Dictionary

Abhasavada (Sanskrit: आभासवाद) is the term derived from the word Abhasa meaning mere or fallacious appearance, reflection, looking like, light, semblance of reason, intention In Hindu philosophy this term refers to the Theory of Appearance, both of the Shaivite school and the Advaita Vedanta, though with differing connotations The Shaivites rely on Maheshvaraya (Sovereignty of Will) of Shiva, the creator-sustainer-destroyer to explain Creation Jnanadikara deals with two theories a) Svatantryavada and b) Abhasavada to explain Shiva’s volitional power...

Abhava means non-existence, negation, nothing or absence It is the negative of Bhava which means being, becoming, existing or appearance

Abhi (Devanagari अभि) is a preposition in Sanskrit, also found in Pali, Bengali, Assamese and Hindi Today, it remains a productive element in forming names

Abhijñā (Sanskrit: अभिज्ञा; Pali pronunciation: abhiññā; Standard Tibetan: མངོན་ཤེས mngon shes ་; Chinese: 六通/(六)神通) is a Buddhist term generally translated as “direct knowledge”, “higher knowledge” or “supernormal knowledge " In Buddhism, such special knowledge is obtained through virtuous living and meditation The attainment of the four jhanas, or meditative absorptions, are considered a prerequisite for their attainment In terms of specifically enumerated knowledges, these include mundane extra-sensory abilities (such as seeing past lives and various supranormal powers like levitation) as well as the supramundane, meaning the extinction of all mental intoxicants (āsava)

Abhisheka (Sanskrit: अभिषेक, romanized: Abhiṣeka) means “bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered " It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess Abhisheka is common to Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism

Abhyāsa, in Hinduism, is a spiritual practice which is regularly and constantly practised over a long period of time It has been prescribed by the great sage Patanjali Maharishi in his Yoga Sutras, and by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as an essential means to control the mind, together with Vairāgya Sutra 1:12 “Both practice (abhyāsa) and non-reaction (vairāgya) are required to still the patterning of consciousness “Sutra 1:13 “Practice is the sustained effort to rest in that stillness...

In Indian religions and society, an acharya (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ācārya; Pali: ācariya) is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject An Acharya is a highly learned person with a title affixed to the names of learned subject The designation has different meanings in Hinduism, Buddhism and secular contexts Acharya is sometimes used to address a expert teacher or a scholar in any discipline....

Ādesha or Ādeśa (Sanskrit: आदेश) means ‘an order’, ‘command’ or ‘advice’, ‘instruction’, ‘precept’, ‘rule’

Adharma is the Sanskrit antonym of dharma It means “that which is not in accord with the dharma” Connotations include betrayal, discord, disharmony, unnaturalness, wrongness, evil, immorality, unrighteousness, wickedness, and vice

Aditi Sanskrit: अदिति, lit ‘boundless’ or ’limitless’ or ‘innocence’) is singlehandedly the most influential and important Vedic goddess in Hinduism She is the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos She is the goddess of the earth, sky, unconsciousness, the past, the future and fertility She is the mother of the celestial deities the Adityas, and is referred to as the mother of many gods As celestial mother of every existing form and being, the synthesis of all things, she is associated with space (akasa) and with mystic speech (Vāc)...

Surya (;Sanskrit: सूर्य, IAST: Sūrya) is the sun: 399–401 and the solar deity in Hinduism,: 343 particularly in the Saura tradition found in Indian states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha Surya is one of the major five deities in Hinduism, considered as equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja and means to realize Brahman in the Smarta Tradition : 113 Synonyms of Surya in ancient Indian literature include Aditya, Arka, Bhanu, Savitr, Pushan, Ravi, Martanda, Mitra, Bhaskara, Prabhakara, Kathiravan, and Vivasvan...

Advaita Vedanta (; Sanskrit: अद्वैत वेदान्त, IAST: Advaita Vedānta, originally known as Puruṣavāda and as Māyāvāda) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of textual exegesis and spiritual discipline and experience The tradition uses concepts such as Brahman, Ātman, Māyā, Avidyā, meditation and others that are found in major Indian religious traditions, but interprets them in its own way for its theories of moksha (liberation from suffering and rebirth) In Advaita (literally “non-secondness”, usually rendered as “nondualism”, and often equated with monism) moksha is attained through disidentification from the body-mind complex and the notion of ‘doership’, and acquiring vidyā (knowledge) of one’s true identity as Atman-Brahman, self-luminous (svayam prakāśa) awareness or Witness-consciousness...

Advaita Vedanta (Sanskrit: अद्वैत वेदान्त, IAST: Advaita Vedānta, originally known as Puruṣavāda and as Māyāvāda) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of textual exegesis and spiritual discipline and experience The tradition uses concepts such as Brahman, Ātman, Māyā, Avidyā, meditation and others that are found in major Indian religious traditions, but interprets them in its own way for its theories of moksha (liberation from suffering and rebirth) In Advaita (literally “non-secondness”, usually rendered as “nondualism”, and often equated with monism) moksha is attained through disidentification from the body-mind complex and the notion of ‘doership’, and acquiring vidyā (knowledge) of one’s true identity as Atman-Brahman, self-luminous (svayam prakāśa) awareness or Witness-consciousness...

Agni (English: AG-nee, Sanskrit: अग्नि, romanized: Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the fire god of Hinduism He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples In the classical cosmology of the Indian religions, Agni as fire is one of the five inert impermanent elements (pañcabhūtá) along with space (ākāśa), water (ap), air (vāyu) and earth (pṛthvī), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (Prakriti)...

Aham, a concept of Kashmir Shaivism, is defined as the supreme heart (hṛdayam), transcendent Self, supreme I awareness or infinite consciousness. The space of Aham is where khecarī mudrā (free movement in the space of the heart) is realised. Khecarī mudrā is considered the supreme state of spiritual evolution.