Dictionary of common Sanskrit spiritual words
chaitanya - dveSha

Note that words appear in order of the Roman alphabet, not the Sanskrit alphabet.

chaitanya

consciousness, universal soul or spirit.

chakra

literally “circle” or “wheel”; one of the points in the spine through which energy is supposed to flow in kundalini yoga.

Chandogya

one of the major Upanishads. See Upanishad.

chatushtaya sampatti

the fourfold pre-requisites specified by Shankara as needed by a seeker before he can achieve Self-realisation. chatuShTaya means “fourfold”; sampatti means success or accomplishment. See sadhana, vairagya, viveka, mumukshutvam.

chetana

consciousness, intelligence etc.

chidabhasa

false appearance or reflection (AbhAsa) of consciousness (chit) – i.e. the ego.

chintana

thinking or reflecting upon; consideration.

chit

pure thought or Consciousness. See ananda, sat, satchidananda.

chitta

the organ (part) of mind responsible for memory. See antakarana, ahankara, buddhi, manas.

chodya

goal motivated, impelled or incited.

dakshina

the offering that is made at a sacrifice or the collection of those offerings. guru dAkShiNa is the payment made by a student to his teacher on completion of his studies (not in money but usually as a task or special gift).

dama

self-restraint but understood as control over the senses; one of the six qualities that form part of Shankara’s chatushtaya sampatti. See chatushtaya sampatti, shamAdi shhaTka sampatti.

darshana

audience or meeting (with a guru); viewpoint; one of the six classical Indian philosophical systems (purvamimamsa, uttaramimamsa, nyaya, vaisheshika, samkhya, yoga).

deha

person, individual, outward form or appearance (body).

dehatmavada

materialism.

deva

(pl. noun) the gods; (adj.) heavenly, divine.

Devanagari

the script used in Sanskrit representation. The word literally means “city of the Gods” (deva – gods; nAgara – belonging or relating to a town or city).

devadatta

fellow, common noun for “man” used in philosophy; literally “god-given.”

dharana

concentration of the mind. The sixth step of Raja yoga.

dharma

customary practice, conduct, duty, justice and morality. One of the four puruShArtha-s. The favored meaning of most traditional teachers is, however, “nature, character, essential quality,” which they often translate as “essence.” Our own dharma (svadharma) is what we ought to do with our lives in order to dissolve our accumulation of saMskAra. See sanskara, karma.

dharmaraja

a just or righteous king (dharma + rAja); any king or prince.

dhyana

meditation, usually in the sense of the mechanical act using a mantra as opposed to nididhyAsana.

dipa

confusion, perplexity, mistake (N.B. Not to be confused with brahma or brahman!).

dirgha

a long vowel in Sanskrit (sounded for 2 mAtrA-s or measures); literally long, high, tall.

dosha

defect, fault; offence, transgression; harm.

dravya

substance.

drg-drsya-viveka

“Discrimination between the Seer and the Seen” – a work attributed to Shankara. dRRik is the seer or perceiver and dRRishya that which is seen or which can be objectified.

drishtanta

the end or aim of what is seen, example or instance.

drishti-srishti-vada

the theory that our mistaken view of the world arises from a mental image (based on memory and sense data) superimposed upon the reality. dRRiShTi means “seeing”; sRRiShTi means “creation”; vAda means “thesis” or “doctrine.” See also adhyasa, ajati, srishti-drishti-vada.

dukha

pain, sorrow, trouble.

dvaita

duality, philosophy of dualism; belief that God and the atman are separate entities. Madhva is the scholar most often associated with this philosophy.

dvesha

hatred, dislike.