Japa Mala

A japamala, jaap maala, or simply mala (Sanskrit: माला; mālā, meaning ‘garland’) is a loop of prayer beads commonly used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism for counting recitiations when performing japa (reciting a mantra or other sacred sound) or for counting some other sadhana (spiritual practice) such as prostrating before a holy icon They are similar to other forms of prayer beads used in various world religions and are sometimes referred to in English as a “rosary”...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Jataka

The Jataka tales are a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form The future Buddha may appear as a king, an outcast, a god, an elephant—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates Often, Jātaka tales include an extensive cast of characters who interact and get into various kinds of trouble - whereupon the Buddha character intervenes to resolve all the problems and bring about a happy ending...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Jivamukti Yoga

The Jivamukti Yoga method is a proprietary style of yoga created by David Life and Sharon Gannon in 1984 Jivamukti is a physical, ethical, and spiritual practice, combining a vigorous yoga as exercise, vinyasa-based physical style with adherence to five central tenets: shastra (scripture), bhakti (devotion), ahimsā (nonviolence, non-harming), nāda (music), and dhyana (meditation) It also emphasizes animal rights, veganism, environmentalism, and social activism

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Jivanmukta

A jivanmukta, literally meaning liberated while living, is a person who, in the Vedanta philosophy, has gained complete self-knowledge and self-realisation and attained kaivalya or moksha (enlightenment and liberation), thus is liberated while living and not yet died The state is the aim of moksha in Vedanta, Yoga and other schools of Hinduism, and it is referred to as jivanmukti (Liberation or Enlightenment) Jivanmuktas are also called atma-jnani (self-realized) because they are knowers of their true self (atman) and the universal self, hence also called Brahma-Jnani...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Jivanmukti

A jivanmukta, literally meaning liberated while living, is a person who, in the Vedanta philosophy, has gained complete self-knowledge and self-realisation and attained kaivalya or moksha (enlightenment and liberation), thus is liberated while living and not yet died The state is the aim of moksha in Vedanta, Yoga and other schools of Hinduism, and it is referred to as jivanmukti (Liberation or Enlightenment) Jivanmuktas are also called atma-jnani (self-realized) because they are knowers of their true self (atman) and the universal self, hence also called Brahma-Jnani...

March 4, 2022 · 2 min · TheAum

Jnana

In Indian philosophy and religions, gyāna (Sanskrit: ज्ञान, jñāna, [ˈdʑɲaːnɐ]) (Pali: ñāṇa) (Hindi: gyān) is “knowledge” The idea of gyana centers on a cognitive event which is recognized when experienced It is knowledge inseparable from the total experience of reality, especially a total or divine reality (Brahman) The root jñā- is cognate to English know, as well as to the Greek γνώ- (as in γνῶσις gnosis) and Russian знание Its antonym is ajñāna “ignorance”

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Jyoti

Jyoti means “divine light” in many Indian languages

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Kailas

Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; Kangrinboqê or Gang Rinpoche; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; simplified Chinese: 冈仁波齐峰; traditional Chinese: 岡仁波齊峰; Sanskrit: कैलास, IAST: Kailāsa), is a 6,638 m (21,778 ft) high peak in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains), which forms part of the Transhimalaya in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China The mountain is located near Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal, close to the source of some of the longest Asian rivers: the Indus; Sutlej; Brahmaputra; and Karnali, also known as Ghaghara (a tributary of the Ganges) in India...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Kali

Kali (; Sanskrit: काली, IAST: Kālī), also known as Dakshina Kālikā (Sanskrit: कालिका), is a Hindu goddess, who is considered to be the master of death, time and change She is also said to be the Parvati, that is the supreme of all powers, or the ultimate reality Kali’s earliest appearance is when she emerged from Lord Shiva She is the ultimate manifestation of Shakti and the mother of all living beings...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Kali Yuga

The Kali Yuga, in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four yugas (world ages) in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Dvapara Yuga and followed by the next cycle’s Krita (Satya) Yuga It is believed to be the present age, which is full of conflict and sin The “Kali” of Kali Yuga means “strife”, “discord”, “quarrel” or “contention” and Kali Yuga is associated with the demon Kali (not to be confused with the goddess Kālī)...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Kalki

Kalki (Sanskrit: कल्कि), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of Hindu God Vishnu to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of existence (Krita) in Vaishnavism cosmology The end of Kali Yuga states this will usher in the new epoch of Satya Yuga in the cycle of existence, until the MahaPralaya (the Great Dissolution of the Universe) Kalki is described in the Puranas as the avatar who rejuvenates existence by ending the darkest and destructive period to remove adharma and ushering in the Satya Yuga, while riding a white horse with a fiery sword...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Kalpa

Kalpa or Kalpas may refer to: Kalpa (aeon) a Sanskrit word referring to a great length of time (Aeon) Kalpa (Vedanga), meaning “proper practice” or “ritual”, one of the six disciplines of Vedanga in Hinduism

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Kama

Kama (Sanskrit: काम; IAST: kāma; Tamil: காமம்) means “desire, wish, longing” in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain literature Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual desire, and longing both in religious and secular Hindu and Buddhist literature, as well as contemporary Indian literature, but the concept more broadly refers to any desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, desire for, longing to and after, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, enjoyment of love is particularly with or without enjoyment of sexual, sensual and erotic desire, and may be without sexual connotations...

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Kamadeva

Kama (Sanskrit: काम, IAST: Kāma), also known as Kamadeva and Madana, is the Hindu god of human love or desire, often portrayed along with his female counterpart Rati According to Garuda Purana, Pradyumna and Samba — the sons of Krishna, Sanat Kumara — the son of Brahma, Skanda — the son of Shiva, Sudarshana (the preciding deity of Sudarshana Chakra), and Bharata are all incarnations of Kama

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum

Kapala

A kapala (Sanskrit for “skull”) is a skull cup used as a ritual implement (bowl) in both Hindu Tantra and Buddhist Tantra (Vajrayana) Especially in Tibet, they are often carved or elaborately mounted with precious metals and jewels

March 4, 2022 · 1 min · TheAum