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Hinduism. Over the millennia of its development, Hinduism has adopted several iconic symbols, forming part of Hindu iconography, that are imbued with spiritual meaning based on either the scriptures or cultural traditions. The exact significance accorded to any of the icons varies with region, period and denomination of the followers.
The Om symbol, with epigraphical variations, is also found in many Southeast Asian countries. In Southeast Asia, the Om symbol is widely conflated with that of the unalome; originally a representation of the Buddha's urna curl and later a symbol of the path to nirvana, it is a popular yantra in Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Thailand.
Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, even agnostic, atheistic, or humanist. [1][2][3]The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavānand Bhagavati. [4][5][note 1]
A mantra ( Pali: mantra) or mantram ( Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) [1] is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indic language like Sanskrit) believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. [2] [3] Some mantras have a syntactic structure and a ...
A. Afterlife: (or life after death) A generic term referring to a purported continuation of existence, typically spiritual and experiential, beyond this world, or after death. Agnosticism: the view that the existence of God or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. Ahimsa: A religious principle of non-violence and respect for all life.
The lotus is a symbol present throughout Indian religion, signifying purity (due to its ability to emerge unstained from the mud) and spiritual fruition (and thus, awakening). Maṇipadme is preceded by the oṃ syllable and followed by the hūṃ syllable, both interjections without linguistic meaning, but widely known as divine sounds.
Etymology Further information: Hindu The word Hindū is an exonym, and is derived from the Sanskrit root Sindhu, believed to be the name of the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. [note 11] The Proto-Iranian sound change *s > h occurred between 850 and 600 BCE, according to Asko Parpola. [28] According to Gavin Flood, "The actual term Hindu first occurs as a ...
The meaning of spirituality has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man", oriented at "the image of God" as exemplified by the founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world.