| A | B |
|---|
| Banyan tree | a tree with roots that grow down from the branches into the ground to form new secondary trunks |
| Brahmins | priests |
| Shruti | “the most sacred |
| Shiva | the Destroying god |
| Vishnu | the Preserving god |
| Sanskrit | “the language of the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures |
| Karma | the quality of somebody's current and future lives as determined by that person's behavior in this and in previous lives |
| Samsara | “the endless cycle of birth |
| Mantra | “a sacred word |
| Brahman | “ultimate impersonal reality underlying everything in the universe |
| Atman | “a person's essence or real self |
| Maya | “mind |
| Avatar | “an incarnation of a Hindu deity in human or animal form |
| Ramayana | epic poem about adventures of Rama |
| Moksha | the spiritual goal of release from reincarnation |
| Diwali | the festival of lights |
| Holi | the festival of colors |
| Sikhism | a blending of Hinduism and Islam |
| Puja | “daily devotion consisting of a ritual offering of food |
| Jainism | a blending of Hinduism and Buddhism |
| Brahma | creator god |
| mutri | statue, image, picture of a Hindu deity |
| Yantra | an instrument used in meditation |
| dharma | one's duty in life |
| Smriti | means "to be remembered" |
| Ganges River | holiest place for Hindus |
