ABSTRACT
The concept of “sacred” can be found in nearly every religious tradition,
although the way it is understood and employed varies greatly. Though it
can be easily argued that no other major religious tradition uses the concept
as comprehensibly and at the same time contextually as does Hinduism, there
is no equivalent Hindu term. Thus, to understand the sacred in Hinduism, a
valuable fi rst step is to look at the manner in which the Abrahamic religious
traditions have constructed it and then use this as a point of juxtaposition in
considering its diverse Hindu manifestations. This chapter, then, begins with
a Western religious understanding of the term, turns to various Hindu words
that have connotative intersections with it, and ends with an overview of the
Hindu perception and use of what is referred to in English as “sacred.”
