Benefit Of Yoga Dictionary

Pada-sevanam - literally means to serve the feet. However, the question arises as to how a sadhaka can serve the feet of the Lord. Therefore in his Krama-sandarbha commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam, Jiva Gosvami has defined pada-sevanam as follows: pada-sevayam pada sabdo bhakty eva nirdista tata sevayam sadaratvam vidhiyate - "In the term pada-seva the word pada refers only to bhakti.

The word seva indicates that this bhakti, or service, should be done with great love and respect.” To take darsana of the Deity, to touch the Deity, to do parikrama of the Deity, to follow the Deity in a procession, to visit the Lord’s temples or holy places such as the Ganga, Purusottama-ksetra, Dvaraka, and Mathura; to observe festivals, and to serve the Vaisnavas and tulasi are all included in pada-sevanam. This is one of the nine primary angas of bhakti.

(See also: Pada-sevanam , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Isvara - the Supreme Lord or Supreme Controller.

(See also: Isvara , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Zamindar - a landowner, landlord (responsible for property taxes to the government).

(See also: Zamindar , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Mimamsa - a philosophical doctrine which has two divisions:

(1) purva or karma-mimamsa founded by Jaimini, which advocates that by carrying out the ritualistic karma of the Vedas, one can attain the celestial planets, and

(2) uttara-mimamsa founded by Badarayana Vyasadeva, which deals with the nature of brahma. (See purvamimamsa and uttara-mimamsa).

(See also: Mimamsa , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Sakhya - love or attachment for the Lord which is expressed in the mood of a friend; one of the five primary relationships with Krsna which are established in the heart when the sadhaka has attained the stage of bhava or prema.

One of the angas of sadhana-bhakti; the worship of the Lord while one is in the stage of sadhana in the mood of being a friend of the Lord. Although Sri Bhagavan possesses all opulences and majesty, a bhakta who thinks of the Lord as his friend and endeavors to please Him in this way exhibits this mood of friendship toward the Lord. In the summer season, thinking that his worshipful Lord must be suffering greatly from the heat, the sadhaka will fan Him and offer Him sandalwood and other fragrant and cooling substances. When one does so, he demonstrates a mood of friendship toward the Lord. The difference between dasyam and sakhyam is that sakhyam is imbued with visrambha-seva, the mood of intimacy, free from any formal restraint. This is one of the nine primary angas of bhakti.

(See also: Sakhya , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Papa - sin.

(See also: Papa , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Namaskara - offering obeisance, or the act of offering adoration, praise, or reverence. Obeisance to Sri Bhagavan is of four types:

(1) abhivadana, salutation or bowing;

(2) astanga, prostrated obeisance performed with eight parts of the body (two hands, two feet, two knees, the chest, and the forehead) ;

(3) pancanga, obeisance performed with five parts of the body (two knees, two arms, and the forehead) ; and

(4) kara-sira-samyoga, obeisance by joining the hands to the head and bowing.

(See also: Namaskara , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Kaya-vyuha - direct expansions. All the four types types of Srimati Radhika’s sakhis are nitya-siddha, and they are direct expansions (kaya-vyuha) of Srimati Radhika’s own svarupa.

She eternally manifests eight bhavas as the eight principle sakhis and Her four different types of service moods as the four different types of sakhis - namely, priya-sakhis, narma-sakhis, prana-sakhis, and parama-prestha sakhis. All these sakhis are kaya-vyuha direct expansions, whereas the sadhana-siddha gopis are not expansions.

The queens in Dvaraka fall into a different category of expansion known as vaibhava-prakasa, and the Laksmis in Vaikuntha are vaibhava-vilasa expansions of Srimati Radharani. The wives of Vamana and other avataras in Devaloka are also expansions. Durga-devi in this world is a material expansion.

(See also: Kaya-vyuha , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Akhanda - undivided, uninterupted, without a break, like the flow of a stream of honey.

(See also: Akhanda , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Murti - the Deity form of Sri Bhagavan.

(See also: Murti , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Devas - celestial deities; beings situated in the celestial planets who are endowed with great piety, tremendous lifespans, and superior mental and physical prowess. They are entrusted with specific powers for the purpose of universal administration.

(See also: Devas , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Mala - see tulasi-mala.

(See also: Mala , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Jnana-mudra - the traditional posture of the hand formed with the tip of the thumb touching the tip of the index finger.

(See also: Jnana-mudra , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Uttara-mimamsa - the philosophy established by Vyasadeva dealing with the latter division of the Vedas (see Vyasa in the Glossary of Names). After thorough analysis of the Upanisads, which comprise the latter portion of the Vedas, and the smrti-sastras which are supplements to the Upanisads, Vyasadeva summarized the philosophical conclusions of those treatises in his Brahma-sutra. This Brahma-sutra, or Vedanta-sutra, is also known as vedanta-darsana or uttara-mimamsa. Like the other philosophical systems, vedanta-darsana accepts certain fundamental principles. The principles of the vedantadarsana are not the imagination of Vyasadeva, but are established on the basis of the apauruseya-veda-sastras, which are understood to have been spoken directly by Sri Bhagavan. The statements of Bhagavan are by definition completely free from the defects of mistakes, illusion, cheating, and imperfect senses. On the other hand, the fundamental principles which are accepted in the other systems are products of their authors’ imaginations. The other systems are based on man-made sastras, composed by greatly learned sages. As a result they are subject to the defects of human limitation. The vedanta-darsana accepts brahma as the supreme fundamental truth. What is the nature of that brahma? The first sutra of vedantadarsana states: athato brahma-jijnasa - "Now, therefore, inquiry should be made into brahma.” The entire vedanta-darsana is presented in order to answer this inquiry. In the course of analyzing what brahma is, one also becomes acquainted with the truths of the jivas, the creation, liberation, and other such topics. As this is a vast subject matter, only a brief introduction has been given here.

(See also: Uttara-mimamsa , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Bhukti - material enjoyment.

(See also: Bhukti , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Aisi-sakti - divine potency, which is known as tatastha-sakti. Aisi comes from the word Isa the Supreme Lord, Master or Controller (see tatastha-sakti).

(See also: Aisi-sakti , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Ahanta - literally means ‘I-ness’; egoism; self-consciousness.

(See also: Ahanta , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Kali-yuga - the present age of quarrel and hypocrisy which began five thousand years ago (see yuga).

(See also: Kali-yuga , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Lila-avatara - Krsna’s lila (pastime) manifestations e.g. Nrsimha,Varaha, Kurma etc.

(See also: Lila-avatara , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Anu-padartha - infinitesimal object.

(See also: Anu-padartha , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Alankara-sastra - books concerning the literary embellishment of worldly poetry, etc.

(See also: Alankara-sastra , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Brahmana - the highest of the four varnas or castes in the varnasrama system; a priest or teacher.

(See also: Brahmana , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)