ÁCÁRYA or ÁCÁRYÁ. Spiritual teacher qualified to give initiation and teach all lessons of meditation.
AIṊJALI. Offering with joined, upturned palms.
ÁNANDA. Divine bliss.
ANANDA MARGA. Path of divine bliss; Ánanda Márga Pracáraka Saḿgha (Ananda Marga organization).
APARÁVIDYÁ. Knowledge of the mundane.
ÁRŚA DHARMA. The religion of the Vedic Aryans; the assembled teachings of the RŚIs (árśa is derived from rśi).
ARTHA. Anything (especially wealth) that gives temporary relief from suffering. See also PARAMÁRTHA.
ASURA. An Assyrian tribe. Among the Indo-Aryans, the term took on in addition the derogatory meaning “monsters”, and came to be applied by them in this sense to certain non-Aryan peoples.
ÁTMÁ or ÁTMAN. Soul, consciousness, PURUŚA, pure cognition. The átman of the Cosmos is Paramátman, and that of the unit is the jiivátman.
ÁTMAJIṊÁNA. Self-knowledge.
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.
AVIDYÁ. Ignorance. See also VIDYÁ.
ÁYURVEDA. The Vedic system of herbal and natural medicine.

BHÁGAVATA DHARMA. The DHARMA to attain the Supreme.
BHAKTI. Devotion.
BHÁVA. Idea, ideation, mental flow.
BIIJA MANTRA. Acoustic root; particular sound vibration from which a particular type of action stems.
BODHISATTVA. In Buddhism, one who is gradually proceeding to the state of enlightenment, but has not actually become Buddha; or an enlightened being who has voluntarily assumed a worldly form just to maintain a relationship with the external world.
BRAHMA. Supreme Entity, comprising both PURUŚA, or SHIVA, and PRAKRTI, or SHAKTI.

CAKRA. Cycle or circle; psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus. The cakras in the human body are all located along the suśumná canal which passes through the length of the spinal column and extends up to the crown of the head. Some cakras, however, are associated with external concentration points. The concentration points for the cakras: (1) for the múládhára cakra, the base of the spine, above the perineum; (2) for the svádhiśt́hána, the base of the genital organ; (3) for the mańipura, the navel; (4) for the anáhata, the mid-point of the chest; (5) for the vishuddha, the throat; (6) for the ájiṋá, between the eyebrows; and (7) for the sahasrára, the crown of the head. CAŃD́IKÁ SHAKTI. The power of the group mother.

DARSHANA SHÁSTRA. Philosophical treatise.
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.
DHARMA. Characteristic property; spirituality; the path of righteousness in social affairs.
DHARMACAKRA. Here, Buddha’s “wheel of DHARMA”.
DHYÁNA. Seventh limb of aśt́áḿga (eight-limbed) yoga; meditation in which the psyche is directed toward Consciousness.
DHYÁNA MANTRA. A Sanskrit verse listing the attributes of a deity, to be used for visualizing that deity in meditation.

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

GOTRA. Literally, “hill”; clan.
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.

IISHVARA. The Cosmic Controller; literally, “the Controller of all controllers”.
INDRIYA. One of the five sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin) or five motor organs (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.
IŚT́A. Goal; one’s personal deity or goal in life.

JIIVÁTMÁ. See ÁTMÁ.
JIṊÁNA. Knowledge; understanding.

KARMA. Action; sometimes, positive or negative action which produces SAḾSKÁRAs.

LAOKIK. “Of the people”, created relatively recently out of popular sentiment and not found in the scriptures.

MAHÁBHÁRATA. “Great India”; the name of a military campaign guided by Lord Krśńa around 1500 BCE to unify India; the epic poem written by Maharshi Vyasa about this campaign.
MAHÁKAOLA. A Tantric guru who can raise not only his own kuńd́alinii, but those of others also.
MARGI. A member of Ananda Marga.
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.
MUKTI. Spiritual liberation.

NAMAH. Salutations.
NÁTHA. Lord.
NEOHUMANISM. A world-view characterized by love for the Supreme which overflows onto all objects created by the Supreme. Adoption of the Neohumanistic outlook in turn safeguards and enhances the development of one’s devotion.

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

PAORÁŃIK. Puranic, of the PURÁŃAs.
PARAMÁ PRAKRTI. Supreme Operative Principle.
PARAMA PURUŚA. Supreme Consciousness.
PARAMÁRTHA. Supreme Consciousness; that which gives permanent relief from suffering. See also ARTHA.
PARAMASHIVA. See PURUŚOTTAMA.
PARÁVIDYÁ. Spiritual knowledge, knowledge of the Great.
PRAKRTI. Cosmic Operative Principle.
PRAŃÁMA MANTRA. Incantation used at the time of salutation to the deity.
PRATISAIṊCARA. In the Cosmic Cycle, the step-by-step introversion and subtilization of consciousness from the state of solid matter to the Nucleus Consciousness. (Prati means “counter” and saiṋcara means “movement”.)
PROTA YOGA. The association of PURUŚOTTAMA with all creation in His extroversive movement and with all the unit creations collectively in His introversive movement.
PURÁŃA. Mythological story with a moral import; educative fiction.
PURUŚA. Consciousness.
PURUŚOTTAMA or PARAMASHIVA. The Nucleus Consciousness, the witness of saiṋcara and PRATISAIṊCARA.

QUINQUELEMENTAL. Composed of the ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid and solid factors, or elements.

RÁMÁYAŃA. An epic poem of India. It is the story of King Rama, or Ramchandra.
RÁŔH. The territory, mostly in Bengal, stretching from the west bank of the Bhagirathi River to the Parasnath Hills.
RASA. Cosmic flow.
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.
SAMÁDHI. “Absorption” of the unit mind into the Cosmic Mind (savikalpa samádhi) or into the ÁTMAN (nirvikalpa samádhi).
SAMÁJA. Society.
SAḾKALPA. The tendency of the mind to flow extroversively and associate with material objects. See also VIKALPA.
SAḾSKÁRA. Mental reactive momentum, potential mental reaction.
SANNYÁSII or SANNYÁSINII. Literally, “one who has surrendered one’s everything to the Cosmic will” or “one who ensconces oneself in Sat, the unchangeable entity”; a renunciant.
SATYA. Sat, that which undergoes no change; one of the points of Yama and Niyama (the moral code): the spirit of welfare in the use of words and actions.
SHAEVÁCÁRA. Shiva Cult.
SHAEVA DHARMA. Shaivism (refers to all SHIVA’s teachings, both practical and Cosmological).
SHAEVA TANTRA. Shiva Tantra (refers primarily to the practical cult 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.
SHÁSTRA. Scripture.
SHIVA. A great Tantric guru of 5000 BCE who guided society while His mind was absorbed in Consciousness; hence, Infinite Consciousness, PURUŚA.
SHIVA-LIUNGA. Linga. Originally a phallic symbol, later given philosophical significance as “the entity from which all things originate”.
SHIVOKTI. The saying of Shiva.
SHIVOPADESHA. The instruction of Shiva.
SHIVOTTARA TANTRA. Post-Shiva Tantra.
SHLOKA. A Sanskrit couplet expressing one idea.
SHRUTI. Literally, “ear”; hence, a composition learned by hearing (before the invention of script).
SHÚDRA. The lowermost caste in India, who traditionally live by manual labour.
SHÚNYA. Literally, “void”; a Buddhist concept about the nature of the universe.

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. 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.

VAEDYAK SHÁSTRA. The school of medicine founded by SHIVA.
VAEŚŃAVÁCÁRA. Viśńu Cult.
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.
VIDYÁ. Knowledge. See also AVIDYÁ.
VIIŃÁ. A musical instrument similar to a sitar or lute.
VIKALPA. The tendency of the mind to withdraw and flow introversively. See also SAḾKALPA.
VRTTI. Mental propensity.

YAJIṊA. Ritual sacrifice.
YOGA. Spiritual practice leading to unification of the unit ÁTMAN with Paramátman.