province: Sphere, area or division.

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

Hsi-tsang (Chinese) (from hsi west + tsang (cf Tibet tsan) a central province of Tibet whose most important city is Shigatse)

Blavatsky spells Si-dzang. The name for Tibet "mentioned in the MSS. of the sacred library of the province of Fo-Kien (Fu-chien)

, as the great seat of Occult learning from time immemorial, ages before Buddha" (SD 1:271n).

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

Andhras

Residents of Andhra Pradesh, the province of southeastern India above Tamil Nadu.

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

Sikhism

A religion, based mostly in the Punjab province of India, that attempts to blend Hinduism and Islam. The movement is based on a vision and subsequent teachings of founder Guru Nanak in the 15th century AD. Disciples, called Sikhs, follow the one true God named Sat Nam (ÒTrue NameÓ). Their main scriptures are contained in the Granth Sahib (ÒThe Lord's BookÓ), compiled by the guru Arjan, and salvation is viewed as a merging with the universal force

(See also: Sikhism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Hsi-tsang (Chinese) (from hsi west + tsang (cf Tibet tsan) a central province of Tibet whose most important city is Shigatse)

Blavatsky spells Si-dzang. The name for Tibet "mentioned in the MSS. of the sacred library of the province of Fo-Kien (Fu-chien)

, as the great seat of Occult learning from time immemorial, ages before Buddha" (SD 1:271n).

(See also: Hsi-tsang , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Hinduism (Hindu Dharma): (Sanskrit) India's indigenous religious and cultural system, followed today by nearly one billion adherents, mostly in India, but with large populations in many other countries. Also called Sanatana Dharma, "eternal religion" and Vaidika Dharma, "religion of the Vedas."

Hinduism is the world's most ancient religion and encompasses a broad spectrum of philosophies ranging from pluralistic theism to absolute monism.

It is a family of myriad faiths with four primary denominations:

• Saivism,
• Vaishnavism,
• Shaktism and
• Smartism.

These four hold such divergent beliefs that each is a complete and independent religion. Yet, they share a vast heritage of culture and belief:

• karma,
• dharma,
• reincarnation,
• all-pervasive Divinity,
• temple worship,
• sacraments,
• manifold Deities,
• the guru-shishya tradition and
• a reliance on the Vedas as scriptural authority.

From the rich soil of Hinduism long ago sprang various other traditions. Among these were Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism, which rejected the Vedas and thus emerged as completely distinct religions, disassociated from Hinduism, while still sharing many philosophical insights and cultural values with their parent faith.

Though the genesis of the term is controversial, the consensus is that the term Hindu or Indu was used by the Persians to refer to the Indian peoples of the Indus Valley as early as 500 bce. Additionally, Indian scholars point to the appearance of the related term Sindhu in the ancient Rig Veda Samhita. Janaki Abhisheki writes (Religion as Knowledge: The Hindu Concept, p. 1): "Whereas today the word

Hindu connotes a particular faith and culture, in ancient times it was used to describe those belonging to a particular region. About 500 bce we find the Persians referring to 'Hapta Hindu.' This referred to the region of Northwest India and the Punjab (before partition).

The Rig Veda (the most ancient literature of the Hindus) uses the word Sapta Sindhu singly or in plural at least 200 times. Sindhu is the River Indus. Panini, the great Sanskrit grammarian, also uses the word Sindhu to denote the country or region.

While the Persians substituted h for s, the Greeks removed the h also and pronounced the word as 'Indoi.' Indian is derived from the Greek Indoi."

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan similarly observed,

"The Hindu civilization is so called since its original founders or earliest followers occupied the territory drained by the Sindhu (the Indus) River system corresponding to the Northwest Frontier Province and the Punjab. This is recorded in the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures, which give their name to this period of Indian history. The people on the Indian side of the Sindhu were called Hindus by the Persians and the later Western invaders. That is the genesis of the word Hindu" (The Hindu View of Life, p. 12).

See: Hindu.

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

Kamboja

The province of Afghanistan now known as Kabul. At the time of the Kurukshetra war, its king was Sudakshina.

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

mandala

A district, a subdivision of a province.

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

Dvaraka (-puri, Dvaravati)

The eternal abode in which Krishna fully displays the opulence of God. While descended on earth, Krishna resettled the entire population of Mathura in the city of Dvaraka, which He manifested by constructing it on the coast of the western Anarta province.

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

Orissa

Orissa is an eastern state belonging to the Indian sub-continent. The city of Bhubaneswar (temple city of India) is the state capital.

During the medieval times, the state corresponding roughly with now-a-days Orissa passed under the various names such as: Utkala, Kalinga, and Odra (Udra) Desa. The state boundaries varied from time to time and were sometimes much larger. These land names are associated with peoples. The Okkala or Utkala, the Kalinga, and the Odra or Oddaka were mentioned in literature as tribes. Ancient Greeks knew the latter two as Kalingai and Oretes. Eventually the names got identified with the territories. The land was inhabited by semi-Hinduized tribes (shabaras) in the hinterland, a group of farming Brahmins (halua brahmuna) who practised invincible Tantra method near Jajpur area (the place of Goddess Biraja), and people of other castes and trades as well. For centuries before and after the birth of Christ, Kalinga was a formidable political power, extending from the Ganga river to the Godavari river. Approximately between the 11th and 16th centuries the name was twisted; the name Odra Desa was gradually transformed into Uddisa, Udisa, or Odisa, which in English became Orissa. The language of Odisa came to be known as Oriya.

Kalinga was already famous at the dawn of Indian history. Buddhist sources refer to the rule of King Brahmadutta in Kalinga at the time of the Buddha's death. In the 4th century BC the first Indian empire builder, Mahapadma Nanda, conquered Kalinga, but the Nanda rule was short-lived. In 260 BC the Mauryan emperor Ashoka invaded Kalinga and fought one of the greatest and most bloody wars of ancient history. He then renounced war, became a Buddhist, and preached peace and non-violence in and outside India. In the 1st century BC the Kalinga emperor Kharavela conquered vast territories that collectively came to be called the Kalinga empire.

Kalinga became a maritime power beginning in the 1st century AD, and its overseas activities culminated in the 8th century with the establishment of the Shailendra empire in Java. Orissa was ruled during the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries by the powerful Bhauma-Kara dynasty and in the 10th and 11th centuries by the Soma dynasty. The Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneshwar, the greatest Shiva monument of India, was initiated by the king Yayati.

Medieval Orissa enjoyed a golden age under the Ganga Dynasty. Its founder, Anantavarma Chodagangadeva (1078-1147), ruled from the Ganges to the Godavari with "Cuttack" city as the state capital. He began the construction of the temple of Jagannaatha (Lord of the Universe) at Puri. Narasimhadeva 1 (1238-64) built the Sun Temple (Surya Mandira) of Konarka, one of the finest and best creations of Hindu architecture all over the world. In the 13th and 14th centuries, when much of India was overrun by the Muslims, independent Orissa remained a citadel of Hindu religion, philosophy, art, and architecture. The "Veera Kalinga Putras" (brave sons of Kalinga) were the last to give up, till it was conquered by betraying.

The Gangas were succeeded by the Surya dynasty. Its first king, Kapilendradeva (1435-66), won territories from his Muslim neighbours and greatly expanded the Orissa kingdom. His successor, Purushottamadeva, maintained these gains with difficulty. The next and the last Surya king, Prataparudradeva, became a disciple of the naamayogi avataar Chaitanya mahaprabhu, the great medieval saint, and became a pacifist. After his death (1540) Orissa's power declined, and in 1568, when King Mukundadeva was killed by his own countrymen, Orissa lost its independence to the Afghan rulers of Bengal.

The Mughal emperor Akbar conquered Orissa from the Afghans in 1590-92. When the Mughal Empire fell in 1761, part of Orissa remained under the Bengal nawaabs, but the greater part was snatched by the Marathas. The Bengal sector came under British rule in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey; the Maratha sector was conquered by the British in 1803. Although after 1803 the British controlled the entire Oriya-speaking area, it continued to be administered as two units. It was not until April 1, 1936, that the British heeded calls for unification on a linguistic basis and constituted Orissa as a separate province; 26 Oriya princely states, however, remained outside the provincial administration. After the independence of India in 1947, all these princely states except Saraikela and Kharsawan (which merged with Bihar) became part of Orissa.

Geography:

The state can be broadly divided into four natural divisions: (1) the northern plateau, (2) the eastern ghats, (3) the central tract, and (4) the coastal plains. The northern plateau (in the northern part of the state) is an extension of the forest-covered, lightly settled, and mineral-rich Chot-Nagpur plateau centred in southern Bihar. The eastern ghats, extending roughly parallel to the coast, are remnants of a very ancient line of hills in eastern peninsular India; rising to heights of 3,600 feet (1,100 metres), the eastern ghats are forest-covered, provide a home for a variety of wildlife, and are populated by several tribal groups. The central tract comprises a series of plateaus and basins occupying the inland area west and north of the Eastern Ghats; the plateau areas provide scant resources, but several of the basins--notably the Kalahandi, Balangir, Hirakud, and Jharsuguda--have the soil and the irrigation facilities to support local agriculture. The coastal plains are formed of alluvial soils deposited by the many rivers flowing to the Bay of Bengal; locally the area is known as the Baleshwar Coastal Plain to the northeast, the Mahanadi delta in the centre, and the Chilika Plain to the southwest. The coastal plains are heavily populated, have extensive irrigation, and are devoted almost entirely to the growing of rice during the rainy season.

The main rivers are the Subarnarekha, Burabalang, Baitarani, Brahmani, Mahanadi, Rushikulya, and Vamsadhara. Notable mountain ranges are the Mahendra Hill (Giri; rising to 4,924 feet [1,501 metres]), the Malaya Hill (3,894 feet [1,187 metres]), and the Megasini (3,822 feet [1,165 metres]). Orissa's Chilika Lake is the biggest saltwater lagoon in India.€€€

(See also: Orissa , Hinduism, Yoga, Body Mind and Soul)

Principalities The seventh order of angels in the celestial hierarchy of the pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. This hierarchy is recognized in the New Testament: "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, . . . shall be able to separate us from the love of God" (Rom 8:38-9).

Principality here translates the Greek arche (beginning, first principle, province ruled over, ruler, and rule in the abstract); the Latin version gives principatus (beginning, sovereignty). The allusion is to recognized names in the Gnostic hierarchical systems of aeons or emanations. "From Mind proceeded the word, Logos, from the word, Providence [Divine Light, rather], then from it Virtue and Wisdom in Principalities, Power, Angels, etc." (Basilidean teaching). All these various denizens of the sidereal world are copies of archaic prototypes.

In a passage relating to the ancient Syrian scheme of hierarchies, the lowest or sublunary world -- Earth -- is ruled by Angels; the sphere of Mercury by Archangels; that of Venus by Principalities; that of the Sun by solar gods termed Powers; that of Mars by Virtues; Jupiter, Dominions; Saturn, Thrones.

The ninefold hierarchy divided into three triads, as given by Dionysius the Areopagite, is but a Christianized copy of ancient occult teaching taken over from Neoplatonic and Neopythagorean thought so widely current in the countries around the Mediterranean around the beginning of the Christian era and for some centuries afterwards.

The ancient wisdom, from which all these various systems of thought originally sprang, likewise has its system of hierarchies which falls naturally into a similar range of nine, ten, or even twelve grades or divisions of cosmic power and substance. These different classes of celestial or angelic beings are the various grades of entities which infill and indeed make our solar system, and to which theosophy gives other titles than those used by Dionysius.

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

Nagkon Wat (Siam.). Imposing ruins in the province of Siamrap (Eastern Siam), if ruins they may

be called. An abandoned edifice of most gigantic dimensions, which, together with the great temple of Angkortham, are the best preserved relics of the past in all Asia.

After the Pyramids this is the most occult edifice in the whole world. Of an oblong form, it is 796 feet in length and 588 in width, entirely built of stone, the roof included, but without cement like the pyramids of Ghizeh, the stones fitting so closely that the joints are even now hardly discernible.

 It has a central pagoda 250 feet in height from the first floor, and four smaller pagodas at the four corners, about 175 feet each. In the words of a traveller, (The Land of the White Elephant, Frank Vincent, p. 209) "in style and beauty of architecture, solidity of construction, and magnificent and elaborate carving and sculpture, the great Nagkon Wat has no superior, certainly no rival, standing at the present day." (See Isis Unv., Vol. I. pp. 561-566.)

(See also: Nagkon Wat , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Mathura (Sanskrit) The birthplace of Krishna, situated in the province of Agra on the right bank of the Yamuna River.

(See also: Mathura , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Jagannatha:

Jagannatha: "Lord of the Universe". A deity of Krishna worshiped all over India for thousands of years, especially in the province of Orissa, where there is a great temple of Lord Jagannatha at Puri. His brother is Balarama and His sister is Subhadra. Each year at Puri, during the gigantic Ratha-yatra festival, millions of pilgrims from all over India come to worship Lord Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra, as the deities ride in procession on three huge carts. Lord Caitanya, who spent the last eighteen years of His life at Jagannatha Puri, used to dance and chant in ecstasy before the Deity of Lord Jagannatha during the yearly Ratha-yatra festival.

(See also: Jagannatha , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Lotus Sect

A Buddhist sect founded by the great Master Hui Yuan about 390 A.D. at his monastery on Mount Lu in Kiangsi Province in China.

The Lotus Sect believes in and honors Amitabha Buddha and declares that, through the chanting of his name and by purifying and finally ridding oneself of desire, one can be reborn in the Pure Land. There one is born of a lotus, and, depending on one's degree of purification and practice, one is born into one of the nine grades of the lotus: upper superior, middle superior, lower superior, etc.

 (See also: Lotus Sect , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Daniel daniyye'l (Hebrew) The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament has twelve chapters, the first six a historical narrative, the last six prophetic. According to the former, Daniel flourished about 600 B.C., was taken captive with the other Jews to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, and became a Magus. His skill in interpreting dreams procured him favor and the governorship of the province of Babylon. Later he became the first president of the whole Medo-Persian empire. Scholarship, however, finds difficulties in reconciling biblical data with information from other sources.

(See also: Daniel, daniyye'l , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Pradesika - regional, territorial, provincial. This comes from the word pradesa, a province. When it is used in reference to particular statements of the Vedas, it means that which is limited to a particular context, or that which defines only a partial aspect of a concept. This is in contrast to mahavakyas which are statements defining the underlying essence of the entire Vedas (see mahavakya in this Glossary).

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

Surasena

A great Yadava king, father of Vasudeva and Kunti. The province of Surasena, which includes the Mathura district, is named after him.

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

Indigo Children

Children born since around 1982 really are different, like no other generation of record. If the movie "Indigo" makes this point and no other, it has done the world a favor and hopefully will help to engender an overall transformation in how we regard and teach children. Surely it will inspire a forum whereby the children themselves can speak and be heard... for our youngest citizens truly have something important to say that is worth hearing.

Read more here: » Indigo Children: A view on the movie Indigo by Twyman/Walsh/Simon about Indigo Children

When I was growing up, I thought that "spirituality" was the same thing as "religion," which was something for which I had little respect. My early experiences with organized religion left me convinced that the church was a body of contradictions, from which you would never get a rational, straight answer. I was quite mystified that so many people would go to church every Sunday to engage in something that seemed so irrelevant.

Read more here: » What is Spirituality: Reflections on Spirituality