Hindu Texts Dictionary

Brahma Sutra(s): (Sanskrit) "Threads (aphorisms) of the Absolute."

Also known as the Vedanta Sutras, composed by Badarayana (ca 400 bce) as the first known systematic exposition of Upanishadic thought. Its 550 aphorisms are so brief as to be virtually unintelligible without commentary. It was through interpretations of this text, as well as the Upanishads themselves and the Bhagavad Gita, that later schools of Vedanta expressed and formulated their own views of the Upanishadic tenets. A third name for this important work is Shariraka Sutras, "aphorisms on the embodied soul."

See: Upanishad,Vedanta.

(See also: Brahma Sutra , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Sarvajnanottara Agama: (Sanskrit) This text is not among the traditional list of Agamas and subsidiary scriptures. But it is thought to be a second version of Kalajnam, a subsidiary text of Vatula Agama. The available sections deal with right knowledge.

(See also: Sarvajnanottara Agama , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Advaita Vedanta: (Sanskrit) "Nondual end (or essence) of the Vedas." Names the monistic schools, most prominently that of Shankara, that arose from the Upanishads and related texts. See: Vedanta.

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

Narada Sutra (Sutras): (Sanskrit) A Vaishnava text of 84 aphorisms in which Sage Narada explains bhakti yoga (ca 1200).

(See also: Narada Sutra , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Nirukta Vedanga: (Sanskrit) "Etymology Veda-limb."

Auxiliary Vedic texts which discuss the origin and development of words; among the four linguistic skills taught for mastery of the Vedas and the rites of yajna. Nirukta relies upon ancient lexicons, nighantu, as well as detailed hymn indices, anukramani. Five nighantus existed at the time of Yaska (320 bce), whose treatise is regarded a standard work on Vedic etymology.

See: Vedanga.

(See also: Nirukta Vedanga , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Tirumantiram: (Tamil) "Holy incantation."

The Nandinatha Sampradaya's oldest Tamil scripture; written ca 200 bce by Rishi Tirumular. It is the earliest of the Tirumurai, and a vast storehouse of esoteric yogic and tantric knowledge. It contains the mystical essence of raja yoga and siddha yoga, and the fundamental doctrines of the 28 Saiva Siddhanta Agamas, which in turn are the heritage of the ancient pre-historic traditions of Saivism.

As the Agamas themselves are now partially lost, the Tirumantiram is a rare source of the complete Agamanta (collection of Agamic lore). Its 3047 verses were, as legend has it, composed in a rather extraordinary way. Before writing each verse, Tirumular would meditate for an entire year, then summarize his meditation in a fourline Tamil verse. He did this for 3,000 years! The allegory is said to mean that 3,000 years of knowledge is compacted in this one book. The text is organized in nine parts, called tantras, summarized as follows:

1)    basic rules of religious morality;

2)    allegorical explanations of Saiva mythological stories; five powers of Siva, three classifications of souls;

3)    a complete treatise on raja yoga;

4)    mantras and tantras;

5)    the essential features of the Saiva religion; the four forms of Saivism, four stages, unorthodox paths, conduct to be avoided;

6)    the Sivaguru, grace, renunciation, sin, penance, jnana, worthy and unworthy persons;

7)    siddha yoga, more on grace, mudras, control of ida and pingala, worlds reached by different classes of yogis after death, refinements of yoga, the satguru;

8)    essential theology: five sheaths, eleven states, three padarthas (Pati-pashu-pasha), 36 tattvas, four states of consciousness, three malas, three gunas, ten karanas, etc.;

9)    the fruits of realization, liberation, jnana, Siva's dances, meeting of the guru.

See: Tirumurai, Tirumular.

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

Brahman (neuter gender): the impersonal God, devoid of all qualities; the Omnipresent, All-pervading, Transcendent Reality. This supreme Reality is called Brahman when regarded as transcendent, and Atman when regarded as the Life Principle in the individual person. [Brahman is written in plain letters in the text.]

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

Linga Purana: (Sanskrit) One of the six principal Siva Puranas. This text explains the purusharthas (the four goals of life) and the significance of Sivalinga worship.

See: Purana.

(See also: Linga Purana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

deha: (Sanskrit) "Body." From the verb dih, "to plaster, mold; anoint, fashion."

A term used in the Upanishads, yoga texts, Saiva Agamas, Tirumantiram and elsewhere to name the three bodies of the soul: gross or physical (sthula), astral or subtle (sukshma) and causal (karana). A synonym for sharira.

See: sharira.

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

Brahman (Brahamana): the highest of the four Hindu castes. The priestly caste consists of many sub-castes depending on the area the priest comes from and the duties he performs, such as temple priest, family priest, astrologer, teacher, cook, etc. [Brahman is written in italicized letters in the text.]

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

pada: (Sanskrit)

1)    "A step, pace, stride; footstep, trace."

2)    "The foot (of men and animals); quarterpart, section; stage; path." Names the major sections of the Agamic texts and the corresponding stages of practice and unfoldment on the path to moksha.

According to Saiva Siddhanta, there are four padas, which are successive and cumulative; i.e. in accomplishing each one the soul prepares itself for the next. (In Tamil, Saiva Siddhanta is also known as Nalu-pada, "four-stage," Saivam.)

á      charya pada: "Good conduct stage." Stage one, learning to live righteously, serve selflessly, performing karma yoga. It is also known as dasa marga, "path of the slave," a time when the aspirant relates to God as a servant to a master. Traditional acts of charya include cleaning the temple, lighting lamps and collecting flowers for worship. Worship at this stage is mostly external.

á      kriya pada: "Religious action; worship stage." Stage of bhakti yoga, of cultivating devotion through performing puja and regular daily sadhana. It is also known as the satputra marga, "true son's way," as the soul now relates to God as a son to his father. A central practice of the kriya pada is performing daily puja.

á      yoga pada: "Stage of union." Having matured in the charya and kriya padas, the soul now turns to internalized worship and raja yoga under the guidance of a satguru. It is a time of sadhana and serious striving when realization of the Self is the goal. It is the sakha marga, "way of the friend," for now God is looked upon as an intimate friend.

á      jnana pada: "Stage of wisdom." Once the soul has attained Realization, it is henceforth a wise one, who lives out the life of the body, shedding blessings on mankind. This stage is also called the San Marga, "true path," on which God is our dearest beloved. The Tirumantiram describes the fulfillment of each stage as follows. In charya, the soul forges a kindred tie in "God's world" (salokya). In kriya it attains "nearness" (samipya) to Him. In yoga it attains "likeness" (sarupya) with Him. In jnana the soul enjoys the ultimate bliss of identity (sayujya) with Siva.

See: pada, jnana, nirvani and upadeshi.

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

samhita: (Sanskrit) "Collection."

1)    Any methodically arranged collection of texts or verses.

2)    The hymn collection of each of the four Vedas.

3)    A common alternate term for Vaishnava Agamas.

See: Vedas.

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

Vedanga: (Sanskrit) "Veda-limb." Six branches of post- Vedic studies revered as auxiliary to the Vedas.

Four Vedangas govern correct chanting of the Vedas:

1)    Shiksha (phonetics),

2)    ‚handas (meter),

3)    Nirukta (etymology),

4)    Vyakarana (grammar). The two other Vedangas are

5)    )Jyotisha Vedanga (astronomy-astrology) and

6)    Kalpa Vedanga (procedural canon) which includes the Shrauta and Shulba Shastras (ritual codes), Dharma Shastras (social law) and Grihya Shastras (domestic codes).

See: Kalpa Vedanga, Vedas, and individual entries for named texts.

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

Vedanta: Literally, "the end of the Vedas;" the Upanishads; the school of Hindu thought, based primarily on the Upanishads, upholding the doctrine of either pure non-dualism or conditional non-dualism. The original text of this school is Vedanta-darshana or the Brahma Sutras compiled by the sage Vyasa.

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

soul: The real being of man, as distinguished from body, mind and emotions. The soul - known as atman or purusha - is the sum of its two aspects, the form or body of the soul and the essence of the soul (though many texts use the word soul to refer to the essence only). -

-       essence or nucleus of the soul: Man's innermost and unchanging being - Pure Consciousness (Parashakti or Satchidananda) and Absolute Reality (Parasiva). This essence was never created, does not change or evolve and is eternally identical with God Siva's perfections of Parashakti and Parasiva.

-       soul body: anandamaya kosha ("sheath of bliss"), also referred to as the "causal body" (karana sharira), "innermost sheath" and "body of light." Body of the soul, or soul body, names the soul's manifest nature as an individual being - an effulgent, human-like form composed of light (quantums).

-        

It is the emanational creation of God Siva, destined to one day merge back into Him. During its evolution, the soul functions through four types of outer sheaths that envelope the soul form - mental, instinctive-intellectual, vital and physical - and employs the mental faculties of manas, buddhi and ahamkara, as well as the five agents of perception (jnanendriyas), and five agents of action (karmendriyas).

 The "soul body" is not a body in sense of a case, a vessel, vehicle or enclosure for something else. The soul body is the soul itself - a radiant, self-effulgent, human-like, super-intelligent being. Its very composition is Satchidananda in various subtle levels of manifestation. It is the finest of subatomic forms, on the quantum level.

The soul form evolves as its consciousness evolves, becoming more and more refined until finally it is the same intensity or refinement as the Primal Soul, Parameshvara. The experiences of life, in all the various planes of consciousness, are "food for the soul," reaping lessons that actually raise the level of intelligence and divine love. Thus, very refined souls, whether embodied or in the disembodied, ajiva, state, are like walking intelligences with inventive creativeness and powers of preservation, beaming with love and luminosity in their self-effulgent bodies of quantum light particles.

See: atman, evolution of the soul, indriya, kosha, Parashakti, Parasiva, purusha, quantum, Satchidananda, spiritual unfoldment.

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

Vyakarana Vedanga: (Sanskrit) Auxiliary Vedic texts on

Sanskrit grammar. Vyakarana is among four linguistic

skills taught for mastery of the Vedas and the rites of

yajna. The term literally means "separation, or

explanation." The most celebrated Vyakarana work is

Panini's 4,000-sutra Ashtadhyayi, which set the linguistic

standards for classical Sanskrit (ca 400 bce).

See:

Vedanga.

(See also: Vyakarana Vedanga , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Panchartha Bhashya: (Sanskrit) Commentary by Kaundinya (ca 100) on Lakulisha's Pashupata Sutras, one of the few extant philosophical texts of Pashupata Saivism. It was rediscovered in 1930.

See: Pashupata Saivism.

(See also: Panchartha Bhashya , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Sivakarnamrita: (Sanskrit) A text by Appaya Dikshita (15541626) written to reestablish the superiority of God Siva in the face of widespread conversion to Vaishnavism.

See: Appaya Dikshita.

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

Yoga Sutras: The oldest known writing on the subject of yoga, written by the sage Patanjali, a yogi of ancient India, and considered the most authoritative text on yoga. Also known as Yoga Darshana, it is the basis of the Yoga Philosophy which is based on the philosophical system known as Sankhya.

(See also: Yoga Sutras , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Siva Purana: (Sanskrit) "Ancient [lore] of Siva."

1)    A collection of six major scriptures sacred to Saivites.

2)    The name of the oldest of these six texts, though some consider it a version of the Vayu Purana.

(See also: Siva Purana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

upagrantha: (Sanskrit) "Secondary text." Appendices or additional resources of a book.

See: Grantha.

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

Tantra: medieval yogic and ritualistic Indian texts

(See also: Tantra , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)