In Ancient India, Maharishi is a Sanskrit word, written as “महर्षि” in Devanagari (formed from the prefix mahā- meaning “great” and r̥ṣi - sage, poet or a singer of sacred hymns), indicating members of the highest order of ancient Indian sages, popularly known in India as “seers,” i e those who engage in research to understand and experience (and therefore know) nature and its governing laws
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918 – 5 February 2008) was an Indian yoga guru, known for developing and popularizing Transcendental Meditation (TM), and for being the leader and guru of a worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways including as a new religious movement and as non-religious He became known as Maharishi (meaning “great seer”) and Yogi as an adult After earning a degree in physics at Allahabad University in 1942, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became an assistant and disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (also known as Guru Dev), the Shankaracharya (spiritual leader) of the Jyotir Math in the Indian Himalayas...
Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: mahāsiddha “great adept; Tibetan: གྲུབ་ཐོབ་ཆེན་པོ, Wylie: grub thob chen po, THL: druptop chenpo) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the “siddhi of perfection” A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic and spiritual abilities and powers Mahasiddhas were practitioners of yoga and tantra, or tantrikas Their historical influence throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayas was vast and they reached mythic proportions as codified in their songs of realization and hagiographies, or namtars, many of which have been preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon...
Mahātmā () is a honorific that in Sanskrit means “great soul” (महात्मा mahātmā: महा mahā ‘great’ + आत्मा ātmā ‘soul’) The term is commonly used for Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who is often referred to simply as “Mahatma Gandhi” Albeit less frequently, this epithet is also been used with regard to such people as Basava (1131–1167), Swami Shraddhananda (1856–1926), Lalon Shah (1772–1890), Ayyankali (1863–1941), and Jyotirao Phule (1827–1890) The term mahātmā has also been historically used for a class of religious scholars in Jainism; for the selected religious leaders in Theosophy; and for local religious teachers in the Divine Light Mission church
The Mahāvākyas (sing mahāvākyam, महावाक्यम्; plural: mahāvākyāni, महावाक्यानि) are “The Great Sayings” of the Upanishads, as characterized by the Advaita school of Vedanta with mahā meaning great and vākya, a sentence Most commonly, Mahāvākyas are considered four in number, Tat Tvam Asi (तत् त्वम् असि) - traditionally rendered as “That Thou Art” (that you are), (Chandogya Upanishad 6 8 7 of the Sama Veda, with tat in Ch U...
Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर:), also known as Vardhamana, was the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha Tradition holds that Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BCE into a royal Jain family in Bihar, India But many scholars believe this date to be as much as 100 years early His mother’s name was Trishala and his father’s name was Siddhartha...
Shiva (; Sanskrit: शिव, romanized: Śiva, lit ‘The Auspicious One’ [ɕɪʋɐ]), also known as Mahadeva (; Sanskrit: महादेव:, romanized: Mahādevaḥ, lit ‘The Great God’ [mɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ]), is one of the principal deities of Hinduism Lord Shiva is said to be the deity of death and time In Sanskrit language, kālá means time He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism Shiva has pre-Vedic tribal roots, and the figure of Shiva as we know him today is an amalgamation of various older non-Vedic and Vedic deities, including the Rigvedic storm god Rudra who may also have non-Vedic origins, into a single major deity...
Makara (Sanskrit: मकर) is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada and of the sea god Varuna Makara are considered guardians of gateways and thresholds, protecting throne rooms as well as entryways to temples; it is the most commonly recurring creature in Hindu and Buddhist temple iconography, and also frequently appears as a Gargoyle or as a spout attached to a natural spring...
The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad (Sanskrit: माण्डूक्य उपनिषद्, Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad) is the shortest of all the Upanishads, and is assigned to Atharvaveda It is listed as number 6 in the Muktikā canon of 108 Upanishads It is in prose, consisting of twelve short verses, and is associated with a Rig Vedic school of scholars It discusses the syllable Aum; presents the theory of four states of consciousness; and asserts that Aum is Brahman – which is the Whole – and that Brahman is this self (ātman)...
Manthara (Sanskrit: मन्थरा; lit: “humpbacked”) in the Hindu epic Ramayana convinced Queen Kaikeyi that the throne of maharaja belonged to her son Bharata and that her step-son—crown-prince Rama (the hero of the Ramayana)—should be exiled from the kingdom She was like a mother figure to Kaikeyi and her twin Yuddhajit, for their mother was banished She accompanied Kaikeyi to Ayodhya after her marriage to Dasharatha
marga, (Sanskrit: “path”) in Indian religions, a path toward, or way of reaching, salvation. The epic Bhagavadgita (or Gita) describes jnana-marga, the way of knowledge (study of philosophical texts and contemplation); karma-marga, the way of action (proper performance of one’s religious and ethical duties); and bhakti-marga, the way of devotion and self-surrender to God. In the Gita the god Krishna praises all three means but favours bhakti-marga, which was accessible to members of any class or caste....
Matrikas (Sanskrit: मातृका (singular), IAST: mātṝkās, lit “divine mothers”) also called Matar or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses who are always depicted together in Hinduism The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s) (Seven Mothers) However, they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika(s) In the Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira says that “Mothers are to be made with cognizance of (different major Hindu) gods corresponding to their names...
Matsya (Sanskrit: मत्स्य, lit fish) is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu Often described as the first of Vishnu’s ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man Manu from a great deluge Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish, often golden in color, or anthropomorphically with the torso of Vishnu connected to the rear half of a fish The earliest account of Matsya is found in the Shatapatha Brahmana where Matsya is not associated with any particular deity...
Matsyendranātha, also known as Matsyendra, Macchindranāth, Mīnanātha and Minapa (early 10th century) was a saint and yogi in a number of Buddhist and Hindu traditions He is traditionally considered the revivalist of hatha yoga as well as the author of some of its earliest texts He is also seen as the founder of the natha sampradaya, having received the teachings from Shiva He is especially associated with Kaula Shaivism He is also one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas and considered the guru of Gorakshanath, another important figure in early hatha yoga...
The medulla oblongata or simply medulla is a long stem-like structure which makes up the lower part of the brainstem It is anterior and partially inferior to the cerebellum It is a cone-shaped neuronal mass responsible for autonomic (involuntary) functions, ranging from vomiting to sneezing The medulla contains the cardiac, respiratory, vomiting and vasomotor centers, and therefore deals with the autonomic functions of breathing, heart rate and blood pressure as well as the sleep wake cycle...