End Notes
Abhishek - a ritualistic pouring of water on the statue or representation of a deity.
Adivasi - literarily, 'original people.'
Angustha Purusha - the thumb-sized individual soul in the heart.
Anna - a small denomination of money.
Anustan - a ritual penance.
Asan - a piece of wool or other material used to sit on in meditation; a hatha yoga posture.
Atma Jnan - knowledge of the Supreme Self.
Atma Jyoti - the light of the soul.
Atman/Atma - atman is usually used to mean universal consciousness, whereas atma is atman manifested in the individual.
Baba/Babaji - literally, father; "-ji” is added to indicate respect.
Bal Bhojan - free food made available for children.
Bhagavati - the Divine Mother.
Bhagwan - a title given to God; Lord.
Bhajan - usually means group chanting with musical instruments.
Bhagavati - the dynamic aspect of God; Divine Mother.
Bindu - literally point; the blue bindu is seen in the final stages of meditation.
Bramachari - a celibate seeker.
Brahman - Universal Consciousness, the Absolute.
Brahmin - a priest, member of priestly caste.
Congress Party - the political party first led by Mahatma Gandhi which ruled India after Independence in 1948.
Dakshina - money or offering made to a deity or saint.
Darshan - sight of a deity or saint.
Dharma - righteousness, duty.
Dattatreya - a divine personality embodying Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Devi - the divine power.
Dharamsala - a resting place for pilgrims.
Dhoti - a cloth worn in North India similar to trousers.
Diksha - spiritual initiation.
Durgah - tomb of a muslim saint.
Duryodhana - the king in the epic Mahabharata whose misguidedness caused an appalling war.
Gadi - the seat of authority of a spiritual lineage or ashram.
Ganesha - son of Lord Shiva and remover of obstacles in Hindu cosmology.
Ghat - the steps leading down to a bathing area on a river.
Ghee - clarified butter
Gurugita - a hymn to the Guru originating from the Skanda Purana, a Hindu scripture.
Gurukrula - the vedic system of education based on the guru-disciple relationship.
Guru Tattva - the guru principle that leads a seeker back to God.
Hari - God as preserver (Vishnu).
Hanuman - the monkey hero of the epic Ramayana.
Indra - king of heaven in Hindu cosmology.
Ishta Devata - the particular deity of an individual or family
Jagadamba - the divine world Mother, Shakti.
Jai Samadhi - upon death the body of a saint is offered to the waters of a sacred river.
Janaka - a king and enlightened jnani; father of Sita
Japa - recitation of mantra(s).
Jivatma/Jiva - individual soul.
Jnani - a knower of the truth.
Jnan - spiritual knowledge.
Kailas - mountain in Tibet which is also traditionally the abode of Lord Shiva.
Kailas Math - the monastery in Nasik of the Saraswati order of monks.
Kali - the Divine Mother in Her fearsome aspect.
Kali Yuga - the present age in which unrighteousness prevails.
Karma - store of past actions accumulated by the soul.
Kaveri - a large river in South India.
Khichari - a dish or rice and pulses.
Kum Kum - a red powder applied on the forehead and feet of individuals and deities during worship.
Kumbak - spontaneous yogic retention of the breath.
Kundalini - the dynamic aspect of universal consciousness when it resides in a human being, dwelling at the base of the spine.
Kutir - hut
Ladoo - an Indian sweet in the form of a ball.
Langhoti - a loin cloth.
Laxman - brother of Lord Rama.
Laxmi - Shakti in her aspect of wealth, beauty, and bounty; wife of Vishnu.
Leela - the unfolding, cosmic drama or sport of the divine power.
Lingam - representation in stone of the Absolute, worshipped throughout India.
Lota - a drinking vessel.
Lungi - a cloth like a skirt worn by men, especially in South India.
Madrasi - a person from Madras.
Mahabharata - an epic poem culminating in a stupendous battle; scene of the "Bhagavad Gita."
Mahamandelshwar - the spiritual head of an order of monks.
Mahapurusha - a highly evolved being.
Maharaj - literally great king; a title of respect often given to a saint.
Mahasamadhi - the process whereby a great being consciously leaves the body at the time of death.
Mahatma - a great soul.
Mahut - an elephant keeper.
Manasaror - a lake near Kailas, also an object of pilgrimage.
Mantra - a Sanskrit invocation used in meditation.
Meenakshi - the temple of the Divine Mother at Madurai, South India.
Moksha - freedom from identification with phenomenal existence.
Muktananda Swami (Baba) - a Siddha guru who visited the West awakening thousands of seekers through shaktipat; Babaji's guru who took mahasamadhi in 1982.
Nada - sound aspect of universal consciousness heard in meditation.
Nas Sampradaya - literally “nose lineage.”
Nauchandi Yajna - an elaborate fire sacrifice performed in honor of the Divine Mother.
Nandi Mandap - the area in a shiva temple sacred to Nandi, the bull of Lord Shiva.
Neem - trees whose leaves are bitter, and yet medicinal.
Nityananda - a great saint and guru of Swami Muktananda.
Padukas - wooden sandals representing the guru and his blessing.
Palki - a special litter carried by four bearers on which a representation of the Divine is carried.
Pandas - priests.
Pandavas - the five brothers, heroes featured in the epic Mahabharata, who include Yudhisthira and Arjuna.
Pandharapurthe - pilgrimage center of devotion to Krishna in the form of Lord Vithal in Maharashtra.
Parvati - consort of Lord Shiva.
Pradakshina - the circumambulation of a deity done as an act of worship.
Prasad - consecrated food.
Puja - ritual worship, a small altar.
Punya - merit derived from virtuous actions.
Rama - avatar (human embodiment) of Vishnu in the epic Ramayana; husband of Sita.
Ravana - the demon king who abducted Sita, Rama's wife, in the epic Ramayana.
Sadhak - a seeker of truth.
Sadhana - spiritual practices.
Sadhu - a renunciant.
Sadguru - true guru.
Sahasrar - spiritual center in the head.
Samadhi - superconscious state of meditation; burial place of a saint.
Samsar - phenomenal existence.
Sanyas - monkhood; renunciation.
Sanyassi - monk, renunciant.
Satyagraha - Mahatma Gandhi's movement of peaceful non-cooperation with the British rulers prior to India's independence.
Satyagri - a non-cooperator in Ghandi's Independence Movement.
Satpurusha - a great being, mahatma.
Shakti - the dynamic aspect of universal consciousness.
Shaktipat - transmission of the guru's spiritual energy to the disciple.
Shakti Peeth - a place where the Divine power is especially manifest.
Shastras - scriptures.
Shiva - God in His aspect of dissolution. Consort of Shakti. Often used to signify the absolute. Often depicted as an ascetic with matted locks.
Shriyantra - a geometrical design representing the Devi.
Siddha - perfected being.
Siddhi (Prapti) - siddhis are powers; siddhiprapti means their attainment.
Sita - the wife of Lord Rama.
Skanda Purana - a scripture in which the Gurugita occurs.
Tapasya (Tapas) - intense austerities undergone in order to attain spiritual fruitage.
Tiffin Carrier - a stainless steel food container.
Vaikuntha - Vishnu's heaven in Hindu cosmology.
Vijnan - Spiritual knowledge.
Vishnu - the second member of the Hindu trinity; the sustainer; the husband of Laxmi.
Wallah - colloquialism for person.
Western Ghats - range of mountains upon which Sapta Shringh is situated.
Upadesh - spiritual instruction.
Yagna - a ritual fire sacrifice.
Yudhisthira - the eldest of the five pandavas who play a major role in the epic "Mahabharata." He is often regarded as the epitomy of righteous behavior.
Zilla - area