ÁCÁRYA or ÁCÁRYÁ. Spiritual teacher.
ANÁHATA. See CAKRA.
ÁNANDA. Divine bliss.
ANANDA MARGA. Path of divine bliss; Ánanda Márga Pracáraka Saḿgha (Ananda Marga organization).
ANUCCHÚNYÁ. Unmanifested.
APARÁVIDYÁ. Knowledge of the mundane.
ÁSANA SHUDDHI. Meditation process to withdraw the mind from body awareness and concentrate it at one point.
ÁSANAS. Postures for curing physical problems, especially those that interfere with SÁDHANÁ.
AVADHÚTA or AVADHÚTIKÁ. Literally, “one who is thoroughly cleansed mentally and spiritually”; a monk or nun of an order close to the tradition of SHAEVA TANTRA.
AVATÁRA. Incarnation.
AVIDYÁMÁYÁ. Extroversial force; aspect of the Cosmic Operative Principle which guides movements from the subtle to the crude. See also VIDYÁMÁYÁ.

BHAJANA. Spiritual song.
BHAKTI. Devotion.
BHAKTI YOGA. Devotional form of spiritual practice.
BHAVA. The expressed universe.
BHÁVA. Idea, ideation, mental flow.
BIIJA MANTRA. Acoustic root; particular sound vibration from which a particular type of action stems.
BRAHMA. Supreme Entity comprising both PURUŚA, or SHIVA, and PRAKRTI, or SHAKTI.
BRAHMA CAKRA. The Cosmic Cycle – the cycle of creation out of Consciousness, and dissolution back into Consciousness, through SAIṊCARA and PRATISAIṊCARA.
BRÁHMAŃA (BRAHMAN). The uppermost social group in India, who traditionally perform priestly functions or live by intellectual labour.
BRAHMATVA. Brahma-hood, supreme stance.
BRAHMAVÁDA. Philosophical system of which Brahma is the essence.

CAKRA. Cycle or circle; psychic-energy or psycho-spiritual centre; psychic-nerve plexus. The psycho-spiritual centres, or plexi, in the human body are all located within the spinal column but are associated with certain external concentration points: (1) for múládhára cakra, the base of the spine, above the perineum; (2) for svádhiśt́hána, the sex organ; (3) for mańipura, the navel; (4) for anáhata, the mid-point of the chest; (5) for vishuddha, the throat; (6) for ájiṋá, between the eyebrows; and (7) for sahasrára, the crown of the head.

DAKŚIŃÁCÁRA TANTRA. A school of Tantra that attempts to control MÁYÁ through propitiation or appeasement.
DEVA. Mythologically, a god, a deity. Philosophically, any vibration, or expression, emanating from the Cosmic Nucleus.
DEVATÁ. Mythologically, a god or goddess. Philosophically, a minor expression of a DEVA, controlled and supervised by the deva. (Deva and devatá are sometimes used interchangeably.)
DEVII. A goddess, a female deity.
DHÁRAŃÁ. Restriction of the flow of mind, conception; e.g., Tattva Dhárańá means restricting the flow of mind to, or conception of, the fundamental factors. Dhárańá is the sixth limb of aśt́áḿga (eight-limbed) yoga.
DHARMA. Spirituality; psycho-spiritual longing; ensconcement in one’s original stance; the path of righteousness in social affairs.
DHYÁNA. Meditation in which the psyche is directed toward Consciousness; seventh limb of aśt́áḿga (eight-limbed) yoga.
DHYÁNA MANTRA. A Sanskrit verse listing the attributes of a deity, to be used for visualizing that deity in meditation.
DVÁPARA YUGA. See YUGAS.

EKÁDASHII. “Eleventh” day after the new moon or full moon, days on which fasting is especially advantageous.

GUŃA. Binding factor or principle; attribute; quality. PRAKRTI, the Cosmic Operative Principle, is composed of: sattvaguńa, the sentient principle; rajoguńa, the mutative principle; and tamoguńa, the static principle.

HIRAŃMAYA KOŚA. The subtlest of the KOŚAS.

IISHVARA. The Cosmic Controller; literally, “the Controller of all controllers”.
IISHVARA PRAŃIDHÁNA. Surrender to the Cosmic Controller through meditation; a lesson of Ananda Marga meditation.
INDRIYA. One of the ten sensory and motor organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin; and hands, feet, vocal cord, genital organ and excretory organ). The eye indriya (for example) comprises the eye itself, the optical nerve, the fluid in the nerve, and the location in the brain at which the visual stimulus is transmitted to the ectoplasm or mind-stuff.

JIIVA. An individual being.
JIIVABHÁVA. Finite subjectivity, feeling of the unit state, sense of the unit identity, microcosmic bearing.
JIṊÁNA. Knowledge.
JIṊÁNA YOGA. A form of spiritual practice which emphasizes discrimination or intellectual understanding.

KALÁ. Flow with curvature, in a stage of the Cosmic Cycle dominated by the mutative principle.
KAOLA. One who is established in raising one’s own KUŃD́ALINII.
KÁPÁLIKA SÁDHANÁ. A form of spiritual practice which causes the aspirant to confront and overcome all the inherent fetters and enemies of the human mind.
KARMA. Action; sometimes, selfish action which creates SAḾSKÁRAS.
KARMA YOGA. A form of spiritual practice which emphasizes selfless action.
KIIRTANA. Collective singing of the name of the Lord, sometimes combined with a dance that expresses the spirit of surrender.
KOŚA. “Level” or “layer” of the mind (either Macrocosmic Mind or microcosmic mind) in terms of its degree of subtlety or crudeness.
KśatriyA. The second-highest social group in India, who traditionally discharge military functions.
KULA. Lowest vertebra of the spine.
KUŃD́ALINII or KULAKUŃD́ALINII. Literally, “coiled serpentine”; sleeping divinity; the force dormant in the KULA of the body, which, when awakened, rises up the spinal column to develop all one’s spiritual potentialities.

MAHÁKAOLA. A Tantric guru who can raise not only his own KUŃD́ALINII, but that of others also; in Buddhist Tantra, Mahákaola is sometimes symbolic of PARAMA PURUŚA.
MAHÁPURUŚA. A person highly evolved psychically and spiritually, especially one who has consequently developed a charisma felt by other people.
MAHÁSAMBHÚTI. When TÁRAKA BRAHMA utilizes the PAIṊCA BHÚTAS to express Himself through a body, this is known as His Mahásambhúti.
MANTRA. A sound or collection of sounds which, when meditated upon, will lead to spiritual liberation.
MANTRA CAETANYA. The awakening of a mantra; conceptual understanding of and psychic association with a mantra.
MARGI. One who follows ANANDA MARGA ideology, including the practice of Ananda Marga meditation.
MÁYÁ. Creative Principle, PRAKRTI in Her phase of creation. One aspect of Máyá is the power to cause the illusion that the finite created objects are the ultimate truth.
MOKŚA. Spiritual emancipation, non-qualified liberation.
MUDRÁ. Meaningful gesture.
MÚLÁDHÁRA. See CAKRA.
MUNI. A saintly person devoted to intellectual pursuits.

NÁDA. Flow without curvature in a stage of BRAHMA CAKRA dominated by the sentient principle.
NÁD́II. Psychic-energy channel; nerve.
NAMAH. Salutations.
NÁRÁYAŃA. The Lord of Nára (PRAKRTI), i.e., PARAMA PURUŚA.
NEOHUMANISM. A worldview characterized by love for the Supreme which overflows onto all objects created by the Supreme. Adoption of the Neo-Humanistic outlook in turn safeguards and enhances the development of one’s devotion.
NIRGUŃA BRAHMA. BRAHMA unaffected by the GUŃAS; Non-Qualified Brahma.

OṊM, OṊḾKÁRA. The sound of the first vibration of creation; the BIIJA MANTRA of the expressed universe. Oṋḿkára literally means “the sound oṋm”.
OTA YOGA. The association of PURUŚOTTAMA with each unit creation individually in PRATISAIṊCARA.

PAIṊCA BHÚTAS. Five rudimental or fundamental factors – ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid and solid.
PARAMÁ PRAKRTI. Supreme Operative Principle.
PARAMA PURUŚA. Supreme Consciousness.
PARAMASHIVA. See PURUŚOTTAMA.
PARAMÁTMAN. Supreme Consciousness in the role of witness of His own macropsychic conation. Paramátman comprises: (1) PURUŚOTTAMA, the Macrocosmic Nucleus; (2) Puruśottama’s association with all creation in His extroversial movement (prota yoga); and (3) Puruśottama’s association with each unit creation individually (OTA YOGA) and (4) with all collectively (prota yoga) in His introversial movement.
PARÁSHAKTI. Introversive pervasive force.
PARÁVIDYÁ. Spiritual knowledge, knowledge of the Great.
PLEXUS. See CAKRA.
PRABHÁT SAḾGIITA. A body of 5018 spiritual and psycho-spiritual songs composed by P.R. Sarkar (Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti).
PRAKRTI. Cosmic Operative Principle.
PRÁŃA. Energy; vital energy.
PRÁŃÁH. Vital energy.
PRÁŃÁYÁMA. Process of controlling vital energy by controlling the breath; fourth limb of aśt́áḿga (eight-limbed) yoga.
PRATISAIṊCARA. In the Cosmic Cycle, the step-by-step introversion and subtilization of consciousness from the state of solid matter to Nucleus Consciousness. (Prati means “counter” and saiṋcara means “movement”.)
PRATYÁHÁRA. Withdrawing the mind from absorption in the physical senses; fifth limb of aśtáḿga (eight-limbed) yoga.
PURÁŃA. Mythological story with a moral import; educative fiction.
PURASHCARAŃA. Upward movement of the KULAKUŃD́ALINII from múládhára CAKRA to sahasrára cakra, including the phases of mantrágháta and MANTRA CAETANYA.
PURUŚA. Consciousness.
PURUŚABHÁVA. Cognitive bearing; stance or aspect of Consciousness.
PURUŚOTTAMA or PARAMASHIVA. Nucleus Consciousness, the witness of SAIṊCARA and PRATISAIṊCARA.

RAJOGUŃA. See GUŃAS.
RÁŔH. The territory, mostly in Bengal, stretching from the west bank of the Bhagirathi River to the Parasnath Hills.
RŚI. Sage; one who, by inventing new things, broadens the path of progress of human society.

SADÁSHIVA. SHIVA (literally, “Eternal Shiva”).
SÁDHAKA. Spiritual practitioner.
SÁDHANÁ. Literally, “sustained effort”; spiritual practice; meditation.
SADRSHA PARIŃÁMA. Homogenesis, a sequence of similarity of curvatures in the phase of creation dominated by RAJOGUŃA.
SAGUŃA BRAHMA. BRAHMA affected by the GUŃAS; Qualified Brahma.
SAHASRÁRA. See CAKRA.
SAIṊCARA. In the Cosmic Cycle, the step-by-step extroversion and crudification of consciousness from Nucleus Consciousness to the state of solid matter.
SAMÁDHI. “Absorption” of the unit mind into the Cosmic Mind (savikalpa samádhi) or into the Átman (nirvikalpa samádhi).
SAMBHÚTI. Any manifestation of PARAMA PURUŚA, any created entity.
SAḾSKÁRA. Mental reactive momentum, potential mental reaction.
SANNYÁSII or SANNYÁSINII. A renunciant; literally, “one who has surrendered one’s everything to the Cosmic will” or “one who ensconces oneself in Sat, the unchangeable entity”.
SATTVAGUŃA. See GUŃAS.
SHABDA. Sound.
SHAEVA DHARMA. Shaivism; the theoretical or philosophical side of spirituality as taught by SHIVA.
SHAEVA TANTRA. Shiva Tantra; the applied, or practical side of spirituality as taught by SHIVA.
SHÁKTA. A follower of Sháktácára, the Shakti Cult; hence, any aspirant who embodies the characteristics of Sháktácára, especially the judicious application of power.
SHAKTI. PRAKRTI; energy; a deification of PRAKRTI.
SHAMBHÚLIUNGA. Fundamental positivity.
SHÁSTRA. Scripture.
SHIVA. A great Tantric guru of 5000 B.C. who guided society while His mind was absorbed in Consciousness; hence, Infinite Consciousness, PURUŚA.
SHIVABHÁVA. The stance, or bearing, of Infinite Consciousness.
SHIVA-LIUNGA. Originally a phallic symbol, later given philosophical significance as “the entity from which all things originate”.
SHLOKA. A Sanskrit couplet expressing one idea.
SHÚDRA. The lowermost social group in India, who traditionally live by manual labour.
SIDDHA MANTRA. A mantra “perfected” by the guru.
SIDDHI. Self-realization; spiritual attainment.
SVARÚPA PARIŃÁMA. Homomorphic evolution, a state before creation in which all the GUŃAS are in equipoise.
SVAYAMBHÚLIUNGA. Ultimate point of negativity, or crudity, in the human body.

TAMOGUŃA. See GUŃAS.
TÁŃD́AVA. A vigorous dance for male spiritual aspirants, originally formulated by SHIVA. It develops the glands in a way that enhances courage and fearlessness. When Shiva Himself does this dance (Shiva Nat́arája), the dance becomes a metaphor in which Supreme Consciousness sends vibrations throughout the universe and causes all objects of the universe in turn to radiate vibrations.
TANMÁTRA. Literally, “minutest fraction of that,” i.e., of a given rudimental factor of matter (see PAIṊCA BHÚTAS). Also translated “generic essence” or “inferential wave”. The various types of tanmátras convey the senses of hearing, touch, form (vision), taste and smell.
TANTRA. A spiritual tradition which originated in India in prehistoric times and was first systematized by SHIVA. It emphasizes the development of human vigour, both through meditation and through confrontation of difficult external situations, to overcome all fears and weaknesses. Also, a scripture expounding that tradition.
TÁRAKA BRAHMA. Supreme Consciousness in Its liberating aspect.

VÁMÁCÁRA TANTRA. A school of Tantra that attempts to overcome MÁYÁ by fight, but without any clear goal.
VÁYUS. The ten basic energy flows in the human body.
VEDA. Literally, “knowledge”; hence, a composition imparting spiritual knowledge. Also, a religious or philosophical school which originated among the Aryans and was brought by them to India. It is based on the Vedas and emphasizes the use of ritual to gain the intervention of the gods.
VIDYÁMÁYÁ. Introversial force; aspect of the Cosmic Operative Principle which guides movements from the crude to the subtle. See also AVIDYÁMÁYÁ.
VIIRÁCÁRII. A follower of Viirácára Tantra; a Tantric who adopts a particularly “heroic” ideation while seeking to confront and overcome all mental weaknesses.
VRTTI. Mental propensity.

YAJIṊA. Ritual sacrifice.
YAMA AND NIYAMA. Moral code.
YUGAS. The mythological four ages (Satya Yuga, or Golden Age, Treta Yuga, or Silver Age, Dvápara Yuga, or Copper Age, and Kali Yuga, or Iron Age), representing the step-by-step decline of morality and spirituality.