Amman: (Tamil) "Mother." Usually refers to Mariyamman, the "smallpox Goddess," protectress from plagues, a popular gramadevata ("village Deity" or tutelary Deity of a locale). There are many Mariyamman temples and shrines in Malaysia, Mauritius and rural areas of South India. In the Tamil tradition, amman is often appended to the names of various Goddesses, as in Kali Amman or Draupadi Amman (deified heroine of the Mahabharata). One of the distinguishing features of gramadevata shrines is that they are not served by brahmin priests. See: Shakti, Shaktism.

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

anukramanika: (Sanskrit) "Succession, arrangement." An index.

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

amrita: (Sanskrit) "Immortality." Literally, "without death (mrita)." The nectar of divine bliss which flows down from the sahasrara chakra when one enters very deep states of meditation. This word is apparently the source of the Greek amrotos, the ambrosia, food or drink, of the Gods, which has its Vedic equivalent in the legendary elixir called soma, a central element in Vedic rites in which it is venerated as a Divinity. anahata chakra: (Sanskrit) "Wheel of unstruck [sound]." The heart center. See: chakra.

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

anugraha shakti: (Sanskrit) "Graceful or favoring power." Revealing grace. God Siva's power of illumination, through which the soul is freed from the bonds of anava, karma and maya and ultimately attains liberation, moksha. Specifically, anugraha descends on the soul as shaktipata, the diksha (initiation) from a satguru. Anugraha is a key concept in Saiva Siddhanta. It comes when anava mala, the shell of finitude which surrounds the soul, reaches a state of ripeness, malaparipaka. See: anava, grace, Nataraja, shaktipata.

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

anandamaya kosha: (Sanskrit) "Bliss body." The body of the soul, which ultimately merges with Siva. See: soul, kosha.

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

ananda: (Sanskrit) "Bliss." The pure joy - ecstasy or enstasy - of God-consciousness or spiritual experience. In its highest sense, ananda is expressed in the famous Vedic description of God: sat-chit-ananda, "existenceconsciousness- bliss" - the divine or superconscious mind of all souls. See: God Realization, Satchidananda.

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

analytical: Prone to looking closely at things, intellectually studying them to understand their nature, meaning and component parts.

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anu: (Sanskrit) A common prefix conveying the meanings: "after, near to, under, secondary or subordinate to."

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

amid (amidst, amongst): In the middle of, among.

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

Ambika: (Sanskrit) "Mother." A benign form of the Goddess, one of the central Deities of the Shakta religion, along with Durga, Kali and Parvati. See: Shakti. amends: To make amends, to make up for injury or loss that one has caused to another. This is done through sincere apology, expressing contrition, public penance, such as kavadi, and the abundant giving of gifts. See: papa, penance.

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all-pervasive: Diffused throughout or existing in every part of the universe. See: Satchidananda.

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allegory: A story in which the character, places and events have symbolic meaning, used to teach ideas and moral principles. See: Itihasa, Purana.

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

anupaya: (Sanskrit) "Without means." A term used in Kashmir Saivism to mean spontaneous Self Realization without effort. See: upaya.

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

akshata: (Sanskrit) "Unbroken." Unmilled, uncooked rice, often mixed with turmeric, offered as a sacred substance during puja, or in blessings for individuals at weddings and other ceremonies. This, the very best food, is the finest offering a devotee can give to God or a wife can give to her husband. See: puja.

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aloof: Distant, reserved, withdrawn, drawn back; cool in attitude, not sympathetic with or interested in an idea, project or group of people.

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

altruistic: Unselfish. Showing more concern for others than oneself.

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Amardaka Order: (Sanskrit) An order of Saiva sannyasins founded by Amardaka Tirthanatha in Andhra Pradesh (ca 775).

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

Amardaka Order: (Sanskrit) An order of Saiva sannyasins founded by Amardaka Tirthanatha in Andhra Pradesh (ca 775).

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

Alvar: (Tamil) "One who rules the Lord through bhakti." A group of renowned saints of the Vaishnava religion (7th9th century), devotional mystics whose lives and teachings catalyzed to a resurgence of Vaishnavism in Tamil Nadu. Their devotional poems are embodied in the Nalayiram Divya Prabandham, containing about 4,000 hymns. Among the 12 most famous Alvars are Poykai, Pudam, Tirumalisai, Nammalvar, Kulashekhara, Andal, Tiruppan and Tirumangai. A term not to be confused with Nalvar, naming the four Samayacharya Saivite saints: Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar and Manikkavasagar, who were their contemporaries. See: Nalvar, Nayanar.

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

antyeshti: (Sanskrit) "Last rites." Funeral. See: death, samskara.

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

anava mala: (Sanskrit) "Impurity of smallness; finitizing principle." The individualizing veil of duality that enshrouds the soul. It is the source of finitude and ignorance, the most basic of the three bonds (anava, karma, maya) which temporarily limit the soul. Anava mala has the same importance in Agamic philosophy that maya-avidya has in Vedantic philosophy. The presence of anava mala is what causes the misapprehension about the nature of God, soul and world, the notion of being separate and distinct from God and the universe. Anava obscures the natural wisdom, light, unity and humility of the soul and allows spiritual ignorance, darkness, egoity and pride to manifest. It is inherent in a maturing soul, like the shell of a seed. When anava is ripe, anugraha, "grace," comes, and anava falls away. Anava is the root mala and the last bond to be dissolved. See: evolution of the soul, grace, mala, soul.

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