- 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.
- 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:
- Brahmacharya---the celibate student stage
- Garhasthya---the married householder stage
- Banaprastha---the stage of retirement and contemplation
- Sannyas---the stage of religious mendicancy
- Atman
-
The Self or Soul; denotes both the Supreme Soul and the individual soul, which, according to
Non-dualistic Vedanta are ultimately identical.
- Avatara or Avatar
-
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."
- Bengali
-
The people of the Indian state of West Bengal and the People's Republic of Bangladesh; also the
language spoken by them.
- Bhagavad-Gita
-
"The Song of God"---a sacred scripture of the Hindus, one of the basic texts of the
Vedanta and the
Yoga philosophy the other two being
Upanisads,
and the Brahma-Sutra).
- Bhagavatam or Srimad Bhagavatam
-
A well--known Hindu scripture dealing mainly with the life of
Sri Krishna.
- bhakti
-
Love of God, devotion.
- Bhakti Yoga
-
The path of devotion followed by dualistic worshippers.
- banaprastha
-
The third of the four stages of human life prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:
- Brahmacharya---the celibate student stage
- Garhasthya---the married householder stage
- Banaprastha---the stage of retirement and contemplation
- Sannyas---the stage of religious mendicancy
- 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. See ashrama.
- brahmacharya
-
The first of the four stages of human life prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:
- Brahmacharya---the celibate student stage
- Garhasthya---the married householder stage
- Banaprastha---the stage of retirement and contemplation
- Sannyas---the stage of religious mendicancy
- Brahman
-
Godhead. The Absolute, the Supreme Reality, the Ultimate Reality, Truth or the Self of the Vedanta
Philosophy are also used interchangeably for Brahman; See
Sat-Chit-Ananda.
- Brahma-Sutra
-
One of the three sacred texts of the
Vedanta and the
Yoga philosophy (the other two being the
Upanisads, and the
Bhagavad-Gita),in which
its author Badarayana-Vyasa compiles together the leading concepts of Vedanta in an orderly
manner.
- brahmateja
-
The glow that surrounds a holy person.
- Brahmin
-
The priestly caste of the four castes in the Hindu Society.
- Brahmo
-
Member of the Brahmo Samaj, a theistic organization of India founded by Raja Rammohan Roy in 1828.
- Buddha
-
Prince Siddhartha or Shakyamuni---the founder of Buddhism. Lit. one
who is enlightened.
- Chaitanya
-
Fifteenth century prophet who lived in Navadvip (Bengal, India) and preached the path of
divine love or Bhakti for the realization
of God.
The word also means 'spiritual consciousness'.
- Cossipore
-
Northwestern suburb of Calcutta where Sri Ramakrishna was moved from
Dakshineshwar for the treatment
of throat-cancer and where he passed into
mahasamadhi on Aug 16, 1886.
- Cyber Space
-
Cyber space can be defined as the "virtual space created" by interconnecting human beings via
the computer and telecommunication technologies without regard to their physical locations.
The popular phrase in the present Internet / Web age may have originated from Cybernetics.
(see below).
- Cybernetics
-
The field of study of communication and control processes in biological, mechanical and
electronic systems.
- Dakshineshwar
-
The temple of Kali, the Divine Mother, in the village of
Dakshineshwar, north of Calcutta where Sri Ramakrishna lived most of his adult life.
- daya
-
compassion.
- dharma
-
Righteousness, duty; the inner constitution of a thing which governs its growth.
- durba
-
Common grass used in Hindu worship.
- garhasthya
-
The second of the four stages of human life prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:
- Brahmacharya---the celibate student stage
- Garhasthya---the married householder stage
- Banaprastha---the stage of retirement and contemplation
- Sannyas---the stage of religious mendicancy
- ghat
-
A boat-landing stage or bathing-place on the bank of a river, lake, or a pond.
- 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.
- guru
-
Spiritual teacher; an expert in any field of knowledge.
- Hari
-
God---in common parlance;
a name of Vishnu. .
- Holy Mother
-
Sri Sarada Devi---Sri Ramakrishna's wife and his Divine Consort---the name
by which she was known among his devotees. See Holy Mother.
- Hrishikesh
-
A holy place for Hindus on the river Ganges at the foothill of Himalayas, about 130 miles
north of Delhi.
- Isvarakoti
-
A perfected soul born to deliver a special spiritual message to humanity.
- japa or japam
-
Repetition of Lord's name or of a sacred formula called
mantra taught to the disciple by the spiritual
teacher.
- Jayrambati
-
The ancestral village of the Holy Mother.
- jiva
-
The embodied soul, a living being, an ordinary person.
- jnana
-
Pronounced as 'gyana'. Knowledge of Supreme Reality or Brahman
arrived at through reasoning and discrimination.
- Jnana Yoga
-
Pronounced as Gyana Yoga. Knowledge of Supreme Reality or Brahman 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
-
One of the names of the Divine Mother.
- Kaliyuga
-
The last of the four yugas. According to the Hindu mythology, the
universe passes through four yugas (cycles or periods):
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 being age of vice and
total lack of virtue. The world is considered to be passing now through the
Kaliyuga.
- Kamarpukur
-
The ancestral village of Sri Ramakrishna.
- Kapila
-
The sage who lived before the time of Buddha, is generally regarded as the founder of the
Samkhya philosophy, one of the six systems of
Indian philosophies.
- Karma Yoga
-
Karma means action, in general, or duty. Karma Yoga is a spiritual
discipline, mainly discussed in the Bhagavad Gita, based upon
unselfish performance of duty without aspiring for results.
- kirtan
-
Devotional music, often accompanied by dancing.
- Krishna
-
One of the Avataras; Krishna taught
The Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna
in the Hindu Epic poem The Mahabharata;
One of the Ideal Deities of the
Vaishnavas.
- kshatravirya
-
Manliness of a warrior.
- kundalini
-
The spiritual energy lying dormant in all individuals. This energy is manifested by the practice
of Yoga discipline.
- Kurukshetra
-
A holy place, 30 miles north of Delhi where during a battle between two clans in ancient India the
dialog of the Bhagavad-Gita took place.
- 'M'
-
Mahendranath Gupta, a school teacher by profession, was one of the householder disciples of
Sri Ramakrishna. Under the pen name of 'M'.,
Mahendranath recorded the original Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna in
Bengali.
See Huxley.
- Mahabharata
-
The Hindu epic; the Bhagavad-Gita
is part of this epic.
- Mahamaya
-
The Great Illusionist; a name of Kali, the Divine Mother. See also
maya.
- Malaya breeze
-
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.
- Mahapurush Maharaj
-
Swami Shivananda (1854-1934), a direct disciple of
Sri Ramakrishna who was popularly known
by this name. Mahapurush means 'great soul' and
Swamis are also addressed as
Maharaj,
which literally means 'a great king' or 'emperor'.
- Maharaj
-
Swami Brahmananda (1863-1922), a direct disciple of
Sri Ramakrishna who was popularly known
by this name. Sometimes Swamis are also addressed
as Maharaj, which literally means 'a great king' or 'emperor'.
- mahasamadhi
-
Total absorption or communion with God, the final journey---beatitude from which the mind never
returns.
- mantra
-
Sacred word by which a spiritual teacher initiates his disciple; Vedic Hymn; sacred word in
general.
- math
-
Monastery.
- 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.
- monism
-
The philosophical view that Reality is a whole and all existing things can be described by a single
concept or system. See also Advaita and Vedanta.
- Nachiketa
-
The legendary character of the Katha Upanishad, the young student and the embodiment of one-pointed
love of truth, who is taught by Yama, the king of Death about the mystery of life and death.
- nahabat
-
Music tower---a small octagonal building, the first floor room of which was the
Holy Mother's residence during her stay at the
Dakshineshwar temple gardens.
- nivrtti
-
refrainment, renunciation.
- 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. Om is regarded
by Hindus 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. One
of the eight limbs of Patanjali's Yoga system;
consists of certain breathing exercises that should be practised under the
supervision of an experienced teacher, and only by those who lead an absolutely chaste life.
- prasad or prasadam
-
Food or drink that has been offered to the Deity; also the leavings of a superior's meal.
- Pravrajika
-
Pronounced prav-ra-jika. Title of a Hindu nun. See
Sannyasini.
- pravrtti
-
propensity, desire.
- Purana
-
Hindu mythology.
- Purusha
-
The eternal Conscious Principle of the
Samkhya Philosophy, the Absolute.
- purusakara
-
Self-reliance.
- rajas
-
The principle of activity and restlessness in nature; one of the three
gunas (attributes), or constitutive elements
of any phenomenon. Rajasic is pertaining to rajas.
- Raja Yoga
-
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 through the control of mind. See
Yoga.
- Ramayana
-
One of the two most popular Hindu epics the other being
Mahabharata.
- Rama or Ramachandra
-
The hero of the HIndu epic Ramayana;
regarded by Hindus as a Divine Incarnation
(avatara).
- rishi
-
A seer of Truth to whom the wisdom of Vedas
was revealed; a general name for a saint or ascetic
- sadhaka
-
An aspirant devoted to the practice of spiritual discipline.
- sadhana
-
Spiritual discipline.
- sadhu
-
A holy man, ascetic, or monk.
- samadhi or bhava samadhi
-
Super conscious state. Through spiritual practice 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 Indian philosophy that accept the
authority of 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 BC.
- samsara
-
The world, worldliness.
- Sanskrit
-
The ancient language of the Vedas, Vedanta and other scriptures of India.
- sannyasi (M) or sannyasini (F)
-
An ascetic mendicant.
- sannyas
-
The last of the four stages of human life prescribed by the Vedantic scriptures:
- Brahmacharya---the celibate student stage
- Garhasthya---the married householder stage
- Banaprastha---the stage of retirement and contemplation
- Sannyas---the stage of religious mendicancy
- Saraswati
-
The goddess of learning according to Hindu mythology.
- Sat-Chit-Ananda 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.
- Sakti and Sakta
-
Literally, Sakti means STRENGTH. In the spritual context,
it means the Creative Power of Brahman, or
the Divine Mother, Kali. Those who worship Sakti, or the Divine
Mother are called Saktas.
- Shankaracharya or Shankara
-
The seventh century prophet, philosopher, and the unrivaled propounder of
Advaita, or non-dualistic
Vedanta philosophy.
- Siva or Shiva
-
The Destroyer God; the Third of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Brahma (Creator) and
Vishnu (Preserver).
- Sri or Shri
-
A title or designation prefixed to the name of a person, particularly a holy person.
- Sri Krishna or Krishna
-
According to Hinduism one of the Avatars
who taught the Bhagavad-Gita .
- shraddha
-
Faith and reverence.
- Sri Ramakrishna
-
Pronounced as rama--krish--na.
Sri Ramakrishna, a great prophet of nineteenth-century India (1836-1886), practiced all major
religions and re-established the fundamental teaching of
Vedanta and unequivocally declared:
- All religions are True
- Our true nature is Divine, and
- The only aim of human life is to manifest and realize that divinity
See Sri Ramakrishna and
The Ramakrishna Movement.
- sutra
-
Aphorism---a brief statement of a principle, a clue.
- Swami
-
A title of the Hindu monks or great ascetics.
- Swami Vivekananda
-
Pronounced as vive--ka--nanda.
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), (addressed also as Swamiji),
formerly Narendranath Dutta, the foremost monastic disciple of
Sri Ramakrishna, was the
first Vedanta teacher to the West who lectured and taught Vedanta in USA and Europe. He founded
the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894 and established the
Ramakrishna Order in Belur (India) in 1899.
See Swami Vivekananda.
- Tagore
-
Sir Rabindranath Tagore (1861--1941). Bengali
writer who won the 1913 Nobel Prize for literature.
- 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 relgious philosophy in which the Divine Mother, or Power is the Ultimate Reality;
worship of God as Mother. Also, scriptures dealing with this philosophy.
- tantric
-
A follower of Tantra.
- tapasya
-
Austerity, asceticism or severe self-discipline.
- Tarakeswar
-
The Temple of Siva at Tarakeswar is a holy place for Hindus. It's about 30 miles from
Calcutta, midway between
Kamarpukur and
Jayrambati
- Tathagata
-
One of the names by which Gautama Buddha is known; the word also conveys the sense of a "Messiah" .
- Upanisads or Upanishads
-
One of the three sacred texts of the
Vedanta and the
Yoga philosophy (the other two being the
Brahma-Sutra, and the
Bhagavad-Gita),
Upanisads are the concluding portions or the culmination of the
Vedas.
One hundred and eight Upanisads exist, each ranging in length
from a few verses to several hundred verses---of these ten are considered to be the principal
Upanisads. These are: Katha, Isha, Kena, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya,
Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, and Brihadaranyaka.
- Vaishnava
-
Member of an dualistic sect of India.
- Vedanta
-
A 2500 years old philosophy from India based on
Vedas.
See What is Vedanta?.
- Vedantist
-
A follower of the principles of Vedanta.
- Vedas
-
The ancient and most sacred scriptures of Hinduism that date back to 2500 B.C. There are
four Vedas: Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva.
- Virat
-
The Spirit in the form of the universe; the All pervading Spirit.
- Vishnu
-
The Preserver God; 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 the spiritual exercises or disciplines to
realize God (Ref:
Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita, and Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms).
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 physical postures and relaxation exercises, is called "Hatha Yoga"
that has nothing to do with yoga discussed on this Web site. For further study, see
How to Know God: Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali tr. by
Prabhavananda and Isherwood. See below.
- Yoga-Sutra
-
Patanjali's (c. 400 B.C.) Yoga aphorisms.
For further study, see How to Know God: Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali
tr. by Prabhavananda and Isherwood. Check our book list for ordering
information.
- yogi
-
The person who practices yoga.
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Sources
- The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, translated by Swami Nikhilananda,
published 1942, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York.
- The Spiritual Heritage of India, by Swami Prabhavananda,
published 1971, Vedanta Press, Hollywood, California
- The Mind and its Control, by Swami Budhananda, published 1971,
Advaita Ashrama, 5 Dehi Entalli Road, Calcutta, India.
- The Sayings of Ramakrishna, by Swami Abhedananda, published 1903,
revised 1961, Vedanta Society of New York.
- Meditation on Swami Vivekananda, by Swami Tathagatananda,
published 1994, Vedanta Society of New York.
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What is Vedanta?
Glossary