Glossary

• Aarti: A devotional ceremony in which a lighted lamp (or lamps) is used to honour any form of divinity.
  
  
• Aum: See Om.
  
  
• Bhakti: Love of or devotion to God.
  
  
• Charan: Feet (used as mark of respect). English does not have an equivalent word. The phrase 'lotus feet' extends the same reverence, however.
  
  
• Chela: Disciple. Another word is shishya and sikh (which means one who learns).
  
  
• Darshan: Sight of holy figure/saint. The meaning extends to having direct perception of God.
  
  
• Dharma: Translates into 'that which upholds or supports' (from the root 'Dhr' - to hold). Dharma signifies the underlying order or the fundamental principles that ensure justice and righteousness in nature and life. Various cultures and spiritual savants have used other words to denote the root order behind all creation: the Tao, rti, hukm, etc.
  
  
• Guru: Literally comes from the Sanskrit gu meaning darkness and ru meaning light. In short, one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. Similar to Satguru, which by amplification means existence (sat) as embodied in the form of the Guru. The guru being a non-personal channel, through whom the disciple is led to the Truth or God or whatever you like. The Guru is higher even than God.
  
  
• Karma: Deeds, actions, the sum total of deeds. Karma is what you sow in the form of your actions.
  
  
• Kripa: Grace of Guru. Its cause cannot be determined. It is an unobstructed, omnipotent, kind power.
  
  
• Langar: Food blessed with the Guru's grace and usually had at a place of worship. May also be referred to as a bhandara.
  
  
• Lila: The creator's drama, play or sport. Note that lila covers the ground of duality: in sport, there is winning and losing, the good and the bad, the hero and the villain, the beneficial as well as the malefic.
  
  
• Linga: The absolute form of Lord Shiva. Seen as an oblong structure in temples. In the linga, Lord Shiva is not seen as a person or even a force with personality, but as the absolute, incorporeal, non-dual being.
  
  
• Mandir: Temple, house of worship.
  
  
• Maya: The illusory matrix that veils reality. Maya is the very fabric of creation; it is that which makes the mirage seem real.
  
  
• Om: (Or Aum) Known in Sanskrit as Pranava. It is said to be the sound that prevades all creation. It is Onkara. The sound formed by chanting Om is said to contain all the sounds of the constituent letters of Sanskrit alphabet. As written in Sanskrit, the lower three curves of OM represent three stages of the human mind's progression from ignorance and suffering to clarity and happiness. The dot above represents the infinite true non-ego self, the source of bliss. Separating the dot from the three lower curves is a horizontal curve, which represents maya, Sanskrit for the illusory quality of the world.
  
  
• Paath: Meditation, or a specific meditational or devotional rite. See also puja.
  
  
• Prasada: Eatables blessed with the grace of the Guru at a place of worship.
  
  
• Puja: Inclusive term referring to any form that devotion takes; may also refer to specific rituals.
  
  
• Samadhi: Strictly, the last stage of Patanjali's eight-step yoga, in which the spiritual aspirant immerses in cosmic bliss. By extension but not accurately, it can refer to an extraordinary spiritual experience in which the individual loses himself in a torrent of bliss.
  
  
• Sangat: A devotional fellowship. A gathering of followers who share bonds of brotherly love and mutual respect. The Guru sits in the heart of the sangat and is their sole provider, protector, and benefactor. The sangat is meaningless without devotion to the guru.
  
  
• Saraswati: The Goddess of Learning, she is generally depicted seated on a white lotus with a stringed musical instrument, the vina, and a book on her hands.
  
  
• Satsang: Literally, the company (sang) of truth (sat). Satsanga refers to a spiritual setting in which a religious dialogue takes place. This discourse could involve listening to devotional tales or narrations of personal experiences of the divine. The Indian saints highly prize satsanga for its ability to bring about a transformation in the mind of the listener.
  
  
• Shabads: Classical devotional songs taking their inspiration from the holy Sikh scripture, Shri Guru Granth Sahib.
  
  
• Sharan: Sanctuary (of a Guru). To be in someone's sharan is to be under his protective umbrella, or to take refuge.
  
  
• Shiva: ('auspicious'). Major deity and the third in the Hindu trinity (with creator Brahma and preserver Vishnu). Lord Shiva symbolizes the resurrection that places after destruction, and is also acknowledged to be the supreme deity. He is the only deity to be worshipped in the form of a linga. His other well-loved names are Mahesh, Maheshwara, Shankara.