enlightenment: For Saiva monists, Self Realization, samadhi without seed (nirvikalpa samadhi); the ultimate attainment, sometimes referred to as Paramatma darshana, or as atma darshana, "Self vision" (a term which appears in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras).

Enlightenment is the experience-nonexperience resulting in the realization of one's transcendent Self-Parasiva -which exists beyond time, form and space. Each tradition has its own understanding of enlightenment, often indicated by unique terms.

See: God Realization, kundalini, nirvikalpa samadhi, Self Realization, jivanmukta, jnana..

(See also: Enlightenment , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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The design and use of a dictionary of Chinese characters presents interesting problems. Dozens of indexing schemes have been created for the Chinese characters. The great majority of these schemes — beloved by their inventors but nobody else — have appeared in only a single dictionary; only one such system has achieved truly widespread use. This is the system of radicals. Chinese character dictionaries often allow users to locate entries in several different ways. Many Chinese, Japanese, and Korean dictionaries of Chinese characte ...

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Chinese character, Chinese character - Origin, Chinese character - Styles, Chinese character - Radicals, Chinese character - Classification, Chinese character - By etymology, Chinese character - Radical system, Chinese character - Orthography, Chinese character - Reforms, Chinese character - Southeast Asian Chinese communities, Chinese character - Japanese Kanji, Chinese character - Dictionaries, Chinese character - Derivatives of Han characters, Chinese character - Number of Chinese characters, Chinese character - Chinese, Chinese character - Japanese, Chinese character - Korean, Chinese character - Vietnamese, Chinese character - Rare and complex characters

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Dehkhoda names 200 Persian lexicographical works in his monumental Dehkhoda Dictionary, the earliest being from the late Sassanid era, namely Farhang-i Avim (فرهنگ اویم) and Farhang-i Menakhtay (فرهنگ مناختای). The most widely used Persian lexicons in the Middle Ages were those of Abu Hafs Soghdi (فرهنگ ابو حفص سغدی) and Asadi Tusi (فرهنگ لغت فرس) which was written in 1092. In 1645, Ravius and Lugduni completed a Persian-Latin dictionary. This was followed by J. Richa ...

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Persian literature, Persian literature - Classical Persian Literature, Persian literature - Pre-Islamic Iranian Literature, Persian literature - Persian literature of the medieval and pre-modern periods, Persian literature - Contemporary Persian Literature, Persian literature - Poetry, Persian literature - Novels, Persian literature - Essays, Persian literature - Satire, Persian literature - Literary criticism, Persian literature - Dictionaries, Persian literature - The influence of Persian literature on other world literatures, Persian literature - Sufi poetry, Persian literature - Areas once under Ghaznavid or Mughal rule, Persian literature - Western literature, Persian literature - Authors and Poets

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temple: An edice in a consecrated place dedicated to the worship of God or the Gods. From the Latin templum, "temple, sanctuary; marked space."

Hindu temples, over one million worldwide, are revered as sacred, magical places in which the three worlds most consciously commune - structures especially built and consecrated to channel the subtle spiritual energies of inner-world beings.

The temple's psychic atmosphere is maintained through regular worship ceremonies (puja) invoking the Deity, who uses His installed image (murti) as a temporary body to bless those living on the earth plane. In Hinduism, the temple is the hub of virtually all aspects of social and religious life. It may be referred to by the Sanskrit terms mandira, devalaya (or Sivalaya, a Siva temple), as well as by vernacular terms such as koyil (Tamil).

See: garbhagriha, darshana, mandapa, pradakshina, sound, teradi, tirthayatra.

(See also: Temple , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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reincarnation: "Re-entering the flesh." Punarjanma; metempsychosis. The process wherein souls take on a physical body through the birth process.

Reincarnation is one of the fundamental principles of Hindu spiritual insight, shared by the mystical schools of nearly all religions, including Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism (and even by Christianity until it was cast out by the Nicene Council in 787). It is against the backdrop of this principle of the soul's enjoying many lives that other aspects of Hinduism can be understood. It is a repetitive cycle, known as punarjanma, which originates in the subtle plane (Antarloka), the realm in which souls live between births and return to after death. Here they are assisted in readjusting to the "in-between" world and eventually prepared for yet another birth.

The quality and nature of the birth depends on the merit or demerit of their past actions (karma) and on the needs of their unique pattern of development and experience (dharma). The mother, the father and the soul together create a new body for the soul. At the moment of conception, the soul connects with and is irrevocably bound to the embryo. As soon as the egg is fertilized, the process of human life begins. It is during the mid-term of pregnancy that the full humanness of the fetus is achieved and the soul fully inhabits the new body, a stage which is acknowledged when the child begins to move and kick within the mother's womb. (Tirumantiram, 460: "There in the pregnant womb, the soul lay in primordial quiescence [turiya] state. From that state, Maya [or Prakriti] and Her tribe aroused it and conferred consciousness and maya's evolutes eight- desires and the rest. Thus say scriptures holy and true.")

Finally, at birth the soul emerges into earth consciousness, veiled of all memory of past lives and the inner worlds. The cycle of reincarnation ends when karma has been resolved and the Self God (Parasiva) has been realized. This condition of release is called moksha. Then the soul continues to evolve and mature, but without the need to return to physical existence. How many earthly births must one have to attain the unattainable? Many thousands to be sure, hastened by righteous living, tapas, austerities on all levels, penance and good deeds in abundance.

See: reincarnation, evolution of the soul, karma, moksha, nonhuman birth, samsara, soul.

(See also: Reincarnation , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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mysticism: Spirituality; the pursuit of direct spiritual or religious experience. Spiritual discipline aimed at union or communion with Ultimate Reality or God through deep meditation or trance-like contemplation. From the Greek mystikos, "of mysteries."

Characterized by the belief that Truth transcends intellectual processes and must be attained through transcendent means.

See: mysticism, occultism, clairaudient, clairvoyance, psychic, trance.psychic abilities, siddhi.

(See also: Mysticism , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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Goddess: Female representation or manifestation of Divinity; Shakti or Devi.

Goddess can refer to a female perception or depiction of a causal-plane being (Mahadeva) in its natural state, which is genderless, or it can refer to an astral-plane being residing in a female astral body.

To show the Divine's transcendence of sexuality, sometimes God is shown as having qualities of both sexes, e.g., Ardhanarishvara, "Half-woman God;" or Lord Nataraja, who wears a feminine earring in one ear and a masculine one in the other.

(See also: Goddess , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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culture: Development or refinement of intellect, emotions, interests, manners, and tastes.

The ideals, customs, skills and arts of a people or group that are transmitted from one generation to another. Culture is refined living that arises in a peaceful, stable society. Hindu culture arises directly out of worship in the temples. The music, the dance, the art, the subtleties of mannerism and interraction between people all have their source in the humble devotion to the Lord, living in the higher, spiritual nature, grounded in the security of the immortal Self within.

(See also: Culture , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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rites of passage: Sacraments marking crucial stages of life.

See: samskara.

(See also: Rites of passage , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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precede: To come before in time, importance, influence or rank.

(See also: Precede , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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Vedanta: (Sanskrit) "Ultimate wisdom" or "final

conclusions of the Vedas." Vedanta is the system of

thought embodied in the Upanishads (ca 1500-600 bce),

which give forth the ultimate conclusions of the Vedas.

Through history there developed numerous Vedanta

schools, ranging from pure dualism to absolute monism.

The first and original school is Advaita Ishvaravada,

"monistic theism" or panentheism, exemplified in the

Vedanta-Siddhanta of Rishi Tirumular (ca 250 bce) of the Nandinatha Sampradaya in his Tirumantiram, which is a

perfect summation of both the Vedas and the Agamas.

This is a dipolar reconciliation of monism and dualism

which, as philosopher-statesman Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

(18881975)

declared, best depicts the philosophy of the

Upanishads. After about 700 ce, many other schools

developed, each establishing itself through written

commentaries on the major Upanishads, the Bhagavad

Gita and the Brahma Sutras. The latter text, by

Badarayana (ca 400 bce), is the earliest known

systematization of Vedanta, but its extremely terse

aphorisms are philosophically illusive without

commentary. During the "scholastic era" (7001700),

three main variations of the original Vedanta were

developed: 1) Advaita Vedanta, or pure nondualism,

exemplified by Shankara (788820);

2) Vishishtadvaita

Vedanta, or qualified nondualism, most fully expressed by

Ramanuja (10171137);

and 3) Dvaita Vedanta,

expounded by Madhva (11971278).

Panentheism is embodied in those qualified nondual

Vedanta schools that accept the ultimate identity of

the soul and God. Examples are the Vishishtadvaita

of Bhaskara (ca 950), the Shuddha Advaita, "pure

nondualism," of Vallabha (ca 14751530)

and, to a

lesser degree, the Vishishtadvaita of Ramanuja.

In summary: Madhva, the dualist, conceives

Brahman to be the Personal God. In his philosophy,

the universe, souls and God are all separate from one

another and real. Ramanuja, the qualified nondualist,

also conceives Brahman to be the Personal God. In

his philosophy, God must not be considered apart

from the world and souls, for the three together form

a one whole. The world and souls are real as the

body of God, and the individual soul feels himself to

be part of God. Shankara, the strict advaitist,

conceives Brahman to be the Impersonal God, the

Absolute. Shankara does not deny the existence of

the Personal God, known as Ishvara, but declares

Ishvara to be equally as unreal as the universe and

the individuality of the soul. In truth, the only

Reality is the Absolute, and man is that Absolute. To

Rishi Tirumular, the panentheist, there is an eternal

oneness of God and man at the level of their inner Being, but a difference is acknowledged during the

evolution of the soul. Ultimately even this difference

merges in identity. Thus, there is perfectly

beginningless oneness and a temporary difference

which resolves itself in perfect identity.

Vedanta is one of the six classical philosophies (shad

darshanas) along with Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya,

Yoga and Mimamsa. Vedanta is also called Uttara

Mimamsa, "upper or later examination," as

distinguished from Purva Mimamsa, which

concerned itself solely with the earlier portions of the

Veda. Other important schools of Vedanta include

the Dvaitadvaita, "dual-nondualism,"of Nimbarka (ca

1150), and the Achintya Bhedabheda, "unthinkable

difference-nondifference," of Chaitanya (14851534).

See: acosmic pantheism, Advaita Isvaravada,

dvaita-advaita, monistic theism, Madhva,

panentheism, Ramanuja, Tirumantiram, Vallabha.

(See also: Vedanta , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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obstinate (obstinacy): Overly determined to have one's own way. Stubborn.

(See also: Obstinate (obstinacy): , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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faith: Trust or belief. Conviction. From the Latin fides, "trust." Faith in its broadest sense means "religion, dharma." More specifically, it is the essential element of religion-the belief in phenomena beyond the pale of the five senses, distinguishing it sharply from rationalism.

Faith is established through intuitive or transcendent experience of an individual, study of scripture and hearing the testimony of the many wise rishis speaking out the same truths over thousands of years. This inner conviction is based in the divine sight of the third eye center, ajna chakra.

Rightly founded, faith transcends reason, but does not conflict with reason. Faith also means confidence, as in the testimony and reputation of other people. The Sanskrit equivalent is shraddha. Synonyms include astikya, vishvasa, dharma and mati.

(See also: Faith , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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ether: Akasha. Space, the most subtle of the five elements.

See: akasha, tattva.

(See also: Ether , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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Gayatri Mantra: (Sanskrit)

1) Famous Vedic mantra used in puja and personal chanting. Om (bhur bhuvah svah) tat savitur varenyam, bhargo devasya dhimahi, dhiyo yo nah prachodayat. "(O Divine Beings of all three worlds,) we meditate upon the glorious splendor of the Vivifier divine. May He illumine our minds." (Rig Veda 3.62.10 VE). This sacred verse is also called the Savitri Mantra, being addressed to Savitri, the Sun as Creator, and is considered a universal mystic formula so significant that it is called Vedamatri, "mother of the Vedas."

2) Any of a class of special tantric mantras called Gayatri. Each addresses a particular Deity. The Siva Gayatri Mantra is: Tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam, urvarukamiva bandhanan mrtyormukshiya mamrtat. "We adore the fragrant three-eyed one who promotes prosperity. May we be freed from the bondage of death as a cucumber from its stalk, but not from immortality." This is a famous verse of the Yajur Veda (from Rudranamaka, or Sri Rudram), considered an essential mantra of Siva worship used in all Siva rites.

(See also: Gayatri Mantra , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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tattva: (Sanskrit) "That-ness" or "essential nature." Tattvas are the primary principles, elements, states or categories of existence, the building blocks of the universe. Lord Siva constantly creates, sustains the form of and absorbs back into Himself His creations. Rishis describe this emanational process as the unfoldment of tattvas, stages or evolutes of manifestation, descending from subtle to gross. At mahapralaya, cosmic dissolution, they enfold into their respective sources, with only the first two tattvas surviving the great dissolution.

The first and subtlest form - the pure consciousness and source of all other evolutes of manifestation - is called Siva tattva, or Parashakti-nada. But beyond Siva tattva lies Parasiva - the utterly transcendent, Absolute Reality, called attava. That is Siva's first perfection.

The Sankhya system discusses 25 tattvas. Saivism recognizes these same 25 plus 11 beyond them, making 36 tattvas in all. These are divided into three groups:

1)    First are the five shuddha tattvas (shuddha = pure). These constitute the realm of shuddha maya.

2)    Next are the seven shuddha-ashuddha tattvas(shuddha-ashuddha = pure-impure). These constitute the realm of shuddhashuddha maya.

3)    3The third group comprises the 24 ashuddha tattvas (ashuddha = impure). These constitute the realm of ashuddha maya.

See: atattva, antahkarana, guna, kosha,

(See also: Tattva , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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samskaras of birth: From the rite of conception to the blessings of the new-born child.

-       garbhadhana: "Wombplacing." Rite of conception, where physical union is consecrated with the intent of bringing into physical birth an advanced soul.

-       punsavana: (Sanskrit) "Male rite; bringing forth a male." A rite performed during the third month of pregnancy consisting of prayers for a son and for the well-being of mother and child. A custom, found in all societies, based on the need for men to defend the country, run the family business and support the parents in old age. The need for male children in such societies is also based on the fact that women outlive men and leave the family to join their husband's family. -

-       simantonnayana: "Hair-parting." A ceremony held between the fourth and seventh months in which the husband combs his wife's hair and expresses his love and support.

-       jatakarma: "Rite of birth." The father welcomes and blesses the new-born child and feeds it a taste of ghee and honey.

See: samskara, samskaras.

(See also: Samskaras of birth , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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garbhadhana: (Sanskrit) "Womb-placing." The rite of conception.

See: reincarnation, samskaras of birth.

(See also: Garbhadhana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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Gods: Mahadevas, "great beings of light."

In Dancing with Siva, the plural form of God refers to extremely advanced beings existing in their self-effulgent soul bodies in the causal plane.

The meaning of Gods is best seen in the phrase, "God and the Gods," referring to the Supreme God- Siva- and the Mahadevas who are His creation.

See: Mahadeva.

(See also: Gods , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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guru: (Sanskrit) "Weighty one," indicating an authority of great knowledge or skill.

A title for a teacher or guide in any subject, such as music, dance, sculpture, but especially religion.

For clarity, the term is often preceded by a qualifying prefix. Hence, terms such as

• kulaguru (family teacher),
• vinaguru (vina teacher) and
• satguru (spiritual preceptor).

In Hindu astrology, guru names the planet Jupiter, also known as Brihaspati. According to the Advayataraka Upanishad (1418), guru means "dispeller (gu) of darkness (ru)."

See: guru-shishya system, satguru.

(See also: Guru , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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