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Advaita for the 21st Century

Dictionary of common Sanskrit spiritual words
R - S

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English ITRANS Sanskrit Meaning
R
     

raja yoga

rAja raj

Raja Yoga (rAja = king, i.e. royal) is the yoga of Patanjali, as written about in 'The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'. It is defined as 'the system of concentration and meditation based on ethical discipline'. It is also called ashtanga (aShTanga) yoga, meaning 'eightfold'.

rajas

rajas rjs!

the second of the three guna. Associated with animals and activity, emotions, desire, selfishness and passion. Adjective - rajassic or rajassika.. See guna.

S
   

 

sadguru

sadguru sÌ�é

the ultimate guru - one's own Self (sat = true, real). See guru.

sadhana

sAdhanA saxna

literally 'leading straight to a goal'; refers to the spiritual disciplines followed as part of a 'path' toward Self-realisation. See also chatushtaya sampatti.

saguna

saguNa sgu[

'with qualities', usually used to refer to Brahman personified as the creator, Iswara, to symbolise the most spiritual aspect of the world of appearances. See Brahman, Isvara, nirguna.

sahaja sthiti

sahaja sthiti shj iSwit

Once Self-realisation has been attained, there is full and lasting knowledge of the Self. 'sahaja' means 'state' but this stage of samadhi is not a state - it is our true nature. It is permanent (sthiti meaning 'steady' or 'remaining'), unlike the earlier stages of samadhi. See nirvikalpa, samadhi, savikalpa, vikalpa.

sakshibhava

sAkshibhAva saiKzÉav

'being or becoming' (bhAva) a 'witness' (sAkshin).

sakshin

sAkshin sai]n!

seeing, observing, a 'witness', ego or subject.

samadhana

samAdhAna smaxan

concentration; one of the 'six qualities' that form part of Shankara's chatushtaya sampatti. See chatushtaya sampatti.

samadhi

samAdhi smaix

the state of total peace and stillness achieved during deep meditation - see vikalpa, savikalpa samadhi, nirvikalpa samadhi and sahaja sthiti.

samhita

saMhitA s<ihta

a philosophical or religious text constructed according to certain rules of sound. See Astavakra, gita.

sampradaya

sampradAya sMàday

the tradition or established doctrine of teaching from master to pupil through the ages.

samsara

saMsAra s<sar

the continual cycle of death and rebirth, transmigration etc. to which we are supposedly subject in the phenomenal world until we become enlightened and escape.

samshaya

saMshaya s<zy

uncertainty, irresolution, hesitation or doubt. See manana.

sanatana

sanAtana snatn

literally 'eternal' or 'permanent'; in conjunction with dharma, this refers to our essential nature. The phrase 'sanatana dharma' is also used to refer to the traditional Hindu practices or as a synonym for 'Hinduism'. See dharma.

sanchita

saMchita s<ict

one of the three types of sanskara, literally meaning 'collected' or 'piled up'; that sanskara, which has been accumulated from past action but has still not manifest. See agamin, prarabdha, sanskara.

sanskara

saMskAra s<Skar

Whenever an action is performed with the desire for a specific result (whether for oneself or another), sanskara is created for that person. These accumulate and determine the situations with which we will be presented in the future and will influence the scope of future actions. See agamin, karma, prarabdha, sanchita and karma.

sanyasa

saMnyAsa s<Nyas

the final stage of the traditional Hindu spiritual path; involves complete renunciation. The word literally means 'putting or throwing down, laying aside'; i.e. becoming a professional ascetic. One who does so is called a sanyasin (saMnyAsin). See brahmacharya, grihasta, vanaprastha.

sat

sat st!

existence, reality, truth. See ananda, chit, satchitananda.

satchitananda

sat - chit - Ananda or sachchidAnanda si½danNd

the oft used word to describe our true nature, translated as being-consciousness-bliss.

satsanga

satsa~Nga sTs¼

association with the good; keeping 'good company'; most commonly used now to refer to a group of people gathered together to discuss (Advaita) philosophy.

sattva

sattva sÅv

the highest of the three guna. Associated with stillness, peace, truth, wisdom, unselfishness and spirituality. Adjective - sattwic or sattvika. See guna.

sattvapati

sattvApatti sÅvapiÄ

the (4th) stage on a spiritual path, after which there is no longer any need for effort to be made (so-called because there is now an abundance of sattva). Apatti means 'entering into a state or condition'.

savikalpa

savikalpa sivkLp

(referring to samadhi) still 'with' doubts about one's identity with the one Self. See nirvikalpa, samadhi, vikalpa.

shabda

shabda zBd

scriptural or verbal testimony. See pramana, nyaya prasthana, prasthana-traya, sruti, smriti.

shama

shama zm

literally tranquillity, absence of passion but more usually translated as mental discipline or self-control; one of the 'six qualities' that form part of Shankara's chatushtaya sampatti. See chatushtaya sampatti.

Shankara

shaMkara z<kr

8th Century Indian philosopher responsible for firmly establishing the principles of Advaita.

Shankaracharya

shaMkarAchArya z<kracayR

The title given to one of the four teachers (see acharya) following the tradition in India established by Shankara (see Shankara).

shraddha

shraddhA ïÏa

faith, trust or belief (in the absence of direct personal experience); one of the 'six qualities' that form part of Shankara's chatushtaya sampatti. See chatushtaya sampatti.

shravana

shravaNa ïv[

hearing the truth from a sage or reading about it in such works as the Upanishads. See manana, nididhyasana.

shruti

shruti ïuit

refers to the Vedas, incorporating the Upanishads. Literally means 'hearing' and refers to the belief that the books contain orally transmitted, sacred wisdom from the dawn of time. See nyaya prasthana, pramana, smriti.

shubhecha

shubhechChA zu-eCDa

'good desire'; the initial impulse that start us on a spiritual search. shubha means 'auspicious', 'good (in a moral sense)' and ichChA means 'wish', 'desire'.

smriti

smRRiti Sm&it

refers to material 'remembered' and subsequently written down. In practice, it refers to books of law (in the sense of guidance for living) which were written and based upon the knowledge in the Vedas, i.e. the so-called dharma-shAstras - Manu,Yajnavalkya, Parashara. In the context of nyaya prasthana, it is used to refer to just one of these books - the Bhagavad Gita. See pramana, nyaya prasthana, sruti.

srishti-drishti-vada

sRRiShTidRRiShTivAda s&iò�iòvad

the theory that the world is separate from ourselves, having been created (by God or big-bang) and evolving independently of ourselves. See also adhyasa, drishti-srishti-vada.

sthitaprajna

sthitapraj~na iSwtà}

meaning one 'standing' (sthita) in 'wisdom' (praj~nA); a man of steadiness and calm, firm in judgement, contented. The name given by the Bhagavad Gita to one who is Self-realised.

sushupti

suShupti su;uiÝ

the deep-sleep state of consciousness. The 'sleeper ego' is called prajna (prAj~na). See jagrat, prajna, svapna, turiya.

svadharma

svadharma SvxmR

one's own dharma. See dharma.

svapna

svapna Svß

'sleep' in general, but more specifically the dream state of consciousness. The 'dreamer ego' is called taijasa. See also, jagrat, sushupti, taijasa, tuiriya.

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Page last updated: 10-Jul-2012