Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

RELIGIONS

GLOSSARY OF HINDUISM

Aditi: Infinity. Aditya: The Sun.

Nitya: Eternal; without end; permanent; indestructible. Nirvana: The state of Emancipation, or Freedom from Samsara, or Rebirth, the state of Absorption by the Divine; generally used by the Buddhists, but sometime by the Hindus. Paramahamsa: Supreme soul, or being. Paravidya: Supreme Wisdom, or knowledge. Parvathi: The wife of Shiva. Prana: The Universal Principle of Energy; also used to designate the Vital Force of the body, which is a manifestation of the Universal Prana. Pranayama : The Science of Control of the Prana, principally by means of the Breath; the Fourth Step of Patanjali's Yoga System. Pratyahara: Control of the Senses; a part of the Yoga disciple and practically the fifth Step of the Yoga of Patanjali. Prithivi: Solid matter, earth cohesive mass. Puraka: Inhalation of the Breath. Purusha: The Spiritual Principle; the Spirit. Raja Yoga: The 'Royal Yoga 1 -, a form of Yoga advanced by the Yoga School of Patanjali and others, which has for its object the devel- opment of the psychic and the control of Mind. Rig Veda: The oldest part of the Vedas, and which is composed Samadhi Transcendental contemplation, of Ecstasy; Cosmic con- sciousness; a supernormal state produced by meditation, concen- tration, etc.; the eighth Step of Patanjali's Yoga system. Samsara: The World of Phenomenal Existence; the chain of Rebirth, the Cycle of Existences; used particularly to distinguish the universe of manifestation and phenomena from the Real Existence which lies behind and under it. Sat: Absolute Existence; one of the terms applied to The Absolute Brahman, or 'That'. Sat-Chit-Ananda: A term applied to The Absolute, Brahman or 'That' consisting of three terms, and meaning 'Absolute Existence or Being-Absolute Wisdom and Knowledge-Absolute Bliss or Happiness. Sloka: A verse of a poem or sacred writing. Smriti: Memory; also a term sometimes applied to the sacred books which have been transmitted in the past by Memory. Soma: The nectar of the ancient gods; an Indian plant. Sunya Vada: The doctrine that behind the phenomenal world there is an infinite void, or Nothing; a form of philosophical Nihilism. Tamas: Darkness; one of the Gunas', the Guna of Sloth, Ignorance and Slowness. Tat Tvam-Asi: A term meaning 'That thou art,’ used by Hindu teachers to their students, and which informs them of their rela- tionship with Brahman, through the Indwelling Spirit. Vedanta: The great system of Hindu Philosophy, the distinguishing feature of which is Idealism. Vishnu: The First principle of the Hindu Trinity; of whom Krishna was an avatar; the conception of Vishnu and Krishna is often identical. Yoga: A term meaning 'yoking; joining, etc’ also meaning 'mental control and advancement' resulting therefrom; the name of the Yoga System of Hindu Philosophy established by Patanjali. Yogi, or Yogin: Practitioner of Yoga, or in a more general sense, one who seeks Union, Realization and Attainment. principally of hymns, etc., Shakti: Power, Authority.

Aham: The Ego; the T. Ananda : Absolute bliss. Asana: Posture; bodily attitude assumed during meditation; the third step in Patanjali 's Yoga system. Atman: The spirit; the real self. Aum (or Om): A symbolic 'Holy Word" signifying the absolute idea. Avidya: Ignorance. Bhakti: Ardent love of God; Bhakti-Yoga, the Yoga, or doctrine of the Love of God; Bhakti-Yogi, A disciple of Bhakti-Yoga. Bramha: The personified conception of Brahman; the conception of Deity as the Creating God; the Creative Deity of the orthodox Hindu Trinity. Brahmin: A member of the highest caste of India; a 'twice-born' according to the Hindu term. Buddhi: The determinative faculty of the mind. The Determinative Principle arising from Prakriti by reason of the involvement of Purusha. Chaitanya: Pure Intelligence; also the name of an exalted Hindu teacher, who lived about 1500 A.D. and who is regarded by some as an incarnation or avatar of Krishna. Dhama : Concentration; one-mindedness; The sixth step of yoga. Dharma: Duty virtue; the Path of Right Action. Dhyana : Meditation on the divine; the Yoga seventh step. Dvaita: The Dualistic School of Philosophy, opposed to Advaita. Gnana: Wisdom, Gnana Yoga, the yoga of Wisdom. Hatha-Yoga: The Yoga of physical control; Hatha-Yogi- a follower or practitioner of Hatha-Yoga. Indra: The 'King of the gods' in the ancient Hindu mythology. Ishwara: The personal god; the Logos; the Demi-Urge; the Universal Purusha. Jaimini: The founder of the Purva-Mimamsa philosophy. Jiva: The individual life, or individual soul; Jiva-Atman; th e Atman in its manifestation of Jivas. Kalpa: A cycle of time. Kama: Desire; passion; sense-longing. Karma-Yoga: The Yoga of work, or action, or duty-well-performed without hope of reward; Karma-Yoga. Krishna: An incarnation of Vishnu, who lived about 1400 B.C. and whose general teachings are stated in the Bhagavad-Gita. Kundalini: The concentrated psychic force, located in the lotus at the base of the spinal column, and which when aroused, develops the psychic and spiritual powers of the Yogin. Manas: The deliberative or reasoning faculty or the mind. Mantram : An affirmation; prayer; holy word; verse, thought; idea, etc., expressed in words, or meditated upon in the form of words, during worship, meditation or concentration. Maya: Illusion, the phenomenal cloak or covering of the Absolute, which is not real but exists merely as an appearance. ' Moksha: The state of liberation; Emancipation; Freedom; Divine Absorption, etc., often used in the same sense as Nirvana. Mukti: Deliverance, or Emancipation from Samsaara, or Rebirth. Nirguna: Without-Gunas, i.e. without qualities or attributes. Nishkamakarma: Actions performed unselfishly, from duty, and without desire or hope of reward; according to the teachings of Karma Yoga