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Hinduism Dictionary - L

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Also see these pages:

Hinduism Dictionary , Buddhism Dictionary, Spiritual Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary , Parapsychology Dictionary, Paganism Dictionary,  Mysticism Dictionary , Theosophy Dictionary , Alternative Health Dictionary ,

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Vipassana Meditation: The practice of the sound current in Vipassana meditation, also known as the divine sound, is a foundational practice of linking directly with the soul and I AM Presence. It comes from the Himalayan masters of ancient India, and is a foundation for the practice of nada yoga, sahaj yoga, Babaji’s kriya yoga, as well as Sikh practices like shabda yoga.

Read more here: » Vipassana Meditation: The Sound Current and Vipassana Meditation

Kundalini, Creation and Spiritual Evolution

Kundalini is the divine energy. She manifests both in the cosmic form, encompassing all of creation, and in the personal form. God creates the universe by producing subtle energies in an act of divine will. This can be compared to the process wherein sparks are generated from a single source of fire. The individual manifestation of Kundalini is like a spark of cosmic Kundalini.

Read more here: » Kundalini Maha Yoga: Kundalini Creation and Spiritual Evolution

Sundarkand forms part of Ramcharitmanas of Goswami Tulsidas which is commonly known as Tulsi Ramayana. It is the essence of the Ramcharitmanas, and is awarded as much importance as the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata.

Like the Gita, the Sundarkand can be read independently. It has a powerful theme: When you are on a good mission, God gives you strength to overcome all obstacles. Sundarkand commences with Hanuman’s departure for Lanka in search of Sita and ends with Rama and his army’s preparation to reach Lanka across the sea. This entire episode is called sundar or beautiful because every act described in it is auspicious, elevating the human mind and promoting right human values.

(See also: Sundarkand , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Sundarkand: All’s Well That Ends Well - Sundarkand  

Buddhist Quotes: Wandering in Samsara

Owing to worldly beliefs, which he is free to accept or reject, a person wanders in Samsara. Therefore, practicing the Dharma, freed from every attachment, grasp the whole essence of these teachings.

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(See also: Buddhism Archives, Buddhist Quotes, Inspirational Quotes, Love Quotes, Friendship Quotes, Life Quotes)

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Katha Upanishad: (Sanskrit) One of the major Upanishads, belonging to the Taittiriya Brahmana of the Yajur Veda. This scripture contains the famous story of Nachiketas who extracts from Yama, Lord of Death, the knowledge of liberation to be had through realization of the Supreme.

(See also: Katha Upanishad , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary

Scriptures by themselves cannot make a person enlightened. They give knowledge, not wisdom. But the Ashtavakra Gita is different. This scripture negates every facet of life, except supreme consciousness.

Sage Ashtavakra says to Janaka: "My son, you recite or listen to countless scriptures, but you will not be established within until you can forget everything"(16.1). He stresses the import of knowing one's own self. A person may quote extensively from the Bhagavad Gita or the Upanishads. But only through self-knowledge can he even begin to discover the stainless truth.

(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Life and Death: All that Exists is Total Awareness

Cry from the Cross The cry of the expiring Jesus -- given in the Gospels as "Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani" (Matt 27:46) (in Mark it is Eloi)

; translated in Greek "Theemou, Theemou, hinati me 'egkatelipes"; and then translated into English as "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" -- is a curious instance of mistranslation, for the Hebrew words as quoted mean, "My God, my God, how thou hast glorified me!" On the other hand, Psalms 22:1 has the words, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" but here the Hebrew for forsaken is `azabtani (forsaken me).

There seems to have been a desire to represent the cry from the cross as a fulfillment of these words of Psalms. What Jesus really uttered, according to the Hebrew, was a cry of ecstasy over the peace of attainment, clarification, and liberation. The cry in Psalms is that of the candidate for initiation left to his unaided resources, to achieve or fail by them and them alone -- which is the only fair and certain test of ability.

(See also: Cry from the Cross , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary

Mukti - liberation from material existence.

There are five types of liberation:

·      sarupya (obtaining the same form as Bhagavan) ,

·      samipya (living in close proximity to Bhagavan) ,

·      salokya (living on the same planet as Bhagavan) ,

·      sarsti (having the same opulence as Bhagavan) , and

·      sayujya (becoming one with Sri Bhagavan either by merging into His body or by merging into His brahma effulgence).

The last type is vehemently rejected by the bhaktas.

Although the other four types of mukti are sometimes accepted by bhaktas as they are not entirely incompatible with bhakti, they are never accepted by those who are fixed on attaining unalloyed love for Sri Krsna in Vraja.

(See also: Mukti , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary

The Sanskrit word 'yoga' is derived from the root verb yuj, which means union. The supreme union of individual mind and cosmic mind is yoga. In his Yogasutras , Patanjali advocated the eight-fold path of astanga yoga . Its eight limbs are: yama (self-restraint), niyama (life-regulating moral rules and observances), asana (postures of bodily restfulness), pranayama (breath control), pratyahar (withdrawal of senses), dharana (fixing the mind on the Supreme), dhyana (absorption of self), and samadhi (liberation of the soul).

Read more here: » Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Supreme Union of Body, Mind, Soul with the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

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.

(See also: Bhakti yoga , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary

The word God combines with the five material elements or tatvas to constitute the body, which is an equipment of action without cause. The inert material elements are imbued with the faculties of feeling, thought and action through the organs of the body.

Consequently, assumption of doership, ego and duality arise in this state. This intellect tends to oscillate between sublime consciousness and materialism. This conflict, antar-dhvan , continues till the intellect settles down in a state of reintegration, which is samta in its unmodified source - utter sublime consciousness.

(See also: Samta , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Samta: Reach Intellectual Bliss with Samta  

Bardo (Tibetan) (from bar between + do two)

Between two; generally a gap, interval, or intermediate state, especially the state between two births. The term has become known in the West through the Bar do thos sgrol (bar-do tho-dol), "Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo," translated by W. Y. Evans-Wentz as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. According to the Bardo Thodol, there are six such "intervals": the bardo of birth, the bardo of dreams, the bardo of samadhi (meditation), the bardo of the moment before death, the bardo of dharmata, and the bardo of becoming.

The Bardo Thodol describes the last three of these, and is recited in the presence of the deceased believed to be experiencing these states, usually for a total period of 49 days. It is believed that the teaching contained in the text can enable the deceased to attain liberation while in the bardo states, or at least to attain the best possible rebirth.

Bardo is used in Tibet to refer to the many events and experiences undergone by the excarnate human being after death, generally considered to last from physical death until the next rebirth or reincarnation, though it is somewhat shorter than this. Since this period "may last from a few years to a kalpa" (ML 105), the bardo has more than the meaning commonly understood by the Tibetan populace which includes the time passed by the excarnate entity in kama-loka, in the intermediate or gestation period in which the entity is preparing for its birth into devachan, and the period of ineffable bliss and peace (illusory as it may be from the standpoint of reality) passed by the entity in the devachanic state itself. It also includes the later intermediate period -- usually carefully veiled from common knowledge -- existent between the ending of devachan and the rebirth of the reincarnating ego.

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary

Bhakti is founded in a spirit of universal fellowship and poetry is one more expression of this same fellowship. The verses of Mirabai, Tulsidas, Kabir, Ravidas and Tukaram are quoted frequently by people from all strata of life. Their poetry expresses concern about life: its difficulties, the loneliness, hypocrisy and pain. The bhakti poets seek God's help to sustain them on this difficult journey. So even today, through their poetry, the bhakti saints continue to influence our daily lives.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Universal Fellowship Through Bhakti Marga

Four Noble Truths: The essential teaching of early Buddhism. According to tradition, after attaining enlightenment, the Buddha proclaimed his liberating insight into the nature of existence in his first sermon through the topic of the Four Noble Truths:

¥ 1. Suffering, declares the nature of all phenomena comprising ordinary unenlightened experience as suffering, impermanent, and lacking in any enduring or substantial self or essence.

¥ 2. The Origin of Suffering, states that suffering has a cause, namely, craving.

¥ 3. The Cessation of Suffering, asserts that despite the fact of universal suffering in a totally conditioned universe proclaimed by the first two truths, there is liberation through the Cessation of Suffering, which is the nirvana, experienced by the Buddha.

¥ 4. The Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering, proclaims that this liberation is accessible to all who follow the way set forth by the Buddha.

(See also: Four Noble Truths , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary

Gyana Yoga:

The system of yoga emphasizing the pathway of liberation through meticulous enquiry into the Truth behind all forms; yogic path for liberation via enquiry and understanding of True Knowledge and Wisdom.

(See also: Gyana Yoga , Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary

Four Noble Truths

The essential teaching of early Buddhism.

According to tradition, after attaining enlightenment, the Buddha proclaimed his liberating insight into the nature of existence in his first sermon through the topic of the Four Noble Truths.

The first truth (Suffering) declares the nature of all phenomena comprising ordinary unenlightened experience as suffering, impermanent, and lacking in any enduring or substantial self or essence.

The second truth (the Origin of Suffering) states that suffering has a cause, namely, craving. Within this truth is subsumed the fundamental doctrine of conditioning, or dependent origination, which operates both generally and in the moral arena of reward and retribution through transmigration.

The third truth (the Cessation of Suffering) asserts that despite the fact of universal suffering in a totally conditioned universe proclaimed by the first two truths, there is liberation through the Cessation of Suffering, which is the nirvana, experienced by the Buddha.

The fourth truth (the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering) proclaims that this liberation is accessible to all who follow the way set forth by the Buddha. The fourth truth inaugurates Buddhism as a religion and is the legitimation and touchstone for all Buddhist practice.

(See also: Four Noble Truths , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary

Sankara's views on advaita are best encapsulated in the classic line from his Brahma-Sutra Bhasya: "Brahma satyam jagat mithya, Jiva brahmaiva naparah - the Brahma alone is real, the world illusory, the individual and universal soul are one."

Using everyday references to illustrate advaitic concepts, the Atmabodha, set in 68 verses, seeks to put the abstruse philosophy of the Brahma-Sutras within easy reach of the average person. Sankara begins by stating that the Atmabodha will serve as a primer to those desirous of liberation, equipped with the tools of discernment and renunciation.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: Atamabodha - Path of Self-Enquiry

According to the Hindu view of creation, it was sound and not light that appeared first. In Vedic parlance it is called Nada Brahma or the Sound Celestial. Vedic rishis believed that the evolution of the Brahmand or universe was caused as a result of Bindu Visphot or an atomic explosion, that produced infinite waves of sound, which represent cosmicascent and expansion.

The sound was a monosyllable: Om . Since Om is related to the beginning of the universe, Hindus consider it the most sacred syllable with which Vedic mantras commence.

(See also: Sangeet Marga , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Sangeet Marga: Sangeet Marga - Path To Moksha  

The word Kundalini is a familiar one to all students of Yoga, as it is well known as the power, in the form of a coiled serpent, residing in Muladhara Chakra, the first of the seven Chakras, the other six being Svadhishthana, Manipuraka, Anahata, Visuddha, Ajna and Sahasrara, in order.
Excerpt from the book Kundalini Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Kundalini and Yoga: Kundalini in different yoga philosophies

Sri Madhvacharya, the 13th century dvaita philosopher, is believed to have his divine origin from Mukhyaprana or Vayu, who had in earlier yugas been born as Hanuman, the attendant of Lord Rama and Bhimasena, celebrated in the Mahabharata as the mightiest man, the destroyer of asuras born as kings.

Sri Madhva was a dualist who believed in the verity of God, jeeva and matter existing eternally as distinct entities. His philosophy is a realistic and theistic philosophy. He advocated an active life emphasising duty, devotion and dedication.

(See also: Sri Madhvacharya , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Sri Madhvacharya: Madhva Siddhant - Bhakti and Gnana  

Jivan-mukti:

Jivan-mukti ("living liberation"): the state of liberation while being embodied; cf. videha-mukti

(See also: Jivan-mukti ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

For more dictionary entries, see » Liberation Dictionary