Advaita

The nondualistic school of Vedanta philosophy that affirms the oneness of

the individual soul, God, and the universe.
Aranyakas
That section of the Vedas which gives a spiritual interpretation to the
ritualistic portion of the Vedas. It is also called the “forest treatises”
because it was originally intended for ascetics who lived in the forests.
Ashrama or Ashram
A center of spiritual study or meditation. A retreat, hermitage, or
monastery.
Atman
The divine Spirit in man, the Self which is one with Brahman, the all-
pervading divine existence, the Ground of the universe.
Avatar
An incarnation of God.
Avidya
Ignorance, individual or cosmic, which hides the nature of the supreme
Reality from our view.
Badarayana
Author of the Brahma Sutras. Little is known of him, though tradition
identifies him with Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, who lived in
India somewhere between 500 and 200 B.C.
Bhagavad Gita
Literally the “Song of God,” the Gita is one of the most revered scriptures
of Hinduism, and consists of 700 verses.
Bhakti
Love of God.
Bhakti yoga
Union with God through the path of loving devotion.
Bhasya
A commentary.
Brahman
 The absolute Reality, the Unity of all that exists, the formless, attributeless
Godhead.
Brahma Sutras
Also known as the Vedanta Sutras. A treatise by Badarayana on Vedanta
philosophy which interprets the Upanishads, and discusses the knowledge
of Brahman.
Buddhi
Intelligence or discriminating faculty which classifies sense impressions.
Chakra
One of the six centers of consciousness located along the spinal column.
Dharma
Righteousness, truth, or religious duty.
Dhruva (or Dhruba) smriti
The state of constant recollectedness of God.
Dhyana
Meditation or prolonged concentration.
Durga
An aspect of the Divine Mother of the universe, the consort of Shiva. Durga
is generally represented with ten arms, seated on a lion. She is the
protectress of the universe, destroying the demons of ignorance and giving
the blessings of divine love and knowledge.
Guna
Lit., “quality.” In Hindu philosophy there are three gunas which constitute
prakriti, or nature: sattva, rajas, and tamas. Tamas is characterized by
dullness, stupidity, inertia; rajas by activity, restlessness, and passion; sattva
by calmness, purity, and wisdom. These three qualities are found in varying
proportions in the external world and in all created beings.
Guru
Spiritual teacher.
Ishta
The spiritual aspirant’s chosen ideal of God.
Ishvara
 The personal aspect of God; God with attributes.
Japa
Repetition of the Lord’s name, usually one’s own mantra.
Jnana
Knowledge of the ultimate Reality, attained through the process of reason
and discrimination between the real and the unreal.
Jnana yoga
Path of union with the ultimate Reality through spiritual knowledge and
discrimination between the real and the unreal.
Jnani
One who follows the path of knowledge by discriminating between the
eternal and the transitory.
Karma
Action, both physical and mental, and the effects of action.
Karma yoga
Path of union with God through selfless activity.
Madhva
The twelfth-century exponent of dualistic Vedanta. He wrote commentaries
on the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita.
Mahamaya
The Mother of the universe, the divine will. Mahamaya veils our vision of
Brahman, the absolute Reality. Yet through her grace, she rends this veil,
allowing us to realize the identity of the Atman with Brahman.
Mahavakya
Literally, “great saying.” A Vedantic formula that declares the oneness of
the individual soul with Brahman.
Manana
The process of reasoning in which one reflects on the spiritual teacher’s
words and meditates upon their meaning.
Mantra
The sacred name of God given by the guru to the disciple. Repetition of the
mantra is japa.
Marga
Path; jnana marga, for example, is the path of spiritual knowledge, and
bhakti marga is the path of devotion.
Maya
Maya is the power of Brahman, the creative aspect of God. It is also the
cosmic illusion that creates ignorance and veils the vision of Brahman. Due
to the power of maya, Brahman, the one Reality, is perceived as the
manifold universe.
Nididhyasana
Deep meditation on the truth of Brahman.
Nirvikalpa samadhi
Lit., “changeless samadhi.” The highest state of realization in which the
spiritual aspirant attains oneness with the Absolute.
Om
The most sacred syllable of Hinduism; the sound-symbol of Brahman.
Prakriti
Primordial nature; the material principle of the world which, in association
with Purusha, creates the universe. Prakriti is one of the two ultimate
realities of Sankhya philosophy.
Prana
In the physical body, prana is the vital breath that sustains life and manifests
as thought, bodily function, and physical action. In the cosmos, prana is the
sum total of all primal energy that manifests as motion, gravitation,
magnetism, etc.
Prarthana
Prayer.
Pratyahara
Withdrawal of the mind from the objects of the senses.
Puja
Ritualistic worship.
Purusha
 One of the two ultimate realities of Sankhya philosophy. The divine Self,
the absolute Reality, pure Consciousness.
Rajas
The guna which expresses itself as restlessness, activity, and passion.

Ramanuja
The eleventh-century saint-philosopher who propagated the school of
qualified nondualism, Vishishtadvaita. Ramanuja wrote commentaries on
the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, along with other original
treatises which advocated his philosophy of devotion to God as the highest
ideal of human life.
Rishi
A seer of spiritual truth. Usually the term refers to the ancient Hindu seers
to whom the Vedas were revealed.
Sadhana
Spiritual discipline.
Samadhi
The superconscious state in which one experiences one’s identity with the
ultimate Reality.
Samskara
Tendencies inherited from previous births which form a person’s
propensities in this life.
Sannyas
Final monastic vows in which the spiritual aspirant completely renounces
everything for the sake of realization of the ultimate Reality.
Satchidananda
Existence (sat), Knowledge (chit), and Bliss (ananda) absolute; Brahman,
the absolute Reality.
Sattva
The guna which expresses itself as calmness, purity, and wisdom.
Shakti
 God as the Mother of the universe. Shakti is the power of Brahman, the
personification of primal energy.
Shankara or Shankaracharya
The great Vedanta philosopher who lived in the eighth century A.D., and
revived Advaita Vedanta in India after a thousand years of Buddhist
influence. Though he lived only thirty-two years, he organized a monastic
system that is still in existence today. His enormous literary contribution
includes commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the principal Upanishads, and
the Bhagavad Gita. He also wrote his own philosophical works such as the
Vivekacudamani ( the Crest-Jewel of Discrimination) and the
Upadeshasahasri. In addition, Shankara composed hymns, prayers, and
various minor works on Vedanta philosophy.
Shraddha
Firm faith guided by reason.
Sravana
Hearing or listening to the highest spiritual truth.
Tamas
The guna which expresses itself as dullness, stupidity, and inertia.

Turiya
Lit., “the fourth.” The superconscious state which is beyond the three
ordinary states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. It
is the state of unitary consciousness, pure bliss. According to Shankara, this
is not a state; it is the Atman.
Upasana
Meditation; literally “sitting near.” Meditation is “sitting near” God.
Upanishads
The sacred scriptures which appear at the end of the Vedas and constitute
their philosophical portion. The Upanishads form the philosophical basis of
Vedanta.
Vaishnava
 Lit., a follower of Vishnu. An adherent of Vaishnavism—a dualistic branch
of Hinduism. Vaishnavas follow the path of devotion to Vishnu, for the
most part in his avatars such as Rama, Krishna, and Chaitanya.
Vedas
Lit., “Veda” means knowledge or wisdom. The Vedas are the sacred and
most ancient scriptures of the Hindus. Orthodox Hindus believe that the
Vedas are the result of direct divine revelation; they are considered the final
authority in all spiritual matters. There are four Vedas: the Rik, Yajur,
Sama, and Atharva. Each Veda consists of a ritual or “work” portion, and
the philosophical or “knowledge” portion, known as the Upanishads. The
ritual portion consists of the Brahmanas—texts which discuss the
significance of different sacrificial rites—and the Samhitas—a collection of
mantras or hymns, addressed to specific deities such as Indra or Varuna.
Also included in the ritual portion are the aranyakas which give a spiritual
interpretation to the rituals.
Vidya
Knowledge leading to the ultimate Reality.
Vishishtadvaita
The philosophy of qualified nondualism, founded by Ramanuja.
Vishishtadvaita states that the individual soul and insentient matter are
distinct from Brahman, but Brahman is the basis of their existence and
reality.
Yajna
Sacrifice, sacrificial ceremony; in Vedic times it meant “sacrificing things
for the sake of the Deity.”
Yoga
Lit., “yoke”—the act of yoking or joining together. Yoga is union of the
individual soul with the ultimate Reality. It is also the method by which this
union is achieved. There are four yogas: bhakti yoga, the path of devotion;
jnana yoga, the path of knowledge and discrimination; karma yoga, the path
of detached work, and raja yoga, the path of meditation.