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Non-English Words with their meanings

Abhyasa

- repetition; practice; study

Abu Ben Adhem - a saintly Muslim character, the creation of Leigh Hunt's poetic imagination, who is represented as one who, though he was content to be known merely as a lover of his fellowmen, found his name in the recording angel's book leading the list of those who loved the Lord
Adi Parva - first book of the Hindu epic, Mahabharata
Advaita - Hindu philosophy of Non-dualism
Advaitist - a believer in non-dualism
Agiari - Zoroastrian fire-temple
Ahimsa -non-violence
Ahriman - Spirit of Evil, in Zoroastrian religion
Ahurmazd - Zoroastrian name of God
Akash - ether; sky
Allah - Muslim name of God
Amanifvam - humility
Ananda - joy
Anekantavada - belief in many doctrines; skepticism
Anekaniavadi - a believer in many doctrines; a sceptic
Arya Samaj - a Hindu reformist organization founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in the last century
Ashram - abode of a spiritual teacher; hermitage; one of the four stages of life according to Hinduism
Avatara - incarnation of God
Ayodhya - capital of the kingdom of Rama, the epic hero
Bansi - flute
Bhagavadgita - The Song Celestial, a highly philosophical poem of 700 verses which occurs in the Mahabharata and in which Krishna, incarnate God, discourses on eternal verities
Bhajan - hymn; singing of hymns
Bhakta - a devotee
Bhakti - devotion
Brahma - Hindu name of God, the Creator
Brahmachari - a celibate; one who lives a life of self-restraint
Brahmacharya - celibacy; continence; life of self-restraint
Brahman - God
Brahmana - member of the first (priestly) caste among Hindus
Brahmaputra - a river of north-eastern India
Chaitanya - Bengali religious reformer of the 15th century A. D. who preached Bhakti or devotion to God
Chapati - thin, flat cake made of floor
Charya - conduct; practice
Chit - knowledge
Dada Hormazda - Zoroastrian name of God
Daridranarayana - God in the form of the poor
Dasharatha - King of Ayodhya and father of Rama, the epic hero
Dayananda - Swami Dayananda Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj
Devadhideva - God of Gods
Deva, Devata - god
Dharma - religion; law of one's being; duty
Dvaita - Hindu philosophy of Dualism
Dvaitism - doctrine of Dualism
Ganga - well-known sacred river of northern India
Gayatri - sacred Vedic Mantra (or formula) which is recited by orthodox Hindus in their daily worship
Gita - same as Bhagavadgita
Guru - teacher; religious preceptor
Hanuman - monkey-chief of the epic Ramayana, whom Hindus venerate as a divinity
Harishchandra - an ancient Hindu king who sacrificed his all for the sake of truth
Hirrtsa - violence
Imam Hasan and Imam Husain - saintly sons of Hazrat Ali, son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad
Ishwara - Hindu name for God
Islam - religion founded by Prophet Muhammad
Jainism - an ancient religion of India propagated by 24 Tirthankars or Saviours, the first of whom was Rishabha and the last Mahavira, who was a contemporary of Buddha in the 6th century B. C. One of the cardinal doctrines of Jainism is Ahimsa or Non-violence
Janaka - an ancient Hindu king who was a great philosopher
Janmashtami - birthday of Shri Krishna, Hindu incarnation of God, to whom the Bhagavadgita or The Song Celestial is ascribed
Japa - silent repetition
Jehova - Hebrew name of God
Judaism - the religion of the Jews
Kabir - poet-saint of northern India who lived in the 15th century A. D. and who preached the essential unity of the Godhead and harmony of all religions
Kalma - a Muslim formula of prayer
Karmayogi - a follower of the path of selfless action
Khuda - Muslim name for God
Koran - Book of Revelation of Islam
Krishna - central figure of the epic, Mahabharata, who is venerated by Hindus as God incarnate
Lila - play
Mahabharata - Hindu epic of about 1,00,000 verses, the central theme of which is the great war between the Pandavas and their cousins the Kauravas, who were rival claimants to the throne of Hastinapur (ancient Delhi)
Mandir - Hindu temple
Mantra - a sacred text or formula
Manu - ancient Hindu law-giver
Maya - illusion; divine power
Moksha - liberation; freedom from birth and death
Namaz - daily prayer of Muslims
Nanak - founder of Sikhism (1469-1538 or 1539 A. D.)
Narasinha Mehta - poet-saint of Gujarat who lived in the 15th century
Nirvana - final emancipation from sway of passions; Buddhist goal of life
Niyamas - rules of conduct
Omkar - the sacred and mystic syllable
Om Paramatma - the Supreme Self or God
Pariahs - 'untouchables' among Hindus
Prahlad - son of a mythological demon-king and devotee of God Vishnu, who faced dreadful ordeals in defence of his faith, remaining steadfast to the end
Puranas - Hindu mythological books
Rahaman - Muslim name of God
Rahim - Muslim name of God
Rama, Ramachandra - hero of the epic, Ramayana, who is regarded as an incarnation of God by Hindus
Ramakrishna - Bengali saint (1836-86 A.D.) who taught the oneness of the Godhead and the basic harmony of all religions. The Ramakrishna Mission is named after him
Ratnanama - name of Rama (i.e. God)
Ramayana - Hindu epic which relates the story of the abduction of Sita, wife of Rama, prince of Ayodhya, by Ravana, demon-king of Lanka, and her rescue by Rama after the destruction of the demon
Ramanuja - Hindu philosopher-saint of the 11th century A. D. who was an exponent of Vishishtadvaita or qualified Monism
Sanatani - a follower of orthodox Hinduism
Sannyasa - renunciation of worldly ties
Sanskaras - innate tendencies inherited from past lives
Sarvodaya - welfare of all
Sat - truth; that which exists
Sat-Chit-Ananda - Truth-Knowledge-Bliss
Sattika - endowed with goodness; virtuous
Satya - truth
Satyagraha - recourse to truth-force or soul-force
Satyavan - husband of Savitri, heroine of well-known mythological episode. She wins back his life from Yama, the god of death
Savitri - heroine of the Satyavan-Savitri episode
Shankara - Hindu philosopher of the 8th century A. D. who was an exponent of Advaita or Absolute Non-Dualism; a name of the Deity
Shankaracharya - same as Shankara; also a member of the order of monks founded by Shankara
Shastra - Hindu scripture
Shastri - one versed in scriptures
Shuddhi - lit. - "purification"; conversion to Hindu faith
Shudra - member of the fourth of menial caste among Hindus
Sthitaprajna - one who is firmly established in transcendental knowledge
Surdas - blind Hindi poet-saint of northern India who lived in the 16th century A. D.
Syadvada - philosophy of "probability" in matters of perception by the senses; a form of scepticism. Which is professed by a section of Jain thinkers
Syadvadi - a believer in Syadvada
Tabligh - propaganda and conversion to Islam
Tapas - penance; religious austerity
Trappist - an order of Christian monks who observe the vow of silence
Tulsidas - Hindi poet of northern India who lived in the 16th century A.D. and whose work
Ramacharitamanasa - recounting the story of the epic hero, Rama, has become universally popular with Hindus
Upanishads - ancient philosophical treatises which are believed by Hindus to contain revealed truth
Vairagya - aversion to worldly life
Vaishnava - a devotee of God Vishnu, the "Preserver" among the Hindu Trinity
Varnashrama - four-fold division of Hindu society
Vedas - most ancient scriptures of Hindus which are believed to embody revealed truth
Vedic - belonging to Vedas
Vishnu - the "Preserver" among Hindu Trinity
Vyasa - compiler of the Vedas and author of the Mahabharata
Yajna - sacrifice
Yamuna - a river of northern India, hallowed by its associations with Krishna, the Hindu incarnation
Zend Avesta - Zoroastrian scripture
Zoroaster - founder of Zoroastrian religion which is professed by the Parsees of India. He is also known as Zarathustra or Zerdusht