Classical Indian Philosophy

Vocabulary List, Week 4

Advaita -- अद्वैत -- non-dualism, non-duality; one of the branches of Vedānta philosophy.

Avidyā -- अविद्य -- ignorance; according to Advaita, the true nature of things.

Dvaita -- द्वैत -- dualism, duality; one of the branches of Vedānta philosophy.

Itihāsa -- इतिहास -- history; literally, 'so it was'; a subcategory of kāvya, which includes the Rāmāyana and the Mahābhārata.

Jīva -- जीव  -- living being; similar to but distinct from atman, which refers to the 'cosmic self', as he individual living being.

Kāma -- काम -- desire, wish, longing.

Kāvya -- काव्य -- epic poetry.

Kṛṣṇa -- कृष्ण  --  the eighth, complete avatar of Lord Vishnu (the supreme God of the Vaishnavites, one of the three principal branches of Hinduism); the one who reveals knowledge to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gītā.

Māya -- माय -- Illusion; the physical and mental reality of everyday consciousness.   

Mokṣa -- मोक्ष -- liberation, release (specifically, liberation from saṅsāra).

Pramāņa -- प्रमाण -- means of obtaining knowledge; as contrasted with the pramātŗ, the knower or subject of knowledge; and prameya, the thing known or the object of knowledge.

Mīmāṃsā -- मीमांसा -- also known as 'Purva Mīmāṃsā' or 'Prior Investigation'; one of the Orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, explicates the mantras of the Samhita and the Brahmanas.

Saṅsāra -- संसार -- continuous flow; cycle of birth and death; reincarnation.  

Tat tvam asi -- तत्त्वमसि -- 'that thou art'; a central idea of the Chandogya Upanishad, holding that the self is identical with the whole.

Triguṇa -- त्रिगुण -- the three primary qualities of Prakṛti, namely sattva, the truth that attaches to happiness and knowledge; rajas, the instinct associated with action; tamas, the darkness arising from ignorance.

Vedānta -- वेदान्त -- literally, 'the end of the Vedas'; also known as Uttarā Mīmāṃsā or 'Posterior Investigation'; one of the Orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, explicates the Aranyakas and the Upanishads.

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