ahimsa

In Sanskrit, literally, "noninjury." It is the principle that a person

should do no harm. In Jainism, this restriction includes all living
creatures because they all contain a jiva .
Ascetic*
A general term for a person who denies themselves some of the
necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter. Often such a
person goes to the extreme of rejecting all social norms and
expectations.
Avatar*
A manifestion of a god in an earthly form, usually that of a human or
animal. The god Vishnu has two main avatars: Krishna and Rama,
Atman*
An individual's soul or self. (Also called Jiva). The ultimate goal in
Hinduism is to achieve moksha through the realization that one's
Atman and Brahman are the same thing. This is accomplished through
different types of yoga .
yoga *
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE…In Sanskrit, it literally means "yoke," as
in a yoke used to harness oxen. It refers to an organized form of
discipline that leads to a goal. This discipline usually involves
practices of meditation, mental concentration, exercises of the body
including both ones of control and asceticism. In Hinduism, this goal
is usually that of moksha, the release of the soul from cycle of death
and rebirth (samsara). FIVE types of yoga are important: karma,
jnana, raja, hatha, and bhakti.
bhakti *
Practices of worship or devotion to a Hindu god or goddess.
bhakti yoga *
A type of yoga in which a person worships a god or goddess. The idea
is to approach the divine being by showing one's love through by
worship and by subordinating oneself.
Brahman*
The power behind and within the cosmos that makes it function and
live. Can also be seen as the Ultimate Reality or INFINITE SPIRIT.
There is a link between Brahman-the force behind the cosmos-and the
Atman--the soul of each individual human.

Hatha yoga The form of yoga devoted only to bodily control. In the West, it
is often seen as the only type of yoga and is simply called "yoga."
jnana yoga *
The discipline in which one learns the true nature of the cosmos and
then uses that knowledge to connect oneself with the Atman--the true
nature of Brahman.
karma yoga *
Action / Reaction; Cause / Effect. A discipline of work or "action."
The goal is to achieve moksha through the elimination of one's karma
through work, that is, involvement in life and business.
Mantra
A sequence of sounds used as a focus of meditation. The most famous
mantra is that of "om,"
moksha *
Liberation or release from the cyle of death and rebirth,
Krishna
A god who is one of the avatars of Vishnu. He plays a key role in the
Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata appears the Bhagavad Gita which is
a theological discourse he gives while waiting to go into battle and
describes the basics of karma yoga , jnana yoga , and bhakti yoga .
Sannyasa yoga
The fourth stage of the Hindu understanding of the human life cycle.
In description, this usually follows the stage of retirement. In life,
however, it can be entered at anytime and gives the individual the
opportunity to become an ascetic.
Sanskrit
The language in which the Vedas and other Hindu sacred texts are
written. It is an old Indo-European language like Greek and Latin. .
Transmigration*
This refers to the idea of the transmigration of an individual's soul. It
is also called reincarnation or re-birth. This is the notion that after
death, a person's soul is born-again into another individual (human,
animal, etc.). Based on KARMA
Vedas*
The oldest collection of Hindu sacred texts. They were written
between 1500 and 1000 bce.
Upanishads *
The latest of the writings to be considered part of the Vedic period,
written between the eighth and third centuries BCE.