abhyāsayoga Yoga, or union with God, through practice.
āchārya Religious teacher.
adharma Unrighteousness; the opposite of dharma.
Adhyātma Rāmāyana A book dealing with the life of Rāma and harmonizing the ideals of jnāna and bhakti.
Advaita Non-duality; a school of the Vedānta philosophy, declaring the oneness of God, soul, and universe.
Advaita Goswāmi An intimate companion of Sri Chaitanya.
Ādyāśakti The Primal Energy; an epithet of the Divine Mother.
āgamani A class of songs invoking Durgā, the Divine Mother.
Ahalyā The wife of the sage Gautama. Because of her misconduct she was turned into a stone by the curse of her husband. The sage, however, said that the touch of Rāma’s feet would restore her human form.
ahamkāra Ego or “I-consciousness”. See four inner organs.
Ājnā The sixth centre in the Sushumnā. See Kundalini.
ajnāna Ignorance, individual or cosmic, which is responsible for the non-perception of Reality.
ākāśa Ether or space; the first of the five elements evolved from Brahman. It is the subtlest form of matter, into which all the elements are ultimately resolved.
Akbar The great Mogul Emperor of India (A.D. 1542–1605).
akshara Unchanging; also a name of Brahman.
Ālekh (Lit., the Incomprehensible One) A name of God.
Amrita Immortality.
Anāhata The fourth centre in the Sushumnā. See Kundalini.
Anāhata Śabda Another name for Om.
Ānanda Bliss.
ānandamayakosha The sheath of bliss. See kosha.
Ānandamayi (Lit., Full of Bliss) An epithet of the Divine Mother.
ānnā A small Indian coin, one sixteenth of a rupee.
annamayakosha The gross physical sheath. See kosha.
Annapurnā A name of the Divine Mother as the Giver of Food.
antaranga Belonging to the inner circle; generally used with reference to an intimate disciple.
ārati Worship of the Deity accompanied by the waving of lights.
Arjuna A hero of the Mahābhārata and the friend of Krishna. See Pāndavas.
artha Wealth, one of the four ends of human pursuit. See four fruits.
āsana Seat.
asat Unreal.
ashtami The eighth day of either lunar fortnight.
Ashtāvakra Samhitā A standard book on Advaita Vedānta.
āśrama Hermitage; also any one of the four stages of life: the celibate student stage, the married householder stage, the stage of retirement and contemplation, and the stage of religious mendicancy.
Assam A province in the northeast corner of India.
asti Is, or being.
asura Demon.
aśwattha The peepal-tree.
Āświn The sixth month in the Hindu calendar, falling in the autumn season.
Ātmā Self, same as Ātman.
Ātman Self or Soul; denotes also the Supreme Soul, which, according to the Advaita Vedānta, is one with the individual soul.
Ātmārāma Satisfied in the Self.
Aum Same as Om.
Avadhuta A holy man of great renunciation mentioned in the Bhāgavata.
Avatār Incarnation of God.
avidyā Ignorance, cosmic or individual, which is responsible for the non-perception of Reality.
avidyāmāyā Māyā, or illusion causing duality, has two aspects, namely, avidyāmāyā and vidyāmāyā. Avidyāmāyā, or the “māyā of ignorance”, consisting of anger, passion, and so on, entangles one in worldliness. Vidyāmāyā, or the “māyā of knowledge”, consisting of kindness, purity, unselfishness, and so on, leads one to liberation. Both belong to the relative world. See māyā.
avidyāśakti The power of ignorance.
Ayodhyā The capital of Rāma’s kingdom in northern India; the modern Oudh.
bābā The Bengali word for father.
bābāji A name by which holy men of the Vaishnava sect are called.
bāblā A tree, the Indian acacia.
babu Well-to-do gentleman; also equivalent to Mr. or Esq.
Balāi Pet name of Balarāma, Sri Krishna’s brother.
Balarāma Sri Krishna’s elder brother.
Banga Bengal.
Bankuvihāri A name of Sri Krishna.
Bāul (Lit., God-intoxicated devotee) Mendicant of a Vaishnava sect.
bel A tree whose leaves are sacred to Śiva; also the fruit of the same tree.
Bhagavad Gītā The well-known Hindu scripture.
Bhagavān (Lit., One endowed with the six attributes, viz. infinite treasures, strength, glory, splendour, knowledge, and renunciation) An epithet of the Godhead; also the Personal God of the devotee.
Bhāgavata A sacred book of the Hindus, especially of the Vaishnavas, dealing with the life of Sri Krishna.
Bhagavati The Divine Mother.
bhairava An aspirant of the Tāntrik sect; also denotes the God Śiva, especially one of His eight frightful forms.
bhairavi A nun of the Tāntrik sect.
bhajan Religious music.
bhajanānanda The bliss derived from the worship of God.
bhakta A follower of the path of bhakti, divine love; a worshipper of the Personal God.
bhakti Love of God; single-minded devotion to one’s Chosen Ideal.
bhaktiyoga The path of devotion, followed by dualistic worshippers.
Bharadvāja A sage mentioned in the Purāna.
Bhārata A name of Arjuna; also a name of India.
Bhaskarananda A saint contemporary with Sri Ramakrishna.
bhāva Existence; feeling; emotion; ecstasy; samādhi; also denotes any one of the five attitudes that a dualistic worshipper assumes toward God. The first of these attitudes is that of peace; assuming the other four, the devotee regards God as the Master, Child, Friend, or Beloved.
bhāvamukha An exalted state of spiritual experience, in which the aspirant keeps his mind on the border line between the Absolute and the Relative. From this position he can contemplate the ineffable and attributeless Brahman and also participate in the activities of the relative world, seeing in it the manifestation of God alone.
bhāva samādhi Ecstasy in which the devotee retains his ego and enjoys communion with the Personal God.
Bhavatārini (Lit., the Saviour of the Universe) A name of the Divine Mother.
bheda Difference.
Bhil A savage tribe of India.
Bhishma One of the great heroes of the war of Kurukshetra, described in the Mahābhārata.
bhoga Enjoyment.
bhramara The black bee.
Bodha Consciousness; Absolute Knowledge.
Bodh-Gayā A place near Gayā, where Buddha attained illumination.
Brahma The name by which the Brāhmos invoke God.
Brahmā The Creator God; the First Person of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Vishnu and Śiva.
brahmachāri A religious student devoted to the practice of spiritual discipline; a celibate belonging to the first stage of life. See four stages of life.
brahmacharya The first of the four stages of life: the life of an unmarried student. See four stages of life.
Brahmajnāna The Knowledge of Brahman.
Brahmajnāni A knower of Brahman. Sri Ramakrishna used the term “modern Brahmajnānis” to denote the members of the Brāhmo Samāj.
Brahmāmayi (Lit., the Embodiment of Brahman) A name of the Divine Mother.
Brahman The Absolute; the Supreme Reality of the Vedānta philosophy.
Brahmānanda The bliss of communion with Brahman.
Brahmānda (Lit., the egg of Brahmā) The universe.
Brahmāni The Consort of Brahmā.
Brāhmani (Lit., brāhmin woman) The brāhmin woman who taught Sri Ramakrishna the Vaishnava and Tantra disciplines, also known as the Bhairavi Brāhmani.
brahmarshi A rishi or holy man endowed with the Knowledge of Brahman.
brāhmin The highest caste in Hindu society.
Brāhmo Member of the Brāhmo Samāj.
Brāhmo Sabhā The meeting of the Brāhmos.
Brāhmo Samāj A theistic organization of India, founded by Rājā Rammohan Roy.
Braja Same as Vrindāvan.
Brindē One of the gopis; also the name of a maidservant at the Dakshineswar temple garden.
Buddha (Lit., one who is enlightened) The founder of Buddhism.
Buddha-Gayā Same as Bodh-Gayā.
buddhi The intelligence or discriminating faculty. See four inner organs.
Captain Colonel Viswanath Upadhyaya of Nepal, the Resident of the Nepalese Government in Calcutta, and a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna. The Master addressed Viswanath as “Captain”.
causal body One of the three bodies or seats of the soul, the other two being the gross body and the subtle body. It is identical with deep sleep.
chāddar An upper garment.
Chaitanya Spiritual Consciousness; also the name of a prophet born in A.D. 1485, who lived at Navadvip, Bengal, and emphasized the path of divine love for the realization of God; he is also known as Gaurānga, Gaur, Gorā, or Nimāi.
Chaitanyalīlā A play by Girish Chandra Ghosh depicting the life of Sri Chaitanya.
Chaitra The last month in the Hindu calendar, falling in the spring season.
chakkā A vegetable curry.
chakora A species of bird.
chakra Any one of the six centres, or lotuses, in the Sushumnā, through which the Kundalini rises. See Kundalini.
chāmara A fan made of a yak tail, used in the temple service.
chānābarā A Bengali sweetmeat made of cheese, first fried in butter and then soaked in syrup.
chandāla An untouchable.
Chandi A sacred book of the Hindus, in which the Divine Mother is described as the Ultimate Reality.
Chandidās The name of a Vaishnava saint.
chāndni An open portico; the word is used in the text to denote the open portico at the Dakshineswar temple, with steps leading to the Ganges.
Chandrāvali One of the gopis of Vrindāvan.
charanāmrita The water in which the image of the Deity is bathed; it is considered very sacred.
chātak A species of bird.
chetana samādhi Communion with God in which the devotee retains “I-consciousness” and is aware of his relationship with God.
Chidākāśa The Ākāśa, or Space, of Chit, Absolute Consciousness; the All-pervading Spirit.
Chidānanda The bliss of God-Consciousness.
Chidātmā The soul as embodiment of Intelligence and Consciousness.
Chinmaya The embodiment of Spirit.
Chintāmani A mythical gem which has the power to grant its possessor whatever he may wish for; also a name of God.
Chit Consciousness.
Chitśakti The Supreme Spirit as Power.
chitta The mind-stuff. See four inner organs.
Chosen Ideal See Ishta.
daitya Demon.
dāl Lentils; also a soup made from lentils.
Dāmodara A name of Krishna.
dānā Ghost.
dandi A sect of sannayāsis who always carry a staff.
dargāh Burial place of a Mussalmān saint, considered sacred.
darśanas, the six The six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, namely, the Sāmkhya of Kapila, the Yoga of Patanjali, the Vaiśeshika of Kanāda, the Nyāya of Gautama, the Purva Mimāmsā of Jaimini, and the Vedānta or Uttara Mimāmsā of Vyāsa.
Dasaharā A Hindu festival.
Daśaratha The father of Rāma.
Dāśarathi A mystic poet of Bengal.
dāsya One of the five attitudes assumed by the dualistic worshipper toward his Chosen Ideal: the attitude of a servant toward his master.
Dattātreya The name of a great Hindu saint.
dayā Compassion.
Dayāmaya The Compassionate One.
Dayananda The founder of the Ārya Samāj (A.D. 1824–1883).
deva (Lit., shining one) A god.
Devaki The mother of Sri Krishna.
devarshi A godly person endowed with Supreme Knowledge; an epithet generally applied to Nārada.
devatā Deity or god.
Devendra(nath) Tagore A religious leader of Sri Ramakrishna’s time; father of Rabindranath Tagore.
devotee The word is generally used in the text to denote one devoted to God, a worshipper of the Personal God, or a follower of the path of love. A devotee of Sri Ramakrishna is one who is devoted to Sri Ramakrishna and follows his teachings. The word “disciple”, when used in connexion with the Master, refers to one who had been initiated into spiritual life by Sri Ramakrishna and who regarded Sri Ramakrishna as his guru.
dharma Righteousness, one of the four ends of human pursuit; generally translated as “religion”, it signifies rather the inner principle of religion. See four fruits. The word is also loosely used to mean “duty”.
dhoti A man’s wearing-cloth.
Dhruva A saint in Hindu mythology.
Dhruva Ghāt A bathing-place on the Jamunā river at Vrindāvan.
Dolayātrā The Hindu spring festival associated with Sri Krishna.
dome One of the lowest castes among the Hindus.
Draupadi The wife of the five Pāndava brothers.
Drona One of the great military teachers in the Mahābhārata.
Dulāli One of the pet names of Rādhā.
Durgā A name of the Divine Mother.
Durgā Pujā The worship of Durgā.
durvā grass Common grass, used in worship.
Durvāsā A sage with a very angry disposition, described in the Purāna.
Duryodhana One of the heroes of the Mahābhārata, the chief rival of the Pāndava brothers.
Dvaita The philosophy of Dualism.
Dwāpara The third of the four yugas or world cycles. See yuga.
Dwārakā The capital of Krishna’s kingdom, situated in western India; one of the four principal holy places of India, the other three being Kedārnāth, Puri, and Rāmeśwar.
ego of Knowledge (of Devotion) The ego purified and illumined by the Knowledge (or Love) of God. Some souls, after realizing their oneness with Brahman in samādhi, come down to the plane of relative consciousness. In this state they retain a very faint feeling of ego so that they may teach spiritual knowledge to others. This ego, called by Sri Ramakrishna the “ego of Knowledge”, does not altogether efface their knowledge of oneness with Brahman even in the relative state of consciousness. The bhakta, the lover of God, coming down to the relative plane after having attained samādhi, retains the “I-consciousness” by which he feels himself to be a lover, a child, or a servant of God. Sri Ramakrishna called this the “devotee ego”, the “child ego”, or the “servant ego”.
eight fetters Namely, hatred, shame, lineage, pride of good conduct, fear, secretiveness, caste, and grief.
eight siddhis or occult powers Namely, the ability to make oneself small as an atom, light as air, etc.
ekādaśi The eleventh day after the full or new moon, which a devotee spends in full or partial fasting, prayer, and worship.
ektārā A musical instrument with one string.
”Englishman” A term often used by Sri Ramakrishna in referring to men educated in English schools or influenced by European ideas.
esrāj A stringed musical instrument.
ether Ākāśa or all-pervading space.
fakir Beggar; often a religious mendicant.
five cosmic principles Namely, ether (ākāśa), air (vāyu), fire (agni), water (ap), and earth (kshiti).
five vital forces or prānas Namely, prāna, apāna, samāna, vyāna, and udāna. These five names denote the five functions of the vital force, such as breathing, digesting, evacuating, etc.
four fruits The four ends of human pursuit, namely, dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kāma (fulfilment of desire), and moksha (liberation).
four inner organs The four inner organs of perception, namely, manas (mind), buddhi (the discriminating faculty), chitta (mind-stuff), and ahamkāra (”I-consciousness”).
four stages of life Namely, brahmacharya (life of unmarried student), gārhasthya (life of married householder), vānaprastha (life of retired householder), and sannyās (life of monk).
gandharva A class of demigods who are the musicians of heaven.
Ganeśa The god with the elephant’s head; the god of success, the son of Śiva.
Gangā The Ganges.
Gangāsāgar The mouth of the Ganges at the Bay of Bengal, considered a sacred place by the Hindus.
gānjā Indian hemp.
garden house A rich man’s country house set in a garden.
gārhasthya The second of the four stages of life: the life of a married householder. See four stages of life.
Gaur Short for Gaurānga.
Gaurānga A name of Sri Chaitanya.
Gauri (Lit., of fair complexion) A name of the Divine Mother; also the name of a pundit devoted to Sri Ramakrishna.
Gayā A sacred place in northern India.
Gāyatri A sacred verse of the Vedas recited daily by Hindus of the three upper castes after they have been invested with the sacred thread; also the presiding deity of the Gāyatri.
gerruā (Lit., ochre) The ochre cloth of a monk.
ghāt Bathing-place on a lake or river.
ghee Butter clarified by boiling.
Ghoshpārā A Vaishnava sect, the members of which generally indulge in questionable religious practices.
Giri One of the ten denominations of monks belonging to the school of Śankara.
Girirāni (Lit., the Queen of the Mountain) Consort of King Himālaya and mother of Umā.
Gītā Same as the Bhagavad Gītā.
Goloka The Celestial Abode of Vishnu.
golokdhām A game in which the player tries to get to “heaven” by passing through different planes; on each false step he falls into a particular “hell”.
Gopāla The Baby Krishna.
gopas The cowherd boys of Vrindāvan, playmates of Sri Krishna.
gopis The milkmaids of Vrindāvan, companions and devotees of Sri Krishna.
Gorā A name of Sri Chaitanya.
goswāmi Vaishnava priest.
Govardhan A hill near Vrindāvan, which Sri Krishna lifted with His finger to protect the villagers from a deluge of rain.
Govinda(ji) A name of Sri Krishna.
gram A kind of bean.
Great Cause The Ultimate Reality.
Guhaka An untouchable who was a friend of Rāma.
guna According to the Sāmkhya philosophy, Prakriti (nature), in contrast with Purusha (soul), consists of three gunas (qualities or strands) known as sattva, rajas, and tamas. Tamas stands for inertia or dullness, rajas for activity or restlessness, and sattva for balance or wisdom.
guru(deva) Spiritual teacher.
Gurumahārāj A respectful way of referring to the guru.
Haladhari A priest in the temple garden at Dakshineswar and a cousin of Sri Ramakrishna.
Hāldārpukur A small lake at Kāmārpukur.
hāluā A pudding made of farina.
Hanumān The great monkey devotee of Rāma, mentioned in the Rāmāyana.
Hara A name of Śiva.
Hārdwār A sacred place on the bank of the Ganges at the foot of the Himālayas.
Hari God; a name of Vishnu, the Ideal Deity of the Vaishnavas.
Haridās A disciple of Sri Chaitanya.
Hari Om Sacred words by which God is often invoked.
hathayoga A school of yoga that aims chiefly at physical health and well-being.
hathayogi A student of hathayoga.
havishya Food consisting of boiled rice, butter, and milk, and considered very holy.
Hazra A devotee who lived at the Dakshineswar temple garden and was of a perverse disposition. Same as Pratap Hazra.
”hero” A religious aspirant described in the Tantra, who is permitted sexual intercourse under certain conditions.
hide-and-seek The Indian game of hide-and-seek, in which the leader, known as the “granny”, bandages the eyes of the players and hides herself. The players are supposed to find her. If any player can touch her, the bandage is removed from his eyes and he is released from the game.
hinchē A kind of aquatic plant eaten as greens.
Hiranyakaśipu A demon king in Hindu mythology, the father of Prahlāda.
Hiranyāksha A demon in Hindu mythology.
Holy Mother The name by which Sri Ramakrishna’s wife was known among his devotees.
homa A Vedic sacrifice in which oblations are offered into a fire.
Hriday Sri Ramakrishna’s nephew, who served as his attendant during the period of his spiritual discipline. Also called Hridu and Hridē. He was expelled from the temple garden at Dakshineswar on account of certain of his actions which displeased the temple authorities.
Hrishikesh A village on the Ganges at the foot of the Himālayas, where sādhus practise austerities.
hubble-bubble A water-pipe for smoking.
Idā A nerve in the spinal column. See Sushumnā.
Indra The king of the gods.
Indrāni The consort of Indra.
Ishan A name of Śiva; also the name of a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna.
Ishta(deva) The Chosen Ideal, Spiritual Ideal, or Ideal Deity of the devotee.
Iśvara The Personal God.
Iśvarakoti A perfected soul born with a special spiritual message for humanity. “An Incarnation of God or one born with some of the characteristics of an Incarnation is called an Iśvarakoti.” (Sri Ramakrishna)
Jadabharata A great saint in Hindu mythology.
jada samādhi Communion with God in which the aspirant appears lifeless, like an inert object.
Jagadambā (Lit., the Mother of the Universe) A name of the Divine Mother.
Jagāi Jagāi and Mādhāi were two ruffians redeemed by Gaurānga.
Jagannāth The Lord of the Universe; a name of Vishnu.
Jagannāth temple The celebrated temple at Puri.
Jagaddhātri (Lit., the Bearer of the Universe) A name of the Divine Mother. In this form She is represented as riding a lion in the act of subduing an elephant.
jal The Bengali word for water.
Jamunā The sacred river Jumnā, a tributary of the Ganges.
Janaka, King One of the ideal kings in Hindu mythology and the father of Sītā. Sri Ramakrishna often described him as the ideal householder, who combined yoga with enjoyment of the world.
japa Repetition of God’s name.
Jatilā and Kutilā Two trouble-makers depicted in the Bhāgavata, in the episode of Sri Krishna and the gopis of Vrindāvan.
jilipi A kind of sweetmeat.
jīva The embodied soul; a living being; an ordinary man.
jīvakoti An ordinary man.
jīvanmukta One liberated from māyā while living in the body.
jīvātmā The embodied soul.
jnāna Knowledge of God arrived at through reasoning and discrimination; also denotes the process of reasoning by which the Ultimate Truth is attained. The word is generally used to denote the knowledge by which one is aware of one’s identity with Brahman.
jnānayoga The path of knowledge, consisting of discrimination, renunciation, and other disciplines.
jnāni One who follows the path of knowledge and discrimination to realize God; generally used to denote a non-dualist.
Jung Bāhādur A high official of the Mahārājā of Nepal.
”ka” The first consonant of the Sanskrit alphabet.
Kabir A medieval religious reformer, mystic, and writer of songs. He lived during the last part of the fifteenth and the early part of the sixteenth century. Born in the low caste of the weavers, he became the founder of a religious sect. On account of the breadth and universality of his teachings, he was revered by the Mohammedans and the Hindus alike.
kadamba A favourite tree of Sri Krishna.
Kaikeyi One of the wives of King Daśaratha and the mother of Bharata; through her evil machinations the king banished Rāma to the forest.
Kailāś A peak of the Himālayas, regarded as the sacred Abode of Śiva.
kaivarta The fisherman caste.
Kāla A name of Śiva; black; death; time.
Kāli A name of the Divine Mother; the presiding Deity of the Dakshineswar temple. She is often referred to and addressed by Sri Ramakrishna as the Ādyāśakti, the Primal Energy.
kāliā A rich preparation of fish or meat.
Kālidāsa The great Sanskrit poet and author of Śakuntalā.
Kālighāt A section of northern Calcutta, where is situated the famous temple of Kāli.
Kāliya The name of a venomous snake subdued by Sri Krishna.
Kāliyadaman Ghāt A bathing-place on the Jamunā at Vrindāvan, where Sri Krishna subdued the snake Kāliya.
Kaliyuga One of the four yugas or cycles. See yuga.
Kalki The name of the next and last Incarnation, according to the Purāna.
kalmi An aquatic creeper with numerous ramifications.
Kalpataru The Wish-fulfilling Tree; refers to God.
kāma Fulfilment of desire, one of the four ends of human pursuit. See four fruits.
Kamalākānta A mystic poet of Bengal.
kamandalu The water-bowl of a monk.
Kāmārpukur Sri Ramakrishna’s birthplace.
kāminikānchan (Lit., “woman and gold”) A term used by Sri Ramakrishna to refer to lust and greed.
Kamsa Sri Krishna’s uncle, the personification of evil, whom Sri Krishna ultimately killed.
Kānāi A pet name of the youthful Sri Krishna.
Kānchi A holy place in southern India.
Kapila A great sage in Hindu mythology, the reputed author of the Sāmkhya philosophy.
kārana Cause; also consecrated wine.
karma Action in general; duty; ritualistic worship.
karmayoga (Lit., union with God through action) The path by which the aspirant seeks to realize God through work without attachment; also the ritualistic worship prescribed in the scriptures for realizing God.
Karna A hero of the Mahābhārata.
kartā Doer; master.
Kartābhajā A minor Vaishnava sect which teaches that men and women should live together in the relationship of love and gradually idealize their love by looking on each other as divine.
Kārtika A son of Śiva; commander-in-chief of the army in heaven.
Kāśi Benares.
kathak A professional reciter of stories from the Purāna in an assembly.
Kātyāyani A name of the Divine Mother.
Kausalyā The mother of Rāma.
kavirāj Native physician of India.
kāyastha One of the subsidiary castes in Bengal.
Kedār(nāth) A high peak in the Himālayas; one of the four principal holy places of India, the other three being Dwārakā, Puri, and Rāmeśwar.
Keśava A name of Sri Krishna.
Keshab Bhārati The monastic teacher of Sri Chaitanya.
Keshab (Chandra Sen) The celebrated Brāhmo leader (A.D. 1838–1884).
Kha (Lit., ākāśa) A symbol of the All-pervading Consciousness.
khokā Baby.
kirtan Devotional music, often accompanied by dancing.
kirtani A professional woman singer of kirtan.
kośākuśi Metal articles used in worship.
kosha (Lit., sheath or covering) The following are the five koshas as described in the Vedānta philosophy: (1) the annamayakosha, or gross physical sheath, made of and sustained by food; (2) the prānamayakosha, or vital sheath, consisting of the five vital forces; (3) the manomayakosha, or mental sheath; (4) the vijnānamayakosha, or sheath of intelligence; and (5) the ānandamayakosha, or sheath of bliss. These five sheaths, arranged one inside the other, cover the Soul, which is the innermost of all and untouched by the characteristics of the sheaths.
koul A worshipper of Kāli who follows the “left-hand” rituals of the Tantra.
kripāsiddha One who attains perfection through the grace of God and apparently without any effort.
Krishna One of the Ideal Deities of the Vaishnavas.
Krishnachaitanya A name of Sri Chaitanya.
Krishnayātrā A theatrical performance depicting the life of Sri Krishna.
kshara Changeable.
kshatriya The second or warrior caste in Hindu society.
kshir Milk thickened by boiling.
Kubir A Bengali mystic poet.
Kumāra Sambhava A famous book by Kālidāsa.
Kumāri Pujā (Lit., the worship of a virgin) A ritualistic worship prescribed by the Tantra, in which a virgin is worshipped as the manifestation of the Divine Mother of the Universe.
kumbhaka Retention of breath; a process in prānāyāma, or breath-control, described in rājayoga and hathayoga.
Kumbhakarna A brother of Rāvana mentioned in the Rāmāyana, who slept six months at a time.
kumbhamelā An assembly of monks held every three years in one of several holy places in India.
Kundalini (Lit., the Serpent Power) It is the spiritual energy lying dormant in all individuals. According to the Tantra there are six centres in the body, designated as Mulādhāra, Svādhisthāna, Manipura, Anāhata, Viśuddha, and Ājnā. These are the dynamic centres where the spiritual energy becomes vitalized and finds special expression with appropriate spiritual perception and mystic vision. These centres, placed in the Sushumnā, form the ascending steps by which the Kundalini, or spiritual energy, passes from the foot of the spine to the cerebrum. When an easy pathway is formed along the Sushumnā through these centres, and the Kundalini encounters no resistance in its movements upward and downward, then there is the Shatchakrabheda, which means, literally, the penetrating of the six chakras, or mystic centres. The Mulādhāra chakra, situated between the base of the sexual organ and the anus, is regarded as the seat of the Kundalini. The centres are metaphorically described as lotuses. The Mulādhāra is said to be a four-petalled lotus. The Svādhisthāna chakra, situated at the base of the sexual organ, is a six-petalled lotus. The Manipura, situated in the region of the navel, contains ten petals. The Anāhata, placed in the region of the heart, is a twelve-petalled lotus. The Viśuddha, at the lower end of the throat, has sixteen petals. The Ājnā, situated in the space between the eyebrows, is a two-petalled lotus. In the cerebrum there is the Sahasrāra, the thousand-pettalled lotus, the abode of Śiva, which is as white as the silvery full moon, as bright as lightning, and as mild and serene as moonlight. This is the highest goal, and here the awakened spiritual energy manifests itself in its full glory and splendor.
kuthi The bungalow in the Dakshineswar temple garden, where the proprietors and their guests stayed while visiting Dakshineswar.
Lakshmana The third brother of Rāma.
Lakshmi The Consort of Vishnu and Goddess of Fortune.
līlā The divine play; the Relative. The creation is often explained by the Vaishnavas as the līlā of God, a conception that introduces elements of spontaneity and freedom into the universe. As a philosophical term, the Līlā (the Relative) is the correlative of the Nitya (the Absolute).
lotus Each of the six centres along the Sushumnā is called a lotus, since they have a form like that of a lotus blossom. See Kundalini.
luchi A thin bread made of flour and fried in butter.
M. Mahendranath Gupta, one of Sri Ramakrishna’s foremost householder disciples and the recorder of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.
Madan(a) The god of love in Hindu mythology; also a Bengali mystic and writer of songs.
Mādhāi See Jagāi.
Mādhava A name of Sri Krishna.
mādhavi A creeper.
Madhu and Kaitabha Two demons killed by the Divine Mother; the story is narrated in the Chandi.
madhur One of the five attitudes cherished by the Vaishnava worshipper toward his Ideal Deity, Krishna: the attitude of a wife toward her husband or of a woman toward her paramour.
Madhusudan(a) (Lit., the Slayer of the demon Madhu) A name of Sri Krishna.
Mahābhārata A famous Hindu epic.
mahābhāva The most intense ecstatic love of God.
Mahādeva (Lit., the Great God) A name of Śiva.
Mahā-Kāla Śiva; the Absolute.
Mahā-Kāli A name of the Divine Mother.
Mahākārana (Lit., the Great Cause) The Transcendental Reality.
Mahākāśa The space of Infinity.
Mahāmāyā The Great Illusionist; a name of Kāli, the Divine Mother.
Mahānirvāna The great Nirvāna or samādhi.
Mahānirvāna Tantra A standard book on Tantra philosophy.
Maharshi (Lit., a great rishi or seer of truth) An epithet often applied to Devendranath Tagore, the father of the poet Rabindranath.
Mahāshtami The second day of the worship of Durgā, the Divine Mother.
mahat The cosmic mind; a term used in the Sāmkhya philosophy, denoting the second category in the evolution of the universe.
mahātmā A high-souled person.
Mahāvāyu Cosmic Consciousness or the Life Force. The word is also used to denote a current felt in the spinal column when the Kundalini is awakened.
Mahāvir (Lit., great hero) A name of Hanumān, the monkey devotee of Rāma.
māhut Elephant-driver.
Maidān A great field in Calcutta.
Malaya breeze The fragrant breeze that blows from the Malaya (Western Ghāt) Mountains.
manas Mind. See four inner organs.
Mānasoravar A sacred lake in Tibet.
Mandodari Rāvana’s wife.
Manikarnikā Ghāt The famous cremation ground in Benares.
Manipura The third centre in the Sushumnā. See Kundalini.
mānjā A glue of barley and powdered glass with which kite-strings are given a sharp cutting-edge.
manomayakosha The mental sheath. See kosha.
mantra Holy Sanskrit text; also the sacred formula used in japa.
Manu The great Hindu lawgiver.
Manusamhitā A book on Hindu law by Manu.
Mārhāttā A race inhabiting the province of Bombay.
Mārwāri An inhabitant of Mārwār, in Rājputāna, in central India.
math Monastery.
Mathur The son-in-law of Rāni Rasmani, and a great devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, whom he provided with all the necessities of life at the temple garden.
māyā Ignorance obscuring the vision of God; the Cosmic Illusion on account of which the One appears as many, the Absolute as the Relative; it is also used to denote attachment.
”māyā of ignorance” See avidyāmāyā.
”māyā of knowledge” See avidyāmāyā.
māyāvādi A follower of the Māyā theory of the Vedānta philosophy, according to which the world of names and forms is illusory, like a dream.
Mimāmsaka A follower of the Purva Mimāmsā, one of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy.
Mirābāi A great medieval woman saint of the Vaishnava sect.
mlechchha A non-Hindu, a barbarian. This is a term of reproach applied by the orthodox Hindus to foreigners, who do not conform to the established usages of Hindu religion and society. The word corresponds to the “heathen” of the Christians and the “kafir” of the Mussalmāns.
mohant The abbot of a monastery.
moksha Liberation or final emancipation, one of the four ends of human pursuit. See four fruits.
mridanga An earthen drum used in devotional music.
mukti Liberation from the bondage of the world, which is the goal of spiritual practice.
Mulādhāra The first and lowest centre in the Sushumnā. See Kundalini.
muni A holy man given to solitude and contemplation.
munsiff A judicial officer.
Mussalmān A follower of Mohammed.
Nāda The Word-Brahman, Om.
nahabat Music tower.
Naishādha A famous Sanskrit treatise by Sriharsha.
Nānak The founder of the Śikh religion and the first of the ten Gurus of the Śikhs. He was born in the Punjab in A.D. 1469 and died in 1538.
Nanda(ghosh) Sri Krishna’s foster-father.
Nandi A follower of Śiva.
Nangtā (Lit., the Naked One) By this name Sri Ramakrishna referred to Totapuri, the sannyāsi who initiated him into monastic life and who went about naked.
Nārada A great sage and lover of God in Hindu mythology.
Nārada Pancharātra A scripture of the Bhakti cult.
Naralīlā God manifesting Himself as man.
Nārāyana A name of Vishnu.
Nārāyani The Consort of Nārāyana; a name of the Divine Mother.
Narendra(nath) A disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, subsequently world-famous as Swami Vivekananda.
Nareschandra A mystic poet of Bengal.
Narmadā A river in central India flowing into the Arabian Sea.
nātmandir A spacious hall supported by pillars in front of a temple, meant for devotional music, religious assemblies, and the like.
Navadvip A town in Bengal which was the birth-place of Sri Chaitanya.
Navavidhān (Lit., the New Dispensation) The name of the Brāhmo Samāj organized by Keshab Chandra Sen after his disagreement with the members of the Brāhmo Samāj.
nax A card-game.
neem A tree with bitter leaves.
”Neti, neti” (Lit., “Not this, not this”) The negative process of discrimination, advocated by the followers of the non-dualistic Vedānta.
New Dispensation See Navavidhān.
ni The seventh note in the Indian musical scale.
Nidhu Babu A composer of light melodies.
Nidhu Grove A sacred grove in Vrindāvan, where Sri Krishna played with the gopis in His childhood.
Nidhuvan Same as Nidhu Grove.
Nikashā The mother of Rāvana.
nikunja Bower.
Nimāi A familiar name of Sri Chaitanya.
Nimāi-sannyās “Chaitanya’s Renunciation”; a play describing Sri Chaitanya’s embracing of the monastic life.
Niranjan(a) (Lit., the Stainless One) A name of God; also one of the intimate disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.
nirguna Without attributes.
Nirguna Brahman (Lit., Brahman without attributes) A term used to describe the Absolute.
Nirvāna Final absorption in Brahman, or the All-pervading Reality, by the annihilation of the individual ego.
nirvikalpa samādhi The highest state of samādhi, in which the aspirant realizes his total oneness with Brahman.
nishthā Single-minded devotion or love.
Nitāi A pet name of Nityānanda.
Nitya The Absolute.
Nitya-Kāli A name of the Divine Mother.
nityakarma Religious ceremonies which a householder must perform every day, but which are not obligatory for a sannyāsi.
Nityānanda (Lit., Eternal Bliss) The name of a beloved disciple and companion of Sri Chaitanya.
nityasiddha (Lit., eternally perfect) A term used by Sri Ramakrishna to describe some of his young disciples endowed with great spiritual power.
Nrisimha (Lit., Man-lion) A Divine Incarnation mentioned in the Purāna.
Nyāya Indian Logic, one of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, founded by Gautama.
Olcott, Col. One of the well-known leaders of the Theosophical Society.
Om The most sacred word of the Vedas; also written as Aum. It is a symbol of God and of Brahman.
ostād Teacher of music.
Padmalochan A great pundit of Bengal, who recognized the true significance of Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual experiences.
pāgli Mad woman.
pākhoāj A kind of double drum.
pānā Aquatic plants like algae or water hyacinths, often found covering the surface of lakes in tropical countries.
Panchadaśi The name of a book on Vedanta philosophy.
panchatapā (Lit., the austerity of five fires) While practising this discipline, the aspirant sits under the blazing sun, in the summer season, with four fires burning around him. Seated in the midst of these five fires he practises japa and meditation.
Panchavati A grove of five sacred trees planted by Sri Ramakrishna in the temple garden at Dakshineswar for his practice of spiritual discipline.
Pāndava(s) The five sons of Pandu: King Yudhisthira, Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva. They are some of the chief heroes of the Mahābhārata.
pāni Water.
Pānini A well-known Sanskrit grammar composed by Pānini.
Parabrahman The Supreme Brahman.
paramahamsa One belonging to the highest order of sannyāsis.
Paramahamsa(deva) A name for Sri Ramakrishna.
Paramātman The Supreme Soul.
Parashurāma A warrior sage in Hindu mythology, regarded as a Divine Incarnation.
Parikshit A king of the lunar race and grandson of Arjuna, mentioned in the Mahābhārata.
Pārvati Daughter of King Himālaya; the Consort of Śiva, She is regarded as an Incarnation of the Divine Mother; one of Her names is Umā.
Pātanjala One of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, also known as the Yoga philosophy.
Pāvhāri Bābā An ascetic and yogi of great distinction who was a contemporary of Sri Ramakrishna.
Phalgu A river in northern India which flows under a surface of sand.
pice An Indian coin, one fourth of an ānnā.
Pingalā A nerve in the spinal column. See Sushumnā.
Prabhās A holy place in Kathiawar, in western India, where Sri Krishna gave up His body.
Prahlāda A great devotee of Vishnu, whose life is described in the Purāna. While a boy, he was tortured for his piety by his father, the demon King Hiranyakaśipu. The Lord, in His Incarnation as Man-lion, slew the father.
Prakriti Primordial Nature, which, in association with Purusha, creates the universe. It is one of the categories of the Sāmkhya philosophy.
prāna The vital breath that sustains life in a physical body. See five vital forces.
prānamayakosha The vital sheath, consisting of the five prānas. See kosha.
Pranava Om.
prānāyāma Control of breath; one of the disciplines of yoga.
prārabdha karma The karma, or action, performed by a man is generally divided into three groups: sanchita, āgāmi, and prārabdha. The sanchita karma is the vast store of accumulated actions done in the past, the fruits of which have not yet been reaped. The āgāmi karma is the action that will be done by the individual in the future. The prārabdha karma is the action that has begun to fructify, the fruit of which is being reaped in this life. It is a part of the sanchita karma, inasmuch as this also is action done in the past. But the difference between the two is that, whereas the sanchita karma is not yet operative, the prārabdha has already begun to operate. According to the Hindus, the fruit of all karmas must be reaped by their doer, and the character and circumstances of the life of the individual are determined by his previous karmas. The prārabdha is the most effective of all karmas, because its consequences cannot be avoided in any way. The realization of God enables one to abstain from future action (āgāmi karma) and to avoid the consequences of all one’s accumulated action (sanchita karma) that has not yet begun to operate; but the prārabdha, which has already begun to bear fruit, must be reaped.
prasād Food or drink that has been offered to the Deity; also the leavings of a superior’s meal. The name Prasād is short for Rāmprasād, a mystic poet of Bengal.
pravartaka A beginner in religion.
prema Ecstatic love, divine love of the most intense kind.
premā-bhakti Ecstatic love of God.
Premdās A writer of devotional songs.
pujā Ritualistic worship.
puli A kind of cake.
Purāna(s) Books of Hindu mythology.
puraścharana The repetition of the name of a deity, attended with burnt offerings, oblations, and other rites prescribed in the Vedas.
Puri Situated in Orissa; it is one of the four principal holy places of India, the other three being Dwārakā, Kedārnāth, and Rāmeśwar; also one of the ten denominations of monks belonging to the school of Śankara.
purnajnāni Perfect knower of Brahman.
Purusha (Lit., a man) A term of the Sāmkhya philosophy, denoting the eternal Conscious Principle; the universe evolves from the union of Prakriti and Purusha. The word also denotes the soul and the Absolute.
Qualified Non-dualism A school of Vedānta founded by Rāmānuja, according to which the soul and nature are the modes of Brahman, and the individual soul is a part of Brahman.
Rādhā Sri Krishna’s most intimate companion among the gopis of Vrindāvan.
Rādhākānta (Lit., the Consort of Rādhā) A name of Sri Krishna.
Rādhākunda A place near Mathurā associated with Krishna and Rādhā.
Rādhikā Same as Rādhā.
rāga-bhakti Supreme love, making one attached only to God.
rāgas and rāginis Principal and subordinate modes in Hindu music.
Raghuvamsa The name of a Sanskrit treatise by Kālidāsa.
Raghuvir A name of Rāma; the Family Deity of Sri Ramakrishna.
Rāhu A demon in Hindu mythology, said to cause the eclipse by devouring the sun and the moon.
Rājarājeśvari (Lit., the Empress of kings) A name of the Divine Mother.
rājarshi A king who leads a saintly life; an epithet of Janaka.
rajas The principle of activity or restlessness. See guna.
rājasic Pertaining to, or possessed of, rajas.
Rājasuya The royal sacrifice, performed only by a paramount ruler.
Rājayoga The famous treatise on yoga, ascribed to Patanjali; also the yoga described in this treatise.
Rāma(chandra) The hero of the Rāmāyana, regarded by the Hindus as a Divine Incarnation.
Rāmānanda A devotee of Sri Chaitanya.
Rāmānuja A famous saint and philosopher of southern India, the founder of the school of Qualified Non-dualism (A.D. 1017–1137).
Rāmāyana A famous Hindu epic.
Rambhā The name of a celestial maiden.
Rāmeśwar Situated at the southernmost extremity of India and considered one of its four principal holy places, the other three being Dwārakā, Kedārnāth, and Puri.
Ramlal A nephew of Sri Ramakrishna and a priest in the Kāli temple at Dakshineswar.
Rāmlālā The Boy Rāma; also the metal image of Rāma worshipped by Sri Ramakrishna.
Rāmlīlā A Hindu religious festival depicting Rāma’s life, which is observed annually by the Hindus of northern India.
Rāmprasād A Bengali mystic and writer of songs about the Divine Mother.
Rāni (Lit., queen) A title of honour conferred on a woman.
rasaddār Supplier of provisions.
Rasmani, Rāni A wealthy woman of the śudra caste, the foundress of the Kāli temple at Dakshineswar.
Rathayātrā The Hindu Car Festival.
Rāvana The monster-king of Ceylon, who forcibly abducted Sītā, the wife of Rama.
rishi A seer of Truth; the name is also applied to the pure souls to whom were revealed the words of the Vedas.
Rudra A manifestation of Śiva.
rudrāksha Beads made from rudrāksha pits, used in making rosaries.
Rukmini One of Sri Krishna’s wives.
Rupa and Sanātana Two of the disciples of Sri Chaitanya.
sā, re, gā, mā, pā, dhā, ni The notes of the Indian musical scale, corresponding to do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si.
sabhā Assembly.
Sachi The mother of Sri Chaitanya; also the consort of Indra.
sadguru True teacher.
sādhaka An aspirant devoted to the practice of spiritual discipline.
sādhanā Spiritual discipline.
Sādhāran Brāhmo Samāj A branch of the Brāhmo Samāj.
sādhu Holy man; a term generally used with reference to a monk.
sāgar Ocean.
saguna Endowed with attributes.
Saguna Brahman Brahman with attributes; the Absolute conceived as the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer of the universe; also the Personal God according to the Vedānta.
Sahaja (Lit., simple one) The term by which a certain religious sect refers to God; also the natural state.
Sahasrāra The thousand-petalled lotus in the cerebrum. See Kundalini.
Śaiva A worshipper of Śiva.
sakhya One of the five attitudes cherished by the dualistic worshipper toward his Chosen Ideal: the attitude of one friend toward another.
Śākta A worshipper of Śakti, the Divine Mother, according to the Tantra philosophy.
Śakti Power, generally the Creative Power of Brahman; a name of the Divine Mother.
Sakuntalā A celebrated play by Kālidāsa.
śālagrām A stone emblem of God worshipped by the Hindus.
samādhi Ecstasy, trance, communion with God.
Sambhu A name of Śiva.
Sāmkhya One of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy; founded by Kapila.
samsāra The world.
samskāra The tendencies inherited from previous births.
sānāi A wind-instrument like an oboe.
Sanaka, Sanātana, Sananda, and Sanatkumāra The first four offspring of Brahmā, the Creator, begotten of His mind; they are regarded as highly spiritual persons.
Sanātana Dharma (Lit., the Eternal Religion) Refers to Hinduism, formulated by the rishis of the Vedas.
Sanātana Goswāmi A disciple of Sri Chaitanya and a great saint of the Vaishnava religion.
sandesh A Bengali sweetmeat made of cheese and sugar.
sandhyā Devotions or ritualistic worship performed by caste Hindus every day at stated periods.
Śankara A name of Śiva; also short for Śankarāchārya, the great Vedāntist philosopher.
Śankarāchārya One of the greatest philosophers of India, an exponent of Advaita Vedānta (A.D. 788–820).
sannyās The monastic life, the last of the four stages of life. See four stages of life.
sannyāsi A Hindu monk.
śānta One of the five attitudes cherished by the dualistic worshipper toward his Chosen Ideal. It is the attitude of peace and serenity, in contrast with the other attitudes of love, which create discontent and unrest in the minds of the devotees. Many of the Vaishnavas do not recognize the attitude of śānta, since it is not characterized by an intense love of God.
Śāntih Peace.
Sarada Devi The name of Sri Ramakrishna’s wife, also known as the Holy Mother.
Sarasvati The goddess of learning and music.
sāri A woman’s wearing-cloth.
Sārvabhauma A great scholar and contemporary of Sri Chaitanya.
śāstra Scripture; sacred book; code of laws.
Sat Reality, Being.
Satchidānanda (Lit., Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute) A name of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality.
satrancha An Indian game similar to backgammon or parchesi.
sattva The principle of balance or wisdom. See guna.
sāttvic Pertaining to, or possessed of, sattva.
Satyabhāmā A wife of Sri Krishna.
Śavari The daughter of a hunter, and a great devotee of Rāma.
śava-sādhanā A Tāntrik ritual in which a corpse (śava) is used by the worshipper as his seat.
savikalpa samādhi Communion with God in which the distinction between subject and object is retained.
seer A measure or weight equivalent to about two pounds.
siddha (Lit., perfect or boiled) Applies both to the perfected soul and to boiled things.
Siddheśvari A name of the Divine Mother.
siddhi The eight occult powers which the yogi acquires through the practice of yoga; perfection in spiritual life; the intoxicating Indian hemp.
Śikhs A religious and martial sect of the Punjab.
Simhavāhini (Lit., One whose bearer is the lion) A name of the Divine Mother.
śishya Disciple.
Sītā The wife of Rāma.
Śiva The Destroyer God; the Third Person of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Brahmā and Vishnu.
six passions Namely, lust, anger, avarice, delusion, pride, and envy.
six systems See darśanas.
six treasures Namely, treasure, glory, strength, splendour, knowledge, and renunciation; these six in their entirety are the treasures of the Godhead.
smriti The law books, subsidiary to the Vedas, guiding the daily life and conduct of the Hindus.
”Soham” (Lit., “I am He”) One of the sacred formulas of the non-dualistic Vedāntist.
Sonthāls A savage tribe of central India.
śraddhā Faith.
śrāddha A religious ceremony in which food and drink are offered to deceased relatives.
Sri Used as a prefix to the name of a Hindu man, corresponding to Mr.
Śridāma A devotee and companion of Sri Krishna.
Śrimati A name of Rādhikā; also used as a prefix to the name of a Hindu woman, corresponding to Miss or Mrs.
Śrivās A companion of Sri Chaitanya.
śruti The Vedas.
sthita samādhi Samādhi, or communion with God, in which the aspirant is firmly established in God-Consciousness.
subādār An officer in the Indian army.
Subhadrā The sister of Sri Krishna.
subtle body One of the three bodies or seats of the soul. At death the subtle body accompanies the soul in its transmigration; during the dream state the soul identifies itself with the subtle body. See causal body.
Sudāma A devotee and companion of Sri Krishna.
śudra The fourth caste in Hindu society.
Śuka(deva) The narrator of the Bhāgavata and son of Vyāsa, regarded as one of India’s ideal monks.
Sukrāchārya A holy man described in the Purāna, and the spiritual preceptor of the asuras or demons.
Śumbha and Niśumbha Two demons slain by the Divine Mother. The story is told in the Chandi.
Sumeru The sacred Mount Meru of Hindu mythology, around which all the planets are said to revolve.
Sushumnā Sushumnā, Idā, and Pingalā are the three prominent nādis, or nerves, among the innumerable nerves in the nervous system. Of these, again, the Sushumnā is the most important, being the point of harmony of the other two and lying, as it does, between them. The Idā is on the left side, and the Pingalā is on the right. The Sushumnā, through which the awakened spiritual energy rises, is described as the Brahmavartman or Pathway to Brahman. The Idā and Pingalā are outside the spine; the Sushumnā is situated within the spinal column and extends from the base of the spine to the brain. See Kundalini.
Svādhisthāna The second centre in the Sushumnā. See Kundalini.
Swami (Lit., lord) A title of the monks belonging to the Vedānta school.
Swarup A disciple of Sri Chaitanya.
swastyayana A religious rite performed to secure welfare or avert a calamity.
Śyāmā (Lit., the Dark One) A name of Kāli, the Divine Mother.
Śyāmakunda A place near Mathurā associated with Sri Krishna.
Śyāmalasundara A name of Sri Krishna.
Śyāmasundar A name of Sri Krishna.
Tagore An aristocratic brāhmin family of Bengal.
tamāla A tree with dark-blue leaves, a favourite tree of Sri Krishna.
tamas The principle of inertia or dullness. See guna.
tāmasic Pertaining to, or possessed of, tamas.
tānpurā A stringed musical instrument.
Tantra A system of religious philosophy in which the Divine Mother, or Power, is the Ultimate Reality; also the scriptures dealing with this philosophy.
Tāntrik A follower of Tantra; also, pertaining to Tantra.
tapasyā Religious austerity.
Tārā (Lit., Redeemer) A name of the Divine Mother.
tarpan A ceremony in which a libation of water is made to dead relatives.
Tattvajnāna The Knowledge of Reality.
teli A member of the oil-man caste.
tilak A mark of sandal-paste or other material, worn on the forehead to denote one’s religious affiliation.
Tillotamā A celestial maiden.
Totapuri The sannyāsi who initiated Sri Ramakrishna into monastic life.
Trailanga Swami A holy man who lived in Benares and was a contemporary of Sri Ramakrishna.
Tretāyuga The second of the four yugas or cycles. See yuga.
tribhanga (Lit., bent in three places) An epithet of Sri Krishna.
Tukārām The name of a saint of Bombay.
tulsi A plant sacred to Vishnu.
Tulsi(dās) A great devotee of Rāma and the writer of a life of Rāma.
Turiya (Lit., the fourth) A name of the Transcendental Brahman, which transcends and pervades the three states of waking, dream, and deep sleep.
twenty-four tattvas, or cosmic principles According to the Sāmkhya philosophy the twenty-four tattvas, or cosmic principles, are: the five great elements in their subtle forms (ether, air, fire, water, earth); ego, or “I-consciousness”; buddhi, or intelligence; Avyakta, or the Unmanifested (in which sattva, rajas, and tamas remain in an undifferentiated state); the five organs of action (hands, feet, organ of speech, organ of generation, organ of evacuation); the five organs of knowledge (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin); manas, or mind; and the five sense-objects (sound, touch, form, taste, smell). They all belong to Prakriti, or Nature, and are different from Purusha, or Consciousness.
twice-born A man belonging to the brāhmin, kshatriya (warrior), or vaiśya (merchant) caste, who has his second, or spiritual, birth at the time of his investiture with the sacred thread.
Uddhava The name of a follower of Sri Krishna.
Umā The daughter of King Himālaya, and the Consort of Śiva; She is an Incarnation of the Divine Mother.
unmanā samādhi Samādhi in which the functioning of the mind does not altogether stop.
upādhi A term of the Vedānta philosophy denoting the limitations imposed upon the Self through ignorance, by which one is bound to worldly life.
Upanishad(s) The well-known scriptures of the Hindus.
upāsanā Worship.
vaidhi-bhakti Devotion to God associated with rites and ceremonies prescribed in the scriptures.
Vaidyanath A holy place in Behar.
Vaikuntha The heaven of the Vaishnavas.
vairāgya Renunciation.
Vaiśākh The first month of the Hindu calendar, falling in the summer season.
Vaiśeshika One of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, founded by Kanāda.
Vaishnava (Lit., follower of Vishnu) A member of the well-known dualistic sect of that name, generally the followers of Sri Chaitanya in Bengal and of Rāmānuja and Madhva in south India.
vaiśya The third or merchant caste in Hindu society.
Vajrāsana A centre in the Sushumnā.
Vali A king who was punished by God in His Incarnation as Vāmana, or the Dwarf, for his excessive charity and condemned to rule over the nether world.
Vāli A monkey chieftain mentioned in the Rāmāyana and killed by Rāma.
Vālmiki The author of the Rāmāyana.
vānaprastha The third of the four stages of life: the life of retirement, when husband and wife practise contemplation and other spiritual disciplines. See four stages of life.
Varuna The presiding deity of the ocean in Hindu mythology.
Vaśishtha The name of a sage mentioned in the Purāna.
Vasudeva The father of Sri Krishna.
Vasus A class of celestial beings.
vātsalya One of the five attitudes cherished by the dualistic worshipper toward his Chosen Ideal: the attitude of a mother toward her child.
Vedānta One of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, formulated by Vyāsa.
Vedāntist A follower of Vedānta.
Veda(s) The most sacred scriptures of the Hindus.
vichāra Reasoning.
Videha (Lit., detached from the body) An epithet given to King Janaka on account of the spirit of detachment he showed toward the world.
Vidura The name of a great devotee of Sri Krishna mentioned in the Mahābhārata.
vidyā Knowledge leading to liberation, i.e., to the Ultimate Reality.
vidyādhari Demigoddess.
vidyāmāyā The “māyā of knowledge.” See avidyāmāyā.
Vidyāsāgar, Iswar Chandra A great educator and philanthropist of Bengal.
vidyāśakti Spiritual power.
vija mantra The sacred word with which a guru initiates his disciple.
Vijayā day The last day of the worship of Durgā, when the image is immersed in water.
vijnāna Special Knowledge of the Absolute, by which one affirms the universe and sees it as the manifestation of Brahman.
vijnānamayakosha The sheath of intelligence. See kosha.
vijnāni One endowed with vijnāna.
vilwa Same as bel.
vīnā A stringed musical instrument.
Virāt The first progeny of Brahman in Hindu cosmology; the Spirit in the form of the universe; the All-pervading Spirit.
Viśālākshi (Lit., the Large-eyed One) A name of the Divine Mother; also the name of a stream near Kāmarpukur.
Vishnu The Preserver God; the Second Person of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Brahmā and Śiva; the Personal God of the Vaishnavas.
Viśishtādvaita The philosophy of Qualified Non-dualism.
Viśuddha The fifth centre in the Sushumnā. See Kundalini.
Viśwāmitra The name of a sage mentioned in the Rāmāyana. He was a companion and counsellor of Rāma. Though born a kshatriya, by dint of his austerities he was raised to the status of a brāhmin.
Viswanath See Captain.
viveka Discrimination.
Vivekachudāmani A treatise on Vedānta by Śankara.
Vrindāvan A town on the bank of the Jamunā river associated with Sri Krishna’s childhood.
Vyāsa The compiler of the Vedas and father of Śukadeva.
Wish-fulfilling Tree See Kalpataru.
Yama The King of Death.
Yaśodā Sri Krishna’s foster-mother.
yātrā A country theatrical performance.
yoga Union of the individual soul and the Universal Soul; also the method by which to realize this union.
Yogamāyā The union of Purusha, the male principle, and Prakriti, the female principle, of Reality; also Śakti, or Divine Power.
yoga samādhi The samādhi that results when the devotee is united with God.
Yogavāśishtha The name of a well-known book on Vedānta.
yogi One who practises yoga.
yogini Woman yogi.
Yogopanishad The name of an Upanishad.
Yudhisthira, King One of the principal heroes of the Mahābhārata, known for his truthfulness, righteousness, and piety.
yuga A cycle or world period. According to Hindu mythology the duration of the world is divided into four yugas, namely, Satya, Tretā, Dwāpara, and Kali. In the first, also known as the Golden Age, there is a great preponderance of virtue among men, but with each succeeding yuga virtue diminishes and vice increases. In the Kaliyuga there is a minimum of virtue and a great excess of vice. The world is said to be now passing through the Kaliyuga.
Yugala Murti The conjoined figures of a pair; generally used to denote the combined figures of Rādhā and Krishna.
zemindar Landlord.