diksha
Guru-given sacred beginning
Diksha is a Sanskrit term for initiation into a spiritual path or practice, particularly in Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
A guru confers diksha on a disciple, marking formal acceptance into a lineage and transmission of teachings, mantras, or practices.
The ceremony may involve rituals, the giving of a new name, or instruction in meditation techniques: She received diksha from her teacher after years of study.
Revered authority figure
- discipleCommitted follower of teaching
- mantraRepeated focus phrase
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- transmissionSending of information
empowerment · lineage · parampara · ordination · induction · consecration · admission · acceptance
Formal event marking occasions
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
- pujaHindu worship ritual
- offeringSomething presented or given
- sacred fireReligiously significant perpetual blaze
agni · priest · invocation · chanting · mantra · tilak · blessings · altar
Spiritual or physical regeneration
- renewalMaking current again
- conversionAct of changing states
- metamorphosisProfound biological restructuring
- transitionChange from one state
change · new identity · purification · dedication · commitment · vow · renunciation · new name
Profound spiritual awakening
- mokshaRelease from rebirth cycle
- liberationRelease from constraint
- tapasSpanish appetizer assortment
- renunciationFormal surrender of claim
devotion · surrender · grace · blessing · shakti · kundalini · awakening · purification
guru
Revered authority figure
- discipleCommitted follower of teaching
- mantraRepeated focus phrase
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
transmission · empowerment · lineage · parampara · ordination · induction · consecration · admission · acceptance · beginning
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
sacred fire · agni · priest · invocation · chanting · mantra · tilak · blessings · altar · sanctification
rebirth
Spiritual or physical regeneration
- renewalMaking current again
- conversionAct of changing states
- metamorphosisProfound biological restructuring
transition · change · new identity · purification · dedication · commitment · vow · renunciation · new name · new life
enlightenment
Profound spiritual awakening
- mokshaRelease from rebirth cycle
- liberationRelease from constraint
- tapasSpanish appetizer assortment
renunciation · devotion · surrender · grace · blessing · shakti · kundalini · awakening · purification · asceticism
dharma
Cosmic moral order
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
- paramparaGuru-disciple transmission chain
- lineageDescent from progenitors
transmission · vedanta · tantra · tradition · teaching · knowledge · wisdom · eligibility · readiness · surrender
- Hindu spiritualityatman, moksha, karma, dharma, yoga
- HinduismVishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Ganesh, Ganesha
- initiation ritesrite of passage, initiation rite, walkabout, tribal initiation, puberty rites
- sacred vowsmonastic vows, priestly vows, solemn vows, perpetual vows, baptismal vows
- Hare KrishnaHare Krishna, ISKCON, devotees, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Bhagavad Gita
- Jainismahimsa, moksha, right conduct, non-violence, non-attachment
dikshaself-study
Learning independently, without guidance
autodidacticism · book learning · secular education · self-teaching
dikshaapostasy
Renunciation of former beliefs
defection · excommunication · worldliness · secularism · abandonment