Glossary

Advaita signifies non duality.

Ahamkara signifies ego.

Ajnana a term of Vedanta is ignorance individual or cosmic.

Akasha is for space, ether.

Ananda, Bliss.

Antakarana signifies the inner organ, comprising manas or mind, buddhi or intellect, chitta or pleasure seeking function and ahamkara or ego.

Astral body – man’s subtle body of light, prana, the second of three sheets that encase the soul: the causal body, the astral and the physical body.

The power of the astral body enlivens the physical body.

The astral body has 19 elements:

4 intelligence, ego feeling, and mind (sense consciousness);

5 instruments of knowledge (the sensory powers within the physical organ of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch;

5 instruments of action (the executive power in the physical instruments of procreation, excretion, speech, locomotion and the exercise of manual skills;

5 instruments of life force that perform the functions of: circulation, metabolization, assimilation, crystallization and elimination.

Astral world, the subtle sphere of creation, a universe of light and color composed of finer than sub atomic forces, i.e. vibrations of life energy, prana. Every being, every object, every vibration on the material plane has an astral counterpart, for in the astral universe (heaven) is the blue print of the material universe.

At death, the soul of man, clothed in the astral body of light, ascends to one of the higher or lower astral planes, according to merit, to continue his spiritual evolution in the greater freedom of the subtle realm.

Atman Self or Soul.

Aum (Om), the Sanskrit root symbolizes that aspect of the Godhead which creates and sustains all things; Cosmic Vibration.

Aum of the Vedas became the sacred word Hum of the Tibetans, Amin of the Muslims, Amen of the Egyptians, Greeks, Jews and Christians.

The world’s great religions state that all created things originate in the cosmic vibratory energy of Aum or Amen, the word or the Holy Ghost.

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God .. All things were made by him (the word or Aum) and without him there was not anything that was made, (John 1:1:3).

Avatar is one who attains union with Spirit and then returns to earth to help mankind; divine incarnation.

Avidya denotes literarily non-knowledge, ignorance; the manifestation in man of maya, the cosmic delusion. It is man’s ignorance of his divine nature and of the sole reality, Spirit.

Brahma is the creator God, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.

Brahman is the absolute, the Supreme Reality of non dualistic Vedanta, God beyond creation.

Buddhi is the determinative faculty of the mind.

Causal body is the cause of the astral and physical body.

Chakras or wheels denote in yoga the seven centres of life and consciousness in the spine and brain, which enliven the physical and astral body in man.

The seven centres are exits through which the soul has descended into the body and through which it must re-ascend by a process of meditation. By seven steps the soul escapes into Cosmic Consciousness. In its upward passage through the even open or awakened cerebrospinal centres, the soul traces its way back to the Infinite.

Yoga generally considers only the six lower centres as chakras, with sahasrara referred to separately. All seven centres however, are referred to as lotuses, whose petals turn upward in spiritual awakening as the the life and consciousness travels up the spine.

Chitta, in intuitive feeling; the aggregate of consciousness inherent in which is: ahamkara (ego), buddhi (intelligence) and manas (sense mind) or sense consciousness.

Christ consciousness is the projected consciousness of God immanent in all creation. In the Christian scriptures, the ‘only begotten son’ the only pure reflection in creation of God the Father; in yoga it is Kutastha Chaitanya or Tat, the universal consciousness, or cosmic intelligence of Spirit everywhere present in creation. It is the universal consciousness that manifested in Jesus and other avatars. Yogis and saints know it as the state of samadhi, wherein their consciousness has become identified with the divine intelligence in every particle of creation. They feel the entire universe as their body.

Consciousness states, in mortal consciousness man experiences three states: waking consciousness, sleeping consciousness and dreaming consciousness. But he does not experience his soul, superconsciousness and he does not experience God. The Christ man does. As mortal man is conscious throughout his body, so is the Christ man conscious throughout the universe, which he feels as his body. Beyond the state of Christ consciousness is cosmic consciousness, the experience of oneness with God in His absolute consciousness beyond vibratory creation as well as with the Lord’s omnipresent manifesting in the phenomenal worlds.

Cosmic consciousness denotes the Absolute transcendent Spirit existing beyond creation; God the Father.

Dharma is the eternal principle of righteousness that upholds all creation. It is man’s inherent duty to live in harmony with these principles. It also means to live in accordance with one’s own dharma or intrinsic nature.

Ether is the Sanskrit word for akasa, translated as both ether and space and refers to the vibratory element that is the subtlest in the material world. It is the subtle background against which everything in the material universe becomes perceptible.

Gunas are the three attributes of nature: tamas, rajas and sattva. In man the three gunas express themselves as ignorance or inertia, activity or struggle, and wisdom.

Jnana Yoga (pronounced gyana yoga) is the path to union with God through the discriminative power of the intellect.

Karma is the law of cause and effect.

Karma Yoga the path to God through non attached action and service. By selfless service, by giving the fruits of one’s action to God and seeing God as the sole Doer, the devotee becomes free from ego and karma.

Kriya Yoga is a spiritual science originating millenniums ago in India. It includes certain techniques of meditation the practice of which leads to God Realization.

Kundalini is a powerful current of creative life energy residing in the subtle coiled passageway at the base of the spine. In ordinary waking consciousness the body’s life force enters through the medulla oblongata flows down through the sushumna and is seated at the base of the spine. Through spiritual disciplines the flow of this dormant energy is reversed and ascends through the chakras that lie along the sushumna to the top of the head, or the sahasrara chakra.

Kutastha Chaitanya or Christ Consciousness in Sanskrit that which is unchanged.

 Life Force prana

Maya is the illusory power inherent in the structure of creation by which the One appears as the many. Maya is the principle of relativity, inversion, contrast, duality, oppositional states; the Satan, the adversary of the Old Testament and the devil whom Christ described as murderer and a liar because there is no truth in him.

In God’s plan (Lila), the soul function of Satan or maya is to attempt to deliver man from Spirit to matter, from Reality to unreality.

The manifestation of Christ consciousness within man’s own being, effortlessly destroys the illusions or works of the devil.

Manas is mind

Meditation or dhyana generally is interiorized concentration with the object of perceiving God.

Moksha is liberation

Prakriti is cosmic nature, the intelligent, creative vibratory power projected out of Spirit. When objectified, it become the triune manifestation of the causal, astral and universe and the microcosm in man.

Prana Sparks of intelligence finer than-atomic energy that constitutes life. In the astral world, it is perceived as condensed thoughts of God. In the physical world there are two kinds of prana:

1)   The cosmic vibratory energy that is omnipresent in the universe, structuring and sustaining all things;

2)   The specific prana or energy that pervades and sustains each human body through five currents or functions. Prana current performs the function of crystallization, Vyana current circulation, samana current assimilation, udana current metabolization, and apana current elimination.

Pranayama is conscious control of prana. In the yoga science it is the direct way to consciously disconnect the mind from the life functions and sensory perceptions that tie man to body consciousness. Pranayama thus frees man’s consciousness to commune with God.

Rajas Yoga the Royal or Highest path to God union.

Rishis are seers, exalted beings who manifest divine wisdom.

Sadhana signifies the path to spiritual discipline based on certain instructions and practices.

Samadhi, Super Consciousness, Enlightenment are terms that are often interchanged.

Samadhi is the highest step of the Eightfold Path of yoga as outlined by Patanjali.

Samkhya or Sankhya is a system of creation.

Sanatana Dharma stands for eternal religion

Satan in Hebrew adversary

Sat-Chit-Amanda is the Sanskrit name for God that expresses the essential nature of Spirit as eternal Being or Truth (Sat), infinite consciousness (Chit) and ever new Bliss (Ananda).

Sat-Tat-Aum is Truth, the absolute, Bliss; Tat, universal intelligence or consciousness; Aum cosmic intelligent cosmic vibration, word symbol for God. In Christian terms, Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Sattva is the principle of balance or righteousness

Self, soul, pure consciousness, heart, purusha are different names denoting our true nature

Self Realization by Yogananda is the knowing in body, mind and soul that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we not merely near it at all times, but that god’s omnipresence is our omnipresence; that we are just as much a part of him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing.

Shankara, Swami sometimes referred to as Adi (the first) Shankaracharya, India’s most illustrious philosopher.

Siddha is one who is successful, one who has attained Self Realization.

Soul is individualizes Spirit. The soul is the true and immortal nature of man. It is cloaked only temporarily in the causal, astral and physical bodies. The true nature of the soul is Spirit: ever existing, ever conscious, ever new bliss, joy.

Spiritual Eye, the single eye of intuition and omnipresent perception at the Christ centre (ajna chakra) between the eye brows. The deeply meditating devotee beholds the spiritual eye as a ring of golden light, encircling a blue orb with a white star in the centre.

The spiritual eye is the entryway into the ultimate states of divine consciousness.

Super-conscious mind is the all knowing power of the soul that perceives truth directly through intuition.

Trinity, when Spirit manifests creation, It becomes the Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Ghost, or Sat, Tat, Aum. The Father (Sat)is God as the Creator existing beyond creation (Cosmic Consciousness). The Son (Tat) is God’s omnipresent intelligence existing in creation (Christ Consciousness). The Holy Ghost (Aum) is the vibratory power of God that objectifies and becomes creation.

Turiya transcends the waking, dream and deep sleep state.

Upanishads or Vedas are essential summaries that form the doctrine of the Hindu religion.

Vedanta, literally end of the Vedas is the philosophy stemming from the Vedas.

Vedas comprises the four texts the Hindus: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.

Viveka is philosophical discrimination.

Yoga or union, the highest connotation of the word is union of the individual soul with Spirit.

Yuga or cycles of creation