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Below are some short introductions. Click on the blue hyperlinked word to get more related articles.


Sephar - Sephar, Sepher, Sepharim (Hebrew) Writing, something that is written, a book. In the plural (sepharim), books or writings, the Jewish holy scriptures. In the Sepher Yetsirah, an early Qabbalistic treatise and one of the most important in the Qabbalah, the first verse states that the Lord and King of the universe formed "the universe in thirty-two secret paths of wisdom by means of three Sepharim:
[1] Sephar ;
[2) Sippur ;
[3] Sepher, i.e. through
[1] Numbering;
[2] Numberer; and
[3] Number.

" The verbal root from which this word is taken originally meant to make marks -- not only to write but also to number or count. Hence the play upon the three words, described as the three Sepharim, has reference to the activities of the Sephiroth in unfolding both intrinsic mathematical and numerical quantities and attributes by means of the spiritual beings forming the Sephiroth and eventuating in the "number" carpentry or structure of the cosmos.

Enoichion - Enoichion (Greek-Hebrew) (from Hebrew hanach to make narrow, be narrow; pressure; hence to initiate, train into the paths of consecration or dedication; probably from hanoch (Enoch) initiated, initiator)

The root-meaning of narrowness, that which is straightened or close, is reminiscent of the New Testament saying:

"Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way" (Matthew 7:14) -- a direct reference to initiation. Thus enoichion can be rendered as a seer.

"Esoterically and spiritually Enoichion means the ''Seer of the Open Eye,'' the inner spiritual eye" (SD 2:530).

Arya - Arya (Sanskrit) Lit., "the holy"; originally the title of Rishis, those who had mastered the "Aryasatyani" (q.v.) and entered the Aryanimarga path to Nirvana or Moksha, the great "four-fold" path.

But now the name has become the epithet of a race, and our Orientalists, depriving the Hindu Brahmans of their birth-right, have made Aryans of all Europeans. In esotericism, as the four paths, or stages, can be entered only owing to great spiritual development and "growth in holiness ", they are called the "four fruits". The degrees of Arhatship, called respectively Srotapatti, Sakridagamin, Anagamin, and Arhat, or the four classes of Aryas, correspond to these four paths and truths.

Path - Marga or pantha. A trail, road or way. In Hinduism there are various ways that the term path is used.
path of enlightenment salvation moksha: The way to the ultimate goals of Self Realization and liberation.
universal path: The spiritual path conceived as being followed by all of existence, marching on its way to Godhood.
path of dharma: Following principles of good conduct and virtue.
the two paths: The way of the monk and that of the householder, a choice to be made by each Hindu young man.
Peerless highest path: The spiritual path (or the path of renunciation) as the noblest of human undertakings.
the straight path: The way that goes directly to the goal, without distraction or karmic detour.
on the path: someone who is seriously studying, striving and performing sadhana to perfect the inner and outer nature.
our right path in life: The best way for us personally to proceed; personal dharma, svadharma. -
"Truth is one, paths are many: " Hinduism''s affirmation for tolerance. It accepts that there are various ways to proceed toward the ultimate goal.
See: dharma, pada.

Zodiac - Zodiac [from Greek zodiakos kyklos circle of animals]

The zone extending on both sides of the ecliptic, with a total width of about 16 degrees, so as to include the apparent paths of the planets and moon. It is divided into twelve equal parts or signs, which are counted from the position of the vernal equinoctial point. The position of this point recedes westward along the ecliptic at the rate of about 50" of arc per year. The Hindus call this the fixed zodiac, giving the name of movable zodiac to the zodiacal constellations. The ancient figure for the length of a precessional cycle is 25,920 years, also the length of an important racial unit in human evolution.

"A simple calculation will show that at this rate the constellation Taurus (Heb. Alph) was in the first sign of the zodiac at the beginning of the Kali Yuga, and consequently the Equinoctial point fell therein. At this time, also, Leo was in the summer solstice, Scorpio in the autumnal Equinox, and Aquarius in the winter solstice; and these facts form the astronomical key to half the religious mysteries of the world -- the Christian scheme included" (TG 387).

The zodiac is found everywhere among the civilized nations, such as the Chaldeans, Hindus, Egyptians, Chinese, and in Job (said to be the oldest book in the Bible); but its antiquity is lost in the night of time. The zodiac may briefly be described as a book on evolution in twelve chapters, and as such its applications and correspondences are innumerable. Time is marked by the passage of the planets through its signs, by their conjunctions in various positions, and by the movement of the nodes and apsides of planets; so that the whole course of cycles large and small can be calculated and the past and future read by those who understand. The twelve divisions of the ecliptic or fixed zodiac have the same names and significance as the zodiacal constellations. They may be applied to cycles in history, such as the Messianic cycle, to races of mankind, and to the human constitution, mental and physical. When applied to the globes of the earth planetary chain -- using the esoteric computation of a twelvefold system -- the rectors of the houses of the zodiac have each predominance over one globe of the earth-chain.

"Each of these constellations, together forming the twelve houses of the zodiac, is a cluster of stars karmically united by past bonds of destiny, each having its own . . . spiritual electricity or fohatic magnetism, . . . each one producing its own type of influences in the outflow of its emanations around its, and extending through space" (FSO 125).

There was once a division of the zodiac into ten signs because two were kept secret, and the twelve were made up by the Greeks by dividing Virgo-Scorpio into two and introducing between them the balancing sign Libra. An Egyptian mural painting shows a somewhat different arrangement of the ten and the twelve, there being twelve gods on ten seats, numbers 7 and 8, and 11 and 12 being paired. The Hindu astrologers have other divisions, subdividing the twelve houses; and also having 27 or 28 lunar mansions. Speaking of the knowledge of the ancient sages, Blavatsky remarks that "if such men as Kepler and even Sir Isaac Newton believed that stars and constellations influenced the destiny of our globe and its humanities, it requires no great stretch of faith to believe that men who were initiated into all the mysteries of nature, as well as into astronomy and astrology, knew precisely in what way nations and mankind, whole races as well as individuals, would be affected by the so-called ''signs of the Zodiac'' " (TG 387-8).

The Chinese zodiacal system was quite complicated. Besides being divided into 28 and 24 parts, it included two distinct duodenary series. The Chinese method of dividing "the yellow road of the sun" was by means of twelve cyclic animals named the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, hen, dog, and pig. The opening sign corresponds to Aquarius, and it is interesting to observe that in the East, the rat is often used as an ideograph for water. But the Chinese series proceeds in a retrograde direction, against the course of the sun; thus the second sign (the ox) takes the position of Capricorn, etc.

The Aztecs had a month of 20 days, and seven of the names of the days of the month had animal appellations -- four the same as the Chinese (the hare, monkey, dog, and serpent), while three were strictly American animals, the ocelot, lizard, and eagle.

Buddhism - World religion based on the spiritual teachings of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. There are a number of versions or sects of Buddhism generally teaching paths to Nirvana (enlightenment or bliss) though the four noble truths (recognizing existence and source of suffering) and the eightfold path (correct understanding, behavior and meditation).

Some variations of Buddhism include traditional Theravada schools of India, Mahayana Buddhism, which became very popular in China and Japan, and Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism) in Tibet.

Two more recent forms that have had great influence in America are Zen and Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism.

Pratyeka Buddha - Pratyeka Buddha (Sanskrit) [from prati towards, for + eka one]

Each one for himself; exalted and in one sense holy beings who crave spiritual enlightenment for themselves alone. They "are those Bodhisattvas who strive after and often reach the Dharmakaya robe after a series of lives. Caring nothing for the woes of mankind or to help it, but only for this own bliss, they enter Nirvana and -- disappear from the sight and the hearts of men. In Northern Buddhism a ''Pratyeka Buddha'' is a synonym of spiritual Selfishness"; "He, who becomes Pratyeka-Buddha, makes his obeisance but to his Self" (VS 86, 43).

They achieve nirvana automatically as it were, and leave the world in its misery behind. Though exalted, nevertheless they do not rank with the unutterable sublimity, wisdom, and pity of the Buddhas of Compassion.

"The Pratyeka Buddha is a degree which belongs exclusively to the Yogacharya school, yet it is only one of high intellectual development with no true spirituality. It is the dead-letter of the Yoga laws, in which intellect and comprehension play the greatest part, added to the strict carrying out of the rules of the inner development. It is one of the three paths to Nirvana, and the lowest, in which a Yogi -- ''without teacher and without saving others'' -- by the mere force of will and technical observances, attains to a kind of nominal Buddhaship individually; doing no good to anyone, but working selfishly for his own salvation and himself alone.

The Pratyekas are respected outwardly but are despised inwardly by those of keen or spiritual appreciation. A Pratyeka is generally compared to a ''Khadga'' or solitary rhinoceros and called Ekashringa Rishi, a selfish solitary Rishi (or saint)" (TG 261).

Guru - Guru is often used for a Hindu spiritual teacher or Guide.
Also the word is used for each of the ten first leaders of the Sikh religion.
The word Guru comes from Sanskrit guru ''weighty, grave'' (compare with Latin gravis). It means "with weightage (a big importance)".
Also it is often (correctly from spiritual point-of-view) interpreted as being derived from two root words Gu (meaning darkness), and ru (dispeller or remover). A real Guru (sad-Guru) is an awakened human who transmits higher consciousness to the disciples and devotees - to take them from an ordinary path to the path-of-truth. An aspirant who is accepted by a Guru and who is considered to be worthy to be initiated is called shisya (disciple).

From the spiritual point of view -The Guru is as good as the God. It has been said that:

Guru Brahmaa, Guru Vishnu, Gurudeva Maheswara
Guru saakhsaat Parambrahma, tasmayi Shri Gurave Namoh.

Guru himself is Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva-
And is representative of the Supreme-Soul, hence regards and obligations to Guru.

Group-souls - Group-souls The idea that there are entities which express themselves through the collectivity of the individuals of a race or nation, or other similar group, somewhat as the soul of a person may express itself through the collectivity of the living units which compose his organism.

However, the living units of our body do not of themselves engender a unitary entity but, having been drawn together by similarity of karma and by the vital magnetism of the imbodied soul, form the vehicle for the expression of the entity of a higher order. The individuals of a race or nation, though drawn by similarity of karma and character into the same race or nation, do not thereby constitute a vehicle for the manifestation of any entity of a higher order which is the predominant and almost exclusive factor in the case.

There are, nonetheless, such things as the national genius, which can be metaphysically explained by calling it a minor ray from the logos, to which belong the already relatively highly evolved individual units of the group thus overenlightened. Such a national or racial aggregation of individuals of like karma and character likewise create a vital atmosphere, a manifestation of the genius, which exists in the creative ideation of the planetary spirit, both as an imbodied idea and as an abstract spiritual entity. It is in this sense that such expressions were used in ancient Greek and other mythologies when speaking of nature spirits, genii loci, or denoting families and races by an eponym, ancestor, or the name of a god.

A misunderstanding of certain teachings has also given rise in some minds to the idea that animals, when they die, become merged in a group-soul, which is entirely erroneous when connected with the implication that they lose their individuality and do not reappear as the same partially egoic individuals. Every animal, as also every organism down to an atom, has its monad or permanent individuality, which is on the path of evolution just as human monads are, though at a lower stage.

This individuality cannot be lost. Yet the manifested quality of individuality is so little developed in the animals, as compared with human beings, that their monads to our minds, although not in themselves, are much more alike than are human monads, so that they seem to us to fall together more readily into a group. But the word group here is a collective noun and denotes an entity, but of an extremely abstract -- to us -- type.

Vairagya - (Sanskrit) "Dispassion; aversion." Freedom
from passion. Distaste or disgust for worldliness because
of spiritual awakening. Also, the constant renunciation of obstacles on the path to liberation. Ascetic or monastic
life.

Marga - A path or way often used to indicate a particular spiritual path, as in "bhakti marga" means the "path of devotion".

Plexus - Plexus (Latin) A network, used anatomically for certain networks of nerves or blood vessels. The nerve plexuses forming part of the sympathetic nervous system are closely related functionally to the viscera, and serve as coordinating centers for the various nerve tissues which regulate their muscular and organic action. They are intimately related to mental and emotional states, to such an extent that the chief of them, the solar plexus, has been called the abdominal brain.

The word has been used in theosophy to translate the Sanskrit chakra (wheel, nerve ganglion), but these chakras are better defined as forming centers in the vital-astral constitution of the organism. They are centers or foci of pranic energy, having special qualities which may be correlated to other groupings, such as the seven principles, the seven rays, etc. The seven chakras are: sacral, prostatic, epigastric (solar), cardiac, laryngeal, frontal, and cavernous.

Any attempt by an untrained student, without a teacher, to try to develop these chakras is sure to cause disaster, since it can result only in the arousing of powerful forces which he has not yet acquired the means to control, and which will therefore control him. Once awakened, they cannot be put to sleep again, and the result will be disorganization, physical or mental or both, manifested in disease, insanity, depravity, or death; in the worst cases, the unfortunate dabbler may set his feet on a path of black magic ending in the final separation of his spiritual ego from its hapless psycho-vital-astral-physical vehicle.

The spiritual and higher intellectual powers and faculties must be cultivated first; and this cannot be done by any attempt at artificial stimulation based on fixing the attention on spots in the body or head. The only safe way to practice the chela life is to forget about the body and its mechanism, thus allowing evolution to proceed in its natural course, and dangerous forces to life quiescent until they come naturally and harmoniously into operation.

Dharma - Refers to religion or activities regulated by religion; one''s faith; one''s spiritual path in life. Also in the lowest sense it refers to the duties one is compelled to perform in vedic culture based on their stage in life and family in which they were born. In other words there is both a mundane and spiritual conception and definition of this word.

Vairagya - (Sanskrit) "Dispassion; aversion." Freedom from passion. Distaste or disgust for worldliness because of spiritual awakening. Also, the constant renunciation of obstacles on the path to liberation. Ascetic or monastic life.

Karma - The belief that ones thoghts and deeds can be either counted against them or added to their spiritual path during several life times.Follows the law of cause and effect.