Dasyam - one of the angas of sadhana-bhakti; to render service with the pure egoism of being a servant of Krsna. Only when one renders service with this attitude, giving up false conceptions of the self, can one’s bhajana practices attain perfection.

According to Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.183) there are two kinds of dasya: in its beginning form, dasya means to offer all of one’s activities to Sri Bhagavan, and in its mature stage, dasya means to render all kinds of services to Him with the feeling that ‘I am a servant of Sri Krsna, and He is my master.’ This attitude is called kainkarya. Dasyam is one of the nine primary angas of bhakti.

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

Venus: Venus is the goddess of beauty, and is the ruler of Taurus and Libra. She makes everyone feel comfortable. She has a positive outlook on life and imparts that feeling to others. Venus in your chart may indicate, by its sign and house, the part of your body that is most attractive, or a part of the body that you find attractive in others. The seductive part of your personality can be described by looking at Venus. This capacity is clearly not restricted to sexuality, but extends into every area of your life. Venus shows how you can convince others, not through force of will, but through a magnetic attraction.

As an indicator of how you interact well with others, Venus does not suggest co-dependence. It does suggest interdependence, something that has been essential for human development. Babies have a perfection of form that makes us fall in love with them. Movie stars are dressed and made up to be as attractive as possible. Politicians demonstrate the magnetic charisma that convinces us to vote for them, sometimes in spite of all logic.

There is a rhythm to this magnetic attraction and beauty. We get closer to someone to find out what they are like, and then we withdraw to consider how we are feeling about what we discovered. The sign and house Venus occupy describe how all of these functions work. It shows what we like, what about us is the most attractive, and how we engage in the interactivity of human life. It shows how we approach companionship in general.

Venus also indicates where we look for harmony in our lives. When you seek cooperation from others, you want it to fit in with your ideal of harmony. Thus, whatever the context, you will put your personal spin on the situation, molding other people to suit your thoughts on how things work best. Occasionally you may find that the way you want to do things is not practical in the situation, or doesn’t work so well for other people. By understanding Venus in your chart, you can develop alternative methods that both achieve the desired goal and provide a level of comfort for you personally. This refinement process is indicated by Venus’ sign, house and aspects.

(See also: Venus , Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

Sahaja Yoga: The Living Tradition of Sahaj Marg

The Raja Yoga system known as "Sahaj Marg" is still relatively obscure in the West, even among Yoga aficionados. This is largely due to the fact that Sahaj Marg has been a low-key, word-of-mouth practice. Works by the lineage of Sahaj Marg Masters, published under the auspices of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM), are difficult to locate, and beyond the abhyasis or practitioners of Sahaj Marg, few are aware that SRCM centers have been established worldwide since the Mission was founded in India fifty years ago.

Read more here: » Sahaja Yoga: The Living Tradition of Sahaj Marg

The word - Sankhya - means - number -. The system gives an enumeration of the principles of the universe, twenty-five in number. Hence the name is quite appropriate. The term - Sankhya - is used in the sense of - Vichara - or - philosophical reflection - also.

In the Sankhya system, there is no analytical enquiry into the universe as actually existing, arranged under topics and categories. There is a synthetical system, starting from an original primordial Tattva or Principle, called Prakriti, that which evolves or produces or brings forth (Prakaroti) everything else.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Sankhya: Hindu Philosophy . The Sankhya

There is a lot of talk about the importance of 2012 as the ending of the Mayan Calendar but some say that November 8th 2003 is the correct corresponding Gregorian year. This article by John Mirehiel explore the importance of November 8th 2003 as a stepping stone towards to coming Golden Age.

Read more here: » Harmonic Concordance, November 8th 2003, The Real 2012?

Corpse

• To dream of a corpse is fatal to happiness, as this dream indicates sorrowful tidings of the absent, and gloomy business prospects. The young will suffer many disappointments and pleasure will vanish.
• To see a corpse placed in its casket, denotes immediate troubles to the dreamer.
• To see a corpse in black, denotes the violent death of a friend or some desperate business entanglement.
• To see a battle-field strewn with corpses, indicates war and general dissatisfaction between countries and political factions.
• To see the corpse of an animal, denotes unhealthy situation, both as to business and health.
• To see the corpse of any one of your immediate family, indicates death to that person, or to some member of the family, or a serious rupture of domestic relations, also unusual business depression. For lovers it is a sure sign of failure to keep promises of a sacred nature.
• To put money on the eyes of a corpse in your dreams, denotes that you will see unscrupulous enemies robbing you while you are powerless to resent injury. If you only put it on one eye you will be able to recover lost property after an almost hopeless struggle. For a young woman this dream denotes distress and loss by unfortunately giving her confidence to designing persons.
• For a young woman to dream that the proprietor of the store in which she works is a corpse, and she sees while sitting up with him that his face is clean shaven, foretells that she will fall below the standard of perfection in which she was held by her lover. If she sees the head of the corpse falling from the body, she is warned of secret enemies who, in harming her, will also detract from the interest of her employer. Seeing the corpse in the store, foretells that loss and unpleasantness will offset all concerned. There are those who are not conscientiously doing the right thing. There will be a gloomy outlook for peace and prosperous work.

Source: 10 000 Dream Interpretations, by Gustavus Hindman Miller

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

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

One should become perfectly desireless and should be full of Vairagya before attempting to awaken Kundalini. It can be awakened only when a man rises above Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada and other impurities. Kundalini can be awakened through rising above desires of the senses. The Yogi, who has got a pure heart and a mind free from passions and desires will be benefited by awakening Kundalini. If a man with a lot of impurities in the mind awakens the Sakti by sheer force through Asanas, Pranayamas and Mudras, he will break his legs and stumble down.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yoga Sadhana: Yoga Sadhanas for Kundalini Awakening

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)

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

Rabindranath Tagore lived up to his name. Rabi means the Sun and like the Sun's rays the myriad-minded "Great Sentinel" - as Mahatma Gandhi called him - never failed to dazzle with his creative genius, enlightening us with his sagacious insight.

Tagore's songs, poems, plays, short stories, novels, essays, letters, and paintings take us through his personal reflection of reality, which soon become our own because they touch the core of our heart, bonding us with nature. His writings are a heartfelt appeal for universal peace, love and harmony.

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

Read more here: » Rabindranath Tagore: Creative Philosophy Inspired by the Sun - about Rabindranath Tagore  

When Jesus said: - The kingdom of God is within - what He meant was that heaven itself would be a disappointment to restless, worldly people.

If a person has no true joy in his heart, he will not find true joy outside though he be in heaven itself, and in the company of angels. Heaven must be experienced right here, right now, within ourselves if we are to experience it ever.

Read more here: » Spiritual Growth: Make Friends With Your Self

In South India, a Siddha reffers to a being who has achieved physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that Siddhas alledgedly attained physical immortality. Thus Siddha, like Siddhar or Cittar (indigenisation of Sanskrit terms in Tamil Nadu) refers to a person who has realised the goal of a type of Sadhana and become a perfected being. In Tamil Nadu, South India, where the Siddha tradition is practiced, special individuals are recognized as and called Siddhas, or Siddha ...

See also:

Siddha, Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood

Read more here: » Siddha: Encyclopedia II - Siddha - Tamil Nadu Tradition of Siddhahood

The Chakras are centres of Shakti as vital force. In other words, these are centres of Pranashakti manifested by Pranavayu in the living body, the presiding Devatas of which are the names for the Universal Consciousness as It manifests in the form of these centres. The Chakras are not perceptible to the gross senses. Even if they were perceptible in the living body which they help to organise, they disappear with the disintegration of organism at death.

Read more here: » Chakras and Kundalini: The gradational ascent of the mind

“The Self pervades all. Radiant is He, bodiless, without scar of imperfection, without bone or flesh, pure, untouched by evil. The Seer, the Thinker, the One who is above all, the Self-Existent – he it is that has established perfect order among objects and beings from beginningless time”. This is Verse #8. But the English translation does not do justice to the original. Each word in this verse is a profound commentary on the Ultimate. The very first word paryagaat has in it two words pari, indicating omnipresence ...

See also:

Ishopanishad, Ishopanishad - About the Upanishad, Ishopanishad - A Difficult Upanishad, Ishopanishad - Operational plan for how to live, Ishopanishad - Two most beautiful verses descriptive of Atman, Ishopanishad - Stepwise Formula for identification with the Ultimate, Ishopanishad - A most powerful profile of the Self in all of Upanishads, Ishopanishad - Verses #s. 9 10 and 11, Ishopanishad - Seven interpretations as a sample, Ishopanishad - Practical implications, Ishopanishad - More Technicalities, Ishopanishad - Winding up with a universal prayer, Ishopanishad - Allegory of the Golden Container, Ishopanishad - The final utterance, Ishopanishad - Sources

Read more here: » Ishopanishad: Encyclopedia II - Ishopanishad - A most powerful profile of the Self in all of Upanishads

What I really want is for people who have waited well to know that their wait was worth it, I want those who have been righteous and good to know that these sterling principles paid off, I want those who have prayed to know that they did not pray in vain.

I want very much for unhappy people to be happy; for Heaven's greatest movers like Santa Theresa to look down and find that a world which rejected God still has a God which has not rejected the world. I want to see justice done.

(See also: Essence of Meditation , Meditation, Meditation for Beginners, Meditation Techniques)

Read more here: » Essence of Meditation: What I Really Want

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

The research and study of the Sacred Geometry and Space of Sacred Sites have been the focus of Martin Gray for more than 20 years. Martin Gray is an anthropologist and photographer specializing in the study of Sacred Power Places. During a twenty-year period he has journeyed to more than 1,000 holy places in 80 countries. This introductionary article will give you an introduction to the Power of Sacred Sites and the Sacred Space they provide for Spiritual Awakening.

Read more here: » Sacred Sites: Places of Peace and Power

A Theosophical definition of Gayatri or Savitri :

Gayatri - Savitri

(Sanskrit) A verse of the Rig-Veda (iii.62.10) which from immemorial time in India has been surrounded with the attributes of quasi-divinity. The Sanskrit words of this verse are: Tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi, dhiyo yo nah prachodayat. Every orthodox Brahmana is supposed to repeat this archaic hymn, at least mentally, at both his morning and evening religious exercises or devotions.

A translation in explanatory paraphrase, giving the essential esoteric meaning of the Gayatri or Savitri, is the following: "Oh thou golden sun of most excellent splendor, illumine our hearts and fill our minds, so that we, recognizing our oneness with the Divinity which is the heart of the universe, may see the pathway before our feet, and tread it to those distant goals of perfection, stimulated by thine own radiant light."

See also: Gayatri or Savitri , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

Best known as an innovator in Realism (and credited with coining the term), and a landscape and seascape painter, his scenes are not romantic or idealized as was customary style at the time. Rather, he portrayed dynamic scenery, subject to continuous and progressive change. Courbet believed the Realist artist's mission was the pursuit of truth which would help erase social contradictions and imbalances. For Courbet realism was not the perfection of line and form, but spontaneous and rough handling of paint, suggesting direct observati ...

See also:

Gustave Courbet, Gustave Courbet - Realism, Gustave Courbet - Burial at Ornans, Gustave Courbet - Notoriety

Read more here: » Gustave Courbet: Encyclopedia II - Gustave Courbet - Realism

Advaita Siddhanta: (Sanskrit) "Nondual perfect conclusions." Saivite philosophy codified in the Agamas which has at its core the nondual (advaitic) identity of God, soul and world. This monistic-theistic philosophy, unlike the Shankara, or Smarta view, holds that maya (the principle of manifestation) is not an obstacle to God Realization, but God's own power and presence guiding the soul's evolution to perfection. While Advaita Vedanta stresses Upanishadic philosophy, Advaita Siddhanta adds to this a strong emphasis on internal and external worship, yoga sadhanas and tapas. Advaita Siddhanta is a term used in South India to distinguish Tirumular's school from the pluralistic Siddhanta of Meykandar and Aghorasiva. This unified Vedic-Agamic doctrine is also known as Shuddha Saiva Siddhanta. It is the philosophy of this contemporary Hindu catechism. See: Advaita Ishvaravada, dvaitaadvaita, monistic theism, Saiva Siddhanta.

(See also: Advaita Siddhanta , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

These arguments can be classified under two headings. First are the strictly logical or metaphysical arguments; these arguments seek to prove that the existence of a being with at least one attribute that only God could have is logically necessary. Arguments for the existence of God - Metaphysical arguments. The chief such arguments are: The Cosmological argument, which argues that God must have been around at the start of things in order to be the "first cause". The Mathematical argu ...

See also:

Arguments for the existence of God, Arguments for the existence of God - Arguments for the necessity of God, Arguments for the existence of God - Metaphysical arguments, Arguments for the existence of God - Empirical arguments, Arguments for the existence of God - Arguments for the belief in God, Arguments for the existence of God - The theological status of the arguments

Read more here: » Arguments for the existence of God: Encyclopedia II - Arguments for the existence of God - Arguments for the necessity of God

A Theosophical definition of Astrology :

Astrology

The astrology of the ancients was indeed a great and noble science. It is a term which means the "science of the celestial bodies." Modern astrology is but the tattered and rejected outer coating of real, ancient astrology; for that truly sublime science was the doctrine of the origin, of the nature, of the being, and of the destiny of the solar bodies, of the planetary bodies, and of the beings who dwell on them. It also taught the science of the relations of the parts of kosmic nature among themselves, and more particularly as applied to man and his destiny as forecast by the celestial orbs. From that great and noble science sprang up an exoteric pseudo-science, derived from the Mediterranean and Asian practice, eventuating in the modern scheme called astrology  - a tattered remnant of ancient wisdom.

In actual fact, genuine archaic astrology was one of the branches of the ancient Mysteries, and was studied to perfection in the ancient Mystery schools. It had throughout all ancient time the unqualified approval and devotion of the noblest men and of the greatest sages. Instead of limiting itself as modern so-called astrology does to a system based practically entirely upon certain branches of mathematics, in archaic days the main body of doctrine which astrology then contained was transcendental metaphysics, dealing with the greatest and most abstruse problems concerning the universe and man. The celestial bodies of the physical universe were considered in the archaic astrology to be not merely time markers, or to have vague relations of a psychomagnetic quality as among themselves  - although indeed this is true  - but to be the vehicles of starry spirits, bright and living gods, whose very existence and characteristics, individually as well as collectively, made them the governors and expositors of destiny.

See also: Astrology , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

For more dictionary entries, see » Perfection Dictionary

A regular at religious discourses, I've often found followers of one guru or faith criticising other gurus, teachers and devotees, because they think that their own philosophy is far superior. They tend to assess the learnedness or otherwise of a teacher according to the number of disciples and ashrams.

If those who profess to be spiritual seekers behave in this manner, what can we expect from lesser mortals? Why is it so difficult for us to respect the right of others to follow any teaching or teacher of their choice? No one who claims loyalty to any faith that advocates compassion, tolerance and understanding can afford to ignore these tenets.

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

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: The Path Of True Love Is Never Smooth