In India we must be grateful that the core beliefs, theoretical rigour and application of the Vaastu Shastras are still available, though in a depleted form. From the study of texts, dialogues with practitioners and field application of the concepts I have been able to reconstruct the overview of the Vaastu Shilpa Shastras and give a guideline for present day application. There is a great deal of resistance and deep feelings of distrust from the trained designers in the 'modern institutes� toward the assumptions and symbolism of the traditional paradigm. It is almost as if they feel threatened that their hegemony would be displaced. Are their fears valid? Is the basis of the Vaastu Shastras questionable in its present day application? Is it a meaningless mumbo jumbo in the 'scientific� climate of today?

Read more here: » Vaastu Shastra: Reinterpreting Vaastu

The teachings of Sankara can be summed up in half a verse: Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; this world is unreal; and the Jiva or the individual soul is non-different from Brahman.

The Advaita taught by Sri Sankara is a rigorous, absolute one. According to Sri Sankara, whatever is, is Brahman. Brahman Itself is absolutely homogeneous. All difference and plurality are illusory.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedanta Schools: The Advaita Philosophy Of Sri Sankara

Samkhya Nyaya Vaisheshika Yoga Purva Mimamsa Advaita Vedanta Vishishtadvaita Dvaita Carvaka Jain Buddhist Logic Advaita Vedanta - Three levels of Truth. The transcendental or the Pāramārthika level in which Brahman is the only reality and nothing else; The pragmatic or the Vyāva ...

See also:

Advaita Vedanta, Advaita Vedanta - Adi Sankara: The Pillar of Advaita, Advaita Vedanta - Salient Features of Advaitism, Advaita Vedanta - Three levels of Truth, Advaita Vedanta - Brahman, Advaita Vedanta - Māyā, Advaita Vedanta - God, Advaita Vedanta - Atman, Advaita Vedanta - Salvation, Advaita Vedanta - Other points, Advaita Vedanta - Are the world and God wholly false?, Advaita Vedanta - Status of the world, Advaita Vedanta - Status of God, Advaita Vedanta - Status of ethics, Advaita Vedanta - Shankara's theory of creation, Advaita Vedanta - Comparison with the Buddhist school of Shunyavada, Advaita Vedanta - Adi Sankara's thoughts in a summary, Advaita Vedanta - The Impact of Advaita, Advaita Vedanta - Advaita and Science, Advaita Vedanta - Important Books and Figures of Advaita Vedanta, Advaita Vedanta - Mahavakya, Advaita Vedanta - Founders & key texts, Advaita Vedanta - Demigods Sages and Saints of Advaitins, Advaita Vedanta - Later teachers and proponents, Advaita Vedanta - Other References

Read more here: » Advaita Vedanta: Encyclopedia II - Advaita Vedanta - Salient Features of Advaitism

Health is a key factor in the human evolutionary process. Health is not just physical fitness or absence of disease. In ancient India, the term health had a much wider connotation; it was something that went beyond physical and mental dimensions. The spiritual dimension reinforces and also uplifts the physical and mental dimensions of health.

Read more here: » Mind, Body, Spirit: Strike a Balance

Ethics as a Means to Yoga.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Yoga: Yoga of Right Conduct

A Yoga Dictionary from Abhyasa to Yukti.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

Yogi:

1)  One who practices yoga.

2)  One who has attained perfection through yogic practices.

(See also: Yogi , Yoga, Yoga Dictionary, Siddha Yoga, Siddha Yoga Dictionary)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z

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There are four Asramas or stages in life, viz., Brahmacharya or the period of studentship, Grihastha or the stage of the householder, Vanaprastha or the stage of the forest-dweller or hermit, and Sannyasa or the life of renunciation or asceticism. Each stage has its own duties. These stages help the evolution of man

The four Asramas or orders of life are Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Dharma in Hinduism: The Four Asramas in Hindu Dharma

A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild. Whether cultivated or neglected, it must and will bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.

Read more here: » Power of Thought: Effect of Thought on Circumstances

In the name of God we ask you, the blood-thirsty actors in the tragedy of India, to have done with it. You have had your day. And have played your hellish part to perfection.

The land is littered with too many corpses already. Columns of smoke from fires of hate choke the air. The sun hides its face from this shame. Stars have fled from our sky.

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

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Let's Build A Temple To Tolerance

Sri Aurobindo, a scholar of India's spiritual-philosophical tradition, developed an original philosophy, which contained an evolutionary dimension. Humanity's destiny, according to Sri Aurobindo, is to evolve towards a higher state of consciousness that would fundamentally alter life, as we know it. To accomplish this, Sri Aurobindo synthesized various traditions of ancient spirituality and offered the instrument of integral Yoga. This prophet of the New Age not only predicted the perfectibility of the human condition but also assured that the day is not far when man's Supramental consciousness achieves its fullest fruition on earth. Following is an excerpt from Sri Aurobindo's Synthesis of Yoga.

Read more here: » Sri Aurobindo: Integral Yoga from Sri Arubindo's Synthesis of Yoga

The word Yoga comes from the root Yuj which means to join. Yoga is restraint of the activities of the mind, and is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.

Hiranyagarbha is the founder of the Yoga system. The Yoga founded by Patanjali Maharshi is a branch or supplement of the Sankhya. It has its own charm for students of a mystic temperament and of a contemplative type. It claims greater orthodoxy than the Sankhya proper by directly acknowledging the existence of a Supreme Being (Isvara).

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yoga: Hindu Philosophy - The Yoga

siddhi: (Sanskrit) "Power, accomplishment; perfection."

Extraordinary powers of the soul, developed through consistent meditation and deliberate, grueling, often uncomfortable tapas, or awakened naturally through spiritual maturity and yogic sadhana.

Through the repeated experience of Self Realization, siddhis naturally unfold according to the needs of the individual. Before Self Realization, the use or development of siddhis is among the greatest obstacles on the path because it cultivates ahamkara, I-ness, and militates against the attainment of prapatti, complete submission to the will of God, Gods and guru. Six siddhis in particular are considered primary obstacles to samadhi:

-       clairvoyance (adarsha siddhi or divya siddhi),

-       clairaudience (shravana siddhi or divyashravana),

-       divination (pratibha siddhi),

-       super-feeling (vedana siddhi) and

-       super-taste (asvadana siddhi),

-       supersmell (varta siddhi).

The eight classical siddhis are:

1)    anima: to be as small as an atom;

2)    mahima: to become infinitely large;

3)    laghima: super-lightness, levitation;

4)    prapti: pervasiveness, extension, to be anywhere at will;

5)    prakamya: fulfillment of desires;

6)    vashitva: control of natural forces;

7)    ishititva: supremacy over nature;

8)    kama-avasayitva: complete satisfaction.

The supreme siddhi (parasiddhi) is realization of the Self, Parasiva.

See: ahamkara, prapatti, siddha yoga, psychic ability.

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

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)

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

Karma means not only action, but also the result of an action. The consequence of an action is really not a separate thing. It is a part of the action, and cannot be divided from it. Breathing, thinking, talking, seeing, hearing, eating, etc., are Karmas. Thinking is mental Karma. Karma is the sum total of our acts both in the present life and in the preceding births.

Any deed, any thought that causes an effect, is called a Karma. The Law of Karma means the law of causation. Wherever there is a cause, there an effect must be produced. A seed is a cause for the tree which is the effect. The tree produces seeds and becomes the cause for the seeds.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Karma: The Law Of Karma

Over thousands of centuries, the Borg have encountered and assimilated thousands of species. However, little information regarding the true origin of the Borg millennia ago has been divulged in canon sources. Given this and the Borg species numbering system, it is probable that the species originally giving rise to the Borg would have been designated as Species 1 or 0. Similarly, it is interesting to note that the Borg Queen is a member of species 125 – meaning she is of an early species assimilated by the Borg. Thus, species 125, o ...

See also:

Borg, Borg - Overview, Borg - History, Borg - Early contacts with the Federation, Borg - The Enterprise-D and Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Borg - Encounters with the Enterprise-E and Voyager, Borg - Assimilation, Borg - Nanoprobes, Borg - Borg species identification, Borg - Origin of the Borg, Borg - Borg from V'ger theory, Borg - Nanobot theory, Borg - Famous maxim, Borg - Pronunciation variations, Borg - All Borg episodes to date, Borg - Star Trek: The Next Generation, Borg - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Borg - Star Trek: Voyager, Borg - Star Trek: Enterprise, Borg - The Borg in computer games, Borg - The Borg as a cultural allusion

Read more here: » Borg: Encyclopedia II - Borg - Origin of the Borg

parami, paramita (paaramii, paaramitaa): Perfection of the character. A group of ten qualities developed over many lifetimes by a bodhisatta, which appear as a group in the Pali Canon only in the Jataka ("Birth Stories"): generosity (dana), virtue (sila), renunciation (nekkhamma), discernment (panna), energy/persistence (viriya), patience/forbearance (khanti), truthfulness (sacca), determination (adhitthana), good will (metta), and equanimity (upekkha).

 (See also: Parami, paramita , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

About the mind and how the mind can be controlled.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Mind Control: Mind, Its Mysteries and Control

Gold The king of metal, symbol of perfection, durability, and purity; of the real sun, the great masculine principle, the Father, the positive side of the solar cosmic life. Alchemists considered gold as being a deposit of solar light, regarding light as the emanative fire from the sun.

The gold of human nature, which has to be purified by fire from its dross, is manas, the self-conscious element, when purified from contamination with the dross of the lower principles and united with buddhi.

While divine alchemy seeks to purify the gold of human nature, physical alchemy seeks to derive gold by transmutation from baser metals. In contrast with gold, brass is mentioned as signifying the baser elements or the world of passional matter; and by another contrast, silver is the analog of the watery or feminine principle, whose planetary counterpart is the moon.

The first and purest of the four Hesiodic races in Greece was golden and gave the name to their age. In Hindu writings the world is evolved from a golden egg or germ (hiranyagarbha).

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

Parashakti: (Sanskrit) "Supreme power; primal energy."

God Siva's second perfection, which is impersonal, immanent, and with form - the all-pervasive, Pure Consciousness and Primal Substance of all that exists. There are many other descriptive names for Parashakti - Satchidananda ("existence-consciousness-bliss"), light, silence, divine mind, superconsciousness and more. Parashakti can be experienced by the diligent yogi or meditator as a merging in, or identification with, the underlying oneness flowing through all form. The experience is called savikalpa samadhi.

See: raja yoga, Shakti, Satchidananda, tattva.

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

Lord Krishna's influence on our lives far exceeds that of any other God-incarnate. Krishna is depicted not only as an embodiment of wisdom and selfless action, but also as a humane liberal and practical philosopher with foresight.

Krishna's mysticism and activism have greatly inspired poets, painters, writers, dramatists and dancers. The advice he rendered to a disheartened Arjuna at Kurukshetra - immortalised in the Bhagavad Gita - greatly influenced philosophers and continues to inspire millions of people worldwide.

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

Read more here: » Krishna: Krishna The Cowherd - The Perfect Avatar  

Patanjali: (Sanskrit) "Possessed of reverence."

A Saivite Natha siddha (ca 200 bce) who codified the ancient yoga philosophy which outlines the path to enlightenment through purification, control and transcendence of the mind. One of the six classical philosophical systems (darshanas) of Hinduism, known as Yoga Darshana. His great work, the Yoga Sutras, comprises 200 aphorisms delineating ashtanga (eight-limbed), raja (kingly) or siddha (perfection) yoga. Still today it is the foremost text on meditative yoga.

See: Kailasa Parampara, raja yoga, shad darshana, yoga, Patanjali yoga sutras, patanjali.

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary