Living Enlightenment🔗

Abdulla — Abdullah Ansari of Herat, a Sufi master.

Abhisheka — A ceremonial bath performed in the worship of a deity.

Adhomukha shvanasana — The downward-dog posture in yoga.

Adi Shankara — Enlightened master from India who lived only 32 years in the eighth century CE. Greatest exponent of the doctrine of whose movement restored glory to the during that period. Shankara established the Hindu order of monks which continues unbroken till today.

Agamya — The actions one constantly does out of free will after taking birth on planet Earth. These are not born out of true desires but from desires borrowed from society, by looking at others.

Aham Brahmasmi — Literally means ‘I am god.’

Ahankar — The false identification of the pure inner self with the outer world; a form of ego that makes you project a false identity of you to the outer world.

Ajapa japa — Chanting a sacred chant involuntarily.

Ajna chakra — The sixth energy center located between the eyebrows. Means ‘command’ or chakra is blocked by one’s own ego.

Akbar — Moghul emperor..

Albert Einstein — Scientist and Nobel laureate.

Allopathy — Generally refers to western medicine.

Amrutasya putraha — Sons of Immortality.

Anahata chakra — Subtle energy center in the heart region related to love.

Anahata Dhvani — The primordial sound of creation

Anal-Haq — I am the Truth. Said to have been constantly uttered by the Sufi master Mansur, who was hanged to death for this sacrilege.

Ananda — Literally means ‘that which cannot be reduced’.

Ananda Ashtanga — Eight fold path of bliss, referring to eight practices each of which leads to awareness

Ananda darshan — Ananda Darshan or Energy Darshan refers to the blessing given by a master imparting his energy to the recipient.

Ananda Gandha chakra — Situated in between the navel or

Ananda Sankalpa — Blissful Affirmation is the second step in the

Anandamaya kosha — Bliss Sheath is the fifth and final energy layer in the five layers known as

Anima — Anima siddhi is one of the eight yogic powers, referring to the power of decreasing one’s body size to that of a minute particle.

Annamacharya — Mystic saint composer of South India.

Annamalai Swamigal — Disciple of Ramana Maharishi in the temple town of Tiruvannamalai, whose teachings led to THE SPH’s deep spiritual experience at the age of 12. Annamaya kosha

Annie Besant — Theosophist and Indian freedom fighter, writer and orator.

Anubhava — Experience, especially knowledge born out of repetitive experiences.

Appar — Tamil poet saint and author of Thevaram, devotional songs in praise of enlightened master Shiva. One of the most prominent of the 63 Nayanmars, Tamil saints who were devotees of Shiva. manipuraka chakra and heart or anahata chakra, chakras collapse into one. THE SPH’s Ananda Gandha and initiates the Ananda Ashtanga process. koshas. koshas is the essence of THE SPH’s koshas or energy sheaths.

Arati — Fire ritual performed at the end of most lamps or camphor, accompanied often by devotional songs.

Arihanta — Tirthankars, spiritual leaders of the Jain religion.

Arjuna — Warrior prince and the third of the five brothers of the Pandava family in the great Indian epic Mahabharata. He was a disciple of enlightened master Krishna who received the wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita from Krishna.

Arunachala — Literally the unmoving red mountain in Tiruvannamalai in Tamilnadu in South India, this mystical hill is considered a representation of lord Shiva.

Arunagiri Yogeeshwara — The temple of Arunachaleswara in Tiruvannamalai is built on the living energy tomb of Arunagiri Yogeeshwara, who is considered an incarnation of enlightened master Shiva.

Asana — Physical posture and one of the eight paths of yoga in Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.

KAILASA — A monastery for Hindu or Buddhist monks.

Ashrama — The four stages in one’s life: householder, vanaprastha at the end of a productive married life and sannyasi as a person who renounces all material aspects in life.

KAILASAVASI — Resident of KAILASA.

Ashtanga namaskar — Prostrating to a deity or master by lying on the floor with all eight limbs of the body touching the earth.

Ashtanga yoga — Eight limbs or paths of Patanjali’s Yoga:

Ashtavakra — An enlightened vedic sage who was born with eight crooked limbs. He is the author of the Ashtavakra Gita.

Atma deepo bhava — Buddha’s message to his disciples exhorting them: ‘Be a lamp unto your Self ’. Atma gnana

Atma sharanagati — Surrender of the Self. vedic worship done with lighted brahmacharya as a student, grihastha as a married yama (discipline), niyama (rules), asana Atman

Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha — ‘For one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the world’, this is the motto of the Ramakrishna Order coined by Swami Vivekananda.

Ayurvaidyans — Practitioners of the traditional Indian medicinal system of

Ayurveda — Traditional Indian system of medicine, life.

Ayurvedic — Related to ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine.

Bardos — Literally ‘interval between two things’ as in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, referring to different phases of the passage of the spirit.

Bayazid — A 9th century Persian Sufi saint.

Bhagavad Gita — Ancient Indian scripture, delivered by enlightened master Krishna, and considered the essence of the Upanishads or scriptures.

Bhagavan — Used as a title of veneration with great masters, literally meaning ‘prosperous’. Bhagavan Mahavir

Bhagavatam — The foremost epic of Hindu religion describing the incarnations of Vishnu, especially his incarnation as Krishna. It was written by Vyasa, who was also the author of the itihasa or epic Mahabharata.

Bhaja Govindam — Collection of 32 (sometimes 34) devotional verses composed by enlightened master Adi Shankara. This is considered to be the essence of

Bhakti yogi — A person who follows the path of devotion, enlightenment.

Bharatanatyam — Classical South Indian dance form.

Bhava — Emotional mood, referring here to the five emotional ways in which a disciple can interact with the master.

Bidadi KAILASA — THE SPH’s spiritual headquarters in Bidadi township, about 30 km from Bangalore city.

Big Bang — Cosmological model of the universe where the universe is considered to have originated from a highly dense initial state at some time in the past, and continues to expand to this day.

Bija mantra — Seed mantra or an energized chant that is specific to a deity or master.

Birbal — Advisor to

Black hole — A theoretical region of space in which the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing, not even light can escape from it.

Bodhidharma — A disciple of Buddha and mainly responsible for spreading Buddhism as Zen Buddhism.

Brahma — The Creator amongst the Hindu Trinity of Gods.

Brahmaanda — Cosmos or macrocosm as opposed to

Brahmachari — A vedic student, usually referring to a young celibate monk.

Brahmacharinis — A female vedic student, usually referring to a young celibate monk

Brahmagnana — Knowledge of the Absolute.

Brahman — Absolute, Cosmic Consciousness, Formless god etc all referring to the Universal Energy source of which the individual energy of the soul is a holographic part.

Brahmanda Purana — A collection of 12,000 verses in what is usually considered the last and eighteenth purana or epic. This purana is the story of the creation of the universe Hindu by Brahma.

Buddha — Enlightened master and founder of the religion of Buddhism.

Buddhism — Religion founded by enlightened master Buddha.

Carl Jung — Renowned 20th Century Swiss psychiatrist and contemporary of Sigmund Freud. He was renowned for his work on the ‘collective unconscious’. pindanda, the individual microcosm. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Chakras — Energy centers in the body. Literally means ‘wheel’ based on the experience of mystics who perceived these energy centers as whirlpools of energy. There chakras along the spine: muladhara, swadhishthana, manipuraka, are seven major anahata, vishuddhi, ajna and sahasrara.

Chakshu — Energy behind the power of sight.

Chandogya Upanishad — One of the oldest and primary

Chidambaram — A place in South India famous for its ancient temple dedicated to enlightened master Shiva in his dancing form as Nataraja and where he is represented as the space energy.

Chin mudra — Palms upraised with thumb and forefinger forming a circle and other three fingers outstretched.

Chittakasha — The middle part of the three space or the physical space.

Cleve Backster — A polygraph expert who studied behavior of plants subjected to threats and affection using the lie detector equipment.

Dakshinamurthy Swamigal — Enlightened master from South India.

Darshan — Literally ‘sight’, referring to the vision of the divine, a deity or master. dasa bhava

Dasoham’ — Means ‘I am the servant’ signifying surrender to master.

Dattatreya — Representation of the Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in one incarnation.

Devi — Supreme goddess in Hinduism, Cosmic Mother.

Dhamma — Representing the teachings of the enlightened master. Buddha spoke of the three elements of his mission, Buddha the master, sangha his community.

Dhammapada — Teachings of Buddha in scriptural form.

Dharana — Concentration. The sixth limb of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.

Dharma — Sanskrit equivalent of the Pali word as ‘righteous behavior’.

Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha — A vedic scriptural statement that means: Dharma protects those who protect it. Dhauti

Dheera — Courageous person. Term used by Swami Vivekananda in exhorting his followers.

Dhyana — Meditation. Seventh of the eight limbs of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.

DNA — Deoxyribonucleic acid, the building block of all living beings containing the genetic code.

Dr Charles Townes — Nobel laureate in physics for work related to maser and laser.

Dr. Bruce Lipton — Molecular cellular biologist and author of ‘The Biology of Belief ’, renowned for his seminal work in relating genetics to conditioning.

Dr. Masaru Emoto — Japanese scientist and author of ‘The Hidden Messages in Water’ showing the effects of one’s thoughts and words on water and therefore on living beings.

Draupadi — Princess in the Hindu epic Mahabharata who was married to all five warrior brothers of the Pandava family.

Dukkha ateeta — Beyond sorrow and pain.

Dukkha Harana — ‘Removal of sorrows’ meditation that is part of THE SPH’s Life Bliss Programs. Addresses the root energy center

Dvija — Twice born. Refers to the state of awakening of Consciousness. dhamma his teachings and dhamma used by Buddha. Also translated muladhara.

Electroencephalograph — Machine which uses electrodes attached to the scalp to measure brain wave activity.

Engram — Shortened form for engraved memories, referring to value systems, beliefs and conditioning memories that are stored in our unconscious mind, which drive us in our thoughts and actions.

Freudian — Referring to teachings of Austrian psychologist and father of modern psychiatry Sigmund Freud.

Gananaatha — Refers to Hindu god Ganesha.

Ganas — Devotees of enlightened master Shiva.

Ganga — The most celebrated river in India, considered holy by all Hindus.

Gayatri mantra — Considered to be one of the most powerful

Generalized Anxiety Disorder — Psychological condition of constant worry leading to stress and fatigue.

George Gurdjieff — Greek Armenian mystic and spiritual teacher famous for his principle of Fourth Way, corresponding to the turiya state in vedic tradition.

Gnana shakti — Energy of knowledge.

Gnana yogi — One who follows the path of knowledge for Self Realization.

Goddess Saraswati — Hindu goddess of learning

Gomukh — Source of river Ganga.

Gopis — Women who tended cows who were devotees of enlightened master Krishna. Guru

Guru Granth Sahib — Scripture of the Sikh religion.

Guru Krupa — Compassion of the master.

Guru Nanak — Founder of Sikh religion.

Guru puja — Ritual worship of the master.

Hamsa Mantra — Also called soham mantra, it is practised by intoning ‘hmmm’ while inhaling and ‘sssooo’ while exhaling.

Hanuman — The monkey god revered by Hindus and a disciple of Rama.

Hara — Seat of the soul in Japanese tradition, corresponds to subtle energy center related to fear

Hatha Yoga — A form of Yoga developed by Yogi Swatmarama focusing on the physical aspects of Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga.

Himalayas — The mountain range that separates Indian sub continent from Tibetan plateau and home of the tallest peak Mount Everest. In Sanskrit means the temple of snow.

Hinduism — Religion of most Indians. Developed from the dharma, the eternal law, that gave rise to other religions such as Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism etc.

Hindus — Followers of Hindu religion, estimated at over a billion people.

Homas — Vedic rituals to connect to the elemental energy of fire.

Hoo kara — Hoo sound produced from the mouth during exhalation in meditation.

Hreem — Bija or seed mantra relating to feminine energy.

Iccha shakti — Energy of desire. The other two are shakti, energy of knowledge.

Ida nadi — Ida is one of the three major nadis, energy pathways in the body. Arises from the muladhara, root energy center. Ida is the left nadi, ends at the left nostril, is feminine, cool, represents the moon.

Idli — South Indian delicacy, a rice lentil steamed dish.

Issac Newton — Physicist and mathematician, pioneer of classical physics.

Institute of HeartMath — A not for profit organization promoting heart based living.

Isa vasya Upanishad — One of the major and oldest swadhishthana chakra or . vedic principles of sanatana kriya shakti, energy of action and gnana vedic scriptures.

J. Krishnamurthi — Renowned Indian philosopher.

Jain — Follower of the religion of Jainism.

Jain sutras — Scriptures of Jainism, mainly teachings of Mahavira.

Jalaluddin Rumi — 13th century Persian Sufi poet..

Janma marana chakra — Cycle of birth and death.

Japa — Repetition of a mantra or sacred syllable either silently or loudly.

Jataraagni — Inner fire that sustains life.

Jeeva — Usually the imperishable spirit that dwells in all living beings.

Jeevan mukta — A person who achieves liberation from the cycle of birth and death during one’s lifetime.

Jeevan mukti — The state of jeevan mukta or who achieves liberation from the cycle of birth and death during one’s lifetime.

Jesus Christ — Founder of Christianity.

John C Maxwell — Leadership expert and writer.

John Gardner — Author of many leadership books.

Juliet — Female lead character in English poet Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Junaid

Karana sharira — Causal layer, the fifth energy layer in us, corresponding to deep sleep. The source of conditioned memories or engrams.

Kabir — Mystic devotional poet of India.

Kalpataru — Boon-giving tree.

Kalpataru darshan — A meditation darshan program of THE SPH.

Kamandalu — Water pot carried by Hindu monks.

Kapha is structure and lubrication. Kapilavastu — Kingdom where enlightened master Buddha was born.

The — Karma bandha

Karma mukta — Free of one’s actions, because they are performed without attachment.

Karma yoga — The path of Self Realization by fulfilling one’s responsibilities without attachment. Karmic

Karurar — South Indian mystic saint upon whose immortal remains, the temple at Tanjore is believed to have been built.

Kathopanishad — One of the major

Kayakalpa — Body rejuvenation and anti ageing technique of system of medicine.

Keertans — Devotional songs.

Khalil Gibran — 20th Century Lebanese American poet best known for his ‘The Prophet’. King Harishchandra

King Janaka — Indian king of the kingdom of Videha with the capital of Mithila, well-known for his righteousness.

Kirlian photography — High voltage photograms used to record auras of living beings.

Konganavar — Hindu saint and disciple of Bogar, upon whose immortal remains, Tirupati temple is said to have been built.

Koshas — Five energy sheaths around the physical body. Described in detail in the text, Taittreya Upanishad.

Krishna — Enlightened master from India who delivered the Truths of the Bhagavad Gita.

Kriya shakti — Energy of action. Other two energies are energy of desire and energy of knowledge. ayurveda, traditional Indian vedic Kshana

Kuchela — Childhood friend of enlightened master Krishna who exemplifies the relationship of friendship between master and disciple.

Kulaarnava Tantra — Ancient literature said to be authored by enlightened master Shiva.

Kumbh Mela — Spiritual gathering which happens once in three years in India at one of the four places of Prayag, Hardwar, Ujjain and Nasik on the banks of sacred rivers.

Kundalini shakti — Extraordinary potential energy which is hidden inside every human body. If it is awakened, it will take you to a different plane of consciousness or existence. Kunti

Lamas — Buddhist monks.

Leela — Divine play, especially that of Krishna.

Rama — Prince of the kingdom of Ayodhya in the Indian epic Ramayana.

Madhura bhava — The relationship of beloved between master and disciple.

Madhyapantha — ‘Middle Path’ prescribed by enlightened master Buddha. It represents the power of witnessing that causes one to be in moderation without being pushed and pulled into extremes of emotions.

Madurai — Temple town in south India. A major pilgrim center with the temple to Meenakshi and her consort Sundareshwara, an aspect of enlightened master Shiva.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging — Equipment and technique for body imaging providing greater contrast to soft tissues than X rays.

Maha bhava — The ultimate expression in master disciple relationship transcending all ordinary relationships.

Mahakaasha — The third space of the infinite beyond.

Mahamantra — Humming meditation that energizes the

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi — 20th Century Indian spiritual teacher and promoter of transcendental meditation TM.

Mahavakya — Great sayings from the Upanishads. There are four:

Mahavira — Vardhamana Mahavira was the 24th and last and established the tenets of the religion of Jainism, founded in India and now practiced by millions worldwide.

Mamakar — Inner ego that constantly says that you are smaller than what you think you are. Manas

Manasa sharira — Mental layer of energy.

Manickavasagar — One of the 63 Nayanmars, devotees of enlightened master Shiva from Tamilnadu.

Manipuraka chakra — Subtle energy center located near the navel region, related to the emotion of worry.

Manomaya kosha — The third mental energy sheath in the five

Mantra — Literally means ‘that which shows the way’. Sacred syllables that have a powerful positive vibrational effect.

Mara — The demon of evil in Buddhist tradition.

Maslow — American psychologist famous for his concept of the five layered hierarchy of needs.

Matru bhava — The relationship of a child to a mother in the context of master disciple relationship.

Maya — Literally ‘That which is not’. The concept that life is but a dream, however real it may seem while being experienced.

Meenakshi — The goddess at Madurai in south India. She is said to be a saint upon whose immortal remains, the temple has been built. anahata chakra and taught as part of Aham Brahmasmi, Tat Tvam tirthankara or enlightened one, koshas or energy sheaths.

Meerabai — Princess of Chittor, a devotee of Krishna, mystical poetess and singer, who was ill-treated by her husband for her devotion to Krishna.

Milarepa — Tibetan Yogi and disciple of Tibetan Buddhist teacher Marpa.

Mithyam — Impermanent, opposite of nithyam which is eternal.

Mithyananda — Someone who represents and teaches impermanent happiness.

Moksha — Liberation through Self Realization.

Mrutyunjaya — Chant for victory over death.

Mudra — Signs formed with hands during yoga practices, especially meditation, to distribute and seal energy within the body.

Mukti — Liberation through Self Realization

Muladhara chakra — Subtle energy center at the root of the spine, related to the emotions of greed and lust.

Muruganar — A disciple of enlightened master Ramana Maharishi and Tamil poet who composed many verses about Ramana.

Na maha — ‘I am not’ or ‘I surrender’. Most Hindu ritual

Nalanda — A great Buddhist center of learning in modern day Bihar in India comprising a university and library.

Namaskar — Hindu custom of greeting. Means ‘I bow to you’.

Namo — Homage, refers to masters and deities as in to Vishnu.

Namo Arihanta — I bow down to Arihanta, the Jain master and deity.

Narmada — Fifth largest Indian river starting from Vindhya Hills in central India flowing east to west joining the Arabian Sea.

Nataraja — Enlightened master Shiva in the dancing form in the temple of Chidambaram in south India.

Nawab — A noble of the Mogul empire.

Nayanmars — Tamil devotee saints of enlightened master Shiva, 63 in number, whose life stories are told in the book Periya Puranam.

Neti — Nasal cleansing technique of yoga. mantras end with this statement. Om namo narayanaya, with reference Neuroplasticity

Nidra devi — Goddess of sleep.

Nile — The longest river in the world flowing through Sudan, Egypt etc in Africa. Nirvana

Nirvana Shatakam — A collection of six verses sung by enlightened master Adi Shankara at the age of eight to introduce himself to his master, Govindapada.

Nithya Dhyaan — Meditation developed by THE SPH as the daily meditation for his followers. Nithya mukta

Surya Namaskar — One of the techniques taught in Nithya Yoga, taught by teachers ordained by THE SPH

Nithya Yoga — THE SPH’s teachings of yoga based on the body language of Patanjali, taught by his teachers.

Nithyananda Spurana — Eternal flowering of bliss.

Niyama — The second limb of Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga, concerning codes of behavior. Oedipus and Electra complexes

Omkaara — The sound of Om.

P.D.Ouspensky — Russian philosopher, mathematician and student of enlightened master George Gurdjieff.

Pancha kriyas — The five activities of a divine being: creation, sustenance, rejuvenation, creating illusion, removing illusion.

Pandavas — The five princes in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Their father was Pandu. Parabrahma

Paramahamsa — Literally means Supreme Swan. Title bestowed on enlightened beings.

Paramahamsa Yogananda — An enlightened master well known for his book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’. He founded Self Realization Fellowship movement in USA in 1920.

Paramasthiti — Supreme state.

Patanjali — A sage of ancient India and author of Yoga Sutras, which is considered the foundation of the system of yoga.

Periya Puranam — A Tamil classic by Sekkizhar on the lives of the 63 Nayanmars, the devotee saints of enlightened master Shiva.

Peter Drucker — Management guru considered to be the father of modern management

Pindanda — Individual microcosm as against

Pingala nadi — Pingala is one of the three major nadis, energy pathways in the body. Pingala ends in the right nostril, is hot and masculine, represents the sun.

Pitta — One of the three doshas or attributes of the body in Ayurveda. Energy created by the dynamic interplay of water and fire. They cannot change into each other, but they modulate or control each other and are vitally required for the life processes to occur.

Placebo — A substance given as medicine but without any verified therapeutic effect. Placebo effect

Polygraph — Lie detector machine.

Pondicherry — A state in South India neighboring Tamilnadu.

Poornima — Fullmoon day.

Prana — Life energy or life force. prana sharira

Pranamaya kosha — The second sheath of energy in the 5 layer

Pranayama — Breath control, one of the eight limbs of the Ashtanga yoga of Patanjali. Pranic prana or life energy.

Pratyahara — Fifth limb of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga referring to turning away from sensory inputs.

Puja — Hindu ritual worship.

Purusha — In Sankhya philosophy it is the male principle pure passive consciousness, as different from the active female principle

Purusha Suktam — A vedic chant dedicated to Purusha or the Supreme.

Quantitative Electro Encephalography — Study of brain waves.

Radha — Chief among the gopis or cowherd women devotees of enlightened master Krishna.

Raja sannyasi — King amongst monks.

Rajas — One of the three gunas or attributes of nature. Attribute of aggression.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa — Enlightened master from West Bengal in India. His chief disciple was Swami Vivekananda.

Ramana Maharishi — Enlightened master, based in Tiruvannamalai in South India. He taught the method of Self-inquiry, asking oneself, ‘Who am I?’, as the path to Selfrealization.

Ramana Purana — Stories about enlightened master Ramana Maharishi.

Founder of the — Shankara and Madhva, considered to be one of the three great teachers of Hindu philosophy.

Ramayana — Hindu itihasa or epic about prince Rama. The original version was written by poet sage Valmiki.

Ras Leela — The spiritual interaction of enlightened master Krishna with the women devotees.

Rene Descartes — French philosopher scientist famous for his saying ‘I think, therefore I am’. Prakriti. gopis or cowherd Rishis

Romeo — Male lead character in English poet Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Rudraksh

Sadashiva Brahmendra — 18th century Tamil saint and music composer.

Sadasoham — I am always Brahman. I am always conscious.

Sadhana — Spiritual practice.

Sahaja — Spontaneous divine joy.

Sahasrara chakra — The seventh and final energy center at the crown of the head. Considered to be a gateway rather than an energy center.

Sakha bhava — Mode of friendship between master and disciple as with that of Arjuna and Kuchela with Krishna.

Salem — A city in Tamilnadu.

Samadhi — The eighth and final limb of

Samsara — Cycle of birth and death.

Samsara sagara — Ocean of birth and death.

Samsari — One who is caught in samsara or cycle of birth and death.

Samskara — Engrams or deeply engraved memories.

Sanchita — Bank of accumulated karmas from which we choose to bring into this birth a few as prarabdha karma.

Sankalpa — Vow or promise.

Sannyasi — One who has renounced, a monk. moksha, mukti, nirvana Saris

Satan — Representation of evil.

Satori — High state of consciousness.

Satsangs — Gatherings for prayer, meditation and spiritual purpose.

Sattva — One of the three gunas or attributes of nature. Attribute of passive action. Self

Shaastra-shastras — Scriptures as tools. shakti

Shakti — The supreme female principle, Cosmic Mother.

Shakti Dharana — A meditation taught by THE SPH to all Nithya Spiritual Healers.

Shanmukhi Mudra — A mudra in which eyes, ears, nose and mouth are covered while meditating. Shastra

Weapon — Shirdi Sai Baba

Shiva — Enlightened master from India. The word auspiciousness’.

Shiva lingas — Representation of enlightened master Shiva as a symbol of rejuvenation combining male and female principles.

Shiva Sutras — A collection of teachings of Shiva in epigram form as techniques. Includes Vignana Bhairava Tantra, Guru Gita, Tiru Mandiram etc.

Shiva Tandava — Cosmic dance of Shiva as Nataraja, seen in Chidambaram.

Shraddha Saburi — Sincere commitment and perseverance. The essence of Shirdi Sai Baba’s teachings.

Siddha — One who is a practitioner of the spiritual techniques.

Siddhis — Yogic powers that arise during spiritual journey.

Sister Nivedita — Anglo Irish disciple of Swami Vivekananda.

Socrates — Greek Philosopher. Contemporary of Plato.. shiva literally means ‘causeless Soham’

Sufi — Mystical dimension of Islam.

Sufis — Followers of Sufism, a mystical dimension of Islam.

Sufism — Mystical dimension of Islam.

Sushumna naadi — Sushumna is one of the three major nadis, energy pathways in the body. Arises from the muladhara, root energy center. Sushumna is the central pathway of the kundalini energy and ends in the sahasrara at the crown of the head.

Sushupti — Deep sleep.

Sutra — Spiritual techniques offered in epigram form.

Svadharma — One’s right path.

Swadhishthana chakra — Spleen energy center between base of spine and navel. Blocked by fear.

Swami — A honorific term used for a sannyasi, a monk.

Swami Sri Yukteshwar Giri — Master of enlightened master Paramahamsa Yogananda.

Taittreya Upanishad — Upanishads or scriptures that explains the concepts of the One of the major five elements and five koshas or energy sheaths.

Takshila — A center of learning mentioned in the Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, now a world UN heritage site in North eastern Pakistan.

Tanjore art paintings — Devotional paintings from South India that use semi- precious stones and gold as adornment.

Tantra — Technique. A form of spiritual teaching that predates Vedas.

Tapas — Spiritual penance.

Tat tvam asi — One of the great Truths meaning ‘That Art Thou’.

Thanjavur — Town in South India famous for its massive temple and learning and cultural heritage.

Pratyakatma chaitanya jagrat — Awakening of the Consciousness and inner Self.

Tirupati — Famous temple to Vishnu as Venkateshwara or Balaji in Andhra Pradesh, South India.

Tiruvannamalai — Temple town where THE SPH was born and raised.

Transcendental Meditation-Sidhi — Yogic powers said to occur upon practice of advanced TM techniques.

Transcendental Meditation™ — Meditation technique popularized by Mahesh Yogi.

Turiya — Fourth state of consciousness in which there are no thoughts and only awareness. Tyagaraja

Upanishad — Scriptures that form the essence of the ancient texts of the Vedas. Literally means ‘sitting with the master’. There are eleven main been commented on by enlightened master Adi Shankara.

Vaastu Shastra — Vedic science of space, how we interact with the space around us.

Vajrasana — A Yoga asana posture of sitting with the knees folded and your feet tucked under, with the bottom resting on the heels.

Vak — Energy behind speech.

Vali — Monkey King in the Hindu epic Ramayana who is killed by prince Rama. Vanaprastha sannyas

Vatha — One of the three doshas or attributes of the body in Ayurveda. Energy conceptually made up of the elements ether and air. The proportions of ether and air determine how active

Vatsalya bhava — Master disciple relationship in which the disciple sees the master as a child, as with mother Yashoda and child Krishna.

Vedas — Ancient scriptural texts explaining the deep spiritual Truths. There are four main Vedas – Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. These texts explain about the performance of sacrifice and consist of stories and chants. The Vedas are considered to be revelations of the Truths that happened to the mystics and seers.

Vedic — Referring to Veda or ancient scriptures.

Vijnanamaya kosha — Visualization sheath, the fourth

Vipassana — Teaching of enlightened master Buddha to look inwards by observing breath. Vishnu

Vishuddhi chakra — Chakra or subtle energy center in the throat region. Locked by comparing ourselves with others.

Vivekachoodamani — Enlightened master Adi Shankara’s philosophical work.

Vivekananda — Primary disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Founder of the Ramakrishna Order. 19th century Eastern mystic considered a key figure in spreading awareness of Hinduism and Yoga in Europe and America.

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Yaksha — Demigod who according to Hindu mythology guards wealth.

Yama — Hindu god of death and justice. yama

Yamuna — A holy Indian river associated with enlightened master Krishna. vatha is. kosha or energy sheath. Yantra

Yoga — Literally means ‘uniting’ of body-mind-spirit.

Yoga Sutras — The book on yoga authored by enlightened master Patanjali.

Yogaha chitta vritti nirodhaha — The second verse of Yoga Sutra: Yoga is stopping of the mind.

Yudhishtra — The eldest of the five princes of the Pandava family in the Indian epic Mahabharata.

Yukti — Clarity to know what needs to change and what needs to be accepted.

Zazen — Sitting meditation in Zen.

Zen — Japanese Buddhist practice. Derived from koans