Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

I

iccha shakti: (Sanskrit) "Desire; will." See: Shakti, trishula.

icon: A sacred image, usually of God or one of the Gods. English for murti. See: aniconic, murti.

iconoclastic: Opposed to widely accepted ideas, beliefs and customs. Also [but not used as such in this text], opposed to the worship or use of religious icons, or advocating their destruction.

ida nadi: (Sanskrit) "Soothing channel." The feminine psychic current flowing along the spine. See: kundalini, nadi, odic, pingala.

illusion (illusory): A belief, opinion or observation that appears to be, but is not in accord with the facts, truth or true values, such as the illusion created by a magician. See: avidya.

illustrious: Very luminous or bright; distinguished, famous; outstanding.

immanent: Indwelling; present and operating within. Relating to God, the term immanent means present in all things and throughout the universe, not aloof or distant. Not to be confused with imminent, about to happen; emanate, to issue from; eminent, high in rank.

immature: Not ripe; not fully grown, undeveloped. Still young.--immature soul: See: atman, evolution of the soul, soul.

immemorial (from time immemorial): From a time so distant that it extends beyond history or human memory.

immutable: Never changing or varying. See: Absolute Reality, relative.

impasse: A dead end; a passage with no escape. A difficulty with no solution.

impede: To obstruct or delay something; make difficult to accomplish. (Noun form: impediment.)

impediment: "That which holds the feet." Hindrance; obstacle. Anything that inhibits or slows progress.

impending: That which is about to happen; threatening.

imperishable: That which cannot die or decay; indestructible; immortal. With capital I, imperishable refers to God--the Eternal, Beginningless and Endless.

impermanence: The quality of being temporary and nonlasting.

impersonal: Not personal; not connected to any person.

impersonal being: One's innermost nature, at the level of the soul's essence, where one is not distinguished as an individual, nor as separate from God or any part of existence. The soul's essential being--Satchidananda and Parasiva. See: atman, essence, evolution of the soul, soul.

impersonal God: God in His perfections of Pure Consciousness (Parashakti) and Absolute Reality beyond all attributes (Parasiva) wherein He is not a person. (Whereas, in His third perfection, Parameshvara, Siva is someone, has a body and performs actions, has will, dances, etc.)

impetus: Anything that stimulates activity. Driving force; motive, incentive.

implore: To ask, beg, beseech or entreat earnestly or pathetically.

impoverished: Poor; reduced to a condition of severe deprivation.

inanimate: See: animate-inanimate.

inauspicious: Not favorable. Not a good time to perform certain actions or undertake projects. Ill-omened. See: auspiciousness, muhurta.

incandescent: Glowing with heat; white-hot. Radiant; luminous; very bright.

incantation: Mantraprayoga. The chanting of prayers, verses or formulas for magical or mystical purposes. Also refers to such chants (mantra). Vashakriya is the subduing or bewitching by charms, incantation or drugs. Incantation for malevolent purposes (black magic) is called abhichara. See: mantra.

incarnation: From incarnate, "to be made flesh." The soul's taking on a human body.--divine incarnation: The concept of avatara. The Supreme Being's (or other Mahadeva's) taking of human birth, generally to reestablish dharma. This doctrine is important to several Hindu sects, notably Vaishnavism, but not held by most Saivites. See: avatara, Vaishnavism.

incense: Dhupa. Substance that gives off pleasant aromas when burned, usually made from natural derivatives such as tree resin. A central element in Hindu worship rites, waved gently before the Deity as an offering, especially after ablution. Hindi terms include sugandhi and lobana. A popular term for stick incense is agarbatti (Gujarati). See: puja.

incisive: "Cutting into." Sharp or keen, such as a penetrating and discriminating mind. See: discrimination.

incognito: Without being recognized; keeping one's true identity unrevealed or disguised.

increment: An amount of increase, usually small and followed by others; a measure of growth or change.

individual soul: A term used to describe the soul's nature as a unique entity, emanated by God Siva (the Primal Soul), as a being which is evolving and not yet one with God. See: atman, essence, kosha, Parameshvara, soul.

individuality: Quality that makes one person or soul other than, or different from, another. See: ahamkara, ego, anava, soul.

indomitable: Not easily discouraged, defeated or subdued. Unconquerable.

Indra: (Sanskrit) "Ruler." Vedic God of rain and thunder, warrior king of the devas.

indriya: (Sanskrit) "Agent, sense organ." The five agents of perception (jnanendriyas), hearing (shrotra), touch (tvak), sight (chakshus), taste (rasana) and smell (ghrana); and the five agents of action (karmendriyas), speech (vak), grasping, by means of the hands (pani), movement (pada), excretion (payu) and generation (upastha). See: kosha, soul, tattva.

induce: To bring about, cause, persuade.

Indus Valley: Region of the Indus River, now in Pakistan, where in 1924 archeologists discovered the remains of a high civilization which flourished between 5000 and 1000 bce. There, a "seal" was found with the effigy of Siva as Pashupati, "Lord of animals," seated in a yogic posture. Neither the language of these people nor their exact background is known. They related culturally and carried on an extensive trade with peoples of other civilizations, far to the West, using sturdy ships that they built themselves. For centuries they were the most advanced civilization on Earth. See: Saivism.

indwell: To dwell or be in. "The priest asks the Deity to indwell the image," or come and inhabit the murti as a temporary physical body. See: murti.

I-ness: The conceiving of oneself as an "I," or ego, which Hinduism considers a state to be transcended. See: ahamkara, anava, mind (individual).

inexhaustible: Cannot be exhausted, used up or emptied. Tireless.

inexplicable: Beyond explaining or accounting for.

inextricable: Cannot be disentangled or separated from another thing.

infatuation: The magnetic condition of being captured by a foolish or shallow love or affection.

infinitesimal: Infinitely small; too small to be measured.

inflict: To give or cause pain, wounds, etc.

infuse: To transmit a quality, idea, knowledge, etc., as if by pouring. To impart, fill or inspire.

ingest: To take food, medicine, etc., into the body by swallowing or absorbing.

inherent (to inhere in): Inborn. Existing in someone or something as an essential or inseparable quality.--inherent sin: See: sin.

inherit: To receive from an ancestor, as property, title, etc.--or to reap from our own actions: "...seed karmas we inherit from this and past lives."

initiation (to initiate): Entering into; admission as a member. In Hinduism, initiation from a qualified preceptor is considered invaluable for spiritual progress. Usually the beginning of more advance learning. See: diksha, shaktipata, sannyasa diksha.

injunction: An urging; an order or firm instruction.

inmost: Located deepest within.

innate: Naturally occurring; not acquired. That which belongs to the inherent nature or constitution of a being or thing.

inner (innermost): Located within. Of the depths of our being.--inner advancement (or unfoldment): Progress of an individual at the soul level rather than in external life.--inner bodies: The subtle bodies of man within the physical body.--inner discovery: Learning from inside oneself, experiential revelation; one of the benefits of inner life.--inner form (or nature) of the guru: The deeper levels of the guru's being that the disciple strives to attune himself to and emulate.--inner law: The principles or mechanism underlying every action or experience, often hidden. Karma is one such law.--inner life: The life we live inside ourselves, at the emotional, mental and spiritual levels, as distinguished from outer life.--inner light: A moonlight-like glow that can be seen inside the head or throughout the body when the vrittis, mental fluctuations, have been sufficiently quieted. To be able to see and bask in the inner light is a milestone on the path. See: vritti.--inner mind: The mind in its deeper, intuitive functions and capacities--the subsuperconscious and superconscious.--innermost body: The soul body.--inner planes: Inner worlds or regions of existence.--inner self: The real, deep Self; the essence of the soul, rather than the outer self with which we usually identify.--inner sky: The area of the mind which is clear inner space, free of mental images, feelings, identifications, etc. Tranquility itself. The superconscious mind, Satchidananda. See: akasha.--inner truth: Truth of a higher order.--inner universes (or worlds): The astral and causal worlds. See: kosha.

innumerable: So many as to be beyond counting.

inscrutable: That cannot be analyzed or understood. Mysterious; beyond examining.

insignia: Plural of insigne. Signs or symbols of identity, rank or office, such as a badge or emblem.

dakshina: (Sanskrit) A fee or honorarium given to a priest at the completion of any rite; also a gift given to gurus as a token of appreciation for their infinite spiritual blessings.

instinctive: "Natural or innate." From the Latin instinctus, "staff," "prick," a participle of instigere, "impelling," pricking," "instigating." The drives and impulses that order the animal world and the physical and lower astral aspects of humans--for example, self-preservation, procreation, hunger and thirst, as well as the emotions of greed, hatred, anger, fear, lust and jealousy. The first steps on the spiritual path consist in learning to harness these tendencies and impulses and transmute their energies into the higher nature. See: manas, mind (individual), mind (three phases), yama-niyama.

instinctive mind: Manas chitta. The lower mind, which controls the basic faculties of perception, movement, as well as ordinary thought and emotion. Manas chitta is of the manomaya kosha. See: manas, manomaya kosha, yama-niyama.

instrumental cause: Sahakari karana. Cosmologically, the means of implementing creation. See: cause.

intellect: The power to reason or understand; power of thought; mental acumen. See: buddhi, intellectual mind.

intellectual mind: Buddhi chitta. The faculty of reason and logical thinking. It is the source of discriminating thought, rather than the ordinary, impulsive thought processes of the lower or instinctive mind, called manas chitta. Buddhi chitta is of the manomaya kosha. See: buddhi, mind (individual).

internalize: To take something inside of oneself.

internalized worship: Yoga. Worship or contact with God and Gods via meditation and contemplation rather than through external ritual. This is the yogi's path, preceded by the charya and kriya padas. See: meditation, yoga.

interplay: Interaction between two or more things.

intervene: To come between, especially two people or parties, with the intent to effect a change between them. See: mediatrix.

interweave (interwoven): To weave together like threads into cloth. To closely interrelate; to blend.

intimacy: The state of being intimate or very close. Having a close rapport.

intrigue: Secret plotting or scheming.

intrinsic: Inward, essential; inherent. Belonging to the real nature of a being or thing.--intrinsic evil: See: evil.

intuition (to intuit): Direct understanding or cognition, which bypasses the process of reason. Intuition is a far superior source of knowing than reason, but it does not contradict reason. See: cognition, mind (five states).

invigorate: To give vigor, life or energy.

invocation (to invoke): A "calling or summoning," as to a God, saint, etc., for blessings and assistance. Also, a formal prayer or chant. See: mantra.

Iraivan: (Tamil) "Worshipful one; divine one." One of the most ancient Tamil names for God. See: San Marga Sanctuary.

Iraivan Temple: See: San Marga Sanctuary.

Isha: (Sanskrit) "Lord, master of all; superior, commanding, reigning." Isha and its derivative Ishana are very old names for God Siva found in the Rig Veda.

Ishanyaguru: (Sanskrit) ite brahmin of the Kalamukha sect who Basavanna, principal founding teacher of Vira Saivism, received instruction from in his youth. See: Basavanna, Vira Saivism.

Isha Upanishad: (Sanskrit) Last of the 40 chapters of Vajasaneyi Samhita of the Yajur Veda. A short, highly mystical scripture. See: Upanishad.

Ishta Devata: (Sanskrit) "Cherished or chosen Deity." The Deity that is the object of one's special pious attention. Ishta Devata is a concept common to all Hindu sects. Vaishnavas may choose among many Divine forms, most commonly Vishnu, Balaji, Krishna, Radha, Rama, Lakshmi, Hanuman and Narasinha, as well as the aniconic shalagrama, a sacred river rock. Traditionally, Smartas choose from among six Deities: Siva, Shakti, Vishnu, Surya, Ganesha and Kumara (or any of their traditional forms). For Shaktas, the Divine is worshiped as the Goddess, Shakti, in Her many fierce forms and benign forms, invoking the furious power of Kali or Durga, or the comforting grace of Parvati, Ambika and others. Saivites direct their worship primarily to Siva as represented by the aniconic Siva Linga, and the human-like murtis, Nataraja and Ardhanarishvara. In temples and scriptural lore, Siva is venerated in a multitude of forms, including the following 23 additional anthropomorphic images: Somaskanda, Rishabarudra, Kalyanasundara, Chandrashekhara, Bhikshatana, Kamadahanamurti, Kalari, Jalandara, Tripurari, Gajari, Virabhadra, Dakshinamurti, Kiratamurti, Nilakantha, Kankala, Chakradana, Gajamukhanugraha, Chandesanugraha, Ekapada, Lingodbhava, Sukhasana, Uma Maheshvara and Haryardha. See: murti, Shakti, Siva.

Ishtalinga: (Sanskrit) "Cherished, chosen or personal mark of God." (Ishta: "sought, desired.") For Vira Saivites it is the personal Sivalinga, ceremonially given by a priest shortly after birth, and worn on a chain or cord around the neck thereafter. See: Sivalinga, Vira Saivism.

Islam: The religion founded by Prophet Muhammed in Arabia about 625 ce. Islam connotes submission to Allah, the name for God in this religion. Adherents, known as Moslems, follow the "five pillars" found in their scripture, the Koran: faith in Allah, praying five times daily facing Mecca, giving of alms, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage. One of the fastest growing religions, Islam has over one billion followers, mostly in the Middle East, Pakistan, Africa, China, Indochina, Russia and neighboring countries. See: Koran, Mohammed.

issue forth: To come out; be created. To start existing as an entity. E.g., creation issues forth from Nataraja's drum. See: emanation, Nataraja, tattva.

Ishvara: (Sanskrit) "Highest Lord." Supreme or Personal God. See: Parameshvara.

Ishvarapujana: (Sanskrit) "Worship." See: yama-niyama.

Itihasa: (Sanskrit) "So it was." Epic history, particularly the Ramayana and Mahabharata (of which the famed Bhagavad Gita is a part). This term sometimes refers to the Puranas, especially the Skanda Purana and the Bhagavata Purana (or Srimad Bhagavatam). See: Mahabharata, Ramayana, Smriti.

itinerant: Traveling from place to place, with no permanent home. Wandering. See: monk, sadhu, vairagi.

J

Jabala Upanishad: (Sanskrit) Belongs to the Atharva Veda. This short scripture teaches of knowledge attained in renunciation. See: Upanishad.

Jagadacharya: (Sanskrit) "World teacher." In 1986 the World Religious Parliament of New Delhi named five world leaders who were most active in spreading Sanatana Dharma outside India. The five are: H.H. Swami Chinmayananda of Chinmaya Missions, India; Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami of Saiva Siddhanta Church and Himalayan Academy, USA; Yogiraj Amrit Desai of Kripalu Yoga Center, USA; Pandit Tej Ramji Sharma of Nepali Baba, Nepal; and Swami Jagpurnadas Maharaj, Mauritius.

Jaimini: (Sanskrit) Founder of the Mimamsa Darshana. See: shad darshana.

Jaiminiya Brahmana Upanishad: (Sanskrit) A philosophical discourse of the Sama Veda dealing with death, passage to other worlds and reincarnation. See: Upanishad.

Jainism: (Jaina) (Sanskrit) An ancient non-Vedic religion of India made prominent by the teachings of Mahavira ("Great Hero"), ca 500 bce. The Jain Agamas teach reverence for all life, vegetarianism and strict renunciation for ascetics. Jains focus great emphasis on the fact that all souls may attain liberation, each by his own effort. Their great historic saints, called Tirthankaras ("Ford-Crossers"), are objects of worship, of whom Mahavira was the 24th and last. Jains number about six million today, living mostly in India. See: Mahavira.

Janaloka: (Sanskrit) "Plane of creativity, or of liberated mortals." The third highest of the seven upper worlds, realm of vishuddha chakra. See: loka.

jangama: (Sanskrit) "Moving; wanderer." A term used by Vira Saivites, originally to name their mendicant, renunciates who walked as homeless sadhus, uplifting others. Now an order of Vira Saivite teachers. See: Vira Saivism.

japa: (Sanskrit) "Incantation." Practice of concentrated repetition of a mantra, often while counting the repetitions on a mala or strand of beads. It may be done silently or aloud. Sometimes known as mantra yoga. A major sadhana in Hindu spiritual practice, from the simple utterance of a few names of God to extraordinary feats of repeating sacred syllables millions of times for years on end. It is recommended as a cure for pride and arrogance, anger and jealousy, fear and confusion. It harmonizes the doshas and quiets the vrittis. Filling the mind with divine syllables, awakening the divine essence of spiritual energies in the physical body, japa brings forth the amrita. For Saivites, Namah Sivaya in its various forms is the most treasured mantra used in japa. The mantra Hare-Rama-Hare-Krishna is among the foremost Vaishnava mantras. Japa yoga is said to be of 14 kinds: daily (nitya), circumstantial (naimittika), the japa of desired results (kamya), forbidden (nishiddha), penitential (prayashchitta), unmoving (achala), moving (chala), voiced (vachika), whispered (upanshu), bee, or murmured (bhramara), mental (manasa), uninterrupted (akhanda), nonuttered (ajapa) and circumambulatory (pradakshina). See: amrita, mantra, yama-niyama, yoga.

jatakarma: (Sanskrit) "Rite of birth." See: samskaras of birth.

jati : (Sanskrit) "Birth; genus; community or caste." See: varna dharma.

jayanti: (Sanskrit) "Birthday." See: Guru Jayanti.

jiva: (Sanskrit) "Living, existing." From jiv, "to live." The individual soul, atman, during its embodied state, bound by the three malas (anava, karma and maya). The jivanmukta is one who is "liberated while living." See: atman, evolution of the soul, jivanmukta, purusha, soul.

jivanmukta: (Sanskrit) "Liberated soul." A being who has attained nirvikalpa samadhi--the realization of the Self, Parasiva--and is liberated from rebirth while living in a human body. (Contrasted with videhamukta, one liberated at the point of death.) This attainment is the culmination of lifetimes of intense striving, sadhana and tapas, requiring total renunciation, sannyasa (death to the external world, denoted in the conducting of one's own funeral rites), in the current incarnation. While completing life in the physical body, the jivanmukta enjoys the ability to reenter nirvikalpa samadhi again and again. At this time, siddhis can be developed which are carried to the inner worlds after mahasamadhi. Such an awakened jnani benefits the population by simply being who he is. When he speaks, he does so without forethought. His wisdom is beyond reason, yet it does not conflict with reason. Nor does he arrive at what he says through the process of reason, but through the process of ajna-chakra sight. See: jivanmukti, jnana, kaivalya, moksha, Self Realization, Sivasayujya, videhamukti.

jivanmukti: (Sanskrit) "Liberation while living." The state of the jivanmukta. Contrasted with videhamukti, liberation at the point of death. See: death, jivanmukta, moksha, reincarnation, videhamukti.

jivayajna: (Sanskrit) "Self sacrifice." See: yajna.

jnana: (Sanskrit) "Knowledge; wisdom." The matured state of the soul. It is the wisdom that comes as an aftermath of the kundalini breaking through the door of Brahman into the realization of Parasiva, Absolute Reality. The repeated samadhis of Parasiva ever deepen this flow of divine knowing which establishes the knower in an extraordinary point of reference, totally different from those who have not attained this enlightenment. Jnana is the awakened, superconscious state (karana chitta) working within the ordinary experience of the world, flowing into daily life situations. It is the fruition of the progressive stages of charya, kriya and yoga in the Saiva Siddhanta system of spiritual unfoldment. Jnana is sometimes misunderstood as book knowledge, as a maturity or awakening that comes from simply understanding a complex philosophical system or systems. Those who define jnana in this way deny that the path is a progression of charya-kriya-yoga-jnana or of karma-bhakti-raja-jnana. Rather, they say that one can choose his path, and that each leads to the ultimate goal. See: God Realization, door of Brahman, Self Realization, samadhi.

Jnanamrita: (Sanskrit) A treatise of poems by Gorakshanatha on the duties of a yogi. See: Gorakshanatha.

jnana pada: (Sanskrit) "Stage of wisdom." According to the Saiva Siddhanta rishis, jnana is the last of the four successive padas (stages) of spiritual unfoldment. It is the culmination of the third stage, the yoga pada. Also names the knowledge section of each Agama. See: jnana, pada.

jnana shakti: (Sanskrit) "Power of wisdom." One of Siva's three primary shaktis. Also a name for Lord Karttikeya's vel. See: Karttikeya. shakti, trishula.

jnana yoga: (Sanskrit) "Union of knowledge." Describes the esoteric spiritual practices of the fully enlightened being, or jnani. An alternative meaning, popularized by Swami Vivekananda, is the quest for cognition through intellectual religious study, as one of four alternate paths to truth, the other three being bhakti yoga, karma yoga and raja yoga. See: jnana, yoga.

Jnaneshvari: (Sanskrit) Foremost religious treatise in the Marathi language. Written by the Natha saint Jnaneshvar (or Jnanadeva) about 1290. It is a verse-by-verse commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.

jnani: (Sanskrit) "Sage." One who possesses jnana. See: jivanmukta, jnana.

joint family: Kutumba or kula. The Hindu social unit consisting of several generations of kindred living together under the same roof or in a joining compound. Traditionally, joint families live in a large single home, but in modern times accommodations are often in individual, nuclear homes within a shared compound. The joint family includes the father and mother, sons, grandsons and great-grandsons with their spouses, as well as the daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters until they are married--thus often comprising several married couples and their children. The head of the joint family, called kutumba mukhya (also mukhya or kartri), is the father, supported by the mother, and in his absence, the elder son, guided by his mother and supported by his spouse. From an early age, the eldest son is given special training by his father to assume this future responsibility as head of the family. In the event of the father's death, sacred law does allow for the splitting of the family wealth between the sons. Division of family assets may also be necessary in cases where sons are involved in different professions and live in different towns, when there is an inability for all to get along under one roof, or when the family becomes unmanageably large.

The main characteristics of the joint family are that its members 1) share a common residence, 2) partake of food prepared in the same kitchen, 3) hold their property in common and, 4) ideally, profess the same religion, sect and sampradaya. Each individual family of husband, wife and children is under the guidance of the head of the joint family. All work together unselfishly to further the common good. Each joint family extends out from its home to include a second level of connections as an "extended family (brihatkutumba or mahakutumba)." See: extended family, grihastha dharma.

juncture: A critical point in the development of events.

jyotisha: (Sanskrit) From jyoti, "light." "The science of the lights (or stars)." Hindu astrology, the knowledge and practice of analyzing events and circumstances, delineating character and determining auspicious moments, according to the positions and movements of heavenly bodies. In calculating horoscopes, jyotisha uses the sidereal (fixed-star) system, whereas Western astrology uses the tropical (fixed-date) method.

jyotisha shastri: (Sanskrit) "Astrologer." A person well versed in the science of jyotisha. See: jyotisha.

Jyotisha Vedanga: (Sanskrit) "Veda-limb of celestial science (astronomy-astrology)." Ancient texts giving knowledge of astronomy and astrology, for understanding the cosmos and determining proper timing for Vedic rites. (Jyoti means light [of the sun, fire, etc.]) See: jyotisha, Vedanga.