Antarloka: (Sanskrit) "Inner or in-between world." The astral plane. See: loka.

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anthology: A choice collection of prose or poetry excerpts.

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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.

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anubhava: (Sanskrit) "Perception, apprehension; experience." Personal experience; understanding; impressions on the mind not derived from memory.

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

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

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ankusha: (Sanskrit) Goad, symbol of Lord Ganesha's power to remove obstacles from the devotee's path, and to spur the dullards onward.

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anjali mudra: (Sanskrit) "Reverence gesture." Also called pranamanjali. A gesture of respect and greeting, in which the two palms are held softly together and slightly cupped. Often accompanied by the verbal salutation "namaskara," meaning "reverent salutation." The anjali mudra has various forms, including held near the chest in greeting equals, at eye level in greeting one's guru, and above the head in salutation to God. One form is with the open hands placed side by side, as if by a beggar to receive food, or a worshiper beseeching God's grace in the temple. See: mudra, namaskara.

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ajna chakra: (Sanskrit) "Command wheel." The third-eye center. See: chakra.

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Andal: (Tamil) Famed Vaishnava saint of Tamil Nadu. One of the Alvars, she lived in the early 9th century and today is venerated as one of South India's greatest bhakta poetesses. See: Alvar, Vaishnavism.

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ancillary: Auxiliary. Aiding or supporting. Supplementary; secondary.

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Anbe Sivamayam Satyame Parasivam: Tamil for "God Siva is Immanent Love and transcendent Reality." The affirmation of faith which capsulizes the entire creed of monistic Saiva Siddhanta. In Sanskrit it is Premaiva Sivamaya, Satyam eva Parasivah.

(See also: Anbe Sivamayam Satyame Parasivam: , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

anekavada: (Sanskrit) "Pluralism," or "not-one theology." See: pluralism.

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anekavadin: (Sanskrit) A follower of anekavada.

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animism: The belief that everything (including inanimate objects) is alive with soul or spirit, a conviction pervasive among most indigenous (tribal/pagan/shamanistic) faiths, including Hinduism, Shintoism and spiritualism.

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animate-inanimate: From the Latin animatus, "to make alive, fill with breath." These terms indicate the two poles of manifest existence, that which has movement and life (most expressly animals and other "living" beings) and that which is devoid of movement (such as minerals and, to a lesser degree, plants). From a deeper view, however, all existence is alive with movement and possessed of the potent, divine energy of the cosmos. See: tattva.

(See also: Animate-inanimate , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

aniconic: "Without likeness; without image." When referring to a Deity image, aniconic denotes a symbol which does not attempt an anthropomorphic (humanlike) or representational likeness. An example is the Sivalinga, "mark of God." See: murti, Sivalinga.

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anga: (Sanskrit) "Part; limb." Term for the individual soul in Vira Saivism. The anga is of finite intelligence, while Siva is of infinite intelligence. See: Vira Saivism.

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

anavopaya: (Sanskrit) "Minute or individual means." See: upaya.

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Aham Brahmasmi: (Sanskrit) "I am God." Famous phrase often repeated in the Upanishads. In this ecstatic statement of enlightenment, "I" does not refer to the individuality or outer nature, but to the essence of the soul which is ever identical to God Siva (or Brahman, the Supreme Being) as Satchidananda and Parasiva. One of four Upanishadic "great sayings," mahavakya.

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acosmic pantheism: "No-cosmos, all-is-God doctrine." A Western philosophical term for the philosophy of Shankara. It is acosmic in that it views the world, or cosmos, as ultimately unreal, and pantheistic because it teaches that God (Brahman) is all of existence. See: Shankara, shad darshana.

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adept: Highly skilled; expert. In religion, one who has mastered certain spiritual practices or disciplines. An advanced yogi. See: siddha yoga.

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