Glossary

Advaita

Non-duality. In Advaita Vedanta, the self and ultimate reality are understood as non-separate. Other traditions use the word differently.

Ahamkara / Ego

Ahamkara is the I-making function of mind. In Vishva Vidya’s Advaita explanation, the problem is its identification with body and mind; knowledge corrects that identification. Ramana speaks of tracing the I-thought to its source and its subsiding.

The Buddhist teaching of anatta examines experience as not-self. It should not be equated with discovering an eternal Atman, nor reduced to a command to destroy one’s personality.

Atman

The self in Indian philosophy. Its meaning depends on the tradition; in Advaita Vedanta it is understood as identical with Brahman.

Avidya

In Advaita, ignorance of one’s true nature as Atman, including identification with body and mind.

Awakening

Editorial usage on this site: recognition that identity need not be confined to a separate personal self. Ramana describes self-realisation as being oneself; other traditions frame awakening differently. The word alone does not establish what a person has realised.

Bhakti

Devotion directed towards the divine. It may take forms such as prayer, singing or service.

Brahman

Ultimate reality in Vedanta. It should be distinguished from Brahma, the deity.

Darshan

Seeing or being in the presence of a deity or a spiritual teacher, understood within the tradition as a sacred encounter.

Embodiment

Editorial usage on this site: allowing insight to shape how one feels, relates and acts. Adyashanti describes living out transcendent recognition as an ongoing process. The term does not name a uniform traditional stage.

Guru

A spiritual teacher. The role varies by tradition. In Ramana’s teaching, guru can also refer to the self, rather than only a human teacher.

Integration

Editorial usage on this site: the ongoing assimilation of insight into everyday life. It overlaps with embodiment; the distinction here is between assimilating an insight and expressing it in action. This is our working vocabulary, not a universal sequence of attainment.

Japa

The repeated recitation of a mantra, aloud or silently.

Jivanmukti

Liberation while alive. In Advaita, knowledge of the self while embodied life continues.

Jnana / Jnana Yoga

Knowledge. In Advaita, knowledge of the self and Brahman. Jnana yoga is the path of inquiry and discernment directed towards this recognition.

Karma

Action and its consequences. In the Vedanta account cited here, deliberate actions have results; karma is not simply predetermined fate.

Mantra

A sacred syllable, word or phrase used in spiritual practice. Its use and meaning depend on the tradition.

Maya

In the Advaita account of the Vedanta Society, maya veils the recognition of the self and makes the changing world appear independently real. The world’s reality depends on Brahman.

In the Shaiva account of Himalayan Academy, maya is Shiva’s power of manifestation, through which the world of forms arises. Translating it simply as illusion would obscure this difference.

Moksha / Mukti

Liberation from samsara, the cycle of birth and death. In Advaita, liberation is understood through knowledge of one’s identity with Brahman.

Neti neti

Not this, not this. A Vedantic inquiry that rules out identification of the self with what can be observed.

Parampara

A lineage of teachers through which a teaching is passed on. A lineage relationship is not itself an assessment of attainment.

Sadhana

Spiritual practice, such as meditation, prayer or mantra repetition. Its form depends on the tradition.

Sahaja

Natural or spontaneous. Ramana uses sahaja samadhi for effortless abiding in the self, distinguished from a temporary state of absorption.

Samadhi

Meditative absorption or collectedness. The traditions use the term differently.

In Sivananda’s account of Raja Yoga, samprajnata and asamprajnata distinguish absorption with and without a meditative support. In Ramana’s teaching, temporary absorption is distinguished from sahaja, effortless abiding in the self.

In Theravada Buddhism, samma samadhi is right concentration within the Noble Eightfold Path, commonly explained through the jhanas. It is not a declaration of identity with Brahman.

Samskara

In discussions of the mind, an impression left by experience, thought or action. In other contexts, the word also names religious rites.

Sat-Chit-Ananda

Being, consciousness and bliss or fullness. A Vedantic description of Brahman.

Satsang

Association with truth or with those seeking it. Today the term often names a gathering with a spiritual teacher. Its form varies.

Self-inquiry

An investigation into the sense of self. In Ramana Maharshi’s teaching, attention turns towards the one who experiences, through the question Who am I?

Surrender

In Ramana’s teaching, surrender means relinquishing the claim of a separate ego, through devotion to God or inquiry into the source of the I.

Vairagya

Non-attachment to transient objects. In Vedanta, freedom from depending on them for lasting fulfilment.

Vasana

A latent tendency that shapes desires and responses. Often discussed in relation to samskaras, the impressions left by experience.

Vedanta

A family of Indian philosophical traditions drawing on the Upanishads. Advaita is one school of Vedanta; the word does not name a single doctrine.

Viveka

Discernment. In Advaita, distinguishing the enduring self from changing appearances.