Mindfulness is the Practice of Paying Deliberate Attention

Mindfulness (सचेतन) is the cognitive skill, usually developed through meditation, of sustaining meta-attentive awareness towards the contents of one’s mind…

Shatkarma is the Main Work of Yoga Towards Moksha

Shatkarma (षटकर्म), also known as Shatkriya, is a set of Hatha yoga body purifications to prepare for the main work of yoga towards moksha (liberation). These…

Ethics is the Philosophical Study of Moral Phenomena

Ethics (नैतिकता) is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or…

Kama is the Concept of Pleasure, Enjoyment, and Desire

Kama (काम) is the concept of pleasure, enjoyment, and desire in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It can refer to “desire,…

Samsara is the Cycle of Death and Rebirth

Samsara (संसार) is a Pali and Sanskrit word that means “wandering” as well as “world,” wherein the term connotes “cyclic change” or, less formally, “running around…

Honesty is Absence of Lying, Cheating, and Theft

Honesty (ईमानदारी) or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness (including straightforwardness of conduct: earnestness), and the…

Dharma Refers to Order and Custom That Sustain Life

Dharma (धर्म) is a key concept with multiple meanings in the Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, among others. Although no single-word translation exists for dharma in English (or…

Sannyasa is the Life of Renunciation

Sannyasa (संन्यास), sometimes spelled Sanyasa or Sanyasi (for the person), is the life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four…

Advaita Vedanta is One Version of Vedanta

Advaita Vedanta (अद्वैत वेदान्त) is a Hindu Sadhana, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of…

Tantra and Spiritualized Yogic Sexuality

Tantra (तन्त्र) is the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed in India from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term tantra, in the Indian traditions,…