prana: (Sanskrit) Vital energy or life principle. Literally, "vital air," from the root pran, "to breathe."

Prana in the human body moves in the pranamaya kosha as five primary life currents known as vayus, "vital airs or winds." These are prana (outgoing breath), apana (incoming breath), vyana (retained breath), udana (ascending breath) and samana (equalizing breath). Each governs crucial bodily functions, and all bodily energies are modifications of these. Usually prana refers to the life principle, but sometimes denotes energy, power or the animating force of the cosmos.

See: kosha, tattva.

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resplendence: Radiance; brilliance.

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restive: Nervous, unruly, eager to go forward; hard to control.

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Rudrashambhu: (Sanskrit) Principal guru in the Amardaka order of Saiva monastics, about 775 in Ujjain, one of Saivism's holiest cities. The sect served as advisors to the king until Muslim domination around 1300.

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potentialities: A state of latency, something that has power but is not developed or manifest, such as a talent yet to be matured.

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pradakshina: (Sanskrit) "Moving rightward."

Worshipful circumambulation, walking clockwise around the temple sanctum or other holy place, with the intention of shifting the mind from worldly concerns to awareness of the Divine. Clockwise has esoteric significance in that the chakras of muladhara and above spin clockwise, while those below spin counterclockwise, taking one down into the lower regions of selfishness, greed, conflict and turmoil.

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pradosha: (Sanskrit) The auspicious 3-hour period, 1H hours before and after sunset. Pradosha especially refers to this period on the 13th (trayodashi) tithi of each fortnight, an optimum time of the month for meditation. Its observance, prepared for by fasting, is called pradosha vrata.

See: fast, tithi.

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pramukha: (Sanskrit) "Turning the face toward." Head; foremost." Leader, guide; such as the family head, kutumba pramukha.

See: joint family.

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pralaya: (Sanskrit) "Dissolution, reabsorption; destruction; death."

A synonym for samhara, one of the five functions of Siva. Also names the partial destruction or reabsorption of the cosmos at the end of each eon or kalpa. There are three kinds of periods of dissolution:

1)    laya, at the end of a mahayuga, when the physical world is destroyed;

2)    pralaya, at the end of a kalpa, when both the physical and subtle worlds are destroyed; and

3)    mahapralaya at the end of a mahakalpa, when all three worlds (physical, subtle and causal) are absorbed into Siva.

See: cosmic cycle, mahapralaya.

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prakriti: (Sanskrit) "Primary matter; nature."

In the 25- tattva Sankhya system - which concerns itself only with the tangible spectrum of creation - prakriti, or pradhana, is one of two supreme beginningless realities: matter and spirit, prakriti and purusha, the female and male principles. Prakriti is the manifesting aspect, as contrasted with the quiescent unmanifest - purusha, which is pure consciousness.

In Shaktism, prakriti, the active principle, is personified as Devi, the Goddess, and is synonymous with Maya. Prakriti is thus often seen, and depicted so in the Puranas, as the Divine Mother, whose love and care embrace and comfort all beings. In Saivite cosmology, prakriti is the 24th of 36 tattvas, the potentiality of the physical cosmos, the gross energy from which all lower tattvas are formed. Its three qualities are sattva, rajas and tamas.

See: odic, purusha, tattva.

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pragmatic: Practical. Concerned with application, not theory or speculation.

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retaliation: Paying back an injury, returning like for like, hurt for hurt. Getting even; vengeance.

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Personal God:

See: Ishta Devata, Parameshvara.

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Paramatman: (Sanskrit) "Supreme Self," or "transcendent soul." Parasiva, Absolute Reality, the one transcendent Self of every soul. Contrasted with atman, which includes all three aspects of the soul: Parasiva, Parashakti and anandamaya kosha.

See: atman, kosha, soul.

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Parameshvara: (Sanskrit) "Supreme Lord or Ruler." God Siva in the third perfection as Supreme Mahadeva, Siva- Shakti, mother of the universe. In this perfection as Personal, father-mother God, Siva is a person - who has a body, with head, arms and legs, etc. - who acts, wills, blesses, gives darshana, guides, creates, preserves, reabsorbs, obscures and enlightens. In Truth, it is Siva- Shakti who does all. The term Primal Soul, Paramapurusha, designates Parameshvara as the original, uncreated soul, the creator of all other souls. Parameshvara has many other names and epithets, including those denoting the five divine actions - Sadasiva, the revealer; Maheshvara, the obscurer; Brahma, the creator; Vishnu the preserver; and Rudra the destroyer.

See: Nataraja, Sadasiva.

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paramahamsa: (Sanskrit) "Supreme swan."

From hamsa, meaning swan or, more precisely, the high-flying Indian goose, Anser Indicus. A class of liberated renunciates.

See: hamsa.

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paramaguru: (Sanskrit) "Senior preceptor."

The guru of a disciple's guru.

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sadhana: (Sanskrit) "Means of attainment."

Self-effort, spiritual discipline; the way." Religious or spiritual disciplines, such as puja, yoga, meditation, japa, fasting and austerity. The effect of sadhana is the building of willpower, faith and confidence in oneself and in God, Gods and guru.

The effect of sadhana is the building of willpower, faith and confidence in oneself and in God, Gods and guru. Sadhana harnesses and transmutes the instinctive-intellectual nature, allowing progressive spiritual unfoldment into the superconscious realizations and innate abilities of the soul.

See: purity-impurity, pada, raja yoga, sadhana marga, spiritual unfoldment.

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parampara: (Sanskrit) "Uninterrupted succession." A lineage.

See: guru parampara, gurus, guru.

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parartha puja: (Sanskrit) "Public liturgy and worship."

See: puja.

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sadhaka: (Sanskrit) From sadh, "going straight to the goal."

A spiritual aspirant; a devotee who performs sadhana. A serious seeker who has undertaken spiritual disciplines, is usually celibate and under the guidance of a guru. He wears white and may be under simple vows, but is not a yogi or sannyasin.

See: sadhana.

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Parasamvid: (Sanskrit) In Siddha Siddhanta the highest, transcendental state of Siva. A synonym of Parasiva.

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