Karma

Karma of a person means the sum of that individual person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Informal: destiny or fate, following as effect from cause. The origin is from Sanskrit equivalent word meaning 'deeds, sum-of-actions'. Additionally, Karma means "the duty or work" that a person is supposed to perform which is fixed by the Allmighty.

Karma yoga: The discipline of selfless action as a way to perfection instead of following mystic, ascetic, or other spiritual paths. Such a person is called as "Karma yogi".

Karma phala: The fruit (consequence) that a persons gets (either enjoys or bears) depending on his past-Karma.€€€

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

Orissa

Orissa is an eastern state belonging to the Indian sub-continent. The city of Bhubaneswar (temple city of India) is the state capital.

During the medieval times, the state corresponding roughly with now-a-days Orissa passed under the various names such as: Utkala, Kalinga, and Odra (Udra) Desa. The state boundaries varied from time to time and were sometimes much larger. These land names are associated with peoples. The Okkala or Utkala, the Kalinga, and the Odra or Oddaka were mentioned in literature as tribes. Ancient Greeks knew the latter two as Kalingai and Oretes. Eventually the names got identified with the territories. The land was inhabited by semi-Hinduized tribes (shabaras) in the hinterland, a group of farming Brahmins (halua brahmuna) who practised invincible Tantra method near Jajpur area (the place of Goddess Biraja), and people of other castes and trades as well. For centuries before and after the birth of Christ, Kalinga was a formidable political power, extending from the Ganga river to the Godavari river. Approximately between the 11th and 16th centuries the name was twisted; the name Odra Desa was gradually transformed into Uddisa, Udisa, or Odisa, which in English became Orissa. The language of Odisa came to be known as Oriya.

Kalinga was already famous at the dawn of Indian history. Buddhist sources refer to the rule of King Brahmadutta in Kalinga at the time of the Buddha's death. In the 4th century BC the first Indian empire builder, Mahapadma Nanda, conquered Kalinga, but the Nanda rule was short-lived. In 260 BC the Mauryan emperor Ashoka invaded Kalinga and fought one of the greatest and most bloody wars of ancient history. He then renounced war, became a Buddhist, and preached peace and non-violence in and outside India. In the 1st century BC the Kalinga emperor Kharavela conquered vast territories that collectively came to be called the Kalinga empire.

Kalinga became a maritime power beginning in the 1st century AD, and its overseas activities culminated in the 8th century with the establishment of the Shailendra empire in Java. Orissa was ruled during the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries by the powerful Bhauma-Kara dynasty and in the 10th and 11th centuries by the Soma dynasty. The Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneshwar, the greatest Shiva monument of India, was initiated by the king Yayati.

Medieval Orissa enjoyed a golden age under the Ganga Dynasty. Its founder, Anantavarma Chodagangadeva (1078-1147), ruled from the Ganges to the Godavari with "Cuttack" city as the state capital. He began the construction of the temple of Jagannaatha (Lord of the Universe) at Puri. Narasimhadeva 1 (1238-64) built the Sun Temple (Surya Mandira) of Konarka, one of the finest and best creations of Hindu architecture all over the world. In the 13th and 14th centuries, when much of India was overrun by the Muslims, independent Orissa remained a citadel of Hindu religion, philosophy, art, and architecture. The "Veera Kalinga Putras" (brave sons of Kalinga) were the last to give up, till it was conquered by betraying.

The Gangas were succeeded by the Surya dynasty. Its first king, Kapilendradeva (1435-66), won territories from his Muslim neighbours and greatly expanded the Orissa kingdom. His successor, Purushottamadeva, maintained these gains with difficulty. The next and the last Surya king, Prataparudradeva, became a disciple of the naamayogi avataar Chaitanya mahaprabhu, the great medieval saint, and became a pacifist. After his death (1540) Orissa's power declined, and in 1568, when King Mukundadeva was killed by his own countrymen, Orissa lost its independence to the Afghan rulers of Bengal.

The Mughal emperor Akbar conquered Orissa from the Afghans in 1590-92. When the Mughal Empire fell in 1761, part of Orissa remained under the Bengal nawaabs, but the greater part was snatched by the Marathas. The Bengal sector came under British rule in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey; the Maratha sector was conquered by the British in 1803. Although after 1803 the British controlled the entire Oriya-speaking area, it continued to be administered as two units. It was not until April 1, 1936, that the British heeded calls for unification on a linguistic basis and constituted Orissa as a separate province; 26 Oriya princely states, however, remained outside the provincial administration. After the independence of India in 1947, all these princely states except Saraikela and Kharsawan (which merged with Bihar) became part of Orissa.

Geography:

The state can be broadly divided into four natural divisions: (1) the northern plateau, (2) the eastern ghats, (3) the central tract, and (4) the coastal plains. The northern plateau (in the northern part of the state) is an extension of the forest-covered, lightly settled, and mineral-rich Chot-Nagpur plateau centred in southern Bihar. The eastern ghats, extending roughly parallel to the coast, are remnants of a very ancient line of hills in eastern peninsular India; rising to heights of 3,600 feet (1,100 metres), the eastern ghats are forest-covered, provide a home for a variety of wildlife, and are populated by several tribal groups. The central tract comprises a series of plateaus and basins occupying the inland area west and north of the Eastern Ghats; the plateau areas provide scant resources, but several of the basins--notably the Kalahandi, Balangir, Hirakud, and Jharsuguda--have the soil and the irrigation facilities to support local agriculture. The coastal plains are formed of alluvial soils deposited by the many rivers flowing to the Bay of Bengal; locally the area is known as the Baleshwar Coastal Plain to the northeast, the Mahanadi delta in the centre, and the Chilika Plain to the southwest. The coastal plains are heavily populated, have extensive irrigation, and are devoted almost entirely to the growing of rice during the rainy season.

The main rivers are the Subarnarekha, Burabalang, Baitarani, Brahmani, Mahanadi, Rushikulya, and Vamsadhara. Notable mountain ranges are the Mahendra Hill (Giri; rising to 4,924 feet [1,501 metres]), the Malaya Hill (3,894 feet [1,187 metres]), and the Megasini (3,822 feet [1,165 metres]). Orissa's Chilika Lake is the biggest saltwater lagoon in India.€€€

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

Yantra

Yantra is a type geometrical diagram or object, used Tantra (tantric worship). They are made of various metals (e.g., copper, silver, gold, astadhatu - an alloy of 8 different metals - etc.) or dried leaves of a special plant (bhoja patra). -origin is from Sanskrit, literally 'device for holding or fastening'. In tantric method of spiritualism (tantric sadhana) an "Yantra" often represents the body of the deity related to that sadhana.

e.g., Shunya yantra, Bhubaneswari yantra, Bagalamukhi yantra

It also literally means - A Machine.€€€

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

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

Mahapurusa Achyuta is believed to be born at the will of Shri Jagannath (Visnu), with the inherent subtle power of Shri Garuda. He was found by his father, in dreams, near the Garuda Khamba (pillar), at the front of the Jagannath Temple. Being a power of Visnu, and one of the five souls of Visnu, he easily acquired all the powers (siddhis) of Garuda after sometime, e.g. the power to see the future. He is a saviour of the devotees and extremely kind and devotee-concerned. See "Birth of Shri Achyuta" page for more details and "Taamrapothi" page for his sadhana and the manifested power to see the events in the three time-zones.€€€

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

Havan: a fire ritual accompanied by the chanting of the sacred Vedic mantras for a communal or common purpose. In the Vedic age, Havans were performed to give offerings of ghee, milk or grain to please the deities. With the later philosophical development of Hinduism, their purpose evolved into a method of practicing renunciation.

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

Peepal tree

Botanical name or the Latin name: Ficus religious

Name in "Sanskrit" language: Ashvattha

The "Peepal tree" or the "holy fig tree" is the most accepted botanical entity in the Hindu tradition. It is considered sacred by both Hindus and Buddhists and its name has been referred in the Vedas and hindu epics. The saints used to meditate sitting under this holy tree. It was only under the Peepal tree that Gautam Buddha (9th Avataar of Lord Vishnu) attained enlightenment and that particular tree was named as "Bodhi-brikhsa", the wisdom-tree. The Peepal is considered as a feminine to the masculine Banyan tree.

The tree grows in most parts of India, especially on the banks of rivers and large water bodies and are abundantly found in the forests on the lower slopes of the Himalayas, Orissa as well as in central India. The Peepal-bark has light gray color and is smooth and the leaves have a distinctive shape of heart and have long and tapering tips. The tree is also used in Ayurveda (the Indian branch of medical science dealing with natural plants and products). €€€

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

Kalinga

Kalinga is another name for the state of Orissa, but was larger in size than the modern day Orissa.

Kalinga is an ancient territory of east-central India that included most of modern Orissa, part of northern Andhra Pradesh, and a portion of Madhya Pradesh. Strictly, it stretched not farther south than the Godavari River, thus excluded Vengi (the Andhra territory between Godavari river and the Krishna river). The hinterland of Kalinga led through mountainous and thickly forested country, inhabited by semi-Hinduized tribes, to central India and the Gangetic plain. With the ports of Coringa (modern day Kakinada), Vishakhapatnam, Chicacole, and Ganjam and the important towns of Rajahmundry and Vizayanagaram, Kalingans made excellent seaborne trade with Burma (now Myanmar) and areas still farther south and east. It was mentioned by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder.

Kalinga was conquered by Mahapadma, the founder of the Nanda dynasty (c. 343-c. 321 BC) of Magadha. It seceded from the Magadhan empire sometime after the fall of the Nanda dynasty, but it was reconquered by the Maurya king Ashoka in the 3rd century BC in a terrible war that was said to have helped to convert him to Buddhism. Subsequently, the Soma-vanshis (who belong to Soma dynasty) of southern Kosala, who controlled the strategic town of Chakrakotta (in the former Bastar state), ruled parts of the coastal strip for a period of time, as did the Yayatis, Vishnukundins, Bhanjas, and Bhauma Karas.

The eastern Gangas (pronounced as Gungu s) were the most famous rulers of all Kalinga. Their dynasty, which began its rule in the mid-11th century AD, sometimes competed with and sometimes allied itself with the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. In the next century Anantavarma Chodagangadeva was particularly renowned; he built the Temple of Jagannaatha at Puri. The famous temple of the sun-god at Konarak (Konaarka) was built in the 13th century by Narasimhadeva I. Between 1238 and 1305 the Gangas (pronounced as Gungus) successfully withstood Muslim infiltration from the north, but the dynasty collapsed when the sultan of Delhi penetrated Kalinga from the south in 1324.€€€

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

Mahabharata: an epic poem of ancient India detailing the history of the evolution of mankind through the lineage of the Bharata family. Written by Veda Vyasa, the poem of 100,000 verses is the longest epic poem in the world. It also contains the philosophical treatise, the Bhagavad Gita.

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

Tantra

Tantra (noun) refers to a Hindu or Buddhist spiritual Sadhana, that is performed using Yantra, Mantra, and specific rituals. One of the ways in which Tantra is explained is: Tanu trayate itii Tantra (which liberates from the limitations of the body). From point-of-view of spiritual practice, Tantra means:

Yantra ku Mantrare Bhediba hiin Tantra (Oriya), i.e. To pierce through an Yantra by applying a Mantra is Tantra.

One who practises Tantra is a Tantrik (also Tantric).

Tantra is infact the best way of Spiritual practice to attain Siddhis. In the times of Guru Matsyendranath, Guru Gorakhnath, Guru Viswamitra etc., tantra was a much respected and evolved science. However, with time, tantra became a Taboo, partly because of misuse-of-capabilites by certain Greedy individuals, and partly because the real knowledge was made very confined due to the fear of misuse and slowly got extinct. In recent times, the word has been associated with a variety of strange things, by people with orientation-less or poor imagination, which has nothing really to do with Tantra.

Tantra is a vast Science, with many different ways, Siddhis, rituals and know-hows of six-abilites: Shanti, (peace), Vashikaran (hypnotism and control), Stambhan (paralyze someone), Vidveshana (create conflict between persons), Uchhatan (driving away), and Maarana (destroy or kill someone). It is the misuse of such capabilities that led to extinction of the divine knowledge, however, these are never the main aims of tantra. The fear of tantra-practising is unfounded.

The construction of the Jagannath temple at Puri is based on the principle of Tantra. The temple is constructed in the form of Shri-Yantra and the deities are placed on Maha-Vairabh Yantra which was designed using 100000 special black stones (saalagrama).

The word dates back from the 7th century (at least) or earlier and the origin is from Sanskrit (from tan 'stretch'). [The word is accepted in New English Oxford Dictionary].€€€

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

Sanskrit dictionary. From Advaita to Yoga.

Please note that all words in grey, like "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

Absolute (from Latin ab away + solvere to loosen, dissolve)

Freed, released, absolved; parallel to the Sanskrit moksha, mukti (set free, released), also to the Buddhist nirvana (blown out), all three terms signifying one who has obtained freedom from the cycle of material existence.

Absolute, in European philosophy, is used somewhat loosely for the unconditional or boundless infinitude. On the other hand, Sir W. Hamilton (Disc 13n) considers the Absolute as "diametrically opposed to, . . . contradictory of, the Infinite," which is correct from the standpoint of both etymology and abstract philosophy. Blavatsky uses the term both ways: sometimes equating it with infinity, at other times with the first cause or one divine substance-principle.

Strictly speaking, absolute is a relative term. It is the philosophic One or cosmic originant, but not the mystic zero or infinitude. An absolute or a cosmic freed one is not That (infinity), for infinity has no attributes: it is neither absolute nor nonabsolute, conscious nor unconscious, because all attributes and qualities belong to manifested and therefore noninfinite beings and things (cf FSO 89-90). The boundless or infinite, in which exist innumerable absolutes, includes the cognizer, the cognized, and the cognition, and is both matter and spirit, subject and object; all egos and non-egos are included within it.

From the zero emanate an infinite number of cosmic Ones or monads. Every absolute is not only the hierarch of its own hierarchy, the One from which all subsequent differentiations emanate, but is also a cosmic jivanmukta, a released monad freed from the pull of the lower planes. Every monad at the threshold of paranirvana reassumes its primeval essence and becomes at one with the absolute of its own hierarchy once more. The absolute is thus the goal of evolution as well as the source, the highest divinity or Silent Watcher of the hierarchy of compassion, which forms the light side of a universe or cosmic hierarchy.

(See also: Absolute , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

 Indus Valley Civilization (ca. 4000-1,500 BC): an advanced civilization in ancient India concurrent with the Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations. Numerous sites of ruins lie along the Indus River in present-day Pakistan.

(See also:  Indus Valley Civilization , Hinduism, Yoga, Body Mind and Soul)

Akkadians, Accadians A non-Semitic race which preceded the Semites in Babylonia, evidence for whom is mainly found in some of the cuneiform inscriptions. The name comes from the city of Agade, the capital of Sargon I. Blavatsky says in The Secret Doctrine that the Akkadians were not Turanian, but were emigrants from India and were the Aryan instructors of the later Babylonians. There is an Akkadian Genesis, which stands in the line of descent leading to the Biblical Genesis.

The ethnology of the ancient peoples inhabiting Mesopotamia is extremely obscure. The records of occult history show that in a previous geological period, all that portion of western and central-western Asia, which includes Persia, Babylonia, Turkestan, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, etc., was once a highly fertile and well-populated portion of the earth's surface, not only bearing once famous and brilliant civilizations, but likewise the seat of different peoples living side by side.

When immense climatic and geological changes took place, this vast stretch of territory became the seeding-place or focus whence spread to the east, south, and west various emigrant offshoots which populated what were then less fertile territories, which in time became on the one hand northern India, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Turkestan, and on the southwest Iran, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus district.

It was far later that a reverse current of emigration left what is now northern India and proceeded westward settling to a certain extent in the lands of their ancient forefathers, and this accounts not only for the similarities between the west and east of this district, but the Indian influence perceptible in Mesopotamia and the close linguistic and other links that existed between the ancient Zoroastrians and the Brahmanical streams of thought.

(See also: Akkadians, Accadians , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

ashrama: the four orders or stages of a Hindu's life—brahmacharya (student), grhastha (householder), vanaprastha (forest-dweller), sannyasa (renunciate).

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

Bal Gangadar Tilak (1856-1920): One of India's first prominent nationalist leaders. His efforts towards India's total independence earned him the title of Lokamanya, “Respected of the people.”His efforts were rewarded by a term of six years (1897-1902) in British prisons in India. He developed the ideas of passive resistance, boycotting of British goods, organization of mass opinion, and other political tactics that were later adopted by Mahatma Gandhi. Because of his words, “Swaraj [self-rule] is my birthright,”he has been called the Patrick Henry of India.

(See also: Bal Gangadar Tilak , Hinduism, Yoga, Body Mind and Soul)

monsoon: seasonal rain-bearing winds that inundate most India with rains from June 10 to September 10 each year, except the southeast coast, which has rains from late November through January.

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

Sanskrit: that which is well, or completely, done. The oldest language of mankind; the language of the original Hindu scriptures, developed for the communication of spiritual ideas and concepts, not for dealing with worldly or mundane concerns.

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

tapas: to shine, blaze or converge inner heat. Austerities on the physical level include yoga postures; on the mental level, consistent concentration; on the intellectual level, applying the concentration and thought to a divine ideal.

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

Ramakrishna, Sri (1836-1886): A Bengali sage who accepted and demonstrated the essential unity of all religions. He was the Guru of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda and other founders of the Ramakrishna Mission.

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

Arya Samaj: Society of Aryans, founded in 1875 by the north Indian Swami Dayanand. He aimed to transform Hinduism from within by removing such extraneous, and often difficult to rationalize, elements as the Puranas, the epics that tell of the exploits of the various deities.

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