Glossary

Condition in which a diembodied snake possesses a human being.

Traditional salutation which acknowledges the divinity within a person. 

Equivalent to the Western term Hell.  Nether world.

Childhood name of Swami Vivekananda.

A common deciduous evergreen tree (Azadirachta indica) which grows in India, known for its extremely bitter leaves, fruits and flowers.  Used extensively for its innumerable medicinal qualities, neem is sometimes called ‘the village pharmacy’.  Over 100 pharmacologically active substances have been identified in this plant.  

Lit. ‘not this’.  A way of cleansing oneself of illusions or wrong identities.

Lit. blue peaks. Refers to a certain hilly district located north of Coimbatore, known for its rich wildlife.

Devoid of any quality, untainted and beyond duality.

A created body. Adept yogis are known to have created and possessed physical bodies for themselves to fulfill certain special purposes.     

Unshakeable,  Unwavering.

Karmically unaffected by one’s actions.

A reclusive South Indian yogi and an extraordinary mystic who lived in the twentieth century and spent the later part of his life near Mumbai in Maharashtra. The Guru of many disciples, including Swami Muktananda.  

Subtle energy.

An Indian state on the East coast.

A South Indian town that is famous for its Murugan (son of Shiva) temple.

The five primary elements of nature - earth, wind, fire, water, and ether.

Lit. supreme swan.  An honorific term applied to an adept who enjoys  liberation or Enlightenment.

Outer periphery of a temple.

One of the many names for the Universal Mother, and consort of Shiva. 

Lit. one who fell (pat) into the palm (anjali). Refers to an ancient spiritual Master of extraordinary understanding, considered the father of yogic sciences. Believed to be an incarnation of Ananta, or Shesha, the thousand-headed ruler of the serpent race, Patanjali is best known for his work Yoga Sutras.  The Yoga Sutras have been disclosed in a manner that cannot be understood by a superficial perusal of the text.  Rather, it has been attributed the quality of being an encrypted code intended for the spiritual Masters who have the necessary understanding to properly impart the veiled practices.

A phrase used to denote ghosts and spirits. 

A community of bandits. 

One of the major pranic channels of the body. Located on the right side of the body, it is masculine in nature.

A South Indian delicacy made of boiled rice, gram and pepper corns.  Also, a very popular Tamil festival. It marks the change in the tilt in the Earth’s axis of rotation.