BrahmanIn Hinduism, Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe. In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the immaterial, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists. It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth, consciousness and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. Brahman as a metaphysical concept refers to the single binding unity behind diversity in all that exists in the universe.
Hindu philosophyHindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of Indian philosophical systems developing alongside the religion of Hinduism and emerging in the Iron and Classical periods, which consists of six orthodox schools of thought (shad-darśana): Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta. In Indian tradition, the word used for philosophy is Darshana (viewpoint or perspective), from the Sanskrit root drish ('to see, to experience'). These are also called the āstika philosophical traditions: those that accept the Vedas as an authoritative, important source of knowledge.
KirtanKirtana (कीर्तन ; ), also rendered as Kirtan or Keertan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. With roots in the Vedic anukirtana tradition, a kirtan is a call-and-response style song or chant, set to music, wherein multiple singers recite or describe a legend, or express loving devotion to a deity, or discuss spiritual ideas.
Indian religionsIndian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, are also classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the history of India, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent. Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings.
AcharyaIn Indian religions and society, an acharya (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ācariya) is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a title affixed to the names of learned subject. The designation has different meanings in Hinduism, Buddhism and secular contexts. Acharya is sometimes used to address an expert teacher or a scholar in any discipline, e.g.: Bhaskaracharya, the expert mathematician.
VedantaVedanta (veɪˈdɑːntə; वेदान्त, ), also known as Uttara Mīmāṃsā, is a Hindu philosophical tradition that is one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy. The word "Vedanta" means "end of the Vedas", and encompasses the ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, the speculations and enumerations contained in the Upanishads, with a focus on knowledge and liberation. Vedanta developed into many sub-traditions, all of which base their ideas on the authority of a common group of texts called the Prasthānatrayī , translated as "the three sources": the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.
