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Idol - Idol, Idolotry (from Greek eidolon image, idol)
The use of images of divinities, which pertains to exotericism, as do visible symbols, ceremonies, and rituals in general. Attitudes vary among religions: Judaism, Islam, and Protestant Christianity absolutely forbid it; Orthodox Christianity permits icons, such as pictures of saints; Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, and Buddhism permit it altogether.
Varying degrees of ignorance or enlightenment may regard an idol as in itself a species of imbodied divinity, as transmitting the influence of a divinity or, more spiritually, as a reminder of a divinity. In a real sense, idolatry is the attaching of undue importance to the form rather than to the spirit, and often becomes degraded into worshiping the images made in our imagination and imbodied in work of the hands.
"Esoteric history teaches that idols and their worship dies out with the Fourth Race, until the survivors of the hybrid races of the latter (Chinamen, African Negroes, etc.) gradually brought the worship back. The Vedas countenance no idols; all the modern Hindu writings do" (SD 2:723).
Ark Of The Covenant - Ark of the Covenant The coffer or chest in the Holy of Holies of the Jewish synagogue. All ancient religions used the mystical ark, or something similar, in their respective ceremonial worships: "Every ark-shrine, whether with the Egyptians, Hindus, Chaldeans or Mexicans, was a phallic shrine, the symbol of the yoni or womb of nature. The seket (sektet-boat)
of the Egyptians, the ark, or sacred chest, stood on the ara -- its pedestal. The ark of Osiris, with the sacred relics of the god, was ''of the same size as the Jewish ark,'' says S. Sharpe, the Egyptologist, carried by priests with staves passed through its rings in sacred procession, as the ark round which danced David, the King of Israel. . . . The ark was a boat -- a vehicle in every case. ''Thebes had a sacred ark 300 cubits long,'' and ''the word Thebes is said to mean ark in Hebrew,'' which is but a natural recognition of the place to which the chosen people are indebted for their ark. Moreover, as Bauer writes, ''the Cherub was not first used by Moses.''
The winged Isis was the cherub or Arieh in Egypt, centuries before the arrival there of even Abram or Sarai. ''The external likeness of some of the Egyptian arks, surmounted by their two winged human figures, to the ark of the covenant, has often been noticed.'' (Bible Educator.) And not only the ''external'' but the internal ''likeness'' and sameness are now known to all " (TG 30).
Lingachara - (Sanskrit) Daily worship of the Sivalinga. One of the five essential codes of conduct for Vira Saivites.
See: Panchachara, Vira Saivism.
Garuda - Garuda A mythical bird half-man-half-bird -on which Lord Visnu moves. It is the vehicle of Lord Visnu. Shri Garuda is one of the powers of Lord Visnu himself. Huge in size, and brighter than pure gold, its Teja (lusture) crosses the Sun. Extremely heroic and brave in nature and a staunch enemy of evils and snakes (representing evil). Also, he is destroyer of poison. Garuda Sadhana gives the power to cure venom and poisonous effect.
According to Puranic stories, he was born of Sage Kashyapa and Vinata, one of the daughters of Daksha Prajapati and is of Kaashyap gotra. He has a white face, a beak-like long nose, red wings, and a huge body with a golden hue. His lustre was so brilliant that soon after his birth, the demi-gods mistook him for Agni (fire) and began worshipping him.
Garuda had a son named Sampati, and his wife was Unnati. Another wife of Kashyapa, Kadru, who was the mother of the serpent race, was Vinata''s great rival. Once the two wives had a dispute over the color of the horse of Indra- the, Uchchaishrava, that was obtained during the churning of the ocean (samudra-manthana). Vinata lost the bet and as per the conditions, she was made a slave of Kadru. She could regain her freedom only if Garuda could obtain the nectar (Amrit). Garuda succeeded in stealing it from heaven but not without a fight with Indra, its preserver. In one side were all the Gods with Indra and Garuda was on one side. It was said that he almost won over all the Gods before being severly harmed and in the process Indra''s Vajra (thunder-bolt weapon) was destroyed. Indra recovered the nectar afterwards, after Garuda freed his mother.
Garuda''s son Jatayu once tried to fly up to the Sun in the sky. This burnt his wings and he fell down. Also, he tried to resist Raavana during the abduction of Sitaa and got fatal injuries. In this condition, he awaited his death till giving Raama the details of Sita''s abduction by Ravana and her whereabouts. His last rites were performed by Rama. Jatayu had been a friend of Rama''s father, Dasharatha.
Garuda, after getting permission and acceptance from Shri Visnu, after the war, wrote one of the first Puraanas, teh Garuda puraana. This is in the form of instructions to Garuda by Vishnu and deals with a variety of science and principles, including the secret of creation of the Universe.
Garuda Mantra: Om PA Kshim Svaaha
Garuda Mantra for destroying poison: Om hreem hrauum hreem hreem bhirundayai svaahaa
Garuda Gaayatri: Om TatPurushaaya Vidmahe, SuvarnaPakshaaya Dheemahi, Tannoh Garudah Prachodayaat
Venerate - To love or consider with respect and
admiration; to revere. From the Latin veneratus, to
worship, reverence.
Bhakti Yoga - n (Sanskrit) "Union through devotion." Bhakti yoga is the practice of devotional disciplines, worship, prayer, chanting and singing with the aim of awakening love in the heart and opening oneself to God''s grace. Bhakti may be directed toward God, Gods or one''s spiritual preceptor.
Bhakti yoga seeks communion and ever closer rapport with the Divine, developing qualities that make communion possible, such as love, selflessness and purity. Saint Sambandar described bhakti as religion''s essence and the surest means to divine union and liberation. He advised heartfelt worship, unstinting devotion and complete surrender to God in humble, committed service. From the beginning practice of bhakti to advanced devotion, called prapatti, self-effacement is an intricate part of Hindu, even all Indian, culture.
Bhakti yoga is embodied in Patanjali''s Yoga Darshana in the second limb, niyamas (observances), as devotion (Ishvarapranidhana). Bhakti yoga is practiced in many Hindu schools, and highly developed in Vaishnavism as a spiritual path in itself, leading to perfection and liberation. In Saiva Siddhanta, its cultivation is the primary focus during the kriya pada (stage of worship).
See: bhakti yoga, prapatti, sacrifice, surrender, yajna.
Natchintanai - (Tamil) "Good thoughts." The collected songs of Sage Yogaswami (18721964) of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, extolling the power of the satguru, worship of Lord Siva, the path of dharma and the attainment of Self Realization.
See: Kailasa Parampara.
Kirtana - (Sanskrit) "Praising."
Devotional singing and dancing in celebration of God, Gods and guru. An important form of congregational worship in many Hindu sects.
See: congregational worship, bhajana.
Hiranyakasipu - Hiranyakasipu (Sanskrit) (from hiranya golden + kasipu clothing, vesture)
Golden clothing; one of the most celebrated of the Hindu titans or daityas, son of the sage Kasyapa and Diti. As related in the Mahabharata, he obtained the favor of Brahma and was granted sovereignty of the three worlds for a million years. He became all-powerful because he could not be slain either by god, man, or animal. But his power was used evilly, so that he became notorious for his impiety. He persecuted his son Prahlada for worshiping Vishnu until once, when Prahlada was engaged in his observances, Vishnu during his fourth avataric incarnation appeared out of a pillar in the form of Narasimha (half man, half lion) and tore Hiranyakasipu to pieces.
Hiranyakasipu, after being slain by the Narasimha-avatara was born as Ravana, who in turn was slain by Rama (another avatara of Vishnu); after which he is reborn as Sisupala, who was slain by Krishna (the latest avatara of Vishnu).
"This parallel evolution of Vishnu (spirit) with a Daitya, as men, . . . gives us the key not only to the respective dates of Rama and Krishna but even to a certain psychological mystery" (SD 2:225).
Veda - (Sanskrit) "Wisdom." Sagely revelations which
comprise Hinduism''s most authoritative scripture. They, along with the Agamas, are shruti, "that which is heard."
The Vedas are a body of dozens of holy texts known
collectively as the Veda, or as the four Vedas: Rig, Yajur,
Sama and Atharva. In all they include over 100,000
verses, as well as additional prose. The knowledge
imparted by the Vedas is highly mystical or
superconscious rather than intellectual. Each Veda has
four sections: Samhitas (hymn collections), Brahmanas
(priestly manuals), Aranyakas (forest treatises) and
Upanishads (enlightened discourses). The Samhitas and
Brahmanas (together known as the karmakanda, "ritual
section") detail a transcendent-immanent Supreme-Being
cosmology and a system of worship through fire ceremony
and chanting to establish communication with the Gods.
The Aranyakas and Upanishads (the jnanakanda,
"knowledge section") outline the soul''s evolutionary
journey, providing yogic-philosophic training and
propounding a lofty, nondual realization as the destiny of
all souls. The oldest portions of the Vedas are thought to
date back as far as 6,000 bce, written down in Sanskrit in
the last few millennia, making them the world''s most
ancient scriptures.
See: Aranyaka, Brahmana, shruti,
Upanishad, Vedanga.
Vira Saivism - (Sanskrit) "Heroic Saivism." Made prominent by Basavanna in the 12th century. Also called Lingayat Saivism. Followers, called Lingayats, Lingavantas or Sivasharanas, always wear a Sivalinga on their person.
Vira Saivites are proudly egalitarian and emphasize the personal relationship with Siva, rather than temple worship. Vira Saiva priests, jangamas, conduct marriages and other domestic rites and also act as gurus or teachers. Among the most central texts are Basavanna''s Vachanas, Allama Prabhu''s Mantragopya, Chennabasavanna''s Karana Hasuge, and the collected work called Shunya Sampadane.
The monistic-theistic doctrine of Vira Saivism is called Shakti Vishishtadvaita - a version of qualified nondualism which accepts both difference and nondifference between soul and God, like rays are to the sun. In brief, Siva and the cosmic force or existence are one ("Siva are you; you shall return to Siva."). Yet, Siva is beyond His creation, which is real, not illusory. God is both efficient and material cause. In Vira Saivism, Siva divides from His Absolute state into Linga (Supreme Lord) and anga, individual soul, the two eventually reuniting in undifferentiated oneness.
There are three aspects of Sivalinga.
Ishtalinga, personal form of Siva, in which He fulfills desires and removes afflictions - God as bliss or joy;
Bhavalinga, Siva beyond space and time, the highest divine principle, knowable through intuition;
) Pranalinga, the reality of God which can be apprehended by the mind.
The soul merges with Siva by a progressive, six-stage path called shatsthala, consisting of
bhakti (devotion),
mahesha (charity and selfless service),
prasada (seeking Siva''s grace),
Pranalinga (experience of all as Siva),
sharana (egoless refuge in Siva) and
aikya (oneness with Siva).
Today Vira Saivism is a vibrant faith, particularly strong in its religious homeland of Karnataka, South Central India. Roughly 40 million people live here, of which perhaps 25% are members of the Vira Saiva religion. Early on, they rejected brahminical authority, and along with it the entire caste system and the Vedas. By rejecting the Vedas, they continue to stand outside mainstream Hinduism, but in their profound love of Siva and acceptance of certain Saiva Agamas, as well as the main truths of the Vedic wisdom, they have identified themselves as a unique Saiva sect. Though they have established their faith as a distinct and independent religion in Indian courts of law, they are still widely embraced as devout brothers and sisters of the Hindu dharma.
See: Lingavanta, Saivism.
Aitareya Brahmana - (Sanskrit) Part of the Rig Veda dealing principally with worship and ceremonies of royal inauguration.
See: Rig Veda, Vedas.
Brahmana - (Sanskrit) "Knower of God." 1) One of four primary sections of each Veda; concerned mainly with details of yajna, or sacrificial fire worship, and specific duties and rules of conduct for priests, but also rich in philosophical lore. 2) The first of the four varnas, or social classes, comprising pious souls of exceptional learning, including priests, educators and humanity''s visionary guides. Also spelled brahmin.
See: brahmin, varna dharma, Vedas.
Darshana - (Sanskrit) "Vision, sight."
Seeing the Divine. Beholding, with inner or outer vision, a temple image, Deity, holy person or place, with the desire to inwardly contact and receive the grace and blessings of the venerated being or beings. Even beholding a photograph in the proper spirit is a form of darshana. Not only does the devotee seek to see the Divine, but to be seen as well, to stand humbly in the awakened gaze of the holy one, even if for an instant, such as in a crowded temple when thousands of worshipers file quickly past the enshrined Lord.
Gods and gurus are thus said to "give" darshana, and devotees "take" darshana, with the eyes being the mystic locus through which energy is exchanged. This direct and personal two-sided apprehension is a central and highly sought-after experience of Hindu faith. Also: "point of view," doctrine or philosophy.
See: shad darshana, sound.
Soma - Soma (Sanskrit) In Hinduism, the moon astronomically; mystically, a sacred beverage of initiates, "made from a rare mountain plant by initiated Brahmans" (TG 304).
As the moon, Soma is an occult mystery, for the moon as a symbol stands for both good and evil, yet more often a symbol of evil than of good. Astrologically, Soma is the regent of the invisible or occult moon, while Indu represents the physical moon. "Soma is the mystery god and presides over the mystic and occult nature in man and the Universe" (SD 2:45). Soma or lunar worship was once purely occult and its rites were based upon a minute and profound knowledge of nature.
According to Hindu tradition, Soma as a sacred juice gave mystic visions and trance-revelations, the result of which union was Budha (esoteric wisdom). This sacred beverage was drunk by Brahmins and initiates during their mysteries and sacrificial rites.
"The ''Soma'' plant is the asclepias acida, which yields a juice from which that mystic beverage, the Soma drink, is made. Alone the descendants of the Rishis, the Agnihotri (the fire priests) of the great mysteries knew all its powers. But the real property of the true Soma was (and is) to make a new man of the Initiate, after he is reborn, namely once that he begins to live in his astral body . . .; for, his spiritual nature overcoming the physical, he would soon snap it off and part even from that etherealized form. . . .
"The partaker of Soma finds himself both linked to his external body, and yet away from it in his spiritual form. The latter, freed from the former, soars for the time being in the ethereal higher regions, becoming virtually ''as one of the gods,'' and yet preserving in his physical brain the memory of what he sees and learns. Plainly speaking, Soma is the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge forbidden by the jealous Elohim to Adam and Eve or Yah-ve, ''lest Man should become as one of us'' " (SD 2:498-9&n).
"A ''soma-drinker'' attains the power of placing himself in direct rapport with the bright side of the moon, thus deriving inspiration from the concentrated intellectual energy of the blessed ancestors. . . .
"This which seems one stream (to the ignorant) is of a dual nature -- one giving life and wisdom, the other being lethal. He who can separate the former from the latter, as Kalahamsa separated the milk from the water, which was mixed with it, thus showing great wisdom -- will have his reward" (BCW 12:203-4).
"This Hindu sacred beverage answers to the Greek Ambrosia or nectar, drunk by the gods of Olympus. A cup of kykeon was also quaffed by the mysta at the Eleusinian initiation. He who drinks it easily reaches Brahma, or the place of splendor (Heaven). The soma-drink known to Europeans is not the genuine beverage, but its substitute; for the initiated priests alone can taste of the real soma; and even kings and rajas, when sacrificing, receive the substitute. . . . We were positively informed that the majority of the sacrificial priests of the Dekkan have lost the secret of the true soma. It can be found neither in the ritual books nor through oral information. The true followers of the primitive Vedic religion are very few; these are the alleged descendants from the Rishis, the real Agnihotris, the initiates of the great Mysteries. The soma-drink is also commemorated in the Hindu Pantheon, for it is called King-Soma. He who drinks of it is made to participate in the heavenly king, because he becomes filled with it, as the Christian apostles and their converts became filled with the Holy Ghost, and purified of their sins. The soma makes a new man of the initiate; he is reborn and transformed, and his spiritual nature overcomes the physical; it gives the divine power of inspiration, and develops the clairvoyant faculty to the utmost. According to the exoteric explanation the soma is a plant, but, at the same time it is an angel. It forcibly connects the inner, highest ''spirit'' of man, which spirit is an angel like the mystical soma, with his ''irrational soul,'' or astral body, and thus united by the power of the magic drink, they soar together above physical nature and participate during life in the beatitude and ineffable glories of Heaven.
"Thus the Hindu soma is mystically, and in all respects the same that the Eucharist supper is to the Christian. The idea is similar. By means of the sacrificial prayers -- the mantras -- this liquor is supposed to be transformed on the spot into real soma -- or the angel, and even into Brahma himself" (IU 1:xl-xli).
The mystical drink has been known in all ages and among all peoples. The ancient Teutonic tribes, whether of the Germanic or Anglo-Saxons, spoke of their divine mead, the drink of the gods. The Hindus spoke of Soma, the direct distillation from the moon and from the overseeing and guiding eye of the sun; the Greeks of the Homeric age spoke of ambrosia or nectar, a drink of the gods which renewed their understanding and gave them inspiration as well. Another branch of the Greeks belonging to the Dionysian and Orphic branches of mystical thought, spoke equally mystically of the mystic wine, and also of the mystic cereal, partaken of during the Mysteries, and it is from this last that the mystical wine and cereal or bread of the Christians was taken over almost completely from the Dionysian Eucharist, only among Christians even from quite early times it became degraded into actual blood and flesh of Jesus.
The evident meaning must be connected with the old occult thought that wine, or the mead of the northern peoples where the grape and soma were unknown or uncultivated, all had the meaning of the inspiration of initiation, a kind of ecstasy of vision and knowledge brought about through initiation, of which the physical intoxication of wine, mead, or the soma juice has all the lower and materialized aspect, every spiritual thing having its material counterpart, every right-hand thought or rule in occultism having its left-hand or sorcerer perversion or counterpart. Thus in the highest initiation, even today and from immemorial time, the holy drink or potation was entirely mystical, and had a dozen of these significances, all bound up together; yet despite this fact, for some of the lower initiations where a student found difficulty in throwing off the physical and astral influences, a harmless -- when administered rightly -- drug or drink was given which temporarily stupefied the lower quaternary; but it is to be noted that this substitute of the physical drink came about when neophytes began to find it very difficult to do what their more spiritual forerunners had done: raising themselves solely by inner aspiration up to inspiration, by inner insight up to the epopteia or vision.
Thus the question whether the mystical drink was an actual drink, or merely a mystical one, cannot be answered by a simple yes or no. Originally it was entirely mystical, later it remained as mystical as ever, but the body with its grossness, and the astral influences with their terrible power over the men and women of the time, were temporarily reduced to quiescence by a preparation known to initiates to have the power of bringing about the condition required, without any permanent or even long after-effect, very much as a sedative will be given by a physician today. It is of course true that if this drink, however relatively innocent in a single instance, were to be constantly repeated, it would have developed into a drug habit.
Some of the later peoples in their initiations actually did use a kind of physical soma which had the effect of bringing about a dulling of the restless brain-mind for the time being, so that the inner powers were temporarily freed from the clogging influences of the astral light and the body.
The use of drugs in initiatory ceremonies of any kind, however, is a relatively late and degenerate practice, and has never at any time been, nor will it ever be, introduced by the Mother-Lodge coming down to us even from the middle of the third root-race. With it the old tradition burns more brightly than ever that the true soma, the true mead of the gods or wine of the spirit, is the raising of the human into the spiritual by aspiration, training, and strict following of the traditional laws of discipleship, so that finally the neophyte feels the sunlight from above stealing through the moon of his mind.
So strongly is this the case, that even today in theosophical occult studies, drug taking of any kind is strictly forbidden, including alcohol, for alcohol is a drug, a product of natural decay and decomposition, and while less spectacular and violent as a rule than drugs such as opium and its derivatives, it is far more easily procurable and is therefore more specifically pointed to as objectionable. The idea of the occult student is to have the body absolutely normal, healthy, clean, and functioning in the smoothness of health, so that even overeating is seen to be a harmful thing, because it clogs the body, dulls the mind, and could even actually lead to physical disability.
There is and has been a great deal of confusion, not only at present but throughout the ages, about these matters, and several mystical schools have even chosen the language of the tavern and drinking house as the cloak for conveying occult or semi-occult teaching. A noted example is the Sufi school with its poems lauding the flowing bowl and the joys of the tavern and the bosom friends therein, and the beloved''s breast. Here the tavern was the universe, the flowing cup or wine was the wine of the spirit bringing inner ecstasy, the bosom of the beloved was the raising oneself into inner communion with the god within, of which the Jewish bosom of Abraham is a feeble correspondence. The friends of the tavern are those perfect human relations brought about by a community of spiritual and intellectual interests, and the associations of the tavern are the mysteries of the world around us with their marvels and arcana. Nevertheless in various countries as the fourth root-race ran toward its evil culmination, the mystic became translated into the material, the spiritual degenerated into the teaching of matter, so that indeed in later Atlantean times the drugging of initiates was common, and the results always disastrous, this being one of the sorceries for which the Atlanteans in occult history have remained infamous. Yet even in the fifth root-race, due to the heavy Atlantean karma still weighing on us, many nations as late as historic times employed more or less harmless potations to bring about a temporary dulling or stupefying of the brain and nervous system -- a procedure always vigorously opposed by the theosophic occult school which has never at any time allowed it.
Yajna - (Sanskrit) "Worship; sacrifice."
One of the most central Hindu concepts - sacrifice and surrender through acts of worship, inner and outer.
1) A form of ritual worship especially prevalent in Vedic times, in which oblations - ghee, grains, spices and exotic woods - are offered into a fire according to scriptural injunctions while special mantras are chanted.
The element fire, Agni, is revered as the divine messenger who carries offerings and prayers to the Gods.
The ancient Veda Brahmanas and the Shrauta Shastras describe various types of yajna rites, some so elaborate as to require hundreds of priests, whose powerful chanting resounds for miles. These major yajnas are performed in large, open-air structures called yagashala.
Domestic yajnas, prescribed in the Grihya Shastras, are performed in the family compound or courtyard. Yajna requires four components, none of which may be omitted: dravya, sacrificial substances; tyaga, the spirit of sacrificing all to God; devata, the celestial beings who receive the sacrifice; and mantra, the empowering word or chant.
While puja (worship in temples with water, lights and flowers) has largely replaced the yajna, this ancient rite still continues, and its specialized priestly training is carried on in schools in India.
Yajnas of a grand scale are performed for special occasions, beseeching the Gods for rain during drought, or for peace during bloody civil war. Even in temples, yajna has its Agamic equivalent in the agnikaraka, the homa or havana ceremony, held in a fire pit (homakunda) in an outer mandapa of a temple as part of elaborate puja rites.
2) Personal acts of worship or sacrifice. Life itself is a jivayajna.
The Upanishads suggest that one can make "inner yajnas" by offering up bits of the little self into the fires of sadhana and tapas until the greater Self shines forth.
The five daily yajnas, pancha mahayajna, of the householder (outlined in the Dharma Shastras) ensure offerings to rishis, ancestors, Gods, creatures and men. They are as follows.
brahma yajna: (also called Veda yajna or rishi yajna) "Homage to the seers." Accomplished through studying and teaching the Vedas.
deva yajna: "Homage to Gods and elementals." Recognizing the debt due to those who guide nature, and the feeding of them by offering ghee and uncooked grains into the fire. This is the homa sacrifice.
pitri yajna: "Homage to ancestors." Offering of cakes (pinda) and water to the family line and the progenitors of mankind.
bhuta yajna: "Homage to beings." Placing food-offerings, bali, on the ground, intended for animals, birds, insects, wandering outcastes and beings of the invisible worlds. ("Let him gently place on the ground [food] for dogs, outcastes, svapachas, those diseased from sins, crows and insects" Manu Dharma Shastras 3.92).
manushya yajna: "Homage to men." Feeding guests and the poor, the homeless and the student. Manushya yajna includes all acts of philanthropy, such as tithing and charity. The Vedic study is performed in the morning.
The other four yajnas are performed just before taking one''s noon meal. Manu Dharma Shastras (3.80) states, "Let him worship, according to the rule, the rishis with Veda study, the devas with homa, the pitris with shraddha, men with food, and the bhutas with bali."
Mystics warn that all offerings must be tempered in the fires of kundalini through the power of inner yajna to be true and valuable, just as the fire of awareness is needed to indelibly imprint ideas and concepts on one''s own akashic window.
See: dharma, havana, homa, puja, sacrifice.
Shatapatha Brahmana - (Sanskrit) "Priest manual of 100 paths."
A priestly manual of the Shukla Yajur Veda, dealing with theology, philosophy and modes of worship.
Chium - Chium, Chiun kiyyun, khiyun (Hebrew) A god worshiped by the Israelites in the desert: "ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god" (Amos 5:26).
Said to be derived from the Chaldeans, it may have been the planet Saturn, and Blavatsky writes: "Kiyun, or the god Kivan, worshipped by the Hebrews in the wilderness, is Siva, the Hindu, as well as Saturn" (IU 1:570).
While there is an undoubted mystical and historic connection with the planet Saturn, there is evidence which would likewise point to the planet Venus as having been at times intended by the word Kiyyun, as was the opinion of the Church Father Jerome.
Mudra - Mudra (Sanskrit) A symbol of power over invisible evil influences, whether as a simple posture or a posture considered as a talisman. Applied to certain positions of the fingers practiced in devotion, meditation, or exoteric religious worship, thought by some to imitate ancient Sanskrit characters, and therefore to have magic efficacy and to have a particular esoteric significance. Used both in the Northern Buddhist Yogacharya school and by the Hindu Tantrikas, with both symbolic and practical meanings.
Adore - To love greatly; to worship as divine.
See: puja.
Surya - (Sanskrit) "Sun." One of the principal Divinities of the Vedas, also prominent in the epics and Puranas. Saivites revere Surya, the Sun God each morning as Siva Surya. Smartas and Vaishnavas revere the golden orb as Surya Narayana. As the source of light, the sun is the most readily apparent image of Divinity available to man. As the giver of life, Surya is worshiped during harvest festivals everywhere. Esoterically, the sun represents the point where the manifest and unmanifest worlds meet or unite. In yoga, the sun represents the masculine force, pingala. Surya also signifies the Self within. In the Vedic description of the course of souls after death, the "path of the sun" leads liberated souls to the realm of Brahman; while the path of the moon leads back to physical birth.
Pashupata Saivism - (Sanskrit) Monistic and theistic, this school of Saivism reveres Siva as Supreme Cause and Personal Ruler of soul and world, denoted in His form as Pashupati, "Lord of souls." This school centers around the ascetic path, emphasizing sadhana, detachment from the world and the quest for "internal kundalini grace."
The Karavana Mahatmya recounts the birth of Lakulisha (ca 200 bce), a principal Pashupata guru, and refers to the temple of Somanatha as one of the most important Pashupata centers. Lakulisha propounded a Saiva monism, though indications are that Pashupata philosophy was previously dualistic, with Siva as efficient cause of the universe but not material cause. It is thought to be the source of various ascetic streams, including the Kapalikas and the Kalamukhas.
This school is represented today in the broad sadhu tradition, and numerous Pashupata sites of worship are scattered across India.
See: Saivism.
Mudra - (Sanskrit) "Seal."
Esoteric hand gestures which express specific energies or powers. Usually accompanied by precise visualizations, mudras are a vital element of ritual worship (puja), dance and yoga.
Among the bestknown mudras are:
abhaya mudra (gesture of fearlessness), in which the fingers are extended, palm facing forward;
anjali mudra (gesture of reverence);
jnana mudra (also known as chin mudra and yoga mudra), in which the thumb and index finger touch, forming a circle, with the other fingers extended;
dhyana mudra (seal of meditation), in which the two hands are open and relaxed with the palms up, resting on the folded legs, the right hand atop the left with the tips of the thumbs gently touching.
See: abhaya mudra, anjali mudra, hatha yoga, namaskara.
Sakta - Sakta (Sanskrit) [from sakti power]
Also sakteya, saktya. Relating to sakti; a worshiper of Sakti, especially in her aspect of Druga, the cosmic consort of Siva. The Saktas are a Hindu sect which base their doctrines largely upon the Tantras, their ritual being of two kinds: the more impure called vamachara (left-hand path), and the purer, dakshinachara (right-hand path). But present-day worshipers have strayed far from the original, quaintly philosophical teachings and consequently have degraded the conception throughout as well as its symbols.
Bhakta - n (Sanskrit) "Devotee." A worshiper. One who is surrendered to the Divine.
Sannyasin - (Sanskrit) "Renouncer."
One who has taken sannyasa diksha. A Hindu monk, swami, and one of a world brotherhood (or holy order) of sannyasins. Some are wanderers and others live in monasteries.
The seasoned sannyasin is truly the liberated man, the spiritual exemplar, the disciplined yogi and ultimately the knower of Truth, freed to commune with the Divine and bound to uplift humanity through the sharing of his wisdom, his peace, his devotion and his illumination, however great or small.
The sannyasin is the guardian of his religion, immersed in it constantly, freed from worldliness, freed from distraction, able to offer his work and his worship in unbroken continuity and one-pointed effectiveness. He undertakes certain disciplines including the purification of body, mind and emotion. He restrains and controls the mind through his sadhana, tapas and meditative regimen. He unfolds from within himself a profound love of God and the Gods. His practice of upasana, worship, is predominantly internal, seeking God Siva within.
See: sannyasa, sannyasa dharma, sannyasa diksha, swami.
Vaishnavism - (Sanskrit) "Way of Vishnu."
One of the four major religions, or denominations of
Hinduism, representing roughly half of the world''s one
billion Hindus.
It gravitates around the worship of Lord
Vishnu as Personal God, His incarnations and their
consorts. The doctrine of avatara (He who descends),
especially important to Vaishnavism, teaches that
whenever adharma gains ascendency in the world, God
takes a human birth to reestablish "the way." There are
either 10, 22 or 34 avataras of Vishnu, according to
various scriptures. The most renowned avataras were
Rama and Krishna. The last to come will be Kalki, the
harbinger of a golden age on Earth.
Vaishnavism stresses
the personal aspect of God over the impersonal, and bhakti
(devotion) as the true path to salvation. The goal of
Vaishnavism is the attainment of mukti, defined as
blissful union with God''s body, the loving recognition that
the soul is a part of Him, and eternal nearness to Him in
Vaikuntha, heaven. Foremost among Vaishnava scriptures
are the Vaishnava Agamas, Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata
Purana. Among the earliest schools were the Pancharatras
and the Bhagavatas.
The five major contemporary schools
(founded between 1000 and 1500) are those of Ramanuja
(Sri Vaishnavism), Madhva, Nimbarka, Vallabha and
Chaitanya. Philosophically they range from Madhva''s pure
dualism to Vallabha''s lofty monistic vision.
Devi Upanishad - (Sanskrit) A Shakta Upanishad dealing with the nature and worship of the Goddess.
See: Shaktism.
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