A Theosophical definition of Avalokitesvara :

Avalokitesvara

(Sanskrit) A compound word: avalokita, "perceived," "seen"; Isvara, "lord"; hence "the Lord who is perceived or cognized," i.e., the spiritual entity, whether in the kosmos or in the human being, whose influence is perceived and felt; the higher self.

This is a term commonly employed in Buddhism, and concerning which a number of intricate and not easily understood teachings exist. The esoteric or occult interpretation, however, sees in Avalokitesvara what Occidental philosophy calls the Third Logos, both celestial and human. In the solar system it is the Third Logos thereof; and in the human being it is the higher self, a direct and active ray of the divine monad.

Technically Avalokitesvara is the dhyani-bodhisattva of Amitabha-Buddha  - Amitabha-Buddha is the kosmic divine monad of which the dhyani-bodhisattva is the individualized spiritual ray, and of this latter again the manushya-buddha or human buddha is a ray or offspring.

See also: Avalokitesvara , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

Reincarnation Reimbodiment; specifically reinfleshment, the repeated imbodiment of the reincarnating ego in vehicles of human flesh on this earth. The unexhausted desire for earth-life draws the ego back to this globe, where it gathers to itself the material for a reincarnation and thus is finally born from a human womb. The process is repeated almost numberless times until the evolution of the inspiriting monad has reached a stage when reincarnation is no longer required. The interval between successive incarnations may be roughly estimated at 100 times the length of the preceding earth-life -- a rule obviously subject to many exceptions.

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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.

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Agent, Universal. See PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

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Ah-hi (Senzar) A group or class of celestial or spiritual beings known in different countries under various names: dhyani-chohans, angels or angelic hosts, 'elohim, the Greek minor logoi, etc. Vehicles for the manifestation of cosmic mind and will, they are "the collective hosts of spiritual beings" through which the universal mind comes into action.

"They are the Intelligent Forces that give to and enact in Nature her 'laws,' while themselves acting according to laws imposed upon them in a similar manner by still higher Powers; but they are not 'the personifications' of the power of Nature, as erroneously thought" (SD 1:38). During pralaya "Universal Mind was not, for there were no Ah-hi to contain it," no celestial beings to manifest mind (Stanzas of Dzyan 1:3).

Commenting on this, Blavatsky describes the Ah-hi as entities who "being on the highest plane, reflect the universal mind collectively at the first flutter of Manvantara. After which they begin the work of evolution of all the lower forces throughout the seven planes, down to the lowest -- our own. The Ah-hi are the primordial seven rays, or Logoi, emanated from the first Logos, triple, yet one in its essence. . . .

"Like all other Hierarchies, on the highest plane they are arupa, i.e., formless, bodiless, without any substance, mere breaths. On the second plane, they first approach to Rupa, or form. On the third, they become Manasa-putras, those who became incarnated in men. With every plane they reach they are called by different names . . ." (TBL 17, 20-21).

(See also: Ah-hi, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Abif, Hiram. See HIRAM ABIF

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Abhimanyu (Sanskrit) (from abhi towards + the verbal root man to think)

Son of Arjuna by Subhadra, sister of Krishna. In the mystic interpretation of the Bhagavad-Gita, Abhimanyu represents high-mindedness, akin to dhyana (meditation). Abhimanyu killed Duryodhana's son Lakshmana on the second day of the great battle of Kurukshetra, while he himself was slain on the thirteenth day.

The Mahabharata tells of Abhimanyu's previous birth as Varchas, son of Chandra, and the agreement entered into by Chandra with the devas to send his son to be born as the son of Arjuna in order to fight against the "wicked people." Chandra imposed the condition, however, that Abhimanyu should be slain by the opposing forces so as to return to him in his sixteenth year.

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Abhijit (Sanskrit) (from abhi towards + the verbal root ji to conquer)

Sometimes Abhijita. As a noun, a soma sacrifice, a lunar mansion, the principal star in the constellation Lyra, a name of Vishnu, etc. As an adjective, victorious, also referring to one born under the constellation Abhijit.

Equivalent to aghijin-muhurta, the eighth muhurta or period, comprising 24 minutes before and 24 minutes after midday -- an auspicious period; Sankaracharya is said to have been born at this time.

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Acheron (Greek) (probably from achos pain, distress; Etruse Acceruns)

The River of Woe, one of five rivers surrounding Hades. The others were Cocytus (river of wailing), Styx (the hateful), Pyriphlegethon (the fiery), and Lethe (forgetfulness).

In later traditions, a son of the sun (Helios) and Demeter who supplied the titans with drink when they were fighting against Zeus, and was therefore transformed into a river of the underworld. These rivers have reference to the circulations of the universe, and in this connection the ancient Greeks and Romans had certain mystical rites relating to the "deification" of souls after death and their passage into other spheres.

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A E I O V These five vowels (V is the classic U) were often inscribed on Roman temples, after the manner of the Greeks, who recorded the number of the root-races in their temples "by the seven vowels, of which five were framed in a panel in the Initiation halls of the Adyta" (SD 2:458).

These five vowels have the same essential meaning as the Oeaohoo of The Secret Doctrine. They are symbolic of the seven kosmic breathings of the universal spirit or primal logos; in other words, of the seven kosmic original fires or energies whose breathings throughout the universe are the life or streams of lives which form the background of the universe.

Consonants were mystically considered to be the vehicles of sounds or breathings or "voices" which were the vowels. Consonants gave the vowels body, in the same way as spirit expresses itself through the rigid structural framework of entities. "The manner of pronunciation depends on the accent. This is an esoteric term for the six in one or the mystic seven. The occult name for the 'seven-vowelled' ever-present manifestation of the Universal Principle" (TG 239).

These five- or seven-voweled voices, sounds, or breathings also represent the seven fundamental fires or energies of the human constitution. All ancient mystical schools had their own way of viewing and explaining these vowels.

(See also: A E I O V, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Adi-budha (Sanskrit) (from adi first + budh wisdom)

Primordial wisdom; the first or nameless deity (SD 1:xix, 54n; 2:48)

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Adi-buddha (Sanskrit) (from adi first, original + the verbal root budh to awaken, perceive, know)

First or primeval buddha; the supreme being above all other buddhas and bodhisattvas in the later Mahayana Buddhism of Tibet, Nepal, Java, and Japan. In theosophical writings, the highest aspect or subentity of the supreme Wondrous Being of our universe, existing in the most exalted dharmakaya state.

"In the esoteric, and even exoteric Buddhism of the North, Adi-Buddha (Chogi dangpoi sangye), the One unknown, without beginning or end, identical with Parabrahm and Ain-Soph, emits a bright ray from its darkness.

"This is the Logos (the first), or Vajradhara, the Supreme Buddha (also called Dorjechang). As the Lord of all Mysteries he cannot manifest, but sends into the world of manifestation his heart -- the 'diamond heart,' Vajrasattva (Dorjesempa)" (SD 1:571). Adi-buddha is the individualized monadic focus of adi-buddhi, primordial cosmic wisdom or intelligence, synonymous with mahabuddhi or mahat (universal mind). Otherwise expressed, adi-buddha is the supreme being heading the hierarchy of compassion and our solar universe; the fountain of light running through all subordinate hierarchies and thus the supreme lord and initiator of the wisdom side of our universe.

The Great Brotherhood of the mahatmas on earth, through their chief, the Mahachohan, is the representative on our globe of adi-buddha. Because of this, Tibetan Buddhism recognizes the continuous "reincarnations of Buddha" -- not that Gautama Buddha is thus reimbodied but that adi-buddha through its human ray perpetuates itself by reflection in fit and chosen human beings. As adi-buddha is the individualized divine ideation of our universe, all-permeant and omnipresent, those individuals who raise themselves to become self-consciously at one with a ray from adi-buddha are de facto "reincarnations," greater or minor imbodiments of the cosmic buddha. Adi-buddha manifests through the hierarchy of the celestial buddhas or dhyani-buddhas, these again manifest through the manushya-buddhas and in lesser degree through human individuals who, though great, are inferior to the manushya-buddhas.

(See also: Adi-buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Aditi (Sanskrit) (from a not + diti bound from the verbal root da to bind)

Unbounded, free; as a noun, infinite and shoreless expanse. In the Vedas, Aditi is devamatri (mother of the gods) as from and in her cosmic matrix all the heavenly bodies were born. As the celestial virgin and mother of every existing form and being, the synthesis of all things, she is highest akasa. Aditi is identified in the Rig-Veda with Vach (mystic speech) and also with the mulaprakriti of the Vedanta. As the womb of space, she is a feminized form of Brahma. The line in the Rig-Veda: "Daksha sprang from Aditi and Aditi from Daksha" has reference to "the eternal cyclic re-birth of the same divine Essence" (SD 2:247n). In one of its most mystic aspects Aditi is divine wisdom.

Aditi has correspondences in many ancient religions: the highest Sephirah in the Zohar; the Gnostic Sophia-Achamoth; Rhea, mother of the Greek Olympians; Bythos or the great Deep; Amba; Surarani; Chaos; Waters of Space; Primordial Light; and the source of the Egyptian seven heavens. Sometimes she is linked with the Greek Gaia, goddess of earth, to denote dual nature or the mother of both the spiritual and physical: Aditi, cosmic expanse or space being the mother of all things; and Gaia, mother of earth and, on the larger scale, of all objective nature (cf SD 2:65, 269).

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

Aditattva (Sanskrit) (from adi first + tattva thatness, essence)

Original principle; used in theosophical literature to denote the first or highest of seven tattvas or principles in the descending arc of nature's structure; in the numeration of the kosmic principles aditattva corresponds to the First Logos.

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Aditi-Vach aditi-vac (Sanskrit) (from aditi unbounded + vach speech, voice from the verbal root vach to speak, utter)

The cosmic Logos considered in its feminine aspect as the veil surrounding the evolving cosmic monad. "These feminine Logoi are all correlations, in their noumenal aspect, of Lights, and Sound, and Ether . . . " (SD 1:431).

(See also: Aditi-Vach, aditi-vac, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Adivamsa (Sanskrit) (from adi primeval, first + vamsa lineage, race)

The first race; used in the Mahabharata for the primeval race, the original family.

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Adityas (Sanskrit) (belonging to, issuing from aditi unbounded expanse)

Son of Aditi, space; in the Vedas a name for the sun; also referred to variously as five, seven, eight, and twelve in number. The eighth aditya (Marttanda) was rejected by Aditi, leaving seven son-suns, each manifesting a particular solar energy (cf RV 10, 72, 8-9). " 'The Seven allow the mortals to see their dwellings, but show themselves only to the Arhats,' says an old proverb, 'their dwellings' standing here for planets" (SD 1:100).

The Brahmanas and Puranas generally reckon twelve adityas. In a preceding manvantara they were called tushitas, but when the end of the cycle was near they entered the "womb of Aditi, that we may be born in the next Manwantara; for, thereby, we shall again enjoy the rank of gods." Hence in the present seventh manvantara, they are known as adityas (VP 1:15). When the pralaya (dissolution) of the world comes, twelve suns will appear (MB 3:3, 26; Dict Hind 3). The twelve adityas are the twelve great gods of the Hindu pantheon; also, the twelve signs of the zodiac or twelve months of the year.

The adityas are the sustainers of the solar divine life which exists in all things, and in our present Vaivasvata manvantara they are the divine solar pitris (fathers) -- not the lower or lunar pitris -- which incarnated in early humanity. "The wise call our fathers Vasus; our paternal grandfathers Rudras, our paternal great grandfathers, Adityas . . . " (Manu 3:284).

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Adivarsha (Sanskrit) adivarsa (from adi primordial, first + varsha a division of the earth from the verbal root vrish to rain, pour forth)

The first land; used for the "Eden of the first Races" of humanity (SD 2:201).

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Aditi-prakriti (Sanskrit) (from aditi unbounded + prakriti nature from pra forth + the verbal root kri to do, make)

Spiritual-physical nature; Father-Mother before it appeared in space, the universal matrix of kosmos personified in the dual character of the universe or of man. Aditi signifies infinity personified as a goddess; prakriti, nature considered as the evolver or producer in its original condition.

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Adisakti (Sanskrit) (from adi first + sakti power, energy)

Primeval power; the divine force or direct energic emanation from mulaprakriti, hence the feminine aspect or clothing of any spiritually formative potency. Personified in the Hindu pantheon as the consort of a divinity, every divinity having its own sakti or formative power-substance. Also a name for maya, significant because illusion begins with manifestation (SD 1:10).

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