Ahamkara
Ego
Ahimsa
Non-violence
Ananda
Bliss
Brahma
The Creator among the Hindu trinity
Brahman
The Absolute Reality
Bhakti
Devotion; Love of God
Devi
A name for the Mother Goddess
Dharma
What the universe expects from us; righteousness
Diwali
The Hindu festival of lights; occurs in the Fall
Durga
The Mother Goddess
Ganesha
The son of Parvati and Shiva; form of the Divine with an elephant-face
Hanuman
Rama’s supreme devotee in the Ramayana; adored as a partial incarnation of Shiva
Holi
The Hindu festival of colors; occurs in the Spring
Gita
Refers to the Bhagavad Gita, the “song of Krishna”; the most revered scripture in contemporary Hinduism
Jnana
Spiritual Knowledge
Jnana Yoga
The path of Knowledge
Karma
Any action, including our thought processes or intentions
Karma Yoga
The path of selfless action
Krishna
Eighth incarnation of Vishnu; worshipped as the Supreme God by many Hindus
Lakshmi
Spouse of Vishnu; revered as the Supreme Shakti by Vaishnavas
Moksha
Liberation from the World
Omkar
The symbol (or sound) of the Divine in Hinduism
Parvati
Spouse of Lord Shiva; form of the Mother Goddess
Prakriti
Nature
Rama
Seventh incarnation of Vishnu; worshipped as the Supreme God by many Hindus
Ramanama
The name of Rama; often repeatedly chanted as a mantra
Saraswati
Form of the Mother Goddess who bestows Learning, Arts, and Enlightenment
Shakti
God revered as the Primordial Energy
Shiva
God as the Liberator; worshipped as the Supreme God by many Hindus
Shaiva
Devotee of Shiva
Vishnu
God as the Protector and Preserver, who has ten major incarnations on Earth; worshipped as the Supreme God by many Hindus
Vaishnava
Devotee of Vishnu, Rama, or Krishna
Ved Vyas
The author of the eighteen Puranas and the Mahabharata