evil: That which is bad, morally wrong, causing harm, pain, misery. In Western religions, evil is often thought of as a moral antagonism to God. This force is the source of sin and is attached to the soul from its inception.

Whereas, for Hindus, evil is not a conscious, dark force, such as Satan. It is situational rather than ontological, meaning it has its basis in relative conditions, not in ultimate reality. Evil (badness, corruption) springs from ignorance (avidya) and immaturity. Nor is one fighting with God when he is evil, and God is not standing in judgment. Within each soul, and not external to it, resides the principle of judgment of instinctive-intellectual actions. God, who is ever compassionate, blesses even the worst sinner, the most depraved asura, knowing that individual will one day emerge from lower consciousness into the light of love and understanding.

Hindus hold that evil, known in Sanskrit as papa, papman or dushta, is the result of unvirtuous acts (papa or adharma) caused by the instinctive-intellectual mind dominating and obscuring deeper, spiritual intelligence. (Note: both papa and papman are used as nouns and adjectives.) The evil-doer is viewed as a young soul, ignorant of the value of right thought, speech and action, unable to live in the world without becoming entangled in maya. -

intrinsic evil: Inherent, inborn badness. Some philosophies hold that man and the world are by nature imperfect, corrupt or evil. Hinduism holds, on the contrary, that there is no intrinsic evil, and the real nature of man is his divine, soul nature, which is goodness.

See: hell, karma, papa, Satan, sin.

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

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The mind as a separate live entity does not exist, for it is an instrument in the hand of God. The only thing that remains is 'Being', which covers both existence and non-existence, which is beyond words or ideas. Pure awareness dawns through an understanding of one's own nature. The sage's instruction demands no strenuous effort either through physical rigour or austere practices such as chanting.

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

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Seven The fundamental number of manifestation, frequently found in the different cosmogonies as well as in many religious dogmas and observances of the different ancient peoples.

Although ten was called one of the perfect numbers by the Pythagoreans, seven was unique in their series of numbers because it has all the "perfection of the Unit -- the number of numbers. For as absolute unity is uncreated, and impartite (hence number-less) and no number can produce it, so is the seven: no digit contained within the decade can beget or produce it" (SD 2:582). Seven is the number of the manifested universe, while ten or twelve is the number of the unmanifested universe.

Pythagoras taught that seven was composed of the numbers three and four, explaining that "on the plane of the noumenal world, the triangle was, as the first conception of the manifested Deity, its image: 'Father-Mother-Son'; and the Quaternary, the perfect number, was the noumenal, ideal root of all numbers and things on the physical plane" (ibid.). Further, seven was called by the Pythogoreans the vehicle of life for it consisted of body and spirit: the body was held to consist of four principal elements, while the spirit was in manifestation triple, comprising the monad, intellect or essential reason, and mind.

There are innumerable instances of sevening -- the seven days of the week, the seven colors of the spectrum, the seven notes of the musical scale -- while special emphasis is placed upon the seven human and cosmic principles; the seven senses (five senses now in manifestation and two more to be attained in the future through evolutionary unfolding); the seven cosmic elements; the seven root-races and seven subraces; the seven kingdoms, human and below; the seven rounds; the seven lokas and talas; the seven manifested globes of the planetary chain; the seven sacred planets; the seven racial buddhas; the seven dhyani-bodhisattvas and -buddhas; the seven Logoi; etc.

Man as well as nature is called saptaparna (seven-leaved plant), symbolized by the triangle above the square {illust}. While the senary was applied to man in all ranges from the physical to the spiritual, when completed by the atman, thus making the septenary, the latter signified the entire range of the constitution, whether of man or nature, crowned by the immortal spirit.

In Hindu literature the number seven continually appears: the saptarshis (the seven sages), the seven superior and inferior worlds, the seven hosts of deities, the seven holy cities, the seven holy islands, seas, or mountains, the seven deserts, the seven sacred trees, etc. In Greece seven was often connected with the gods and goddesses: Mars had seven attendants, seven was sacred to Pallas Athene and to Phoebus Apollo -- the latter with his seven-stringed lyre playing hymns to septenary nature as well as to the seven-rayed sun; Niobe's seven sons and seven daughters, etc.

Apart from mythological considerations, in physical life manifestations of the number seven occur continuously: "if the mysterious Septenary Cycle is a law in nature, and it is one, as proven; if it is found controlling the evolution and involution (or death) in the realms of entomology, ichthyology and ornithology, as in the Kingdoms of the Animal, mammalia and man -- why cannot it be present and acting in Kosmos, in general, in its natural (though occult) divisions of time, races, and mental development?" (SD 2:623n).

Seven is indeed the sacred number of life, and with the circle and the cross it forms a triad of primordial symbols of the ancient wisdom.

(See also: Seven , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

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shad darshana: (Sanskrit) "Six views or insights; six philosophies."

Among the hundreds of Hindu darshanas known through history are six classical philosophical systems: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta.

Each was tersely formulated in sutra form by its "founder," and elaborated in extensive commentaries by other writers. They are understood as varied attempts at describing Truth and the path to it. Elements of each form part of the Hindu fabric today.

-       Nyaya: "System, rule; logic." A system of logical realism, founded sometime around 300 bce by Gautama, known for its systems of logic and epistemology and concerned with the means of acquiring right knowledge. Its tools of enquiry and rules for argumentation were adopted by all schools of Hinduism.

-       Vaisheshika: "Distinctionism." From "vishesha," differences. Philosophy founded by Kanada (ca 300 bce) teaching that liberation is to be attained through understanding the nature of existence, which is classified in nine basic realities (dravyas): earth, water, light, air, ether, time, space, soul and mind. Nyaya and Vaisheshika are viewed as a complementary pair, with Nyaya emphasizing logic, and Vaisheshika analyzing the nature of the world.

-       Sankhya: "Enumeration, reckoning." A philosophy founded by the sage Kapila (ca 500 bce), author of the Sankhya Sutras. Sankhya is primarily concerned with "categories of existence," tattvas, which it understands as 25 in number. The first two are the unmanifest purusha and the manifest primal nature, prakriti - the male-female polarity, viewed as the foundation of all existence. Prakriti, out of which all things evolve, is the unity of the three gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas. Sankhya and Yoga are considered an inseparable pair whose principles permeate all of Hinduism.

-       See: prakriti, purusha.

-       Yoga: "Yoking; joining." Ancient tradition of philosophy and practice codified by Patanjali (ca 200 bce) in the Yoga Sutras. It is also known as raja yoga, "king of yogas," or ashtanga yoga, "eight-limbed yoga." Its object is to achieve, at will, the cessation of all fluctuations of consciousness, and the attainment of Self Realization. Yoga is wholly dedicated to putting the high philosophy of Hinduism into practice, to achieve personal transformation through transcendental experience, samadhi.

-       See: yoga.

-       Mimamsa: "Inquiry" (or Purva, "early," Mimamsa). Founded by Jaimini (ca 200 bce), author of the Mimamsa Sutras, who taught the correct performance of Vedic rites as the means to salvation.

-       Vedanta (or Uttara "later" Mimamsa): "End (or culmination) of the Vedas." For Vedanta, the main basis is the Upanishads and Aranyakas (the "end," anta, of the Vedas), rather than the hymns and ritual portions of the Vedas. The teaching of Vedanta is that there is one Absolute Reality, Brahman. Man is one with Brahman, and the object of life is to realize that truth through right knowledge, intuition and personal experience. The Vedanta Sutras (or Brahma Sutras) were composed by Rishi Badarayana (ca 400 bce).

See: Brahma Sutra, padartha, tattva, Vedanta, yoga.

(See also: Shad darshana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

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Dreams Interpretation including the meaning of dreams about: Ditch, Dividend, Diving, Divining Rods, Divorce, Docks, Doctor, Dogs, Dolphin, Dome, Dominoes, Donkey, Doomsday, Door, Door Bell, Doves, Dowry, Dragon, Drama, Dram-drinking, Draw-knife, Dressing, Drinking, Driving, Dromedary.

Dream Dictionary Index including links to 10.000 dream interpretations: Dream Dictionary Index

For more dream interpretation, see: Meaning of Dreams or Dream Dictionary

For articles about dreams, see: Dreams

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Nature vs. society. Rousseau saw a fundamental divide between society and human nature. Rousseau contended that man was good by nature, a "noble savage" when in the state of nature (the state of all the "other animals", and the condition humankind was in before the creation of civilization and society), but is corrupted by society. He viewed society as artificial and held that the development of society, especially the growth of social inter ...

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Biography of Rousseau, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Philosophy of Rousseau, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Nature vs. society, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Political theory, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Education, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Religion, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Legacy, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Notes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Major works, Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Online texts

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Basics of Hinduism: Why do Hindus worship the cow?

The cow represents the giving nature of life to every Hindu. Honoring this gentle animal, who gives more than she takes, we honor all creatures.

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Death, Dead People, Death and Dying, Dying

• To dream of seeing any of your people dead, warns you of coming dissolution or sorrow. Disappointments always follow dreams of this nature.
• To hear of any friend or relative being dead, you will soon have bad news from some of them.
• Dreams relating to death or dying, unless they are due to spiritual causes, are misleading and very confusing to the novice in dream lore when he attempts to interpret them. A man who thinks intensely fills his aura with thought or subjective images active with the passions that gave them birth; by thinking and acting on other lines, he may supplant these images with others possessed of a different form and nature. In his dreams he may see these images dying, dead or their burial, and mistake them for friends or enemies. In this way he may, while asleep, see himself or a relative die, when in reality he has been warned that some good thought or deed is to be supplanted by an evil one. To illustrate: If it is a dear friend or relative whom he sees in the agony of death, he is warned against immoral or other improper thought and action, but if it is an enemy or some repulsive object dismantled in death, he may overcome his evil ways and thus give himself or friends cause for joy. Often the end or beginning of suspense or trials are foretold by dreams of this nature. They also frequently occur when the dreamer is controlled by imaginary states of evil or good. A man in that state is not himself, but is what the dominating influences make him. He may be warned of approaching conditions or his extrication from the same. In our dreams we are closer to our real self than in waking life. The hideous or pleasing incidents seen and heard about us in our dreams are all of our own making, they reflect the true state of our soul and body, and we cannot flee from them unless we drive them out of our being by the use of good thoughts and deeds, by the power of the spirit within us.
• [53] See Meaning of Dreams about Corpse.

Source: 10 000 Dream Interpretations, by Gustavus Hindman Miller

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Death , Dreams - Meaning of Dream about Death , Dream Interpretation Death )

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Shentong view, also sometimes called “Yogacara Madhyamika,” is a philosophical sub-school found in Tibetan Buddhism, holding that the nature of mind is "empty of other" (i.e., empty of all qualities other than an inherent, ineffable nature), in contrast to the “Rangtong” view of Prasangika Madhyamika, which holds that all phenomena are unequivocally empty of self-nature, without positing anything beyond that. According to Shentong, the emptiness of ultimate reality should not be characterized in the same way as the emptiness o ...

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• Shentong - History
• Shentong - View
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Reality in everyday usage means "everything that exists." The term "Reality," in its most liberal sense, includes everything that is, whether or not it is observable, accessible or understandable by science, philosophy, theology or any other system of analysis. Reality in this sense may include both being and nothingness, whereas "existence" is often restricted to being. (Compare with nature). In the strict sense of European-German philosophy, there are levels or gradation to the nature and conception of reality. These levels include, from the most subjective to the most rigorous: Phenomenological reality ...

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• Reality - Phenomenological reality
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Hells are not imaginary fiction as ordinarily conceived of by the modern rationalistic mind. The empiricist believes only in experience of sense-contact and feels himself unable to rise above the dictates of the intellect. But it does not mean that man has reason to overlook facts beyond his comprehension

This is an excerpt from the book What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Lokas Or Planes: Hell Or Naraka

I.N.R.I.

The message affixed to X's crown of thorns, conventionally translated as Iesus Nazareth Rex Iudorum, but also "I Never Risk Inquiry." as well as Igni Natura Renovatur Integra ("All of Nature is Renewed by Fire") or Igne Regenerando Integrat ("...integrates in regenerating by fire"), and "Iron Nails Ran In." Also: Ingenio Numen Resplendet Iacchi ("The True God is Iacchus" (Dionysos)) and Isis Naturae Regina Ineffabilis ("Isis, Ineffable Queen of Nature"). Then there are In Nepenthe Revolvit Ixion ("Ixion Spins in Nepenthe") and Id Numquam Rogat Iterim ("The Id never asks the way.") Finally, Ipsum Nomen Res Ipsa ("The Name itself is the Thing itself"). Freemasonry supplies two more variations: Igne Nitrum Roris Invenitur and the Hebrew Iammim Nour Rouah Iabescheh ("Water, Fire, Wind, Arid"). If Fire is the Will, then when we say "Nature is renewed by Fire," we mean that the Will alone has control over the universe.

(See also: I.N.R.I. , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

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The Oneness Festival and The World University of Consciousness is arranged as a joint venture between a team of people in the west, with the headquarters in Sweden, and the Golden Age Foundation in India.

The Golden Age Foundation is a non-profit spiritual Institution. The Institution is born in India and is well known as Kalki Dharma.

Read more here: » Enlightenment: Presentation of The Golden Age Foundation

Biodiversity or biological diversity is the diversity of and in living nature. There are a number of definitions and measures of biodiversity. Biodiversity - Etymology. Biodiversity is a neologism and a portmanteau word, from bio and diversity. The term biological diversity was coined by Thomas Lovejoy in 1980, while the word biodiversity itself was coined by the entomologist E. O. Wilson in 1986, in a report for the first American Forum on biological diversity organized b ...

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• Biodiversity - Biodiversity definitions
• Biodiversity - Origin of life and biodiversity evolution
• Biodiversity - Benefits of biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Ecological role of biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Economic role of biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Ethical role of biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Scientific role of biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Evaluation of biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Measurement of biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Biodiversity: time and space
• Biodiversity - Species inventory
• Biodiversity - Hotspots of biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Threats to biodiversity
• Biodiversity - Biodiversity management: conservation preservation and protection
• Biodiversity - Juridical status of biological diversity
• Biodiversity - Biodiversity and size bias
• Biodiversity - Quotes from Sean Nee
• Biodiversity - Measures of biodiversity

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In biology, senescence is the combination of processes of deterioration which follow the period of development of an organism. For the science of the care of the elderly, see gerontology; for experimental gerontology, see life extension. The word senescence is derived from the Latin word senex, meaning "old man" or "old age." Cellular senescence is the phenomenon where cells lose the ability to divide. In response to DNA damage (including shortened telomeres) cells either senesce or self-destruct (apoptosis ...

Including:

• Aging senescence - Theories of aging
• Aging senescence - Evolutionary theories
• Aging senescence - Gene regulation
• Aging senescence - Cellular senescence
• Aging senescence - Chemical damage
• Aging senescence - Reliability theory
• Aging senescence - Neuro-endocrine-immunological theories
• Aging senescence - Miscellaneous

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Geotriinae Mordaciinae Petromyzontinae A lamprey is a jawless fish with a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth, with which most species bore into the flesh of other fishes to suck their blood. In zoology, lampreys are not considered to be true fish because of their vastly different morphology and physiology. Lamprey - Physical description. Lampreys live mostly in coastal and fresh waters, although at least one species, Geotria australis, probably travels significant dis ...

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• Lamprey - Relation to humans

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The word wilderness is derived from the notion of wildness, in other words that which is not controllable by humans. The word's etymology is from the Old English wildeornes, which in turn derives from wildeor meaning wild beast (wild + deor = beast, deer) (The Collins English Dictionary, 2000). From this point of view, it is the wildness of a place that makes it a wilderness. The mere presence or activity of people does not disqualify an area from wilderness status. Many wilderness areas have historically b ...

See also:

Wilderness, Wilderness - Definition, Wilderness - History, Wilderness - Accessibility

Read more here: » Wilderness: Encyclopedia II - Wilderness - Definition

1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. 1998 - Events. January 1998 - A massive ice storm, caused by El Niño, strikes New England, southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and a number of deaths. January 1 - Smoking is banned in all California bars and restaurants. January 2 - Russia begins to circulate new rubl ...

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• 1998 - Events
• 1998 - February
• 1998 - March
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• 1998 - May
• 1998 - June
• 1998 - July
• 1998 - August
• 1998 - September
• 1998 - October
• 1998 - November
• 1998 - December
• 1998 - Unknown Dates
• 1998 - Births
• 1998 - Deaths
• 1998 - January-February
• 1998 - March-July
• 1998 - August-December
• 1998 - Unknown date
• 1998 - Nobel Prizes
• 1998 - Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel
• 1998 - Fields Medalists
• 1998 - Templeton Prize

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1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. 1994 - Events. January 1 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect January 1 - Zapatista Army of National Liberation begins war in Chiapas, Mexico January 1 - Bantustans join South Africa January 6 - Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the right leg by an assailant under orders from figure skating rival ...

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• 1994 - Events
• 1994 - February
• 1994 - March
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• 1994 - June
• 1994 - July
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• 1994 - September
• 1994 - October
• 1994 - November
• 1994 - December
• 1994 - Births
• 1994 - Deaths
• 1994 - January
• 1994 - February-April
• 1994 - May-October
• 1994 - November-December
• 1994 - Nobel Prizes
• 1994 - Fields Medalists
• 1994 - Templeton Prize
• 1994 - Right Livelihood Award

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1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. 1991 - Events. 1991 - January. January 2 - Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance. January 4 - The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously to condemn Israel's treatment of Palestinians. January 10 - SA State Govt forced to bail out State Bank. January 11 - The S ...

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• 1991 - Events
• 1991 - January
• 1991 - February
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• 1991 - June
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• 1991 - August
• 1991 - September
• 1991 - October
• 1991 - November
• 1991 - December
• 1991 - Undated events
• 1991 - Births
• 1991 - Deaths
• 1991 - January-February
• 1991 - March-May
• 1991 - June-December
• 1991 - Nobel Prizes
• 1991 - Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

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ORGANISM

Whitehead's vision (as shared by Shaw in Back to Methuselah) that life pervades nature, not as Bergson's "vitalism" did (by squeezing into matter osmotically from outside), but by definition: Nature is alive: "bodies" are alive, and the mind is more alive still. All nature (including inorganic matter) is a single organism, one living body composed of biological cells (that is, events). This is not hylism, on the contrary, but pneumism or spiritism.

(See also: ORGANISM , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

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"Reality," the concept, is contrasted with a wide variety of other concepts, largely depending upon the intellectual discipline. It can help to understand what we mean by "reality" to note what we say is not real. In philosophy, reality is contrasted with nonexistence (e.g., unicorns do not exist; so they are not real) and mere possibility (a mountain made of gold is merely possible, but is not real) unless they are discovered. Sometimes philosophers speak as though reality is contrasted with existence itself, though ordinary l ...

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Reality, Reality - Simple reality, Reality - Phenomenological reality, Reality - Truth, Reality - Fact, Reality - Axiom, Reality - What reality might not be, Reality - Reality world views and theories of reality, Reality - Philosophical views of reality

Read more here: » Reality: Encyclopedia II - Reality - What reality might not be