Glossary

Read the Ashram’s Gujhya Gyan library for introductions to Tantra, consciousness and Indian spiritual traditions.

Ācāra

conduct, observance or mode of practice; classification varies by text.

Āgama

“that which has come down”; a revealed scripture or scriptural class, especially in Śaiva, Śākta and Vaiṣṇava settings.

Āmnāya

transmission, sacred current or directional revelation; often used in lineage-specific schemes.

Bhairava

a formidable and transcendent form/name of Śiva central to several tantric traditions.

Bhakti

devotion, loving participation or relationship with the divine.

Bhagavad Gītā

the Krishna–Arjuna dialogue in the Mahābhārata, often called the Gītā or Geeta; a teaching on dharma, karma yoga, knowledge and devotion.

Bīja

“seed”; a condensed mantra syllable associated with a deity or power. Many uses are initiation-specific.

Chakra

wheel, circle or center; in subtle-body maps, one of several possible lotus-like centers. Systems vary.

Darśana

seeing and being seen by the sacred; also a philosophical viewpoint or system.

Devī

Goddess; “the shining/divine one.”

Dīkṣā

initiation or consecration that authorizes and transforms a practitioner's relationship to a path.

Guru

a teacher of spiritual weight or authority; the role does not remove ethical accountability.

Guhya

hidden, secret, inward, protected or esoteric.

Jñāna

knowledge, insight or liberating understanding.

Itihāsa

“thus it happened”; the sacred narrative class that includes the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata.

Kaula

a wide family of tantric currents associated with *kula* (“family,” “totality,” “embodied group”), interpreted differently across sources.

Kālīkula

families of Goddess traditions centered on Kālī and related forms.

Kuṇḍalinī

“coiled one”; a transformative power described differently in yogic and tantric systems.

Maṇḍala

a structured sacred field, circle, domain or diagram used in ritual and contemplation.

Mahābhārata

the Sanskrit itihāsa of the Bhārata lineage, the Pāṇḍava–Kaurava war at Kurukṣetra, and the Bhagavad Gītā.

Mantra

a consecrated sound-form, syllable, name, phrase or verse used within a defined tradition.

Mudrā

seal, gesture or embodied configuration; meaning depends on artistic and ritual context.

Nāḍī

channel in subtle-body maps; not identical with a nerve or blood vessel.

Nyāsa

ritual “placing” or installation, often of mantra or deity aspects in the body; detailed sequences may be restricted.

Pāñcarātra

a major Vaiṣṇava scriptural and ritual tradition associated with Nārāyaṇa/Vāsudeva worship.

Pāṇḍava

a son or descendant of Pāṇḍu. The five Pāṇḍavas (Pancha Pandavas) are Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva.

Paddhati

a liturgical manual or customary sequence of worship (pūjā paddhati). Methods vary by deity, region and lineage; this site does not invent Foundation ritual steps.

Prāṇa

life-breath or vital process; meanings extend beyond ordinary respiration.

Pratyabhijñā

recognition; especially associated with nondual Śaiva philosophy of recognizing consciousness's universal nature.

Pūjā

worship through offerings, attention and hospitality to divine presence.

Purāṇa

a broad class of Sanskrit narrative and religious texts involving cosmology, genealogy, sacred places, deities and devotion.

Rāmāyaṇa

the itihāsa of Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa, Hanumān and the conflict with Rāvaṇa; Vālmīki's Sanskrit poem is the classical literary source among many tellings.

Sādhana

disciplined practice oriented toward realization or a religious goal.

Sahadeva

youngest of the five Pāṇḍavas in the Mahābhārata, twin of Nakula; also the name of this website's educational guide, taken from that figure of discernment.

Sampradāya

transmitted religious community, teaching lineage or tradition.

Śaiva

related to Śiva or Śaiva traditions.

Śākta

related to Śakti/Devī or Goddess traditions.

Śakti

power, capacity or divine energy; also the Goddess as ultimate reality in Śākta traditions.

Srichakra

sacred diagram central to Śrīvidyā (also written Śrīcakra); not generic decorative geometry.

Śrīkula

Goddess traditions oriented toward Śrī/Tripurasundarī, commonly contrasted with Kālīkula in broad classifications.

Siddhi

accomplishment, perfection or extraordinary capacity; pursuit of powers is ethically and spiritually contested.

Tantra

depending on context, a scripture, system, doctrine or the broad family of traditions discussed in this collection.

Tattva

principle, reality-category or constituent used to map manifestation and experience.

Upaniṣad

a diverse body of texts concerned with ultimate reality, self, knowledge, death, ritual interiorization, devotion and later yogic ideas. There is no single count: a traditional list names 108; a principal (mukhya) group of about ten to thirteen is most often studied.

Vajrayāna

“Diamond/Thunderbolt Vehicle”; a broad name for tantric Buddhist paths, internally diverse.

Veda

the ancient, layered Sanskrit revelation. There are four Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda, each with associated Saṃhitā, Brāhmaṇa, Āraṇyaka and Upaniṣad strata.

Yantra

instrument or sacred diagram whose identity belongs to a specific deity, text and use.