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Advaita for the 21st Century

Dictionary of common Sanskrit spiritual words
rAga - sAMkyha

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

English ITRANS Sanskrit Meaning
R      
raga rAga rag any feeling or passion but especially vehement desire; interest in, attachment. Shankara differentiates this from kAma: rAga is attachment to something one already has whereas kAma is wanting something one doesn't have. rAga-dveSha is love-hatred.
rahita rahita riht deserted by, separated or free from, deprived of.
raja rAja raj literally "king or sovereign," as in rAja yoga (or aShTA~Nga yoga) of Patanjali, where it is usually translated as "royal yoga."
rajas rajas rjs! the second of the three guNa. Associated with animals and activity, emotions, desire, selfishness and passion. Adjective - rajassic (Eng.); rAjasa or rAjasika (Sansk.) See guna.
raju rajju r¾u rope.
Ramanuja rAmAnuja ramanuj founder of the vishiShTAdvaita school of philosophy.
rasa rasa rs taste (one of the tanmAtra-s or five subtle senses).
rina RRiNa \[ obligation, duty or debt, as in AchArya RRiNa - the obligation one has to one's teacher to pass on that knowledge to others.
rina RRiNa \[ anything due, obligation, duty, debt; a debt of money, money owed. AchArya RRiNa is the obligation of a seeker to provide some finanancial assistance for teaching from the guru, even though this is freely given. See also dakShiNa.
rishi RRiShi \i; author or singer of sacred Vedic hymns but now more generally used to refer to a saint or Sage.
rupa rUpa êp form, outward appearance (one of the tanmAtra-s or five subtle senses).
S      
sada sadA sda ever, always, continually, perpetually.
sadarana sAdhAraNa saxar[ generic, common to all, universal.
sadguru sadguru sÌ‚é the ultimate guru - one's own Self (sat = true, real). See guru.
sadhaka sAdhaka saxk a seeker or, more pedantically, a worshipper.
sadhana sAdhanA saxna refers to the spiritual disciplines followed as part of a "path" toward Self-realisation. See also chatushtaya sampatti.
sadharma sadharma sxmR having the same nature or qualities; common features.
sadhu sAdhu saxu a sage, saint, holy man; literally leading straight to the goal, hitting the mark.
sadhya sAdhya saXy (in logic, that which is) to be concluded, proved or demonstrated.
sadrishya sAdRRishya sa†Zy likeness, resemblance, similarity.
saguna saguNa sgu[ "with qualities." The term is usually used to refer to brahman personified as the creator, Ishvara, to symbolise the most spiritual aspect of the world of appearances. See Brahman, Isvara, nirguna.
sahaja sahaja shj born or produced together (like the inborn faculties of certain living beings, e.g. the flying ability of a bird).
sahaja sthiti sahaja sthiti shj iSwit Once Self-realization 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.
sajati sajAti sjait literally belonging to the same caste or tribe; similar or homogeneous.
sakshatkara sAkShAtkAra sa]aTkar evident or intuitive perception, realization.
sakshibhava sAkShibhAva sai]Éav being or becoming (bhAva) a "witness" (sAkShin).
sakshin sAkShin sai]n! a witness, the ego or subject as opposed to the object (also sAkShi or sAkShI).
sakshya sAkShya saúy visible (to); testimony, evidence; that which is witnessed (by the witness). (Also sAkShyam.)
sama sama sm same, equal, similar; neutral, indifferent; impartial.
samadhana samAdhAna smaxan contemplation, profound meditation; more usually translated as concentration; one of the "six qualities" that form part of Shankara's chatuShTaya sampatti. See chatushtaya sampatti, shamadi shatka sampatti.
samadhi samAdhi smaix the state of total peace and stillness achieved during deep meditation. Several "stages" are defined - see vikalpa, savikalpa samadhi, nirvikalpa samadhi and sahaja sthiti.
samana samAna sman one of the five "vital airs," concerned with the digestive system. More generally, relates to assimilation and integration of perceptions with existing knowledge.
samanvaya samanvaya smNvy regular succession or order; connected sequence or consequence; conjunction; reconciliation through proper interpretation (not to be confused with samavAya).
samanya sAmAnya samaNy general, universal, opposite of specific; genus as opposed to species.
samashti samaShTi smiò totality, as opposed to vyaShTi, the individual.
samavaya samavAya smvay (in philosophy) the constant and inseparable conjunction between an attribute and substance (e.g. blue and lotus) or between a whole and its parts (e.g. cloth and fibers). Literally, it means 'coming or meeting together' (not to be confused with samanvaya).
sambandha sambandha sMbNx relationship, literally "union, association, conjunction."
samhita saMhitA s<ihta a philosophical or religious text constructed according to certain rules of sound. There are many of these in the Vedas. The one most likely to be encountered is the aShTAvakra saMhitA or Gita. This book is not part of the Vedas. See Astavakra, gita.
samitpani samitpANi simTpai[ (literally) holding fuel in the hands, i.e. having renounced all desire and approaching the deity to offer sacrifice.
samkhya sAMkhya sa<Oy one of the three main divisions of Hindu philosophy and one of the six darshana-s; attributed to Kapila.
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Page last updated: 10-Jul-2012