Hinduism Teachings Dictionary

Deity: "God." Can refer to the image or murti installed in a temple or to the MahŒdeva the murti represents. See: murti, puja.

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

fellowship: Companionship. Mutual sharing of interests, beliefs or practice. A group of people with common interests and aspirations.

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

firewalking: The trance-inducing ceremonial practice of walking over a bed of smoldering, red-hot coals as an expression of faith and sometimes as a form of penance. Participants describe it as a euphoric experience in which no pain is felt and no burns received. Many lose body consciousness during the walk.

Firewalking is associated with folk-shamanic Shaktism and is popular among Hindu communities inside and outside India.

See: folk-shamanic, penance, Shaktism.

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

exclusive: Excluding all others. Saivites believe that there is no exclusive path to God, that no spiritual path can rightly claim that it alone leads to the goal.

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

enlightened: Having attained enlightenment, Self Realization. A jnani or jivanmukta.

See: jivanmukta, jnana, Self Realization.

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

consciousness: Chitta or chaitanya.

1)    A synonym for mind-stuff, chitta; or

2)    the condition or power of perception, awareness, apprehension.

There are myriad gradations of consciousness, from the simple sentience of inanimate matter to the consciousness of basic life forms, to the higher consciousness of human embodiment, to omniscient states of superconsciousness, leading to immersion in the One universal consciousness, Parashakti. Chaitanya and chitta can name both individual consciousness and universal consciousness.

Modifiers indicate the level of awareness, e.g.,

-       vyashti chaitanya, "individual consciousness;"

-       buddhi chitta, "intellectual consciousness;"

-       Sivachaitanya, "God consciousness."

Five classical "states" of awareness are discussed in scripture:

1)    wakefulness (jagrat),

2)    "dream" (svapna) or astral consciousness,

3)    "deep sleep" (sushupti) or subsuperconsciousness,

4)    the superconscious state beyond (turiya "fourth") and

5)    the utterly transcendent state called turiyatita ("beyond the fourth").

See: awareness, chitta, chaitanya, mind (all entries).

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

existence: "Coming or standing forth." Being; reality; that which is.

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

extended family: Brihatkutumba or mahakutumba.

One or more joint families plus their broader associations and affiliations. Unlike the joint family, whose members live in close proximity, the extended family is geographically widespread. The extended family is headed by the patriarch, called brihatkutumba pramukha (or mukhya), recognized as the leader by each joint family. He, in turn is under the guidance of the kulaguru, or family preceptor.

It includes the following, in order of their precedence: priests of one's faith; elder men and women of the community; in-laws of married daughters; married daughters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters, and the spouses and children of these married girls; members of the staff and their families and those closely associated with the joint family business or home; maternal greatgrandparents and grandparents, parents, uncles and their spouses, aunts and their spouses, children and grandchildren of these families; very close friends and their children; members of the community at large.

See: grihastha, grihastha dharma, joint family.

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

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)

Brahma: (Sanskrit) The name of God in His aspect of Creator. Saivites consider Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra to be three of five aspects of Siva. Smartas group Brahma, Vishnu and Siva as a holy trinity in which Siva is the destroyer.

Brahma the Creator is not to be confused with

1)    Brahman, the Transcendent Supreme of the Upanishads;

2)    Brahmana, Vedic texts;

3)    brahmana, the Hindu priest caste (also spelled brahmin).

See: Brahman, Parameshvara.

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

ethics: The code or system of morals of a nation, people, religion, etc.

See: dharma, pancha nitya karmas, punya, purity-impurity.

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

door of Brahman: Brahmarandhra; also called nirvana chakra.

 A subtle or esoteric aperture in the crown of the head, the opening of sushumna nadi through which kundalini enters in ultimate Self Realization, and the spirit escapes at death. Only the spirits of the truly pure leave the body in this way. Samsaris take a downward course.

See: jnana, kundalini, videhamukti.

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

chandra: (Sanskrit) "The moon."

Of central importance in Hindu astrology and in the calculation of the festival calendar. Considered the ruler of emotion.

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

dual: Having or composed of two parts or kinds.

• duality: A state or condition of being dual.
• realm of duality: The phenomenal world, where each thing exists along with its opposite: joy and sorrow, etc.

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

cognition: Knowing; perception. Knowledge reached through intuitive, superconscious faculties rather than through intellect alone.

cognitive body: Vijnanamaya kosha. The most refined sheath of the astral, or subtle, body (sukshma sharira). It is the sheath of higher thought and cognition.

See: astral body, kosha.

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

divine incarnation: The concept of avatara. The Supreme Being's (or other Mahadeva's) taking of human birth, generally to reestablish dharma. This doctrine is important to several Hindu sects, notably Vaishnavism, but not held by most Saivites.

See: avatara, avatar, Vaishnavism.

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

conception: Power to imagine, conceive or create. Moment when a pregnancy is begun, a new earthly body generated.

the point of conception; the apex of creation: The simple instant that precedes any creative impulse and is therefore the source and summit of the powers of creation or manifestation. To become conscious of the point of conception is a great siddhi.

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

cope: To contend with on equal terms. To face or deal with difficulties.

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

Day of Brahma

In Hindu esoteric teachings, one day of Brahma consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.

The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years.

• In the Treta-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years.
• In the Dvapara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years.
• And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have been experiencing over the past 5000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years.

In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord himself appears as the Kalki Avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves his devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again.

These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahma, and the same number comprise one night. Brahma lives one hundred of such years and then dies. These hundred years by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years. By these calculations the life of Brahma seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. "

(See also: Day of Brahma , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

mantra: (Sanskrit) "Mystic formula."

A sound, syllable, word or phrase endowed with special power, usually drawn from scripture. Mantras are chanted loudly during puja to invoke the Gods and establish a force field. Certain mantras are repeated softly or mentally for japa, the subtle tones quieting the mind, harmonizing the inner bodies and stimulating latent spiritual qualities. Hinduism's universal mantra is Aum. To be truly effective, such mantras must be given by the preceptor through initiation.

See: Aum, incantation, japa, puja, yajna, mantra, mantra yoga, meditation.

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

auspicious: Mangala. Favorable, of good omen, foreboding well. One of the central concepts in Hindu life. Astrology defines a method for determining times that are favorable for various human endeavors. Much of daily living and religious practice revolves around an awareness of auspiciousness. Endowed with great power and importance, it is associated with times, places and persons. See: jyotisha, muhurta, swastika, Tai Pongal.

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

atman: (Sanskrit) "The soul; the breath; the principle of life and sensation." The soul in its entirety - as the soul body (anandamaya kosha) and its essence (Parashakti and Parasiva). One of Hinduism's most fundamental tenets is that we are the atman, not the physical body, emotions, external mind or personality. In Hindu scriptures, atman sometimes refers to the ego-personality, and its meaning must be determined according to context. The Atma Upanishad (13) describes atman, or purusha, as threefold: bahyatman, the outer or physical person; antaratman, the inner person, excluding the physical form, who perceives, thinks and cognizes; and Paramatman, the transcendent Self God within. See: Paramatman, kosha, soul.

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