Advaita = 'Non-duality; a school of Vedanta philosophy that teaches the oneness of God, soul and \ universe. The chief exponent of Advaita Vedanta (Non-dualistic Vedanta) was Shankaracharya (A.D. 788-820).' ahimsa = 'Non-violence, non-maliciousness, inoffensiveness' arati = 'Worship of a Hindu deity by waving of lamp, flower, and other articles and accompanied by sound\ of bells and drums.' ashrama = 'Hermitage, a residential institution especially a spiritual or religious one.\ Also means the four stages of human life, 25 years each, prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:\
    \
  1. Brahmacharya – the celibate student stage
    2. \
  2. Garhasthya – the married householder stage
    3. \
  3. Banaprastha – the stage of retirement and contemplation
    4. \
  4. Sannyas – the stage of religious mendicancy
    5. \
' Atman = 'The Self or Soul; denotes both the Supreme Soul and the individual soul, which, according to\ Advaita, or Non-dualistic Vedanta are ultimately identical.' Avatara = 'The descent on earth of a Hindu deity, especially, Vishnu; an Incarnation of God on earth in\ human form; an embodiment or concrete manifestation of an abstract concept; a leader who is\ regarded as or professes to be a savior or liberator. Hindus, however, believe that God\ incarnates Himself many times—Sri Krishna declares in the\ Bhagavad-Gita (IV-8): "In every age I come back to deliver the holy, to destroy the sin of the sinner,\ to establish righteousness."' banaprastha = 'The third of the four stages of human life prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:\
    \
  1. Brahmacharya—the celibate student stage\
  2. Garhasthya—the married householder stage\
  3. Banaprastha—the stage of retirement and contemplation\
  4. Sannyas—the stage of religious mendicancy\
' Bhagaban = 'Bhagaban or Bhagavan. An epithet of the Godhead.' bhakti = 'Love of God, devotion.' BhaktiYoga = 'The path of devotion followed by dualistic worshippers.' Brahma = 'The Creator God; the first of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Vishnu (Preserver) and Siva, or Shiva (Destroyer).' brahmachari = 'A celibate student devoted to the practice of spiritual discipline; one who follows the first stage of life.' brahmacharya = 'The first of the four stages of human life prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:\
    \
  1. Brahmacharya— the celibate student stage\
  2. Garhasthya— the married householder stage\
  3. Banaprastha— the stage of retirement and contemplation\
  4. Sannyas—the stage of religious mendicancy\
' Brahman = 'GOD in day–to–day language. In the language of philosophy also known as Self, Truth, the Absolute, the\ Supreme Reality, the Ultimate Reality, or Sat-Chit-Ananda of the Vedanta philosophy.
NOTE: Not to be confused with\ Brahmin, which is the priestly caste of the Hindu caste system.' brahmateja = 'The glow that surrounds a holy person.' daya = 'compassion.' dharma = 'Righteousness, duty; the inner constitution of a thing which governs its growth.' durba = 'Common grass used in Hindu worship.' Durga = 'Divine Consort of Siva according to Hindu mythology; a name of the Divine Mother.' Diwali = 'Deepavali — the autumn festival of lights in India.' Ganesh = 'The elephant–headed Hindu deity of wisdom, success, and remover of obstacles; the eldest son of Siva and\ Durga according to Puranas or the Hindu mythology.' garhasthya = 'The second of the four stages of human life prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:\
    \
  1. Brahmacharya— the celibate student stage\
  2. Garhasthya— the married householder stage\
  3. Banaprastha— the stage of retirement and contemplation\
  4. Sannyas—the stage of religious mendicancy\
' gunas = 'Literally means qualities or attributes. According to the Samkhya philosophy, Prakriti (nature),\ in contrast with Purusha (soul), consists of three gunas known as sattva, rajas, and tamas.\ Anything we see, hear, smell or feel in the physical universe is the result of these three gunas in different proportions.' Hari = 'God—in common parlance; a name of Vishnu.' Indra = 'The king of gods in the Vedas.' Isvarakoti = 'A perfected soul born to deliver a special spiritual message to humanity.' japa = 'Repetition of the name of Lord, or a sacred formula called mantra taught to the disciple by\ the guru, or spiritual teacher.' jiva = 'The embodied soul, a living being, an ordinary person.' jnana = 'Pronounced gyana. The knowledge of Supreme Reality, or Brahman, or Godhead arrived at through\ reasoning and discrimination.' jnani = 'Pronounced as gyani. One who follows jnana, the knowledge of Supreme Reality, or Brahman,\ or Godhead arrived at through reasoning and discrimination.' JnanaYoga = 'Pronounced Gyana Yoga. The knowledge of Supreme Reality, or Brahman, or Godhead arrived at\ through reasoning and discrimination. Also the process of reasoning by means of which the Ultimate Truth is\ realized. A person following the path of Jnana Yoga is called a Jnani—pronounced as Gyani.' Kali = 'Pronounced Kaa–lee; One of the names of the Divine Mother of the Universe.' Kaliyuga = 'The last of the four yugas, or epochs or periods. According to the Hindu mythology, the universe passes\ through four yugas: Satya, Treta, Dwapara,and Kali, the first being the Golden\ Age of truth, virtue, and righteousness that diminishes in each succeeding period, and the last, the Kali\ being the age of vice and total lack of virtue, leading to the destruction of the universe and beginning of a new manifestation.\ The world is considered to be passing now through the Kaliyuga.' Kalpataru ='A mythological, Divine Tree that fulfils all wishes one might have.' KarmaYoga = 'Karma means action, in general, or duty. Karma Yoga, mainly discussed in the\ Bhagavad–Gita, is a spiritual discipline based upon unselfish performance of duty without\ aspiring for results.' Kartik = 'A son of Siva and Durga and the commander–in–chief of the army in heaven according to Hindu mythology.' kirtan = 'Indian devotional music, often accompanied by dancing.' kshatravirya = 'Manliness of a warrior.' kundalini = 'The spiritual energy lying dormant in all individuals. This energy is manifested by the practice of Yoga\ discipline.' Lakshmi = 'The daughter of Siva and Durga and the goddess of wealth and prosperity according to Hindu mythology.' Mahamaya = 'Lit. the Great Illusionist; a name of Kali, the Divine Mother.' MalayaBreeze = 'According to an ancient belief in India, the breeze blowing from the legendary Malaya mountains\ turns all trees and plants that have a core into sandalwood.' mahasamadhi = 'Total absorption or communion with God, the final journey—beatitude from which the mind never\ returns.' mantra = 'A sacred word, such as "OM". A Vedic Hymn, for example the Gayatri: "That Sun, the\ adorable One; On the glory of that luminous One we meditate. May He endow us with pure intelligence!"\ A sacred formula, which a guru (spiritual teacher) teaches his/her disciple during initiation for\ japa and meditation.' maya = 'Ignorance obscuring the vision of God—the inherent creative power in Godhead or Brahman\ through which the visible universe is manifested. We are in spiritual blindness because of the maya.' moksha = 'Liberation or final emancipation.' monism = 'The philosophical view that Reality is a whole and all existing things can be described by a single\ concept or system; Advaita Vedanta, or the non-dualistic Vedanta philosophy is an example of monism.' nivritti = 'refrainment, renunciation. Opposite of pravritti.' nirvana = 'Final absorption in Brahman, or the All–pervading Reality, by the annihilation of the\ individual ego.' Om = 'According to the Vedas, the most sacred of all words, out of which emanated the universe. The symbol\ of both the personal God and the Brahman, or Absolute. Hindus regard Om as the greatest\ mantra being of incalculable spiritual potency.' Paramatma = 'The Supreme Soul or Brahman.' Prakriti = 'Primordial Nature, which in association with Purusha, creates the universe.' prana = 'The vital breadth, which sustains life in a physical body; the primal energy or force, of which\ other physical forces are manifestations.' pranayam = 'Control of the prana, or the vital breath. Fourth of the eight limbs of the Yoga Sutra of\ Patanjali; comprises certain breathing exercises that should be practiced only by those who lead a\ chaste life; should also be practised under the supervision of an experienced teacher.' prasad = 'Food or drink that has been offered to a deity.' pravritti = 'propensity, desire. Opposite of nivritti.' puja = 'Hindu ritualistic worship of a deity.' Purusha = 'The eternal Conscious Principle of the Samkhya philosophy; the Absolute.' purusakara = 'Self–reliance.' purusarthas = 'Vedanta recommended purposes sought after by a human being. There are four\ purusarthas—dharma (morality or righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (legitimate enjoyment), and\ moksha (liberation or spiritual freedom.' rajas = 'The principle of activity and restlessness in nature, or Prakriti; one of the three gunas\ (attributes), or constitutive elements of any phenomenon. Rajasic is pertaining to rajas.' RajaYoga = 'The spiritual exercises based on the Yoga system of philosophy, ascribed to Patanjali, is one of\ the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy that deals with the realization of Brahman or Godhead\ through the control of mind.' sadhana = ' Spiritual discipline.' Sakti = 'Sakti or Shakti. Lit., strength, power, energy. In the spiritual context, it means the Creative Power\ of Brahman, or the Divine Mother, Kali. One who worships Sakti, or the Divine Mother is\ called a Sakta.' Siva ='Or Shiva. The Destroyer God; the third of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Brahma (Creator)\ and Vishnu (Preserver).' samadhi = 'Samadhi or bhava samadhi. Super conscious state. Through spiritual practices when the mind is perfectly\ concentrated, one transcends the limitations of the conscious state and gets the vision of Truth or\ Illumination—simply stated, gets the vision of God.' Samkhya = 'One of the six systems of orthodox Hindu thought or philosophy that accept the authority of\ the Vedas. The other five are Vaisheshika, Nyaya, Yoga, Mimasa, and\ Vedanta. Scholars believe that these six systems of thoughts originated and evolved roughly between 600\ and 200 B.C.E.' samsara = 'The world, worldliness. A samsari usually refers to an individual who is attached to worldliness,\ devoid of spirituality.' SanatanaDharma = 'Eternal Religion.' Sanskrit = 'The ancient Indo-Aryan language of the Vedas, Vedanta, and other Hindu scriptures.' sannyas = 'The fourth and the last of the four stages of human life prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:\
    \
  1. Brahmacharya— the celibate student stage\
  2. Garhasthya— the married householder stage\
  3. Banaprastha— the stage of retirement and contemplation\
  4. Sannyas—the stage of religious mendicancy\
' Saraswati = 'The daugter of Siva and Durga and the goddess of learning according to Hindu mythology.' SatChitAnanda = 'Or Satchidananda; Lit., Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. Another name of the Ultimate or Supreme\ Reality or Brahman.' sattva = 'Or sattwa. The quality of tranquility, purity, virtue, illumination, balance and wisdom; one\ of the three gunas (attributes), or constitutive elements of any phenomenon. Sattvic is pertaining\ to sattva.' shastra = 'Scripture.' shraddha = 'Faith and reverence.' Sri = 'Sri or Shri. A title or designation prefixed to the name of a person, particularly a Deity or a holy person.' sutra = 'Aphorism—a brief statement of a principle, a clue.' tamas = 'The principle of dullness or inertia in nature; one of the three gunas (attributes), or constitutive\ elements of any phenomenon. Tamasic is pertaining to tamas.' Tantra = 'A system of religious philosophy in which the Divine Mother, Power, or Energy is the Ultimate Reality;\ worship of God as Mother. Also, scriptures dealing with this philosophy. Sir John Woodroffe (1865–1936), also\ known by his pseudonym Arthur Avalon, Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, and a British Orientalist, is\ attributed to translating several Tantra scriptures from Sanskrit to English.' tapasya = 'Austerity, asceticism, or severe self-discipline.' Upanisadic ='Pertaining to Upanishads.' Vahana = 'Animals that Hindu deities of the Puranas (Hindu Mythology) use as rides. For example, Durga or the Divine\ Mother's Vahana is a lion, the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi's is an owl, Saraswati, the goddess of learning is\ accompanied by an elegant swan, and Kartik, the Commander–in–Chief of gods in the heaven, rides a magnificent peacock.' Vedanta = 'The 2500 years old philosophy from India based on the Sanskrit scriptures called the Vedas. "Vedanta"\ comprises two words, "Veda" and "anta." "Veda" means knowledge, sacred wisdom or revealed truths,\ and "anta." means end, culmination, or climax. So "Vedanta." means the culmination of the Vedas. The scriptures\ called the Upanishads, derived from the Vedas, are the basis of the Vedanta philosophy. Vedanta teaches TRUTH IS ONE.\ In other words, GOD IS ONE and the only purpose of the human life is TO REALIZE GOD.' Vedantic = 'Pertaining to Vedanta.' Vedic = 'Pertaining to the Vedas, or the period of the Vedas around 2500 to 3000 BCE.' Virat = 'The Spirit in the form of the universe; the All Pervading Spirit.' Vishnu = 'The preserver god or deity; the Second of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Brahma (creator) and Shiva\ (destroyer).' yoga = 'Union of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul or Brahman. Simply stated, yoga includes spiritual\ exercises or disciplines to realize God. Vedanta identifies four kinds of yoga:\ Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Raja Yoga. Note: The so-called yoga being\ popularized today, especially in the Western countries, as postures, breathing and relaxation exercises, is called\ Hatha Yoga that has nothing to do with yoga discussed on this Web site. For more information, refer\ to the book How to Know God: Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, tr. Prabhavananda and Isherwood.'