Glossary (as in The True
History and the Religion of India)
acharya.
Those Divine personalities who descend to establish
bhakti
(divine-love-consciousness)
in the world and wrote on the philosophy of Divine love and other
bhakti-related books.
achintya bhedabhed vad. The
philosophy of Jeev Goswami.
advait vad. Absolute monism
of Shankaracharya.
ahladini or ahladini shakti.
See hladini.
antahkaran. The mind with its
four faculties called man (the emotional mind), buddhi (the
discriminative mind), chit (the section of the mind that holds all
the sanskars) and ahankar (the ego).
anuman. Inferential or
circumstantial evidence.
anushtup chand. A poetic
stanza of Sanskrit language (or Vedic verse) that has four parts and has
32 letters (8+8+8+8) in it.
apar dharm. It is the
religious discipline and injunctions of do’s and don’ts that are explained
in Bhartiya scriptures for uplifting the sattvic qualities of a
human being in general. The discipline and rules of apar dharm vary
according to the order of life of a person. It is also called the ‘varnashram
dharm’ or ‘general dharm.’ They are
the preliminary practices designed to establish the mind in
sattvagun for the beginners who desire to
realize God in their lifetime.
apbhransh. A partly
mispronounced Sanskrit word that permanently enters into a locally spoken
language, which is spoken by the people who are less educated in the
Sanskrit language.
ashtang yog. The eightfold
yog as described in the Yog Darshan of Sage
Patanjali.
ashtyam seva. A method of
devotional remembrance and meditation introduced by Jagadguru
Nimbarkacharya which means that a selfless devotee should remember the
leelas of Radha Krishn whatever They normally do
since the early morning when They get up from the bed till the night when
They go to sleep.
ashvamedh yagya. A well-known
royal yagya of ancient times in which a horse was worshipped and
sanctified with the mantras of the Vedas.
Then it was set free to roam about anywhere and it was followed by a group
of warriors. Roaming in any direction, the horse would eventually approach
and enter a neighboring kingdom. The king of that kingdom had either to
accept the dependence of the one to whom the horse belonged, or put up a
fight to keep his independence.
atmmayaya, atmmayam. The
yogmaya or the most intimate and most potent personal power of Krishn.
avatar. The descension of God
or a Divine personality.
avikrit parinam vad. In this
mayic world, God has presented Himself in His original Divine form
without being affected with the gunas of
maya; that’s how He is omnipresent. This is
called avikrit parinam vad.
B
bahiranga shakti. The
extroverted power, maya.
bhagwat dharm. Also known as
par dharm. It is the main dharm of a
soul which brings God realization. It is called bhakti.
bhakti.
The deep loving feelings of a devotee’s heart for his beloved God where
all of his personal requisites are merged into his Divine beloved’s
overwhelming Grace which He imparts for His loving devotee. The person
doing bhakti is called bhakt.
bhao. The emotional feelings
of love and longing of a selfless devotee for a personal form of God.
These feelings of
divine-love-consciousness physically appear as tears etc., and
produce a growing confidence in the realization of Radha Krishn love and
having Their vision.
Bhao. The
Divine ecstatic state of a Saint, or Radha Krishn.
Bharat. The short term of
Bharatvarsh is Bharat, which was called ‘Hindustan’ by the Muslims and
‘India’ by the British. Accordingly, the word Hindu and Indian came into
being.
Bhartiya. That which belongs
to or relates to Bharatvarsh and its religion and history.
bhashya. A detailed
commentary on Brahm Sutra, the Upnishads or the Gita.
bhoj patra. A paper-thin bark
of a medium size Himalayan native tree on which the scriptures were
written in ancient times. It could easily be peeled off. It is flexible
and strong but it doesn’t last for more than 500 to 800 years.
bhu swarg. It is the
celestial part of bhu lok. Bhu lok contains the earth
planet.
brahm. The supreme God or the
absolute Divinity, Who is absolutely great, and makes a soul great like
Himself after God realization. Maha Vishnu, Ram and Krishn are, in
general, called brahm.
brahm drav. The
nirakar brahm where gyani
and yogi Saints enter after death. There is
absolutely neither pain nor Bliss.
brahm gyan. The Divine
knowledge of brahm which is received with the Grace of God by the
follower of the path of gyan or yog at the culmination of
his practice.
Brahm kalp. The very first
day of Brahma when he himself was created (by God Vishnu).
brahm sambandh mantra. It is
a brief statement in the style of a mantra
that was introduced by Vallabhacharya. It is a perfect description of
self-submission to Krishn.
brahmand. Our planetary
system along with the celestial abodes and also all the
tamsi abodes of the demons.
Braj. The present Mathura
district in India is called Braj. Krishn lived and played in Braj for the
first twelve years of His stay on this earth planet. Barsana, Gahvarban,
Prem Sarovar, Nandgaon, Kamban, Govardhan, Radha Kund, Kusum Sarovar,
Vrindaban and Gokul are the important places in Braj where Radha Krishn
along with Gopis and
Gwalbals did most of Their leelas.
Braj bhasha. A local Hindi
dialect (spoken in Mathura district) in which the
rasik Saints wrote the leelas of
Krishn.
braj leela. Those
leelas where all the Brajwasis join and
are the absolute experiences of Krishn’s intimate loving Bliss which He
gave to His playmates, mother Yashoda and the Gopis, and where the
Divine almightiness can never enter.
Brajwasi. The dwellers of
Braj during the time of Krishn. Wasi means ‘the dweller.’
C
chand. It simply means
a poetic stanza or a Vedic verse.
Chandra Vansh. The lunar dynasty
that started from Vaivaswat Manu’s daughter, Ela.
chatriya. The second of the
four kinds of castes of India. They were supposed to be the protectors of
the society, so they were warrior kinds of people. (Most of the writers
write this word as ‘kshatriya’ which is an improper pronunciation.)
D
damru. The mini
hand-drum that Shiv holds in His hand and which He plays during His
ecstatic dance induced by the thrilling effects of Krishn love. Once
fourteen very distinct sounds came out of it which became the basic
aphorisms of the Sanskrit grammar of Panini.
deenbandhu. One of the titles
of God mentioned in the Bhartiya scriptures to describe the kindness of
God. He loves all the souls and He atones the sins of even the greatest
sinner when he humbly remembers Him.
dharm. In
general, dharm means the religious discipline for the four orders
of life. It is called samanya dharm (ordinary or general).
Maintaining celibacy and studying is called brahmacharya. Family
life is called grihasth. A devout and renounced life (but living
with the spouse) is vanaprasth, and total renunciation for God
realization is called sanyas. General dharm also includes
the social disciplines and code of conduct according to our scriptures.
It is also called varnashram dharm or apar dharm. The
dharm that takes a soul to God is called par dharm and it is
only selfless devotion to God, called bhakti, with wholehearted
faith and confidence.
dharmadhishthan. God is
called dharmadhishthan which means that the Sanatan (eternal) Dharm
resides in God as a Divine power. It is revealed by God through Brahma
before the beginning of human civilization and is represented through the
Upnishads and the Puranas.
dharm shastra. The scripture.
dhatu. The root word from
which a Sanskrit word is formed.
dhatu path. The dictionary of
the dhatus given at the end of Panini’s grammar.
divine-love-consciousness. The consciousness of the closeness
of Radha Krishn (or any personal form of God), when a devotee lovingly
remembers His name, form, virtues or leelas,
is called
divine-love-consciousness.
dundubhi. The celestial drum
sound.
dvait vad. The philosophy of
Jagadguru Madhvacharya which means perfect dualism between God, soul and
maya. God is absolute, supreme, Gracious,
omnipresent and omniscient; and soul is infinitesimal, under the bondage
of maya and sinful.
dvaitadvait vad. The
philosophy of Jagadguru Nimbarkacharya called mono-dualism which means
that between God and His Divine powers there is perfect duality, yet there
is perfect oneness.
dwapar or dwaparyug. One of
the four yugas (cycles of time). It keeps on repeating perpetually.
G
gandharv. The musicians of
the celestial abode. They are considered to be of a lower rank.
God. The supreme,
all-powerful Divinity, Who is kind, gracious and omnipresent in His Divine
form in the entire creation, and also has an omnipresent impersonal aspect
of His Divine being. In our writings we use it as an equivalent to the
word bhagwan.
Gopis.
The maidens of Braj during the descension period of Radha Krishn.
Govardhan. The Govardhan hill
where Krishn used to graze the cows. It is the sacred hill of Braj.
Grace. Grace is the personal
power of God which is synonymous to His Blissful personality. Thus, Grace
itself is the Divine Bliss. God’s Grace or a Saint’s Grace is the same,
because the power of Grace is only one absolute entity that reveals the
knowledge, vision and Divine love of God.
grihasth. One of the four
orders of life; a family person.
gun, gunas.
The three characteristics or qualities of the illusive energy maya
which is manifested in the form of the universe. They are sattvagun
(the pious or good quality), tamogun (the evil or bad quality) and
rajogun (the mixture of good and bad qualities).
Gwalbal.
A playmate of Krishn.
gyani, gyan, gyan
marg. The followers of impersonal aspect of God are called
gyani, and their impersonal concept and understanding is called
gyan. Marg means ‘the path.’
gyan yog. When the practice
of yog is predominated with
bhakti, then it becomes gyan yog.
H
hiranyagarbh. It denotes a
state of the manifested form of maya which is
associated and represented by God Himself, and which holds all the worlds
within, and where God remains omnipresent.
hladini or
ahladini shakti. The power of affection or the Bliss of Bliss
whose efflorescence is ‘Divine love.’ It is the most important power of
supreme God.
hota. The
priest who invokes the gods with the mantras
of the Rigved in a yagya.
I
Itihas. The Mahabharat and
the Ramayan are called the Itihas (history books).
J
Jagadguru. An eternal
Saint who specially descends on the earth planet with the will of God,
writes the explanations of the Brahm Sutra, the Gita and the Upnishads,
and establishes their religion and math.
jap. It is the repetition of
the name of God while counting it on the bead-chain, which the doer holds
in his right hand.
jeev shakti. A formless (nirakar)
Divine power of God of absolute nature which contains all the unlimited
number of souls. It is just a dormant Divine intellect, called ‘chit.’
K
kaivalya mokch. The
state of a gyani or yogi Saint called liberation. It is a
‘no-experience’ state forever that he receives after his death.
kal. The
eternal ‘time’ energy (along with other forces) which keeps the universe
running continuously.
kaliyug. The age of
materialism, which is the existing one.
kalp pralaya,
or pralaya. The partial destruction of the earth planet
when the sun grows and becomes so hot that everything is burned on the
earth planet. This is the transition state at the end of every kalp
when the three celestial abodes bhu, bhuv and swah are
destroyed.
Kamdeo. The god of beauty and
love of the celestial abode. His wife is called Rati.
karan sharir. The veil of
maya which covers the soul. It is the eternal
ignorance. It is destroyed only with the Grace of God at the time of God
realization.
karm, karmas.
The good and bad actions of a person. They are stored in a section of the
mind. They become the cause of the next incarnation.
karm bhoomi. This earth
planet is called karm bhoomi because this is the only place where a
human being receives the outcome of his actions and thoughts.
karm yog. When
bhakti is predominantly added to the sattvic
good karmas, it is then called the karm yog.
karmic. That which is related
to the karmas, or the consequence of the karmas.
kheer. A sweet pudding made
from milk, rice and sugar with dry nuts.
L
leela, leelas.
The Divine actions of any kind. The pastimes, sports, plays and all the
actions of Radha Krishn (along with the Brajwasis) or any other
personal form of God are called leelas. All the actions of Divine
personalities (God or Saint) are Gracious and Divine. The place where
Radha Krishn did any leela is called
leelasthali. Sthal means ‘the place.’
lok. The abode of a personal
form of God.
M
maha pralaya. The
‘no-creation’ state where all the creative energies and the forces (maya,
kal and karm) remain in
an absolutely subtle and dormant state. This is the absolute dissolution
of this universe when only abstract-like original mayic energy,
called mool prakriti, is left, and it remains absorbed in God.
maha yug. The four yugas
(satyug, tretayug, dwaparyug and kaliyug) are collectively
called one maha yug or chaturyug.
mahan. The first activated
phase of prakriti (maya), which is
activated by the will of God after maya pralaya.
maharas.
It is the very special leela that happened in
Vrindaban in Braj. It was the descension of the true Vrindaban Bliss on
the earth planet when the Grace of Krishn established Divine Vrindaban on
the soils of Braj, and in that Divine space, Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani,
Who is the life-essence of Krishn’s all-greatness, revealed the most
intimate Divine Bliss to all the Gopis on the
Sharad Poornima night. On that particular night, Radha, Krishn, and all
the Gopis sang, danced and played together in an extremely elevated
Divine state which is only seen in Divine Vrindaban.
mahatmya. It literally means
‘the description of the greatness of…’
manas putra. The 10 Sages
produced from the mind of Brahma. Their names are: Atri, Angira, Pulastya,
Mareechi, Pulah, Kratu, Bhrigu, Vashishth, Dakch and Narad.
manav gandharv. The lowest
celestial abode of the gods as described in the Upnishad.
mantra.
The evocative sentence, verse, or stanza related t: (a) The propitiation
of the celestial gods to be used in the fire ceremonies (yagya), or
(b) for general prayer to supreme God.
mantra drishta. It means the
Rishis who observed (in their Divine mind) the mantras of the
Vedas, retained them in their heart and then produced them in the world.
manvantar. The second biggest
cycle of time which is of 308.57142 million years. The current
manvantar is called Vaivaswat manvantar.
math. The building of the
main center of the religious propagation.
maya.
Maya is an eternally existing mindless, lifeless and delusive power of
God that appears and multiplies itself in the form of this universe. It
has three qualities: Sattvagun (pious), rajogun (normal or
selfish or a mixture of good and bad qualities) and tamogun (evil).
mayavadi. Such philosophies
and people who, in the name of God, despise the true path to God and
introduce materialism in the disguise of spiritual practices.
mayic.
That which is related to maya and mayic manifestations.
mokch or mukti.
Liberation from the mayic bondage of birth and death.
mool prakriti. The maya
in its original dormant form.
mumukcha. A deep and intense
desire to receive liberation that develops in the heart of the follower of
nirakar brahm (gyan or yog) at the
height of his practice.
N
nad. The inner
sattvic sound (as described in
Yogshikhopnishad) which an evolved yogi listens to in his
meditation.
nakchatra. The lunar
asterisms.
nam sankirtan. The chanting
of the Divine name.
narak. The lower abodes of
hell with various forms of punishment.
nastik. The one who
disbelieves or is disrespectful towards the Vedas, Puranas,
acharyas and the personal forms of God and
criticizingly abuses them is called nastik, the atheist.
nikunj darshan. Nikunj
or kunj is a beautiful secluded area where blossoming trees,
flowering bushes, creepers and perfumed flowers grow together to create
such a sheltered and shaded setting where Radha, Krishn and
Gopis could sit and play and dance together.
Thus, visualizing Radha Krishn in a nikunj is called nikunj
darshan.
nikunj leela. The leela
of Radha Krishn where only Gopis associate. (Thus, all the
leelas of Divine Vrindaban are the nikunj
leelas.)
nirakar.
The formless aspect of God which is established in the personal form of
God (and all the personal forms of God are established in the personality
of Krishn).
nirakar brahm or nirgun
nirakar brahm. The formless and nonperceivable existence of
absolute Divinity.
nirvan. Nirvan word
means to extinguish (the flame of desires). This term was used by Gautam
Buddh. It means a kind of desireless and thoughtless state of the mind.
(It is not liberation from maya.)
nirvikalp samadhi.
Nirvikalp means a total thoughtless state of the mind, and
samadhi means to be fully absorbed in the
sattvic state of the mind or in the Divine state. Thus, this term is
used for both, a gyani or yogi devotee of impersonal God, or
a gyani or yogi Saint.
P
pad. Songs written by
the rasik Saints describing the
leelas of Radha Krishn.
panch mahabhoot. The subtle
forms of the five prime elements: space, air, heat (fire), water and
earth.
panch tanmatra. The
absolutely subtle forms of the panch mahabhoot.
panchang. A journal with full
astrological facts and figures written in a date-wise manner for the whole
year.
panchikaran. The unification
of the five subtle elements.
pandit. A Sanskrit scholar of
India.
par dharm.
This is the main dharm of a soul, also called
bhagwat dharm, which brings God realization. This is direct
devotion to God in His personal form. It is called
bhakti.
param vyom. Another name for
Vaikunth abode.
paramhans. A yogi or
gyani Saint who is fully absorbed in the Blissful state of his
conscious samadhi.
Paramhans Sanhita. Sanhita
means the collection of the Divine events, and paramhans means the
Saint who is fully absorbed in the Divine Bliss. Shukdeo was in this state
since he was born. Thus the sanhita which is said by Shukdeo is
called Paramhans Sanhita. It is the Bhagwatam.
parardh. Half of Brahma’s
life.
parmatma. The supreme God.
pitri yagya. The fire
ceremony (yagya) for the dead in the family as described in the
Shraut Sutras.
prakrit literature or language.
The local vernacular speech of a general rural area. It is not the name of
any vernacular language but it is a general class of a local country-style
dialect of broken Sanskrit words and its apbhransh.
prakrit pralaya. The complete
dissolution of a brahmand (planetary system and its celestial
abodes) after the death of one Brahma.
prakriti purush vivek. It
means the careful understanding of all the aspects of prakriti (the
mayic creation) and the Divinity (purush God); and then
attaching the mind to purush (God) and detaching the mind from the
entire creation of prakriti.
pralaya. See
kalp pralaya.
pranav. A Divine word for
nirakar brahm.
prapatti. This term was used
by Jagadguru Ramanujacharya to express the feelings of a devotee who very
humbly surrenders his heart, mind and soul at the lotus feet of his loving
God and earnestly desires for His Divine vision.
prasthan trayi. It means the
prime Upnishads, the Gita and the Brahm Sutra.
prema bhakti. It is the
selfless loving adoration with deep love and longing for Radha Krishn. It
is also called raganuga bhakti and
is the means of entering into Golok or Vrindaban abode.
pret lok. The spirit world
with extreme sufferings where selfish and worldly human beings go after
death. It is described in the Puranas.
purush. The Divine
personality of God.
Purush Sookt. The hymns that
describe the form and the greatness of the omnipresent supreme personality
of God in the Rigved (10/90).
purushottam. The supreme
personality of God.
pushti marg. The path of
devotion to Krishn as described by Vallabhacharya, where a devotee,
depending upon the Graciousness of Krishn, humbly surrenders and dedicates
his whole being for the service of Krishn.
R
raas. The
leela of singing and dancing of Radha Krishn,
with the Gopis.
raganuga
bhakti. The direct practical path of selfless loving devotion
to Radha Krishn as shown and revealed in the Bhagwatam. It is such a
devotion that follows the pattern of Brajwasi’s love for Radha
Krishn. This term was used by Chaitanya Mahaprabhuji.
raj, rajas or
rajogun. It is one of the qualities of maya. See
maya.
rasik.
The Divine personality who has attained the vision and love of Radha
Krishn is called a rasik Saint.
religion. Literally, the general
meaning of word religion is a system of faith and worship to God (Who is
the creator and the governor of the universe), or a celestial god; or a
belief and practice that is introduced by a holy man.
The Latin word ‘religio,’ which originally meant ‘obligation or
bond,’ was later on improvised to confer the meaning of ‘bond between
god/God and the human beings.’ In old French, a branch of Romance
languages which was a development of Latin language, it was written as
‘religion.’ From there it was adopted into the English language. But, the
standard modern meaning of the word ‘religion’ was developed as late as
the 16th century AD.
We use this word in a very wide sense: (1) The one single eternal
universal religion for all the souls of the world which is called Sanatan
Dharm in Sanskrit; (2) the system of devotion and worship to God which is
introduced by a Divine personality and based on the teachings of Sanatan
Dharm, just like, the religion of Vallabhacharya or Nimbarkacharya etc;
and (3) the other popular religions of the world.
richa.
Mantra of the Vedas.
ritvij. Ritvij is one
of the four priests in a Vedic yagya: (a) Hota is the
one who invokes the gods with the mantras of the Rigved, (b)
addhvaryu is the one who performs all the rituals of the yagya
according to the Yajurved, (c) udgata is the one who sings the
mantras of Samved, and (d) brahma is
the one who all over supervises the functionings of the yagya.
S
sadhu. Sadhu
means a hermit who has left his family and is living a renounced life.
sadhana bhakti. It means
devotional bhakti.
sagun sakar, sakar, or
sakar brahm. It means the all-virtuous personified form of God.
Sakar is the main form of God and, with the sakar form, He/She
is omnipresent with all the Divine virtues such as: Graciousness,
kindness, all-Blissfulness, all-lovingness, and many more.
Saint. The one who has visualized
and realized God in any form, and whose teachings are based on the themes
and the guidelines of the Gita, Bhagwatam and the Upnishads which are our
prime scriptures. There are three categories of Saints:
gyani Saints, bhakt
Saints, and rasik Saints. (1) Gyani Saints are those who
have attained the impersonal (nirakar) form of God. They are of two
kinds; gyani Saint and yogi Saint. (2)
Bhakt Saints are those who have attained a personal form of God, like:
Vishnu, Durga, Shiv, Ram or Krishn. (3) Those bhakt Saints who
attain the Divine love form of God (Ram or Krishn) are called the rasik
Saints (ras means the Divine love), but, generally speaking, the
rasik word refers to those Saints who have received the vision and
Divine love of Radha Krishn.
Saket lok. The abode of
Bhagwan Ram.
samadhi.
Ecstasy, total absorption of the mind, or a thoughtless state of the
mind. It is of two kinds; devotional and Divine.
-
(a) Devotional samadhi of a
yogi relates to the pious (sattvic) quality of
maya, and,
(b) of a bhakt relates to
the pious bhao state of the bhakti
where his mind drowns in the feeling of loving affinity of his beloved
God. The quality and the class of the samadhi of a yogi or
a bhakt devotee corresponds to the selflessness and the state of
his devotional evolution on the path of God realization.
-
(a) The Divine samadhi of a Yogi or
Gyani is primarily of only one kind because it relates to one
single formless (nirakar) and non-virtuous brahm. There
are two states of this samadhi. The first one is called
sahaj samadhi, which is the awakened state of the mind with
natural Divine engrossment; and the second one is called brahmleen
state, which is the fully unconscious state of the mind in total
Divine engrossment. There is also a variation of sahaj samadhi
when there is a kind of deeply engrossed consciousness. It is also
called samadhi, or dyanavastha, in which the yogi
Saint remains in a meditative state, bodily semi-conscious or
unconscious and mentally conscious where he could see or hear anything
of his own liking.
(b) Samadhi of a bhakt Saint is of
many kinds and forms. The most fascinating ecstasies happen in the
field of Divine love of Radha Krishn. For instance: a rasik
Saint of gopi bhao experiences four kinds of samadhis in
all the four states of his Divine mind (conscious, subconscious,
unconscious, and fully unconscious); and all of these sixteen kinds of
samadhis are multifold and imbued with the amazing delight of
ever-new charm of Radha Krishn Bliss.
samudra manthan. The ocean
churning event in the cheer sagar (the celestial ocean of milk of
God Vishnu).
Sanatan Dharm. The eternal (sanatan)
universal religion. It contains the knowledge for the spiritual well-being
of all the souls. It provides the guidelines for all kinds of people of
the world, which, if followed, leads them towards God realization.
sanchit karm. The unlimited
accumulated karmas of unlimited lifetimes of a
soul. They are stored in the unconscious section of the mind.
sandhini shakti. The power of
almightiness of God.
sanskar.
A subtle imprint (record) of every thought and action (in its full
character) on the mind of a person. Conditioned reflex of each and every
thought and action. There are uncountable sanskars (good, bad and
devotional) of uncountable lifetimes of a soul in his mind, but the
sanskars of a few immediate past lives hold the prominence in the
existing life of a person.
sanyas. The renounced order
of life for the service of God and God realization. The one who takes this
order is called sanyasi.
satsang. Faithful association
with a Saint in any way: having his darshan, having a personal
meeting with him or attending his discourses. Such devotional meetings and
services are also called satsang where there is a discourse, or
chanting of the Divine names, forms, leelas
and virtues with pure devotional motivations and on the guidelines of a
Saint. The true satsang releases personal prejudice, develops
humbleness in the heart, loosens the attachment of the world and brings
you closer to your beloved God.
sattvagun.
It is the pious quality of maya.
satya lok. The topmost
seventh celestial abode where Brahma, the supreme god of the celestial
world, lives.
shradh. A religious Vedic
ceremony related to the appeasement of the souls of the family members who
are dead.
shruti. Another word for the
Vedas which means ‘to have retained in the Divine mind simply by
listening.’ The knowledge of the Vedas was transferred from Rishi to
Rishi. They were Divine personalities so they were capable of retaining
the Divine knowledge of the Vedas in their mind.
Surya Vansh. The Solar dynasty.
T
tamogun. See
maya.
Tantra books. Tantra books
describe a strict-disciplinary-formulative practice of
mantra worship. They are of three kinds;
sattvic, rajas and
tamas. Some of the books relate to hath yog
type of meditation. Some of them (like Rudra Yamal and Krishn Yamal) also
teach pure bhakti to a personal form of God;
but, being very technical in their forms of practices, they are not
popular.
tattvamasi. A phrase from the
Upnishad that tells about the eternal relationship of an infinitesimal
soul with the supreme God.
theory. The word ‘theory’ we use
in both senses: (a) Eternally existing definite facts that are related to
soul, maya, God, Saints, creation, God
realization and the Divine existences, and are described in the Divinely
produced Bhartiya scriptures. Just like, the theory of the Upnishads, or
the Bhagwatam, or creation, or God realization, etc. (b) Assumed
principles or system of reasonings, or postulated intellectual
representations corresponding to the modern science related to a
phenomenon or an existence that is not fully comprehensible to a human
mind through direct perception. These are the concepts of the human mind.
Just like, the (big bang) theory of creation, or the theory of evolution
of life on the earth planet, or the writings of the western philosophers
in relation to God and soul etc.
U
unadi. A section of
Ashtadhyayi that explains the formation of the words of Vedic sanhita.
V
Vaikunth. The Divine abode
of God Maha Vishnu. The abodes of God Shiv, Goddess Durga and other
almighty forms of God are also a part of Vaikunth abode. (Vaikunth is also
pronounced as Baikunth in Hindi language.)
varnashram
dharm. The prescribed religious practices (according to the
Vedas and the scriptures) for heart purification for the people of the
four orders of life and for the four caste system of the society. The four
orders of life are: Religious student, family man, partly renounced man
and fully renounced man, respectively, called, brahmacharya, grihasth,
vanprasth and sanyas.
Vrindaban. The place in Mathura
district (India) where Krishn did maharas on
the Sharad Poornima night about 5,000 years ago. (In the Sanskrit language
it is pronounced as Vrindavan, but in the Hindi language it is pronounced
both ways.)
Y
yog.
It is an eightfold system of very disciplined form of meditation which is
described in the Yog Darshan of Sage Patanjali. Its aim is to neutralize
the mind from all kinds of attachments, attractions, likings, dislikings
and loving emotions, and then to enter into thoughtless
samadhi. It has to be practiced for a very,
very long time. On this path, a yogi desires to seek union with the
impersonal (nirakar) aspect of God in order
to receive the liberation from the eternal bondage of
maya. The one who practices yog is called a yogi.
yogic.
That which is related to yog.
yug. The four yugas (cycles of time)
are satyug, tretayug, dwaparyug and kaliyug, and the time
span of all the four yugas together is 4.32 million years.
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