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Ashram: A spiritual institution or community; the residence of a master or holy person.
Brahman: Absolute Consciousness; also the Indian priestly caste that performs Vedic rituals.
Chakra: Subtle energy centre within the body.
Chiti: Divine Consciousness; the essential creative energy that supports the universe.
Ganeshpuri: A small rural town in South India, two hours from Bombay, where Muktananda and Nityananda had ashrams, and are buried.
Guru: Spiritual teacher.
Iccha: Will.
Jiva: The individual soul; our ego self or personal identity.
Jnana: Wisdom.
Jnani: One who practises Self-inquiry or the path of wisdom.
Karma: The effect of good or bad, mental or verbal actions; your present action affects your future situation.
Kashmir Shaivism: An ancient Indian philosophy that states, “Everything is Divine Consciousness.”
Kriya: The power of action.
Kundalini: The divine power (or creative energy of the universe), latent within each of us, that is awakened by yoga, meditation or grace.
Malas: (lit. impurities) Subtle misunderstandings about one’s true nature that bring about a sense of difference and separate us from our divine nature. Anava Mala: Contraction of will. Mayiya Mala: Contraction of knowledge. Karma Mala: Contraction of the power of action.
Mantra: A sacred word or sound that has the divine power to transform the one who repeats it.
Matrika: Self-talk; a thought form or inner statement that has the power to expand or contract our Consciousness.
Maya: Spiritual confusion; the illusion that we are limited beings, separated from our divine nature.
Nadi: Subtle nerve channels in which energy moves in the body.
Prasad: Offerings that have been blessed.
Puja: A way of honouring the higher Self through offerings and ritual.
Sadhana: Spiritual practice; the process of enlightenment.
Satsang: To be in the company of the Truth, great beings and other individuals who value spiritual practise.
Shakti: Divine energy.
Shaktipat: The awakening of Kundalini energy.
Self-inquiry: A method of investigation in which questions are asked inwardly, designed to attain the Self.
Shiva: The supreme, everpresent reality, Divine Consciousness; the true identity of each person. One of the Hindu trinity of gods, symbolising the destruction of spiritual ignorance or separation from the Self.
Shiva Process: A method of Self-inquiry developed by Swami Shankarananda to attain the natural state of experiencing God in the world.
Sushumna: Subtle canal along which the awakened Kundalini energy flows.
Vedanta: An ancient Indian philosophy that says, “The world is not real, only God is real and we are That.”
Vedas: Four ancient, authoritative Hindu scriptures, divinely revealed and containing hymns, prayers, codes of religious and social conduct and mystic teachings of the ancient sages.
Yoga: The entire set of disciplines and practises including meditation, hatha yoga, breath control, devotion, service, etc. designed to realize the Self.
Yogi: One who practises yoga.
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