Upanishads - Akashic Records About Upanishads
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A
Ācārya: spiritual teacher
Advaita: lit: non-duality; the space of experiencing oneness, infinity with Cosmos where each one is infinitely powerful, intelligent; 'everything is 'you' and 'you' are everything'
Advaiti: one who lives in the state of non-duality, Advaita with Cosmos.
Ādi Ṛṣi: original Ṛṣi, original perfect being; name for Śiva
Ādi Guru: original, primordial master; name for Śiva
Ādi Śaṅkara: see Śaṅkara
Akṣara: a saṃskṛit alphabet.
Amāvasya: new moon.
Anantanārāyaṇa: (lit. the limitless Lord Nārāyaṇa) the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu as Infinity
Annadāna: sharing food freely as an act of enriching.
Apauruṣeya: authorless; not created or written by any person.
Apauruṣeyatva: state of being authorless
Ākāśic Records: cosmic records of all happenings, past, present, future, imprinted in Space, ākāśa. Only Incarnations, beyond time and space, can directly read, decode these records and reveal the Truths from cosmic archives.
B
Bhakti: devotion, sacred sentiments onto the Divine.
Bhakta: devotee
Bhagavad Gītā: (lit: song of God). One of the main Hindu sacred texts, uttered directly by Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa to his disciple Arjuna; contains essence of the Absolute Truth and experience of Liberation.
Bhāgavata Purāṇa: (lit: Divine eternal happenings of Supreme God); richest philosophy of Divine love as path, goal of life; scientific history of Brahmāṇḍa (Existence), compiled by Śrī Veda Vyāsa.
Bhārat: original saṁskṛit name for present India; also called 'Āryavarta' or 'Bhāratavarśa' Vedic scriptures glorify Bhārat as the land of Gods, where infinite incarnations appear and bless It as the holiest of holy
Bhāṣya: commentary
Brahma sūtra: also Vedānta sutra; spiritual treatise with 555 aphorisms on Brahman, attributed to Veda Vyāsa or Badrāyaṇa. Literally means to thread the various Vedānta teachings into a logical, systematic, whole
Brahmāṇḍa: cosmos; macrocosm
C
Cārvāka: (lit: agreeable speech) the Nāstika school in vedic tradition that emphasizes materialism, philosophical scepticism and atheistic principles, directed towards the world.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu: 15ᵗʰ century Enlightened Master, Incarnation from Bengal, India steeped in devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Completion: the space or state of 'completion' or Pūrnatva that signifies the Truth that from completion (whole) comes the Whole; 'Science of Completion' as revealed by Paramahamsa Nithyananda.
D
Dakśināmūrti: (lit: Formless Deity who faces South) Independent energy of Lord Śiva as the Ādi Guru, Primordial Master, who transmits liberation in vibrating silence.
Darśana: philosia; seeing
Dharma: righteous living; the natural law of Cosmos.
Dig pālakas: guardians of eight directions
G
Guru: Master; lit. one who leads from gu (darkness) to ru (light); who liberates from the cycle of birth-death.
Gaṅgā or Gaṅgā Mātā: the most celebrated, holiest mother river in India, who purifies sins; forms the abundant Ganges Civilization, nourishing the vedic tradition.
I
Indra: leader of all the divine beings, Devatas.
Īśvara: Supreme Soul, God or Lord of the Universe
Iśta Devatā: the favorite chosen deity
J
Jagat: Universe
Jñāna: knowledge, wisdom
Jñānasambandar: Tirujñāna Sambandar, the child incarnation at Tamil Nadu, India in 7ᵗʰ century; reviver of Śaiva Siddanta, devotion onto Śiva.
Jīva: individual soul
K
Kalki avatār: the future incarnation of Viṣṇu, of the daśavatār, ten main incarnations.
Karma Kāṇḍa: the path to achieve the ultimate through action
Kuṇḍalinī: potential energy in every human that resides at the root chakra ‘mūlādhāra’
M
Madhvā or Mādhvācārya: A great Saint incarnation, philosopher who established the Vaiśnavism, devotion onto Lord Viṣṇu and Tattvavāda-the philosophy of reality; comprehensive bhāśyas, commentaries on Vedas, Upaniṣads, Brahma Sutra Prasthāna.
Madurai: (or Thirualavai) temple town of Devī Mīnākśi and Śiva in South India. Oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world with richness of Vedic culture.
Mahādeva: another name for Lord Śiva; lit: Great Lord of all Lords.
Mānikkavāsagar: 9ᵗʰ century Tamil Saint, famous for his poetic expressions; wrote Tiruvāsakam, Śaiva hymns in devotion to Lord Śiva; main author of Tirumurai, key Śaiva Siddanta texts.
Mantra: a sacred syllable or sound; they carry energy of sound vibrations to create a divine experience or invoke specific divine energies.
Mantra-Dṛiṣtā: seer of Mantra, the sacred syllables.
Maṭh: Hindu spiritual monastery
Matsya avatār: (lit: fish incarnate) first incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, who assumed the form of a fish to save Manu from the great deluge, protect the sacred Vedic texts and human civilization.
Māyā: that which is not reality, but gives the illusion that it is real, 'yā mā iti māyā'; all life is māyā according to Advaita.
Mīrā: female saint who was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa
N
Nārāyaṇa: another name for Lord Viṣṇu
Naimiṣraṇya: ancient forests mentioned in Purāṇas, Mahābhārat, on the banks of Gomati River (Uttar Pradesh). Many revelations, narrations take place here by Ṛṣis. E.g: Mahābhārat narration.
Nyāya: scripture of logic called Nyāya Darśan by Sage Gautam that gives the science of logical quest for the absolute Divinity; establishing that only Divinity is desirable, knowable, attainable.
Nityotsāḥ: lit: Nitya-Utsāḥ, eternal excitement, joy.
O
Osho: also Bhagavān Rajneesh; Enlightened Master from India, 20ᵗʰ century.
P
Parampāras: spiritual lineage that continue through the Master-disciplic successions.
Patañjali: father and founder of Yoga, famous for his treatise on yoga called Patañjali Yoga Sūtras.
Piṇḍāṇḍa: individual microcosm as against Brahmānda or Universe; the space enclosed in the form.
Prakṛti: Nature; the active energy of Puruṣa, consciousness.
Purāṇa: the great historical happenings, narrations that Divine and Its sacred plays, līlās. (common misnomer-mythology)
Pūrṇimā: full moon
Purva Mimāṁsā: (lit. the prior enquiry) one of the śad darśanas, six philosias of vedic tradition that accepts only the karma kāṇḍa, action as the supreme authority.
R
Rāmadāsa: 17th century saint and spiritual poet of Maharastra, India, devotee of Lord Rāma and Hanumān.
Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa: The Incarnation from Dakṣiṇeśvar, West Bengal, India in 19ᵗʰ century, dedicated to Mother Kālī , and lived in God intoxicated state of Samādhi.
Rāmānuja or Rāmānujācārya: founder of the Viśiṣṭādvaita or qualified non-duality principle. An incarnation; one of the greatest teachers of Hindu philosophy.
Ṛṣis: enlightened sages, perfected beings, sage who are seers of Truth
S
Samādhi: state of no-mind, no-thoughts; literally, becoming one’s original state; liberated state
Sampradāyas: spiritual orders in Sanātana Dharma
Saṁskṛit: the source mother of all languages; Devabhāśā, language of the Divine which is based on phonetic vibrations.
Sanātana Dharma: eternal path of righteous living (later called Hinduism). The most powerful, sophisticated, intelligent presentation of the Ultimate Truth with the possibility to evolve. It is not a religion but the complete science of living, leaving and beyond.
Sanata, Sanatkumāra, Sanātana, Sanakādi Ṛṣis: the four eternal sages in youth; disciples of Śiva as Dakśināmūrti.
Sannyāsa: renouncing (by completing with) the worldly life; living for enriching others.
Sarasvatī Mātā: (lit: Mother Sarasvatī) The goddess of celestial river revered in Ṛgveda, who embodies cosmic wisdom, jñāna. Ṛgveda (10.75) mentions Sarasvatī between Yamuna in the east and Sutlej in the west. Vedic scriptures like Manusmṛti, Ṛgveda and several Upaniṣads were composed by Ṛṣis, Vedic seers on its banks in the Vedic state of Brahmāvarta.
Sat-cit-ānanda: truth-knowledge-bliss
Satcitānandamaya: being in the state of truth-knowledge-bliss
Satsangh: (lit: being in the company of truth) spiritual discourse of Truth from an Enlightened Master.
Satya: truth
Satya Loka: abode of Truth, the place, space where truth is practiced and lived.
Śava: dead body, corpse
| Sāṅkhya: one of the six philosias in the vedic system, expounded by Kapila Muni; it regards the Universe as consisting of two realities: puruṣa (self) and prakṛti (matter). | Hindu sacred trinity. Śiva means 'causeless auspiciousness—maṅgalatva'; Original substance of Existence. |
| Ṣad Darśanas: the six philosias that Vedic tradition developed-Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Purva Mīmāṁṣa, Uttara Mīmāṁṣa, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika | Śiva Gaṇa: lit. the group of beings who embody Śiva; also the attendants of Śiva in Kailasa. |
| Śaivism: The wide branch of Vedic tradition which holds Lord Śiva as the ultimate Supreme Being, All in all. Its followers are Śaivas or Śaivaites, who wear sacred ash and rudrakṣa. | Śiva Sutras: see Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra |
| Śaṅkara: an enlightened Master; Incarnation in 8ᵗʰ century. Exponent of Advaita Vedānta, celebrated as the great reviver of Sanātana Dharma. | Śivoham: (lit: śiva-aham; Śiva I Am) the māha-vākya, mahāmantra that declares-the 'I' in you is Śiva, you are the Ultimate Consciousness, Highest Possibility that you can visualize. |
| Siddha: perfected being, whose bio-memory is cooked to perfection. | Śruti: (lit: that which is heard) refers to the ancient scriptures of Vedas, Upaniṣads and Bhagavad Gītā; they are the revealed scriptures retained by the sages just by one listening. |
| Śiva: also called Mahādeva, Supreme God of gods. the rejuvenator in the | Stotras: sacred devotional hymns, sung from the emotional space of bhakti, |
devotion.
Sūtras: (lit: ‘thread’) refers to epigrams, short verses which impart spiritual techniques.
Sapta Ṛṣis: seven perfected sages, who control the world as divine energies.
T
Tāntrik: one who practices esoteric techniques by mind-body-speech for spiritual evolution.
Tāraka Vana: the oldest spiritual university in the forests, inhabited by the Sages.
Tyagarāja: the king of sacrifice, also a name for Lord Śiva
Tiruvannamalai: temple town in South India, home of most sacred Arunachala hill, which is direct embodiment of Lord Śiva; the spiritual nerve center of the Cosmos.
U
Upaniṣad: sacred cosmic revelations that are source of all spiritual texts or Vedas on planet. Upaniṣad literally means ‘sitting with the Master.’ There were 1,180 Upaniṣads, related to 1,180 branches of Vedas; with 108 main or mukhya Upaniṣads.
Uttara Mīmāṁsā: (lit. posterior enquiry). Also named ‘Vedānta, essence of Vedas.’ One of the six philosias of vedic tradition, that deals with the knowledge of Brahman as jñānakāṇḍa.
V
Vāṇī: sacred voice or utterance.
Vaiśeṣika: one of the śad darśanas, six philosias of vedic tradition that espouses atomism; that the visible universe is created from an original stock of atoms (janim asataḥ).
Vedas: knowledge itself; it gives the knowledge of God (vetti iti veda).
Vedānta: (lit: essence or end of Vedas); describes a group of philosophical traditions concerned with Self-realization to understand the ultimate nature of reality (Brahman).
Veda Matā: mother of Vedas
Vijñāna: conscious realization of knowledge; 'sacred cognition'
Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra: sacred text as an intimate discourse between Lord Śiva and His consort Devi or Śakti, it presents 112 meditation techniques (dhāranas), revealing the essence to realize the Ultimate Reality.
Viṣṇu: supreme god in the Vaiśnavite tradition of Sanatana Dharma; He is the energy that pervades Universe and sustains it; also Nārāyaṇa.
Vivekānanda: primary disciple of Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa, Founder of Rāmakṛṣṇa Order. Enlightened Master in 19ᵗʰ century, a key figure in spreading Hinduism, Yoga in Europe and America.
Y
Yogi: one who is united with mind-body-being to the Divine or Consciousness.
Yoga: the state of 'uniting' with the Existence, Consciousness or Divine.
Yoga Sūtras: treatise on Yoga written by Patañjali, founding father of Yoga.