Glossary

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.