Aranyaka (Sanskrit) (from aranya forest-like from aranya wilderness, forest)

Forest-born; a hermit or holy man who dwells in the forest during the process of becoming a genuine spiritual yogi. Aranyakas (plural) are a class of Vedic treatises of a mystical nature attached to the Brahmanas and closely associated with the Upanishads. They were called such either because they were written in the solitude of the wilderness or because they were intended for study and contemplation by those who had retired from the world to lead the life of spiritual recluses. The Aranyakas are ritualistic, treating of special ceremonies either omitted or dealt with only in part in the Brahmanas, and hence are considered to be supplemental to the latter.

Only four Aranyakas are presently known to exist: the Aitareya (Rig-vedic) forming part of the Aitareya-Brahmana; the Kausitaki (Rig-vedic) whose third and final chapter is the Kanusitaki Upanishad; the Taittiriya, of ten books, belonging to the Yajur-Veda; and the Brihad (Yajur-Veda) which forms a part of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad attached to the Satapatha-Brahmana.

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

Aeshma-Daeva (Avestan) Eesham-Diev, Hesham-Diev (Pahlavi) (from aeshma wrath, ill wish, anger from the verbal root ish desire, passion + daevas evil spirits (originally gods); cf Sanskrit deva, Persian dievs)

The fiend of the wounding spear in the Avesta. The Aryan gods or daevas having become anthropomorphic, they were denounced by the Aryan initiates who had settled in Airya-Vaeja (Eran or Iran). Zarathustra in the Gathas refers to Kavis and Karpans, the leaders of the ancient Aryan faith, as daevas because they had polluted the abstraction of Mazdean philosophy with ritualistic ceremonies.

In Pahlavi and Pazand writing Aeshma-Daeva changed form to Heshm-Diev, from which Asmodeus, the medieval evil spirit, is derived. Aeshma is known to be Sraush's opponent.

(See also: Aeshma-Daeva, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Tara or Taraka Târâ, Târakâ (Sanskrit) The wife of Brihaspati (Jupiter). The Puranas relate that Soma, the moon, carried Tara off with him, which brought about the great war in heaven between the gods and the asuras. Brahma put an end to the war and had Tara restored to Brihaspati. She then gave birth to a son, Budha (esoteric wisdom), whom she claimed was the son of Soma.

"Soma is the moon astronomically; but in mystical phraseology, it is also the name of the sacred beverage drunk by the Brahmins and the Initiates during their mysteries and sacrificial rites. . . .

"Soma was never given in days of old to the non-initiated Brahman -- the simple Grihasta, or priest of the exoteric ritual. Thus Brihaspati -- 'guru of the gods' though he was -- still represented the dead-letter form of worship. It is Tara his wife -- the symbol of one who, though wedded to dogmatic worship, longs for true wisdom -- who is shown as initiated into his mysteries by King Soma, the giver of that Wisdom. Soma is thus made in the allegory to carry her away. The result of this is the birth of Budha -- esoteric Wisdom -- (Mercury, or Hermes in Greece and Egypt.) He is represented as 'so beautiful,' that even the husband, though well aware that Budha is not the progeny of his dead-letter worship -- claims the 'new-born' as his Son, the fruit of this ritualistic and meaningless forms. Such is, in brief, one of the meanings of the allegory" (SD 2:498-9).

See also SOMA; TARAKAMAYA

(See also: Tara, Taraka, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Daitya (Daityas), Daiteyas (Sanskrit) Descendants of Diti. If Aditi is understood as mulaprakriti, or virtually cosmic space, so Diti, the nether pole of the former, may be understood as the aggregate of the prakritis. Cosmically, daityas are titans, often called asuras, whose role is that of urgers of evolutionary progress for all things, as contrasted with the incomparably slower, but unceasing, evolutionary inertia of the vast cosmic powers.

Terrestrially, they are the titans and giants of the fourth root-race. According to the Hindu Puranas, these daityas are demons and enemies of the ceremonial sacrifice and ritualistic ceremonies; but according to the secret meaning hid under these stories, some of the daityas were the forwards-looking and impulse-providing intellectual entities striving against the inertia or deadweight of human nature.

"The Demons, so called in the Puranas, are very extraordinary devils when judged from the standpoint of European and orthodox views about these creatures, since all of them -- Danavas, Daityas, Pisachas, and the Rakshasas -- are represented as extremely pious, following the precepts of the Vedas, some of them even being great Yogis.

But they oppose the clergy and Ritualism, sacrifices and forms -- just what the full-blown Yogins do to this day in India -- and are no less respected for it, though they are allowed to follow neither caste nor ritual; hence all those Puranic giants and Titans are called Devils" (SD 1:415).

(See also: Daitya, Daityas, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Aten (Egyptian) The disk of the sun and its vivifying, light-giving beams. Extended during the 18th dynasty to become the basis of a new religion under Amenhetep III and his son Amenhetep IV.

They endeavored to arouse a more devotional feeling in the life of the Egyptians in opposition to the rigorous formalistic worship prescribed by the priests of the time, with its animal sacrifices and rigid ceremonialism, stressing the most material aspect of the gods as represented in the popular mythology.

 Incense and flowers decked altars, instead of blood sacrifices; joyousness pervaded the new capital city, while architects and painters created new ideas in their works. However, his successor Tut-ankh-Amen, reinstated the worship of Amen-Ra under the direction of the priests.

The worship of Amen or Ammon was an idea in conception far older than and philosophically and mystically superior to the conceptions which clustered about the newer worship of Aten. This newer worship, with the ideas woven into its meaning by the monarch and his wife, was not only a reform when contrasted with the rigid ritualism into which the worship of Amen had degenerated, but actually was an attempt to infill the minds of the Egyptian people with the joyousness of the solar orb itself as the vehicle of the recondite, secret, and highly mystical Amen, abstract and highly philosophical.

This illustrates how a noble worship can become ritualistic and empty, and how a more sensuous but more joyous worship can be used in a revivalistic sense to awaken a new religious devotion in the hearts of the multitude.

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

Dvija (Sanskrit) (from dvi two + the verbal root jan to be born)

Twice-born; nowadays in India used for any man of the first three of the four castes who has undergone a certain ceremony; specifically used of a Brahman (Dvija-Brahmana) who is said to be reborn after investiture with the sacred thread, but in older times this term was used only the initiated Brahmins.

In theosophical literature, generally used for an initiate in the original sense of the word: one who really and actually is twice-born -- the first time physically, the second time spiritually and intellectually through initiation. The modern-day purely ceremonial and ritualistic observance of "passing through a silver or golden cow" (TG 107) is a faithful but purely physical emblematic ceremony of which even among most modern Brahmins the real and original meaning has been utterly forgotten.

Just as in ancient Egypt, from archaic times in Hindustan the cow has always been considered the symbol of Mother Nature, who brings to birth all things out of her ever fertile and continuously productive womb; gold has always stood for the sun, the parent of the human spiritual and intellectual faculties, while silver stood for the moon, parent of the lower human mind. Thus, just as human beings through repeated rebirths through the womb of nature grows through evolution in all parts of their constitution, so through initiation does a person become a twice-born or dvija, by being reborn from either the sun or the moon -- both of them organs of Mother Nature.

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

Daitya (Daityas), Daiteyas (Sanskrit) Descendants of Diti. If Aditi is understood as mulaprakriti, or virtually cosmic space, so Diti, the nether pole of the former, may be understood as the aggregate of the prakritis. Cosmically, daityas are titans, often called asuras, whose role is that of urgers of evolutionary progress for all things, as contrasted with the incomparably slower, but unceasing, evolutionary inertia of the vast cosmic powers.

Terrestrially, they are the titans and giants of the fourth root-race. According to the Hindu Puranas, these daityas are demons and enemies of the ceremonial sacrifice and ritualistic ceremonies; but according to the secret meaning hid under these stories, some of the daityas were the forwards-looking and impulse-providing intellectual entities striving against the inertia or deadweight of human nature.

"The Demons, so called in the Puranas, are very extraordinary devils when judged from the standpoint of European and orthodox views about these creatures, since all of them -- Danavas, Daityas, Pisachas, and the Rakshasas -- are represented as extremely pious, following the precepts of the Vedas, some of them even being great Yogis.

But they oppose the clergy and Ritualism, sacrifices and forms -- just what the full-blown Yogins do to this day in India -- and are no less respected for it, though they are allowed to follow neither caste nor ritual; hence all those Puranic giants and Titans are called Devils" (SD 1:415).

(See also: Daitya, Daityas, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

A Theosophical definition ofVeda (Vedas) :

Veda (Vedas)

(Sanskrit) From a verbal root vid signifying "to know." These are the most ancient and the most sacred literary and religious works of the Hindus. Veda as a word may be described as "divine knowledge." The Vedas are four in number: the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda, this last being commonly supposed to be of later date than the former three.

Manu in his Work on Law always speaks of the three Vedas, which he calls "the ancient triple Brahman"  - sanatanam trayam brahma." Connected with the Vedas is a large body of other works of various kinds, liturgical, ritualistic, exegetical, and mystical, the Veda itself being commonly divided into two great portions, outward and inner: the former called the karma-kanda, the "Section of Works," and the latter called jnana-kanda or "Section of Wisdom."

The authorship of the Veda is not unitary, but almost every hymn or division of a Veda is ascribed to a different author or rather to various authors; but they are supposed to have been compiled in their present form by Veda-Vyasa. There is no question in the minds of learned students of theosophy that the Vedas run back in their origins to enormous antiquity, thousands of years before the beginning of what is known in the Occident as the Christian era, whatever Occidental scholars may have to say in objection to this statement. Hindu pandits themselves claim that the Veda was taught orally for thousands of years, and then finally compiled on the shores of the sacred lake Manasa-Sarovara, beyond the Himalayas in a district of what is now Tibet.

See also: Veda (Vedas) , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

Smartism: (Sanskrit) Sect based on the secondary scriptures (smriti).

The most liberal of the four major Hindu denominations, an ancient Vedic brahminical tradition (ca 700 bce) which from the 9th century onward was guided and deeply influenced by the Advaita Vedanta teachings of the reformist Adi Shankara. Its adherents rely mainly on the classical smriti literature, especially the Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata, the latter of which includes the Bhagavad Gita), Puranas and Dharma Shastras. These are regarded as complementary to and a means to understanding the Vedas. Smartas adhere to Shankara's view that all Gods are but various depictions of Saguna Brahman. Thus, Smartas are avowedly eclectic, worshiping all the Gods and discouraging sectarianism.

The Smarta system of worship, called panchayatana puja, reinforces this outlook by including the major Deity of each primary Hindu sect of ancient days: Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Siva and Shakti. To encompass a sixth important lineage, Shankara recommended the addition of a sixth Deity, Kumara. Thus he was proclaimed shanmata sthapanacharya, founder of the six-fold system. One among the six is generally chosen as the devotee's preferred Deity, Ishta Devata. For spiritual authority, Smartas look to the regional monasteries established across India by Shankara, and to their pontiffs. These are the headquarters of ten orders of renunciate monks who spread the Advaita Vedanta teachings far and wide. Within Smartism three primary religious approaches are distinguished: ritualistic, devotional and philosophical.

See: dashanami, panchayatana puja, Shankara.

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

Uraeus [from Greek ouraios of the tail]

Refers to the sacred serpent of Egypt (aar, aart, aartu in Egyptian); usually only the head and neck of the serpent are represented by the ancient Egyptians in the headdress of many divinities, and in the headdress of royal persons as a symbol of power, both occult and temporal. Egyptologists state that the physical basis of the symbol is supposed to be the Egyptian asp or cobra -- Naja haje, naja being closely akin to the Sanskrit naga: "Occultism explains that the uraeus is the symbol of initiation and also of hidden wisdom, as the serpent always is" (TG 355). Generally, the representation of the sacred uraeus in headdresses -- before the symbol became degraded into a mere ritualistic, formalistic emblem -- meant that the individual wearing it had become an initiate and bore the badge of wisdom. Two deities in particular were always represented with the uraeus, Isis and Nephthys (Neith), therefore they were termed by the Egyptians snake goddesses (aarti). The uraeus crown itself was named tept.

Sometimes the uraeus is represented with a circle over its head, and again with the winged solar disk, a variant of the serpent and egg symbol met with in so many forms among ancient peoples. Egyptologists interpret the uraeus placed on either side of the winged solar disk as emblematic of the supremacy of the sun, of good over evil, or of Horus over Set; but also the uraeus is associated with the immortal human principles, for one of its identities in The Book of the Dead is the flame. In Aanroo or Aaru -- one of the divisions of the underworld -- the soul of the spirit is devoured after death by the uraeus (ch 99). Blavatsky in explaining this verse speaks of the uraeus as "the Serpent, Son of the earth (in another sense the primordial vital principles in the sun)," and says further that "the Astral body of the deceased or the 'Elementary' fades out and disappears in the 'Son of the earth,' limited time. The soul quits the fields of Aanroo and goes on earth under any shape it likes to assume" (SD 1:674n).

In its universal aspect the uraeus is the serpent emblem of the cosmic fire -- thus, in its universal aspect, being a symbol either of kosmic mahat (kosmic mind) or of fohat (kosmic vital-electrical fire).

(See also: Uraeus, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

WORD MAGIC (or MAGICAL SENTENCES.)

Magical words or phrases are social techniques that double as talismans or ritualistic paraphernalia and serve as short-cuts to reality alteration. They take many forms, some of which are the following:

Setting-Up Exercises -- Suggest that something of moment is afoot:  "I swear by the Bolts of Besqul..." or "I externalize thee..."

Magical Formulae -- Serve as exhortations in the guise of threats:  "Those who do not follow will be left behind!" or "Who stabbeth me, bleedeth  himself!"

Special Effects -- Used to induce the cooperation of the social  environment: "Burn, Fire Perpetua!"

Consensus Modifiers -- Rework consensus through overt assault on the  status quo or through the introduction of novelty: "For it is written but no  longer true..." Also open (and unconventional) evangelism eventually has an  impact: "May Thantifaxath grant!"

Power Implementation -- Such formulae are positive, reinforcing and  tied in creatively to reality because once uttered, they immediately achieve  their ends: "You are herewith ordered to report to ..." In magic, power  implementations are generally surreptitious and operate in the world with  infinite subtlety. Statements such as, "Be thou clean O leper!" are extremely  bold (and rare). However, the most irresistible overt usage is the curse. A  curse propels the victim's ego into a horrible locale or state of being that  he already secretly fears ("May your body house maggots in Hell!" or "You are  a Toad!"). The ego is bound to languish in the wake of the curse, if it is  successful. And when the self desiccates, the body quickly follows. That's why  insults generate violence. The injured psyche needs to re-establish its loss  of position.

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

Circle: The magic circle is drawn in the astral world about the Magus and the place where the ritual is worked. It forms a division between the magical place and the ordinary world, setting the interior space apart. This allows the region inside the circle to hold a heightened charge of magical potency, and because it is a pure space devoted to worship and magic, it permits the manifestation of spiritual Intelligences that could not be readily perceived in the ordinary environment. The circle also acts as a barrier that protects the Magus from the intrusion of discordant, chaotic forces that seek to disrupt communications with higher spiritual beings, or even to harm the Magus in emotional and physical ways.

The circle is always inscribed from the inside, ideally from the center, in a sunwise direction, and visualized as a glowing or flaming band of light that sustains itself in the air at the level of the heart. Often a corresponding physical circle of the same radius is marked on the floor of the chamber beforehand; but the magic circle does not actually exist until it is made in the astral by a deliberate act of will. For convenience, the circle is made of a size great enough to enclose the ritual place. A single ritualist, if working without an altar in a confined space, might project a circle of six feet in diameter. With an altar at the center, the circle might be nine feet in diameter to permit movement around the altar. Since the circle is drawn in the astral, it can be made larger than the actual physical chamber.

Whatever its size, the circle should always be large enough to comfortably hold all who work within it. Because the circle is magically real, even though immaterial, it must never be casually broken. It is extended from the heart center of the Magus clockwise from the point of the right index finger, or the point of the wand, sword, or knife. It should be reabsorbed at the end of the ritual in through the left index finger, or magical instrument held in the left hand, by retracing it widdershins—against the course of the Sun. It must never be stepped through, although this is a common mistake among occultists. To disregard the substantiality of the circle is to weaken it, and so render it a less useful tool.

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

Purva-mimamsa - the philosophy established by Maharsi Jaimini, also known as jaimini-darsana. To thoroughly examine a topic and arrive at a conclusion is known as mimamsa. Mimamsa comes from the verbal root man, to think, reflect, or consider. Because in his book, Maharsi Jaimini has established the correct interpretation of the Vedic statements and how they may be decided through logical analysis, this book is known as mimamsa-grantha. The Vedas have two divisions: purva-kansa (the first part) , dealing with Vedic karma; and uttara-kansa (the latter part) , dealing with the Upanisads or Vedanta. Since Jaimini’s book deals with an analysis of the first part of the Vedas, it is called purva-mimamsa. As Jaimini’s philosophy deals exclusively with an analysis of Vedic karma, it is also known as karma-mimamsa.

Jaimini has minutely examined how Vedic ritualistic karma is to be performed and what its results are. He has accepted the Vedas as apauruseya (not created by any man) , beginningless, and eternal. His philosophy is established on the basis of the Vedas. However, he has given prominence only to Vedic karma. He states that the jivas are meant to performVedic karma only. By proper performance of Vedic karma, one can obtain parama-purusartha, the supreme goal, which in his opinion refers to the attainment of the celestial planets.

In Jaimini’s view, the visible world is anadi, without beginning, and it does not undergo destruction. Consequently, there is no need for an omniscient and omnipotent Isvara to carry out the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the world. Jaimini accepts the existence of pious and sinful karma. According to his doctrine, karma automatically yields the results of its own actions. Therefore, there is no need for an Isvara to award the results of karma.

(See also: Purva-mimamsa, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Karma:

Action in general; duty; ritualistic worship.

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

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

Asura (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root as to breathe)

A title frequently given to the hierarch or supreme spirit of our universe, as being the primal "Breather"; also a class of spiritual-intellectual beings. In Hinduism it commonly signifies elemental and evil gods or demons. "Primarily in the Rig-Veda, the 'Asuras' are shown as spiritual divine beings; their etymology is derived from asu (breath), the 'Breath of God,' and they mean the same as the Supreme Spirit or the Zoroastrian Ahura. It is later on, for purposes of theology and dogma, that they are shown issuing from Brahma's thigh, and that their name began to be derived from a privative, and sura, god (solar deities), or not-a-god, and that they became the enemies of the gods" (SD 2:59).

Further, the asuras "are the sons of the primeval Creative Breath at the beginning of every new Maha Kalpa, or Manvantara; in the same rank as the Angels who had remained 'faithful.' These were the allies of Soma (the parent of the Esoteric Wisdom) as against Brishaspati (representing ritualistic or ceremonial worship). Evidently they have been degraded in Space and Time into opposing powers or demons by the ceremonialists, on account of their rebellion against hypocrisy, sham-worship, and the dead-letter form" (SD 2:500).

Asura is employed with frequency in theosophical writings to signify the class of spiritual-intellectual beings called manasaputras, kumaras, or angishvattas. As a matter of fact, asuras, maruts, rudras, and daityas are but various ways of describing the intellectual gods or manasas, as contrasted with the as yet incompleted devas or suras.

Asura is used in the earliest Vedic literature as a title of the cosmic hierarch or supreme spirit. The Vedic Asura is nothing other than the Great Breath of archaic occult literature -- the Great Breath coming and going as manvantara and pralaya. The other Vedic gods mentioned so much more frequently in the slokas, such as Agni, Indra, and Varuna, are all subordinate hierarchically and cosmogonically to the Vedic Asura, which is really Brahman-pradhana or the Second Logos, Father-Mother; Varuna is the acme or summit of akasa-tattva; Agni is the summit or hierarch of cosmic taijasa-tattva; and Indra is often identified with Vayu as the summit of cosmic Vayu-tattva.

See also MAHASURA

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