Glossary

Worship, a Vedic ritual for the invocation of Divine energy and Grace.

The feminine aspect of life.  Refers to Nature or Creation.

Fundamental life force; vital energy.

The energy sheath or body.

A powerful yogic practice that uses certain breathing techniques to generate and direct the flow of prana in the human body.

Of Prana.

The karma allotted for this lifetime.

Blessed food.

Process of consecration or energizing an object with Divine energies. These processes are mainly of two kinds - mantra prathishta, through chanting of appropriate mantras and performing of rituals and prana prathishta, through a direct process involving the consecrator’s own prana shakthi - life energies.

Lit. luster. One who has the needed qualities for initiation or Enlightenment. 

A kind of ghost or spirit.

Pongamia pinnata.  A tropical medicinal tree native to India, known for its shade giving and oxygen generating capabilities. The oil of the pongam seeds is traditionally used in oil lamps.

Mythological texts.

The masculine aspect of life. Also refers to man.

A town in the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Indian State in the western region, known for its desert terrain.

The hero of the epic Ramayana, believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

A mid-nineteenth century spiritual Master who lived mostly in Calcutta. A devotee of Goddess Kali, he frequently went into ecstatic states of samadhi. One of his best-known disciples is Swami Vivekananda, who established and propagated the Ramakrishna Order, which has a world wide following today.

Early twentieth century spiritual Master who lived in the hills of Tiruvanamalai near Chennai, in South India.  His teachings revolve around self-inquiry. He is believed to have enlightened not only humans, but also a cow and a crow. 

An ashram located in Tiruvanamalai, established by Ramana Maharshi.

A sacred coastal town in South India, the closest point in India to the neighboring country, Sri Lanka. Figures in the epic Ramayana, where Rama built a bridge from India to Sri Lanka to enable his army to cross the ocean. 

Lit. juice, the essence.

Sacred beads.  Seeds of a tree (glaeocarpus ganitrus Roxb) found mostly in the Himalayan region.  According to the legend, a tear from Lord Shiva fell to Earth and from it grew the Rudhraksha tree.  Known to have many medicinal and transcendental qualities, a rudhraksha mala is one of the  few possessions of an Indian spiritual seeker.

A spiritual seeker who has undertaken spiritual disciplines, usually under the guidance of a master.

Spiritual practices which are used as a means to realization.