Ramana Maharshi
Glossary
Study Resource of Essential Terms and More
Link to the Ramana Maharshi Study Group landing page.
Glossary content below sourced from
Talks With Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness,
fourth edition, published by Inner Directions.
Highlights provided by Gary Bean, to indicate terms used often in the text.
A
Abhasa: Reflection; appearance.
Abhijna: Direct perception.
Abhimana: Attachment; conceit.
Abhisheka: Pouring water, etc. over a sacred image.
Abhyasa: Practice.
Abhyasi: One who practices.
Achala: Unmoving; a hill or a mountain.
Achamana: Sipping of water associated with a religious ceremony.
Achit: Not sentient.
Adhara: Support.
Adhistana: Substratum.
Adhridha: Weak; not firm.
Adhyaropa: Superimposition of bliss.
Adhyasika: Superimposed.
Advaita: “Not two”; nonduality; affirms the nondifference between the individual soul and Brahman.
Adyatmika shakti: Power of the Self.
Agami (agami karma): Actions expected to bear fruit in future births.
Aham: I; embodied self; soul.
Aham Brahmasmi: I am Brahman. One of the four Mahavakyas.
Ahamkara (ahankara): “I”-sense; the ego-self.
Ahamvritti: The “I”-sense; the objective “I.”
Ahimsa: Nonviolence.
Ajatavada: The theory of advaita that denies creation; nonorigination; nonexistence.
Ajna: Direction; injunction.
Ajnana: Ignorance; nescience.
Ajnani: One who is ignorant; who has not realized the Self.
Akahsa: Ether; space.
Akara: Form or shape.
Akashavani: Voice coming from the sky.
Akhanda: Undivided.
Akhandakara vritti: Unbroken experience.
Akritopasaka: One who has not practiced meditation (upasana).
Amrita: Immortal; Nectar of Immortality.
Amrita nadi: The name of a yogic nerve.
Anadi: Without beginning.
Anahata: Name of yogic chakra.
Ananda: Bliss.
Anandamaya kosa: The sheath of bliss.
Anandatman: Self in the state of bliss.
Ananta: Infinite; endless.
Anatman: Non-Self.
Anava: Limitation.
Anichcha: Involuntary.
Anitya: Transitory.
Annamalai: The Tamil name for Arunachala.
Annamaya kosa: Sheath of gross matter.
Antah (antar): Inner; internal.
Antah karanam: The inner organ; the mind.
Antah pranayama: Internal breath-regulation.
Antardhana: Disappearance from sight.
Antarmukhi manas: Inward-turned mind.
Anu: Atom.
Ap: Water.
Apana: The life force that goes down.
Apara: The lower.
Apara vibhuti: Inferior vibhuti.
Aparoksha: Direct; immediate.
Apavada: Removal; refutation, as in repudiation of a wrong belief.
Aruna: Red.
Arupa: Formless.
Asamshakti: Nonattachment; one of the seven stages of enlightenment.
Asana: Sitting posture; seat.
Asat: Not real; nonbeing; nonexistence.
Asesha sakshi: Witness of all.
Asrama (ashrama): Stage of life; a place where hermits and sages live.
Asthira: Unsteady.
Asuddha: Impure.
Asukavi: One who can spontaneously create verse.
Asura: Demon.
Ati jagrat: Beyond waking.
Ati sunya: Beyond the void.
Atiasrama: Beyond the four traditional stages of life.
Atita: Beyond.
Ativahika sarira: The subtle body which remains after the physical body perishes, and which carries the individual to other worlds.
Atma (Atman): Self; the basis of all; the substrate of the individual, and identical with Brahman (the Absolute).
Atma jnani: One who has realized the Self.
Atma nadi: The name of a yogic nerve.
Atma nishta: Abiding as the Self.
Atma-vichara: Inquiry into the Self.
Atmanusandhana: Continuous contemplation on the Self.
Atyanta vairagyam: Total dispassion.
Avarana: Covering.
Avastha traya: The three states of consciousness, namely waking, dream, and sleep.
Avatar: Incarnation of God.
Avidya: Ignorance; nescience.
Avritta chakshus: Introverted look.
B
Bahir mukhi manas: Outward turning mind.
Bahir pranayamam: External breath regulation.
Bahudaka: A spiritual mendicant (sannyasin) who wanders about.
Bahya: External.
Bala: Child.
Bandha: Bondage.
Bandha hetu: Cause of bondage.
Beeja: Seed.
Bhajana: Singing God’s praises, especially in chorus.
Bhakta: Devotee; lover of God.
Bhakti: Love; devotion to God.
Bhakti Marga: The spiritual path of realizing the Absolute through love and devotion.
Bhakti Yoga: See Bhakta Marga.
Bhashya: Commentary.
Bhashyakara: Commentator.
Bhavana: Idea.
Bheda: Difference; differentiation.
Bhoga: Enjoyment.
Bhoga hetu: Cause of enjoyment.
Bhoga vastu: Object of enjoyment.
Bhogyam: That which is enjoyed.
Bhokta: Enjoyer.
Bhuma: All-comprehensive; the Absolute.
Bindu: A dot, or spot; symbol for the universe in its unmanifest form.
Brahma: A name for God in his role as creator of the universe.
Brahmachari: A celibate; a student.
Brahmacharya: Celibacy; continence in thought, word, and deed.
Brahmahatya: The sin of killing a Brahmin.
Brahmaivaham: Brahman am I.
Brahmajnana: Knowledge (Realization) of Brahman, the Supreme Reality.
Brahmajnani: One who has realized the Self.
Brahmakaravritti: Concept in the form of Brahman.
Brahman: The ultimate Reality; the eternal imperishable Absolute, ungraspable by thought and inexpressible by speech.
Brahmanishta: One who is established in Brahman.
Brahmavid: One who has realized Brahman.
Brahma-vid-vara: One who is a superior among the knowers of Brahman.
Brahma-vid-varishta: The very best among the knowers of Brahman.
Brahma-vid-varya: The best among the knowers of Brahman.
Brahmin: A member of the priestly class.
Buddha: One who is aware; awakened.
Buddhi: Intellect.
C
Chaitanya: Consciousness.
Chakra(s): Wheel; center; the seven yogic centers located in the subtle body.
Chakshus: Eye.
Chamara: A flywhisk made of the bushy tail of Bosgrunniens and used as a badge of royalty.
Chanchala: Changing; fickle creation.
Chidvyoman (chitta vyoman): Expanse of consciousness.
Chinmaya: Full of consciousness.
Chinta: Thought or idea.
Chintamani: A mystical wish-fulfilling gem; an epithet for God.
Chit: Consciousness.
Chitta: Memory; mind.
Chitta suddhi: Purity of mind.
Chitta vilasa: Play of mind.
Chittaikograta: One-pointedness of mind.
Chitta-nirodha: Control of mind.
Crore: Ten million.
D
Daharakasha: Ether of the heart.
Dakshinamurti: The young sage who guided disciples older than himself through a profound, silent influence (mouna) on the heart.
Dana: Gift; charity.
Darshan: To have sight of; vision; especially of saints and sages.
Dasi: Courtesan.
Deha: Body.
Dehatma buddhi: I-am-the-body consciousness.
Dehavasana: Attachment to the body.
Devas: Celestial beings.
Dharana: Concentration; single-mindedness.
Dharma: Righteousness; that which holds together; the basis of social and moral order.
Dharma sastri: One who is well versed in the scriptures relating to dharma.
Dhriti: Steadfastness.
Dhyana: Meditation; absorption; unbroken contemplation.
Diksha: Spiritual initiation.
Divya chakshus: Divine eye.
Drashta: Seer.
Dridha: Firm.
Drik: The subject; he who sees.
Drishti: Look; seeing.
Drishti srishti: Simultaneous creation.
Drisya: The object; that which is seen.
Drisya vilaya: The disappearance of the objective world.
Drisyanuviddha: Associated with something seen.
Dukha: Suffering; misery.
Dvaita: Duality; dualism.
Dvandva: Pair of opposites.
Dvividha (dwividha): Two-fold.
E
Eka: One.
Ekagrata: One-pointed concentration or attention.
G
Ganja: Hashish.
Gayatri: A well-known Vedic mantra originating from the Rigveda.
Gopuram: Temple tower.
Granthi: Knot (knot of ignorance).
Grihastha: Householder.
Grihini: Housewife.
Gunas: The three fundamental qualities or tendencies that underlie all manifestation — Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas (Purity, Activity, and Inertia).
Gunatita: One who has transcended the gunas.
Guru: A spiritual master; preceptor; one who removes the darkness of ignorance.
H
Halahala: The poison (in Hindu mythology) which arose when the milky ocean (covering the earth) was churned.
Hamsa: A sannyasi who has advanced to a spiritually elevated stage.
Hasta: Hand.
Hatha Yoga: A system of yoga involving bodily postures and breath control.
Hetu: Cause; reason.
Hiranyagarbha: Universal consciousness; totality of minds.
Homa: Vedic ritual of sacrificial offering to a fire.
Hridaya: Heart; the spiritual center in the body.
Hridaya granthi: Knot of the heart.
Hrit: Heart.
Hrit pundarika: The heart lotus.
I
Ichcha: Desire.
Idam: This; also refers to the substratum or basis upon which an illusory perception is projected.
Indriyas: Senses.
Ishta devata: The form of God that one prefers to worship or contemplate.
Ishvara: God; the Supreme Being in manifestation as the entire world.
Ishvara anugraha: God’s grace.
Ishvara aradhana: Worship of God.
Ishvara drishti: Seeing everything as God.
J
Jada: Insentient.
Jagat: The world.
Jagrat: Waking state.
Jagrat sushupti: Wakeful sleep.
Jai: Victory.
Jala: Water.
Janma: Birth.
Japa: Repetition of a sacred word or syllable or name of God.
Japa karta: One who does japa.
Jirna: Decay; breakdown.
Jiva: The individual soul; the ego.
Jivanmukta: One who is liberated even while alive.
Jivanmukti: Liberation while one is alive.
Jivatman: The individual self.
Jnana: Knowledge of the Self; wisdom.
Jnana bhumikas: Stages of knowledge, of which there are seven.
Jnana chakshus: Eye of wisdom.
Jnana drishti: Eye of wisdom.
Jnana lakshana: Sign of wisdom.
Jnana Marga: The spiritual path of realizing the Absolute through Knowledge.
Jnana Yoga: See Jnana Marga.
Jnanagni: Fire of wisdom.
Jnanendriya: Sense organ.
Jnani: A Sage; one who has realized the Self.
Jyoti: Light; effulgence.
K
Kaivalya: The state of liberation.
Kala: A term used to denote time; the phenomenal cause of things passing away.
Kalpana: Idea; imagination; presumptive knowledge.
Kama: Sensual desire; pleasure.
Kantha: Throat.
Kanthabharana: Ornament worn around the neck.
Kanya: Virgin.
Karana: Cause.
Karana sarira: Casual body.
Karma: Action; work; deeds; also the accumulated effect of deeds.
Karma Marga: The spiritual path of realizing the Absolute through selfless action.
Karma samya: Good and bad actions in equal proportions.
Karma traya: The three kinds of karma, namely sanchita, agami, and prarabdha.
Karma Yoga: See Karma Marga.
Karmendriya: Organ of action.
Karpura arati: The waving of lighted camphor during worship.
Karta: Doer; he who does an act.
Kartrtva: Doership.
Kartrtva buddhi: The sense of doership.
Kashaya: Latent impurity.
Kashayam (kashaya): Ochre colored garment, usually worn by a sadhu or sannyasi.
Kasiyatra: Pilgrimage to Kasi; an ancient marriage rite among Brahmins.
Kasturi: Musk.
Kayakalpa: A medicinal preparation for prolonging life.
Kayasiddhi: Making the body proof against injury.
Kevala kumbhaka: Stoppage of breathing, whether in the midst of inhaling or exhaling.
Kevala samadhi: The state of consciousness in which activities of body and mind are only merged.
Khanda: Division.
Khyati: Theory.
Kousalam: Skill.
Krama mukti: Liberation by degrees.
Krama srishti: Gradual creation.
Krida: Play; pastime.
Kritopasaka: One who has done upasana or meditation.
Krodha: Anger.
Kshetra: Temple; field; the body.
Kshipta: Active.
Kumbha: A pot used for keeping water.
Kumbhaka: Retention of breath.
Kumkuma: Vermilion powder applied to the forehead.
Kundalini: Yogic principle called the serpent power; the sleeping spiritual force in every human being that lies coiled at the base of the spine.
Kutichaka: A sannyasin who lives permanently in a hut.
Kuvasana: Bad tendency.
L
Laghu: Light; easy; simple.
Lakh: One-hundred thousand.
Lakshana: Sign; definition.
Lakshya: Aim; goal; target.
Lakshyartha: Implied meaning.
Laya: Dissolution; disappearance.
Lila: Divine play in the manifest world.
Linga: Symbol; usually ascribed to Shiva (the formless Reality).
Linga sarira: Subtle body.
Loka: World; that which is seen.
Loukika: Worldly.
M
Madhya: Center; mixed; middling.
Madhyama: Middle; middling.
Maharshi: Great rishi (seer or sage).
Mahasunya: Great void.
Mahatma: Enlightened person.
Mahavakyas: The four main statements proclaiming the truth of Brahman, one taken from each Veda.
Malaparipaka: Complete removal of impurity.
Malina: Impure.
Manana: Reflecting over what has been heard (such as an exposition of the Truth).
Mani: Jewel.
Manikavachakar: A South Indian Poet-Saint, who wrote prolifically on the nature and bliss of Realization in ancient Tamil verse. These outpourings form the popular work known as Tiruvachakam.
Manolaya: Subsidence of the mind.
Manomaya kosha: Sheath of the mind.
Manonasa: Extinction of the mind.
Manta: Thinker.
Mantra: A sacred word or phrase of spiritual significance; sound forms of the Vedas used for worship and prayer; seed letters or words used for meditation on the Absolute.
Mantra japa: Repetition of a mantra.
Marga: Path; way.
Maru marichika: Mirage seen in a desert.
Mati: Thinking power.
Maya: The principle of appearance; illusion; the power inherent in Brahman by which it manifests the world (not ultimately real).
Maya vada: The doctrine of maya.
Medha: Intellect.
Moda: Joy, which is higher than priya.
Moksha: Liberation; spiritual freedom; the ultimate goal of human life.
Moodha: Dull.
Moola: Root; source.
Mouna: Silence; the inexpressible.
Mriga trishna: Water as seen in a mirage.
Mukta: One who is liberated.
Mukti: Liberation (see moksha).
Muladhara: One of the yogic centers of the body.
Mulavidya: Primal ignorance.
Mumukshu: One who aspires for liberation.
Mumukshutva: The desire for liberation.
Muni: Sage.
Muppall: Three voids.
N
Na medhaya: Not by the intellect.
Nabhi: Navel.
Nada: Subtle sound accompanied by an effulgence, a term used in Tantra.
Nadaswaram: The musical pipe of the South Indian piper.
Nadi: Yogic nerve.
Naham: I am not; not I.
Naishtika brahmacharya: Lifelong celibacy.
Nama: Name; usually refers to the name of God.
Nama japa: Repetition of the name of God.
Nama sankirtan: Singing the names of God.
Nama smarana: Remembering and repeating the name of God.
Namaskar: Prostration before God or Guru.
Nana: Plurality; diversity.
Naraka: Hell.
Nasa: Destruction.
Nava: New.
Nididhyasana: Uninterrupted contemplation; the last of the three stages of vedantic realization.
Nijananda: True bliss.
Nirakara upasana: Meditation on the formless aspect of the Absolute.
Nirguna: Without attributes; devoid of qualities.
Nirguna upasana: Meditation on the attributeless Brahman.
Nirodha: Control.
Nirvana: Liberation; perfection.
Nirvikalpa samadhi: The highest state of contemplation in which the soul loses all sense of being different from the universal Self, yet a temporary state from which there is a return to ego-consciousness.
Nishkama karma: Action done without a motive; desireless action.
Nitya: Permanent; eternal; un-changing.
Nitya siddha: Ever present.
Nivritti: Turning away from activity.
Nivritti Marga: Negation or renunciation; turning away from activity toward Self-recollection.
Niyama: Observance; discipline; law.
O
Oupacharika: In a worldly sense.
P
Padarthabhavini: Absolute nonperception of objects; one’s state in deep sleep.
Panchakshari: A mantra of five syllables sacred to Shiva.
Panchikarana: Theory that every physical object contains all the five elements in various proportions.
Para: Higher; Supreme; in Tantra it refers to unmanifest sound.
Para nadi: The name of a yogic nerve.
Para vibhuti: Superior vibhuti.
Param: Transcendental; highest.
Paramahamsa: A renunciate who has attained Self-realization.
Paramarthika: The Absolute.
Paramarthika satyam: Absolute truth.
Paramatma: The Supreme Self.
Paranchi khani: Outgoing.
Pareccha: By another’s will.
Parinama vada: The theory of Brahman changing itself into the world.
Paroksha: Indirect or nonperceptional knowledge.
Pasyanti: A level of sound that ultimately manifests toward speech.
Phala: Fruit; the result of an act.
Phala chaitanyam: Results of spiritual realization.
Phala data: Dispenser of the results of our acts.
Phala sruti: Description of the results of an act.
Pisachas: Demons.
Poorna: Full; complete.
Pradakshina: Going round a sacred place or holy person.
Pradeepta: Shining brightly.
Prajna: The individual in deep sleep.
Prajnana: Wisdom; knowledge.
Prajnana ghana: Firm in wisdom or knowledge.
Prakriti: Primal nature; the phenomenon of Maya.
Pralaya: Dissolution (of the world).
Pramana: Means of valid knowledge.
Pramata: Knower; cognizer.
Pramoda: Joy, which is higher than moda.
Prana: Vital air; the breath of life.
Pranamaya kosa: The sheath of vital air (prana).
Pranashakti: The power of the vital forces.
Pranava: A name for the sacred syllable OM.
Pranayama: Regulation or control of breath (prana), one of the eight-limbs of Raja Yoga.
Prapatti: Surrender.
Prapti: Attainment.
Prarabdha: That part of one’s karma to be worked out in this lifetime.
Prasad: Grace; also food etc., which is first offered to God then distributed among devotees.
Prasthana traya: The three primary works of Vedanta: the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutra.
Pratibhasika satya: Reality appearing as illusory to an individual.
Pratikam: Symbol.
Pratikriya: Remedy.
Pratyabhijna: Recognition.
Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses from objects; one of the steps in Raja Yoga;
Pratyaksha: Direct; immediate perception.
Pravritti Marga: Path of active involvement in the world.
Prayaschitta: A rite for expiating sin.
Prayatna: Effort.
Prema: Love.
Prithvi: The earth.
Priya: Joy; dear.
Puja: Ceremonial worship with flowers, water, etc.
Punya: Merit; meritorious deeds.
Puraka: Inhalation of breath; as practiced in pranayama.
Purana: Ancient narratives; legendary histories of Hindu religious gods and heroes, embodying religious symbolism.
Puri: Place; city.
Puriashtaka: Subtle body (city) consisting of eight entries.
Purna: Full; complete.
Purusha: Individual soul; from the nondualistic (advaitic) perspective, there is only one purusha.
Purushakara: Personal effort.
Purva paksha: Arguments advanced by the opponent.
Purva samskara: Latent tendency.
R
Raja Yoga: The principal system of Yoga as taught by Patanjali.
Rajas: One of the three primal qualities (gunas); the principle of activity and passion.
Rajju-sarpa: Rope-snake; a rope that appears as a snake in a dim light.
Rasa: Bliss; spiritual delight; the essence of things.
Rasasvada: Taste of bliss in the absence of thoughts.
Ravi Marga: Path of the sun.
Rechaka: Out-breath, exhalation; as practiced in pranayama.
Rishi: A seer; a sage.
S
Sabdanuviddha: Associated with sound.
Sadguru: The true guru — who is one with the Divine consciousness.
Sadhaka: A spiritual aspirant; one who follows a method of spiritual discipline (sadhana).
Sadhana: Self-effort; spiritual discipline; practice as a means toward Liberation.
Sadhana-chatushtaya: The four qualifications expected in an aspirant.
Sadhu: Ascetic; holy man; renunciate.
Sadhu seva: Service rendered to saints.
Sadyomukti: Immediate liberation.
Saguna: With attributes; contains qualities.
Saguna upasana: Meditation on Brahman with attributes.
Sahaja: Natural; one’s natural state.
Sahaja samadhi: Samadhi that comes naturally and is present always.
Sahasrara: The highest yogic center located in the brain.
Sajatiya: Of the same kind.
Sakshatkaram: Direct realization.
Sakshi: Witness consciousness; the observer.
Sama: Equal; common.
Samadhi: Absorption; deep spiritual contemplation. A state beyond expression and above all thought; beyond the states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.
Samanya: Common; ordinary; class. The common characteristic by virtue of possessing which an individual becomes a member of a class.
Samashti: Whole; cosmic; collective.
Samatva: Equality; equanimity under all circumstances.
Samjnana: Awareness; perception.
Samrajya: Empire.
Samsara: Empirical existence; the cycle of birth and death.
Samskara: Impression; innate tendency; predisposition.
Samvit: Consciousness; knowledge.
Samyamana: One-pointedness of mind.
Sanchita (sanchita karma): Accumulated karma to be worked out in a future birth.
Sandeha: Doubt.
Sanga: Association.
Sankalpa: Intention; will; self-willed thought leading to action.
Sannidhi: Presence; proximity.
Sannyasa: Renunciation of all worldly attachments and ties.
Sannyasi (sannyasin): An ascetic; one who has taken to the path of renunciation (sannyasa).
Sarira: The body.
Sarira traya: The three bodies, namely the physical, subtle, and causal.
Sariri: Dweller in the body.
Sarva: All; everything.
Sarvajna: Omniscient.
Sarvajnatvam: Omniscience.
Sastra: Scripture; teaching.
Sat: Existence; Being; Reality.
Sat-Chit-Ananda (satchitananda): Being-Consciousness-Bliss.
Satsanga: Association with the wise.
Sattva: Purity; one of the three primal qualities (gunas); the principle of harmony and goodness.
Sattvapatti: Realization; one of the seven stages of enlightenment.
Sattvic: Pure; relating to sattva, one of the three constituents of prakriti.
Satya: The true; the real. Satyam: Truth; reality.
Savikalpa samadhi: A state of deep concentration in which there is still a distinction between the knower, knowledge, and the known.
Shadadhara: The six yogic centers.
Shaiva: One devoted to Shiva; relating to Shiva.
Shakti: Primal energy; power; the dynamic aspect of the Absolute.
Shaktipata: Descent of divine power on a person.
Shankara (Shankaracharya, Adi Shankara): One of India’s greatest sages and philosophers, and the primary representative of Advaita Vedanta. He was instrumental in reestablishing the non-dualistic teachings of the Upanishads, Brahma Sutra, and the Bhagavad Gita, after the rise of Buddhism. Shankara is also a name for Shiva.
Shanti: Peace.
Shiva: Auspicious; A name for God in his role as destroyer of ignorance.
Shivoham: I am Shiva.
Siddha: A perfected being; one who if fully accomplished; may also mean one who has acquired supernatural abilities and can use them for the welfare of others.
Siddhi: Psychic or supernatural abilities; can also mean realization, attainment.
Sishya: Disciple.
Sloka: A stanza (verse) in Sanskrit poetry.
Smriti: Memory; scriptures based on traditional scriptural texts.
Soham: I am He (Brahman).
Sparsa: Touch. Sphurana: Manifestation; vibration.
Sraddha: Faith; belief; an inner attitude reflecting earnestness of purpose.
Sravana: Hearing of the truth from a qualified teacher, such as the Guru.
Srishti drishti: Gradual creation.
Srota: Hearer.
Srotra: The ear.
Sruti: Revealed scriptures; directly perceived by the sage or seer, such as in the Vedas.
Sthitaprajna: One who is firmly established in spiritual knowledge.
Sthiti: Being.
Sthula: Gross; body.
Sthula sarira: Physical body.
Stotram: A hymn of praise.
Subhechcha: Desire for enlightenment.
Suddha: Pure.
Sukha: Happiness.
Sukha asana: Easy and comfortable posture of sitting.
Sukshma: Subtle state beyond waking, dreaming, and sleeping.
Sukshma sarira: The subtle body.
Sunya: The void; nonbeing.
Sushumna: The name of a yogic nerve.
Sushupti: Dreamless sleep.
Sutra: Aphorism; concise statements that usually require a commentary for understanding.
Suvasana: Good tendency.
Svagata: Within itself.
Svapna: Dream state during sleep.
Svarga: Heaven.
Svarupa: Natural form.
Svechcha: Of one’s own will.
Swaraj: Independence.
Swatantra: Independence.
T
Taijasa: The individual being in the dream state.
Tamas: Darkness; one of the three primal qualities (gunas); the principle of inertia and dullness.
Tamil: A South Indian language and the earliest branch of the four Dravidian languages. It is not related to the Indo-Aryan languages of which Sanskrit is based.
Tanha: Thirst (for living).
Tanmatras: Subtle essence of the five elements.
Tanmaya: Full of the Self.
Tantra: A spiritual practice that involves symbolic ritual, mantras, mudras, and mandalas (symbolic diagrams); the philosophical approach centered around divine energy and creative Power.
Tantric: Relating to or having the qualities of tantra.
Tanumanasa: Tenuous mind; one of the seven stages of enlightenment.
Tapas (tapasya): Austerity; concentrated discipline; intense spiritual practice undertaken for the purpose of spiritual attainment.
Tapobhrashta: One who has fallen away from austerity.
Tapta-aya-pindavat: Like a red-hot iron ball.
Tattva: Truth; the essence of a thing; the essential “is-ness” or true being.
Tejas: Effulgence; glow.
Tejo rupa: Of the form of light.
Tejomaya: Full of light.
Tirtha: A sacred river or tank.
Tirujnanasambandar: A revered child-saint from South India.
Triputi: Triad; triple form; the knower, the known, the act of knowledge.
Turavu: Renunciation.
Turiya: The fourth state of consciousness; the supreme reality; that which underlies the passing states of waking, dreaming, and sleeping.
Turyaga: Beyond words; one the seven stages of enlightenment.
Tyaga: Giving up; letting go; renunciation.
U
Udasinam: Indifference.
Upadesa: Spiritual instruction; initiation; usually given by a Guru.
Upadhi: Limiting adjunct or attribute; everything that is super-imposed on Brahman, the Reality.
Upasaka: One who meditates; an aspirant.
Upasana: Meditation; worship.
Upasana sthana: Seat of meditation.
V
Vachyartha: Literal meaning.
Vada: Theory; debate.
Vaikhari: One of the stages in the formation of sound; audible (manifest) sound.
Vaikuntha: The abode of Vishnu.
Vairagya: Dispassion; nonattachment.
Vaishnavite: A worshipper of Vishnu.
Varnasrama dharma: Dharma of the various castes and stages of life.
Vasana: Latent tendencies or impressions that cling to the individual.
Vasana kshaya: Cessation of vasanas.
Vasishta: A famous sage and author of the Rigveda. His instructions to Sri Rama form the basis of the Sanskrit work, Yoga Vasishta.
Vastutah: In reality.
Vayu: Air; life-breath.
Vedanta: The “end” or consummation of the Vedas; based on the teachings in the Upanishads on the nature of Brahman.
Vibhakti: Separation.
Vibhuti: Sacred ash; manifestations of divine power.
Vichara: Inquiry into the nature of the Self.
Vichara Marga: The spiritual path of Self-Inquiry.
Vicharana: Investigation; one of the seven stages of enlightenment.
Videha mukta: One who is liberated after death.
Videha mukti: Liberation after death.
Vidya: Knowledge; wisdom; learning.
Vijatiya: Of a different kind.
Vijnana: Spiritual knowledge; realization.
Vijnanamaya kosa: Sheath of the intellect.
Vijnanatma: The ignorant self.
Vijnata: Knower.
Vikshepa: Dispersion; false projection.
Vikshipta: Distracted; unsteady.
Viparita: Contrary; contrary to what is.
Virat: Totality of gross beings; the cosmic form of the Self.
Visesha: Particular; distinguishable.
Vishaya: Object.
Vishnu: All-pervading; a name for God in his role as preserver of the universe.
Vishva: The individual being in the waking state.
Vishvarupa (darshan): God seen as comprising the form of the universe.
Visishta: Qualified; determinate.
Visishtadvaitin: One who believes in a modified form of nonduality, based on the teachings of the South Indian saint, Ramanuja.
Visranti: Repose.
Vivarta vada: Theory of apparent change; Brahman appears as the world, soul, and God, like a rope appears as a snake, without itself undergoing any change.
Vivechana: Discrimination.
Viyoga: Separation.
Vritti: Modification of the mind; it is what makes knowledge possible.
Vyaptam: Pervaded.
Vyashti: Part.
Vyavahara (vyavaharika): Empirical; from the relative viewpoint.
Vyavahara satya: Phenomenal existence.
Y
Yaga: See Yajna.
Yajna: Sacrificial ceremony.
Yoga: Union; a spiritual process or discipline leading to oneness with the Divine.
Yogabhrashta: One who has slipped from the discipline of yoga.
Yogarudha: One who has attained yoga.
Yogiraja: King of yogis.
Yugapat srishti: Simultaneous creation.
Resources
Assigned Readings:
January 15, 2025 – Jan 6 - Jan 24, 1935, in "Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi."
January 29, 2025 – Jan 26 - Feb 4, 1935, up to “Therefore mind and matter co-exist.”
February 12th, 2025 – Talk 26 - the end of Talk 29
February 26th, 2025 – Talk 30 - Talk 40
March 12th, 2025 – Talk 41 - Talk 52
March 26th, 2025 – Talk 53 - Talk 59
April 9th, 2025 – Talk 60 - Talk 70
April 23rd, 2025 – Talk 71 - Talk 90
May 7th, 2025 – Talk 91 - Talk 100
May 21st, 2025 – Talk 101 - Talk 115
June 4th, 2025 – Talk 116 - Talk 132
June 18th, 2025 – Talk 133 - Talk 145
July 2nd, 2025 – Talk 146 - Talk 162
July 30th, 2025 – Talk 163 - Talk 178
Assigned from the August 13th, 2025 study session –
read Talk 179 - the end of Talk 192
Orientation Call
Tune in to the recording of our introduction session from January 15, 2025 in which Gary and BJ introduce Ramana Maharshi, what we believe his teachings mean for the spiritual journey, and how we intend to facilitate the coming course in shared seeking.
