Alphabetized

*sadhana (Sanskrit, from the Root, sadh, `complete'). The spiritual practice of Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism; a path to liberation (*moksha) and power (siddhi/*iddhi) distinct from orthodox Vedic practice, which aims to unite the male-female polarity within the body, or to merge the individual self (jivatman) with the highest self (paramatman)...Tantric yoga includes *mantra repetition and *Kundalini yoga...In general, to perform sadhana, initiation (*diksha) is needed from a *guru who will give the mantra and specify the appropriate practice in accordance with the disciple's personality, the lineage pf his guru (parampara), and his desired goal. Sadhana is practiced by both householders and renouncers. *Sadhu (Sanskrit, from the Root, Sadh, `accomplish'). One who has controlled his senses, a Hindu holy person who has renounced the world, and seeks Brahman, or God. The female equivalent is sadhvi. they are also known as Sant or `saint'. They may be formally initiated into an order (sampradaya), or they may be svatantra sadhus who follow the life and dress (if any: naked sadhus are known as naga sadhus) without formal initiation by a *guru. The extreme diversity of sadhus is effectively summarized by K. Narayan in "Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels" (1989): "There is no overarching structure to monitor all the different kinds of ascetics..., and even within the same sect or monastery sadhus may display a marked individuality. there are naked sadhus and ochre-colored sadhus; sadhus with matted Hair, and those with shining bare scalps; poor, wandering sadhus and jet-set, Rolls-Royce-transported sadhus; sadhus who interact with a handful of Indian villagers, and sadhus who hold forth to audiences of thousands in New York or Switzerland." In it's most general sense a sadhu is one who follows a *sadhana (path); while he is still on the path, he is known as a sadhaka; when he reaches the goal, he becomes a *siddha. *sahasrara (Sanskrit `thousand'). The *lotus (padma) or circle (*Chakra) which exits at or above the crown of the head, at the top of the sushumna nadi in Tantric esoteric anatomy of the suble body. It is the place where *Shiva and *Shakti are united, enjoying pepetual bliss. The *guru is also thought to dwell there, at one with the divine. The sahasrara is envisaged as a lotus, a symbol of purity, with innumerable petals and all their possible combinations. In the center of the lotus is the nectar of immortality (*amrta). The sahasrara is attained through the yoga of Kundalini. *Salat The ritual worship of the Muslim community; as worship through prayer, it is to be distinguished from , personal prayer or supplication by the individual or group. The words of the Salat are always in Arabic. Derived from the Syriac, or from Aramaic, where the root sl' means to bow or bend, the Arabic verb, salla, to perform the salat, is derived from the noun. *Samadhi (Sanskrit for, lit., 'application,' 'contemplation'.) 1. Hindu: a.A state of deep concentration resulting in union with or absorption into ultimate reality. b. religious trance. 2. Buddhist: meditative concentration that is the final step in the Eightfold Path. 3. Jainism: spiritual self-fulfilment. These definitions from the Webster's New International, Unabridged Dictionary, 3rd Ed. *samsara (Sanskrit for, lit., for 'passing through, completely') 1. Hindu-Buddhist: Indefinitely repeated cycles of birth, misery, and death, caused by Karma. 2. Hindu-Buddhist: Ever changing, finite temporal existance: life in society, contrasted with *Nirvana. Webster's New International, Unabridged Dictionary, 3rd Ed. *Satori (Japanese, Chinese, ). Zen term for the experience of awakening or enlightenment. It is derived from satoru, `know', but it has no connection in any ordinary sense. Retrospectively, satiri is the experience of the *Buddha, (Chinese, wu; Sanskrit, *bodhi), but in Zen it is more often used prospectively, of the enlightenment to which the disciple or pupil is now aspiring. A first enlightenment experience is known as *kensho, which may be followed by a small, then great, satori. The essence of satori remainsthe same, but the one who attains it gains in profundity within it. satguru for Sikhs, the supreme *Guru, i.e., God. More broadly, among Hindus, the term is an honorific title for gurus. *sefirot Jewish *kabbalistic term meaning God's emanations. There are ten sefirot that emerge from *Ein sof. Each one points to a differnet aspect of God's creative nature, and together they compose the world of divine light in the chain of being. All ten together form a dynamic unit, sometimes portrayed as a tree, by which God's activity is revealed. The three highest sefirot are the Supreme Crown, Wisdom, and Intelligence. The seven lower are: Love, Power, Beauty, Endurance, Majesty, Foundation, and Kingdom. the whole concept is influenced by gnostic thought and is an attempt to explain how a transcendant God can interact with the world. Here's a visual depiction. *Seraph Either of a species of serpent mentioned in `Holy Scriptures', or a TYPE of angelic being. In Numbers 21, God sends `seraph-snakes' to punish the Israelites and Moses makes a copper serpent when the Lord tells him to make a Seraph. In Isaiah's vision in the Temple he sees seraphim with 3 pairs of wings (ch. 6). These are clearly seen as divine beings and reminiscent of Ezekiel's cherubim (ch. 1). *Sermon on the Mount A collection of sayings of Jesus, presented in Matthew 5-7 as a single discourse give `on the mountain' (5-1). It includes the *Beatitudes, Lord's Prayer, *Golden Rule, and other ethical sayings. The `sermon on the plain' in Luke 6. 20-49 is somewhat parallel though shorter. *Shafa'a (Arabic, Shafa'a, 'double, repeat a prayer'). *Intercession in Islam. The *Qur'an insists that no intercession will be possible on the Day of *Judgement, which will evaluate a strict balance of good and evil works. However, the Qur'an allows an exception, either to whomsoever God allows it, or for whomsoever God allows it-the Arabic preposition can mean either. The latter is then a matter of God's *qadar (power to dispose) and opens the scope and practice of intercession widely; the former is supremely identified with *Muhammad, the efficacy of whose intercession becomes a matter of *ijma (agreed belief by consensus), making him something much closer to a redeemer. To Muhammad were then added many other intercessors, e.g. angelsd and martyrs (*shahid), and, among the *Shi'a, *Imams (especially for *Ithna 'Ashariy(y)a, *al-Mahdi), and *Fatima. shaikh Honorific title for Muslims who achieve eminence in various ways...Among Sufis, a shaikh is one who has attained spiritual mastery (pir in Persian) by submitting to the discipline and instruction of another shaikh. *Shakti (from Sanskrit, 'power'). Creative power in Hinduism manifested as Goddess and consort of *Shiva, [see below]. She is venerated under many aspects (e.g. each *Chakra is governed by a particularization of Shakti and many names (e.g. Durga, Kali, Amba) Devotion to Shakti is thus extremely diverse. (see the O.D.W.R. entry for Shaktism) *Shalom (Hebrew, `peace'). Common Hebrew greeting. `Shalom' indicates security, contentment, good health, prosperity, friendship, and tranquility of heart and mind. The Arabic equivalent, also used in greetings, is Salam. *Shaman-ism A Good Resource Page HERE! *Shanti (Sanskrit, 'tranquility'). Interior peace, personified in Hinduism as the daughter of Sraddha (faith), also a ritual for averting curses, adverse stellar and planetary influences, and bad *karma *Shekhinah (Hebrew, `dwelling'). The divine presence as described in Jewish literature. The Shekhinah is sometimes used to refer to God himself (`Is it possible for a man to walk after the Shekhinah?...Rather this means one should emulate the virtues of the Holy One', B.Sof. 14a), but generally it signifies God's presence in the world...The *kabbalists argued that the Shekhinah was the tenth and final *sefirot and represents the feminine principle. Everything that happens to Israel is reflected in the Shekhinah, and she is the first goal of the mystic in his attempt to achieve *devekut. In Islam, sakina is supreme peace sent by God to dwell in human lives (e.g. Quran 48. 4). In 2. 248, it refers to the Ark of the Covenant: `Their [the children of Israel] Prophet said to them, "A sign of his sovereignty is that there there shall come to you the Ark in which is a sakina from your Lord".' But in general Islam resisted any localization of the transcendent power of God. *Shiva (from Sanskrit for 'auspicious'). Major diety in Hinduism, the third in the Hindu trinity [or trimurti], along with *Brahma and *Vishnu. In the *Vedas, Shiva appears as an epithet of *Rudra, not as a separate manifestation of divine power...By the 2nd century BCE, Rudra was waning in significance, and Shiva began to obtain a separate powerful identity. In *Ramayana, he is a mighty and a personal god, and in *Mahabharata, he is at times the equal of *Vishnu, perhaps even the Creator of *Vishnu and *Brahma, worshipped by other gods. *Shtetl (from Yiddish, 'small town'. Jewish communities in E. Europe, 16th-early 20th Cents. Life in the shtetl is now well-known through the paintings of Marc Shagall and the stories of Sholom Aleichem. The pattern of life was eroded in the 20th cent. by pogroms, economic depression, emigration, and ultimately, the Holocaust. *Siddha (from Sanskrit, 'perfect,' 'complete'). In E. religions one who has attained the supreme goal, who may also have acquired the siddhi powers. The siddhi powers of a yogi include becoming invisible, leaving the body and re-entering it at will, reducing the size of one's body to that of a seed, or increasing it to the size of a mountain. Despite the warning of great teachers that these powers should not be pursued as and end in themselves, many yogis have deliberately cultivated siddhi powers. In Buddhism, the iddhi powers are comparable...Among Jains, siddhas are souls (*jiva), which have have attained release from karma and attained the goal. Siddharta, (Sanskrit) or Siddhatta (Pali) Personal name of the *Buddha. It means "he whose aim is accomplished.' Soma ( from Sanskrit, su, 'to press'). 1. Intoxicating or hallucinogenic juice or substance, offered in hunduism by the brahmans and other participants in sacrificial rituals...Because of its power, it was regarded as 'the food of immortality', i.e., of resisting death, amrita. The power of soma is manifested in the *Vedas in the god Soma, who is associated with *Agni; all 114 hymns of Rig Veda 9 are addressed to Soma. 2. Hindu Moon god who protects herbs and rides in a chariot drawn by white horses or antelopes. the moon is the cup of soma. Sufi Order in the West Established in London, in 1910 by Hazrat Inyat Khan (1882-1927), from Baroda, India. He was succeeded by Pir Vilayat Inayay Khan, (b. 1916), eldest son of the founder. The stated aims of the Order are to provide a vehicle for the transmission of spiritual truth in a manner that is consistent with modern, Western culture, and generally to act as a bridge between East and West. This form of the Sufi way focuses on the evolution of consciousness by realizing the common ground on which all things rest. This is referred to as the state of 'the one', the reality of the absolute which people strive to attain and which is found in God, Buddha, and Christ. The order holds services of universal worship and provides what are called alchemical retreats, drawing on practices from several religious, esoteric, and mystical traditions. See sufis, below. *sufis Muslims who seek close, direct, and personal experience of God, and who are often, therefore, described as mystics. Sufism is usually treated as a single phenomenon, although it is made up of different strands and styles. Whirling Dervishes are associated with the *Mawlawiy(y)a order - transliterated as Mevlevi. *suluk (Arabic, `journey'). Among , the mystic's progress on the way to GOD. It is a deliberate quest, beginning with one's initiation into a Sufi order, followed under the guidance of a , by the methodical purification of the self through stages or stations (maqamat). The sufi orders have their own individual programs of station for the salik, the own who pursues this journey...It is an endless journey for it leads to the Infinite Being, *Allah...the journey does not lead to a union of GOD and the human, but merely a union of will...All Sufi orders consider love of GOD to be the dynamic force that propels the salik during the course of suluk, and it is the power of love that attracts and leads humans to knowlwdge. Since Allah's knowlwdge is infinite, the salik is forever gaining an infinite series of illuminations that have neither end nor limit. *sunyam In Indian mathematics, the sign for `nought' or zero. Its decimal potential, in combination with integers, enabled the Hindu imagination to create vast numbers--simply by adding to 1, 2, etc., an infinite series of zeros. Equally, the emptiness of zero opened up the conceptualization of *Brahman without attributes (*nirguna), and pointing toward *sunyata in Buddhism. Among *Bauls, the *guru is sometimes called sunya. *sunyata, or Suññatta (Sanskrit, Pali, `emptiness'; Chinese, k'ung; Japanese, ku; Korean, kong). In early Buddhism, the term Suññatta is used primarily in connection with the `no-self' (*anatman) doctrine to denote that the Five Aggragates (*skandhas) are `empty' of the permanent self or soul which is erroniously imputed to them. By extension, the term came to be applied to reality as a whole: just as the individual is `void' of a self, in the sense of an unchanging controlling agency, so too is the whole universe `void of a self or anything belonging to a self'. (suññam attena va attaniyena va). Emptiness...(became) a fundamental characteristic of *Mahayana Buddhism. the teaching is subtle and its precise formulation a matter of sophisticated debate, since the slightest misunderstanding is said to obstruct progress toward final liberation. Emptiness is never a generalized vacuity, like an empty room, but always relates to a specific entity whose emptiness is being asserted. In this way up to twenty kinds of emptiness are recognized, including the emptiness of emptiness. To the untrained mind reality appears to consist of subjects, objects, and their relationships, all existing in their own right (svabhava, `own-being' or `essence'), which are therefore clung to or avoided as the real sources of happiness or misery. when these entities are seen as space-like rather than particle-like, clinging and avoidance ceases and liberation results... swami from the Sanskrit for 'owner', 'master'. Title of respect for a holy man or teacher. tao (from Chinese, 'way'. Central concept of Taoism Consult the O.D.W.R. for the full entry. It supplies the name of this philosophical and religious system. In Confucian usage, tao is (as the pictogram suggests) 'teaching', and the way humans should follow'. In Lao-tzu (Tao-te ching), Tao becomes the source from which all appearance derives, the unproduced Producer of all that is, and the guarantor of its stability and regularity. (For a literal translation of some of the Tao Te Ching, including original calligraphic characters, The Spirit of the Tao Te Ching). tathagata (Pali, Sanskrit; Chinese, ju-lai; Japanese, nyorai; Korean, yotae: usually left untranslated; if translated, then as 'Thus-gone', or 'Truth-finder'). According to Buddhist tradition, the title chosen for Buddha by himself. The title was intended to convey his identity as a perfect being, though the precise meaning of the word remains problematic. Etymologically, it can be read as (i) 'thus-gone' (tatha gata) or 'thus-come' (tatha agata), generally taken to mean 'one who has gone (or come)' i.e. attained emancipation; (ii) 'one come (agata) to the truth (tatha)'. The etymology may itself be suspect, however, since it is not certain whether the word is Sanskrit or vernacular in origin. Theravada (Pali, 'teaching of the elders [of the order])'. *U (japanese, `being'). Existent appearance, in Japanese Buddhism, in contrast to *mu. It is therefore the constituent cause of appearance, as well as the state produced by the working out of *Karma. *Valmiki Legendary author of the epic *Ramayana, which he claimed to have visualized in the Vedas; in fact, *Ramayana bears signs of different layers of composition, but Valmiki may have been a Kusilava ('bard') who introduced the sloka, the epic meter of two lines, each of two parts with eight syllables in each, which was used also for much of the *Mahabharata. *Vishnu The 'pervader', or perhaps the 'one taking different forms', A hindu god of little importance in the Vedas, (see *Veda) but subsequently a major diety, and a member of the Hindu 'trinity' (Sans., trimurti) He is preserver of the universe and the embodiment of goodness and mercy. Consult the O.D.W.R. for the full entry. *Wu (Chinese, `not/non-being'). Key concept in Taoism, denoting the absence of qualities perceivable by the senses, but not 'non-existent'. it is the basic characteristic of Taowhose of emptiness of attributes does not deprive it of character and effect, as Tao-te ching (11) tries to explain: 'Shape clay into a pot: it is the space in the hollow that makes it useful; open doors and windows for a room: it is the opening which illuminates and gives access'. To understand the emptiness of character in the Tao which nevertheless is its truth is to be drawn into becoming an expression of the same in one's own life, through active inactivity (*Wu-wei). Thus wu may also be the word through which the state of that realization is expressed. *Wu-chi (Chinese, `summit of nothingness'). According to Taoists, the primordial, unconfined, limitless source to which all manifestation returns; see *Fu *Wu-wei (Chinese, `not/non-doing'). The mode of being and action in Taoism which 'goes with the grain' of the way of Tao in bringing manifest forms into appearance. It is not total lack of activity, but, rather, active inactivity which allows the way of the Tao to be expressed. It is described in *Tao-te ching 48: 'The world is ruled by letting things run their course, not by interfering' Wu-wei was adapted into Buddhism (especially Ch'an/Zen), where it approximates more closely to 'the unconditioned'. *Yaum al-din The Day of Judgement in Islam, succeeding immediately the day of resurrection (*Yaum al-Qiyama), so that the two can be regarded as parts of the same event, and are often virtually synonymous. It is the day when each person's deeds will be weighed on an exact balance (Qur'an 7. 8f; 21. 47; 23. 102f; 101. 6-9), and the book of record for each person will be opened (10. 61; 17. 13f., etc.). No one can help another; but the possibility of intercession (*shafa'a), as it was accepted in Islam, modified the strict accounting. *Yaum al-Qiyama The day of resurrection in Islam. Referred to frequently in the *Qur'an as a matter of certainty (against the skepticism of *Muhammad's opponent's), it is likened to the power of God to bring new life from the dead earth. The descriptions of what it will be like are frequent and detailed. It is preceded by signs of the End, especially the appearance of *al-Dajjal (Anti-Christ) and of 'Isa/*Jesus who will destroy him (and/or of *al-Madhi to the same effect). there will then be a period of order and faith. At the first blast of the final trumpet, all will die; at the second, after an interval, all, including the previously dead, will be brought to life again. After a period of standing (and sweating) in the presence of *Allah, the day of judgement (*yaum al-din) begins. The division into heaven (Janna) and hell (jahannam) follows. yiddish (contracted from Yidish-daytsh, i.e., Jewish-German). Language used by *Ashkenazi Jews. Yiddish is related to German, but has many Slavic, Hebrew, and Aramaic words, and is written in the Hebrew script. Before the Holocaust, there were estimated to be 11 million speakers. Yin-Yang The two opposite energies in Chinese thought, from whose interaction and fluctuation the universe and its diverse forms emerge. They are the polar extremes of the unbounded *Tao of the supreme and ultimate source (*t'ai-chi) and from their intermingling arise the five elements (wu-hsing), which give rise to the myriad of forms, and to history and time. The yin-yang symbol expresses this interaction, the with the two spots (white in the dark, dark in the white) indicating that each of the two contains the seed of the other and is about to produce the replication of its opposite in interaction. All oppositions can be mapped onto yin and yang, yin representing e.g. the feminine, yielding, receptive, moon, water, clouds, even numbers, and the yang the masculine, hard, active, red, the sun, and odd numbers. ZEN (from Japanese,'zenna' or 'zenno' - from Chinese ch'an-na, or ch'an, - from *dhyana) A coalition of related ways for attaining realization, even beyond enlightenment, of the true nature underlying all appearances, including one's own-and above all, that there is no duality within appearances, but only the one buddha-nature. Ch'an/Zen is summarized in the four lines attributed to *Boddhidharma, the key figure who, according to tradition, transmitted the *dharma from India to China. (see the Dictionary for the full entry) Back to the TOP of this Page?