Glossary
| Adwaita | Non-duality |
| Ahimsa | Non-violence |
| Akhand Paath | Continuous recitation, sometimes for over 24 hours or longer |
| Arjun | One of five Pandava brothers. Krishna was his charioteer and a friend |
| Artha | Refers to economic systems |
| Asat | That which has a beginning and an end. It is sustained by sat. |
| Ashtavakra | A Rishi in the times of King Janaka. His lessons are compiled in Ashtavakra Gita |
| Ashtra | Weapons |
| Atma | Soul |
| Avatar | Incarnation |
| Bhakti | Devotion |
| Bhavana | Emotions, Feelings |
| Bhima | One of Pandava brothers |
| Brahma | The lord of creation |
| Brahmaloka | The space of Brahma. This is beyond the mayaspace |
| Deva | The concept of devas is based on the existence of benevolent souls that are willing to help in any good cause. They usually need to be invoked in a certain way. |
| Devata | See deva |
| Dharma | Dharma is value system of mayaspace. This is one expression of Dharma. There are several interpretations and meanings of this word. One of them is religion. It is one of those Sanskrit words with composite meaning and the meaning depends on how it is used. Refer to pages 7-9. Cyberspace is a new phenomenon which has an infrastructure to support and has a value system to keep viruses out and prevent some people from misusing the system. Mayaloka (mayaspace) is a similar infrastructure for us to go through our life from birth to death and a value system, Dharma, is a must for it to remain healthy. A healthy infrastructure will help us develop our full potential and that will help the infrastructure in return. Both nourish each other and that is why Krishna likes to maintain a healthy infrastructure that we call mayaspace. |
| Dharmakshetra | Domain of dharma |
| Durga Shaptashati | A book that is revered and has description and stories of Ma (Mother) Durga |
| Duryodhana | One of 100 Kaurava brothers. He is the head of all the kaurava brothers. |
| Gadaa | A huge club used as a weapon in Mahabharata times |
| Gandiva | A special bow used by Arjun |
| Himsa | Violence |
| Ishwar | Synonymous with Parmatma |
| Janaka | A King before the times of Krishna who was an enlightened soul |
| Kaama | Desire complex |
| Kamana | see kaama |
| Karma | Actions |
| Kauravas | Sons of Dhritarashtra. He had 100 sons |
| Kranti | Revolution |
| Krishna | The anchor person in Gita and Mahabharata. He was an Avatar (incarnation) of Parmatma |
| Kshatriya | A person with soldier’s aptitude |
| Kurukshetra | domain of karma. Kurukshetra is also a place in India where the Mahabharata war took place. |
| Mahabharata | War between the Kaurava and the Pandavas which happened approximately 5000 years ago. |
| Mamatva | emotional attachment |
| Maya | It has been translated into illusion. This is not the right English word for maya. It is a concept that has to be understood without any translation of the word. We have elaborated this on pages 5-7 |
| Mayaloka | mayaspace refer to pages 5-7 |
| Moha | conditioning and being under the influence of attachments |
| Moksha | Enlightenment |
| Nirvichar | No-mind state. Going beyond mind in a meditative state where there is no stirring of thoughts in sight. We live under the effect of gravity and it is hard to imagine what a zero-gravity will feel like. Similarly we live with the weight of thoughts (vichar) and it is difficult to imagine what it will feel without them in the state of thoughtlessness (nirvichar). |
| Paap | Sin |
| Paath | Recitation |
| Pandavas | Sons of King Pandu. There were five brothers |
| Paramatma | This is generally translated into God, but that does not convey the full meaning. This word needs to be understood without any translation since there is no equivalent word in English. Please refer to page 25 God to an Indian may mean the same as Parmatma. He has only known Parmatma and thinks these two words to be synonymous. But, for a westerner, Parmatma means God unless the differences are pointed out to him. God conveys the meaning of goodness, it reminds you of Ten Commandments, and it also raises the possibility of the opposite that is Satan. Parmatma on the other hand is all-inclusive. The east has been able to say that Parmatma includes the good and the bad, the terrible things that happen as well as the magnificent ones. It blooms through the flowers of spring and at the same time it brings destruction through the lava of volcanoes. |
| Preta | Evil souls |
| Punya | Opposite from sin. Good deeds |
| Purna | Whole or infinite |
| Rus | (sound like bus) enjoyment in the process of an act. It has to do with feeling aspect derived from the act. Some people enjoy killing, they have a pleasurable feeling in that killing. |
| Ramayana | An epic that outlines the story of Rama |
| Ratha | Charriot |
| Ravana | A key character in Ramayana who was killed by Rama |
| Saadhana | A disciplined process of doing something |
| Sakha | Friend |
| Sanjay | A character in Mahabharata who is secretary to King Dhritrashtra. Sanjay was given special power of vision whereby he could act as a television for his King in providing him information of what was actually going on in the war field. |
| Samskara | Samskara of an individual has a general meaning of what one carries from one life to another; a content bag in “journey from life to life.” In the interval between births, although there is no body, there is a great chain of body-related experiences existing in seed form, which can become active upon acquisition of a new body. We refer to these impressions and chain of bodily experiences as Samskara. One may call it conditioning or even a built in program of your life, applicable in the future lives. |
| Sanjeevani | A herbal medicine that was used in Ramayana to treat Laxman (brother of Rama) when he was fatally wounded |
| Sansar | same as samsar. World as we see it |
| Sanyas | Renunciation/clairvoyance |
| Sat | Has been translated as truth. Again it does not convey the full meaning. Please refer to page 100 (2:16) |
| Sharira | Physical body |
| Sum Bhava | Sum bhava – refer to pages 87-93 (2:14-2:15) |
| Swadharma | Authenticity is closest English word. Refer to page 127 (2:31) |
| Shunya | Zero is one translation. Nothingness is another. It is an experience in meditation where even nothingness does not exist. We live under the effect of gravity and it is hard to know what a zero-gravity will feel like. Similarly we live with the weight of thoughts and emotions and it is difficult to imagine what it will feel without them. |
| Tapasya | Austerity |
| Tyag | Giving up, renunciate |
| Varna | A classification system of human being base on their innate aptitude. It also takes into consideration of a wider perspective of ‘journey from life to life.’ Refer to pages 125-130 |
| Vishaad | Despair |
| Vyasa | Has been conceived as writer of most Hindu scriptures. |