Warm Welcomes & Sanskrit Terms

[Guest guest]

Warmest Welcome to both our new members Yarrow Adder and Damiana!! Hope to see

you both around as often as you like and whenever you have time. Great to see

Bill and Nitin G. around too. Rajat and Jen as well (missing you here Jen,

how have you been?)... Missing Alobarji too and all the others who haven't

posted in yonks. You have not been forgotten.

Looks like Ganesh is making our List come alive (so to speak) finally! We're

gonna rejoice in the Lord's cyber-playground. Look forward to getting to know

everyone here, all in good time.

Been inundated all day and night since my last post. Friend got out of hospital

but had a relapse. Finally sorted it all out, 1.57am as I type this, whew!!

Waddling through my mail box gradually.... Will respond to posts as soon as I

next can. Please bear with me..... Meantime, this is from:

The Ramakrisha Mission Institute of Culture

http://www.sriramakrishna.org/sanskrit.htm

COMMONLY USED SANSKRIT TERMS

ADVAITANon-duality; a school of Vedanta philosophy teaching the oneness of God,

soul, and universe, whose chief exponent was Sankaracharya. AGNIHOTRAA Vedic

sacrifice in which oblations are offered to Agni, the Fire-god. AHAMKARAEgo or

"I-consciousness"; one of the functions of the inner organ. (See Antahkarana.)

AJNANAA term of Vedanta philosophy meaning ignorance, individual or cosmic.

According to Non-dualistic Vedanta it is responsible for the perception of

multiplicity in the relative world and also for man's bondage and suffering.

AKASAThe first of the five material elements that constitute the universe;

often translated as "space" or "eter". The four other elements are vayu (air),

agni (fire), ap (water), and prithivi (earth). ANANDABliss. ANANDAMAYAKOSAThe

sheath of bliss. (see Kosa) ANNAMAYAKOSAThe gross physical sheath. (see Kosa)

ANTAHKARANAThe innerorgan, comprising manas (mind), buddhi (intellect or

determinative faculty), citta (pleasure-seeking faculty), and, ahamkara (ego).

ATHARVA-VEDAOne of the section of the Vedas. (see Vedas) ATMABODDHA(Lit.,

Self-Knowledge) The name of a Sanskrit work written by Sankaracharya. ATMANThe

Self, or Soul; denotes also the Supreme Soul, which, according to Non-dualistic

Vedanta, is one with the individual soul. AVIDYAA term of Vedanta philosophy

meaning ignorance, individual or cosmic. (see Ajnana) BHAGAVAD-GITAA well-known

Hindu scripture, comprising eighteen chapters of the Bhisma Parva of the

Mahabharata. BRAHMAThe Creator God; the First Person of the Hindu Trinity, the

other two being Vishnu and Siva. BRAHMACHARIA celibate religious student who

lives with his teacher and devotes himself to the practice of spiritual

discipline. BRAHMAJNANAThe knowledge of Brahman. BRAHMALOKAThe plane of Brahma,

roughly corresponding to the highest heaven of the dualistic religions, where

fortunate souls repair after death and enjoy spiritual communion with the

Personal God. BRAHMANThe Absolute; the Supreme Reality of Non-dualistic

Vedanta. BRAHMANASOne of the two main sections of the Vedas. (see Vedas)

BRAHMA-SUTRAAn authoritative treatise on Vedanta philosophy ascribed to Vyasa.

Same as Vedanta-sutras. BRAHMINA member of the priestly caste, the highest

caste in Hindu society. BUDDHA(Lit., The Enlightened One) The founder of

Buddhism. BUDDHIThe determinative faculty of the mind which makes decisions;

sometimes translated as "intelect".(see Antahkarana) CHARVAKAThe founder of the

well-known materialistic school of Hindu philosophy. CHITConsciousness.

CHITTAThe function of the inner organ which seeks for pleasurable objects. (see

Antahkarana) CODE OF MANUA book on Hindu law by Manu. DEVAS(Lit., shining ones)

The gods of Hindu mythology. DHARMARighteousness, duty. The inner constitution

of a thing, which governs its growth. DURGAThe Divine Mother. GAUDAPADAA

celebrated philosopher of Non-dualistic Vedanta whose principal work is a

commentary on the Mandukya Upanisad. GAUTAMAThe author of the Nyaya system of

Hindu philosophy, or Indian Logic. GOVINDAA name of Sri Krishna. GOVINDAPADAThe

teacher of Sri Sankaracharya. GUNAAccording to Samkhya philosophy, Prakriti

(Nature or matter), consist of three gunas -usually translated as 'qualities'

-known as sattva, rajas, and tamas. Tamas stands for inertia or dullness;

rajas, for activity or restlessness; sattva, for balance or righteousness.

GURUSpiritual teacher. INDRAThe king of the gods. ISVARAThe Personal God. (See

Saguna Brahman) JAIMINIThe author of the Purva Mimamsa system of Hindu

philosophy, which deals with the ritualistic portion of the Vedas. JAPA(See

Mantra) JIVA(Lit., living being) The individual soul, which in essence is one

with the Universal Soul. JIIVANMUKTAOne enjoying Liberation while living in the

body. JNANAKnowledge of reality. JNANAKANDAThe part of the Vedas that teaches

philosophical wisdom. KAILASA peak of the Himalayas, regarded as the sacred

abode of Siva. KANADAThe author of the Vaisesika system of Hindu philosophy.

KAPILAThe author of the Samkhya system of Hindu philosophy. KARIKAA commentary

or a philosophical, grammatical work in concise statementsKARMAAction in

general; duty; ritualistic worship. KARMAKANDAThe part of the Vedas that deals

with rituals and sacrifices. KOSA(Lit., sheath or covering) The following are

the five kosas as described in Vedanta philosophy: (1) the annamayakosa, or

gross physical sheath, made of and sustained by food; (2) the pranamayakosa, or

vital sheath, consisting of the five pranas or vital forces; (3) the

manomayakosa, or mental sheath; (4)the vijnanamayakosa, or sheath of

intelligence; (5) the anandamayakosa, or sheath of bliss. These five sheaths

cover the Soul, which is the innermost reality or the jiva and is untouched by

the characteristics of the sheaths. KRISHNAAn Incarnation of God whose life is

given in the Bhagavata and in the Mahabharata. KSATRIAA member of the warrior

caste. MADANAThe God of earthly love. MADHVAThe founder of the Dualistic school

of Vedanta philosophy (A.D. 1199-1276). MAHABHARATAA famous Hindu Epic.

MAHADEVA(Lit., the Great God) A name of Siva. MANASThe faculty of doubt and

volition, sometimes translated as 'mind'; one of the functions of the inner

organ. (See Antahkarana) MANOMAYAKOSAThe sheath of the mind. (See Kosa)

MANTRAHoly Sanskrit text; the sacred formula used in japa, or repetition of

God's name. Also one of the two main sections of the Vedas. (See Vedas) MANUThe

celebrated law-giver of ancient India, who is supposed to be the author of the

Manusamhita, or Code of Manu. MAYAA term of Vedanta philosophy denoting

ignorance obscuring the vision of Reality; the cosmic illusion on account of

which the One appears as the many, the Absolute as the relative.

MOKSALiberation. NARAYANAThe Supreme Godhead of the Vaisnavas, or worshippers

of Vishnu. NIRGUNA BRAHMANThe Supreme Godhead of the Vaisnavas, or worshippers

of Vishnu. NIRVANA(Lit., blowing out, as a flame) Annihilation of desire,

passion, and ego; Liberation, characterized by freedom and bliss.

NIRVIKALPASAMADHIThe highest state of samadhi, in which the aspirant realizes

his total oneness with Brahman. OMThe most sacred word of the Vedas; also

written Aum. It is a symbol of both the personal God and the Absolute.

PARVATIDaughter of king Himalaya and consort of Siva; a manifestation of Divine

Mother. PATANJALIThe author of the Yoga system of Hindu philosophy.

PRAKRTIPrimordial Nature; the material substratum of the creation, consisting

of sattva, rajas, and tamas. PRANAThe vital breath, which sustains life in a

physical body; the primal energy or force, of which other physical forces are

manifestations. In the books of Yoga, prana is described as having five

modifications, according to its five different functions. These are: prana (the

vital energy that controls the breath), apana(the vital energy that carries

downward unassimilated food and drink), samana (the vital energy that carries

nutrition all over the body), vyama (the vital energy that pervades the entire

body), and udana (the vital energy by which the contents of the stomach are

ejected through the mouth). The word Prana is also a name of the Cosmic Soul,

endowed with activity. PRANAMAYAKOSAThe vital sheath. (See Kosa) PRARABDHA

KARMAAction done in a previous life which has begun to bear fruit in the

present life. PURANASBooks of Hindu mythology. PURUSA(Lit., person) A term of

Samkhya philosophy denoting the Conscious Principle. The universe evolves from

the union of Prakriti (Nature) and Purusa. In Vedanta the world also denotes

the Soul and the Absolute. RAJASThe principle of activity or restlessness. (See

Guna) RAJASICPertaining to, or endowed with rajas. RAMAThe hero of the Ramayana,

regarded by the Hindus as a Divine Incarnation. RAMAKRISHNAA great saint of

Bengal, regarded as a Divine Incarnation (A.D. 1836-1886). RAMANUJAA famous

saint and philosopher of southern India, the founder of the school of Qualified

Non-dualism (A. D. 1017-1137) RAMAYANAA famous Hindu epic. RAVANAThe

monster-king of Ceylon, who forcibly abducted Sita, the wife of Rama. His life

and exploits are described in the Ramayana. RIG-VEDAOne of the four Vedas. (See

Vedas) RISHIA seer of Truth; a revealer of the wisdom of the Vedas. SADHANANDAA

Vedantist philosopher, the author of Vedantasara, or The Essence of Vedanta,

who lived probably during the middle of the fifteenth century. SAGUNA

BRAHMAN(Lit., Brahman with attributes) The Absolute conceived as the Creator,

Preserver, and Destroyer of the universe; corresponds to Isvara, or the

Personal God. SAMADHIEcstasy, trance, complete concentration, communion with

God. SAMA-VEDAOne of the four Vedas. (See Vedas) SAMBHUAn epithet of Siva.

SAMHITAA section of the Vedas. (See Vedas) SAMKHYAOne of the six systems of

Hindu philosophy, ascribed to Kapila. SAMSARAThe world of change and becoming;

the relative world. SANATANA DHARMA(Lit., Eternal Religion) The religion of the

Hindus, formulated by the Rishis of the Vedas. SANKARAA name of Siva; also short

for Sankaracharya. SANKARACHARYAThe great philosopher of Non-dualistic Vedanta.

(A.D. 788-820) SANNYASAThe monastic life. SANNYASIA Hindu monk, who renounces

the world in order to realize God. SATTVAThe principle of balance or

righteousness. (See Guna) SAVIKALPA SAMADHICommunion with God in which the

distinction between subject and object is retained. SISYADisciple. SITAThe

consort of Rama. Her life is described in Ramayana. SHIVAThe Destroyer God; the

Third Person of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Brahma and Vishnu.

SMRITIThe law books, subsidiary to the Vedas, guiding the daily life and

conduct of the Hindus. SRUTIThe Vedas. SUSUMNAThe hollow canal within the

spinal column, through which the awakened spiritual energy rises. TURYA(Lit.,

the fourth) A name of the Transcendental Brahman, which both transcends and

pervades the three states of waking, dream, and deep sleep. UMAA name of the

Divine Mother; same as Parvati, the Consort of Siva. UPADHIA term of Vedanta

philosophy denoting a limitation imposed upon the Self or upon Brahman through

ignorance. UPANISHADSOne of the sections of the Vedas, forming, with one or two

exceptions, the concluding chapters of the Aranyakas and containing the Vedanta

philosophy. (See Vedas) There are one hundred and eight Upanishads extant, of

which eleven are the most important. VAMADEVAAn epithet of Siva. VEDANTA(Lit.,

the conclusion of the Vedas) A system of philosophy ascribed to Vyasa,

discussed mainly in the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita and the Brahma Sutras.

VEDASThe most sacred scriptures of the Hindus and the ultimate authority of the

Hindu religion and philosophy. They were arranged by Vyasa into four books,

namely, the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda.

According to orthodox Vedic scholars the Vedas consist of the Mantras and the

Brahmanas. The Mantras include the Samhita, and the Brahmanas include the

Aranyakas and the Upanishads. VIJNANAMAYAKOSAThe sheath of intelligence. (See

Kosa) VIRATConsciousness limited or conditioned by the upadhi of the aggregate

of gross bodies. VISNU(Lit., the All-pervading Spirit) A name of the Supreme

Lord; the Preserver God, the Second Person of the Hindu Trinity, the other two

being Brahma and Siva. VISISTADVAITAThe philosophy of Qualified Non-dualism, a

school of Vedanta philosophy teaching that individual souls and the universe

are parts of Brahman; its chief exponent was Ramanuja. VIVEKAPhilosophical

discrimination. VYASAA celebrated sage, who is reputed to have arranged the

Vedas in their present form; he is also believed to be the author of the

Mahabharata, the eighteen Puranas, and the Brahma Sutras. YAJUR-VEDAOne of the

four Vedas. (See Vedas) YOGAUnion of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul;

the discipline by which such union is effected. The Yoga system of philosophy,

ascribed to Patanjali, deals with the realisation of Truth through

concentration of mind.

©The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture

Gol Park, Calcutta - 700 029. West Bengal, India

At: http://www.sriramakrishna.org/sanskrit.htm

 

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