Advaita: non-duality; the philosophical viewpoint that the Ultimate Reality is but a single Essence or God from which all life and manifest existence arises, abides in, returns to, and cannot be seperated from.
Asana: yogic posture; refers to the many yogic postures designed to stimulate and balance the sublte energies of mind and body.
Ashram: a holy sanctuary; the dwelling of a Sat Guru and Students
Atman: the Divine Self; principle of life and sensation; I AM; Universal Self or Spirit or the Supreme
Avatar: incarnation of God
BB: Balanced Breath [See Practices]
Bhagavad-gita: Hindu religious scripture, "almost wholly in the form of a dialogue between Krishna, who represents the Self, the Atman, or Cosmic Consciousness, and Arjuna, who symbolizes the egoistic man of action. It gives a brief resume of the Roads by which Union or Yoga may be attained. This is one of the most important manuals that point the Way to Cosmic Consciousness."
Bhakti: devotion; love (of God)
Bhakti Yoga: the path of devotion and surrendering until the ego is totally effaced; union with love
Brahman: the Universal Self; the Absolute
Buddha: ninth avatar of Vishnu
Chakra: wheel; subtle center of energy in the body
Conditioned Mind: Conditioned mind is one that has collected ideas that sustain a me and the world - following the social dynamic - and so is filled to overflowing drama that runs one in circles... It is a mind that is never still...
Conscious Awareness: being in the moment with here and now
COS: Contemplation of Self, the first part of Diksha; it is a practice one listens to on headphonesand which works on expanding consciousness and may be requested after doing All starting practices regularly for at least three months. COS instructions Click Here.
Cult: (Click Here)
Dark Night of the Soul: tribulation/suffering phase of spiritual growth
Darshan: seeing; meeting or experiencing Guru or Sage with the purpose of absorbing the divine energy and transmission offered.
Diksha: spiritual initiation by which one enters a new realm of awareness and practice by a teacher through the bestowing of blessings and prana creating a deepened connection with the teacher and lineage; usually accompanied by a ceremony and revered as a moment of awakening conferred Shaktipat [See Diksha]
Dvaita: theosophy of dualism or pluralism in which God and the soul are seen as eternally seperate; opposite of Advaita; attachment to transient world
Ego: Ego is the false belief that we are a body, emotion, and thought as a separate soul entity
Enlightenment: state in which the individual transcends desire and suffering and attains Nirvana
Formless Constant: descriptive term for Absolute
Grace: not by effort; Grace IS when the 'doer' is out of the way
Guru: a spiritual master
Hari Om Tat Sat: Praise be That eternal Truth
Hatha Yoga: yoga of the physical body, involving body postures
IATIA: I Am That I AM; one of the beginning practice taught by SwamiG [See Practices]
Japa: repetition of a sacred word or syllable or name of God
Jnana: knowledge of the Absolute; the wisdom gained when the soul reaches full maturity, it is not an intellectual knowledge gathered through study but a direct knowing attained through realization
Jnana Yoga: union with wisdom
Kali: the fierce aspect of Shakti, represented by a black and naked Goddess garlanded with skulls; she is the champion of sadhana and the Mother of Liberation
Karma: the result of action; law of cause and effect, and the fruits of those actions or subsequent effect returning to the one carrying out the deed; as you sow so shall you reap
Karma yoga: the spiritual path of action; yoga of work or service
Krishna: personalized from of God or Avatar
Kriya: action. Cleaning. Automatic, spontaneous movements associated with the cleansing of kundalini.
Kundalini: primordial cosmic energy lying dormant within every individual at the base of the spine, analogous to a coiled serpent; when aroused she enters the sushumna in the center of the spine, ascending to pierce each chakra or level of consciousness as she climbs to the crown chakra where shakti unites with Shiva
Lila: play of God
Lucid Dreams: consciously aware of dreaming while dreaming, and therefore able to interact
Maha: great
Mantra: sacred syllable used in meditation
Maya: relative reality; illusion, veiling the soul's true nature; the realm of manifestation and creation, and that which deludes the soul into believing the manifest to be the ultimate reality
MM: Morning Mantras, given with in-person Diksha; a practice to be listened to that aids one in cutting through egoic mind
Moksha: Liberation; freedom from transmigration
Mudra: specific hand movements and gestures usually expressing power, or both symbolic and practical use.
Nad: mystic sound; internal sound current of the subtle body
Nadi: subtle energy channels within the inner body conveying the life force through connection of the many chakras
Namaste: that which is of the Divine in me greets that which is of the Divine in you
Neti-Neti: "not this, not this"; negating all names and forms in order to arrive at the eternal underlying truth
Nirvana: Liberation; the final state into which beings enter when, becoming Enlightened, they are no longer bound by the consciousness of an illusory ego; release from samsara
Nirvikalpa Samadhi: the highest state of concentration, in which the soul loses all sense of being different from the universal Self, but a temporary state from which there is a return to ego-consciousness
No-self State: no holding in the consciousness of an individualized person
Om (Aum): a mystic syllable, used as a mantra; the first emanation and sound of creation; the primordial sound pervading all manifest existence
Om Namah Shivaya: Praise Lord Shiva
OTIA: Om That I AM; one of the beginning practice taught by SwamiG [See Practices]
Pointing: Wisdom that aides to break through to Truth
Prana: life-force, breath, vital air
Pranam: to bow with respect
Pranayama: the movement and manipulation of bodily energies through breathing exercises and breath control
Prarabdha: the part of one's karma (destiny) to be worked out in this life
Prem: the highest form of love
Puja: reverence, honor, adoration, or worship; ceremonial worship with flowers, water, etc.
Reiki: a spiritual practice established in early 20th century Japan by Mikao Usui, based predominantly on the transmission of energy, and since hijacked within Western culture to be almost exclusively an energy healing practice
Sadhaka: a serious spiritual aspirant who performs sadhana and is usually under the guidance of a Guru
Sadhana: spiritual discipline or practice such as meditation, yoga, japa, puja, austerity etc, to facilitate purification of the mind and subsequent spiritual unfolding
Sage: a Self-Realized or Liberated Being
Samadhi: a contemplative or meditative state of consciousness in which the one who meditates and the object of meditation are united as one; the highest state is Nirvikalpa Samadhi where there is no awareness of form or senses and that which is beyond time, space and form , the Eternal One resulting in a total transformation of the individual consciousness. Sahaja Samadhi is that which comes naturally and is present always
Samskaras: the latent impressions from past experiences from this or a previous births which vibrate in the strata of the subconscious coloring our thoughts and actions
Sanyasi: an ascetic who has renounced the world and all worldly affairs in order to facilitate vigorous and dedicated pursuit of the spiritual path and Self-Realization to the exclusion of all else; a hindu swami or monk who has taken Sannyasa Diksha initiation
Sat-Chit-Ananda: existence or Truth/Consciousness/Bliss; the state of being of Parashakti, or the mind of the ever transcendent Lord Shiva, and the simultaneous state of existence of the individual body
Sat Guru: true guru [See What is a Sat Guru]
Satsang: association with the wise; gathering together to support and direct one towards Ultimate Truth [See Satsang]
Savikalpa Samadhi: a state of concentration in which the distinction between the knower, knowledge and known is not yet lost
Self-Enquiry: process of transcending illusion of persona as separate from Self, i.e. Absolute
Self-Realization: the state of realization of one's True Self beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence; union with the Self through Nirvikalpa Samadhi
Seva: selfless service, giving back to the universe; giving from the heart (it could be money, work around the ashram, just volunteering to help when needed) [See Donations]
Shakti: the power of consciousness and spiritual evolution; the creative or manifest aspect of Lord Shiva, his Divine energy which cannot be seperated from Him; the underlying substrata of all existence in it's most refined aspect it is pure consciousness or ParaShakti, SatChitAnanada; often depicted as individual entities, Shiva and Shakti are in fact inseparable like two sides of the same coin, or the dancer and the dance
Shaktipata: descent of Grace; Guru initiation; the awakening of the kundalini by a look, touch or thought. Energy work by Guru or Sage.
Shaktishits: diarrhea that can happen with intense shakti flow.
Shanti: peace
Siddha Master: 0ne who has gone beyond the siddhis, a Self-Realized or perfected master
Siddhi: extraordinary mystical or psychic powers arising as a result of sadhana or natually through spiritual journey; often a barrier to Self-Realization due to the fortification of ego and the sense of seperation
Shiva: form of the Hindu trinity governing destruction and transcendence; God, Absolute Reality (ParaShiva), the Totality of Being existing in and as all things; the Creator and Creation, the preserver and destroyer
Soham: I am Brahman
Storyline: what drives the mind
Submit: What is Submit?
1. to give over or yield to the power or authority of another (often used reflexively). 2. to subject to some kind of treatment or influence. 3. to defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc. I submit to your superior judgment.
Submit is not a bad thing it is simply a different energy than Surrender
Now let's look at Surrender....
1. to give (oneself) up to some influence, course, emotion, etc.: He surrendered himself to a life of hardship. 2. to give up, abandon, or relinquish (comfort, hope, etc.). 3.to yield or resign (an office, privilege, etc.) in favor of another. –verb (used without object) 4. to give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield.
So what is the difference ---- Submit keeps the ME in place that is going to relent to another..... Submit keeps the ME center in place.....
Surrender: to fully release the me into whatever is coming..... Letting go of the me and entering fully into whatever comes...This 0-ne Surrendered when the Great Fear Arose ( on the altar of Truth i lay myself) --- Not knowing what was coming it was fully entered into as the me was relinquished.....
Much different than Submitting to Authority in which the ME is allowing it to take place for ones ulitmate benefit...Can you Now see the difference ? Submit is not a bad thing ---Surrender is not a bad thing ---- But they are used in different ways and are different dynamics...
Swami: mystic or yogi
Tantra: a specific method or spiritual practice which is used in every part of life to break through illusion; or mystical scripture or text
Transient: that which is always in change and flux
Upanisads: 108 spiritual and philosophical texts contained within the Vedas and from which Vedanta originates expounding upon God, Creation, and Cosmos
Vairagya: non-attachment; -- no resisting and no clinging ... it is what it is and no more nor less.... Apathy is a depression... a closing down... This path is not about apathy but Vairagya does develop...
Vajra: lightening bolt. A symbol of spiritual power.
Vajra Nirvana Marga: Lightening Bolt (Kundalini -Fast, Strong and Rapid) Path to
Liberation ...
Vajra - Lightening bolt. A symbol of spiritual power.
Nirvana - nirvana - "Extinction." In Buddhism it is the indescribable ultimate attainment or disinterested wisdom and compassion. In Hinduism it is the emancipation from ignorance and the end of all attachment. Also an ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy.
Marga - marga - "Path" or "way." Spiritual path. From marg "to seek"
Vasanas: the subconscious inclinations which dictate ones attitudes and actions; when samskaras combine the resultant hybrids are vasanas
Veda: sacred lore; scriptures revealed through the Rishis (Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas)
Vipassana: mindfulness meditation; watching ones thoughts and actions
Yeshua: Christ
Yoga: union with the Supreme; literally, a yoke or discipline; the technique of meditation whereby the individual brings himself into unity with the Ultimate Reality; the four paths to this union are jnana, the path of knowledge, karma, the path of action, bhakti, the path of devotion, and raja, the royal path, which is a synthesis of the other three
