Panca-mahapapa - killing a brahmana, drinking intoxicating liquors, theft, committing adultary with the wife of sri-guru and associating with anyone guilty of these crimes.

(See also: Panca-mahapapa, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Krishna Chaitanya

The name received by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from His sannyasa-guru, Sri Keshava Bharati. See Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

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

gurukula

The guru’s family,” a teacher’s ashrama where traditional education is given.

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

Drona (-acharya)

A powerful brahmana who became expert in military arts. He was the military guru of both the Pandavas and the Kurus.

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

Bhakti:

Bhakti ("devotion/love"): the love of the bhakta toward the Divine or the guru as a manifestation of the Divine; also the love of the Divine toward the devotee

(See also: Bhakti, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Yamuna (-acharya)

A prominent teacher in the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya. He was the guru of the initiating guru of Ramanujacharya. Sri Yamunacharya composed important books explaining the philosophy of Vedanta in the light of pure devotion to the Supreme Lord.

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

Upanayana - a ceremony in which a guru initiates a boy into one of the three twice-born classes by investing the boy with the sacred thread, and teaching him the Brahma-gayatri mantra, whereupon he becomes eligible to study the Vedas under his guru. This is one of the Vedic samskaras, or purificatory ceremonies.

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

Bhajana-kriya - taking up the practices of bhakti, such as hearing and chanting. There are sixty-four primary angas of bhakti, of which the first four are to take shelter of the lotus feet of sri-guru; to receive diksa and siksa; to serve one’s guru with great affection; and to follow the path of sadhus. Without adopting these practices, there is no question of making any advancement in bhajana. This is the second stage in the development of the creeper of bhakti which occurs by the influence of sadhu-sanga.

(See also: Bhajana-kriya, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Diksa-mantra - the mantras given by the guru at the time of initiation. These mantras include the maha-mantra, brahma-gayatri, gurumantra, guru-gayatri, gaura-mantra, gaura-gayatri, gopala-mantra, and kama-gayatri. The guru’s internal mood of service to Radha and Krsna is transmitted through the medium of these mantras.

This is indicated in the following sloka from Bhakti-sandarbha (Anuccheda 237): yo mantram sa gurum saksat yo guru sa hari svayam gurur yasya bhavet tustas tasya tusto harim svayam - "The mantra (which is given by the guru) is itself the guru, and the guru is directly the Supreme Lord Hari. He with whom the spiritual master is pleased also obtains the pleasure of Sri Hari Himself.” These mantras are invested with divya-jnana, or transcendental knowledge of Krsna’s form and one’s specific relationship with Him (see also diksa and mantra).

(See also: Diksa-mantra, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

rtvik

lit., “priest.” Name given to a fallacious doctrine which holds that Srila Prabhupada is the only initiating guru of ISKCON and that his followers may initiate new devotees only as officiating priests on his behalf.

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

Mamata - literally means ‘my-ness’; attachment or possessiveness. Mamata for material objects or persons is the cause of bondage, whereas mamata for guru, Vaisnavas, and spiritual objects is the cause of liberation; in the spiritual world mamata is one of the characteristics of prema.

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

Aparadha - offenses committed against the holy name, the Vaisnavas, the guru, the sastras, the holy places, the Deity and so on. The verbal root radha means to give pleasure or satisfy and the prefix apa means taking away. Thus the word aparadha signifies all activities that are displeasing to Bhagavan and His bhaktas.

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

guru [one who dispels darkness]: a spiritual teacher who initiates seekers into the secrets of the sacred scriptures by the clearing of ignorance and misconceptions of life, thereby revealing the Eternal Truth. Colloquially, a teacher of any specialized knowledge.

(See also: guru, Hinduism, Yoga, Body Mind and Soul)

Guru

Guru is often used for a Hindu spiritual teacher or Guide.

Also the word is used for each of the ten first leaders of the Sikh religion.

The word Guru comes from Sanskrit guru 'weighty, grave' (compare with Latin gravis). It means "with weightage (a big importance)".

Also it is often (correctly from spiritual point-of-view) interpreted as being derived from two root words Gu (meaning darkness), and ru (dispeller or remover). A real Guru (sad-Guru) is an awakened human who transmits higher consciousness to the disciples and devotees - to take them from an ordinary path to the path-of-truth. An aspirant who is accepted by a Guru and who is considered to be worthy to be initiated is called shisya (disciple).

From the spiritual point of view -The Guru is as good as the God. It has been said that:

Guru Brahmaa, Guru Vishnu, Gurudeva Maheswara

Guru saakhsaat Parambrahma, tasmayi Shri Gurave Namoh.

Guru himself is Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva-

And is representative of the Supreme-Soul, hence regards and obligations to Guru.

When we offer respects to the guru, we are offering respects to God. In Baba Buddhanath Das's words, the Supreme-God becomes invisible in the living world and makes the Guru visible. Hence, for realizing God's mercy, it is required that we learn to offer respects to God through God's representative. The origin is from Sanskrit. [The word is introduced in New English Oxford Dictionary].€€€

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

 kula guru: spiritual teacher of the household or clan.

(See also:  kula guru, Hinduism, Yoga, Body Mind and Soul)

Narayana Guru (1856-1928): Born in the low Ezahava caste in Kerala, he was a respected reformer who spent his life building temples, teaching Vedanta and preaching against social injustice.

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

Sadhya, susiddha, siddha and ari - These are four kinds of dosa (faults) calculated according to jyotisa-sastra concerning the nature of a sisya in accordance with his purva-karma. Some of them appear to be good qualities, but from the absolute perspective, anyone who takes a material birth has fault.

In this context sadhya indicates that the candidate has the adhikara to attain  prema-bhakti if he endeavors fully in this life. Susiddha has the adhikara to attain perfection with very little endeavor and siddha has somewhat less  adhikara than him. Ari indicates that the sisya has so many ari (inauspicious planets) in his chart that almost any endeavor he makes for bhaktiwill simply create further hindrances. However, when these four kinds of sisyas accept krsna-mantra from sad-guru all of their hindrances can be removed.

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

Diksa - receiving initiation from a spiritual master.

In the Bhaktisandarbha (Anuccheda 283) Jiva Gosvami has defined diksa as follows: divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovikaih - "Learned exponents of the Absolute Truth declare that the process by which the spiritual master imparts divya-jnana to the disciple and eradicates all sins is known as diksa.” He then explains divya-jnana, or divine knowledge: divyam jnanam hy atra srimati mantre bhagavat svarupajnanam tena bhagavata-sambandha-visesa-jnanam ca - "

Divya-jnana is transcendental knowledge of the Lord’s form and one’s specific relationship with the Lord contained within a mantra.” This means at the time of intiation, the guru gives the disciple a mantra which, in course of time, reveals the particular form of the Lord who is the object of one’s worship and the bhakta’s specific relationship with the Lord in one of the relationships of dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, or madhurya.

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

Raganuga-sadhana - Sri Rupa Gosvami’s conclusions regarding the method for performing raganuga-bhajana are stated in Bhaktirasamrta-sindhu (1.2.294-296) as follows: "One should constantly remember one’s dearest nava-kisora Sri Nanda-nandana and the beloved associates of Krsna who are possessed of sajatiya-bhava or the identical mood for which one aspires. One should always reside in Sri Vraja-dhama with great attachment for hearing topics regarding Krsna and His devotees.

If one is physically unable to live in Vraja, one should do so mentally. This is the method of raganuga-bhakti-sadhana.” Sri Rupa Gosvami continues: "A sadhaka who has lobha for raganuga-bhakti should serve Sri Krsna both in the sadhaka-rupa and the siddha-rupa in accordance with the bhava of the Vrajaparikaras who possess the same mood for which he aspires. The angas of bhakti such as sravana, kirtana, sri guru-padasraya, and others in regard to vaidhi-bhakti, are also useful and necessary in raganuga-bhakti. But judicious sadhakas will adopt only those angas which nourish their specific bhava, avoiding those which hamper it.”

Examples of the angas of bhakti in regard to raganuga-sadhana are as follows: sravanam in madhura-rasa means that one will hear how a maidservant serves Lalita, Visakha, Radha and Krsna. Kirtana means that one will learn how to do pati-vancanam, that is speaking sweet words to the husband in order to cheat him and go to participate in the lila of Radha and Krsna. Smaranam means to remember how Lalita and Visakha are rendering service to Srimati Radharani. Pada-sevanam means to take Srimati Radharani to meet with Krsna at night. Arcanam is done with the corner of the eyes. When Krsna is returning from the cow-pastures with the cowherd boys and the cows, all the gopis are standing at their doorsteps doing arcana with the corner of their eyes. Everything is there; the flame is there, water is there, sneha, mana, pranaya and everything else is there. Krsna also accepts their worship with the corner of His eyes. This is called arcana. Atma-nivedanam means gopijana-vallabhaya svaha: "I am the maidservant of Radha and Krsna, and I am offering my entire being to Them.”

(See also: Raganuga-sadhana, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Mantra - a mystical sloka composed of the names of Sri Bhagavan which addresses any individual deity.

Mantras are given to a disciple by a guru at the time of diksa. The question may be raised that since bhagavan-nama is independent, how can mantras, which are composed of the names of the Lord (bhagavan-nama) , be dependent upon diksa?

Srila Jiva Gosvami has discussed this question in Bhakti-sandarbha (Anuccheda 284). He says that mantras are bhagavannamatmika. This means that mantras are composed of the names of Bhagavan. The difference is that mantras also contain some special words like nama, svaha, and klim. Sri Bhagavan and the rsis have invested mantras with special power by which those mantras reveal one’s own specific relationship with Krsna. Therefore it may seem that mantras are endowed with some special potencies that are not invested in nama.

A contradiction arises because if bhagavan-nama (which is lacking these special attributes) is able to bestow the supreme object of attainment (parama-purusartha) without any need for diksa, how is it that mantras are dependent on diksa when they are even more powerful than nama?

Srila Jiva Gosvami analyzes that by the constitutional nature of mantras, they are not dependent on diksa. Nonetheless, people in general are influenced by the bodily conception and their hearts are polluted with abominable desires. In order to curb these tendencies, the rsis have established regulations to be followed in the arcana-marga. Otherwise, by constitutional nature, there is no difference between nama and mantra in the matter of their independence of any formalities.

Nama, being non-different from nami, or Bhagavan Himself, is already invested with all potencies. Therefore in actuality, the glory of nama is superior to that of mantras. Yet Jiva Gosvami says that the diksa-mantras are invested with the power to reveal the sadhakas’ specific relationship with the Lord - sri bhagavata samam atmasambandha- visesa-pratipadakas ca (Bhakti-sandarbha, Anuccheda 284). The same thing is stated in Anuccheda 283: divyam-jnanam hy atra srimati mantre bhagavat-svarupa-jnanam tena bhagavata sambandha-visesa-jnanam ca (see diksa). This means that when a guru who is situated on the platform of bhava gives diksa, the mantras are invested with the knowledge of Bhagavan’s svarupa and knowledge of one’s specific relationship with Him. Therefore, those who are desiring to attain the prema-seva of Sri Krsna in Vraja in one of the four relationships of dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, or madhura should accept diksa-mantras from a guru who is established in one of these moods.

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

YOGA

(Sanskrit for "union," related to our "yoke.") Conquering the self is known as Yoga, the esoteric Eastern teaching of human perfection that lies behind all occult wisdom. It is a thread that binds the individual to the "Supreme Reality" (or, as Watts would say, "The Supreme Identity"). In the Upanishads is written:

"By Vayu, the Inner Controller, as by a thread, O Gautama, are  this world, the other world, and all beings held together.

"Quite so... Now describe the Inner Controller.

"He who inhabits the earth, yet is within the earth, whom the earth does  not know, whose body the earth is, and who controls the earth from within --  he is your Self, the Inner Controller, The Immortal."

A teacher of Yoga is called a guru and a student is called a chela, a practitioner of Yoga is called a Yogi or Yogin. Yoga reveals the beginning yogi's weaknesses and also what transcendent strengths are available to him. There are 12 essential types of Yoga, here presented in arbitrary order:

Hatha-Yoga (The Breath: physical vitality). Bhakti-Yoga (Loving: The way of Devotion of Religion). Shakti-Yoga (Energy: The way of nature). Mantra-Yoga (Sound: Power through sound vibrations). Laya-Yoga (The Will: Mental powers). Yantra-Yoga (Formation: Powers through the use of geometric forms). Dhyana-Yoga (Thinking: Way of thought). Raja-Yoga (Methodology: Power to discriminate and develop consciousness). Jnana-Yoga (Knowledge: Intellectual power). Kundalini-Yoga (Kundalini energy: Development of psychic nerve energy). Samadhi-Yoga (The Self: The way of ecstasy). Karma-Yoga (Action: The way of right action). To these we must also add the esoteric Martya Yoga (willed death).

(See also: YOGA, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )