Glossary

Lit. father. Common term used to address any elder, especially in the religious communities.

A holy place in the Himalayas – the holiest of shrines for the Vaishnavaites (followers of Lord Vishnu). This temple was established by Adi Shankara, one of the foremost scholars of South India, around the ninth century A.D.  

Lord Krishna, as a child.

Child yogi.  Refers to someone who attains Enlightenment at an early age and usually does not retain the body for long thereafter. 

River Ganga at its origin, where it melts its way out of the ‘ice cave’ called Gomukh.

A fierce form of Shiva.

A devotee.

Devotion. Refers to the spiritual path of Self-Realization through love and devotion. Intense desire and will for union with one’s chosen deity.    

“Bhava” means sensation or feeling.  “Spandana” means to resonate, or emphatic vibration.  This four day high intensity residential program is offered as a part of Isha Yoga programs, to experience levels of consciousness that take one to an experience beyond the limitations of body and mind.

A town in Madhya Pradesh, Central India.

Ghoul or a ghost. Also refers to the five primary elements of nature - earth, wind, fire, water, and ether.

Master of the five elements – another form of Shiva.

The sacred tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment.

The Creator in the classic trinity of Hinduism, the other two gods being Vishnu and Shiva.

‘Bramhan’ means divine and ‘Charya’ means path.  One who is on the path of the Divine.  Usually refers to one who has formally been initiated into monkhood through a certain energy process.

A female bramhachari.

The path of the divine. A life of celibacy and studentship on the path of spirituality moving towards the highest modifications of the senses.  The first of four stages of life as per the Varnashrama  Dharma.

Member of the priestly Hindu caste, which is the highest in the Indian caste system.

One who is above buddhi (intellect). Generally used to refer to Gautama the Buddha.

Faculty of discrimination, analysis, logical and rational thought; the intellect.

A traditional gypsy soothsayer in Karnataka.