Truth Is God

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