The conception of Brahman which has been the highest glory for the Vedanta philosophy of later days had hardly emerged in the rig-Veda from the associations of the sacrificial mind. Read more »
brahman, devotion, magical formula, purusha, rig veda, shatapatha brahmana, supreme principle, vedanta philosophy, vedas The change of the Brahmana into the Aranyaka thought is signified by a transference of values from the actual sacrifices to their symbolic representations and meditations which were regarded as being productive of various earthly benefits. Read more »
brahmana, brahmins, material substances, meditations, prana, real truth, rig veda, sacrificial rituals, samaveda, symbolic representations, vital functions The fundamental idea which runs through the early Upanishads is that underlying the exterior world of change there is an unchangeable reality which is identical with that which underlies the essence in man (1). Read more »
brahman, fundamental idea, man and the universe, psychological functions, samhita, upanishads, visible objects, vital breath There is the atman not in man alone but in all objects of the universe, the sun, the moon, the world; and Brahman is this atman. There is nothing outside the atman, and therefore there is no plurality at all. As from a lump of clay all that is made of clay is known, as from an ingot of black iron all that is made of black iron is known, so when this atman the Brahman is known everything else is known. The essence in man and the essence of the universe are one and the same, and it is Brahman. Read more »
atman, brahman, phenomenal world, upanishads, vedanta, visions It is important for the history of Samkhya philosophy that Caraka’s treatment of it, which so far as I know has never been dealt with in any of the modern studies of Samkhya, should be brought before the notice of the students of this philosophy. Read more »
akasa, atman, auditory sense, cognition, five elements, five senses, illuminations, karma, manas, pleasure pain, purusha, samkhya philosophy, sense of touch, visual sense The other tendency, namely that of tamas, has to be helped by the liberated rajas of ahamkara, in order to make itself preponderant, and this state in which the tamas succeeds in overcoming the sattva side which was so preponderant in the buddhi, is called bhutadi (1). Read more »
emanation, gross elements, potentials, quantum, radiant heat, rajas, sattva, subtle matter, tamas, vibratory It has been said that buddhi and the internal objects have evolved in order to giving scope to the experience of the purusha. What is the process of this experience? Read more »
abstraction, consciousness, imagination, manas, perception, purusha, sattva, senses, sense data The Vaisheshika sutras begin with the ostensible purpose of explaining virtue (dharma) (I.i. 1) and dharma according to it is that by which prosperity (abhyudaya) and salvation (nihshreyasa) are attained. Then it goes on to say that the validity of the Vedas depends on the fact that it leads us to prosperity and salvation. Then it turns back to the second sutra and says that salvation comes as the result of real knowledge, produced by special excellence of dharma, of the characteristic features of the categories of substance (dravya), quality (guna), class concept (samdanya), particularity (vishesha), and inherence (samavayay) (1). Read more »
dharma, effect karma, guna, karma karma, material cause, odour, sutras, water fire The Nyaya sutras begin with an enumeration of the sixteen subjects, viz. means of right knowledge (pramana), object of right knowledge (prameya), doubt (samshaya), purpose (prayojana), illustrative instances (drishtanta), accepted conclusions (siddhanta), premisses (avayava), argumentation (tarka), ascertainment (nirnaya), debates (vada), disputations (jalpa), destructive criticisms (vitanda), fallacy (hetvabhasa), quibble (chala), refutations (jati), points of opponent’s defeat (nigrahasthana), and hold that by a thorough knowledge of these the highest good (nihshreyasa), is attained. In the second sutra it is said that salvation (apavarga) is attained by the successive disappearance of false knowledge (mithyajnana), defects (dosha), endeavours (pravritti, birth (janma), and ultimately of sorrow (1). Read more »
apta, atman, body senses, chala, dosha, five senses, inference, jalpa, pain sorrow, perception, pleasure pain, right knowledge, self body, sense objects, tarka, testimony It is difficult to ascertain definitely the date of the Vaisheshika sutras by Kanada, also called Aulukya the son of Uluka, though there is every reason to suppose it to be pre-Buddhistic. It appears from the Vayu purana that he was born in Prabhasa near Dvaraka, and was the disciple of Somasharma. The time of Prashastapada who wrote a bhashya (commentary) of the Vaisheshika sutras cannot also unfortunately be ascertained. Read more »
commentaries, disciple, dissertation, exposition, gautama, kanada, purana, radha, ravana, shaka, shankara, sutras, udayana, vatsyayana Of the six classes of entities or categories (padartha) we have already given some account of dravya (1). Let us now turn to the others. Of the qualities (guna) the first one called rupa (colour) is that which can be apprehended by the eye alone and not by any other sense. The colours are white, blue, yellow, red, green, brown and variegated (citra). Colours are found only in kshiti, ap and tejas. The colours of ap and tejas are permanent (nitya), but the colour of kshiti changes when heat is applied, and this, Shridhara holds, is due to the fact that heat changes the atomic structure of kshiti (earth) and thus the old constitution of the substance being destroyed, its old colour is also destroyed, and a new one is generated. Rupa is the general name for the specific individual colours. There is the genus rupatva (colourness), and the rupa guna (quality) is that on which rests this genus; rupa is not itself a genus and can be apprehended by the eye. Read more »
akasha, atomic structure, guna, katu, natural taste, nitya, rasa, rupa, tejas, vayu The Nyaya-Vaisheshika in most of its speculations took that view of things which finds expression in our language, and which we tacitly assume as true in all our ordinary experience. Thus they admitted dravya, guna, karma and samanya, Vishesha they had to admit as the ultimate peculiarities of atoms, for they did not admit that things were continually changing their qualities, and that everything could be produced out of everything by a change of the collocation or arrangement of the constituting atoms. Read more »
antecedent, atoms, axiom, guna, hypothesis, karma, material cause, molecular movement, speculations, unseen power The doctrine of pralaya is accepted by all the Hindu systems except the Mimamsa (1). According to the Nyaya-Vaisheshika view Ishvara wishing to give some respite or rest to all living beings desires to bring about dissolution (samhareccho bhavati). Simultaneously with it the adrishta force residing in all the souls and forming bodies, senses, and the gross elements, ceases to act (shakti-pratibandha). Read more »
atoms, bodies, desire, dharma, disintegration, dissolution, intelligent entities, manas, natural condition, samskara, senses, shakti, tejas, world creation The four kinds of atoms are earth, water, fire, and air atoms. These have mass, number, weight, fluidity (or hardness), viscosity (or its opposite), velocity, characteristic potential colour, taste, smell, or touch, not produced by the chemical operation of heat. Akasha (space) is absolutely inert and structure-less being only as the substratum of sound, which is supposed to travel wave-like in the manifesting medium of air. Atomic combination is only possible with the four elements. Atoms cannot exist in an uncombined condition in the creation stage; atmospheric air however consists of atoms in an uncombined state. Read more »
akasha, elementary substance, four elements, hindus, molecule, vibratory motion, water fire The universe consists of a Mahabrahmanda, or grand Kosmos, and of numerous Brihatbrahmanda, or macrocosms evolved from it. Read more »
ajna, akasha, anahata, heavenly bodies, kosmos, macrocosm, meru, microcosm, nirvana, organs of generation, prana, purusha, spinal column, tantra, tapah, vayu The second sheath is the prana-maya-kosa, or sheath of “breath” (prana), which manifests itself in air and ether, the presiding elements in the Anahata and Visuddha-cakras. Read more »
anahata, atma, colour of fire, distension, kundalini, kurma, mula, prana, samana, sarada, universal force, vayu, vital forces Muladhara (1) is a triangular space in the midmost portion of the body, with the apex turned downwards like a young girl’s yoni. It is described as a red lotus of four petals, situate between the base of the sexual organ and the anus. “Earth” evolved from “water” is the Tattva of the cakra. On the four petals are the four golden varnas - “vam”, “śam”, “şam” and “sam”.(2) Read more »
brahma, brahman, cakra, creative desire, earth mandala, kundalini, linga, natural bliss, petals, red lotus, savitri, sexual organ, triangle, vayu Anahata-cakra is a deep red lotus of twelve petals, situate above the last and in the region of the heart, which is to be distinguished from the heart-lotus facing upwards of eight petals, spoken of in the text, where the patron deity (Ista-devata) is meditated upon. “Air” evolved from “ether” is the Tattva of the former lotus. On the twelve petals are the vermilion varnas - “Kam”, “Kham” “Gam”, “Gham”, “ngam”, “cam”, “Cham”, “Jam”, “Jham”, “jnam”, “Tam”, “Tham” and the twelve vrttis (vide ante-namely, asa (hope), cinta (care, anxiety), cesta (endeavour), mamata (sense of mineness),(1) dambha (arrogance or hypocrisy) vikalata (langour), ahamkara (conceit), viveka (discrimination), lolata (covetousness), kapatata (duplicity), vitarka (indecision), anutapa (regret). Read more »
anahata, atma, cakra, heart, ista, lolata, mandala, pericarp, petals, red lotus There are seven, or, as some say, nine, divisions of worshippers. The extra divisions are bracketed in the following quotation. The Kularnava-Tantra mentions seven, which are given in their order of superiority, the first being the lowest: Vedacara, Vaisnavacara, Saivacara, Daksinacara, Vamacara, Siddhantacara, (Aghoracara,(1) Yogacara), and Kaulacara, the highest of all.(2) Read more »
acara, bhakti, devotion, dharma, dhyana, gross body, jnana, kalika, kaula, kularnava tantra, subtle bodies, worshipper Sabda, or sound, which is of the Brahman, and as such the cause of the Brahmanda, is the manifestation of the Cit-sakti itself. The Visva-sara-Tantra says (1) that the Para-brahman, as Sabda-brahman, whose substance is all mantra, exists in the body of the jivatma. It is either unlettered (dhvani) or lettered (varna). The former, which produces the latter, is the subtle aspect of the jiva’s vital sakti. Read more »
akasa, body waves, brahman, ethereal space, external manifestation, inhalation and exhalation, jiva, letters of the alphabet, mantra, nada, prana, sabda, space waves, varna, vayu, waves of sound The Gayatri is the most sacred of all Vaidik mantras. In it the Veda lies embodied as in its seed. It runs: Om bhur-bhuvah-svah: tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat, Om. “Let us contemplate the wondrous spirit of the Divine Creator (Savitr) of the earthly, atmospheric, and celestial spheres. May He direct our minds, that is ‘towards’ the attainment of dharma, artha, kama, and moksa, Om.” Read more »
aditya, artha, atma, celestial spheres, eye of the world, gayatri, heart, om, purana, solar circle, surya, vayu The first, or cleansing, is effected by the six processes known as the satkarma. Of these, the first is Dhauti, or washing, which is fourfold, or inward washing (antar-dhauti), cleansing of the teeth, (dantadhauti), etc., of the “heart” (hrddhauti), and of the rectum (muladhauti). Read more »
celestial vision, danda, divya, inhalation and exhalation, jala, jama, kapala, krama, mudra, navel, spinal column, tantrika, upasana, vata, yogi Sthirata, or fortitude, is acquired by the practice of the mudras. The mudras dealt with in works of hathayoga are positions of the body. Read more »
brahman, contraction, fire water, gheranda samhita, hamsa, mudras, nostrils, prana, siva The piercing of the six chakras is one of the most important subjects dealt with in the Tantra, and is part of the practical yoga process of which they treat. Details of practice (1) can only be learnt from a Guru, but generally it may be said that the particular is raised to the universal life, which as cit is realizable only in the sahasrara in the following manner: The jivatma in the subtle body, the receptacle of the five vital airs (panca-prana), mind in its three aspects of manas, ahamkara, and buddhi, and the five organs of perception (pancajnanendriyas) is united with the Kulakundalini. The Kandarpa or Kama Vayu in the muladhara, a form of the Apana-Vayu, is given a leftward revolution and the fire wich is around Kundalini is kindled. By the bija “Hum,” and the heat of the fire thus kindled, the coiled and sleeping Kundalini is awakened. She who lay asleep around svayambhu-linga, with her coils three circles and a half closing the entrance of the brahmadvara, will, on being roused, enter that door and move upwards, united with the jivatma. Read more »
apas, bija, chakras, dakini, deva, kundalini, lam, lotus, prana, sarasvati, savitri, vam, vayu
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