A sacred language is a language, frequently a dead language, that is cultivated for religious reasons by people who speak another language in their daily life. In particular, a liturgical language is a sacred language. The traditions involved in religious ritual and liturgy quite frequently provide a place where archaic forms of language occur. One of the last places the obsolescent English pronoun thou remains in frequent use is in religious liturgy; wherever the Authorised Version of the Bible is read, or older versions of ...

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Including:

• Taboo - Taboo and art

Read more here: » Taboo: Encyclopedia - Taboo

A classical language is a language with a literary tradition that can be judged as "classical". According to George L. Hart: [To] qualify as a classical tradition, a language must fit several criteria: it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich body of ancient literature. Note that the judgement of a language as "classical" is a judgement of its literature, not the language itself. Alt ...

Including:

• Classical language - List of classical languages

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Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the World. The mundane understanding of sound and language is that it is only used for communication between two or more people. But at another level, the science of sound and language is a huge field of wisdom that affect many aspects of life, not the least our spiritual wellbeing. This article explain in detail the science of sound and language and how this wisdom has been an imbedded key component of the ancient sciences of India for thousands of years. Yoga, chanting and the use of mantras are all closely connected to the conscious use of sound and language for healing and spiritual awakening.

Read more here: » Spirituality & Science: Sanskrit - a divine Language?

Sacred geometry is geometry that is sacred to the observer or discoverer of the geometry. This meaning is sometimes described as being the language of the God of the religion of the people who discovered or used it. Sacred geometry can be described as attributing a religious or cultural value to the graphical representation of the mathematical relationships and the design of the man-made objects that sy ...

Including:

• Sacred geometry - External link

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Studying the myths of various cultures leads to a better understanding of their social and religious underpinnings. By turning the myths inwards, inviting them into our lives and learning their language of imagery and symbolism, we learn more about ourselves.

In almost every culture, the metaphor of descent serves as a powerful, sacred and mythic image for women. One of the earliest such accounts is the story of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess and Queen of the Upper World. She was worshipped in Sumer from the third millennium BCE (before the common era) to the first millennium BCE.

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

The practice of Christian meditation dates back to the beginning of Christianity; its objective is to daily 'empty the self' to experience the fullness of God. It is consonant with Jesus's invitation to his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow him. It is central to Easter celebrations, 'dying' to rise to a New Life.

The way of meditation is the way of silence. Silencing the ceaseless chatter of a mind buzzing with thoughts is not easy. The way to silence is the way of the mantra. Choosing a sacred word and repeating it from the beginning to the end of the period of meditation forms part of the essential teaching of Christian meditation. It is advisable to choose a word of four syllables and pronounce them with equal length. The recommended word in the Christian Tradition is Ma-ra-na-tha. In Aramaic, the language of Jesus's time, it means 'The Lord comes'.

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

See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town The Avesta is a collection of the sacred texts of ancient Persia belonging to the Zoroastrian religion. They are preserved in two languages: the more ancient, in the Avestan language, the oldest attested Iranian language still very closely related to Sanskrit; the younger texts in Pahlavi, a Middle Iranian language. When translated into Pahlavi, the Avestan language was largely forgotten, and literal translations of some places (word-by-word translation of a sacr ...

Including:

• Avesta - History

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Bumthang is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. It is the most historic dzongkhag if the number of ancient temples and sacred sites is counted. Bumthang consists of the four mountain valleys of Ura, Chumey, Tang and Choekhor (also known as Bumthang valley), although occasionally the entire district is referred to as Bumthang valley. Bumthang is also the name of the language spoken there. It is a Tibeto-Burman language closely relate ...

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Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, the earliest sacred texts of India. The earliest of the Vedas, the Rigveda, was composed in the 2nd millennium BC, and use of the Vedic dialect was continued for the composition of religious texts until roughly 500 BC, when the later Classical Sanskrit language began to emerge. The Vedic form of Sanskrit is an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian (spoken around 2000 BC), and still comparatively similar (being removed by maybe 1500 years) to the Proto-Indo-European language. Vedic S ...

Including:

• Vedic Sanskrit - History
• Vedic Sanskrit - Phonology
• Vedic Sanskrit - Grammar

Read more here: » Vedic Sanskrit: Encyclopedia - Vedic Sanskrit

Blasphemy is the defamation of the name of God. These may include using sacred names as stress expletivies without intention to pray or speak of sacred matters. Sometimes blasphemy is used loosely to mean any profane language, for example in "With much hammering and blasphemy, the locomotive's replacement spring was finally fitted.". In this broader sense the term is used by Sir Francis Bacon in the Advancement of Learning, when he speaks of "blasphemy against learning". Many cultures disapprove of speech or writi ...

Including:

• Blasphemy - Blasphemy laws
• Blasphemy - Blasphemy in Christianity
• Blasphemy - Blasphemy in Islam

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Amavasya is the Indic name for a new-moon. The word Amavasya is common to many Indian languages especially Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. The fortnight containing the new-moon is considered auspicious by Hindus. They believe that during this period, the offerings they make, reach their late forefathers. Every month, the new-moon day is considered auspicious and poojas are made. The dark fortnight of Aswayuja (September-October) is known as the Mahalaya Paksha or the fortnight specially sacred for offering ...

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Maha Mrutyunjaya Mantra is a Mantra that is a part of Taittiriya Upanishad. It can be quoted as (Language Sanskrit) "Om Tryambakam Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam Urvaarukamiva Bandhanaat Mrityor Muksheeya Ma-Amritaat" It means that "Let us worship Shiva (the three-eyed One), who is sacred (fragrant) and who nourishes all beings.Just as the ripe cucumber is automatically released from its attachment to the creeper, may we be liberated from (total identification with) death (our mortal body and personality) an ...

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Bethel is a Semitic word that aquired various meanings Bethel - Semitic root. A Semitic (Phoenician?) word meaning 'sacred stone/pillar" was the etymological root of the Greek Baetylus For traditions of other such stones named Bethel and a god named Bethel see also Bethel (god). Bethel - Hebrew. In this Semitic language of the Jewish people, bethel means "House of El") Bethel - Bible. B ...

Including:

• Bethel - Semitic root
• Bethel - Hebrew
• Bethel - Bible
• Bethel - Geographical names
• Bethel - United States
• Bethel - Canada
• Bethel - South Africa
• Bethel - Sources and References

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A quadriga (from the Latin language quadri-, four, and jungere, to yoke) is a four-horse chariot, raced in the Olympic Games and other sacred games, and represented in profile as the usual chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and bas-reliefs. The quadriga was adopted in ancient Roman chariot racing. Quadrigas became a natural emblem of triumph, victory or fame, often depicted as a triumphant woman guiding a quadriga. In classical mythology, quadrigas were the vehicles of the gods; Apollo was often depicted as driving his quadriga across the heavens, bringing daylight ...

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Kakure Kirishitans are called the "hidden" Christians because they continued to practice Catholicism in secret. They worshipped in secret rooms in private homes. The figures of the saints and the Virgin Mary were transformed into figurines that looked like the traditional statues of Buddha and Shinto gods and goddesses. The prayers were adapted to sound like Buddhist and Shinto prayers, yet retained many untranslated words from Latin, Portuguese, and Spanish. The Bible was passed down orally due to fears of printed works being commandeered b ...

See also:

Kakure Kirishitan, Kakure Kirishitan - History

Read more here: » Kakure Kirishitan: Encyclopedia II - Kakure Kirishitan - History

Many contemporary artists deal with taboo images and ideas including: Matthew Barney Maurizio Cattalan Damien Hirst Joel-Peter Witkin Bill Viola and Pedro Almodóvar Luis Buñuel Derek Jarman Tom Green ...

See also:

Taboo, Taboo - Taboo and art

Read more here: » Taboo: Encyclopedia II - Taboo - Taboo and art

Many contemporary artists deal with taboo images and ideas including: Matthew Barney Maurizio Catalan Damien Hirst Lennie Lee Joel-Peter Witkin Bill Viola and Pedro Almodóvar Luis Buñuel Derek Jarman Tom Green ...

See also:

Taboo, Taboo - Taboo and art

Read more here: » Taboo: Encyclopedia II - Taboo - Taboo and art

Zend-Avesta

The sacred writings of Zoroaster that formed the basis of the religion that prevailed in Persia from the 6th century BC to the 7th century AD. Avesta means the lore, or sacred writings, and Zend, the commentary. Hence the application of Zend to the ancient Iranian language in which the Zend-Avesta is written.

(See also: Zend-Avesta, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

mantra

A short expression in sacred language chanted to purify the mind and fulfill various aspirations.

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