| Term | Meaning |
| Abhay-dan, Abhaya-dana | To free from all fears whatsoever. Swami Samarth says "Dont fear, I am with you" - such an unconditional promise by divine power is called Abhay-dan or Abhaya-dana |
| Adhikari | Authorized and supreme |
| Adhyatmik | Spiritual |
| Adi-Guru | First teacher |
| Advaita | Oneness, Nonduality |
| Agni | Fire; Sacred fire or Fire God |
| Agnihotra | Vedic Yagnya - healing fire |
| Aham Brahma Asmi | I am the Absolute. This is one of the four Mahavakyas (great utterances): "Prajnanam brahma" (consciousness is the Absolute); "aham brahma asmi" (I am the Absolute); "tat twam asi" (that thou art); "ayam atma brahma" (the Self is the Absolute) |
| Ahankar | Ego, Egoism |
| Ahimsa, Ahinsa | Non-violence |
| Amma | Mother, often used in the names of Goddesses or a female Guru |
| Amrit, Amrut, Amrta | Nectar that is believed to bestow immortality |
| Anand, Paramanand | Supreme bliss, bliss of union with the divine |
| Ananda Svarupa | Bliss itself |
| Ang, Anga | Limb. There are various limbs of Niyama (discipline) and Yama (self-restraint). Ex - Internal saucha (purity) is the first anga or limb of Niyama (discipline) or Aparigraha is the fifth limb of Yama (self-restraint). |
| Anitya | Temporary or not permanent |
| Anna | Food, Rice |
| Antahkarana | Antahkarana is a broad term used in Vedanta. It includes Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (memory) and Ahamkara (egoism or self-asserting principle).
Ahamkara (ego) - identifies the Atman (self) with the body as 'I' or 'me' or 'mine'; Buddhi (intellect) - controls decision making; Manas (mind) - controls sankalpa (will or resolution); Chitta (memory) - deals with remembering and forgetting |
| Anugraha | Grace, Grace of a Guru |
| Anusandhan | Conscious remembrance |
| Aparigraha | non-Covetousness, non acceptance of gifts, Non-possessiveness. Aparigraha is the fifth limb of yama (self-restraint). It is a mental state (Bhava), wherein the sensual craving is dead. It is the complete absence of craving to possess and enjoy sensual objects. Absence of desire to own something that you do not have and that belongs to someone else. Aparigraha is the opposite of Parigraha. Parigraha leads to anxiety to preserve, to fear of loss, to sorrow in loss, to hatred, anger, untruthfulness, stealing, etc. Aparigraha puts an end to all these defects and bestows peace, contentment and satisfaction. |
| Aranyaka Vedic | Forest texts or writings |
| Arjuna | One of the 5 sons of Pandu, beloved Bhakta (devotee) of Lord Krishna and to whom the Bhagavad Gita was told by Lord Krishna on the battle field. |
| Artha | Worldly wealth, pursuit of wealth, fame and social status |
| Arti | Worshiping the God using candle lights |
| Aryans | Supposed to be migrant invaders of India from approximately 1500 BC; people of spiritual values. This theory
has been proved wrong and appears to be propaganda of the Western civilizations to wrongly prove that the Hindu religion has been brought from outside and it did not belong to India. There is enough proof to expose the western propaganda and plantation. |
| Asamprajnata Samadhi | Non-dual Super-conscious state |
| Asana | Yogic Postures |
| Asat | Non-being, that is to say the unreality of the world as opposed to the true Being (sat) which is Brahman, the Divine |
| Ashram | Hermitage, retreat or place of quiet and solitude, often in a forest, where a Rishis (sages) lived alone or with their disciples |
| Asramas | 4 stages of life in Hinduism laid out in the Manu Smriti. They are Brahmacharya (student life), Grihastha (household life), Vanaprastha (retired life), Sannyasa (renounced life) |
| Asteya | Non-stealing, non-theft |
| Asvamedha | The most prestigious of Vedic sacrificial rites, where a horse is sacrificed in a Yajna by the king whose supremacy has been acknowledged by the neighboring kings |
| Atharva Veda | "Knowledge of Incantations", the fourth Veda |
| Atma, Atman | Individual Soul |
| Atma-jnana, AtmaGyan | Self-knowledge, Knowledge of inner Self |
| Aum, OM | Sacred sound and symbol that represents Brahman in its unmanifest and manifest forms |
| Avatar, Avatara | Literally "descents", incarnation of God. The power that various Avatars have differs greatly. God sometimes incarnates with full powers and sometimes a smaller portion of his glory depending on the purpose (Dashavatars). The Lord"s manifestation in His Avatars ranges from nine to sixteen digits or rays (called Kalas). The full or Purna Avatars are those in whom all sixteen rays are present. Purna means it is complete in all respects. From their birth till returning back to Vaikuntha. A Poorna Avatar is one where the avatar is fully conscious, simultaneously about his Jiva form, his God form and his Turiya (Brahm) form, even at the time of their birth. |
| Avidya | Ignorance |
| Avinashi | Eternal and that cannot be destroyed |
| Ayam Atma Brahma | The Self is the Absolute. This is one of the four Mahavakyas (great utterances): "Prajnanam brahma" (consciousness is the Absolute); "aham brahma asmi" (I am the Absolute); "tat twam asi" (that thou art); "ayam atma brahma" (the Self is the Absolute) |
| Ayurveda | Vedic medical system (mostly based on herbal medicines) |