| A |
| Abhyasa: | spiritual practice.
|
| Advaita: | non-duality; also the doctrine of non-dualism.
|
| Aham: | `I'
|
| Aham-vritti: | the `I-thought', the limited feeling of `I-ness'.
|
| Ajnana: | ignorance of one's own true nature.
|
| Ajnani: | a person who is ignorant of his true nature.
|
| Anubhava: | experience, especially the experience of
Self-knowledge.
|
| Aparokshanubhuti: | direct experience (of Self-knowledge).
|
| Artha-Vada: | explanatory argument given to suit a particular
purpose.
|
| Asan: | posture, especially a posture adopted for meditation.
|
| Asramam: | the abode of a Sage or ascetic.
|
| Atman: | the real Self.
|
| Atma-jnani: | a person who has attained Self-knowledge.
|
| Atma-vichara: | Self-enquiry, the practice of scrutinizing or at tending to the feeling `I' in order to find out `Who am I?'
|
| Atma-vidya: | Self-knowledge.
|
| B |
| Bhajana: | singing of devotional songs.
|
| Bhakta: | devotee.
|
| Bhakti: | devotion.
|
| Bhavana: | imagination, meditation.
|
| Brahma-jnana: | knowledge of Brahman.
|
| Brahman: | the absolute, non-dual reality, which is the Self or
Atman.
|
| C |
| Chakra: | one of the six main yogic centres in the body.
|
| Chidananda: | the bliss of pure consciousness.
|
| Chit: | pure consciousness, which is the nature of the real Self.
|
| Chit-jada-granthi: | the knot between the Self, which is pure consciousness, and the body, which is insentient.
|
| D |
| Dehatma-buddhi: | the feeling `I am this body'.
|
| Dhyana: | meditation.
|
| Dvaita: | duality; also the doctrine of dualism.
|
| G |
| Gita: | the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most renowned Hindu scriptures.
|
| Guru: | a true spiritual teacher, who is one with God or the real Self.
|
| Guru-kripa: | the Grace of the Guru.
|
| Grihasta: | a householder, a person leading a married life.
|
| H |
| Hridayam: | the Heart, which is the real Self.
|
| I |
| Iswara-svarupa: | the nature of God or Iswara.
|
| J |
| Jada: | insentient.
|
| Jagrat: | the waking state.
|
| Jagrat-sushupti: | the state of wakeful sleep, in which there are
no thoughts but in which there is full awareness of the
existence-consciousness `I am'.
|
| Japa: | repetition of a mantra or a name of God.
|
| Jiva: | an individual soul.
|
| Jivanmukta: | a person who is liberated even while living in the body.
|
| Jnana: | knowledge, especially knowledge of the real Self.
|
| Jnana-vichara: | Self-enquiry, enquiry leading to Jnana or
Self-knowledge.
|
| Jnani: | a person who has attained Self-knowledge.
|
| K |
| Karma-yogi: | a person whose actions are not motivated by desire
for personal benefit or by any other kind of attachment.
|
| Kevala nirvikalpa samadhi: | a temporary state of samadhi or Self-
absorption.
|
| L |
| Lakshya: | target (on which attention is focussed), that which is
kept in view.
|
| M |
| Maharshi: | a great Sage.
|
| Mantra: | a sacred formula used for japa or repetition.
|
| Marga: | a spiritual path.
|
| Maya: | delusion.
|
| Moksha: | liberation.
|
| Mauna: | silence.
|
| N |
| Nama: | a name (of God).
|
| Nama-japa: | repetition of a name of God.
|
| Namaskar: | the act of obeisance.
|
| Nirvana: | the state of liberation or egolessness.
|
| Nirvikalpa samadhi: | the state of Self-absorption.
|
| P |
| Prarabdha: | destiny, the portion of the fruit of one's past actions
which are allotted to be experienced in this lifetime.
|
| Prasad: | food offered to the Guru or a deity, a portion of which
may be returned to the devotee as a sign of blessing.
|
| Purusha Sukta: | a hymn from the Rig Veda.
|
| Prajnana: | pure consciousness.
|
| R |
| Rajas: | the second of the three gunas or qualities of nature, namely
the quality of restlessness, desire and passion.
|
| Rishi: | a Sage.
|
| S |
| Sadhana: | a spiritual practice, a means adopted for spiritual
progress.
|
| Sadhaka: | a person who practises sadhana.
|
| Sahaja jnani: | a person who abides in his natural state, having
attained Self-knowledge.
|
| Sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi: | the permanent and natural state of
samadhi or complete Self -absorption.
|
| Sahaja-sthiti: | the natural state.
|
| Sahasrara: | the brain, described metaphorically as a
thousand-petalled lotus.
|
| Samadhi: | the state of Self-absorption, in which (as defined by
Sri Bhagavan on p. 23) "there is only the feeling I am' and
no thoughts".
|
| Samsara: | the state of mundane activity or worldly existence.
|
| Samskara: | a mental impression or tendency continuing from
former lives.
|
| Sannyasa: | renunciation.
|
| Sannyasin: | a renunciate.
|
| Sastras: | the scriptures.
|
| Sat: | true existence or being.
|
| Sat-chit: | existence-consciousness.
|
| Sattva: | the first of the three gunas or qualities of nature, namely
the quality of calmness, goodness and purity.
|
| Sattvic: | of the nature of Sattva.
Siddhis: occult powers.
|
| Sri Bhagavata: | one of the eighteen puranas, a sacred text cen-
tred mainly around the life of Sri Krishna.
|
| Sthita-prajna: | a person who firmly abides in the state of
Self-knowledge.
|
| Suddha-sattva: | uncontaminated purity or sattva.
|
| Suddha-sattva svarupa: | the form of uncontaminated sattva.
|
| Sunya-vadin: | an atheist, a person who denies the existence of
God or any ultimate reality.
|
| Sushupti: | dreamless sleep.
|
| Svapna: | dream.
|
| T |
| Tamas: | the last of the three gunas or qualities of nature, namely
the quality of darkness ignorance and evil.
|
| Tattva-jnani: | a person who knows the reality.
|
| Truth Revealed: | the work Ulladu Narpadu by Bhagavan Sri Ramana.
|
| U |
| Upanishads: | the later and more philosophical portions of the Vedas.
|
| V |
| Vairagya: | desirelessness.
|
| Vasana: | a mental tendency continuing from former lives.
|
| Vasana-kshaya: | the destruction of all vasanas.
|
| Vastu: | the reality or ultimate substance.
|
| Vedas: | the oldest of the Hindu scriptures.
|
| Vedanta: | the philosophy of the Upanishads.
|
| Vichara: | enquiry or scrutiny, that is, the practice Self -enquiry
or atma vichara.
|
| Vichara marga: | the path of Self -enquiry.
|
| Visishtadvaita: | the doctrine of qualified non-dualism
|
| Vritti: | thought, activity of the mind.
|
| W |
| Who am I?: | the work Nan Yar? by Bhagavan Ramana.
|
| Y |
| Yoga: | literally `union' or `uniting'; this word is used in many
different senses, but generally denotes the path of raja yoga
expounded by the Sage Patanjali.
|
| Yoga marga: | the path of raja yoga.
|
| Yoga-maya: | the power to veil the nature of something and to
create an illusory appearance.
|
| Yoga-sastras: | the scriptures which expound the path of raja yoga.
Yoga-Vasishtha: a renowned sacred text which expounds the path
of knowledge or jnana yoga.
|
| Yogi: | an adept in yoga.
|
Maharshi's Gospel 
