Guru’s Wisdom

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GLOSSARY

image absolute: Lower case (absolute): real, not dependent on anything else, not relative. Upper case (Absolute): Ultimate Reality, the unmanifest, unchanging and transcendent Parasiva—utterly nonrelational to even the most subtle level of consciousness. It is the Self God, the essence of man’s soul.§

abyss: A bottomless pit. The dark states of consciousness into which one may fall as a result of serious misbehavior; the seven chakras (psychic centers), or talas (realms of consciousness), below the muladhara chakra, which is located at the base of the spine. §

actinic: Spiritual, creating light. Adjective derived from the Greek aktis, “ray.” Of or pertaining to consciousness in its pure, unadulterated state. §

adharma: “Unrighteousness.” Thoughts, words or deeds that transgress divine law in any of the human expressions of dharma. §

adhyatma prasara (adhyātma prasāra): image “Spiritual evolution.” The gradual maturation of the soul body, anandamaya kosha, through many lives. Prasara means, “coming forth, spreading; advance, progress.” See: evolution of the soul.§

adhyatma vikasa (adhyātma vikāsa): image “Spiritual unfoldment.” The blossoming of inner or higher (adhi), soul (atma) qualities as a result of religious striving, sadhana. Vikasa means, “expanding, opening, developing,” as a flower unfolds its petals, or the chakras unfold theirs as a result of kundalini awakening. See: spiritual unfoldment. §

affectionate detachment: The power and wisdom of love born of understanding. Not becoming engrossed in the problems or negative attachments of others. As opposed to “running away” from the world or being insensitively aloof, affectionate detachment allows for more genuine, wholesome relationships with people and things. §

affirmation: Dridhavachana. “Firm statement.” A positive declaration or assertion. A statement repeated regularly while concentrating on the meaning and mental images invoked, often used to attain a desired result.§

Agama (Āgama): image The tradition; that which has “come down.” An enormous collection of Sanskrit scriptures which, along with the Vedas, are revered as shruti (revealed scripture). Dating is uncertain. They were part of an oral tradition of unknown antiquity which some experts consider as ancient as the earliest Vedas, 5000 to 6000 bce. The Agamas are the primary source and authority for ritual, yoga and temple construction. Each of the major denominations—Saivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism—has its unique Agama texts. Smartas recognize the Agamas, but don’t necessarily adhere to them and rely mainly on the smriti texts. See: shruti. §

ahimsa (ahiṁsā): image “Noninjury,” nonviolence or nonhurtfulness. Refraining from causing harm to others, physically, mentally or emotionally. Ahimsa is the first and most important of the yamas (restraints). It is the cardinal virtue upon which all others depend. See: yama-niyama.§

ajna chakra (ājñā chakra): image “Command wheel.” The third-eye center. See: chakra.§

Ambika (Ambikā): image “Mother.” A benign form of the Goddess, one of the central Deities of the Shakta religion, along with Durga, Kali and Parvati. See: Shakti.§

anahata chakra (anāhata chakra): image The heart center. “Wheel of unstruck [sound].” See: chakra.§

ananda (ānanda): image “Bliss.” The pure joy—ecstasy or enstasy—of God-consciousness or spiritual experience. In its highest sense, ananda is expressed in the famous Vedic description of God: sat-chit-ananda, “existence-consciousness-bliss”—the divine or superconscious mind of all souls. See: God Realization, Satchidananda. §

anandamaya kosha (ānandamaya kośa): image “Bliss body.” The body of the soul, which ultimately merges with Siva. See: soul, kosha.§

Anandamayi Ma (Ānandamāyī Mā): image Godly yogini and mystic Bengali saint known for her purity and sadhanas, including not eating unless fed by her devotees (1896-1982).§

anugraha shakti (anugraha śakti): image “Graceful or favoring power.” Revealing grace. God Siva’s power of illumination, through which the soul is freed from the bonds of anava, karma and maya and ultimately attains liberation, moksha. Specifically, anugraha descends on the soul as shaktipata, the diksha (initiation) from a satguru. Anugraha is a key concept in Saiva Siddhanta. It comes when anava mala, the shell of finitude which surrounds the soul, reaches a state of ripeness, malaparipakam. See: grace.§

arati (āratī): image “Light.” The circling or waving of a lamp (usually fed with ghee, camphor or oil) before a holy person or the temple Deity at the high point of puja. The flame is then presented to the devotees, each passing his or her hands through it and bringing them to the eyes three times, thereby receiving the blessings. Arati can also be performed as the briefest form of puja. See: archana, puja.§

archana: image A special, personal, abbreviated puja done by temple priests in which the name, birthstar and family lineage of a devotee are recited to invoke individual guidance and blessings. See: puja.§

Antarloka: image The subtle (astral) world. See: loka.§

Ardhanarishvara (Ardhanārīśvara): image “Half-female Lord.” Lord Siva in androgynous form, male on the right side and female on the left, indicating that: 1) Siva (like all Mahadevas) is genderless; 2) Siva is All, inseparable from His energy, Shakti; 3) in Siva the ida (feminine) and the pingala (masculine) nadis (psychic nerve currents) are balanced so that sushumna is ever active. §

asana (āsana): image “Seat; posture.” In hatha yoga, asana refers to any of numerous poses prescribed to balance and tune up the subtle energies of mind and body for meditation and to promote health and longevity. While the physical science of hatha yoga can dramatically influence health and general well-being, it is primarily a preparation for the deeper yogas and meditations. See: hatha yoga, raja yoga, yoga.§

ashrama dharma (āśrama dharma): image “Laws of life development.” Meritorious way of life appropriate to each of its four successive stages (ashramas), observing which one lives in harmony with nature and life, allowing the body, emotions and mind to develop and undergo their natural cycles in a most positive way. The four stages are: §

1) brahmacharya: Studentship, from age 12 to 24.§

2) gṛihastha: Householder, from 24 to 48.§

3) vanaprāstha: Elder advisor, from 48 to 72. §

4) sannyāsa: Religious solitary, from 72 onward. §

ashtanga yoga (ashṭāṅga yoga): image “Eight-limbed union.” The classical raja yoga system of eight progressive stages or steps as described in numerous Hindu scriptures including various Upanishads, the Tirumantiram by Saint Tirumular and the Yoga Sutras of Sage Patanjali. The eight limbs are: restraints (yama), observances (niyama), postures (asana), breath control (pranayama), sense withdrawal (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana) and contemplation (samadhi/Self Realization). See: yama-niyama, yoga.§

ashram (āśrama): image “Place of striving.” From shram, “to exert energy.” Hermitage; order of life. Holy sanctuary; the residence and teaching center of a sadhu, saint, swami, ascetic or guru; often includes lodging for students. Also names life’s four stages.§

astral body: The subtle, nonphysical body (sukshma sharira) in which the soul functions in the astral plane, the inner world also called Antarloka. See: soul.§

astral plane: The subtle world, Antarloka. See: loka.§

asura: image “Evil spirit; demon.” (The opposite of sura: “deva; God.”) A being of the lower astral plane, Narakaloka. Asuras can and do interact with the physical plane, causing major and minor problems in people’s lives. Asuras do evolve and do not remain permanently in this state. See: evil, evolution of the soul§

atheism: The rejection of all religion or religious belief, or simply the belief that God or Gods do not exist.§

atma (ātman): image “The soul; the breath; the principle of life and sensation.” The soul in its entirety—as the soul body plus its inner divine essence. Our true, eternal identity in the deepest level, beyond a physical body, emotions, external mind or personality. See: soul.§

atmartha puja (ātmārtha pūjā): image “Personal worship rite.” Home puja—Sanskrit liturgy performed in the home shrine. See: puja.§

Aum: image Often spelled Om. The mystic syllable of Hinduism, placed at the beginning of most sacred writings. As a mantra, it is pronounced aw (as in law), oo (as in zoo), mm. Aum is explained in the Upanishads as standing for the whole world and its parts, including past, present and future. It is from this primal vibration that all manifestation issues forth. Aum is the primary, or mula mantra, and often precedes other mantras. Its three letters represent the three worlds and the powers of creation, preservation and destruction.§

aura: The luminous, colorful field of subtle energy radiating within and around the human body, extending out from three to seven feet. The colors of the aura change constantly according to the ebb and flow of one’s state of consciousness, thoughts, moods and emotions. Higher, benevolent feelings create bright pastels; base, negative feelings are darker in color. The aura consists of three aspects: the prana-aura, the outer aura and the inner aura. The prana-aura is the reflection of the physical body, the life force. The outer aura extends beyond the physical body and changes continuously, reflecting the individual’s moment-to-moment panorama of thought and emotion.§

Auvaiyar: image A woman saint of Tamil Nadu (ca 800 ce), a contemporary of Saint Sundarar, devotee of Lord Ganesha and Karttikeya, or Murugan, and one of the greatest literary figures in ancient India. (See Essay 17.) Among her most famous works are Atti Chudi, Konrai Ventan, Ulaka Niti, Muturai and Nalvali. Her Tamil primer is studied by children to this day. An earlier traditional date for Auvaiyar of 200 bce is from a story about her and Saint Tiruvalluvar.§

awareness: Sakshin, or chit. Individual consciousness, perception, knowing; the witness of perception, the “inner eye of the soul.” The soul’s ability to sense, see or know and to be conscious of this knowing. When awareness is indrawn (pratyak chetana), various states of samadhi may occur. Awareness is known in the Agamas as chitshakti, “power of awareness,” the inner self and eternal witness. See: consciousness.§

ayurveda (āyurveda): image “Science of life.” A holistic system of medicine and health native to ancient India. The aims of ayurveda are ayus, “longevity,” and arogya, “diseaselessness,” which facilitate progress toward ultimate spiritual goals. Health is achieved by balancing energies (especially the doshas, bodily humors) at all levels of being, subtle and gross, through innumerable methods, selected according to the individual’s constitution, lifestyle and nature. §

image Bhairava: image “Terrifying.” Lord Siva as the fiery protector. He carries and is represented by a trishula (trident), a symbol often enshrined as guardian at the entrance to Siva temples. See: Siva. §

bhajan (bhajana): image Spiritual song. Individual or group singing of devotional songs, hymns and chants. See: bhakti.§

bhakti: image “Devotion.” Surrender to God, Gods or guru. Bhakti extends from the simplest expression of devotion to the ego-decimating principle of prapatti, which is total surrender. §

bhakti yoga: image “Union through devotion.” Bhakti yoga is the practice of devotional disciplines, worship, prayer, chanting and singing with the aim of awakening love in the heart and opening oneself to the grace of God, Gods or one’s spiritual preceptor. Bhakti yoga seeks ever closer rapport with the Divine, developing refinedd qualities such as love, selflessness and purity. See: bhakti, prapatti, yajna.§

bilva: image Wood-apple (or bael) tree, Aegle marmelos, sacred to Lord Siva. Its leaves, growing in threes, are offered in the worship of the Sivalinga. The delicious fruit when unripe is used medicinally. §

Bodhinatha Veylanswami: image “Lord of Wisdom, Holder of the Vel.” (1942–) The current preceptor of the Nandinatha Sampradaya’s Kailasa Parampara, and Guru Mahasannidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam, ordained by his satguru, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, in 2001. §

Brahma (Brahmā): image The name of God in His aspect of Creator. Saivites consider Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra to be three of five aspects of Siva. Smartas group Brahma, Vishnu and Siva as a holy trinity in which Siva is the destroyer. Brahma the Creator is not to be confused with 1) Brahman, the Transcendent Supreme of the Upanishads; 2) Brāhmaṇa, Vedic texts; 3) brāhmaṇa, the Hindu priest caste (also spelled brāhmin). See: Brahman, Parameshvara. §

brahmachari (brahmachārī): image An unmarried male spiritual aspirant who practices continence, observes religious disciplines, including sadhana, devotion and service, and who may be under simple vows.. Also names one in the student stage, age 12–24 or until marriage. Feminine counterpart: brahmachāriṇī. See: ashrama dharma, bramacharya.§

brahmacharya: image “Divine conduct,” the fourth yama. Controlling lust by remaining celibate when single, maintaining purity by restraining from sex in thought and deed and transmuting the energies of the physical body.§

brahmacharya ashrama (brahmacharya āśrama): image See: ashrama dharma.§

Brahmadhvara: image The door to the lower seven chakras and the Narakaloka, just below the muladhara. For the higher chakras to come into power, this door must be shut through practices such as sadhana and right thought, word and deed, so that fears, hatreds, angers and jealousies can no longer arise. §

Brahman: image “Supreme Being; Expansive Spirit.” From the root brih, “to grow, increase, expand.” Name of God or Supreme Deity in the Vedas, where He is described as 1) the Transcendent Absolute, 2) the all-pervading energy and 3) the Supreme Lord or Primal Soul. Not to be confused with Brahmā, the Creator aspect of God. §

brahmin (brāhmaṇa): image “Mature” or “evolved” soul. Originally, the class of pious souls of exceptional learning. From Brahman, “growth, expansion, evolution, development, swelling of the spirit or soul.” A mature soul showing exemplary wisdom, tolerance, forbearance and humility. Today the term more often refers to a caste. §

Buddha: image “The Enlightened.” Usually the title of Siddhartha Gautama (ca 624–544 bce), a prince of the Shakya clan, a Saivite Hindu tribe in eastern India on the Nepal border. He renounced the world and became a monk. After his enlightenment he preached the doctrines upon which his followers later founded Buddhism. §

Buddhism: The religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (ca 624–544 bce). He refuted the idea of man’s having an immortal soul and did not preach of any Supreme Deity. Instead he taught that man should seek to overcome greed, hatred and delusion and attain enlightenment through realizing the Four Noble Truths and following the Eightfold Path. §

image Catholicism: The doctrine, system and practice of the Catholic Church; a major Christian denomination.
causal body: Karana sharira, the inmost body; the soul form, also called anandamaya kosha, “bliss sheath.” See: soul.§

causal plane: The highest or most subtle realm of existence, Sivaloka. §

chaitanya: image “Spirit, consciousness, especially higher consciousness; Supreme Being.”A widely used term, often preceded by modifiers, e.g., sakshi chaitanya, “witness consciousness,” or bhakti chaitanya, “devotional consciousness,” or Sivachaitanya, “God consciousness.” §

chakra: image “Wheel.” Any of the nerve plexes or centers of force and consciousness located within the subtle bodies of man. Each corresponds to a certain nerve plexus, ganglion or gland of the physical body and to a specific realm of consciousness. The seven best-known chakras, situated along the spinal cord, are the realm of dharma and spiritual striving. They can be seen psychically as colorful, multi-petaled wheels or lotuses. Seven others, below the spine, constitute the lower or hellish world, called Narakaloka or patala. Most people function in just a few of these 14 chakras.§

The seven spinal chakras are: 1) mūlādhāra (base of spine): memory, time and space; 2) svādhishṭhāna (below navel): reason; 3) maṇipūra (solar plexus): willpower; 4) anāhata (heart center): direct cognition; 5) viśuddha (throat): divine love; 6) ājūā (third eye): divine sight; 7) sahasrāra (crown of head): illumination, Godliness. §

The seven lower chakras, from highest to lowest, are 1) atala (hips): fear and lust; 2) vitala (thighs): raging anger; 3) sutala (knees): retaliatory jealousy; 4) talātala (calves): prolonged mental confusion; 5) rasātala (ankles): selfishness; 6) mahātala (feet): absence of conscience; 7) pātāla (soles of the feet): murder and malice. §

charya (charyā): image “Conduct [stage].” Stage of service and character building. See: pada, Saivism.§

charya pada (charyā pāda): image “Conduct stage.” Stage of service and character building, the first of four progressive and cumulative stages of maturation on the Saiva Siddhanta path to enlightenment. See: pada.§

consciousness: Chitta or chaitanya. 1) A synonym for mind-stuff, chitta; or 2) the condition or power of perception, awareness, apprehension. The myriad gradations of consciousness include the simple sentience of inanimate matter to the consciousness of basic life forms, the higher consciousness of human embodiment, and omniscient states of superconsciousness, leading to immersion in the One universal consciousness, Parashakti. See: awareness, mind.§

consecrate: To declare holy or designate for sacred or religious use. §

contemplation: a state of religious or mystical absorption resulting from sustained meditation. See: raja yoga, samadhi.§

continence (continent): Restraint, moderation or, most strictly, total abstinence from sexual activity. See: brahmacharya.§

crown chakra: See: Sahasrara chakra.§

image Dakshinamurti (Dakshiṇamūrti): image “South-facing form.” Lord Siva depicted sitting under a pipala (bo) tree, silently teaching four rishis at His feet.§

dāna: image Generosity, giving. The third niyama. See: yama-niyama.§

darshan (darśana): image “Vision, sight.” Seeing the Divine. Beholding, with inner or outer vision, a temple image, Deity, holy person or place, with the desire to inwardly contact and receive the grace and blessings of the venerated being or beings. Not only does the devotee seek to see the Divine, but to be seen as well, a direct and personal two-sided apprehension central to Hinduism. See: Mahadeva.§

dasa marga (dāsa mārga): image “Servant’s path.” See: pada.§

Deity: See: Mahadeva.§

Destroyer: Epithet of God Siva in His aspect of Rudra. See: Siva.§

deva: image “Shining one.” A being inhabiting the higher astral plane, in a subtle, nonphysical body. Deva is also used in scripture to mean “God” or “Deity.” See: gana, Mahadeva.§

Devaloka: image “Plane of radiant beings.” Realm of the anahata chakra. The higher area of the Antarloka. A synonym of Maharloka. See: loka.§

Devi (Devī): image “Goddess.” A name of Shakti, used especially in Shaktism. See: Shakti, Shaktism.§

dharana (dhāraṇā): image “Concentration.” From dhri, “to hold.” See: raja yoga.§

dharma: image From dhri, “to sustain; carry, hold.” Hence dharma is “that which contains or upholds the cosmos.” Dharma is a complex and comprehensive term with many meanings, including: divine law, ethics, law of being, way of righteousness, religion, duty, responsibility, virtue, justice, goodness and truth. Essentially, dharma is the orderly fulfillment of an inherent nature or destiny. Relating to the soul, it is the mode of conduct most conducive to spiritual advancement, the right and righteous path. The four basic areas of dharma are 1) ṛita dharma: universal law; the inherent order of the cosmos; 2) varṇa dharma: social duty, accordIng to one’s station in life; 3) āśrama dharma: the duties of the various age groups (student, householder, elder advisor and religious solitaire); and 4) svadharma: individual dharma, which depends on one’s personal karma and nature.§

Dharma Shastra (Dharma Śāstra): image “Religious jurisprudence.” All or any of the numerous codes of Hindu civil and social law composed by various authorities. The best known and most respected are those by Manu and Yajnavalkya, thought to have been composed as early as 600bce.§

dhyana (dhyāna): image “Meditation.” See: raja yoga.§

diksha (dīkshā): image “Initiation.” Solemn induction by which one is entered into a new realm of spiritual awareness and practice by a teacher or preceptor through bestowing of blessings. Denotes initial or deepened connection with the teacher and his lineage and is usually accompanied by ceremony. Initiation, revered as a moment of awakening, may be conferred by a touch, a word, a look or a thought. See: satguru.§

dimfi: (Shum) The space aspect of the mind. The perspective of space travel, devas and Gods; inner communication. Pronounced deemf-ee. See: Shum, Shum perspectives.§

dualism: Dvaita. See: dvaita-advaita.§

dvaita-advaita: image “Dual-nondual; twoness-not twoness.” Dvaita and advaita define two ends of the vast spectrum of Hindu philosophy. —dvaita: The doctrine of dualism, according to which reality is ultimately composed of two irreducible principles, entities, truths, etc. God and soul are seen as eternally separate. —advaita: The doctrine of nondualism or monism, that reality is ultimately composed of one whole principle, substance or God, with no independent parts. In essence, all is God. Monistic theism is a dipolar view which encompasses both monism and dualism. See: monistic theism.§

image ego: The external personality or sense of “I” and “mine;” anava. Broadly, individual identity. In Saiva Siddhanta and other schools, the ego is equated with the tattva of ahamkara, “I-maker,” which bestows the sense of I-ness, individuality and separateness from God.§

emanation: “Flowing out from.” Abhasa. Shining forth from a source, emission or issuing from. A monistic doctrine of creation whereby God issues forth manifestation like rays from the sun or sparks from a fire.§

enlightenment: Self Realization, nirvikalpa samadhi; the ultimate human attainment. Enlightenment is the experience-nonexperience resulting in the realization of one’s transcendent Self—Parasiva—which exists beyond time, form and space. Each tradition has its own understanding of enlightenment, often indicated by unique terms.§

enstasy: A term coined in 1969 by Mircea Eliade to contrast the Eastern view of bliss as “standing inside oneself” (enstasy) with the Western view as ecstasy, “standing outside oneself.” The closest English equivalent for samadhi. See: raja yoga, samadhi.§

essence (essential): The most important, ultimate, real and unchanging nature of a thing or being. —essence of the soul: See: atma, soul.§

evil: That which is bad, morally wrong, causing harm, pain, misery. Western religions typically regard evil as a moral antagonism to God. Hindus hold that evil consists of unvirtuous acts (papa or adharma), performed when the instinctive-intellectual mind dominates and obscures our deeper, spiritual intelligence. The evildoer is viewed as a young soul, still ignorant of the value of right thought, speech and action. —intrinsic evil: The concept of inherent, inborn badness. Hinduism holds that there is no intrinsic evil—that the real nature of man is his divine, soul nature, which is pure goodness. See: evolution of the soul, sin.§

evolution of the soul: Adhyatma prasara. In Saiva Siddhanta, the soul’s evolution is a progressive unfoldment, growth and maturing toward its inherent, divine destiny, which is complete merger with Siva. The soul is created in the Sivaloka and takes on denser and denser sheaths—cognitive, instinctive-intellectual and pranic—until finally it takes physical birth in the Bhuloka. Then it experiences many lives, maturing through the reincarnation process. Siva continually creates souls, so there are young souls just beginning to evolve, and old souls nearing liberation from rebirth. See: chakra, pada, soul.§

existentialism: A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice, and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts.§

image festival: A time of religious celebration and special observances. Most festivals recur yearly, their dates varying slightly according to astrological calculations. They are characterized by acts of piety (elaborate pujas, penance, fasting, pilgrimage) and rejoicing (songs, dance, music, parades, storytelling and scriptural reading).§

First World: Bhuloka, the physical universe. See: loka.§

image gana (gaṇa): image (usually plural) “Throng; troop; retinue; a body of followers or attendants.” A troop of demigods, God’s attendants, devonic helpers.§

Ganapati (Gaṇapati): image “Leader of the ganas.” A name of Ganesha.§

Ganesha (Gaṇeśa): image “Lord of Categories.” Or: “Lord of attendants (gana),” synonymous with Ganapati. Ganesha is a Mahadeva, the beloved elephant-faced Deity honored by Hindus of every sect. He is the Lord of Obstacles (Vighneshvara), revered for His great wisdom and invoked first before any undertaking, for He knows all intricacies of each soul’s karma and the perfect path of dharma that makes action successful. He sits on the muladhara chakra and is easy of access. See: Mahadeva.§

Ganesha Chaturthi (Gaṇeśa Chaturthī): image The birthday of Lord Ganesha, a ten-day festival of August-September that culminates in a spectacular parade called Ganesha Visarjana. It is a time of rejoicing, when all Hindus worship together.§

Ganges (Gaṅgā): image India’s most sacred river, 1,557 miles long, arising in the Himalayas above Hardwar under the name Bhagiratha, and named Ganga after joining the Alakanada (where the Sarasvati is said to join them underground). Also, the Goddess (Ganga), Who is embodied by the river.§

God: Supernal being. Either the Supreme God (known by many names, such as Siva, Shakti and Vishnu) or one of the Mahadevas, great beings such as Ganesha and Karttikeya, who are among His creation. See: Gods.§

Goddess: Female representation or manifestation of Divinity; Shakti or Devi. Goddess can refer to a female perception or depiction of a Mahadeva, which in actuality is genderless, or to an astral-plane being residing in a female astral body. To show the Divine’s transcendence of sexuality, God is sometimes depicted as having qualities of both sexes. See: Ardhanarishvara.§

God Realization: Direct and personal experience of the Divine within oneself. It can refer to either 1) savikalpa samādhi (“enstasy with form”) in its various levels, from the experience of inner light to the realization of Satchidananda, the pure consciousness or primal substance flowing through all form, or 2) nirvikalpa samādhi (“enstasy without form”), union with the transcendent Absolute, Parasiva, the Self God, beyond time, form and space. Here the expression God Realization is used to name both of the above samadhis; whereas Self Realization refers only to nirvikalpa samadhi. See: raja yoga.§

Gods: Mahadevas, “great beings of light.” The plural form of God refers to extremely advanced beings existing in their self-effulgent soul bodies in the causal plane. The meaning of Gods is best seen in the phrase, “God and the Gods,” referring to the Supreme God and to the Mahadevas, who are His creation. See: God, Mahadeva.§

grace: “Benevolence, love, giving,” from the Latin gratia, “favor,” “goodwill.” God’s power of revealment, anugraha shakti (“kindness, showing favor”), by which souls are awakened to their true, Divine nature. Grace in the unripe stages of the spiritual journey is experienced by the devotee as receiving gifts or boons, often unbidden, from God. The mature soul finds himself surrounded by grace. He sees all of God’s actions as grace, whether they be seemingly pleasant and helpful or not. For him, his very love of God, the power to meditate or worship, and the spiritual urge which drives his life are entirely and obviously God’s grace, a divine endowment, an intercession, unrelated to any deed or action he did or could perform.§

In Saiva Siddhanta, it is grace that awakens the love of God within the devotee, softens the intellect and inaugurates the quest for Self Realization. It descends when the soul has reached a certain level of maturity, and often comes in the form of a spiritual initiation, called shaktipata, from a satguru.§

Grace is not only the force of illumination or revealment. It also includes Siva’s other four powers—creation, preservation, destruction and concealment—through which He provides the world of experience and limits the soul’s consciousness so that it may evolve. More broadly, grace is God’s ever-flowing love and compassion, karunya, also known as kripa (“tenderness, compassion”) and prasada (literally, “clearness, purity”).§

grihastha ashrama (gṛihastha āśrama): image “Householder stage.” See: ashrama dharma.§

grihastha dharma (gṛihastha dharma): image “Householder law.” The virtues and ideals of family life. This dharma includes all nonmonastics, whether married or single. In general, grihastha dharma begins with the completion of the period of studentship and extends throughout the period of raising a family. In Hinduism, family life is one of serving, learning and striving within a close-knit community of many relatives forming a joint family and its broader connections as an extended family under the aegis of a spiritual guru. Each is expected to work harmoniously to further the wealth and happiness of the family and the society, to practice religious disciplines and raise children of strong moral fiber to carry on the tradition. See: ashrama dharma, dharma.§

guna (guṇa): image Any of the three constituent principles of prakriti, primal nature: sattva, rajas and tamas. All things are composed of combinations of these primary qualities.§

guru: image “Weighty one,” indicating an authority of great knowledge or skill in a particular subject, such as music, dance, sculpture, but especially religion. A prefix is often used for clarity: kulaguru (family teacher), vinaguru (vina teacher) and satguru (spiritual preceptor). In Hindu astrology, guru names the planet Jupiter, also known as Brihaspati. According to the Advayataraka Upanishad (14–18), guru means “dispeller (gu) of darkness (ru).” See: satguru.§

Gurudeva: image “Divine or radiant preceptor.” An affectionate, respectful name for the guru.§

guru parampara (guru paramparā:) image “Preceptorial succession” (literally, “from one teacher to another”). A specific line of spiritual gurus within a sampradaya, in authentic succession of initiation; the chain of mystical power passed in authorized continuity from guru to guru.§

guru-shishya system (guru-śishya system): image “Master-disciple” system. An important educational system of Hinduism whereby the teacher conveys his knowledge and tradition to a student. Such knowledge, whether it be Vedic-Agamic art, architecture or spirituality, is imparted through the developing relationship between guru and disciple. See: guru, satguru.§

image Hanuman (Hanumān): image (Hindi) “Large jawed.” The powerful monkey God-King of the epic, Ramayana, and the central figure in the famous drama, Hanuman-Nataka. The perfect devoted servant to his master, Rama, this popular Deity is the epitome of dashya bhakti.§

Hara: image A name for Siva. See: Hari-Hara§

Hari: image A name for Vishnu. See: Hari-Hara§

Hari-Hara: image “Vishnu-Siva.” Also known as Shankaranarayana, an icon of the Supreme One, in which the right half is Siva and left half is Vishnu. It symbolizes the principle that Siva and Vishnu are not two separate Deities. See: Siva, Vishnu.§

hatḥa yoga: image “Forceful yoga.” Hatha yoga is a system of physical and mental exercise developed in ancient times as a means of rejuvenation by rishis and tapasvins who meditated for long hours, and used today in preparing the body and mind for meditation. Its elements are asanas, cleansing practices, breath control and hand gestures (mudras), all of which regulate the flow of prana and purify the inner and outer bodies. See: mudra, raja yoga.§

heaven: The celestial spheres, including the causal plane and the higher realms of the subtle plane, where souls rest and learn between births, and mature souls continue to evolve after moksha. Heaven is often used by translators as an equivalent to the Sanskrit Svarga. See: loka.§

hedonist: One who is immersed in hedonism, the obsessive pursuit of pleasure.§

hell: Narakaloka. An unhappy, mentally and emotionally congested, distressful area of consciousness. Hell is a state of mind that can be experienced on the physical plane or in the sub-astral plane after death of the physical body. It is accompanied by the tormented emotions of hatred, remorse, resentment, fear, jealousy and self-condemnation. However, in the Hindu view, the hellish experience is not permanent, but a temporary condition of one’s own making. See: asura, evil, loka, Narakaloka.§

Himalayan Academy: An educational and publishing institution of Saiva Siddhanta Church founded by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in 1957. The Academy’s objective is to serve Hindus worldwide by spreading the teachings of Sanatana Dharma through the monthly magazine HINDUISM TODAY, Innersearch travel-study programs, The Master Course trilogy of Dancing with Siva, Living with Siva and Merging with Siva, as well as other publications and web resources.§

himsa (hiṁsā): image “Injury;” “harm;” “hurt.” Injuriousness, hostility—mental, verbal or physical. See: ahimsa.§

Hindu: image A follower of, or relating to, Hinduism. Generally, one is understood to be a Hindu who practices the faith, having been born into a Hindu family, or having adopted the religion as one’s own. Acceptance into the fold is recognized through the name-giving sacrament, a temple ceremony called namakarana samskara, given to born Hindus shortly after birth, and to self-declared Hindus who have proven their sincerity and been accepted by a Hindu community. Traditions vary greatly, but all Hindus rely on the Vedas as scriptural authority. On July 2, 1995, the Supreme Court of India adopted as an “adequate and satisfactory formula” this definition by B.G. Tilak: “Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and the realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshiped is large, that indeed is the distinguishing feature of the Hindu religion.”§

Hinduism (Hindu Dharma): image India’s indigenous religious and cultural system, followed today by nearly one billion adherents, mostly in India, but with the large diaspora in many other countries. Also called Sanatana Dharma, “Eternal Religion” and Vaidika Dharma, “Religion of the Vedas.” Hinduism is the world’s most ancient religion and encompasses a broad spectrum of philosophies ranging from pluralistic theism to absolute monism. It is a family of myriad faiths with four primary denominations: Saivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. These four hold such divergent beliefs that each is a complete and independent religion. Yet, they share a vast heritage of culture and belief—karma, dharma, reincarnation, all-pervasive Divinity, temple worship, sacraments, manifold Deities, the guru-shishya tradition and a reliance on the Vedas as scriptural authority. See: Hindu.§

HINDUISM TODAY: The Hindu family magazine founded by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in 1979 and published quarterly by Himalayan Academy to affirm Sanatana Dharma and record the modern history of a billion-strong global religion in renaissance, reaching 150,000 readers in over 100 countries. See: Himalayan Academy.§

holy ash: See: vibhuti.§

homa: image “Fire-offering.” A sacred ceremony, yajna, in which the Gods are offered oblations through the medium of fire in a sanctified fire pit. See: yajna.§

image icon: A sacred image, usually of God or a God. English for murti. See: murti.
immanent: Indwelling; inherent and operating within. Relating to God, the term immanent means present in all things and throughout the universe, not aloof or distant. Not to be confused with imminent, about to happen; emanate, to issue from; eminent, high in rank. Compare with: transcendent.§

initiation (to initiate): See: diksha.§

instinctive: “Natural” or “innate.” From the Latin instinctus, participle of instingere, “impelling,” pricking,” “instigating.” The drives and impulses that order the animal world and the physical and lower astral aspects of humans—for example, self-preservation, procreation, hunger and thirst, as well as the emotions of greed, hatred, anger, fear, lust and jealousy. See: mind, yama-niyama.§

instinctive mind: Manas chitta. The lower mind, which controls the basic faculties of perception, movement, as well as ordinary thought and emotion. See: chakra, mind.§

instinctive-intellectual mind: The mind in ordinary consciousness, governed either by instinctive or emotional desires and fears or by intellectual concepts and reason.§

intellect: The power to reason or understand; power of thought; mental acumen. See: mind.§

intellectual mind: Buddhi chitta. The faculty of reason and logical thinking. It is the source of discriminating thought, as contrasted with the ordinary, impulsive thought processes of the instinctive mind.§

intuit: To know or sense without resorting to rational processes.§

intuition (to intuit): Direct understanding or cognition, a source of knowing which bypasses the roundabout processes of reason.§

invocation (to invoke): A “calling or summoning,” as to a God, saint, etc., for blessings and assistance. Also, a formal prayer or chant.§

Ishta Devata (Ishṭa Devatā): image “Cherished or chosen Deity.” The Deity that is the object of one’s special pious attention.§

Ishvara (Īśvara): image “Highest Lord.” Supreme or Personal God. See: Parameshvara.§

Islam: The religion founded by Prophet Muhammad in Arabia about 625 ce. Islam connotes submission to Allah, the name for God in this religion. Adherents (known as Muslims) follow the “Five Pillars” enjoined in their scripture, the Koran: faith in Allah, praying five times daily facing Mecca, giving of alms, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage.§

Itihasa (Itihāsa): image “So it was.” Epic history, particularly the Ramayana and Mahabharata (of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part). This term sometimes encompasses the Puranas, especially the Skanda Purana and the Bhagavata Purana (or Shrimad Bhagavatam). All are smriti.§

image Jainism (Jaina): image An ancient non-Vedic religion of India made prominent by the teachings of Mahavira (“Great Hero”), ca 500 bce. The Jain Agamas teach reverence for all life, vegetarianism and strict renunciation for ascetics. Jains focus great emphasis on the fact that all souls may attain liberation, each by his own effort. Their great historic saints, called Tirthankaras (“Ford-Crossers”), are objects of worship, of whom Mahavira was the 24th and last. Today, Jains number about six million, living mostly in India.§

japa: image “Recitation.” Practice of concentrated repeating of a mantra, often while counting the repetitions on a mala, a strand of beads. It may be done silently or aloud. A major sadhana in Hindu spiritual practice, from the simple utterance of a few names of God to extraordinary feats of repeating sacred syllables millions of times for years on end. See: mantra, sadhana.§

jiva (jīva): image “Living, existing.” From jiv, “to live.” The individual soul, atman, during its embodied state, bound by anava, karma and maya. See: evolution of the soul.§

jivanmukti (jīvanmukti): image “Liberation while living.” The state of the jivanmukta. Contrasted with videhamukti, liberation at the point of death. See: moksha, videhamukti.§

jnana (jñāna): image “Knowledge; wisdom.” The matured state of the soul. It is the wisdom that comes as an aftermath of the kundalini breaking through the door of Brahman into the realization of God. Jnana is the awakened, superconscious state working within the ordinary experience of the world, flowing into daily life situations. Jnana is sometimes misunderstood as book knowledge, as a maturity or awakening that comes from simply understanding a complex philosophical system or systems. See: jnana pada.§

jnana pada (jñāna pāda): image “Stage of wisdom.” In Saiva Siddhanta, jnana is the last of the four successive padas (stages) of spiritual unfoldment. It is the culmination of the third stage, yoga pada. See: pada.§

jnana yoga (jñāna yoga): image “Union of knowledge.” The esoteric spiritual practices of the fully enlightened being, or jnani. An alternative meaning, popularized by Swami Vivekananda, is the quest for cognition through intellectual religious study, as one of four alternate paths to truth, the other three being bhakti yoga, karma yoga and raja yoga.§

jyotisha: image From jyoti, “light.” “The science of the lights (or stars).” Hindu astrology, the knowledge and practice of analyzing events and circumstances, delineating character and determining auspicious moments, according to the positions and movements of heavenly bodies. In calculating horoscopes, jyotisha uses the sidereal (fixed-star) system, whereas Western astrology uses the tropical (fixed-date) method.§

image Kali (Kālī): image “Black” Goddess. A form of Shakti in Her fierce aspect worshiped by various sects within Shaktism. She is dark, nude, primordial and fiercely powerful, as of a naked energy untamed. But from the perspective of devotees, She is the incomparable protectress, champion of sadhana and mother of liberation.§

karma: image “Action,” “deed.” One of the most important principles in Hindu thought, karma refers to a consequence or “fruit of action,” which sooner or later returns upon the doer. What we sow, we shall reap in this or future lives. Selfish, hateful acts will bring suffering. Benevolent actions will bring loving reactions. Karma is a neutral, self-perpetuating law of the inner cosmos, much as gravity is an impersonal law of the outer cosmos. Karma is threefold: sanchita, prarabdha and kriyamana. —sañchita karma: “Accumulated actions.” The sum of all karmas of this life and past lives. —prārabdha karma: “Actions set in motion.” That portion of sanchita karma that is bearing fruit and shaping the events and conditions of the current life, including the nature of one’s bodies, personal tendencies and associations. —kriyamāna karma: “Being made.” The karma being created and added to sanchita in this life by one’s thoughts, words and actions, or in the inner worlds between lives. Kriyamana karma is the karma that is being sown and will be reaped in the future.§

Karttikeya (Kārttikeya): image Child of the Pleiades, from Krittika, “Pleiades.” A son of Siva. A great Mahadeva worshiped in all parts of India and the world. Also known as Murugan, Kumara, Skanda, Shanmukhanatha, Subramanya and more, He is the God who guides that part of evolution which is religion, the transformation of the instinctive into a divine wisdom through the practice of yoga. He holds the holy Vel of jnana shakti, which is His power to vanquish darkness or ignorance.§

kirtana (kīrtana): image “Praising.” Devotional singing and dancing in celebration of God, Gods or guru. An important form of congregational worship in many Hindu denominations. See: bhajana.§

kosha (kośa): image “Sheath; vessel, container; layer.” Philosophically, five sheaths through which the soul functions simultaneously in the various planes or levels of existence. They are sometimes compared to the layers of an onion. The koshas, in order of increasing subtlety, are as follows. —annamaya kośa: “Sheath composed of food.” The physical or odic body, coarsest of sheaths. —prāṇamaya kośa: “Sheath composed of prana (vital force).” Also known as the pranic or health body, or the etheric body or etheric double, it coexists within the physical body as its source of life, breath and vitality, and is its connection with the astral body. Prana moves in the pranamaya kosha as five primary currents or vayus, “vital airs or winds.” Pranamaya kosha disintegrates at death along with the physical body. —manomaya kośa: “Mind-formed sheath.” The lower astral body, from manas, “thought, will, wish.” The instinctive-intellectual sheath of ordinary thought, desire and emotion. It is the seat of the indriyas, sensory and motor organs, respectively called jnanendriyas and karmendriyas. The manomaya kosha takes form as the physical body develops and is discarded in the inner worlds before rebirth. It is understood in two layers: 1) the odic-causal sheath (buddhi) and 2) the odic-astral sheath (manas). See: indriya, manas. —vijñānamaya kośa: “Sheath of cognition.” The mental or cognitive-intuitive sheath, also called the actinodic sheath. It is the vehicle of higher thought, vijnana—understanding, knowing, direct cognition, wisdom, intuition and creativity. —ānandamaya kośa: “Body of bliss.” The intuitive-superconscious sheath or actinic-causal body. This inmost soul form (svarupa) is the ultimate foundation of all life, intelligence and higher faculties. Its essence is Parashakti (Pure Consciousness) and Parasiva (the Absolute). Anandamaya kosha is not a sheath in the same sense as the four outer koshas. It is the soul itself, a body of light, also called karana sharira, causal body, and karmashaya, holder of karmas of this and all past lives. Karana chitta, “causal mind,” names the soul’s superconscious mind, of which Parashakti (or Satchidananda) is the rarified substratum. Anandamaya kosha is that which evolves through all incarnations and beyond until the soul’s ultimate, fulfilled merger, vishvagrasa, in the Primal Soul, Parameshvara. Then anandamaya kosha becomes Sivamayakosha, the body of God Siva.§

The physical body (annamaya kosha) is also called sthula sharira, “gross body.” The soul body (anandamaya kosha) is also called karana sharira, “causal body.” The pranamaya, manomaya and vijnanamaya koshas together comprise the sukshma sharira, “subtle body,” with the pranamaya shell disintegrating at death.§

Krishna (Kṛishṇa): image “Black.” Also related to krishtih, meaning “drawing, attracting.” One of the most popular Gods of the Hindu pantheon. He is worshiped by Vaishnavas as the eighth avatara, incarnation, of Vishnu. He is best known as the Supreme Personage depicted in the Mahabharata, and specifically in the Bhagavad Gita.§

kriya (kriyā): image “Action.” 1) In a general sense, kriya can refer to doing of any kind. Specifically, it names religious action, especially rites or ceremonies. 2) The second stage of the Saiva path, religious action, or kriya pada. See: kriya pada, pada.§

kriya pada (kriyā pāda): image “Stage of religious action; worship.” The stage of worship and devotion, the second of four progressive and cumulative stages of maturation on the Saiva Siddhanta path of attainment. See: pada.§

kriyamana karma (kriyamāna karma): image The karma currently being created. See: karma.§

kukarma: image Distressful karma accrued from wrongful actions. See: Karma.§

Kumara (Kumāra): image “Virgin youth; ever-youthful.” A name of Lord Karttikeya as an eternal celibate. See: Karttikeya.§

kumbha: image “Jar or pot; water vessel.”§

kumbhabhisheka (kumbhābhisheka): image “Water-pot ablution.” The formal consecration of a new temple and its periodic reconsecration, usually at twelve-year intervals, following renovation, extensive cleaning and renewal. The rites culminate with the priests’ pouring sanctified water over the temple spires, which resemble an inverted pot (kumbha).§

Kumbha Mela: image Kumbha Mela is a Hindu pilgrimage that occurs on astrologically auspicious times four times every twelve years, rotating among four sacred locations in India. They are the largest human gatherings on Earth, attended by thousands of saints and tens of millions of pilgrims.§

kundalini (kuṇ∂alinī): image “She who is coiled; serpent power.” The primordial cosmic energy in every individual which, at first, lies coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine and eventually, through the competently guided practice of yoga, rises up the sushumna nadi. As it rises, the kundalini empowers each successive chakra. Nirvikalpa samadhi, enlightenment, comes as it pierces through the door of Brahman at the core of the sahasrara. If enlivened prematurely and without the guidance of a satguru, the kundalini can cause physical, mental and emotional ailments. See: chakra, samadhi.§

image Lakshmi (Lakshmī): image “Mark or sign,” often of success or prosperity. Shakti, the Universal Mother, as Goddess of wealth. The consort of Vishnu. Usually depicted on a lotus flower. Prayers are offered to Lakshmi for wealth, beauty and peace.§

liberation: Freedom from the cycle of reincarnation. See: moksha.§

linga (liṅga): image “Mark.” See: Sivalinga.§

loka: image “World, habitat, realm, or plane of existence.” A dimension of manifest existence; cosmic region. Each loka reflects or involves a particular range of consciousness. Bhuloka is the physical plane. The Antarloka (astral plane) and the Sivaloka (causal plane) are the ever-present substratum of physical existence, most frequently experienced by humans during sleep and deep meditation. See: heaven, hell, three worlds.§

lower chakras: See: chakras.§

image Mahabharata (Mahābhārata): image “Great Epic of India.” The world’s longest epic poem. It revolves around the conflict between two kingdoms, the Pandavas and Kauravas, and their great battle of Kurukshetra near modern Delhi in approximately 1424 bce. Woven through the plot are countless discourses on philosophy, religion, astronomy, cosmology, polity, economics and many stories illustrative of simple truths and ethical principles. The Bhagavad Gita is one section of the work. The Mahabharata is revered as scripture by Vaishnavites and Smartas.§

Mahadeva (Mahādeva): image “Great shining one; God.” Referring either to the Supreme God or any of the highly evolved beings who live in the highest planes in their natural, effulgent soul bodies. It is said in scripture that there are 330 million Gods. See: Gods, Siva.§

mahasamadhi (mahāsamādhi): image “Great enstasy.” The death, or dropping off of the physical body, of a great soul, an event occasioned by tremendous blessings. See: samadhi.§

mahatma (mahātma): image “Great soul.” Honorific title for those held in highest esteem, especially saints. See: atma.§

mahavakya (mahāvākya): image “Great saying.” A profound aphorism from scripture or a holy person. The most famous are four Upanishadic proclamations: Prajanam Brahma, “Pure consciousness is God,” (Aitareya Upanishad); Aham Brahmasmi, “I am God” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad); Tat tvam asi, “Thou art That” (Chandogya Upanishad); and Ayam atma Brahma, “The soul is God” (Mandukya Upanishad).§

manipura chakra (maṇipūra chakra): image “Wheeled city of jewels.” Solar-plexus center of willpower. See: chakra.§

mantra: image “Mystic formula.” A sound, syllable, word or phrase endowed with special power, usually drawn from scripture. Mantras are chanted loudly during puja to invoke the Gods and establish a spiritual force field. Certain mantras are repeated softly or mentally for japa. Hinduism’s universal mantra is Aum. To be truly effective, such mantras must be given by the preceptor through initiation.§

marga (mārga): image “Path; way.” From marg, “to seek.” See: pada, San marga.§

materialism (materialistic): The doctrine that matter is the only reality, that all life, thought and feelings are but the effects of movements of matter, and that there exist no worlds but the physical. Most materialists are atheists—perhaps accepting a cosmic, material, prime mover, but no personal God. An Indian school of thought which propounded this view were the Charvakas.§

maya (māyā): image “She who measures;” or “mirific energy.” The substance emanated from God through which the world of form is manifested. Hence all creation is also termed maya. Maya is a key concept in Hinduism, originally meaning “supernatural power; God’s mirific energy,” often translated as “illusion.”§

mind (five states): A view of the mind in five parts. —conscious mind: Jagrat chitta (“wakeful consciousness”). The ordinary, waking, thinking state of mind in which the majority of people function most of the day. —subconscious mind: Samskara chitta (“impression mind”). The part of mind “beneath” the conscious mind, the storehouse or recorder of all experience (whether remembered consciously or not)—the holder of past impressions, reactions and desires. Also, the seat of involuntary physiological processes. —subsubconscious mind: Vasana chitta (“mind of subliminal traits”). The area of the subconscious mind formed when two thoughts or experiences of the same rate of intensity are sent into the subconscious at different times and, intermingling, give rise to a new and totally different rate of vibration. This subconscious formation later causes the external mind to react to situations according to these accumulated vibrations, be they positive, negative or mixed. —superconscious mind: Karana chitta. The mind of light, the all-knowing intelligence of the soul. The Sanskrit term is turiya, “the fourth,” meaning the condition beyond the states of wakefulness (jagrat), “dream” (svapna), and “deep sleep” (sushupti). At its deepest level, the superconscious is Parashakti, or Satchidananda, the Divine Mind of God Siva. In Sanskrit, there are numerous terms for the various levels and states of superconsciousness. Specific superconscious states such as: vishvachaitanya (“universal consciousness”), advaita chaitanya (“nondual consciousness”), adhyatma chetana (“spiritual consciousness”). —subsuperconscious mind: Anukarana chitta. The superconscious mind working through the conscious and subconscious states, which brings forth intuition, clarity and insight.§

mind (individual): At the microcosmic level of individual souls, mind is consciousness and its faculties of memory, desire, thought and cognition. Individual mind is chitta (mind, consciousness), and its threefold expression is called antahkarana, “inner faculty” composed of: 1) buddhi (“intellect, reason, logic,” higher mind); 2) ahaṁkāra (“I-maker,” egoity); 3) manas (“lower mind,” instinctive-intellectual mind, the seat of desire). From the perspective of the 36 tattvas (categories of existence), each of these is a tattva which evolves out of the one before it. Thus, from buddhi comes ahamkara and then manas. These three are faculties of the manomaya kosha (astral or instinctive-intellectual sheath). Anukarana chitta, subsuperconsciousness, the knowing mind, is the mind-state of the vijnanamaya kosha (mental or intuitive-cognitive sheath). The aspect of mind corresponding directly to the anandamaya kosha (causal body) is karana chitta, superconsciousness.§

mind (three phases): A perspective of mind as instinctive, intellectual and superconscious. —instinctive mind: Manas chitta, the seat of desire and governor of sensory and motor organs. —intellectual mind: Buddhi chitta, the faculty of thought and intelligence. —superconscious mind: Karana chitta, the stratum of intuition, benevolence and spiritual sustenance. Its most refined essence is Parashakti, or Satchidananda, all-knowing, omnipresent consciousness, the One transcendental, self-luminous, divine mind common to all souls.§

mind (universal): In the most profound sense, mind is the sum of all things, all energies and manifestations, all forms, subtle and gross, sacred and mundane. It is the inner and outer cosmos. Mind is maya. It is the material matrix. It is everything but That, the Self within, Parasiva, which is timeless, formless, causeless, spaceless, known by the knower only after Self Realization. The Self is the indescribable, unnameable, Ultimate Reality. Mind in its subtlest form is undifferentiated Pure Consciousness, primal substance (Parashakti or Satchidananda), out of which emerge the myriad forms of existence, both psychic and material.§

Mohammad: Founder of the Islam religion (570–632), a preacher of the Quraysh Bedouin tribe who called for an end to the “demons and idols” of the Arab religion and conversion to the ways of the one God, Allah. See: Islam.§

moksha: image “Liberation.” Release from transmigration, samsara, the round of births and deaths, which occurs after karma has been resolved and nirvikalpa samadhi—realization of the Self, Parasiva—has been attained. Same as mukti. See: evolution of the soul.§

monism: “Doctrine of oneness.” 1) The philosophical view that there is only one ultimate substance or principle. 2) The view that reality is a unified whole without independent parts.§

monistic theism: Advaita Ishvaravada. Monism is the doctrine that reality is a one whole or existence without independent parts. Theism is the belief that God exists as a real, conscious, personal Supreme Being. Monistic theism, also call panentheism, embraces both monism and theism, two perspectives ordinarily considered contradictory, since theism implies dualism. Monistic theism simultaneously accepts that God has a personal form, that He creates, pervades and is all that exists (therefore the soul is, in essence, one with God) and that He ultimately transcends all existence. See: dvaita-advaita.§

mudra (mudrā): image “Seal.” Esoteric hand gestures which express specific energies or powers. Usually accompanied by precise visualizations, mudras are a vital element of ritual worship (puja), dance and yoga.§

muladhara chakra (mūlādhāra chakra): image “Root-support wheel.” Four-petaled psychic center at the base of the spine; governs memory. See: chakra.§

mulif: (Shum) The perspective of the mind in its intellectual, philosophical state. Pronounced moo-leef. See: Shum perspectives.§

murti (mūrti): image “Form; manifestation, embodiment, personification.” An image, icon or effigy of God or a God used during worship. Other Deity representations include symbols, e.g., the banyan tree, and geometric emblems or designs such as yantras and mandalas.§

Murugan: image “Beautiful one,” a favorite name of Karttikeya among the Tamils of South India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. See: Karttikeya.§

Muslim: Literally, “surrendered,” “submitted” to, or “reconciled” with God’s will. “True believer.” A follower of Islam.§

mystic: 1) One who understands religious mysteries or occult rites and practices. 2) Inspiring a sense of mystery and wonder.§

mysticism: Spirituality; the pursuit of direct spiritual or religious experience. Spiritual discipline aimed at union or communion with Ultimate Reality or God through deep meditation or trance-like contemplation. From the Greek mystikos, “of mysteries.” Characterized by the belief that Truth transcends intellectual processes and must be attained through transcendent means.§

image nadi (nāḍī): image “Conduit; river.” A nerve fiber or energy channel of the subtle (inner) bodies of man. It is said there are 72,000 nadis. These interconnect the chakras. The three main nadis are ida, pingala and sushumna. —Ida is pink and feminine. It flows downward, ending on the left side of the body. It is the channel of physical-emotional energy. —Pingala is blue and masculine. It flows upward, ending on the right side of the body. It is the channel of intellectual-mental energy. —Sushumna is the major nerve current which passes through the spinal column from the muladhara chakra at the base to the sahasrara at the crown of the head. It is the channel of kundalini.§

naga (nāga): image “Serpent,” often the cobra; symbol of the kundalini coiled on the four petals of the muladhara chakra.§

nakshatra: image “Star cluster.” Central to astrological determinations, the nakshatras are 27 star-clusters, constellations, which lie along the ecliptic, or path of the sun. An individual’s nakshatra, or birth star, is the constellation the moon was aligned with at the time of birth. See: jyotisha.§

Namah Sivaya (Namaḥ Śivāya): image “Adoration (homage) to Siva.” The supreme mantra of Saivism.§

namakarana samskara (nāmakaraṇa saṁskāra): image “Name-giving” and formal entry into one or another sect of Hinduism, performed 11 to 41 days after birth. The name is chosen according to astrology, preferably the name of a God or Goddess. At this time, guardian devas are assigned to see the child through life. One who converts to or adopts Hinduism later in life would receive this same sacrament. See: samskara.§

Narakaloka: image Abode of darkness. The nether worlds. Similar to the Western concept of hell, but temporary. Naraka is a gross region of the Antarloka. Naraka is a congested, distressful area where demonic beings and young souls may sojourn until they resolve the darksome karmas they have created. Here beings suffer the consequences of their own misdeeds in previous lives. Narakaloka is understood as having seven regions, called tala, corresponding to the states of consciousness of the seven lower chakras. They are described as places of torment, pain, darkness, confusion and disease, temporary abodes for the evolving soul. Hinduism has no eternal hell. See: asura, chakra, hell, loka.§

Narayana (Nārāyaṇa): image “Abode of men.” A name of Lord Vishnu.§

Nataraja (Naṭarāja): image “King of Dance,” or “King of Dancers.” God as the Cosmic Dancer. Perhaps Hinduism’s richest and most eloquent symbol, Nataraja represents Siva, the Primal Soul, Parameshvara, as the power, energy and life of all that exists, and depicts His five cosmic powers: creation, preservation, dissolution, veiling grace, and revealing grace. This is Siva’s intricate state of Being in Manifestation. The dance of Siva as Natesha, Lord of Dancers, is the rhythmic movement of the entire cosmos. All that is, whether sentient or insentient, pulsates in His body, and He within it. Like Ardhanarishvara, this icon depicts both male and female elements, symbolizing the inseparable nature of Siva-Shakti. See: Parameshvara, Siva.§

Natha (Nātha): image “Master, lord; adept.” 1) An ancient Himalayan tradition of Saiva yoga mysticism whose first historically known exponent was Nandikesvara (ca 250 bce). 2) The extraordinary ascetic masters (or devotees) of this school. The Nathas are considered the source of hatha as well as raja yoga.§

nirvikalpa samadhi (nirvikalpa samādhi): image “Undifferentiated trance, enstasy (samadhi) without form or seed.” The realization of the Self, Parasiva, a state of oneness beyond all change or diversity; beyond time, form and space. Vikalpa means “diversity, thought; difference of perception, distinction.” Nir means “without.” See: Parasiva, samadhi.§

niyama: image “Spiritual observance.” See: yama-niyama.§

old soul: One who has reincarnated many times, experienced much and is therefore further along the path than young souls. Old souls may be recognized by their qualities of compassion, self-effacement and wisdom. See: evolution of the soul, pada.§

omnipresent: Present everywhere and in all things.§

omniscient: Possessing infinite knowledge, all-knowing.§

image pada (pāda): image “The foot (of humans and animals); quarter-part, section; stage; path.” 1) Names the major sections of the Agamic texts. 2) The corresponding stages of practice and unfoldment on the path to moksha. According to Saiva Siddhanta, there are four padas, which are successive and cumulative. In accomplishing each one, the soul prepares itself for the next. —charyā pāda: “Good conduct stage.” The first stage where one learns to live righteously and serve selflessly, performing karma yoga. —kriyā pāda: “Religious action; worship stage.” Stage of bhakti yoga, of cultivating devotion through performing puja and regular daily sadhana. —yoga pāda: Having matured, the soul now turns to internalized worship and raja yoga under the guidance of a satguru. It is a time of sadhana and serious striving when realization of the Self is the goal. —jñāna pāda: “Stage of wisdom.” Once the soul has attained Realization, it is henceforth a wise one, shedding blessings on mankind. This stage is also called the San Marga, “true path,” on which God is our dearest beloved, implying transcendence of individuality and merger with the Divine.§

pada puja (pāda pūjā): image “Foot worship.” Ceremonial worship of the guru’s sandals or holy feet, often through ablution with precious substances and offering of fruit and flowers. After the ceremony, the water of the bath, the fruit and other precious substances are partaken of as prasada by the devotees.§

paduka (pādukā): image “Sandals.” Shri paduka refers to the sandals of the preceptor, the traditional icon of the guru, representing his venerable feet and worshiped as the source of grace.§

pancha mahayajna (pañcha mahāyajñas): image The householder’s five daily sacrifices: to Gods, ancestors, rishis, creatures and men.§

pancha nitya karmas (pañcha nitya karmas): image “Five constant duties.” A traditional regimen of religious practice for Hindus: 1) dharma (virtuous living), 2) upāsanā (worship), 3) utsava (holy days), 4) tirthayātrāa (pilgrimage) and 5) saṁskāras (sacraments).§

pandit (paṇḍita): image “Learned one.” A Hindu religious scholar or theologian, well versed in philosophy, liturgy, religious law and sacred science.§

papa (pāpa): image “Wickedness or sin;” “crime.” 1) Bad or evil. 2) Wrongful action. 3) Demerit earned through wrongdoing. Papa includes all forms of wrongdoing, from the simplest infraction to the most heinous crime. The degree of papa accrued from an action depends on various factors, including the karma, dharma and spiritual advancement of the individual, the intent or motivation, as well as the time and place of the action. Papa is the opposite of punya (merit, virtue). See: evil, karma, punya.§

Parabrahman: image “Supreme (or transcendent) God.” A synonym for Nirguna Brahman, Absolute Reality, beyond time, form and space. Same as Parasiva. See: Brahman, Parasiva.§

paramaguru: image “Grand preceptor.” The guru of a disciple’s guru.§

Parameshvara (Parameśvara): image “Supreme Lord or Ruler.” God Siva’s third perfection, Supreme Mahadeva, Siva-Shakti, mother of the universe. In this perfection, Siva is a person. The term Primal Soul designates Parameshvara as the original, uncreated soul, the creator of all other souls. See: God, Primal Soul, Siva.§

parampara (paramparā): image “Uninterrupted succession.” See: guru parampara.§

parartha puja (parārtha pūjā): image “Public liturgy and worship.” See: puja.§

Parashakti (Parāśakti): image “Supreme power; primal energy.” God Siva’s second perfection, which is impersonal, immanent, and with form—the all-pervasive, Pure Consciousness and Primal Substance of all that exists. There are many other descriptive names for Parashakti—Satchidananda (“existence-consciousness-bliss”), light, silence, divine mind, superconsciousness and more. Parashakti can be experienced by the diligent yogi or meditator as a merging in, or identification with, the underlying oneness flowing through all form. The experience is called savikalpa samadhi.§

Parasiva (Paraśiva): image “Transcendent Siva.” The Self God, Siva’s first perfection, Absolute Reality. Parasiva is That which is beyond the grasp of consciousness, transcends time, form and space and defies description. To merge with the Absolute in mystic union, called Self Realization or nirvikalpa samadhi, is the ultimate goal of all incarnated souls, the reason for their living on this planet, and the deepest meaning of their experiences.§

pasha (pāśa): image “Tether; noose.” The whole of existence, manifest and unmanifest. That which binds or limits the soul and keeps it (for a time) from manifesting its full potential. Pasha consists of the soul’s threefold bondage of anava, karma and maya.§

Patanjali (Patañjali): image A Saivite Natha siddha (ca 200 bce) who codified the ancient raja yoga philosophy which outlines the path to enlightenment through purification, control and transcendence of the mind. His great work, the Yoga Sutras, comprises some 200 aphorisms and is the foremost ancient text on meditative yoga. See: raja yoga.§

penance: Prayashchitta. Atonement, expiation. An act of devotion (bhakti), austerity (tapas) or discipline (sukritya) undertaken to soften or nullify the anticipated reaction to a past action. Penance is uncomfortable karma inflicted upon oneself to mitigate one’s karmic burden caused by wrongful actions (kukarma). It includes such acts as prostrating 108 times, fasting, self-denial, or carrying kavadi (a form of public penance), as well as more extreme austerities, or tapas. Penance is often suggested by spiritual leaders and elders. See: kukarma, papa, sin.§

Personal God: See: Ishta Devata, Parameshvara Primal Soul.§

plane: A stage or level of existence. See: loka.§

polytheism: Belief in or worship of many Gods.§

prana (prāṇa): image Vital energy or life principle. While prana usually refers to the life principle, it sometimes denotes energy, breath, the power or the animating force of the cosmos, the sum total of all energy and forces.§

pranayama (prāṇāyāma): image “Breath control.” The fourth limb of raja yoga. See: raja yoga.§

prapatti: image “Throwing oneself down.” Intense bhakti, total, unconditional submission to God, often coupled with the attitude of personal helplessness, self-effacement and resignation.§

prarabdha karma (prārabdha karma): image “Action that has been unleashed or aroused.” See: karma.§

prasada (prasāda): image “Clarity, brightness; grace.” Food offered to the Deity or the guru, or the blessed remnants of such food.§

pratyahara (pratyāhāra): image “Withdrawal.” The drawing in of forces. In yoga, the withdrawal from external consciousness. See: raja yoga.§

prayashchitta (prāyaśchitta): image “Predominant thought or aim.” Penance. Acts of atonement, burning karma before it manifests. See: penance.§

preservation: The act of maintaining or protecting. One of Siva’s five cosmic powers. See: Siva.§

Primal Soul: The uncreated, original, perfect soul—Siva Parameshvara—who emanates from Himself the inner and outer universes and an infinite plurality of individual souls. The essence of all is His own essence. God in His personal aspect as Lord and Creator, depicted in many forms: Nataraja by Saivites, Vishnu by Vaishnavites, Devi by Shaktas. See: Siva, Parameshvara.§

psychic: “Of the psyche or soul.” Sensitive to spiritual processes and energies. Inwardly or intuitively aware of nonphysical realities; able to use such powers as clairvoyance, clairaudience and precognition. Nonphysical, subtle; pertaining to the deeper aspects of man.§

puja (pūjā): image “Worship, adoration.” An Agamic rite of worship performed in the home, temple or shrine, to the murti, shri paduka, or other consecrated object, or to a person, such as the satguru. Its purpose is to purify the atmosphere around the object worshiped, establish a connection with the inner worlds and invoke the presence of God, Gods or one’s guru. Puja, the worship of a murti through water, lights and flowers in temples and shrines, is the Agamic counterpart of the Vedic yajna rite in which offerings are conveyed through the sacred homa fire. See: yajna.§

punarjanma: image “Reincarnation.” From punaḥ, “again and again,” and janma, “taking birth.” See: reincarnation.§

punya (puṇya): image “Holy; virtuous; auspicious.” 1) Good or righteous. 2) Meritorious action. 3) Merit earned through right thought, word and action. Punya includes all forms of doing good, from the simplest helpful deed to a lifetime of conscientious beneficence. Each act of punya carries its karmic consequence. Punya is earned through virtuous living, following the multi-faceted laws of dharma. Punya depends on purity of acts according to various factors including 1) the karma and evolution of the individual, 2) degree of sacrifice and unselfish motivation and 3) time and place. It is the opposite of papa.§

Purana (Purāṇa): image “Ancient lore.” Hindu folk narratives containing ethical and cosmological teachings relative to Gods, man and the world. There are 18 major Puranas, which are designated as Saivite, Vaishnavite or Shakta. See: smriti.§

Pure Consciousness: See: mind, Parashakti, Satchidananda.§

purushartha (purushārtha): image “Human wealth or purpose.” The four pursuits in which people may legitimately engage, also called chaturvarga, “fourfold good”—a basic principle of Hindu ethics. —dharma: “Righteous living.” The fulfillment of virtue, good works, duties and responsibilities, restraints and observances—performing one’s part in the service and upliftment of society. This includes pursuit of truth under a guru of a particular parampara and sampradaya. Dharma is of four primary forms. It is the steady guide for artha and kama. —artha: “Wealth.” Material welfare and abundance, money, property, possessions. Artha is the pursuit of wealth, guided by dharma. It includes the basic needs—food, money, clothing and shelter—and extends to the wealth required to maintain a comfortable home, raise a family, fulfill a successful career and perform religious duties. Artha measures not only riches but quality of life, providing the personal and social security needed to pursue kama, dharma and moksha. It allows for the fulfillment of the householder’s five daily sacrifices, pancha mahayajna: to God, ancestors, devas, creatures and men. —kāma: “Pleasure, love; enjoyment.” Earthly love, aesthetic and cultural fulfillment, pleasures of the world (including sexual), the joys of family, intellectual satisfaction. Enjoyment of happiness, security, creativity, usefulness and inspiration. —moksha: “Liberation.” Freedom from rebirth through the ultimate attainment, realization of the Self God, Parasiva. The spiritual attainments and superconscious joys, attending renunciation and yoga leading to Self Realization. Moksha comes through the fulfillment of dharma, artha and kama (known in Tamil as aram, porul and inbam, and explained by Tiruvalluvar in Tirukural) in the current or past lives, so that one is no longer attached to worldly joys or sorrows. It is the supreme goal of life, called paramartha, “supreme weath.”§

quantum: Quantity or amount. In the quantum theory of modern science: a fixed basic unit, usually of energy. —quantum particles of light: Light understood not as a continuum, but as traveling bundles each of a same intensity. Deeper still, these particles originate and resolve themselves in a one divine energy. —at the quantum level (of the mind): Deep within the mind, at a subtle energy level.§

image rajas: image “Passion; activity.” See: guna.
raja yoga (rāja yoga): image “King of yogas,” also known as ashtanga yoga, “eight-limbed yoga.” The classical yoga system of eight progressive stages to Illumination as described in various yoga Upanishads, the Tirumantiram and, most notably, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The eight limbs are: 1) yama, “Restraint.” 2) niyama, “Observance.” 3) āsana, “Seat or posture.” 4) prāṇāyāma, “Breath control.” 5) pratyāhāra, “Withdrawal.” 6) dhāraṇā, “Concentration.” 7) dhyāna, “Meditation.” 8) samādhi, “Enstasy.”§

Rama (Rāma): image Venerated hero of the Ramayana epic, and one of the two most popular incarnations of Vishnu, along with Krishna. His worship is almost universal among Vaishnavas, and extensive among Smartas and other liberal Hindus. He was a great worshiper of Siva, and a Siva temple, called Rameshvaram, was built in his name at the southern tip of India.§

Ramanuja (Rāmānuja): image Philosopher saint, great bhakta (1017–1137), founder of one of five major Vaishnava schools, and considered the greatest critic of advaita. In his famous Shri Bhashya on the Brahma Sutras, he countered Sankara’s absolute monism, point-by-point, with his qualified monism, called Vishishtadvaita Vedanta.§

Ramayana (Rāmāyaṇa): image “Life of Rama.” One of India’s two grand epics (Itihasa) along with the Mahabharata. It is Valmiki’s tragic love story of Rama and Sita, whose exemplary lives have helped set high standards of dignity and nobility as an integral part of Hindu dharma. Astronomical data in the story puts Rama’s reign at about 2015 bce. See: Rama.§

reincarnation: “Re-entering the flesh.” Punarjanma; metempsychosis. The process wherein souls take on a new physical body through the birth process. It is a repetitive cycle which originates in the subtle plane (Antarloka), the realm in which souls live between births and return to after death. There they are assisted in readjusting to having died and eventually prepared for yet another birth. The quality and nature of the next birth depends on the merit or demerit of one’s past actions (karma) and on the needs of their unique pattern of development and experience (dharma). The cycle of reincarnation ends when karma has been resolved and the Self God (Parasiva) has been realized. This condition of release is called moksha. Then the soul continues to evolve and mature in the subtle planes, without the need to return to physical existence. See: evolution of the soul, pada, pasa.§

revealing grace: See: anugraha shakti, grace.§

Rig Veda (Ṛig Veda): image “Veda of verse (rik).” The first and oldest of the four Veda compendia of revealed scriptures (shruti), including a hymn collection (Samhitas), priestly explanatory manuals (Brahmanas), forest treatises (Aranyakas) elaborating on the Vedic rites, and philosophical dialogs (Upanishads). The oldest and core portion is the Samhita, believed to date back, in its oral form, as far as 8,000 years. It embodies prayerful hymns of praise and invocation to the Divinities of nature and to the One Divine. See: shruti, Veda.§

rishi (ṛishi): image “Seer.” A term for an enlightened being, emphasizing psychic perception and visionary wisdom. In the Vedic age, rishis lived in remote retreats, either alone or with disciples. Such great souls were the inspired conveyers of the Vedas. See: Veda.§

Rudra: image “Controller of terrific powers;” or “red, shining one.” The name of Siva as the God of dissolution, the universal force of reabsorption. Rudra-Siva is revered both as the “terrifying one” and the “lord of tears,” for He wields and controls the terrific powers which may cause lamentation among humans. See: Siva.§

image sacrament: 1) Holy rite, especially one solemnized in a formal, consecrated manner, which is a bonding between the recipient and God, Gods or guru. This includes rites of passage (samskara), ceremonies sanctifying crucial events or stages of life. 2) Prasada. Sacred substances, grace-filled gifts, blessed in sacred ceremony or by a holy person. See: prasada, samskara.§

sadhana (sādhana): image “Effective means of attainment.” Religious or spiritual disciplines, such as puja, yoga, meditation, japa, fasting and austerity. The effect of sadhana is the building of willpower, faith and confidence in oneself and in God, Gods and guru. Sadhana harnesses and transmutes the instinctive-intellectual nature, allowing progressive spiritual unfoldment into the superconscious realizations and innate abilities of the soul.§

sadhu (sādhu): image “Virtuous one; straight, unerring.” A holy man dedicated to the search for God. A sadhu may or may not be a yogi or a sannyasin, or be connected in any way with a guru or legitimate lineage. Sadhus usually have no fixed abode and travel unattached from place to place, often living on alms. See also: sannyasin.§

sadhvi (sādhvī): image Feminine form of sadhu. See: sadhu.§

sahasrara chakra (sahasrāra chakra): image The cranial psychic force center of divine consciousness. “Thousand-spoked wheel.” See: chakra.§

Saiva Siddhanta Church: “Church of God Siva’s Revealed Truth,” founded in 1949 by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.§

Saivism (Śaiva): image The religion followed by those who worship Siva as Supreme God. The oldest of the four sects of Hinduism. There are many schools of Saivism, all firmly based on the Vedas and Saiva Agamas.§

sakha marga (sakhāmārga): image “Friend’s path.” See: pada.§

samadhi (samādhi): image “Enstasy,” “Sameness; contemplation; union, wholeness; completion, accomplishment.” Samadhi is the state of true yoga, in which the meditator and the object of meditation are one. Samadhi is of two levels: 1) savikalpa samādhi, identification or oneness with the essence of an object. Its highest form is the realization of the primal substratum or pure consciousness, Satchidananda; 2) nirvikalpa samādhi (“enstasy without form” or “seed”). The ultimate spiritual attainment: the realization of the Self, Parasiva, in which all modes of consciousness are transcended and Absolute Reality—beyond time, form and space—is experienced, bringing in its aftermath a complete transformation of consciousness. See: Parasiva, raja yoga, Satchidananda.§

sampradaya (sampradāya): image A living stream of tradition or theology within Hinduism, passed on by oral training and initiation. A living stream of tradition or theology within Hinduism, passed on by oral training and initiation. The term derives from the verb sampradā, meaning “to give out,” “render,” grant, bestow or confer; to hand down by tradition; to bequeath. Sampradaya is thus a philosophy borne down through history by verbal transmission. It is more inclusive than the related term parampara, which names a living lineage of ordained gurus who embody and carry forth a sampradaya. Each sampradaya is often represented by many paramparas.§

samsara (saṁsāra): image “Flow.” The phenomenal world. Transmigratory existence, fraught with impermanence and change, joy and suffering. The cycle of birth, death and rebirth; the total pattern of successive earthly lives experienced by a soul.§

samsari (saṁsārī): image “One in samsara;” “wanderer.” A soul, during transmigration, engrossed in the joys and sorrows of worldly existence; one who is not striving for liberation (moksha), someone who is not “on the path.”§

samskara (saṁskāra): image “Impression, activator; sanctification, preparation.” 1) A deep impression made on the subconscious mind by experience (in this or previous lives), which then influences one’s nature, responses, and states of mind, either positively or negatively. 2) a Hindu sacrament or rite, a bonding between the recipient and God, Gods or guru, performed to create beneficial samskaras and mark a significant transition of life. These make deep and positive impressions on the mind of the recipient, inform the family and community of changes in the lives of its members and secure inner-world blessings. Some of the most important samskaras are namakarana, name-giving; vivaha, marriage; and antyeshti, funeral rites.§

Sanatana Dharma (Sanātana Dharma): image “Eternal religion” or “Everlasting path.” A traditional designation for the Hindu religion. See: Hinduism.§

sanctum sanctorum: “Holy of holies.” Garbhagriha in Sanskrit. The most sacred part of a temple, usually a cave-like stone chamber, in which the main icon is installed. See: temple.§

San Marga (San Mārga): image “True path.” The straight, spiritual path leading to the ultimate goal, Self Realization, without detouring into unnecessary psychic exploration or pointless development of psychic powers, or siddhis. A san margi is a person “on the path,” as opposed to a samsari, one engrossed in worldliness. San Marga also names the jnana pada.§

sannyasa (sannyāsa): image “Renunciation.” “Throwing down or abandoning.” Sannyasa is the repudiation of the dharma of the householder, including its obligations and duties, and the acceptance of the even more demanding dharma of the renunciate. See: sannyasa dharma, sannyasa diksha.§

sannyasa ashrama (sannyāsa āśrama): image “Renunciate stage.” The period of life after age 72. See: ashrama dharma.§

sannyasa dharma (sannyāsa dharma): image “Renunciate virtue.” The life, way and traditions of those who have irrevocably renounced prerogatives and obligations of the householder, including personal property, wealth, ambitions, social position and family ties, in favor of the full-time monastic quest for divine awakening, Self Realization and spiritual upliftment of humanity. Traditionally, this dharma is available to those under age 25 who meet strict qualifications. Alternately, the householder may embrace sannyasa dharma after age 72 through the customary initiatory rites given by a sannyasin and then diligently pursuing his spiritual sadhana in a state of genuine renunciation and not in the midst of his family. These two forms of sannyasa are not to be confused with simply entering the sannyasa ashrama, the last stage of life.§

sannyasa diksha (sannyāsa dīkshā): image “Renunciate initiation.” This diksha is a formal rite, or less often an informal blessing, entering the devotee into renunciate monasticism, binding him for life to certain vows which include chastity, poverty and obedience, and directing him on the path to Self Realization. See: sannyasa dharma.§

sannyasin (sannyāsin): image “Renouncer.” One who has taken sannyasa diksha. A Hindu monk, swami, and one of a world brotherhood (or holy order) of sannyasins. Some are wanderers and others live in monasteries. The sannyasin is the guardian of his religion, immersed in it constantly, freed from worldliness, freed from distraction, able to offer his work and his worship in unbroken continuity and one-pointed effectiveness. He undertakes certain disciplines including the purification of body, mind and emotion. He restrains and controls the mind through his sadhana, tapas and meditative regimen. He unfolds from within himself a profound love of God and the Gods. His practice of upasana, worship, is predominantly internal, seeking God within.§

Sanskrit (Saṁskṛita): image “Well-made,” “refined,” “perfected.” The classical sacerdotal language of ancient India, considered a pure vehicle for communication with the celestial worlds. It is the primary language in which Hindu scriptures are written, including the Vedas and Agamas.§

Satchidananda (Satchidānanda): image “Existence-consciousness-bliss.” See: Parashakti.§

satguru (sadguru): image “True weighty one.” A spiritual preceptor of the highest attainment and authority—one who has realized the ultimate Truth, Parasiva, through nirvikalpa samadhi. He is always a sannyasin, an unmarried renunciate—a free being able to lead others securely along the spiritual path. All Hindu denominations teach that the grace and guidance of a living satguru is a necessity for Self Realization. He is recognized and revered as the embodiment of God, Sadasiva, the source of grace and liberation. See: guru.§

satputra marga (satputra mārga): image “True son’s way.” The stage of kriya, in which our relationship with God is as a child to its parents; characterized by puja, reading the scriptures, singing hymns, performing japa and unsullied austerity, truthfulness, restraint of envy, offering of food and other self-purifying acts. See: pada.§

satsanga (satsaṅga): image “Holy gathering.” Association of devotees for temple or home worship, celebration, selfless service and religious studies.§

sattva guna (sattva guṇa): image “Perfection of Being.” The quality of goodness or purity. See: guna.§

savikalpa samadhi (savikalpa samādhi): image “Enstasy with form (or seed).” Experience of pure consciousness. See: samadhi.§

Second World: The astral or subtle plane. See: loka.§

Self (Self God): God Siva’s perfection of Absolute Reality, Parasiva—That which abides at the core of every soul. See: Parasiva, Siva.§

Self Realization: Direct knowing of the Self God, Parasiva. Self Realization is known in Sanskrit as nirvikalpa samadhi, the ultimate spiritual attainment. See: nirvikalpa samadhi.§

seva (sevā): image “Service,” karma yoga, an integral part of the spiritual path, doing selfless, useful work for others, such as volunteer work at a temple, without preference or thought of personal gain. Seva, or Sivathondu in Tamil, is the central practice of the charya pada. See: pada.§

shad darshana (shaḍ darśana): image “Six views;” “six insights.” Six classical philosophies distinguished among the hundreds of Hindu darshanas known through history: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta. Each was tersely formulated in sutra form by its “founder,” and elaborated in extensive commentaries by other writers. They are understood as varied attempts at describing Truth and the path to it. Elements of each form part of the Hindu fabric today.§

—Nyāya: “System, rule; logic.” A system of logical realism, founded sometime around 300 bce by Gautama, known for its systems of logic and epistemology and concerned with the means of acquiring right knowledge. Its tools of enquiry and rules for argumentation were adopted by all schools of Hinduism.§

—Vaiśeshika: “Differentiation,” from vishesha, “differences.” Philosophy founded by Kanada (ca 300 bce) teaching that liberation is to be attained through understanding the nature of existence, which is classified in nine basic realities (dravyas): earth, water, light, air, ether, time, space, soul and mind. Nyaya and Vaisheshika are viewed as a complementary pair, with Nyaya emphasizing logic, and Vaisheshika analyzing the nature of the world.§

—Sāṅkhya: “Enumeration, reckoning.” A philosophy founded by sage Kapila (ca 500 bce), author of the Sankhya Sutras. Sankhya is primarily concerned with “categories of existence,” tattvas, which it understands as 25 in number. The first two are the unmanifest Purusha and the manifest primal nature, Prakriti—the male-female polarity, viewed as the foundation of all existence. Prakriti, out of which all things evolve, is the unity of the three gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas. Sankhya and Yoga are considered an inseparable pair whose principles permeate all of Hinduism. See: prakriti, purusha.§

—Yoga: “Yoking; joining.” Ancient tradition of philosophy and practice codified by Patanjali (ca 200 bce) in the Yoga Sutras. It is also known as raja yoga, “king of yogas,” or ashtanga yoga, “eight-limbed yoga.” Its object is to achieve, at will, the cessation of all fluctuations of consciousness, and the attainment of Self Realization. Yoga is wholly dedicated to putting the high philosophy of Hinduism into practice, to achieve personal transformation through transcendental experience, samadhi. See: yoga.§

—Mīmāṁsā: “Inquiry” (or Purva, “early,” Mimamsa). Founded by Jaimini (ca 200 bce), author of the Mimamsa Sutras, who taught the correct performance of Vedic rites as the means to salvation.§

—Vedānta (or Uttara “later” Mimamsa): “End (or culmination) of the Vedas.” For Vedanta, the main basis is the Upanishads and Aranyakas (the “end,” anta, of the Vedas), rather than the hymns and ritual portions of the Vedas. The teaching of Vedanta is that there is one Absolute Reality, Brahman. Man is one with Brahman, and the object of life is to realize that truth through right knowledge, intuition and personal experience. The Vedanta Sutras (or Brahma Sutras) were composed by Rishi Badarayana (ca 400 bce).§

Shakti (Śakti): image “Power, energy.” The active power or manifest energy of God that pervades all of existence. Its most refined aspect is Parashakti, or Satchidananda, the pure consciousness and primal substratum of all form. In popular, village Hinduism, the unity of Siva and Shakti is replaced with the concept of Siva and Shakti as separate entities. Shakti is represented as female, and Siva as male.§

Saiva Siddhanta perceives God Siva as a one Being, beyond yet encompassing the duality of male and female; His Shakti is inseparable from Him.§

In the yoga mysticism of all traditions, divine energy, shakti, is experienced within the human body in three aspects: 1) the feminine force, ida shakti; 2) the masculine force, pingala shakti; and 3) the pure androgynous force, kundalini shakti, that flows through the sushumna nadi. Shakti is most easily experienced by devotees as the sublime, bliss-inspiring energy that emanates from a holy person or sanctified Hindu temple. The term shakti also refers to the three shaktis, powers, wielded by Siva: iccha (love), kriya (action) and jnana (wisdom). See: Ardhanarishvara, Parashakti, Shaktism, Siva.§

Shaktism (Śākta): image “Doctrine of power.” The religion followed by those who worship the Supreme as the Divine Mother—Shakti or Devi—in Her many forms, both gentle and fierce. Shaktism is one of the four primary sects of Hinduism. Shaktism’s first historical signs are thousands of female statuettes dated ca 5500 bce recovered at the Mehrgarh village in India. Four major expressions of Shaktism are evident today: folk-shamanism, yoga, devotionalism and universalism. There are many varieties of folk Shaktism gravitating around various forms of the Goddess, such as Kali, Durga and a number of forms of Amman.§

saligrama (sālīgrāma): image A fossilized shell worshiped by the Vaishnavas as an iconic symbol of Vishnu.§

Shankara (Śaṅkara): image “Propitious Creator.” Derived from the Sanskrit elements sham, meaning “auspicious,” and kara meaning “maker.” 1) A name of Siva, architect of the cosmos. 2) One of Hinduism’s most extraordinary monks, Adi Sankara (788–820), preeminent guru of the Smarta Sampradaya, noted for his monistic philosophy (Advaita Vedanta), his many scriptural commentaries, and his formalizing of ten orders of sannyasins with pontifical headquarters at strategic places across India. He lived only 32 years, but traveled throughout India and transformed the Hindu world of that time. See: Smartism, Vedanta.§

shaucha (śaucha): image “Purity.” See: purity-impurity, yama-niyama.§

shastra (śāstra): image “Sacred text; teaching.” 1) Any religious or philosophical treatise, or body of writings. 2) A department of knowledge, a science; e.g., the Dharma Shastras on religious law, and the Artha Shastras on politics.§

shishya (śishya): image “A pupil or disciple,” especially one who has proven himself and been accepted by a guru. See: diksha.§

shruti (śruti): image “That which is heard.” Aurally, or clairaudiently, received scripture. Hinduism’s revealed scriptures, of supreme theological authority and spiritual value. They are timeless teachings transmitted to rishis, or seers directly by God Siva and the Gods thousands of years ago. Shruti is thus said to be apaurusheya, “impersonal,” or rather “suprahuman.” Shruti essentially consists of the Vedas and the Agamas, preserved initially through oral tradition and eventually written down in Sanskrit. Most mantras are drawn from shruti, used for rites of worship, both public and domestic, as well as for personal prayer and japa. See: Agama, smriti, Veda.§

Shum: A Natha mystical language of meditation revealed in Switzerland in 1968 by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.§

Shum perspectives: The four perspectives of the mind: —mulif: intellectual/philosophical; —shumif: individual awareness; —simnif: scientific/intellectual; —dimfi: space travel, devas and Gods, inner communication. See: dimfi, mulif, shumif, simnif.§

shumif: The perspective of the mind as a solid and individual awareness traveling from one area of the mind to another. Pronounced shoom-eef. See: Shum, Shum perspectives.§

siddha: image A “perfected one’’ or accomplished yogi, a person of great spiritual attainment or powers. See: siddhi.§

siddhanta (siddhānta): image “Final attainments;” “final conclusions.” Siddhanta refers to ultimate understanding arrived at in any given field of knowledge.§

siddhi: image “Power, accomplishment; perfection.” Extraordinary powers of the soul, developed through consistent meditation and deliberate tapas, or awakened naturally through spiritual maturity and yogic sadhana. The supreme siddhi is realization of the Self, Parasiva.§

simnif: (Shum language) The perspective of the mind in its scientific, intellectual state. See: Shum, Shum perspectives.§

sin: Intentional transgression of divine law. Akin to the Latin sons, “guilty.” Hinduism does not view sin as a crime against God, but as an act against dharma—moral order—and one’s own self. See: karma.§

Siva (Śiva): image The “Auspicious,” “Gracious,” or “Kindly one.” Supreme Being of the Saivite religion. God Siva is All and in all, simultaneously the creator and the creation, both immanent and transcendent. As personal Deity, He is Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. He is a one Being, perhaps best understood in three perfections: Parameshvara (Primal Soul), Parashakti (Pure Consciousness) and Parasiva (Absolute Reality). See: Parameshvara, Parashakti, Parasiva, Satchidananda.§

Sivalinga (Śivaliṅga): image “Mark,” “Token” or “Sign of Siva.” The most prevalent emblem of Siva, found in virtually all Siva temples. A rounded, elliptical, aniconic image, usually set on a circular base, or pitha. The Sivalinga is the simplest and most ancient symbol of Siva, especially of Parasiva, God beyond all forms and qualities. The pitha represents Parashakti, the manifesting power of God. Lingas are usually of stone (either carved or naturally existing, svayambhu, such as shaped by a swift-flowing river), but may also be of metal, precious gems, crystal, wood, earth or transitory materials such as ice.§

Sivaloka (Śivaloka): image “Realm of Siva.” See: heaven, loka.§

Siva Purana (Śiva Purāṇa): image “Ancient [lore] of Siva.” 1) A collection of six major scriptures sacred to Saivites. 2) The name of the oldest of these six texts, though some consider it a version of the Vayu Purana.§

Skanda: image “Quicksilver;” “leaping one.” One of Lord Karttikeya’s oldest names. His form as scarlet-hued warrior God. See: Karttikeya.§

Smarta (Smārta): image “Of or related to smriti,” Hinduism’s secondary scriptures. See: Smartism.§

Smartism (Smārta): image Sect based on the secondary scriptures (smriti). The most liberal of the four major Hindu denominations, an ancient Vedic brahminical tradition (ca 700 bce) which from the 9th century onward was guided and deeply influenced by the Advaita Vedanta teachings of Adi Shankara. Its adherents rely mainly on the classical smriti literature, especially the Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata, the latter of which includes the Bhagavad Gita), Puranas and Dharma Shastras. These are regarded as complementary to and a means to understanding the Vedas. Smartas adhere to Shankara’s view that all Gods are but various representations of Saguna Brahman. Thus, Smartas are avowedly eclectic, worshiping all the Gods and discouraging sectarianism. The Smarta system of worship reinforces this outlook by including the major Deity of each primary Hindu sect of ancient days: Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Siva and Shakti, with the addition of a sixth Deity, Kumara. One among them is generally chosen as the devotee’s preferred Deity, Ishta Devata.§

smriti (smṛiti): image That which is “remembered;” the tradition. Hinduism’s nonrevealed, secondary but deeply revered scriptures, derived from man’s insight and experience. Smriti speaks of secular matters as well as spiritual lore, ranging from day-to-day rules and regulations to enlightened teachings. See: Mahabharata, Purana, Ramayana.§

soul: The real being of man, as distinguished from body, mind and emotions. The soul—known as atman or purusha—is the sum of its two aspects, the form or body of the soul and the essence of the soul. —essence or nucleus of the soul: Man’s innermost and unchanging being—Pure Consciousness (Parashakti or Satchidananda) and Absolute Reality (Parasiva). This essence was never created, does not change or evolve and is eternally identical with God Siva’s perfections of Parashakti and Parasiva.§

soul body: Anandamaya kosha (“sheath of bliss”), also referred to as the “causal body” (karana sharira). Names the soul’s manifest nature as an individual being—an effulgent, human-like form composed of light. It is the emanational creation of God, destined to one day merge back into Him. During its evolution, the soul functions through four types of outer sheaths that envelop the soul form—mental, instinctive-intellectual, vital and physical. See: evolution of the soul, subtle body.§

spiritual unfoldment: The unfoldment of the spirit, the inherent, divine soul of man. The gradual expansion of consciousness as kundalini shakti slowly rises through the sushumna. The term spiritual unfoldment indicates this slow, imperceptible process, likened to a lotus flower’s emerging from bud to effulgent beauty. See: evolution of the soul.§

Sri Rudram (Śrī Rudram): image “(Hymn) to the wielder of awesome powers.” Preeminent Vedic hymn to Lord Siva as the God of dissolution, chanted daily in Siva temples throughout India. It is in this long prayer, located in the Yajur Veda, Taittiriya Samhita, in the middle of the first three Vedas, that the Saivite mantra Namah Sivaya first appears.§

states of consciousness: See: mind (five states).§

subsubconscious mind: Vasana chitta (“mind of subliminal traits”). See: mind (five states).§

subsuperconscious mind: Anukarana chitta. See: mind (five states).§

Subramuniyaswami: image Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, founder of HINDUISM TODAY, 162nd satguru (1927–2001) of the Nandinatha Sampradaya’s Kailasa Parampara. He was ordained Sivaya Subramuniyaswami by Sage Yogaswami on the full-moon day of May 12, 1949, in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Before his meeting with Yogaswami, he had attained nirvikalpa samadhi in the caves of Jalani. Recognized worldwide as one of foremost Hindu ministers of our times, he contributed to the revival of Hinduism in immeasurable abundance. He was simultaneously a staunch defender of traditions, as the tried and proven ways of the past, and a fearless innovator, setting new patterns of life for contemporary humanity. He is succeeded by Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, the 163rd satguru of the Kailasa Parampara.§

subtle body: Sukshma sharira, the nonphysical, astral body or vehicle in which the soul encases itself. When the soul is physically embodied, the subtle body includes the pranic, astral and mental sheaths; after death, when the pranic sheath has disintegrated, it consists of only the astral and mental sheaths. Just before rebirth or when higher evolutionary planes are entered, the astral sheath is dropped off and the subtle body consists of only the mental sheath. See: soul body.§

Sufism: A mystical Islamic tradition in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience.§

sukshma sharira (sūkshma śarīra): image “Subtle body,” or astral body. See: subtle body.§

superconscious mind: Karana chitta. The intuitive mind; the all-knowing intelligence of the soul. See: mind (five states).§

superstition: A belief or practice not supported by experience or reason.§

Supreme God: Highest God, the source or creator of all other Gods, beings and all manifestation. See: Brahman, Shakti, Siva, Vishnu.§

sushumna nadi (sushumṇā nāḍī): image “Most gracious channel.” Central psychic nerve current within the spinal column; channel for the kundalini.§

swami (swāmī): image “Lord; owner; self-possessed.” He who knows or is master of himself. A respectful title for a Hindu monk, usually a sannyasin, an initiated, orange-robed renunciate, dedicated wholly to religious life. As a sign of respect, the term swami is sometimes applied more broadly to include non-monastics dedicated to spiritual works. See: sannyasa dharma, sannyasin.§

swamini (swāminī): image The feminine form of swami.§

image tala: image “Plane or world; level; base, bottom; abyss.” Root word in the names of the seven realms of lower consciousness centered in the seven chakras below the muladhara chakra. See: chakra, hell, Naraka.§

tamas(ic): image “Force of inertia.” The quality of denseness, inertia, contraction, resistance and dissolution. See: guna.§

tapas: image “Heat, fire; ardor.” The tenth niyama: purificatory spiritual disciplines, severe austerity, penance and sacrifice. The endurance of performing extreme religious austerities, with the aim of spiritual transformation and unfoldment. Tapas is austerity of a severe, psyche-transforming nature, compared to the simpler, more sustained austerity of sadhana.§

temple: Mandira. An edifice in a consecrated place dedicated to the worship of God or the Gods. From the Latin templum, “temple, sanctuary; marked space.” Hindu temples, over one million worldwide, are revered as sacred, magical places in which the three worlds most consciously commune—structures especially built and consecrated to channel the subtle spiritual energies of inner-world beings. The temple’s psychic atmosphere is maintained through regular worship ceremonies (puja) invoking the Deity, who from the Third World uses His installed image (murti) as a temporary body through which bless those living on the earth plane, the First World.§

theism: Belief that God exists as a real, conscious, personal Supreme Being, creator and ruler of the universe. May also include belief in the Gods.§

three worlds: The primary hierarchical divisions of the cosmos. See: loka.§

Third World: Sivaloka, “realm of Siva.” The spiritual realm or causal plane wherein Mahadevas and highly evolved souls live in their own self-effulgent forms. See: loka, heaven.§

tilaka: image Marks made on the forehead or the brow with clay, ashes or sandalwood paste as an indication of sectarian affiliation. Vaishnavas wear a vertical v-shaped tilaka made from clay. The Saivite tilaka, called tripundra, consists of three horizontal strips of holy ash with a dot near the middle, or between the eyebrows. Wearing the tilaka is an expression of religious affiliation and pride in one’s beliefs.§

Tirukural: image “Holy couplets.” A treasury of Hindu ethical insight and a literary masterpiece of the Tamil language, written by Saiva Saint Tiruvalluvar (ca 200 bce). One of the world’s earliest ethical texts, the nonsectarian Tirukural could well be considered a bible on virtue for the human race. It is sworn on in South Indian courts of law.§

Tirumantiram: image “Holy incantation.” The Nandinatha Sampradaya’s oldest Tamil scripture; written ca 200 bce by Rishi Tirumular. It is the earliest of the Tirumurai texts, and a vast storehouse of esoteric yogic and tantric knowledge. It contains the mystical essence of raja yoga and siddha yoga.§

Tiruvalluvar: image “Holy weaver.” Tamil weaver and householder saint (ca 200 bce) who wrote the classic Saivite ethical scripture Tirukural.§

tithing: Dashamamsha. “One-tenth sharing.” Religion’s dues. The spiritual discipline, often a vrata (vow), of paying one-tenth of one’s gainful and gifted income to a religious organization of one’s choice, thus sustaining spiritual education and upliftment on Earth. Such giving is called makimai in the Tamil tradition.§

tithing vow: Dashama bhaga vrata. “One-tenth-part vow.” A promise tithers make before God, Gods and their family or peers to tithe regularly each month—for a specified time, or for life.§

transcendent: Surpassing the limits of experience or manifest form. In Saiva Siddhanta, a quality of God Siva as Absolute Reality, Parasiva, the Self. Distinguished from immanent. Compare with immanent.§

transmute, transmutation: To change something from one form to another; used in spiritual endeavors to describe changes of thought and energy.§

trishula (triśūla): image “Trident.”A three-pronged spear or trident wielded by Lord Siva and certain Saivite ascetics.It symbolizes God’s three fundamental shaktis or powers—icçha (desire, will, love), kriya (action) and jnana (wisdom). The trishula is also held by Lord Ganesha.§

image unfoldment: Opening gradually, especially in stages. See: evolution of the soul, spiritual unfoldment.
Upanishad: image “Sitting near devotedly.” The fourth and final portion of the Vedas, expounding the philosophical meaning of the Vedic hymns. The Upanishads are a collection of profound texts which are the source of Vedanta philosophy and have dominated Indian thought for thousands of years. They are philosophical chronicles of rishis expounding the nature of God, soul and cosmos, exquisite renderings of the deepest Hindu thought. It is generally thought that the earliest were written down in Sanskrit between 500 and 600 bce. These popular and approachable texts, widely available in many languages, revolve around the identity of the soul and God, and the doctrines of reincarnation, of karma and of liberation through renunciation and meditation. See: shruti, Vedanta, Vedas.§

upadesha: imageimage “Advice; religious instruction.” Often given in question-and-answer form from guru to disciple. The satguru’s spiritual discourses.§

image vairagi (vairāgī): image “Dispassionate one.” An ascetic who lives by the principle of vairagya, renunciation. Also names a particular class of mendicants, generally Vaishnavas, of North India who have freed themselves from worldly desires.§

Vaishṇavism (Vaishṇava): image One of the four major denominations of Hinduism, representing roughly half of the world’s one billion Hindus. It gravitates around the worship of Lord Vishnu as Personal God, His incarnations and their consorts. The doctrine of avatara (He who descends), especially important to Vaishnavism, teaches that whenever adharma gains ascendency in the world, God takes a human birth to reestablish “the way.” There are either 10, 22 or 34 avataras of Vishnu, according to various scriptures. The most renowned avataras are Rama and Krishna. The last to come will be Kalki, the harbinger of a golden age on Earth. Vaishnavism stresses the personal aspect of God over the impersonal, and bhakti (devotion) as the true path to salvation. The goal of Vaishnavism is the attainment of mukti, defined as blissful union with God’s body, the loving recognition that the soul is a part of Him, and eternal nearness to Him in Vaikuntha, heaven. Foremost among Vaishnava scriptures are the Vaishnava Agamas, Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana.§

Vaishṇavite (Vaishṇava): image: Of or relating to Vishnu; same as Vaishnava. A follower of Vishnu or His incarnations. See: Vaishnavism.§

vanaprastha ashrama (vānaprastha āśrama): image “Forest-dweller stage.” See: ashrama dharma.§

varna dharma (varṇa dharma): image “The way of one’s kind.” The hereditary social class system, generally referred to as caste, established in India in ancient times. Within varna dharma are the many religious and moral codes which define human virtue. Varna dharma is social duty, in keeping with the principles of good conduct, according to one’s community, which is generally based on the craft or occupation of the family. Strictly speaking it encompasses two interrelated social hierarchies: 1) varṇa, which refers to the four classes: brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra; and 2) jati, the myriad occupational subgroups, or guilds, which in India number over 3,000. Hence this dharma is sometimes called jati dharma. The varna dharma system—despite its widespread discrimination against harijans, and the abuse of social status by higher castes—ensures a high standard of craftsmanship, a sense of community belonging, family integrity and religio-cultural continuity. Caste is not unique to Hinduism and India. By other names it is found in every society. The four varnas, or classes, and myriad jatis, occupational castes, or guilds, form the basic elements of human interaction. See: dharma, jati.§

vasana (vāsanā): image “Abode.” Subconscious inclinations. From vas, “dwelling, residue, remainder.” The subliminal inclinations and habit patterns which, as driving forces, color and motivate one’s attitudes and future actions. Vasanas are the conglomerate results of subconscious impressions (samskaras) created through experience. Samskaras, experiential impressions, combine in the subconscious to form vasanas, which thereafter contribute to mental fluctuations, called vritti. The most complex and emotionally charged vasanas are found in the dimension of mind called the sub-subconscious, or vasana chitta. See: samskara, vasana daha tantra.§

vasana daha tantra (vāsanā daha tantra): image “Purification of the subconscious by fire.” Daha means burning, tantra is a method, and vasanas are deep-seated subconscious traits or tendencies that shape one’s attitudes and motivations. Vasanas can be either positive or negative. One of the best methods for resolving difficulties in life, of dissolving troublesome vasanas, the vasana daha tantra is the practice of burning confessions, or even long letters to loved ones or acquaintances, describing pains, expressing confusions and registering grievances and long-felt hurts. Also called spiritual journaling, writing down problems and burning them in any ordinary fire brings them from the subconscious into the external mind, releasing the supressed emotion as the fire consumes the paper. This is a magical healing process. See: vasana.§

vastu (vāstu): image A traditional Hindu system of space design which promotes well-being by constructing buildings in harmony with natural forces.§

Vastu Shastras (Vāstu Śāstras): image Various ancient texts on vastu, “the science of time and space,” in the words of renowned Indian architect, Sri V. Ganapati Sthapati. The Vastu Shastras are categorized as part of the Sthapatyaveda, science of architecture, classed among the Upavedas, which are secondary Vedic texts discussing such areas as statecraft, health and music. Vastu unfolds the scientific principles and models of spiritual art and architecture to yield a harmonious flow of energy in the physical environment, giving rise to good health, wealth, intelligence and happiness.§

Veda: image “Wisdom.” Sagely revelations which comprise Hinduism’s most authoritative scripture. The Vedas are a body of dozens of holy texts known collectively as the Veda, or as the four Vedas: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. In all they include over 100,000 verses, as well as additional prose. The knowledge imparted by the Vedas ranges from earthy devotion to high philosophy. The oldest portions of the Vedas are thought by some to date back as far as 6,000 bce, written down in Sanskrit in the last few millennia, making them the world’s most ancient scriptures. They, along with the Agamas, are shruti, that which is “heard.” See: shruti, Upanishad.§

Vedanta (Vedānta): image “Ultimate wisdom” or “final conclusions of the Vedas.” Vedanta is the system of thought embodied in the Upanishads (ca 1500-600 bce), which give forth the ultimate conclusions of the Vedas. Through history there developed numerous Vedanta schools, ranging from pure dualism to absolute monism.§

Vedic-Agamic (Vedic-Āgamic): Simultaneously drawing from and complying with both of Hinduism’s revealed scriptures (shruti), the Vedas and the Agamas, which represent two complimentary, intertwining streams of history and tradition. The difference between Siddhanta (the Agamic tradition) and Vedanta (the Vedic tradition) is seen in the fact that while the Vedas represent man looking for God, the Agamas hold the perspective of God looking to help man. Further, while the Vedas are voiced by rishis, God or the Goddess is the narrator of truth in the Agama texts. It is said the Vedas are general and the Agamas are specific.§

vegetarian: Shakahara. Of a diet which excludes meat, fish, fowl and eggs. Vegetarianism is a principle of health and environmental ethics that has been a keystone of Indian life for thousands of years. Vegetarian foods include grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and dairy products. Natural, fresh foods, locally grown, without insecticides or chemical fertilizers, are preferred. The following foods are minimized: frozen and canned foods, highly processed foods, such as white rice, white sugar and white flour; and “junk” foods and beverages (those with abundant chemical additives, such as artificial sweeteners, colorings, flavorings and preservatives, or prepared with unwholesome ingredients).§

veiling grace: Tirobhava shakti. The divine power by which Siva limits the soul’s perception of Truth by binding or attaching the soul to the fetters of anava, karma and maya—enabling it to experience the lessons it needs to grow and evolve as an individual being. See: grace.§

Venkateshvara (Veṇkaṭeśvara): image “Lord of the Venkat Hills.” A name of Vishnu. See: Vishnu.§

vibhuti (vibhūti): image “Resplendent, powerful.” Holy ash, prepared by burning cow dung along with other precious substances, such as milk, ghee and honey. It symbolizes purity and is one of the main sacraments given at puja in all Saivite temples and shrines. Saivites wear three stripes on the brow as a distinct sectarian mark, as do many Smartas. See: tilaka.§

videhamukti: image “Disembodied liberation.” Release from reincarnation through nirvikalpa samadhi—the realization of the Self, Parasiva—at the point of death. Blessed are those who are aware that departure, mahasamadhi, is drawing near. They settle all affairs, make amends and intensify personal sadhana. They seek the silver channel of sushumna which guides kundalini through the door of Brahman into the beyond of the beyond. They seek total renunciation as the day of transition looms strongly in their consciousness. Those who know that Lord Yama is ready to receive them seek to merge with Siva. They seek nirvikalpa samadhi as the body and earthly life fall away. Those who succeed are the videhamuktas, honored as among those who will never be reborn. Hindu tradition allows for vows of renunciation, called atura sannyasa diksha, to be taken and the orange robe donned by the worthy sadhaka or householder in the days prior to death. See: jivanmukti.§

Vinayaga Chaturthi (Vināyaka Chaturthī): image See: Ganesha Chaturthi.§

Vinayaka (Vināyaka): image “Remover.” A name of Lord Ganesha, meaning the remover of obstacles (sometimes preceded by vighna, “obstacle”). See: Ganesha.§

Vishnu (Vishṇu): image “All-pervasive.” Supreme Deity of the Vaishnavite religion. God as personal Lord and Creator, the All-Loving Divine Personality, who periodically incarnates and lives a fully human life to reestablish dharma whenever necessary. See: Vaishnavism.§

vrata: image “Vow, religious oath.” Often a vow to perform certain disciplines over a period of time, such as penance, fasting, specific mantra repetitions, worship or meditation. Vratas extend from the simplest personal promise to irrevocable vows made before God, Gods, guru and community.§

world: In Hindu theology, world refers to 1) loka: a particular region of consciousness or plane of existence. 2) māya: The whole of manifest existence; the phenomenal universe, or cosmos. In this sense it transcends the limitations of physical reality, and can include emotional, mental and spiritual, physical realms of existence, depending on its use. Also denoted by the terms prakriti and Brahmanda. See: loka.§

image yajna (yajña): image “Worship; sacrifice.” One of the most central Hindu concepts—sacrifice and surrender through acts of worship, inner and outer. Specifically, yajna refers to:§

1) A form of ritual worship dating back to Vedic times, in which oblations—ghee, grains, spices and exotic woods—are offered into a fire according to scriptural injunctions while special mantras are chanted. Agni, the God of fire, is revered as the divine messenger who carries offerings and prayers to the Gods. The ancient Veda Brahmanas and the Shrauta Shastras describe various types of yajna rites, some so elaborate as to require hundreds of priests, whose powerful chanting resounds for miles. While today yajna is less prevalent than puja (worship in temples with water, lights and flowers), the ancient rite is still widely performed, and specialized training for its performance is carried on in priest academies in India. Yajnas on a grand scale are performed for special occasions, beseeching the Gods for rain during drought, or for peace during bloody civil war. In temples, Vedic yajna has its Agamic equivalent in the agnikaraka ceremony, commonly known as homa or havana.§

2) Personal acts of worship or sacrifice. The Upanishads suggest that one can make “inner yajnas” by offering up bits of the little self into the fires of sadhana and tapas until the greater Self shines forth. The five prescribed daily yajnas, pañcha mahāyajña, include homage to 1) holy men through study of the Vedas, 2) homage to Gods and elementals, 3) homage to ancestors, 4) homage to living beings and 5) homage to humans. See: dharma, homa, puja.§

yama-niyama: image Hinduism’s fundamental ethical codes, constituting the first two of the eight limbs of raja yoga. The yamas (ethical restraints) and niyamas (religious practices) are the essential foundation for a Hindu’s spiritual progress. They are codified in numerous scriptures including the Shandilya and Varuha Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Gorakshanatha, the Tirumantiram of Tirumular and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. All the above texts list ten yamas and ten niyamas, with the exception of Patanjali’s classic work, which lists only five of each. The yamas are 1) ahiṁsā, noninjury; 2) satya, truthfulness; 3) asteya, nonstealing; 4) brahmacharya, sexual purity; 5) kshamā, patience; 6) dhṛiti, steadfastness; 7) dayā, compassion; 8) ārjava, honesty and straightforwardness; 9) mitāhara, moderate appetite; and 10) śaucha, purity. The niyamas are 1) hrī, remorse; 2) santosha, contentment; 3) dāna, giving; 4) āstikya, faith; 5) Īśvarapūjana, worship of the Lord; 6) siddhānta śravana, scriptural listening; 7) mati, cognition; 8) vrata, sacred vows; 9) japa, recitation; and 10) tapas, austerity. See: Essay 42.§

yoga: image “Union.” From yuj, “to yoke, harness, unite.” The philosophy, process, disciplines and practices designed to yoke individual consciousness with transcendent or divine consciousness. Yoga is essentially a one eightfold system, called raja yoga or ashtanga (eight-limbed) yoga. Historically, however, various aspects have been emphasized as separate, independent yoga systems in themselves. Popular today are hatha yoga (the third limb, asana, emphasizing bodily fitness in preparation for meditation), kriya yoga (the fourth limb, emphasizing breath control), as well as karma yoga (selfless service) and bhakti yoga (devotional practices) which could be regarded as an expression of raja yoga’s first two limbs (yama and niyama). See: raja yoga.§

yoga pada (yoga pāda): image The third of the successive stages in spiritual unfoldment in Saiva Siddhanta. See: pada.§

Yoga Sutras (Yoga Sūtras): image The great work by Saivite Natha siddha Patanjali (ca 200 bce), comprising some 200 aphorisms delineating ashtanga (eight-limbed) yoga, also called raja (kingly) or siddha (perfection) yoga. Still today, it is the foremost text on meditative yoga. See: raja yoga.§

Yogaswami (Yogaswāmī): image “Master of yoga.” 161st satguru of the Nandinatha Sampradaya’s Kailasa Parampara. Sri Lanka’s most renowned contemporary spiritual master (1872–1964), a Sivajnani and Natha siddhar revered by both Hindus and Buddhists. He was trained in and practiced kundalini yoga under the guidance of Satguru Chellappaswami, from whom he received guru diksha. Sage Yogaswami was in turn the satguru of Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.§

yogi (yogī): image One who practices yoga, especially kundalini yoga or raja yoga. (More properly yogin. Feminine, yogini.)§

young soul: A soul who has gone through only a few births, and is thus inexperienced or immature. See: evolution of the soul, soul, soul body.§

yuga: image “Eon,” “age.” One of four ages which chart the duration of the world according to Hindu thought. They are: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. In the first period, dharma reigns supreme; but as the ages revolve, virtue diminishes and ignorance and injustice increases. In the Kali Yuga, the fourth age, righteousness is one-tenth that of the Satya Yuga. True worship and sacrifice cease, and base consciousness is prominent. Calamities, disease, fatigue and faults such as anger and fear prevail. People decline and their motives grow weak. At the end of the Kali Yuga, which we are now in, the cycle begins again with a new Satya Yuga.§