It is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin — sometimes summarized under the umbrella term of Dharmic faiths — including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

The term ‘ Hindu ’ came to include persons professing any Indian religion ( i. e. Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism or Sikhism ) after India became an independent country

While the general concept of a " Spirit " that permeates the cosmos is a general feature of most religions ( e. g. Brahman in Hinduism and Tao in Taoism and Great Spirit among Indigenous peoples of the Americas ), the term Holy Spirit specifically refers to the beliefs held in the Abrahamic religions.

Hinduism uses the terms Aikantya, Apamarga, Brahma-upalabdhi, Sahaj, Sakshatkara, Sayujya, Videhalcivalyam and Yogakshemma, while Buddhism also uses the term Bodhi.

The formalization of this term in the West in the 18th century was of course not new ; philosophical treatises had been written on it in the context of Hinduism for millennia.

The actual process of change from one life to the next is called punarbhava ( Sanskrit ) or punabbhava ( Pāli ), literally " becoming again ", or more briefly bhava, " becoming ", and some English-speaking Buddhists prefer the term " rebirth " or " re-becoming " to render this term as they take " reincarnation " to imply a fixed entity that is reborn .< ref >" Reincarnation in Buddhism: What the Buddha Didn't Teach " By Barbara O ' Brien, About. com < sup > Popular Jain cosmology and Buddhist cosmology as well as a number of schools of Hinduism posit rebirth in many worlds and in varied forms.

In Hinduism, the term sin ( in Sanskrit ) is often used to describe actions that create negative karma by violating moral and ethical codes, which automatically brings negative consequences.

This term is probably a central one in Hinduism.

Gandharva is a name used for distinct mythological beings in Hinduism and Buddhism ; it is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music.

Indeed this term can be seen as the original name of Hinduism, the latter being a term invented by ancient Persians.

Under the term ' Sanātana Dharma '-- the eternal law — the concept of a philosophy which is ' authorless ' but perceived by the great ancient seers, has been a fundamental concept of Hinduism for over two thousand years.

Bahun is a colloquial Nepali term for a member of the Pahari or " hill " Brahmin ( ब ् र ा ह ् मण ) caste, who are traditionally educators, scholars and priests of Hinduism.

Savarkar created the term Hindutva, and emphasized its distinctiveness from Hinduism which he associated with social and political disunity.

" hearing, listening "), often spelled sruti or sruthi mainly in South India, is a term that describes the sacred texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism and is one of the three main sources of dharma and therefore is also influential within Hindu Law.

Judaism and Hinduism, for example, do not include this term in their vocabulary.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit term ब ी ज bīja ( Jp.

In Vajrayana Buddhism and Hinduism, the term bīja is used for mystical " seed syllables " contained within mantras.

In Hinduism the term Brahman or Parabrahman is often used, while, in other cases, the proper name for a deity is given special significance as a true name of God or incorporated from earlier beliefs, as in the case of the Native American appellation Gitche Manitou.

The term religious communism has been ascribed to the social arrangement practiced by many orders of monks and nuns of such religions as Christianity, Taoism, Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

A sadhu in Haridwar, India, during Kumbha Mela. In Hinduism, sadhu is a common term for a mystic, an ascetic, practitioner of yoga ( yogi ) and / or wandering monks.

Avatar is a term used in Hinduism for a material manifestation of a deity.

In Saivite traditions of Hinduism, the term is used as part of the compound " Maheshvara " (" great lord ") as a name for Shiva.

In Hinduism, incarnation generally refers to an Avatar of Vishnu, the preserver in the Trimurti.

In Hinduism, Andhaka ( अ ं धक ) often refers to a malevolent demon.

* In Hinduism, lokapāla refers to the Guardians of the Directions associated with the four cardinal directions.

In certain dharmic spiritual traditions such as Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna, or brow, chakra.

In Hinduism, Brahmin refers to the class of educators and preachers.

The second, and most common meaning of the word, refers to the sacred ancient literature of Hinduism, the Vedas, a collection of hymns, poetry and Hindu ceremonial formulae ( Veda ).

In Hinduism, a murti ( Devanagari: म ू र ् त ि), or murthi, or vigraha or pratima typically refers to an image that expresses a Divine Spirit ( murta ).

Powell stated that Sanat Kumara ( whom he refers to as the Lord of the World ) is in continuous telepathic rapport with the Spirit of the Earth ( i. e., the Planetary Logos – equivalent to the goddess known in some religions as Gaia or as Prithivi in Hinduism ). C. W.

The physical plane or physical universe, in emanationist metaphysics taught in Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Hinduism and Theosophy, refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter: the physical universe in Occultism and esoteric cosmology is the lowest or densest of a series of planes of existence.

The name Durga can refer to a specific aspect of the Goddess but in the Shakti forms of Hinduism generally refers to the Great Goddess as AdyaShakti: the primoridal Shakti who incorporates all aspects.

The Sanskrit word smṛti स ् म ृ त ि ( also transliterated variously as smriti, smRti, or sm ' Rti ) literally means " that which is remembered ", and refers both to " mindfulness " in Buddhism and " a category of metrical texts " in Hinduism, considered second in authority to the Śruti scriptures.

* In Hinduism, according to the Laws of Manu, " householder " ( grihastha ) refers to the second of four stages ( ashrama ) of life, typified by marriage, children and financial stability.

Shaktipat or Śaktipāta ( Sanskrit, from sakti-"( psychic ) energy "-and pāta, " to fall ") refers in Hinduism to the conferring of spiritual " energy " upon one person by another.

In Hinduism, when used as a technical term in Raja Yoga, the phrase samādhi refers to a particular type of samādhi that Heinrich Zimmer distinguishes from other states as follows:

* Marga in Hinduism refers to a way of accomplishing something such as yoga or sadhana

The physical plane ( actually hyperplane ), physical world, or physical universe, in emanationist metaphysics such as are found in Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Hinduism and Theosophy, refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter: the physical universe in Occultism and esoteric cosmology is the lowest or densest of a series of planes of existence ( hyperplanes that are said to be nested ).

In Hinduism and Buddhism, rūpa ( Sanskrit ; Pāli ; Devanagari: ; ) generally refers to material objects, particularly in regards to their appearance.

It also sometimes refers to reverting to Hinduism after converting from Hinduism to another religion.

In Hinduism, ( Sanskrit प ु र ु ष ा र ् थ: " that which is sought by man ; human purpose, aim, or end ") refers to a goal, end or aim of human existence.