DEFINITIONS

Alphabetized

*Illuminati: Either 16th century Spanish mystical sects; or a German secret society founded in 1776. The Spanish illuminati or *Alumbrados, appear to have been founded by Antonio de Pastrana at the end of the 16th century.They believed in a form of pure contemplation and absorption into GOD, practiced severe mortifications, and claimed visions and the power of prophecy...The German Illuminati, founded by Johann Adam Weishaupt (1740-1830), pursued progressive illumination through initiation into the successive stages of their society, involving the study of philosophy and the arts. They believed themselves to be those who received the illuminating grace of Jesus Christ, but (or 'therefore')they rejected other religions and organizations. They sought to establish a fraternal and classless society, on the basis of strict discipline (Weishaupt had been trained as a Jesuit). They were also known as the Perfectibilists. Though outlawed in 1784/5, the society re-emerged at the end of the 19th century, only to disappear again under the Nazis* [*my Italics]
(If you've already read Cosmic Trigger, you might think this definition is a tad bit...incomplete - LOL! If you've heard of neither, go here. . .and remember, if you could be on a space ship 10,000 miles straight out from the south pole, but parallel to the equator and saw someone standing on the "south pole", they'd be "upside down", even though the sky looked like up to them...LOL!)
*Immanence: (Latin, immanere, 'to inhabit'). The presence of actions, or of God, in the world, usually in such a way that the source of the action or presence remains distinct. Thus for the *scholastics, an immanent action is one in which the action remains within the subject and does not modify the object (such as seeing); for *Spinoza, a distinction between causa immanens and causa transciens allowed the causality of God to be immanent in nature. But more usually the word is used of the relation of God to the created order. The total transcendance of the unproduced producer of all that is would allow no relation to a created order; consequently, all theistic religions allow some degree, or mode, of God's self manifestation, and thus to be the body of God.
*Jagadguru: (Sanskrit, 'world teacher').
*jhana: (from the Pali, Sanskrit, 'meditation', 'absorption'). In traditional Buddhism, the scheme of meditational practice which leads to *samadhi; the different stages within that scheme; any kind of mental concentration or effort. Consult the O.D.W.R. for the full entry.
*Jihad: (Arabic, jahada, 'he made an effort'). More fully, jihad fi sabil *Allah, "striving in the cause of God". Jihad is usually translated as 'holy war', but this is misleading. Jihad is divided into two categories, the greater and the lesser: the greater jihad is the warfare in oneself against any evil or temptation. the lesser jihad is the defense of Islam, or of a Muslim country or community, against aggression. It may be a jihad of the pen or of the tongue. If it involves conflict, it is strictly regulated, and can only be defensive. Thus Muhammad said:

"In avenging injuries inflicted upon us, do not harm non-belligerents in their homes, spare the weakness of women, do not injure infants at the breast, nor those who are sick. Do not destroy the houses of those who offer no resistance, and do not destroy their means of subsistance, neither their fruit trees, nor their palms."

Jihad cannot be undertaken to convert others because there 'cannot be compulsion in religion' (Qur'an 2. 256). If these regulations seem on occasion to be ignored, that failure is an offense to be answered on the Day of Judgement (*Yaum al-din). One who takes part in a jihad is known as a mujtahid. DD>(Japanese, 'the Time School'). A form of *Pure Land Buddhism founded by *Ippen in 1276. The main practice of Jishu is the constant repitition of the *nembetsu, as if, at each moment, one is on the point of death. Since Jishu originally had no temple, its adherents travelled about (like Ippen) encouraging the recitation of the nembetsu. For this reason, they are known as the Yugyo-ha, the school of wanderers.
*Jiva: (from Sanskrit, 'living').
*Jivanmukti: (from Sanskrit, 'liberated in this life'). In Indian religions, the condition of having attained enlightenment. (see *moksha, *mukti, *nirvana). A jivanmukti (one who has attained the condition) is in a state of being in the world but not of it, having reached beyond the human qualities of fear, desire, attachment, etc. though the physical body is still subject to disease, he is enlightened, no longer living in nor dominated by time, but rather in an eternal present without personal consciousness but with complete lucidity of consciousness and the possessor of all the powers (*siddhis). He has reached the supreme goal and simply allows his life to run out like the fuel of a candle...
St. *John of the Cross John and Teresa of Avila have their own page.
*Jubilee: (Hebrew, yovel). Biblical law requiring the release of slaves and the restoration of family property every fifty years. "Hallow the fiftieth year...it shall be a Jubilee to you and you shall return every man to his possession and his family." Leviticus 25. 10. The purpose of the law was to enable each Jew to begin life again on an equal basis and in possession of the original allocation of land at the time of the Conquest of the `Promised Land'. The agricultural laws of the sabbatical year (seventh of seven) applied in the Jubilee year, such as having the land to lie fallow. Since the law depended on the 12 tribes residing in the land of Israel the law fell into disuse after the return from the Babylonian Exile.
*Ka'ba(h): (Arabic, 'cube'). The building, deeply revered by Musilims, in the center of the great mosque at at Mecca, in the eastern corner of which, about 5 feet from the ground, is embedded the *Black Stone. The Ka'ba, about 35 feet by 40 feet, and 50 feet high, is called 'the house of *Allah, and is the focus of the daily *salat (ritual worship) of Muslims throughout the world, and of the annual hajj (pilgrimage). See the full entry in the O.D. of W.R.
karma: (from the Sanskrit, Pali: 'action', 'deed'; Chinese, yin-yuan; Japanese, innen; Korean, inyon). Karman, the law of consequence with regard to action, which is the driving force behind the cycle of re-incarnation or rebirth (*samsara) in Asian religions. According to karma theory, every action has a consequence which will come to fruition in either this or a future life, thus morally good acts will have positive consequences, whereas bad acts will produce negative results. Consult the O.D.W.R. for the full entry.
*Kensho: (Japanese, `seeing nature'). The Zen experience of enlightenment, when one's own nature is seen for what it truly is, not to be differentiated from the buddha-nature which pervades all appearance. It is thus indistinguishable from *satori, but the latter is used of the experience of the experience of the *Buddha or of the Zen patriarchs, kensho of the initial experience of others which still needs to be deepened. the term also applies collectively to those who have attained this state, the wise.
*Krishna: (Sanskrit, `black', `dark'). A composite figure in Hinduism, becoming eventually the eight and most celebrated *avatar(a) (incarnation) of *Vishnu. In the Rig Veda, the name appears, but is not connected with divinity. He is the son of the Vedic Devaki and her husband Vasudeva. He is also identified with the son of another Devaki, and is referred to in Chandogya Upanishad 3. 17. 6 as a scholar. The transformation of Krishna appears to have been a part of a longing (expressed in Bhagavata Purana) for a more personal than philosphical focus for religious devotion and progress: according to 1. 3. 27, Krishnas tu bhagavan svayam, `Krishna is Bhagavan himself.' He is prominent in the Mahabharata, and it is he who instructs Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita. The many legends told about him make him one of the most accessible figures of Hindu devotion *bhakti. See the full entry in the O.D. of W.R.
Kristallnacht: (German, `night of glass'). The night, 9 November 1938, on which Nazi ant-Semitism in Germany moved onto a newe level of ferocity: synagogues were burned down and Jewish-owned shops were looted and destroyed (hence the name, because the streets were covered in glass). From this point on, the mass deportations to concentration camps began. (I'm posting this LEST WE FORGET - my father, Marijan Kolic, was a teenaged guest worker from Croatia (HRVATSKA) in the mid-twenties...he was employed by the KRUPPWERKE in the Ruhr valley, and got beat up by `brown shirts' more than once before he moved to France).
*Kundalini: (Sanskrit). *Shakti (power) envisaged as a coiled snake at the base of the central channel (sushumna nadi) in the muladhara chakra of Tantric esoteric anatomy. Kundalini yoga is a means of attaining *samadhi and final liberation in Tantric sadhana. It is thought to be highly dangerous to practice this yoga without the guidance of a *guru See the full entry in the O.D. of W.R.
*lotus: (Sanskrit, Padma). Religious symbol in Eastern religions. Hinduism: The lotus represents beauty, and also non-attachment: as the lotus, rooted in mud, floats on water without becoming wet, so should the one seeking release live in the world without attachment.** More specifically, it represents centers of consciousness (*chakras) in the body. It is equated with the tree of life springing from the navel of (subsequently *Vishnu as Marayana) bearing the gods on its leaves.
Buddhism The lotus summarizes the true nature of those who float free of ignorance (avidya) and attain enlightenment (*bodhi). It is there for throne or seat of a Buddha, as in the Pure Land, it is the symbol of the Buddhist teaching.
*Mahayana: (Sanskrit, `great vehicle'; Chinese, ta-ch'eng; Japanese, Daijo; Korean, Taesung). The form of Buddhism prominent in Tibet, Mongolia, China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan. It regards itself as a more adequate expression of the *dharma than what it calls *Hinayana (Sanskrit, `Lesser' or `Inferior Vehicle'), a term it invented for forms of Buddhism superficially similar to but by no means identical with *Theravada, and elements of which it sometimes incorporates as preliminary teachings...*Zen claims a special wordless transmission that could not by its very nature have a literary witness...The distinctive teaching of the Mahayana is that of compassion for all sentient beings such that the practicianer delays his own *Nirvanauntil all other beings shall have been liberated. This is called the Great Compassion, while that of the Hinayana (which neceassarily ceases with personal nirvana), is called Small Compassion. The ideal practicioner is the *bodhisattva, i.e. one who has given birth to the *bodhicitta (Sanskrit, `Enlightenment-mind') which strives to manifest Great Compassion. Please see the full entry in the O.D. of W.R.
Mantra: Sanskrit, `instrument of thought'; Chinese, chou; Japanese, ju; Korean, chu). A verse, syllable, or series of syllables believed to be of divine origin, used in a ritual or meditative context in Indian religions. Mantras are used for the propitiation of the gods, the attainment of power (*siddha), and identification with a diety or the absolute, which leads to liberation from *samsara. First appearing in the *Vedic *Samhita (2nd millenium BCE), mantras take on a central role in sectarian Hinduism, and Buddhist and Hindu *Tantrism, especially in the Buddhist Mantrayana school (7/8th century CE).
There are three kinds of mantra: linguistically meaningful, such as namah shivaya, `homage to Shiva'; linguistically meangless, the *bija or `seed' mantras, such as om ah hum; and combined, such as the Buddhist *om mane padme hum, `om jewel in the lotus hum', Bijas have esoteric significance, and are often the compacted forms of the names of gods or texts. For example, the bija pram is said to be the essence of the voluminous Astasaharika Prajñaparamita; or krim is the essence of *Krishna.
*Martyr: (Greek, martus, 'witness'). One who suffers death on behalf of his or her faith, often for refusing to renounce it. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions has entries for Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Sikhism. In the way of a personal note, the history of martyring people is a record of some extremely "exotic", very GRUESOME (!!!) ways humans kill each other...a dream that more and more people on the planet share these days is that this behavior will someday (SOON???) become part of the INFANCY of the evolving human story. So MOTE it BE -- Jesse
*Mawlawiy(y)a: A Dervish order, known colloquially as 'whirling dervishes'. The name is derived from mawlana ('our master'), a title of *Jalal al-din al-Rumi. The dance induces trance- and ecstatic states, and is undertaken by pivoting on the right foot, while engaging in *dhikr (concentration on God). The Mawlawiy(y)a Order embraces a wider constituency and range of practices than this (although the two are often identified). The Order was of great importance in the Ottoman Empire, not least in the developement of music and calligraphy. The name is often transliterated as Mevlevi.
*merit: In Christian thought, the recognition by God that certain works are worthy of reward. In Catholic teaching -deriving ultimately from statements about reward in the New Testament (e.g. Matthew 5. 46; Romans 2. 6; 1 Corinthians 3. 8)-merit has a central place, although it is emphasized that merit de condigno (`of worthiness') must be acquired in a state of *grace and with the assistance of actual grace. Protestant theology denies or limits merit as efficacious in salvation: created beings can never establish any claim upon God or earn any reward from him; otherwhise salvation is a matter of works and not God's grace...
In Buddhism, merit and its transfer form one of the most important parts of the dynamic of society. The acquiring of merit and its transfer to others is an important way in which monks and laypeople interact. See *dana, *punya.
Among Jains, there are seven types of activity which are conducive tp progress in rebirth (punyakshetra): donating an image, or a building to house an image, paying for the copying of holy texts, giving alms to monks, or to nuns, assisting laymen, or laywomen, in their religious activities or other needs.
*Messiah: (Adaptation of Hebrew, ha-mashiah, `the anointed one' also transliterated haMashiach).
Judaism Anointed descendant of the Jewish king David who will restore the Jewish kingdom. The idea of the messiah did not exist before the second Temple period., but grew out of the biblical hope that the house of David would again rule over the Jewish people. The so-called `Messianic oracles' in the Prophets (e.g. Isaiah 7. 14; 9. 1-6) do not look for a distantly future king, but express the hopes vested in the new-born royal child. The kings played a roll in the cult, representing the people before god-a role vividly expressed in the many royal psalms. The failure of the kings historically led to a reassessment during the Exile, when the future hope replaced present kingship. For a complete record of messianic aspirations up through modern times, see the entry in the O.D. of W.R.
Christianity Although at an early date the followers of Jesus were marked out as those who believed that Jesus was the promised messiah/christ (Acts II. 26, `It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians'), Jesus appears to have resisted any attempt to interpret what he was doing and saying in his God-derived way thought that category-to such an extent that it gave rise to the theory of the messianic secret (Albert Schweitzer wrote of this). Jesus in fact interpreted himself through the phrase (it was not even a title), `the son of man', as the one who is not a supernatural figure, like an angel or a messiah, but who is subject to death (son of Adam), yet who demonstrates the `power' (dunamis) of God to change life through himself. See the O.D. of W.R. for the full entry.
Islam In Islam, al-Masih is a description (almost a name, except that the Arabic article is never dropped) for Isa/Jesus: `O Maryam, see, Allah promises you a word from him whose name is al-Masih, Isa b. Maryam' (Qur'an 3. 45). In modern Arabic, Christians are often called Masihiy(y)un, rather than the older Nasara. Less exactly, Muslim beliefs about *al-madhi are sometimes referred to as messianism.
*Moksha: (from Sanskrit, muk or moks, 'release', 'liberation'). The fourth and ultimate (Artha) goal of Hinduism, release from the round of death and rebirth, *Samsara. This is attained when one has overcome ignorance (avidya) and desires. The routes heading toward moksha are. in effect, a map of 'Hinduism': the *Bhagava-gita tries to reconcile the different forms of *Yoga, *Jñana, Karma, and *Bhakti, as all having their place. Although moksha is the *soteriological goal of Hinduism, it is paradoxically not a goal at all, since its attainment depends upon one's abandonment of all desire and attachment, including the desire for moksha. Moksha is the transcendence of all goals. Its attainment...marks the end of rebirth or suffering. For Jains, moksha is emancipations from the empidements of karma, and this lies beyond enlightenment.
*Mu: (Japanese; Chinese, `wu'). Zen emptiness of content, nothingness, closely related to *sunyata. *Dogen explored ways of illuminating the buddha-nature (*bussho), which is emplty of self, but which produces apparent form. In the central exchange between Dogen and his successor, Koun Ejo, Dogen asked, 'What is your name?' He replied, 'There is a name, but not an everyday name.' He asked, 'What is it?' He replied, 'Buddha-nature.' Dogen said, 'You have no Buddha-nature.' He said, 'You say I do not have it because Buddha-nature is emptiness.' From this arises the first *koan of the Wu-men-kuan (Mumonkan), which introduces the Zen student to 'The world of mu': 'A monk asked master *Chao-Chou respectfully, "Does a dog actually have a Buddha-nature or not?" He replied, "Mu"'. The opposite is *U
*mudra: (Sanskrit, `seal', `sign'). In both Hinduism and Buddhism, a sign of power, through the body, especially the hands.
In Hindusim, the mudras of ritual worship (puja) are an outward and visible sign of spiritual reality which they bring into being. Thus mudras frequently appear in Hindu sculpture (as they do in Jain and Buddhist), especially *dhyana (meditation, hands linked in front of body with palms upward), *Abhaya-vacana (fear-repelling, hand lifted, palm outward), and varada (hand held out, palm upward, bestowing bounty). The añjali mudra is the best-known to the outsider, since it is the `palms together', at the level of the chest, greeting in India. As a mudra, it expresses the truth underlying all appearances. In Buddhism, (Chinese, yin-hsiang; Japanese, in-zo; Korean, insang), a mudra is a particular configuration of the hands accompanying a *mantra and associated with a visualization or other mental act, the three elements together (called by Kukai `the union of the three mysteries', Japanese, sammitsu kaji) possessing sacramental efficacy in regard to a particular deity or liturgical action. Also it refers to iconographically determined gestures.
*Mu-ichimotsu: (Japanese, 'not one thing'). A Zen extension of *Mu, emphasizing that no phenomenon has any substantial, underlying, permanent foundation-as *sunyata also confirms.
*Mujodo-no-taigen: (Japanese, 'the embodiment of the unsurpassable way'). The embodiment of of Zen enlightenment (*satori, *kensho) in the midst of everyday life. It is the realization of the buddha-nature (*satori, *bussho). with no residue of worldly attachment left. It is the continuous state of *samadhi. It does not occur with satori, but can only be attained on its foundation, probably after many further appearances.
*Mukta: (from Sanskrit, muc, 'release'). In Hinduism, on who has attained *Moksha or *Mukti. One whose liberation from attachment and desire occurs during one's life is a *jivanmukta; one whose liberation occurs in the discarnate state after death is a videha-mukta. Attainment of *jivanmukta is *dharma of the *samnyasa *asrama. A jivanmukta, though released, remains in this world due to unripened karmic residues (karmasayas), as a potter's wheel continues to turn once the potter's hand is removed.
*Mukti: (from Sanskrit, muc, 'release'). In Vedic Sanskrit, mukti meant release from the limitations of the body and the mind, effected by ritual action. Later ther term became identified with *moksha. This is the term used by Sikhs for liberation from successive rebirths.
*nafs: (Arabic; cf. Hebrew, nephesh). The individual self or soul in Islam, which exists in conjunction with ruh. In the Quran, nafs is sometimes nothing more than a reflexive pronoun (`you, yourself'). But it also has a stronger content as `living person' (21. 35f.), and as the self or soul removed by God at death (39. 43). It is the subject of accountability at the DAY OF JUDGEMENT (Yaum al-Din). Ruh (cf. HebrewRuah) is the breath breathed into humans by God to create living beings, and is thus less individualized, but it carries consequential meaning of a speaking being, hence something like `spirit'. Nafs is frequently the lower self, the self with appetites and passions, `the soul which incites to evil' (12.53). Ruh is the humanizing spirit, the active intellect which (for classic Muslim philosophers) is continuous with the primordial or First Intellect, and this raises humans above the level of animals and even angels. (*Ruh ALLAH) is the name of Jesus/Isa in Quran 4. 169, and by implacation, of Adam (15. 29), perhaps reflecting the symmetry of first Adam/Second Adam in Paul.
*Nanak: (1469-1539 CE). First *Sikh *Guru, and founder of the Sikh religion. His teachings form the basis of Sikh theology. The Mul mantra encapsulates Nanak's assurance that God is one, the creator of all, and immune from death and *rebirth. He is formless and immanent as realized in the mystical union to which human *bhakti (devotion) is directed. To refer to God, Nanak used many Hindu and Muslim names (e.g. *Hari, *Ram, Khuda, *Sahib), but especially *Sat(i)nam, i.e. his Name is Truth, as opposed to illusion.
*Nirvana: (from Sanskrit, 'extinction'; Chinese, nieh-pan; Japanese, nehan; Korean, yulban). The final goal and attainment in Indian religions. In Hinduism, nirvana is the extinguishing of worldly desires and attachments, so that the union with God or the Absolute is possible. In Buddhism there is no Self or soul to attain any state or union after death. Nirvana therefore represents the realization that that is so. It is the condition of absolute cessation of entanglement or attachment, in which there is, so to speak, that state of cessation, but no interaction or involvement...It does not mean 'extinction', a view which the Buddha repudiated. That is why nirvana can receive both negative (what it is not) and positive (what it is like) descriptions, though it cannot, in fact be described. For other differences between the Hindu and Buddhist views, consult the O.D.W. R.
om, or aum: The most sacred syllable in Hinduism, which first appears in the *Upanishads. It is often regarded as the seed of all mantras, containing as it does, all origination and dissolution. It is known as pranava, or 'reverberation', and is the supreme aksara, or 'syllable'.
OM MANE PADME HUM: (Tibetan pronunciation: om mane pehme hung).
*prasad(a): 1. In Hinduism, the sense (especially in the Upanishads) of the free action of favor or *grace, coming to the assistance of individuals and helping them toward *moksha (release): `When favored by Brahman, the self (*atman) attains immortality' (Svetasvatara Upanishad 1. 6). Katha Upanishad puts it even more strongly: `This atman [i.e. the recognition *Tat Svam asi] cannot be attained by instruction, or by intellect, or by learning. He can be attained only by the one whom he chooses: to such a one that atman reveals his own nature' (2. 23). `Grace' is thus opposed to `works' (i.e. the strict working out of *karma). See S. Kulandran, Grace in Christianity and Hinduism (1964); The entry for Sikhism in the O.D. of W.R. also discusses the importance of grace for Sikhs.
2. Food offerings, which are then shared among worshippers, carrying with them spiritual effect.
3. Peace of mind received, without effort, as a gift.
rabbi: Hebrew for 'my master'. Jewish learned man, who has received ordination. In Reform congregations, since 1972, it may also be a woman.
*Ramayana Listed on Sacred Texts page.
Rain: Hebrew 'geshem'). A recurrent theme in Jewish liturgy (see esp. the tractate *Ta'anit), perhaps reflecting the agricultural base of life in the biblical period. It was a mark of the *messiah's connection with God that he would mediate rain to the land: this arises directly from the way in which the kings in Judah were involved in rain-making rituals in the cult; these persisted in *Sukkot as practiced in the *Hasmonean period, even though there is no hint of them in the Torah's regulations--one of the major conflicts between Sadducees (who wished to floow Torah alone) and Pharisees (who wished to continue custom).
rebbe: Yiddish for 'teacher'. Title given by the Hasidim to their spiritual leader.
*Recollection: The concentration of one's mental powers, especially the will, on the presence of God, perhaps best known as one of *Teresa, of Avila's states of prayer. More generally, a state of composedness in one's everyday life as a result of which one's sense of the presence of God is only barely subconscious. It requires the deliberate 'gathering together within oneself of the vagabond mind'. My emphasis -Jesse.
*redemption: Judaism The Hebrew words padah and ga'al were used originally of commercial transactions, implying the existence of prior obligations. Ga'al is also used of the brothers of someone who has died childless: they are under the obligation to `redeem' the name of the deceased (Ruth 4. 1-10; Deuteronomy 25. 5-10). The goel is the blood-avenger of Numbers 35. 12-29; in Job 19. 25 (translated of old, `I know that my redeemer liveth') it is a legal term: `I know that my advocate is active'. These basic meanings were all transferred as metaphors for God's activity, nature, and commitment.
According to the biblical Prophets amd the Psalmist, God will redeem his people from oppression (Isaiah 1. 27) and death (Hosea 13. 14), and he is described as the `father of orphans, defender of widows' (Psalm 68. 6)...The kabbalists understood redemption as a process by which the *Shekhinah returns to God and the unity of the Godhead is fully restored. In modern times, redemption tends to be understood as the triumph of good over evil in human history or in the individual's personal life.
Christianity In Christian theology, the term is inherited from the New Testament, where it is associated with the death of Christ (e.g. Ephesians 1.7). See *Atonement. The actual metaphor of `redeeming' or `ransoming' has been more prominent in some formulations than others, and has caused well-known problems when pressed: e.g. whether the price or ransom is thought of as paid to Satan or to God himself...the term is now used of the process whereby the human race is restored to that communion with God, for which it was created, through the salvific work of Christ.
More loosely still, redemption is...applied to salvific processes and achievements on other religions-e.g. the work of *bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism.
*Richard Rolle: (c.1300-49). Christian hermit and mystic. Born near Pickering in Yorkshire, he became a hermit as a young man, latterly near the convent of Cistercian nuns at Hampole, where he died, perhaps of the Black death. His writings, both in Latin and English, give expression to a highly affective mystical experience of 'heat', 'sweetness', and 'song'.
Be it known to all manner of people in this wretched dwelling-place of exile abiding, that no man may be embued with love of endless life, nor be anointed with heavenly sweetness, unless he truly be turned to God. It behoves truly he be turned to him . . . before he may be expert in the sweetness of God's love. He was very influential in medieval England, especially through his lyrics and vernacular writings, though his emphasis on experience was regarded as suspect in in his own time, notably by the author of the *Cloud of Unknowing
*Ruah ha-Qodesh.: (Hebrew, Holy Spirit).
*Rudra: (from Sanskrit 'roarer', or 'the ruddy one'). A Vedic storm god...sometimes identified with *Agni or *Indra, especially in connection with monsoon rains...he has two aspects, one associated with fertility, healing and welfare, the other associated with destruction, rage, and fear...Rudra the destructive power of lightning and thunder, his form is described as brilliant and dazzling, copper-coloured and ruddy. He is armed with lightning bolts and arrows.

Back to the TOP of this Page?

NEXT
PAGE?