Virtue Dictionary

Virtue

See "Merit and Virtue."

 (See also: Virtue , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

The Samanya Dharmas must be practised by all, irrespective of distinctions of Varna and Asrama, creed or colour. Goodness is not the property of any one class, creed, sect or community. Every man should possess this virtue.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Dharma: Fundamentals Of Dharma

The terms, "Indigo" and "Crystal" were given to two generations of children, because they most accurately describe their aura colors and energy patterns. Indigo Children have a lot of indigo blue in their auras. This is the color of the "third eye chakra," which is an energy center inside the head located between the two eyebrows. This chakra regulates clairvoyance, or the ability to see energy, visions, and spirits.

Many of the Indigo Children are clairvoyant The Crystal Children have opalescent auras, with beautiful multi-colors in pastel hues. This generation also shows a fascination for crystals and rocks, as you'll read in this book.

Read more here: » Crystal Children: Indigo and Crystal Children

The three marks of conditioned existence

According to the Buddhist tradition all phenomena (dharmas) are marked by three characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Dharma Seals: Anatta, Anicca and Dukkha

Read more here: » Buddhism Beliefs: The three marks of conditioned existence

A dream dictionary with dream-symbols and their meanings.

A spiritual view on dreams and the meaning of dreams by Sri Swami Sivananda, an authority in the vedic sciences and traditions.

Day of Brahma

In Hindu esoteric teachings, one day of Brahma consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.

The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years.

• In the Treta-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years.
• In the Dvapara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years.
• And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have been experiencing over the past 5000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years.

In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord himself appears as the Kalki Avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves his devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again.

These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahma, and the same number comprise one night. Brahma lives one hundred of such years and then dies. These hundred years by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years. By these calculations the life of Brahma seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. "

(See also: Day of Brahma , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

dharma:

dharma. Right action, truth in action, righteousness, morality, virtue, duty, the dictates of God, code of conduct. Dharma defies a simple translation into English.

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

Merit and Virtue

These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, there is a crucial difference:

• merits are the blessings (wealth, intelligence, etc.) of the human and celestial realms; therefore, they are temporary and subject to Birth and Death.
• Virtues, on the other hand, transcend Birth and Death and lead to Buddhahood.

Four virtues are mentioned in Pure Land Buddhism: eternity; happiness; True Self; purity.

An identical action (e.g., charity) can lead either to merit or virtue, depending on the mind of the practitioner, that is, on whether he is seeking mundane rewards (merit) or transcendence (virtue).

Thus, the Pure Land cultivator should not seek merits for by doing so, he would, in effect, be choosing to remain within samsara. This would be counter to his very wish to escape Birth and Death.

 (See also: Merit and Virtue , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Tao Teh Ching or Tao Te King (Chinese) [from tao path, way + te virtue + ching book]

The canon of tao and virtue, or the Book of Taoistic virtue; the principal work on tao, attributed to Lao Tzu, consisting of 81 short chapters written in a terse, pithy style which makes its translation and explanation most difficult. When Lao Tsu was departing through the pass, it is said that at the request of its keeper, Yin Hsi (a famous Taoist), he wrote a book in regard to his ideas on tao and te running to somewhat over five thousand characters. Its teaching is principally imparted by means of paradoxes, the object being that by startling the mind one may perceive truth without ratiocinations.

"It is a kind of cosmogony which contains all the fundamental tenets of Esoteric Cosmogenesis. Thus he says that in the beginning there was naught but limitless and boundless Space. All that lives and is, was born in it, from the 'Principle which exists by Itself, developing Itself from Itself,' i.e., Swabhavat. As its name is unknown and its essence is unfathomable, philosophers have called it Tao (Anima Mundi), the uncreate, unborn and eternal energy of nature, manifesting periodically. Nature as well as man when it reaches purity will reach rest, and then all become one with Tao, which is the source of all bliss and felicity. As in the Hindu and Buddhistic philosophies, such purity and bliss and immortality can only be reached through the exercise of virtue and the perfect quietude of our worldly spirit; the human mind has to control and finally subdue and even crush the turbulent action of man's physical nature; and the sooner he reaches the required degree of moral purification, the happier he will feel" (TG 320).

(See also: Tao Teh Ching, Tao Te King , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

dharma: (Sanskrit) "Righteousness." From dhri, "to sustain; carry, hold."

Hence dharma is "that which contains or upholds the cosmos." Dharma, religion, is a complex and all-inclusive term with many meanings, including: divine law, law of being, way of righteousness, religion, ethics, duty, responsibility, virtue, justice, goodness and truth. Essentially, dharma is the orderly fulfillment of an inherent nature or destiny. Relating to the soul, it is the mode of conduct most conducive to spiritual advancement, the right and righteous path.

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

Shang (Chinese) In the I Ching, the constant virtues -- benevolence, laws, and rites of social life, righteousness, and correctness -- constituting the tao of man. "If the man of eminent virtue cultivates those four virtues, he is first and principal, all-pervading, beneficent, and immutably correct" (Wen yen 1).

(See also: Shang , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

A dictionary Of Commonly Used Sanskrit terms. From Pada to Svastikasana.

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.

Jains feel that the values like love, joy and peace can be achieved only through caring for others, understanding the pain of others and reaching out to other human beings. Anger, confusion, egoism and intolerance cause harm to one's self and to the 'other'. But the negative energies suffocate, choke, distress and disturb. Love should not be in the form of words alone. It should reach out to people who need peace, mercy, joy, comfort, sympathy, food, clothing and medicines. This is love in its active, not passive manifestation, but true love is forgiveness for self sake.

Read more here: » Jainism: Forgiveness Is A Virtue

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.

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

Role of Taste

It is as important to realise that every food's unique combination of attributes will influence its taste and the action it causes in the body. With every taste having a different action – as detailed below. Astanga Hrdayam clearly describes the characteristics of each of the six tastes and problems that might be experienced from its habitual over-consumption. Most foods being a combination of two or more of these tastes e.g. coffee is bitter and pungent.

Sour

Comprised of the elements earth & fire, it increases pitta and kapha and is good for heart and digestion. Stimulates agni, moves inactive Vata energy down the pelvic cavity, sets the teeth on edge and increases salivation. Excess use may cause looseness and flabbiness, loss of strength, giddiness, itching, irritation, a whitish yellow pallor, herpetiform lesions, swelling thirsts and fever, and diseases arising from excess pitta and kapha.

Sweet

Related to earth & water, it mitigates pitta and vata, producing greater strength in the tissues and of value to the aged, wounded, emaciated and children. Universally liked, it often adheres to the inside of the mouth, giving a feeling of pleasure, contentment and comfort. Good for the complexion, hair, senses and ojas, it also increases breast milk and helps unite broke parts like bones. By its virtue it prolongs life and helps life activities. In excess however it may cause diseases arising from fat and excess kapha e.g. obesity, dyspepsia, unconsciousness, diabetes, enlargement of neck glands or malignant tumors.

Salt

The water & fire in salty taste increases pitta and kapha. It clears obstruction of channels and pores and increases the digestive activity and salivation. Also responsible for lubrication and sweating, it penetrates the tissues. An excess of it may cause baldness and graying of the hair, wrinkles, thirst, skin diseases, blood disorders, herpetiform leisons and loss of body strength

Pungent

Fire & air in pungent increases vata and pitta and mitigates kapha. Increases hunger, is digestive, causes irritation, brings secretion from the eyes, nose & mouth, and gives a burning sensation to the mouth. Dilating the channels and breaking up the hard masses. But an excess use of it may cause thirst, depletion of reproductive tissue and strength, fainting, contracture, tremors, pain in the waist and back, and other disorders related to excess of pitta and kapha.

Bitter

Air & space being its elements, it mitigates pitta and kapha. Drying up moisture from fat, muscles, faeces and urine. It cleans the mouth and destroys the perception of taste. It is said to cure anorexia, worms, bacteria, parasites, thirst, skin diseases, loss of consciousness, fever, nausea, burning sensation. But in excess, it increases vata, causing diseases of vata origin and depletion of tissues.

Astringent

Air & earth increases vata and mitigates increased pitta and kapha. It cleans the blood and causes healing of ulcers. Like bitter, it too dries up moisture from fat. It absorbs water, causing constipation and hindering digestion of undigested food. Its excess use causes stasis of food without digestion, flatulance, pain in the cardiac region, emaciation, loss of virility, obstruction of channels and constipation.

(See also: Diet , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Truth: When capitalized, ultimate knowing which is unchanging. Lower case (truth): honesty, integrity; virtue.

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

Stone, Stones There is available numerous testimony as to animated stones, speaking stones, etc. There is the Christ-stone, which followed the Israelites; the Jupiter Lapis swallowed by Saturn; the testimony of Pausanias as to the Grecian worship of stones; the Ophites and Siderites, serpent-stones and star-stones, the former being alleged to have the gift of speech; the baituloi or alleged animated stones mentioned by Sanchoniathon and Philo Byblius; the liafail or speaking stone of Westminster; Pliny's stones which ran away when a hand approached them; the importance attached to stone monuments and rocking stones; etc. (SD 2:341 et seq). Again, we have the vast subject of talismans and of gems with potent properties.

A stone is an organism enshrining a divine spark or monad. The difference between the stone and the man consists largely in the fact that what is expressed in man is latent in the stone. Why then should not the hierophants of genuine magic or occult science have been able to evoke from the stone its latent potencies? Why should not particular stones, like particular plants, animals, or men, possess particular virtues?

Unless modern science is prepared to make of the physical atom a primordial existence, it must seek the origin elsewhere. Physical matter is a concretion of universal light or radiation; but it needs the eye of a seer to perceive what starry virtue lies sleeping in the gem or the talisman; the skill of the magician to known what can be done by placing stones in a particular grouping, perhaps with certain ceremonies, etc.

The word has symbolic uses, as in the white stone with a new name inscribed in it, which is given to him that overcomes in Revelations; the stone that the builders rejected; stones in the Guardian Wall; etc.

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

A Theosophical definition of Ethics :

Ethics

The theosophical teachings are essentially and wholly ethical. It is impossible to understand the sublime wisdom of the gods, the archaic wisdom-religion of the ancients, without the keenest realization of the fact that ethics run like golden threads throughout the entire system or fabric of doctrine and thought of the esoteric philosophy. Genuine occultism, divorced from ethics, is simply unthinkable because impossible. There is no genuine occultism which does not include the loftiest ethics that the moral sense of mankind can comprehend, and one cannot weigh with too strong an emphasis upon this great fact.

Ethics in the theosophical philosophy are not merely the products of human thought existing as a formulation of conventional rules proper for human conduct. They are founded on the very structure and character of the universe itself. The heart of the universe is wisdom-love, and these are intrinsically ethical, for there can be no wisdom without ethics, nor can love be without ethics, nor can there be ethics deprived of either love or wisdom.

The philosophic reason why the ancients set so much store by what was commonly known as virtus among the Latins, from which we have our modern word "virtue," is because by means of the teaching originating in the great Mystery schools, they knew that virtues, ethics, were the offspring of the moral instinct in human beings, who derived them in their turn from the heart of the universe  - from the kosmic harmony. It is high time that the Occidental world should cast forever into the limbo of exploded superstitions the idea that ethics is merely conventional morality, a convenience invented by man to smooth the asperities and dangers of human intercourse.

Of course every scholar knows that the words morals and ethics come from the Latin and Greek respectively, as signifying the customs or habits which it is proper to follow in civilized communities. But this fact itself, which is unquestionable, is in a sense disgraceful, for it would almost seem that we had not yet brought forth a word adequately describing the instinct for right and truth and troth and justice and honor and wisdom and love which we today so feebly express by the words ethics or morals. "Theosophist is who Theosophy does," wrote H. P. Blavatsky, and wiser and nobler words she never wrote. No one can be a theosophist who does not feel ethic-ally and think ethically and live ethically in the real sense that is hereinbefore described. (See also Morals)

See also: Ethics , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

Y - Letter Y. - The twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, and the tenth of the Hebrew - the Yod. It is the litera Pythagorœ the Pythagorean letter and symbol, signifying the two branches, or paths of virtue and vice respectively, the right leading to virtue, the left to vice. In Hebrew Kabbalistic mysticism it is the phallic male member, and also as number ten, the perfect number. Symbolically, it is represented by a hand with bent forefinger. Its numerical equivalent is ten.

(See also: Y - Letter Y , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

 Punya:

virtue, merit, good

(See also:  Punya , Body Mind and Soul)