Religion in Credo: Hinduism

In Hinduism, the third chief god (with Brahma and Vishnu) making up the Trimurti. As Mahadeva (great lord), he is the creator, symbolized by the phallic lingam, who restores what as Mahakala he destroys. He is often sculpted as Nataraja, performing his fruitful cosmic dance.

Hindu god of prophecy, son of Shiva and Parvati; he is represented as elephant-headed and is worshipped as a remover of obstacles.

Eighth avatar (incarnation) of the Hindu god Vishnu. The devotion of the bhakti movement is usually directed towards Krishna.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Also called Narayana, Vishnu is regarded as the supreme God, of whom other gods are secondary manifestations.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Hindu mythology, the goddess of destruction and creation, and the wife of Shiva.

[Skt.,=song of the Lord], Sanskrit poem incorporated into the Mahabharata, one of the greatest religious classics of Hinduism.

Classical Sanskrit epic of India, probably composed between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200. The Mahabharata, comprising more than 90,000 couplets, usually of 32 syllables, is the longest single poem in world literature.

classical Sanskrit epic of India: "The Story of Rama"

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
The oldest scriptures of Hinduism and the most ancient religious texts in an Indo-European language.

Hindu culture began about 4000 BCE on the Indian subcontinent; today some 900 million followers worldwide practice Hindu traditions, or the “Vedic dispensation.” This religious tradition developed during the first millennium and intertwined with the history and social system of India. Hinduism does not trace its origins to a particular founder, has no prophets, no set creed, and no particular institutional structure. It emphasizes the right way of living (dharma) rather than a set of doctrines, and thus embraces diverse religious beliefs and practices.

[Skt.,=union], general term for spiritual disciplines in Hinduism, Buddhism, and throughout S Asia that are directed toward attaining higher consciousness and liberation from ignorance, suffering, and rebirth.

One of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy. The term "Vedanta" has the literal meaning "the end of the Veda" and refers both to the teaching of the Upanishads, which constitute the last section of the Veda, and to the knowledge of its ultimate meaning.

Belief that after death the human soul or the spirit of a plant or animal may live again in another human or animal.

In both Hinduism and Buddhism, esoteric tradition of ritual and yoga known for elaborate use of mantra, or symbolic speech, and mandala, or symbolic diagrams. Tantric practices use both ritual and meditation to unify the devotee with the chosen deity.

Hindu festival that commemorates a 12-year celestial battle between gods and demons, over a pitcher (kumbh) containing the sacred nectar of immortality (amrit).

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Hinduism, festival in October/November celebrating Lakshmi, goddess of light and wealth, as well as the New Year and the story of the Rāmāyana.

An act of worship in which the deity is invited to descend into its image and is treated as a guest.

A religious system of India which rejects the Hindu tradition of sacrifice, among other Hindu rituals.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
The Ajivikas were an ascetic, atheistic, anti-Brahmanical community whose pessimistic doctrines are related to those of Jainism.