Upasana Dictionary

AHANGRAHA UPASANA: meditation in which the aspirant identifies himself with Brahman

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Upasana:

Upasana: worshiping, devotion for God (SSS-II)

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Upasana - spiritual practices, especially worship of the Deity. Upasana literally means ‘to sit near’. Thus upasana refers to all those activities by which one approaches the Lord in order to offer worship.

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

UPASANA: worship

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upasana (seated near): being near to the Lord through continual mental visualization of his form.

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Upasana:

Worship, devotion, meditation practice. Acquisition of the presence of God.

(See also: Upasana , Body Mind and Soul)

upasana:

upasana (upaasana). Worship, devotion, meditation practice, acquisition of the presence of the Lord.

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

nir-aakaara-upasana:

nir-aakaara-upasana (-upaasana). You-without-form.

(See also: nir-aakaara-upasana , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Sikh-upasana:

Sikh-upasana (-upaasana). Sikh mode of worship.

(See also: Sikh-upasana , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

nada: (Sanskrit) "Sound; tone, vibration."

Metaphysically, the mystic sounds of the Eternal, of which the highest is the transcendent or Soundless Sound, Paranada, the first vibration from which creation emanates. Paranada is so pure and subtle that it cannot be identified to the denser regions of the mind. From Paranada comes Pranava, Aum, and further evolutes of nada. These are experienced by the meditator as the nadanadi shakti, "the energy current of sound," heard pulsing through the nerve system as a constant high-pitched hum, much like a tambura, an electrical transformer, a swarm of bees or a shruti box.

Listening to the inner sounds is a contemplative practice, called nada upasana, "worship through sound," nada anusandhana, "cultivation of inner sound," or nada yoga. The subtle variations of the nadanadi shakti represent the psychic wavelengths of established guru lineages of many Indian religions. Nada also refers to other psychic sounds heard during deep meditation, including those resembling various musical instruments. Most commonly, nada refers to ordinary sound.

See: Aum, nadi, pranava, sound, healing sound, vibrational healing

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

A Dictionary of Spiritual Terms. From Acupuncture to Zoroaster.

Please note that all words in grey, like "yoga", "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

muhurta: (Sanskrit) "Moment."

1)    A period of time.

2)    A certain division of a day or night.

-       Muhurtas vary slightly in length as the lengths of days and nights change through the year. There are at least three muhurta systems.

-       The first defines one muhurta as 1/8th of a day or night (= 1.5 hours in a 12-hour night),

-       the second as 1/15th of a day or night (= 48 minutes), and

-       the third as 1/16th of a day or night (= 45 minutes).

3)    Muhurta also refers to the astrological science of determining the most auspicious periods for specific activities.

See: brahma muhurta, auspiciousness, sandhya upasana.

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

Kaanda:

Kaanda (Kanda): The three sections of the Veda's: Karma, Upasana and Jnana: 'The first one deals with Karma, which is the most voluminous and the second, shorter in size, is called Upasana or Worship. The third or the Jnana section is the Upanishad literature, which is shorter still, the Vedantha or the Consummation of Vedic discipline'. (SSS-II) Kanda means water, an expanse of water (RRV-1)

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pancha nitya karma (karmas): (Sanskrit) "Five constant duties." A traditional regimen of religious practice for Hindus:

1)   dharma (virtuous living),

2)    upasana (worship),

3)    utsava (holy days),

4)    tirthayatra (pilgrimage) and

5)    samskaras (sacraments.)

See: dharma, festival, samskara, tirthayatra.

(See also: Pancha nitya karma (karmas): , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

upasana: (Sanskrit) "Sitting near."

Worship or contemplation of God. One of the pancha nitya karmas. "five constant duties."

See: sandhya upasana.

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

saakaara-upasana:

saakaara-upasana (-upaasana). You-with-form.

(See also: saakaara-upasana , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

sandhya upasana: (Sanskrit) "Worship at time's junctures."

Drawing near to God at the changes of time - worship and sadhana performed in the home at dawn, noon and dusk.

See: sadhana.

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

There is no reference to worship of idols in the Vedas. The Puranas and the Agamas give descriptions of idol-worship both in the houses and in the temples. Idol-worship is not peculiar to Hinduism. Christians worship the Cross. They have the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans keep the image of the Kaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The people of the whole world, save a few Yogis and Vedantins, are all worshippers of idols. They keep some image or the other in the mind.

The mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one of kind, but only one of degree. All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in the mind and make the mind dwell on that image.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Worship: An Introduction to Hindu Worship

The Four Vedas and Their Sub Divisions : The Veda is divided into four great books: the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda and the Atharva-Veda. The Yajur-Veda is again divided into two parts, the Sukla and the Krishna. The Krishna or the Taittiriya is the older book and the Sukla or the Vajasaneya is a later revelation to sage Yajnavalkya from the resplendent Sun-God.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Four Vedas: The Four Vedas in the Hindu Scriptures

Introduction to Hinduism

Statistically, there are over 700 million Hindus, mainly in Bharat (India), and Nepal. Hinduism is referred to as Sanatana Dharma, the eternal faith. Hinduism is not strictly a religion. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. Since Hinduism has no founder, anyone who practices Dharma can call himself a Hindu. He can question the authority of any scripture, or even the existence of the Divine.

Read more here: » Hinduism: Introduction to Hinduism