshatriya
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Hinduism
Caste of Warriors and administrators. Originally highest caste but later subordinate to the Brahmins.
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Krishna
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Hinduism
An incarnation of Vishnu, who is also the chariot driver of the warrior arjuna of the Bhagavad Gita
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Yoga
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Hinduism
a path of discipline, four disciplines lead to release from rebirth
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Jnana Yoga
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Hinduism
Path of release based on intellectual knowledge.
Jnana yoga appeals to people who emphasize rational understanding of religious beliefs.
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Bhakti Yoga
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Hinduism
Personal devotion to deity. A path that leads to salvation
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Samadhi
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Hinduism
Concentration that unifies: absorption
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