Friday, September 10, 2010
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GLOSSARY

To assist the reader in understanding the terminology presented in this glossary, most words have been marked with an (S) for Sanskrit or an (H) for Hebrew.

Agni  (S) –  Inner subtle fire

Ah Cah Tah triangle (S)  –  Vision from within the soma chakra (part of the crown chakra)

Ahaparinirvana Sutra  (S) –  An ancient Vedic scripture

Ahimsa (S) –  Pro-active process of creating and sustaining peace on every level

Ajna Chakra (S) –  Sixth chakra or third eye chakra

Akasha – Space/ether

Ama (S) – Term for physical toxins in Ayurvedic medicine

Amrita (S) – Divine nectar literally of the moon or nectar of immortality; also called soma

Amrita chakra (S) – Another name for soma chakra; source of Divine nectar

Anandakanda (S) –
Space of bliss in the etheric heart

Anandamaya kosha (S) – Bliss layer of the mind

Anna (S) – Food

Annamaya kosha (S) – Food layer of the mind

Anuhata Chakra (S) – Heart chakra

Anupaya (S) – The practice of direct knowing

Apana – Downward flow of prana

Artha (S) – Wealth

Asee’Yah (H) – Physical world in Kabbalistic tradition

Ashram (S) – A physical location for spiritual study and evolution

Atik Yoman (H) – The grandmother – “face of God,” The Grace of God, the unknowable

Atikmanasa kosha (S) – Layer of the mind associated with intuitive inspiration

Atman (S) – The Divine Self beyond the body-mind-I AM complex

Atz’ilut (H) – Fourth world in Kabbalah associated with direct apperception of God

Aura – Energetic field comprised of the subtle bodies

Avadoot (S) – A liberated being who lives wild, free, often by themselves in the forest

Avadut moksha (S) – A completely God-merged being

Avatar (S) – A Liberated being who comes to the planet to raise consciousness on a mass level

Ayurveda (S) – A 5000 year old healing tradition from India; it is the complete knowledge of how to live daily life in harmony with cosmic life

Azamara – The practice of finding a point of light in all situations, seeing the Divine in all things

B’lee mah (H) – The nothing

B’riYah (H) – Second world in Kabbalah associated with a plane of angels and demons; the astral plane

Baal Shem Tov (H) – Founder of the Hasidic movement in Europe who lived 1700-1760, a great shamanic saint

Bāla Krishna (S) – Child expression of the Divine

Bhagavad-Gita (S) – A great Indian epic spiritual story

Bhakti Yoga (S) – Yoga of love and devotion

Bhikshu – Spiritual seeker

Bija (S) – Seed

Binah (H) – One of the three higher sephirot energies

Body-mind-I AM complex – Ego structure linked to time, space, and form

Brahma nadi (S) – The central nadi in the sushumna

Brahma Rhandhra (S) – Space of the void between the right and left side of the brain

Brahman (S) – Absolute reality

Bruhus – Lower level shamans

Chaitanya mantra (S) – An energized and awakened mantra

Chakra (S) – A vortexual energetic field that connects endocrine and nervous system plexus, as well as to other subtle systems

Chandogya Upanishad (S) – a section of one of the Vedas

Chandra (S) – Moon

Chasmal (H) – Small, silent voice often heard in meditation or prayer

Chavurah (H) – Group to support spiritual life

Chaya-Yehida (H) – Oscillation of dual/non-dual consciousness; Self-realization, Liberation

Chesed consciousness (H) – The consciousness of Love and open-heartedness

Chi – Prana

Chit Kundalini (S) – The second of the three granthis, associated with the etheric heart.

Chitrini nadi (S) – Moon nadi, located within the vajrini nadi, which is within the sushumna nadi

Chitta (S) – Activities of conscious and unconscious mind

Chittavahini (S) – Nadis that are connected to the flow of consciousness and Self

Chochma (H) – One of the ten sephirot, associated with direct knowledge of God

Colloid – A suspension of equal-sized particles suspended in solution; maximal size being .001 micron

Darshan (S) – Time with the spiritual teacher

Deveikut (H) – Merging with God; cleaving to God

Dharana (S) – Concentration

Dharma (S) – Right living, including right livelihood and spiritual practice

Dhatus – Seven tissues in the Ayurvedic system

Dhyana (S) – Meditation

Dosha (S) – Psycho-physiological energies which go out of balance as in kapha, pitta, vata

Ein Sof (H) – Highest level of Absolute beyond comprehension

Ekadashi (S) – Dry fast on the 11th day after the new and full moon

Essene (H) – Esoteric, Kabbalistically oriented Jewish sect

Eyn zu-lo-to (H) – Nothing but God

Ganeshpuri Ashram – Swami Muktananda’s original ashram 62 miles outside of Bombay, India

Granthi (S) – Subtle energetic knot associated with regulating the flow of Kundalini

Guna (S) – Qualities of consciousness

Guru (S) – A spiritual teacher

Guru tattva (S) – The guru principle

Hagiya (H) – Mantra repetition

Haniha (H) – Shaktipat

Hara (S) – An energy center below the navel; martial arts and some Chinese and Japanese ___ focus on this center

Hasidic (H) – A mystical form of Judaism started by the Bal Shem Tov

Hatha Yoga (S) – The practice of Yoga asanas

Hiranyamaya kosha (S) – Bliss layer of the mind

Hishtavut – Equanimity, non-attachment, vairagya, being in witness consciousness while fully immersing oneself in the play of the world. Seeing the Divine in all things.

Hitbodedut  (H) – Seclusion from the world; meditation

Hrit pundarik (S) – Heart lotus, the etheric heart

I AM consciousness – witness conscioussness connected to the 6th chakra; prior to the mind; just prior to Self-realization; time and space dissolve

I AM THAT awareness – The Absolute Eternal Nothing, non-being awareness; time, space, and Being dissolved; state of liberation

Ida (S) – One of 3 major nadis; associated with lunar or yin energies

Indra (S) – Hindu God, head of the Devis

Inner Guru – The Divine Self within

Jains (S) – Ancient India religion whose focus is on Ahimsa or non-violence

Jivanmukti (S) – Liberated while in the body

Jnana yoga (S) – Yoga of the mind

Kabbalah (H) – The esoteric spiritual path in the Jewish tradition of God-merging; receiving the Divine to share the Divine; Kabbalah is not a book, but a tradition of awakening.

Kadosh (H) – A holy person in Jewish tradition; more evolved than a tzadik

Kama (S) – Pleasure

Kamamaya kosha (S) – Pleasure layer of the mind

Kanda (S) – Fibrous area below the base chakra

Kapha (S) – The water-mud-mucous dosha

Karma (S) – Law of cause and effect

Kavanah (H) – Spiritual Intention

Kedusha (H) – Holiness

Kehila (H) – Spiritual community

Keter (H) – One of the ten Sephirot of the Tree of Life; it is associated with the Divine will.

Kippah (H) – Skullcap

Klipot (H) – Shell of negativity

Kmeshdara (S) – Lord Shiva as Lord of the desire principle

Kmeshdari  (S) – Form of Kundalini as Goddess of desire

Kriyas (S) – Spontaneous movements of body, emotions, mind, or spirit when Kundalini is awakened

Kundalini (S) – Spiritualizing force within each person

Kundalini Shakti (S) – Kundalini potential residing at the base of the spine which becomes activated as awakened Kundalini

Kundalini Shaktipat Inititation (S) – The descent of Grace through an awake Kundalini spiritual master

Liberation – Self-realization – when the prana and I AM consciousness become one in meditation merging of Shiva and Shakti; awareness beyond time, space, and Being

Mah (H) – With

Mahabharata (S) – An epic Indian poem story

Manas (S) – Emotional, sensory, and cognitive mind

Manipura Chakra (S) – Solar plexus chakra

Manna (H) – Mystical food for elevating consciousness; activates pituitary and pineal glands

Manomaya kosha (S) – Layer of mind associated with emotional, sensory, and cognitive function

Manovahini nadis (S) – Subtle channels associated with the flow of mind energies

Mantra (S) – Sacred word or name of God

Manusmriti (S) – Ancient Yogic scripture

Maya (S) – The illusion of the three-dimensional world; illuminated maya is the expansion of the world as the Divine in every form

Meridian – Energy circuits or lines used in acupuncture

Merkaba (H) – Aligned with Divine will

Messianic era – Thousand years of world peace

Mishna sage (H) – An expert in the oral tradition

Mitzvah (H) – Good and holy deed as described in the Torah

Mitzvot (H) – The plural of Mitzvah

Mizmor (H) – Chanting

Muladhara Chakra (S) – Base chakra

Mundane Kundalini (S) – Vital life force

Moksha (S) – Fullest level of God-merging and Liberation, 100% permanent, unbroken merging

Mukti (S) – Liberation; Self-realization

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Nada (S) – the Divine Sounds

Nadi (S) – A hollow, subtle channel through which the Kundalini energy ____ 72,000 exist in the human body

Neshama (H) – Third level of soul

Netzach (H) – A sephirotic energy associated with perserverance

Nirvakalpa samadhi (S) – Samadhi beyond time and space; Nothing exists

Nityananda (S) – The Guru of Swami Muktananda

Niyamas (S) – Physical and mental activities to avoid in spiritual life

Nukba (H) – Feminine energy or Shekhinah associated with the sephirot of Malchut

Ojas (S) – Vital life force energy and reserve of vital energy

Om Namah Shivaya (S) – Mantra; name of God

Ophanim (H) – Class of angels related to body, shapes, and cycles

Panchakarma (S) – Ayurvedic system of detoxification and rejuvenation

Par’gawd (H) – The thin veil that separates us from the Truth; metaphorically called the glass ceiling of consciousness

Para Kundalini (S) – The third knot of Kundalini regulation between the 3rd eye and crown chakra

Paramatman (S) – Absolute reality

Parinirvana – Enlightenment

Pingala (S) – Major nadi associated with the sun

Pitta (S) – Fire

Prajna pratihra (S) – Crimes against wisdom

Prana (S) – Vital life force

Prana Kundalini (S) – The first knot in the Kundalini system associated with the first chakra

Pranayama (S) – Yogic breathing exercises which increase prana

Pratyahara (S) – Withdrawal of senses

Prions – Smallest level of proteins that are living

Prophesy – The experience of God-merging and the delighting in that experience

Protids – Smallest living units in the body

Purusha (S) – Non-dual spirit

Rahu (S) – One of the nodes of the moon

Raja Yoga (S) – Yoga of the mind

Rajasic (S) – One of the three gunas of states; it is associated with an outgoing, active energy

Rama (S) – Avatar associated with the energy of Vishnu the Sustainer

Rama Krishna Paramahamsa (S) – Great spiritual master and enlightened being who lived in the late 1800s

Ramana Maharshi (S) – A great spiritual master and enlightened being who lived in the twentieth century

Rasa (S) – Life force or “juices”

Reiki – A Japanese healing system developed by Dr. Usai

Rigveda (S) – One of the ancient scriptures of India

Rishi (S) – An ancient Indian sage

S’micha le’shefa (H) – Initiation of Grace in the Jewish-Kabbalistic system

Sadhana (S) – Spiritual practice

Sahaja samadhi (S) – Experience of oneness while in the waking state

Sahasrara chakra (S) – Crown chakra

Sai Baba of Shirdi (S) – A fully God-merged enlightened being who left his body in 1918

Samadhi (S) – State of bliss beyond the mind

Samahita Chitta – A calm, centered mind

Samana (S) – One of five pranas; associated with digestive energies

Samskaras (S) – Impressions on the mind

Sanatana Dharma (S) – The natural way of life that leads to enlightenment

Sangha (S) – Spiritual group

Sankalpa samadhi (S) – State of oneness while experiencing the light; subtle awareness of the I AM beyond time and space

Sanskrit (S) – Ancient fire (spiritually activating) language of India

Sarhaswar (S) – Crown chakra

Satsang (S) – The experience of the Truth in the presence of an awake spiritual teacher

Sattvic (S) – One of the three gunas or states; it is a state of holiness which points one inward to the Divine

Self-Realization – Knowing I AM THAT; experiencing the Truth of who you are beyond time, space, and Being

Sephirot (H) – One of the ten consciousness centers of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life

Seva (S) – Service

Shabbat (H) – Holiest day of year one time per week; A time of complete rest from worldly activity. It starts Friday night at sunset and ends Saturday night at sunset

Shakti (S) – Energy of the One expressed as Divine Mother and of all creation

Shaktipat Initiation (S) – Awakening of the Kundalini energy through a Liberated, spiritual master who has become a vehicle of Grace

Shaman – A medicine and spiritual healer/teacher in an indiginous culture

Shechitah (H) – Proper and holy kosher rituals for annual slaughter and food in general

Sheirut (H) – Service

Shekhinah (H) – Hebrew name for the energy associated with sacred feminine equivalent to the Shakti

Shiva (S) – Hindu name for cosmic consciousness; also associated with the God of transformation

Shiva samhita (S) – Scriptures on Shiva consciousness

Shrii Shrii Ananda Murti (S) – a God-merged saint who left his body in 1991, the founder of Ananda Marg

Shulhan Arukh (H) – The set table; the written code of do’s and don’ts in the Jewish tradition

Shukra – Deep sexual energy

Shurangama Sutra (S) – A Buddhist text

Siddhis (S) – Miraculous powers

Soma (S) – The Divine nectar dripping from the soma chakra; an herb giving longevity

Soma chakra (S) – A sub-chakra in the lower part of the sarhaswar; it is associated with Divine nectar

Spiritual Kundalini (S) – The cosmic form of Kundalini

Sri Ganapati Satchidananda Swamiji –
A living God-realized being who is the expression of Nada Yoga (Divine music) whose base in Mysore, India

Subtle bodies – Energetic bodies which surround the physical body

Surya nadi (S) – Sun nadi

Sushumna (S) – Central nadi through which the Kundalini moves, located along the inside of the spine in the etheric body

Svadharma (S) – The way of life that leads you to know I AM THAT/the Truth

Svadhishthana Chakra (S) – Throat chakra

Svarupa (S) – To know the Truth

Swami Jandananda (S) – A disciple of Swami Nityananda who became God-merged in his 90s, who attained moksha

Swami Muktananda (S) – Gabriel’s first Guru; the enlightened being who gave him Shaktipat

Swami Prakashananda Saraswati (S) – The first person, in 1969, to be acknowledged by Swami Muktananda to be enlightened, Gabriel’s guru “uncle” and second Guru

Tachyon – Energy moving faster than speed-of-light, just before it slows to speed-of-light

T’ai Chi – Chinese practices which sustain and balance the chi or prana

Tamasic (S) – One of three gunas or states; it is the state associated with inertia; a veil of ignorance; sloth; junk food

Tantra (S) – The Yogic practice of celebrating the Divine in all things and primarily Taoist

Tao Te Ching – Classical text in the Taoist tradition

Tefila (H) – Prayer

Teheru (H) – The void in the Jewish-Kabbalistic system

Tejas (S) – One of the three vital essences in Ayurveda associated with subtle fire and electricity; the subtle aspect of pitta

Ten Speakings – The correct translation of the words “Ten Commandments”

The Sanhedrin (H) – The equivalent of a spiritual supreme court; the seeds started with Moses and manifested primarily in Jerusalem

Tikkum Olam (H) – Healing of the world

Torah (H) – The five books of Moses

T'shukat Deveikut (H) – A form of God-merging

Tzadic (H) – A saintly, righteous being in the Jewish tradition

Tzava'at Harivash (H) – A book which has an English translation of some of the Bal Shem’s basic teachings as he personally wrote them

Tzedaka (H) – Charity

Udana (S) – Upward moving prana

Urdhdareta (S) – Rising upward of the semen in the sushumna

Vairagya (S) – Non-attachment

Vajrini nadi (S) – Inner nadi of the sushumna associated with the sun

Vasanas (S) – Deep thought form grooves made from repetitive vrittis; imbalance; repeated mental impressions

Vata (S) – One of the psychophysiological states or doshas in the Ayurvedic system; it is associated with anxiety, fear, and imbalanced energies

Vedas (S) – Ancient Hindu scriptures

Vijnanamaya kosha (S) – The layer of the mind associated with viveka  and vairagya

Virtual energy state – Place of zero point energy

Vishuddha Chakra (S) – Throat chakra

Viveka – Wisdom to tell the difference between real and unreal

Void – Space beyond time and space

Vritti (S) – Activity of the mind

Vyana – Associated with circulation

Vyutthita Chitta (S) – An unstable mind

Witness consciousness – The ability to step back and see the ego at play and feel separate from it; I AM consciousness

Yah (H) – The name of God connecting the spirit of God as breath

Yajur Veda (S) – One of the ancient vedic scriptures

Yamas (S) – The “do’s” of proper conduct in Yoga

Yang – The male, outward, flowing energy in Chinese system of duality

Yantra (S) – A symbolic, energized, spiritual drawing

Yechidut (H) – Satsang or sangha

Yetzirah (H) – Second level of four worlds (astral plane); associated with angels and demons

YHWH (H) – The most sacred name of God in the Jewish tradition; the mantra of liberation in the West

Yin – Inward, quiet energies in the Chinese system of duality

Yoga (S) – the path of union/liberation in the Hindu traditions

Yoga asanas (S) – Yogic postures

Yoga chitta vritti nirodha (S) – Yoga is the stilling of the activity of the mind

Yukta triveni (S) – Three streams; the place below the base chakra where the sushumna, ida, and pingala begin

Zeir Anpin (H) – The partzufim (face of God) associated with the lower sephirot energies and tefirot

Zero Point Process – a form of Western Jnana Yoga taught by Gabriel

Zohar (H) – Considered the most powerful and holy Kabbalistic text

Copyright 2009 - 2010 by Gabriel Cousens