When I started studying Vedānta, one of the things that bothered me most was not understanding the Sanskrit terms. The teacher would say "ātman," "avidyā," "adhyāsa" — and I would be trying to mentally translate while the teaching passed me by.
With time, I realized the path is not to translate. It is to incorporate. When you absorb the meaning of a Sanskrit term, it functions as a thinking tool — far more precise than any translation.
Here are 30 words every Vedānta student encounters repeatedly. Do not try to memorize everything at once. Use this as a living reference and come back whenever needed.
Terms about reality
1. Brahman — the total, unlimited, attribute-free reality. It is not a god, not an entity. It is the substratum of everything that exists.
2. Ātman — the real "I." Not the person, not the mind, not the body. The pure consciousness that is the essential nature of every being. Vedānta teaches that ātman is Brahman.
3. Māyā — the power that makes Brahman (unlimited) appear as the universe (limited). It is not "illusion" in the sense of "does not exist." The world exists — but not the way it appears.
4. Sat — existence. That which is, which never ceases to be.
5. Cit — consciousness. Not "my consciousness" — consciousness as a fundamental principle of reality.
6. Ānanda — fullness, completeness. Not "pleasure." It is the absence of lack that is the nature of ātman.
7. Sat-cit-ānanda — existence-consciousness-fullness. The definition of Brahman/ātman in the Upaniṣads.
Terms about ignorance and error
8. Avidyā — ignorance. Not "stupidity" — it is the non-knowledge of one's own nature. It is the cause of all suffering according to Vedānta.
9. Adhyāsa — superimposition. The error of attributing to ātman what belongs to body/mind, and vice versa. "I am fat," "I am sad" — that is adhyāsa.
10. Saṃsāra — the cycle of seeking, achieving, dissatisfaction, and seeking again. It does not refer only to "reincarnation" — it is the psychological pattern of every human being.
11. Duḥkha — suffering, discomfort, dissatisfaction. The fundamental problem that leads someone to seek Vedānta.
12. Kartā — the agent, the "doer." The identification with being the one who performs actions.
Terms about the path
13. Jñāna — knowledge. In Vedānta, it is not information — it is the direct knowledge of one's own nature.
14. Jñāna-yoga — the path of knowledge. The primary means of Vedānta.
15. Karma-yoga — the attitude of offering actions to Īśvara and receiving results as prasāda. Prepares the mind for jñāna.
16. Bhakti — devotion. It is not religious emotion — it is the recognition of the total order (Īśvara) and surrender to that order.
17. Viveka — discrimination between the real (nitya) and the transient (anitya).
18. Vairāgya — dispassion. It is not rejection — it is the inner freedom that comes from viveka.
19. Śraddhā — trust. In the teacher, in the teaching, in oneself as a candidate for knowledge.
20. Mumukṣutva — the burning desire for freedom (mokṣa). It is what differentiates a curious person from a serious student.
Terms about the teaching
21. Guru — teacher. Literally, "the one who removes the darkness (of ignorance)." In Vedānta, guru is one who has mastered the method (sampradāya) and the texts.
22. Śiṣya — student. One who has the inner preparation to receive the teaching.
23. Śravaṇa — listening to the teaching directly from the guru. The first step of study.
24. Manana — reflection to remove doubts about what was heard.
25. Nididhyāsana — assimilation. Integrating the knowledge into life, dissolving old thought patterns.
Terms about Īśvara and the universe
26. Īśvara — the "Lord." Brahman associated with māyā — the intelligence governing the universe. Not an old bearded man in the sky.
27. Jagat — the universe, the manifest world.
28. Dharma — the cosmic order. Also refers to individual duty and universal ethical laws. It is what sustains everything.
29. Karma — action and its results. The universal law that every action produces a proportional result.
30. Mokṣa — freedom. It is not going somewhere. It is recognizing that you are already free — always have been.
How to use this list
Do not memorize. Use it as a living reference. When you hear "ātman" in a class, come back here. When you read "avidyā" in a text, check the meaning. With time, these terms will become as natural as any word in English.
If you want to understand why Sanskrit is so important to Vedānta, read what is Sanskrit and why learn Sanskrit to study Vedānta.
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