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A Practical
Indian Philosophy |
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Glossary (References
to Chapters on the Introduction and the Philosophy are given
respectively, as aachaarya, one who follows dharma
by proper understanding of the scriptures and teaches others to follow
it, 157,
aananda, continual and limitless
bliss which is within and not dependent upon, environment, situation
and objects; one of the constituents of Brahman and of man's reality, 21, 90, 234, 239,241[9, 26,
44], 242,267, 288, 435, aashramas, four stages in life,
adolescence, youth, middle age and old age See Varnaashrama
Dharma. aatmaa or aatman,
of which the nearest equivalent in the Englsih
Language is soul which is traditionally used for aatmaa;
a miniature in nature and substance of, and always one with the Godhead
Brahman; the underlying Ultimate Reality of the oneness of man, beings
and objects in the creation with the Creator; the base on which the
human life principle, intellect, mind, senses and emotions rest, but
beyond and unaffected by any; aatmaa
neither acts, nor suffers nor enjoys but is a mere unaffected witness
of all: totally different from soul in Western parlance which enjoys,
suffers and needs nourishment. Soul is akin to antahkarana.
P105-P114, P121-P126,P199, P200,30, 42, 66,133, 241[10,30],
242,243, 267,318, 325,394,
440,
450[3,4,7,9,14-16,19,23,25],
Also see jeevaatmaa and soul. adharma, the opposite of dharm, P150, 270, adhyaatmic, relating to Brahman and
jeeva, 2A, Advaita, unqualified monism or
non-dualism, a school of Vedanta, P18,P20, P105, P108-P115, P257,P269, P277,17, 21, 67,159, 165,239, 241[6,9-29,33-34,39-42,46-47],
330, 349,411,
438,
441,
442,
Also see Brahman. Advaitin, the follower of the Advaita school of Vedanta that only God
and the human soul is real and the world is a mere appearance and not a
reality. aham, self sense, 'I'
consciousness or too much use of 'I' and 'me.' alien mind-set, a mind alien to ancient
Indian heritage. It can be described as a mind ignorant of the precious
Indian heritage of the availability of a mind empowered to its
limitlessness for public good. It is a mind that does not insist upon
benevolent purposeful questioning of the basis of all approaches,
conduct and institutions to determine objectivity. It does not accept
that objectivity rests on selflessness. Without this selflessness, it
is polluted by passions that make it blind to see the reality in a
phenomenon. For example, it sees poverty as not a reality in a land of
opportunity, that needs remedy but as an expression of a parasitic
attitude. For this mind poverty is not a problem as a reality that it
is the responsibility of the society to solve by an economy resting on
a little self-sacrifice and treating all as one with us to care, train
and share. This mind does not see reality because it does not believe
that reality can also be intangible or can be one to underlie all
observable phenomena. This is because this mind rests on pure reason
and tangible proof for its acceptance of a truth or reality. It
eliminates compassion or the role of the heart because it treats it as
emotional that interferes with objectivity. So, it does not accept
common sense as the harmony of the heart with the intellect, neither
dominating the other. It does not accept compassion for all as one with
us as the elementary role of the heart that gives virtue to intellect
and makes us human. Without virtues, the intellect becomes callous and
inhuman and worse than beastly. The obsession of this mind with
tangible proof overwhelms it by scintillating products of science and
technology. This makes this mind forget that the mind is greater than
its greatest product so far and forever. So, it cannot believe that a
mind can be empowered to its limitlessness by simple ancient
traditional daily disciplines. It does not believe that a mind
empowered to its limitlessness is a practical phenomenon and was
demonstrated unknowingly by Mahatma Gandhi. Nor does it know that easy
Sanaatana disciplines daily practiced by the Indian masses became their
second nature to give the power to their mind that created and
sustained that prosperity of the Indian subcontinent that led the world
in material and spiritual prosperity for millenniums till the beginning
of the nineteenth century. It does not believe that those perennial
disciplines can regain for antahkarana, mind, in its four roles
as a bundle of desires or mana,
consciousness, store of memories or information for the intellect to
draw upon for a decision, or chit-ta,
intellect or bud-dhi and the outer
experiencing 'I' or ahamkaara, or
the inmost experiencing self or our will to order the intellect, but
different from the inner witnessing `I' which is aatmaa
or the soul, underlying our life principle, one with Brahman; the
active, suffering and enjoying concept of the soul of some in the West 2[7],450[10] apara vidyaa, knowledge of objects,
matter, energy or of nature around us or of our without; scientific
knowledge and scholarship of the Vedas, Upanishads and Shastras, scriptures, arts, humanities, 414, Aranyakaandda, the third chapter of
the Book, 211,
artha, wealth; livelihood;
aim, 27, 111, 136, 181, asat-ta, unreal, false,
non-being, 67,
241[22,25]
Atharvaveda, one of the four Vedas,
which gives the formulae for preserving health and security of human
body and community, 71, Aum, or avataara, the Incarnation of God
who descends on earth in a body for the re-establishment of
righteousness, 65,
241[36]
Also see Incarnation. Avidyaa maya,
that which causes `I' consciousness in us, envelopes it in ignorance to
make us egotists, entangles it in the six passions; prevents us from
separating reality from unreality and from seeing the purpose of our
life to pursue our Ultimate Reality and ties us to rebirth on earth, 7,144, 238,239, 241[11-14,16,33,39,41],
358,
389,439,
440,
441,
Ayodhyaakaandda, the second chapter of
the Book, 111,
Baalakaandda, the first chapter of
the Book, 1,
Bhaagawata or Shreemad
Bhaagawata, one of the eighteen Puranas, a commentary on Vedanta, P82, 2A, 153, 245, Bhagawaana, the personal God of the
devotee's choice, 21, 65,153, 409, 411, bhakta, devotee of the personal
God, 275-282,328, 360, 472, bhakti, the devotion to God in
the embodied form of one's choice, S437,S439-S440, 2,17, 24, 113, 120,
130,137, 196,210, 220,241[47], 242,267, 274-275,334,
358,421, 437-439, 442, 444,467, 470, bhaktiyoga, the path of devotion, 274, 421, bhayda bhakti, the devotion in which
the devotee treats himself as separate from God, e. g, God as the
master and man as the servant or as the mother and her baby, 113,226, 241[47],343, 358,444, Braahmana, the precept, as
distinct from the mantra portion of the Vedas, P32,P33, brahmaananda, the bliss of realizing
one's identity with Brahman, 234, 241[26] brahmacharya, brahmachaaree,
control over, its observer, respectively, five senses and six passions
to attain Brahmajnaana, taught to
students for living even as a householder; also known as the first
stage of life in VarnaashramaDharma;
a lifelong discipline for all to acquire vivayka
and vairaagya for the health and
happiness of man and of society; additionally, absolute celibacy for
the rare who take to the life of a selfless recluse, P137-P139,P151, P153,P159, P242,P273, 272, Brahmajnaana, Brahmajnaanee,
the realization of, one who has realized, respectively, one's identity
with Brahman; the active consciousness of all being one and the One in
all for daily conduct of love of all; transcendence over dualities or maya, P127, P132,P160, 2A, 24,97, 146,157, 226,234, 240,414, Brahman, inexplicable, ever
unchanging, eternal and all pervasive Ultimate Reality or God, the only
one that there is, of the nature of Satchidaananda
without attributes and without a second; the imperceptible Great Soul
or Paramaatmaa or Paramaparmaatmaa, beyond time, space and
knowledge; impersonal universal absolute Godhead in Advaita; also called universal consciousness by
some; personalized as the God of creation in Vishishttaadvaita
as Naaraayana; and in Dvaita
as Vishnu See Index. P151,P157, P187,
formless and with form, P82, P83,P95, P116,21, 25, 29,30, 61, 65,68-71, 82,137, 230,234, 241[9,17,23,26-32,35,38,46-47],290, 358,398,
411,
414,
435,
466,
Brahmin, one of the the four varnas,
or egalitarian professions of leaning, teaching, observing austerities
and thinking in Varnaashrama
Dharma based on qualities and selflessness and not on birth in the
family of one who took to this profession; today the highest caste
determined by birth regardless of qualities or profession, P5, P16,P66, P156- P159,244, 318,329, 383, 384,
425,
464,
Caste or jaati
is a necessary grouping of families with common beliefs, language,
customs, norms and generally professions to facilitate community of
interest, adjustable marriages and harmonious living. It is something
akin to clans and tribes where the determining criterion is birth in a
family. Castes are innumerable in chaupaayee, Chau:
a poetic form chhanda, a poetic form chit-ta, the consciousness or
awareness unaffected by `I' consciousness or desire; also mind in
collective sense comprising mind, memories, intellect, and ego, P76,21, 241[9], 267, 435, 440,
450[3,10]
darshana, a vision of something;
a Dharma, inalienable nature of
an object, living or human being which is divine; also the nature
superimposed over the divine in man; religion, in the absence of an
equivalent word in English for it; total righteous duties towards or as
a father, mother, friend, or as an individual member of a profession or
society; dharma is our nature of divinity but not divine law prescribed
anywhere as God's jurisprudence. Dharma is for humanity and is not
Hindu or Christian or Muslim. See Index. dhyaana, meditation which is
beyond concentration and contemplation leading to constant awareness of
the Ultimate Reality of the Self or God, its practice and disciplines, P214, 71,426, dohaa, a poetic form in
Hindi, Dwaaparayuga, the third of the four
ages in the universe, twice as long as Kaliyuga,
28,32, 73, 79,385,
426,
427,
Dvaita or dualism, a school of
Vedanta, P214,
P113,P115, 21, 65,137, 239,241[6,19,
[6,19,35-
44], 330,
349,390, 438, Eeshwara, Paramayshwara,
the Creator aspect of Brahman in the form of a person, 2,21, 65, 236,241[2],
338,411,
440,
grihastha, the householder stage,
second of the four stages of life in the Varnaashrama
Dharma, P151-P153, guna, one of the three modes
or qualities of prakritti, maya and creation, viz,
satvaguna, wisdom, rajaguna, activity or dynamism or tamoguna, error and sloth, 234, 239,240, 255, 427, jagat, the world subject to
change, 63,
132-135, 274, 288, 389, 411, 468, japa, jaapa, repetitive utterance of
a name or a mantra jeeva, is that self or the 'I'
in the human being which rests upon the jeevaatmaa,
and thinks, acts, suffers and enjoys in the waking, dream, deep sleep
and the turiya states; the 'I'
consciousness which experiences consequences; a human being engrossed
in maya in ignorance of his divinity and
thereby qualifies for the cycle of rebirths, 144,241[1,3],
444,
jeevaatmaa, aatmaa
in any living or the human being or the human soul, which is always one
with and a complete miniature of Satchidaananda
Brahman P24,P39, P46, P81,P109, P114, P121-P126,P129, P135,P176, P179,P182, P194,P201, P214,P217, P220,P225, 30, 218,219, Also
see aatmaa and human soul. jeevanamukta, one who is free from
the cycle of rebirth on earth while living, P150,2, 148, 234,402, jnaana, basic knowledge; total
Knowledge beyond which there is nothing to know; realization of one's
identity with Brahman, P148, P150,P152, P157,P187, P190,P214, 2, 17,24, 61, 71,90, 97, 124, 125,
130,136, 137,157, 168,196, 210,234, 236,240, 241[3], 242, 243,275, 277,281, 319,352, 396, 400, 411, 414,
417,421, 435, 437, 438, 441,
467, Also
see Knowledge. jnaana bhakti or devotioin
based on the Knowledge of oneness of all in God, 17,437, jnaanee, a man of Knowledge, 28, 61, 196,240, 252,275, 328,334,
352,398,
414,
415,
438,
472,
kaama, the passion desire
(often lust) and the anxiety of its fulfilment;
when uncontrolled our enemy or one of the six Devils within us, 111,181, 249,254,
272,291, 400,444, kaandda, a chapter of the Book kaiwalya, the realization of the
identity of our inmost Self with Brahman; Self realization, man's
highest stage in Vedanta, 49, 148,241[26], 441-443, Kaliyuga, the present age, the
last and the shortest of the four cyclical ages in the universe,
characterized by prominence of demoniac tendencies(tamoguna or tamasa),
commenced in 3102 BC See Index. kalpa, something which is
imperishable; Brahmaa's one day, we are
believed to be in the fifty first year of Brahmaa's
life; procedures for religious rites, 79, karma, all physical, mental
and spiritual acts and their consequences inherent in them governed
ordinarily by the law of cause and effect to form our destiny under the
supremacy of God's grace See Index. karmayoga, karmayogi,
path or follower of the path of wise deeds, selfless deeds based upon
hurt to none and oneness with, and help to, and love for all and
pre-dedicated to God, P148-P150,9, 133, 185,227, 265,267, 293,421, 444, Kishkindhaakaandda, the fourth chapter of
the Book, 285,
Kshatriya, the defender of order
in society and of general welfare, particularly of the weak; one of the
fou Lankaakaandda, the fifth chapter of
the Book, 336,
lobha, the passion greed, one
of the six Devils within us, 472, See
Devil in Index. Mahaabhaarata, an ancient Indian epic
of about 220,000 lines by Vyaasa narrating
the battle between Kaurava and Paanddava princes at Kurukshaytra
in which Shree Krishna gave his discourse
to Arjuna called the Geetaa,
See Index. mahaatmaa, a spiritually advanced
man of superhuman prowess and mysterious powers mantra, a sacred incantation or
formula for repetition, potent with spiritual power and / or
enlightenment; any name of God See Index maya, God's feminine creative
principle or power of creating both reality and illusion; it gives
variety of illusive and ephemeral forms to the eternal oneness of
Divinity in all: it has two aspects, Vidyaa
and Avidyaa P195, See
Index. moksha, liberation of the human
soul from any embodiment or re-embodiment in the rebirth of the body on
the earth, 181,
naama, name nirguna, without attributes,
formless, impersonal, 21, 26,29, 41, 65,186, 228,358, 411, nishkaama karma, is that deed that we undertake with a desire for a specific fruit but we pray to God pray to give us what He thinks best for us. After this prayer our diligence for the specific fruit continues for it is necessary for our perseverance. It does not affect our sincerity in dedication of the deed to God and our prayer. But the deed becomes desireless by our prayer.P148-P150, niyama, discipline for
steadiness of the mind in all situations, 216,280, 329,353, 360, 374,
421,
paramaartha, the highest goal beyond
any worldly gain, 136, Paramaatmaa, the Great Soul,
Universal Consciousness or God in His impersonal, imperceptible and all
pervasive aspect; not active as our eternal witness within us; P122,P126, 236,236, 241[35-38,43]
paramahansa, the highest spiritual
order among monks who have attained jnaana
and liberation while living, 65, 196, Paramayshwara, Paramaparamayshwara,
God as our eternal witness within us; in His omnipresent and also
visible, personal and active aspect as Naaraayana
or Vishnu and as the Creator of the universe, P122, 239, 241, para vidyaa,
knowledge
which extends from our senses and conscious mind to pre-conscious,
sub-conscious and super-conscious mind beyond the senses. It is more
than scriptural knowledge and includes psychology, metaphysics,
spirituality, faith and experience; Knowledge of the Self, Brahman and
all the abstract and eternal, 414, prakriti, the changing or
impermanent nature of the world of matter; also called maya, 85,236, 239,241[16,
31,33,
38-39, 41] prayma, love in all its forms
of expression in conduct including compassion, selflessness and
sacrifice, P24,
P61, P87,P88, 239, 242,259,
262,360,
411,
415,
prayma bhakti, ecstatic love of the
personal God through devotion,360 praymaswaroopa,
embodiment of prayma, P24, P61,239, raajadharma, the duty of a king, 208, Raajayoga, the yoga given in Patanjali's Shastra,
Raajayogi, its follower, 280, Raamaayana, the life story of Shree Raama, an
Incarnation of God; the oldest by Vaalmeeki
had 24000 verses in it. The Book or the Shree
Raamacharita Maanasa
is a Raamaayana, 2A, 60, rajoguna, a mode of maya generating activity tinged with ego, urging
for the enjoyment of the objective world with anxiety for results;
hence rajasa and raajasic, 32, 34, 91,239, 240,427, saadhanaa, a means, discipline or
practice for spiritual advancement; the process of striving for
ultimate perfection; a path to reach God, 327, 374, 440, saalokya, the state of being in
the abode of God, 148, Saamaveda, one of the four Vedas
which extols gods through song and poetry and is concerned with control
of mind and senses, 71, saameepya, the state of being near
God, 148,
sakhaa, a loyal friend, his
attitude, 34,
325,
samaadhi, the ultimate stage of
awareness in life of indescribable bliss of Self realization with total
unawareness of the surroundings, reached through meditation or any
yoga, 280,
302,443, samsaara, the cycle of karma
binding man to rebirth on earth; a difficult ocean to cross; the world,
278,
355,407, 468, Sanaatana, eternal, from ever to
ever and for all. Sanaatana Dharma, the
eternal verities in the Vedas and the Shastras
which are the legacy of ancient sages and seers of the Indian
sub-continent for the use of humanity; formed the foundation of the
nascent religion which for want of an English equivalent came to be
known as Hindu religion or Hinduism; alien to some of the present day
undesirable beliefs and practices in the name of Hinduism, P1, P9, P12,P14-P16, P18,P22, P23, P27,P32-P36, P39,P53, P55-P59,P61-P66, P70-P75,P78-P84, P92,P98, P99-P103,P106, P116,P118, P136,P144, P151,P154, P161,P169, P177,P179, P187,P201, P206,P207, P218,P220, P229,P235, P239,P257, P269,P273, P280,P281, P283,P287, Also
see Index. sannyaasa, the last stage of life
as a recluse in Varnaashrama
Dharma; living as a recluse, P139, P152, See Varnaashrama. santa, a spiritually advanced,
a liberated or a person with divine vision, 2,9, 34, 157,234, 295,304, 370-375, Satchidaananda, three inseparable
aspects of Brahman, of the one Ultimate Reality or of the Almighty God,
of Incarnations of God and of the human soul, viz., sat-ta or reality or existence, chit-ta or knowledge or consciousness and aananda or bliss, P83, P87-P89,P105, P112-P114, P151, P166,P183, 241[9,10,30,35,48,50],
242,267, 288, 435, Also
see Vedanta. sat-ta, reality, being or
truth, P76,
21,25, 241[9,22,25],242, 267,288,
435,
440,
satvaguna, a mode of maya prompting righteous action and spiritual
advance in a man, 32,34, 91, 239,240, 241[10,30,35,48],255,
427,
satyasanga, company of the Truth,
of spiritually advanced or holy persons; a group activity imbued with
God; group singing of devotional songs 9,10, 11, 157,234, 263,302, 361, 394,
398,
404,
459,460, Satyayuga, the first, the longest
and the most righteous of the four cyclical ages in the universe; the
golden age, 32,
79,385,
426,
shakti, Universal power; the
Great Mother; Shiva's consort; an epithet for the consorts of gods and
an Incarnation of God; the active aspect of Brahman as Its power or
energy, 56,
65,85, 120, 226, 237, 241[33],
334,
sharanaagati, refuge in God after our
surrender of all that we think we have acquired or possess including
our own self to God's care. See refuge in God in the index Shastra, a treatise; also a
sacred scriptures, P33, P34,2A, 120, 200, 240,271, 340,414,
450[4]
shloka, a poetic form in
Sanskrit shrad-dhaa, reverential faith
developed after understanding or experiencing what was initially
trusted, P120,
P206,2, 263, 440, 444, Shree, an honorific prefixed
not to names of gods but to an Incarnation of God Shruti, revelations heard as
divine sound by ancient Indian sages of purified mind and intellect and
much later recorded as the Vedas and that that is heard, I.11, P5, P29,P32, P34, P35,P37, P70, P156,P157, P159-P163, 123, 443, Sid-dhi, psychic power, 240 Smriti, remembered traditional
knowledge distinct from revealed knowledge in the Shrutis;
Hindu scriptures prescribing law, practices, norms of conduct for and
changeable with the age and some precepts of perennial faith and
philosophy; famous ones are by Manu and Sudra, one of the four
egalitarian professions in Varnaashrama
Dharma, P5,P156, P158,P159, P162,140, 157,334, Sundarakaandda, the fifth chapter of
the Book, 302,
Swamee, Swami, Lord, master, a monk, a
self-realized person tapa, tapassya, any discipline or
austerity demanding self-sacrifice, P136,50, 50, 280, Traytaayuga, the second of the four
cyclical ages in the universe, thrice as long as Kaliyuga,
28, 32, 73,79, 385, 426,
427,
tureeya, the stage of the mind
beyond the waking, dreaming and the deep sleep states; the fourth state
of awareness, with the active `I' submerged in the consciousness not of
but beyond surroundings with cessation of the awareness of dualities,
wherein our real Self is discovered, 135,443, Upaasanakaandda (devotion and worship)
P.32 Uttarakaandda, the seventh and last
chapter of the Book, 361, vairaagya, mental renunciation or
non-attachment to the world and attachment to God; reduction of desires
to what is available 39, 111, 134,
135,
210,
240,263, 365, See
detached from worldly desires in Index. Vaanaprahasta Aashrama, P152, Also
see caste and Varnaashrama
Dharma. varna, Varna
Dharma colour; the uniquely
egalitarian descriptive name given by the earliest Indian sages to the
four divisions into which they broadly grouped all professions in
society for the progress, defence,
sustenance and service of society, viz., Brahmin, Kshatriya,
Vaishya and Sudra, respectively; egalitarian nomenclature
emphasized indispensability, selflessness and qualifications in the
individual, the last being determined by the nature and character of
each profession; it eliminated social hierarchy in professions.
Professions do not, but castes create horrendous discriminatory treatment.Varna is not caste, P35, P151,P156, P158-P163,P165, P166,P169, See
caste.and Varnaashrama
Dharma Varnaashrama Dharma, dharma comprising Varna (see above) and Aashrama and their duties in Sanaatana
Dharma; the four varnas or natural
vocations being the Brahmin, the thinkers and teachers, Kshatriya, the defenders and sustainers
of social order, the Vaishya, the
producer of and dealer in goods, and the Sudra,
the worker; the four aashramas or
four stages of a man's life being that of the celibate student or brahmacharya, of the householder or grihastha, of the retired for
contemplation or a recluse or vaanaprastha
and of the total renunciate from the world
as an ascetic or a mere witness or sannyaasa,
P139,P151, P154, P159, P166, 136,164, 240,242, 252,265, 275,334,
367,
429,
Vedas, also called Shrutis, the most ancient scriptures of Vedanta, Vedanta, the end
product of the Vedas as a few basic beliefs of Hindu religion followed
by all Hindus, along with their rationale and thereby becoming one of
the six systems of Hindu philosophy; comprising three sets of beliefs
and their philosophy, namely, Advaita,
Vishishttaadvaita and Dvaita See Index. Vidyaa maya,
the maya which creates reality and grants
Knowledge, 67,144, 238,239, 241[33],439,
441, See
maya. vijnaana, Knowledge with
experience of devotion to manifested Brahman, 2,136, 196,234, 243,281, 352,400, 438, Also
see Knowledge with experience in Index. vijnaanee, the possessor of vijnaana, 352, 398, 415, Vishishttaadvaita, qualified non dualism
School of the philosophy of Vedanta, 241, vivayka, the sense of
discrimination to distinguish reality from unreality and right from
wrong, 10, 39, 134,136, 240,263, 318,440, Yajna, a spiritual sacrificial
rite; any act of self-sacrifice, e.g., charity, evil tendencies thrown
into the fire of the rite; doing of dedicated deeds in humility, 227,325, Yajurveda, one of the four Vedas
which describes the ceremonial and ritual aspects of worship, 71, yama, control of inner
senses; giving up attachment to body and senses, 280,353, yogi, one who practises yoga; a spiritually advanced person
See Index. yuga, an age; there are four
ages, viz., Satyayuga or Kritayuga, Traytaayuga,
Dwaaparayuga and Kaliyuga, 32,79, 426,
Also see ages in Index. |
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Author's
Note
Arrangement
of Book
Hindi
Spellings
Table of
Contents
Tribute to
Gandhi
Introduction
The Raama Story
Philosophy
Baalakaandda
Ayodhyakaandda
Aranyakaandda
Kishkindhaakaandda
Sundarakaandda
Lankaakaandda
Uttarakaandda
Index
Glossary
Proper
Names
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Appendices
Ghazal