Submitted by SHABDA - Preceptor on
http://www.prem-rawat-bio.org/library/santmat/glossary.html
GLOSSARY OF ORIENTAL TERMS - Taken from the PHILOSOPHY OF THE MASTERS
A
ABHYAS - Spiritual practice; spiritual exercise.
ABHYASI - One who performs abhyas.
ADI - Primal; first; original.
ADI GRANTH or ADI GRANTH SAHIB - Original scriptures; sacred scripture of the Sikhs, compiled by the fifth Guru Arjan Dev. It contains teachings of the various Sikh Gurus and Bhaktas, as well as of other Saints.
ADI PURAN - Ancient Hindu mythological books.
AD PURKH or AD PURUSH - Primal Lord.
AD SHABD or AD SHABDA - Primal Sound; Primal Word; Primal Music.
AGAM LOK - Lit. the Inaccessible Region; esoterically, the name of the seventh Spiritual Region, which is next to the Highest.
AGAM PURUSH - The Lord of the seventh Spiritual Region.
AHIMSA - Non-violence or abstinence from injury by thought, word or deed.
AKAL - Timeless; beyond birth and death.
AKAL PURUSH or AKAL PURKH - The Lord who is beyond the limits of time; this name is particularly used in the Granth Sahib; same as Sat Purush.
AKAL STUTI - Praise of the Lord; name of a book by Guru Gobind Singh.
AKASH - Sky; heavens; matter that surrounds the earth beyond the air; ('ether' for want of a better word).
AKASH BANI - Sound from the sky; heavenly melody; voice or teachings from heaven; esoterically, the Voice of God; Shabad; Word; Logos; Sound Current.
AKEH - That which cannot be spoken; indescribable.
ALAKH - Invisible; unseen; indescribable.
ALAKH LOK - Lit. the Invisible or Indescribable Region; esoterically, the name of the sixth Spiritual Region.
ALAKH PURUSH - The Lord of the sixth Spiritual Region.
ALAM-I-HAHOOT - Arabic name of the third Spiritual Region, called Daswan Dwar in Sanskrit.
ALAM-I-LAHOOT - Arabic name of the second Spiritual Region, called Trikuti in Sanskrit.
ALLAH - Arabic name of God; esoterically, the Lord of the first Spiritual Region.
AMAR DAS - See 'Sikh Gurus.'
AMI or AMRIT - Water of Immortality; Elixir; Nectar; Ambrosia.
AMRIT VELA - Time of Elixir; the time which is best suited for spiritual practice.
ANAHAD or ANAHAT, ANHAD or ANHAT - Unstruck ; limitless.
ANAHAD, ANAHAT, ANHAD or ANHAT SHABD - Unstruck Sound; Unstruck Music; the Word or the Spiritual Sound which is present in everyone and can be heard under proper conditions. This Sound takes one up to Sahansdal Kanwal. (See 'Shabd.').
ANAM, ANAMI or ANAMI PURUSH-The Nameless; the Absolute; the Highest Deity, Radha Swami, the Ruler of the eighth and the Highest Spiritual Region.
ANAND - Bliss.
AND or ANDA - The lower portion of Brahmand; the region between Pind and Brahmand.
ANDI MAN - Astral mind.
ANTARMUKH - Introvert; esoterically, one whose energies are directed to the realization of self, which is the first step to God-Realization.
ANTARMUKH HONEKE SADHAN - Method of withdrawing within oneself.
APREGREHA - Freedom from greed and covetousness or negation of desire for possessions beyond the very necessities of life.
ARATH - Wealth.
ARJAN, ARJAN DEV or ARJAN DAS - See 'Sikh Gurus.'
ARJAN or ARJUNA - One of the Pandavas and the hero of the Mahabharata. It was to him that Lord Krishna taught the doctrine known as Bhagavadgita.
ARSH - Sky; heaven; appellation of the first Spiritual Region, which is called Sahansdal Kanwal.
ARSH-I-AZEEM - The Great Heaven; esoterically, the second Spiritual Region, which is called Trikuti.
ARTH - Wealth.
ARTI - Lamp-waving ceremony; ceremonial worship; esoterically, the intense pull of the soul towards Shabd.
ASAN, ASANAS - Yogic posture or postures.
ASHTANG YOGA - The yoga of eight parts, the chief one being Pranayam or the holding of breath.
ASTEYA or ASTAIYA - Not to steal; abstaining from theft. ASTHOOL Gross; material.
ASTHOOL KARMAS - the karmas or results of gross (physical) actions.
ATMA - Soul; spirit.
ATMANAND - Spiritual Bliss.
ATMA PAD - Spirit pole or region; esoterically, the third Spiritual Region-Daswandwar - -where the soul is rid of all its coverings or fetters and shines in its own effulgence.
ATMA TATTWA - Spiritual essence; soul.
AWAGAWAN - Coming and going; birth and death.
B
BABA JAIMAL SINGH JI MAHARAJ - The name of the Founder of the Radha Soami Colony at Beas (Punjab). He was a devoted and highly advanced disciple of Swami Ji Maharaj and was appointed by Him to carry on the Spiritual Work, with headquarters in the Punjab. He left this world on December 29, 1903. Several months before He departed, He appointed Huzur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh Ji as His Successor. It was the Latter who named the place Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, in honor of His Satguru. In His Sacred Memory, a Bhandara is held annually on the 29th day of December at the Colony at Beas. He was born in Village Ghoman (Punjab) in July, 1839. For more information on this Great Saint, please refer to the Statistics and to the Introduction in "Spiritual Gems."
BABA JI - Same as Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj.
BACHAN - Word; discourse; saying; instruction; order; command.
BACHANS - Plural of Bachan.
BAHISHTI - Paradise; the same as Bakunth and Swarg.
GLOSSARY OF ORIENTAL TERMS 261
BAIKUNTH, BAIJUNTHA or BAIKUNTH LOK - The abode of Vishnu; the same as Bahisht and Swarg.
BAKSHISH - Gift.
BAIRAT SAROOT BHAGWAN - An appellation of the Ruler of Sahansdal Kanwal.
BALI - The monkey king of Kishkindhya, who was slain by Rama, and whose kingdom was given to his brother Sugriva, the friend and ally of Rama. He was supposed to be the son of Indra, and to have been born from the hair (bala) of his mother, whence his name.
BALMIKI - See 'Valmiki.'
BANG-I-ASMANI - The Muslim name for Akash Bani.
BANI - Teachings, particularly of the Saints, whether oral or written; text; esoterically, the Inner Sound or Shabd.
BEAS - The name of a small village, situated on the banks of the Beas River, in the Punjab.
BEEN or BEENA - A musical instrument, similar to the ancient lyre or lute; a stringed instrument.
BHAG - Portion; destiny; good fortune.
BHAGVADGITA - Literally, "The Song of the Lord." It embodies the teachings of Lord Krishna, given in the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield, and is the most popular book on Hindu Philosophy.
BHAGIRATH - The ancient Hindu Sage who invoked the Ganges and brought her down to this world.
BHAGWAN - Lord; also a term of respect and esteem applied to great Spiritual Personalities.
BHAGWAN KAPIL DEV or KAPILA - A celebrated Indian sage, the founder of the Sankhya philosophy. He is sometimes identified with Vishnu and sometimes with Agni. He is said to have destroyed the hundred thousand sons of King Sagara with a glance, according to ancient Hindu Mythology, which, of course, has an internal meaning and does not refer to the actual killing of any human being.
BHAGWAN KRISHEN - Same as Krishna.
BHAGWAT or BHAGAVATA PURANA - One of the eighteen Puranas.
BHAGWAT SKANDH, or SKANDA - One of the eighteen Puranas.
BHAI GUR DAS - A contemporary of the fourth, fifth and sixth Sikh Gurus, and who was acquainted with them and their contemporaries, especially Bhai Budha, an aged Sikh who had survived from the time of Guru Nanak.
BHAI MANI SINGH - A humble disciple of Guru Gobind Singh. He remained a celibate and devoted his life to the Guru's service.
BHAJAN - A form of spiritual practice; constant dwelling on the Lord; devotional songs; applying the spirit to the Internal Word or Shabd; also called Surat Shabd Yoga.
BHAKTA or BHAGAT - Devotee.
BHAKTI or BHAGTI - Devotion; worship.
BHAKTI MARG - Path of Devotion.
BHANA - Submission to the Will of the Lord; contentment with one's lot.
BHANDARA - Religious feast; large scale feeding of people; esoterically, the internal Spiritual Feast.
BHANWAR GUPHA - Lit. rotating cave; the fourth Spiritual Region.
BHAO or BHAU - Esoterically, love; affection.
BHISHAM or BHISHMA - Son of King Santanu, who was made Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Kauravas in the great war (Mahabharat). He laid down some rules for mitigating the horrors of war, and he stipulated that he should not be called upon to fight against Arjuna. He lived a life of self-denial, devotion and fidelity which remained unsullied to the last. He is also known by the appellation Tarpanechchhu, and as Tala-ketu, 'palm banner.'
BHOG - Enjoyment; pleasure; also the name of a ceremony in memory of the dead.
BHRINGHI - An insect which catches another insect, gives it its own attention and turns it into another bhringhi, in its own likeness, and ultimately they both fly away together.
BIN or BINA - Same as Been.
BINA TRISHNA - Desirelessness
BINDRABAN or BRINDABAN - Once a forest near Mathura, the sacred city of the birth of Krishna; Bindraban is now a populated place with many beautiful temples dedicated to Krishna.
BIREH or BIRHA - The pain of separation; intense longing; pain of one who has been separated from the beloved.
BRAHM - Lord of the second Spiritual Region; the Power that creates and dissolves the phenomenal world.
BRAHMA - The first of the Hindu Triad (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva), in charge of creation below Sahans Dal Kanwal, the first Spiritual Region.
BRAHMAN or BRAHMIN - The priestly class; the first and the highest of the four castes into which Hindu Society was divided; the other three being: Kshatriya - the regal and warrior class; Vaisya - trading and agricultural class; Sudra - menial and unskilled labor.
BRAHMAND or BRAHMANDA - Literally, the egg of Brahm; the entire universe over which Brahm has jurisdiction.
BRAHMANDI - Pertaining to Brahmand; universal.
BRAHMANDI MANAS or BRAHMANDI MAN - Universal or astral mind, which rules the subtle worlds, such as heaven, hell, etc.
BRAHMACHARYA - Continence or Celibacy.
BRAHM GYAN - Knowledge of Brahm.
BRIHI - One who is suffering 'birch,' or who has intense longing.
BUDDH, BUDH or BUDDHI - Intellect; discriminating power.
BUDDHI YOGA - Practice by means of intellect or knowledge.
BUSTAMI - See Hazrat Bustami.
C
CHAITANYA - Same as chetan.
CHAITANYA PRANA or CRETAN PRANA - Conscious life force.
CHAKRA - Literally, wheel; center, ganglion or plexus in the body; sometimes referred to as lotus.
CHARAN AMRIT or CHARANAMRIT - Literally, Nectar of the Holy Feet; esoterically, it is the Divine Elixir received within.
CHARAN SINGH JI MAHARAJ - The present Sant Satguru at Beas.
CHAURASI - Literally means eighty-four; hence, "The Wheel of Eighty-four" ; the name indicates the eight million four hundred thousand species into which the soul may have to incarnate and which is called eighty-four lakh species; whirpool or wheel of transmigration.
CHELA - Disciple; seeker.
CHETAN - Conscious; awakened; spirit; consciousliving as opposed to 'jar' (inert or inanimate); reason; soul; self; intelligence; wisdom. Same as Chaitanya.
CHETAN AKASH - The heavenly region above the eyes; part of the first Region of Spirituality.
CHHIMA - Forgiveness.
CHIDAKASH - The same as Chetan Akash.
CHISHTI - See 'Muinuddin Chishti.'
CHIT or CHITTA - The same as Chetan Akash; also the mind stuff or the thing which gives the mind the handle to move; memory, inner attention.
CHITONI - Thinking power.
CRORE - Ten million.
D
DADU or DADOO - A saint of Rajputana, well known for his bold utterances in his beautiful poetry. He lived in the sixteenth century.
DAIVI SAMPRADA - The good qualities.
DAKKHINI BABA - Literally, the Sage from the South; the name by which people called the Great Saint Tulsi Sahib Maharaj after He came to Hathras, which is about twenty miles Agra. Same as Tulsi Sahib.
DAMA - Restraint of the senses; self-restraint.
DAN - Charities; service with ones wealth.
DARSHAN - Vision or sight, particularly of some Saint or holy person.
DARSHANS or DARSANAS - Literally, 'Demonstrations.' The Shaddarsanas or six demonstrations, i.e. the six schools of Hindu philosophy;
1. Nyaya, founded by the sage Gotama;
2. Vaiseshika, founded by a sage named Kanada;
3. Sankhya, founded by the sage Kapila;
4. Yoga, founded by Patanjali and from his name it is also called Patanjala;
5. Purva-mimansa;
6. Uttara-mimansa.
DASWAN DWAR or DASWANDWAR - The tenth aperture; appellation of the third Spiritual Region. The second Region, Trikuti, is said to have an inner citadel or 'garb,' having nine open gates. The tenth gate, which leads to the third Region, is closed; hence, the third Region itself is called Daswan Dwar. In fact, both Sunn and Maha Sunn are referred to as Daswan Dwar-Sunn being the Region itself
and Malta Sunn being the great vacuum between Daswan Dwar and Bhanwar Gupha.
DAYA - Mercy; pity (also used to denote 'Grace,' although grace is really 'Mehr').
DAYAL - Merciful.
DAYA MEHR - Mercy and Grace.
DERA - Camp or Colony. In this book the name refers to the Radha Soami Colony, situated on the banks of the River Beas, in the Punjab.
DERA BABA JAIMAL SINGH - P.O. address of Radha Soami Colony, Beas.
DESH - Region; country; territory; realm.
DEV LOK - Region of the gods.
DEVAS or DEVTAS - Literally, 'shining ones' ; personifications of the forces of Nature; gods.
DHAM - Abode; region; home; place.
DHAN - Wealth.
DHANI - Rich; wealthy; owner; esoterically, Lord of various inner Spiritual Regions.
DHARAM - Hindi word for 'religion,' which means; to sustain, to support and to guide; mode of life; righteousness; spirituality.
DHARAM RAI - King Judge; Divine Accountant, who administers reward or punishment after death, according to the karmas of the souls. However, the Initiated soul is not under his jurisdiction because the Master Himself takes care of the soul, and He tempers Justice with Mercy.
DHARMA - Duty, religious or moral.
DHARNA - Preparing oneself for Dhyan, i.e. create attitude of mind for contemplation.
DHOTI - A small piece of cloth, about 4" wide and the length is according to the capacity of the practitioner, which the yogis swallow and pull out through the mouth for cleansing the stomach.
DHRITA-RASHTRA - The eldest son of Vichitra-virya or Vyasa, and brother of Pandu. He was blind since birth and was the father of the Kauravas, who fought against the Pandavas (sons of Pandu) in the Mahabharata (Great War).
DHUN or DHWANI - Sound ; manifestation of Shabd ; Inner Sound, synonymous with Shabd or Word; a particular tune or melody.
DHUNATMAK or DHUNYATMAK, DHUNATMIK or DHUNYATMIK - Inexpressible, Primal Sound, which cannot be spoken or written, nor can it be heard with the physical ears.
DHUNYATMAK NAM or DHUNYATMIK NAM - Another name for Shabd; see 'Nam.'
DHYAN - Contemplation ; a form of spiritual practice; attention to think of some form, to remember and behold it within; esoterically, beholding the form of the Master within.
DHYAN YOG - The practice of Contemplation; also the name of a Hindu Scripture.
DRISHT - Sight; View.
DRISHTI - A special gaze or glance bestowed by the Satguru.
DUKH - Affliction; pain; suffering; hardship; sorrow.
DURBAR or DARBAR - Court; usually means the court of kings hall of audience.,
DWAPAR - The third of the four yugas or cycles into which time is divided by the Hindus. See 'Yuga.'
F
FAKIR - Same as 'Faqir.'
FAQAR - The qualities of a Faqir.
FAQIR or FAQEER - Muslim term for Saint or Master.
FARID - See 'Sheikh Farid.'
G
GAGAN - Sky; heaven; firmament; esoterically, the sky of Trikuti.
GANGES or GANGA - A sacred river in India. Many places of pilgrimage are situated on the banks of this river.
GANESHA - The Hindu deity with an elephant's head; the lord of the first chakra, the rectal plexus, which is also called the Ganesh chakra. This was the first chakra to be controlled by the ancient yogis who aimed at the control of the six chakras in the body.
GANIKA - The name of a prostitute who eventually became a Saint after mending her ways and being devoted to the Path through the company of Saints and following prescribed instructions.
GARANTHI - One who reads or chants from the Granth Sahib.
GARIB DAS JI or GHARIB DAS JI - A disciple of Swami Ji who reached Sach Khand during his lifetime. He was from the Punjab and a brother disciple of Baba Ji. Though a Saint of the Punjab, he preached Sant Mat in Delhi, where he had some followers. Huzur Maharaj Sawan Singh Ji had a high regard for him. Also the name of another Saint who flourished in Rohtak District.
GAYATRI - A most sacred verse of the Rig-veda, which it is the duty of every Brahmin to repeat mentally in his morning and evening devotions. It is addressed to the sun as Savitri,, the generator, and so it is also called Savitri.
GHAT RAMAYANA - Name of a book by Tulsi Sahib of Hathras. It is written in beautiful poetry and is strictly an epic of the soul, as distinguished from the Ramayana by Tulsi Das, who lived in another age. Ghat means inside, and Ramayana means description. Ghat Ramayana pertains to the ascent of the soul within.
GITA - See Bhagavadgita.
GOSAIN - A Brahmin priest of the Vaishnava order.
GOSWAMI or GOSAIN TULSI DAS Jr - See Tulsi Das.
GRANTH - A book, especially a religious scripture; the Sikh Scriptures.
GRANTHI - Same as Garanthi.
GRANTH SAHIB - Same as Adi Granth.
GUDA CHAKRA - The rectal plexus, also called the Mul Chakra; the first or lowest of the six chakras in the human body.
GUNAS - Attributes or qualities. The creation of the world has been made possible by the inter-play of the three gunas. They also exist in the human body and are known as Satogun, Rajogun and Tamogun; that is, harmony, action or activity, and inertia or darkness respectively. These three gunas are also personified as Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha or Shiva, also called Mahadev.
GURBANI - Literally, teachings of the Guru; esoterically, Nam, Shabd or Word. Also means what has been written in the Granth Sahib; teachings of the Saints; sometimes a particular book, such as the Granth Sahib, Sar Bachan, etc., is also referred to as Gurbani.
GURBHAKTA - Devotee of a Guru.
GURBHAKTI or GURU BHAKTI - Devotion to Guru.
GURDWARA - The name used by the Sikhs for their house of worship.
GURMAT or GURUMAT - Teachings of the Guru. Same as Sant Mat.
GURMUKH or GURUMUKH - Literally, one whose face is turned towards the Guru; one who has completely surrendered himself to the Guru; one who is guided by the Guru; a highly advanced soul which has cast off the three coverings and has reached Par Brahm. It is also said that only the Saints are the true Gurmukhs.
GURMUKHTA - The quality of being a Gurumukh; devotion and surrender to the Guru; obedience.
GURU - Literally, one who gives light; Spiritual Teacher; Master; Preceptor; Guide.
GURU AMARDAS - See Sikh Gurus.
GURU ANGAD - See Sikh Gurus.
GURU ARJAN DEV - See Sikh Gurus.
GURU GOBIND SINGH - See Sikh Gurus.
GURU NANAK - The famous Saint of the Punjab; the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. See Sikh Gurus.
GURU RAM DAS - See Sikh Gurus.
GURU SAHIB - Whenever that term is used in Satsang, it means the particular Saint or Guru by whom the text of the discourse was written or spoken; whatever Guru is being spoken about or written about is referred to as Guru Sahib, meaning that particular Guru.
GURU SHABD - The same as Nam; the five Sounds; the Word; the Sound Current; the Audible Life Stream.
GYAN, GYANA or JNANA - Knowledge; True Knowledge; Spiritual Knowledge; Spiritual Wisdom; Spiritual Enlightenment.
GYANI - Literally, one who possesses knowledge; esoterically, the term is used for intellectuals.
GYAN MAT - The path of Knowledge; yoga of Knowledge.
H
HAFIZ-KHWAJA HAFIZ - One of the greatest of Persian Poets and also a true Saint (1320-1389). He was born at Shiraz and spent his life there as a court poet. Hafiz is a pen name which means "One who can recite the Koran by heart." His real name was Shams-ud-Din Mohammed.
HAHOOT - Arabic name for the Lord of the third Spiritual Region; also the Arabic name for the secret method of Sumiran (Repetition).
HAJ - Pilgrimage to Mecca, sacred to Moslems.
HANSAS - Literally, 'Swans'; fabulous birds reputed to live on pearls and to be able to separate milk from water; appellation of elevated spirits who reach Sat Lok; Saints are also called Hansas; so are devoted souls or Bhagats who dwell in Daswandwar or anywhere in Parbrahm; also applied to highly devoted and spiritually advanced persons.
HAQ - Literally means Truth; Arabic designation of the fifth Spiritual Region.
HAR or HARI - God.
HARI-KIRTAN - Remembrance of the Lord.
HARDWAR - A place of pilgrimage. It is from this place that the Ganges, coming from the mountains, gathers volume and flows out into the plains. Orthodox Hindus throw the bones and ashes of their departed relatives into the river at this place, believing that this will secure salvation for the departed ones.
HARKH - Happiness; joy.
HAR MANDIR - God's Temple; esoterically, the human body as the temple of the Living God.
HAR RAS - Literally, God's Nectar or Elixir; hence, God's Love.
HATHA YOG or YOGA - A system of yoga consisting chiefly of physical postures which are intended to keep the body fit and to influence the mental currents. 'Ha' means 'sun,' and 'tha' means 'moon,' and it is really the yoga of joining the sun and the moon, corresponding to the 'Ira' and Pingala' in the body.
HAZRAT - Holy Man.
HAZRAT BAYAZEED BISTAMI - One of the greatest of the ancient Persian Saints. He was born in a small village called Bistam and therefore named Bistami.
I
IBRAHIM ADHAM - A king of Bokhara who turned dervesh and spent twelve years at the feet of Kabir Sahib in India to gain esoteric wealth of the highest order.
ID - A day of festivities for Muslims after Ramzanthe month of fasting.
IDA or IRA - -See Shah Rag.
INDRA - The god of Rain; the principal Vedic god, wielding the thunderbolt; in later mythology he is called lord of Swarga... Also called Jupiter, Zeus and Thor.
INDRIYAS - Senses; sense organs.
ISHT - Ideal; goal; worship.
ISHWAR - Creator of this universe; the ruler of Brahmand.
ISHWAR PRANIDHAN - Self-surrender to the Will of God.
ISME-I-AZAM - The Greatest Name; Shabd; Sound; Inner Music; Word.
J
JAGAT SINGH - See Sardar Bahadur Jagat Singh i Maharaj.
JAP or JAPA or JAP YOG - Recitation; prayer; mental repetition of the Name of God.
JAPJI SAHIB - That portion of the Granth which was composed by Guru Nanak and which contains the essence of the entire Granth. The Adi Granth begins with it.
JAR or JAD - Inert; inanimate; lifeless; unconscious; material or matter as opposed to spirit.
JARA or JARAS - The name of the hunter who unwittingly killed Krishna. He had been Bali, the monkey king, in a previous incarnation and, as Bali, had been killed by Rama-Chandra.
JATIS - Celibates.
JITE JI MARNA - Dying while living.
JIV, JIVA or JEEVA - Any living being; the individual or unliberated soul; sometimes used to denote human beings.
JIVANMUKTI or JEEVANMUKTI - Liberation, salvation, deliverance or redemption of the human soul during the present life.
JIVATMA - Individual soul; spirit embodied in the physical form.
JOT or JYOTI - Light; flame; esoterically, the light of the first Spiritual Region, Sahansdal Kanwal.
JUMNA or YAMUNA - A sacred river of India. Mathura, the scene of Krishna's early life, is situated on the banks of the Jumna.
K
KA'ABA - A place of Mohammedan pilgrimage in Mecca.
KABIR SAHIB - A well-known Saint (1440-1518) who lived in Banares (Kashi), and preached and practised Surat Shabd Yoga. He condemned the follies and the external observances of Hindus and Mohammedans alike. He was succeeded by Dharam Das.
KAFIR - Lit. an unbeliever; the Arabic term for one who does not believe in Mohammed.
KAL - Lit. means Time or Death; the Negative Power; the time spirit; the name given to the Power that controls all the three worlds, which are perishable. Kal rules and regulates the whole universe - gross, subtle and causal - and will not let anyone cross his threshold to enter the realm of Sat Purush, until that soul has been thoroughly cleansed of all desires, etc.
KALA - Emanation; a ray or power which emanates.
KALAM-I-ILLAHI - Voice of God; Shabd; Word; Nam; Sound Current.
KALBI - Repetition which is done through the heart, by putting pressure on the heart by means of breathing.
KALMA - Arabic for Bani.
KALMA-I-HAKIKAT - That method of Repetition which can be obtained only from an adept. Lit. the Truthful. By this method the devotee becomes one with the practice.
KALMA-I-MARFAT - Spiritual repetition, which is done by the soul, by means of bringing the attention to the Third Eye.
KALMA-I-SHARIAT - The method of Repetition which is done by the tongue. It is also known as Lasani or Nasoot.
KALMA-I-TARIKAT - The same as Kalbi.
KALPATARU - Wish-granting tree.
KAM or KAMA - Lust; desire; sensory tendencies; any outward tendency of the mind.
KANJ KAMAL - The center between the two eyebrows.
KARAM YOG - The science of actionless action.
KARAN - Causal; cause.
KARAN MAN - The Causal Mind, which rules the Causal Region and extends to the top of Brahm.
KARAN MAYA - The causal phenomenal universe, out of which both Ishwar and Jiva have sprung, and which is the source of all good qualities.
KARMA - Action and re-action; the law of action and re-action; the fruit of result of past thoughts, words and deeds. There are three types of Karma:
1. Pralabdh, that portion of our karma which is allotted to this life and is responsible for our present existence. It is also called Fate or Destiny.
2. Kriyaman, the result of fruit of new actions performed during the present life.
3. Sinchit, those karmas which still remain to be taken out of our own stored-up lot and are to be worked off or to bear fruit in future incarnations.
KARMALESS - Without karma; free from effect; actionless.
KARM KAND or KARAM - Rituals and rites, ceremonies and outward observances of the various religions.
KARMIS - Those who perform Karm Kand.
KARNI - Action; practice; conduct; effort; spiritual effort; abhyas.
KASHI or KANSHI - Banares. The sacred city of the Hindus and a place of Sanskrit learning from very ancient times. Kabir lived and taught here.
KATHUPANISHAD - It is one of the eleven principal Upanishads.
KHAT - Six.
KHAT CHAKRAS - The six centers or ganglia in the body.
KHAT DARSHAN - The six schools of Hindu Philosophy.
KHAT SAMPATTI - The six types of riches, of moral and spiritual wealth:
1. Sama - balance or equanimity.
2. Dama - self-restraint.
3. Uparti - freedom from ceremonial worship.
4. Titiksha - patience.
5. Shraddha - faith.
6. Samadhanta - deep meditation.
KHUDA - God; also an appellation of Brahm; another name for- universal mind.
KHUDA-I-AZEEM - The Great God; synonymous with Brahm, the Lord of Trikuti.
KHUSRO - A devoted disciple of Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya, a Moslem Saint.
KIRTAN - Singing of hymns to the accompaniment of instruments. Esoterically, listening to the Shabd within.
KIRYA or KRIYA - Lit. means action; a Hindu ceremony performed on the thirteenth day after a person's death.
KORAN - Same as Quran.
KRISHNA - Lord Krishna, held to be a complete incarnation or God (Brahm). He delivered the celebrated Song of the Lord, called Bhagavadgita. See Shyam Sundar.
KRITA YUGA - Same as Sat Yuga.
KRIYAMAN - See Karma.
KSHIMA - Forgiveness.
KUMBHAK - The practice of holding the breath in the lungs.
KUN - Moslem name for God, meaning Allah the High, the All in All; Also means Shabd or Word.
KUNDALINI - The coiled energy, situated above the Mul Chakra, which, on unwinding, becomes connected with the spinal cord and gives the practitioner miraculous powers
KUTUBDIN - An outstanding mystic of the 12th Century A.D. at whose feet Baba Farid drank deep of esoteric knowledge.
L
LAILA - -See Majnun and Laila.
LAKH, LAKSH or LAC - One hundred thousand.
LAKSHMI - The goddess of wealth.
LANGAR - Free community kitchen. See Radha Soami Beas.
LASANI - Same as Kalma-i-Shariat.
LEELA or LILA - Play; especially the play of the Lord; sport; conduct; way of doing things.
LOGOS - Same as Shabd.
LOK or LOKA - Region; world.
M
MAHA - Great; supreme.
MAHA AKASH - Great Heaven; Great Sky; the Sky above Trikuti.
MAHADEO or MAHADEV - The third of the Hindu Triad; the same as Shiva.
MAHABHARAT or MAHABHARATA - The great epic poem of the Hindus, the leading subject of which is the great war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, who were descendants, through Bharata, of Puru, the great ancestor of one branch of the Lunar race. The object of the great struggle was the kingdom whose capital was Hastina-pura (elephant city), the ruins of which are traceable fifty-seven miles north-east of Delhi, on an old bed of the Ganges. See Pandavas.
MAHA MAYA - See Shakti.
MAHA NAD - Literally, Great Sound; the Primal Word or Shabd.
MAHARAJ - Literally, Great King; a title of respect.
MAHA PURUSH - Supreme Lord.
MAHA SUNN - Great Vacuum; the region of intense darkness, situated above Sunn or Daswandwar proper and below Bhanwargupha. It is really one of the six great spiritual regions, but is never referred to by the Saints because the disciples are not to dwell upon it, for their own protection. It can be crossed only with the help of the Master. Hence, though there are six great spiritual regions, only five are named as such in Sant Mat literature, and this one is included in the five without mentioning it as a separate region. Therefore, Daswandwar is really Sunn and Malta Sunn, respectively, from below upward.
MAHATMA - Great Soul; also applied to highly spiritual persons.
MAHA YUGA - See Yuga.
MAHESH or MAHESHWAR - The same as Shiva.
MANJUN and LAILA - The classic example in Persia of pure and devoted love. All Persian poets have written romantic tales about them.
MALIK - Lord; Master; Possessor; Owner.
MAN - (pronounced 'mun') - Mind.
MANDAL - Circle; orb; sphere.
MANDIR - Temple; a building.
MANMUKH - Literally, facing the mind; that is, he who obeys the dictates of the mind; a devotee of the mind and of the ways of the world; a materialist.
MANTRA - Prayer; repetition of Holy Names.
MARG - Path; way.
MASNAVI - A mystic epic composed by Maulana Rum (1207 - 1277).
MAT - Creed ; system; way; religion; teachings.
MAUJ - Wave; Will; especially the Will and Pleasure of the Sat Guru or the Supreme Being.
MAULVI - A Moslem priest; one learned in Islamic religion and theology.
MAULVI ROOM or MAULANA RUM or RUMI - A well-known Moslem Saint of Persia, who was a devoted disciple of Shamas-i-Tabriz; author of the world-famous Masnavi.
MAYA - Illusion or delusion; deception; unreality phenomenal universe; all that which is not eternal, is not real or true, is called 'maya'; it appears but is not. The veil of illusion conceals the vision of God from our sight. Also another name of the goddess Shakti.
MECCA - Chief city in the Hejas district of Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Mohammed. It is now a place of Islamic pilgrimage, to which every pious and devoted Mohammedan is expected to pay a visit at least once during his lifetime. This visit to Mecca is known as Haj, and includes the visit to Ka'aba, which is situated in Mecca.
MEHR, MEHAR or MIHR - Grace; love; kindness; friendship; mercy.
MERU - Same as Sumeru.
MOHAMMED - See Hazrat Mohammed.
MOKSH or MOKSHA - Liberation; Salvation; Redemption; Deliverance.
MRIDU - Sweet nature and true behaviour.
MUINUDDIN CHISHTI - A renowned Saint of medieval times (1143-1233 A.D.), who was born in Seistan, now in southwestern Afghanistan. He moved to Ajmer in Rajputana where, it is said, he remained in meditation at an early age, for seventeen years without sleeping and then began to teach the practice of the Word.
MUKTA PAD - Stage of Liberation, Salvation or Redemption.
MUKTI - Liberation; Salvation; Redemption; Deliverance.
MUL or MULA - Literally means root.
MUL CHAKRA - The root ganglion in the human body; the rectal plexus.
MUMUKSHTA-The state of longing for Emancipation.
MUNI - A holy man; a sage; a devotee; literally, one who hears or experiences.
MURDA - Dead; esoterically, used for mureed or disciple.
MUREED or MURID - Disciple.
MURSHID or MURSHAD - The Moslem name for Sat Guru or Master.
MUSALASI - The Arabic name for Trikuti.
N
NABHI - Navel.
NAD - Sound; Shabd; Word; Inner Music.
NADI - Pertaining to Nad.
NADI SAT GURU - A Guru versed in the practice of Nad or Shabd.
NAL - Tube.
NAM - Name; the same as Shabd, Word or Logos; the Immortal Creator. Nam is of two kinds: Varnatmak (that which can be expressed or uttered) and Dhunatmak (that which can be heard only within as Nad or Shabd, the Word). The Varnatmak Nam acts as a pointer to and leads to the real or Dhunatmak Nam within, which is not really a word but a POWER that emanates from the Supreme Being and takes us to Him.
NAMAZ - Moslem prayer.
NAM BHAKTI - Devotion to Nam.
NAM GHAR - A hall in which Nam (Initiation) is granted. Same as Satsang Ghar. Initiations were formerly granted in the small Satsang Ghar, which was the first one built at the Dera (see Statistics in "Spiritual Gems"). Then the applicants grew in number and Initiations were granted in the larger Satsang Ghar. Now even the largest and the latest Satsang Ghar is too small to accommodate all the accepted applicants at each Initiation, and they are split up into groups of from 200 to 300 at a time. Initiations are then granted for three or four consecutive days, or more, until all the accepted applicants for a particular occasion have been initiated. This happens at the Dera from four to six times a year, in addition to the Initiations granted elsewhere in India and in foreign countries. Many more are rejected or deferred.
NAM RAS - The Elixir of Nam. The soul drinks that Heavenly Nectar within and enjoys Supreme Bliss.
NANAK - See Guru Nanak.
NARI or NADI - River; refers to currents in the body, the three most important of which are situated in the center and on either side of the spinal column. See Shah Rag.
NAR NARAYAN or NAR NARAYAN DEH - The life or form in which the soul can realize God; human body divine.
NASOOT - Same as Kalma-i-Shariat.
NATHS - A sect of yogis, especially Hath-yogis.
NETI - The cleansing of the humors in the body by means of passing a waxed thread through the nostrils and bringing it out through the mouth.
NIJ - Literally means "one's own"; real; higher; innermost.
NIJ ASTHAN - One's own or real Region.
NIJ DHAM - One's own or real Home.
NIJ DESH - One's own real Land, Country, Territory, also Region or Home.
NIJ MAN or NIJ MANA - One's real, innermost, causal or higher mind.
NIJ ROOP or NIJ RUP - One's own real form.
NIJ SARUP or NIJ SAROOP - One's own real and essential form.
NIJ SARUP ANAMI - Radha Swami, the Nameless, the Lord of the eighth and Highest Region.
NIJ SARUP SHABD DHUN - The Melody of the Word, the Shabd Dhun which is the Real Form of the Sat Guru.
NIJ SHABD - Original Sound, which comes from Sach Khand.
NIL CHAKRA - Blue center; denotes the veil or curtain of the mind.
NIRAKAR - Literally, without form; formless and absolutely pure.
NIRANJAN - Literally means pure; an appellation of the Lord of the first Spiritual Region.
NIRANJAN JYOTI or JYOT NIRANJAN - Literally, pure light; name of the Lord of the first Spiritual Region.
NIRAT - The soul's power of seeing; the attention inside; the awakening of the consciousness of the Nij Man; the love of attention of the causal mind is also called Nirat.
NIRGUNA or NIRGUN - Without attributes; appellation of Par Brahm.
NIRVAN - The state of complete absorption in meditation.
NIRVAN PAD - The same as Mukta Pad.
NISH-KAM or NISH-KARMA - Without karmas; karmaless.
NISH KARMATA - Action without desire.
NIVRITTI - Directing the energy inward; returning or going back (in and up); spiritual life; opposite of privritti.
NIYAMA - Observances : (as opposed to the five restraints).
1 - Suouch or Souch - Cleanliness or internal and external purity.
2 - Santosh - Contentment.
3 - Tapa - Self-discipline of the body, speech and mind.
4 - Swadhyaya - Study of scriptures or religious books and self.
5 - Ishwar Pranidhan - Self-surrender to the Will of God.
NOORI - Luminous.
NUQTA-I-SWAIDA - Black point; third eye; the Moslem name for Tisra Til.
NYOLI - One of the Hath Yoga practices in which stomach is filled with water and flushed.
O
OMKAR or ONKAR - Brahm ; esoterically, the Lord of the second Spiritual Region.
P
PAD - Place ; status; region; station; stage.
PADAM - Literally means lotus; one thousand billions.
PADAM CHAKRA - The center or lotus on the bottom of the foot.
PALTU SAHIB - A famous Hindu Saint of the fifteenth century, noted for his bold utterances and outspoken description of the Mystic Path.
PANDAVAS - The five Pandavas were the sons of Pandu, who was the brother of Dhritarashtra, king of Hastinapura. Dhritarashtra was blind from birth, and Pandu died at a young age. The sons of Dhritarashtra were called Kauravas. The Pandavas were deprived of their rightful inheritance, which was the cause of the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, known as the Mahabharat.
PANDIT or PUNDIT - One learned in Hindu Theology and Religion; the Hindu priestly class; Brahman priest; any Brahman.
PANJ SHABD or PANCH SHABD - Five Sounds.
PAR - Beyond.
PARAMATMA Or PARMATMA - Literally, Supreme Soul; God.
PARAM HANSA - Appellation of the devotee who has reached Sat Lok.
PARAM PAD - Highest Stage.
PARAM PURUSH - Supreme Lord.
PARAM SANT - Supreme Saint ; a Saint who has reached the highest stage.
PARAM SANT BABA JAIMAL SINGH JI - Same as Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj.
PARAS - Philosopher's stone.
PAR BRAHM - Literally, beyond Brahm; appellation of the Lord of the third Spiritual Region.
PAR BRAHMAND - Spiritual Region beyond Brahmand.
PAR BRAHM PARMATMA - The Lord of Par Brahm.
PARMARTH or PARMARTHI or PARAMARATH - Spiritual way of life; spiritual work; spiritual gain or wealth; spiritual effort; spiritual uplift.
PARMESHWAR - Supreme Creator; God.
PARSHAD, PARSHADI or PRASHAD - Anything sanctified or blessed.
PATAL LOK - The nether region.
PATANJALI - A form of yoga practice; also the name of the founder of the Yoga philosophy, who is supposed to have lived about 200 B.C.
PESHWAS - The family name of Tulsi Sahib Maharaj. See Tulsi Sahib.
PIND or PINDA - The physical body; the physical and material universe; region of lower mind and matter.
PINDI - Relating to Pind.
PINDI MAN - Physical (lower or material) mind which governs the physical frame and senses.
PINGALA - See Shah Rag.
I. ETHER - Desire, anger, bashfulness, fear, infatuation.
2. AIR - Running, walking, smelling, contracting, expanding.
3. FIRE - Hunger, thirst, sleep, personality, laziness.
4. WATER - Vital fluid, blood, fat, urine, saliva.
5. EARTH - Bones, flesh, skin, veins, hair.
PRAKRITI - Nature; matter as opposed to spirit; Hyoti; Maya; female energy; prototype of the female sex; the Shakti or female energy of any deity; the personified will of the Supreme
PRAKRITIS - are twenty-five in number and consist of five manifestations of each of the five tattwas:
PRALABDH or PRARABD - See Karma.
PRAN or PRANA - Vital force; essence; vital air, the control and regulation of which is the basis of the system known as Pranayam.
PRANAVA - Another name for Onkar; the sacred syllable of Om.
PRANAYAM - The Hindu yogic practice consisting of breathing in, holding the breath, then breathing out, and ultimately holding the breath at centers in the body for a long time.
PRANA YOG or YOGA - Same as Pranayam.
PRATYAHAR - Control of one's organs.
PREM - Love.
PREMIS - Lovers; loving disciples or devotees.
PRIVRITTI - Directing the energy outward; getting entangled in worldly matters; worldly life as opposed to Nivritti.
PUJA - Worshiping; adoration; devotion; also idolatry.
PUNJAB or PANJAB - A state in North-west India.
PURAK - To take the breath in; to inhale.
PURAN - Full or complete; perfect.
PURANAS - Literally, the old ones; the religio-historical stories and mythologies of old, describing the lives and deeds of gods, heroes and great kings, in eighteen volumes.
PURUSH, PURUSHA, PURKH or PURUKH - Male creative energy, as distinguished from Prakriti; man; mind; also denotes Niranjan as well as the Supreme Being.
PURUSHA and PRAKRITI REGION - The first Spiritual Region, where Prakriti or Jyoti has merged into Niranjan. Purusha and Prakriti extend up to Brahm, then Brahm alone remains up to Par Brahm.
Q
QURAN or KORAN - The Holy Book of the Moslems, revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.
QUTB - The polar star; north pole; center; axis; a prince, lord or chief; a title among Fakirs; one entrusted with the welfare of spiritual aspirants among Fakirs.
R
RADHA - Primal soul.
RADHA SOAMI or RADHA SWAMI - Appellation of the Supreme Lord God. Swami literally means Lord, and Radha means soul - hence, it means "Lord of the Soul."
RADHA SOAMI SATSANG BEAS and RADHA SWAMI COLONY, BEAS - The Colony was founded in the year 1891 by Param Sant Baba Jaimal Singh Ji and is named Dera Baba Jaimal Singh in the sacred memory of the illustrious Saint. It is conveniently situated on the west bank of the River Beas, at a distance of about three miles of paved road from the Beas Railway Station, which is on the main line from Delhi to Amritsar. It is in the Amritsar District and is situated about half way between Amritsar and Jullundur, being about twenty-seven miles from Amritsar and about twenty-five miles from Jullundur. The purpose of the Colony is to have established headquarters for the dissemination and practice of the Teachings of the Saints of all countries and all times. This is called Radha Swami Faith, Radha Swami Science or the Science of the Soul. It is also known as Sant Mat or the Science and Philosophy of the Soul. The Teachings are as old as creation itself. Sant Mat has appeared in different forms and under different names, in different countries and at different times, in accordance with the culture, language and other circumstances of life of the people and the countries. The basic concept has, however, remained unchanged and shall continue to remain so in the future.
Please see: RADHA SWAMI DAYAL ; BABA JAIMAL SINGH JI; SAWAN SINGH JI MAHARAJ; SARDAR BAHADUR JAGAT SINGH JI MAHARAJ, M.SC., and CHARAN SINGH JI MAHARAJ.)
The Colony is in a state of continuous development, with the provision of all the modern amenities of life, for the convenience of the numerous visitors as well as permanent residents. The over-all control is in the hands of a registered society called RADHA SOAMI SATSANG BEAS and consists of a panel of members, with the present Satguru - Maharaj Charan Singh Ji - as its Patron. The management vests in the executive committee which consists of three members, who work under the guidance of the Patron.
The activities of the society are directed primarily toward the propagation of Parmarth. For this purpose there are two daily gatherings where recitations from holy scriptures are chanted and properly explained in the form of a discourse, for the benefit of visitors as well as residents. The followers of this Science and Philosophy are enjoined to devote not less than two and a half hours to spiritual meditation daily, preferably in the early hours of the morning (from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.), and again to devote at least one hour to this practice every evening, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Colony, when all work is stopped for that purpose, according to the instructions of the Satguru.
The purpose of the Langar or free community kitchen on the premises is to supply food for such workers who wish to partake of it daily and for the many thousands who come from great distances to attend the periodic gatherings for the purpose of Satsang, and who have no facilities for procuring their own food. The Langar is operated in the headquarters only and is not encouraged or permitted in connection with gatherings outside the Dera, except in the mountains, where it is a case of necessity. Outside of this, large scale feeding of people in connection with Satsang is not deemed advisable as it prevents or would prevent those in charge and those who prepare the food from attending the Discourse, and would defeat the very purpose of these gatherings. (See Sant Mat.)
RADHA SWAMI DAYAL - Literally, Merciful Lord of the soul. Appellation of the Great Saint, Shiv Dayal Singh Ji, Founder of Radha Swami Faith, as applied to Him by His disciples. He was born in Agra on August 25, 1818 and departed from this world on June 15, 1878. His family were of the Baikal Seth Kshatriyas, and His father's name was Seth Dilwali Singh. His mother's name was Maha Maya. Swami Ji, as He is affectionately called, began to teach in public in January, 1861, after He had spent seventeen years in meditation in a dark, back room.
RADHA SWAMI DIN DAYAL - Lord of the soul, merciful to the humble.
RAG - A mode in music; tune or melody.
RAHEEM or RAHIM - Literally, Merciful, Forgiving; God; Allah; Wah-Guru; Ram; Radha Swami, etc.
RAIDAS JI or RAVI DAS Ji - A Saint of northern India, who was a cobbler by profession.
RAJA YOG - A practice which deals with the control of the currents of the mind, by increasing the power of the mind through contemplation and certain postures.
RAJOGUN or RAJOGUNA - Activity; second of the three gunas.
RAM or RAMA - God; Shabd; the Power that pervades everywhere; also the name of the son of King Dasaratha of Ayodhya, believed to be an incarnation of Vishnu.
RAMANAND - An Indian Saint (1340-1430), born near Madras, and a disciple of Raghvananda, another great Saint. Rama- nand came to northern India quite early in life and settled at Benares. He is reputed to have been the Guru of Kabir Sahib and of Ravidas.
RAMAYANA - The oldest of Sanskrit epic poems, written by the Sage Valmiki. It was originally an epic of the soul, and was written in symbolism only for devotees or seekers, instructing them how to go inside. The Ramayana by Tulsi Das was written much later, and one can still get the spiritual meaning if one has the key from the Guru.
RAM CHANDRA or RAMA CHANDRA - The same as Rama, King of Ayodhya, said to have been the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu, and made his appearance in the world at the end of the Treta Yuga or second age. The story of his life is the subject of the Ramayana by Tulsi Das, although it was written many years before the birth of Ram Chandra. (See Ramayana.)
RAMCHRITAR - The name of a book written by Goswami Tulsi Das.
RAM DAS JI- See Sikh Gurus.
RAM NAM - Same as Nam.
RAS - Literally, juice; enjoyment; pleasure; bliss; esoterically, it refers to God's Love; the Elixir or Nectar within, the drinking of which produces indescribable Bliss.
RASAYAN - Elixir; Elixir of Life; the science of making the Elixir of Life, also of transmuting baser metals into gold; the science of chemistry and alchemy.
RECHAK - The practice of slowly exhaling the breath.
RISHI - A sage; literally, one who sees.
ROM or RUH - Soul; spirit.
ROO or RUP - Form.
ROZA - Moslem fast.
RUM or ROOM or RUMI - Same as Maulvi Room.
S
SACHCHI BANI - True Teachings; True Word; the same as Gurbani.
SACH KHAND, SAT DESH, SAT LOK or NIJ DHAM - Literally, the True or Imperishable Region; esoterically, the fifth Spiritual Region, presided over by Sat Purush.
SADANA - The name of a butcher who eventually became a Saint after realizing the seriousness of killing, mending his ways through the company of Saints and following their Teachings.
SADH or SADHU - Holy man, following a path of spiritual discipline; a mystic; sometimes the name is applied to an Adept or true Saint; esoterically, a devotee who has reached the third Spiritual Stage and thus has crossed the region of mind and matter.
SADHAN - Spiritual discipline; spiritual practice, mode of worship.
SAD GURU - A Guru or Teacher who has reached the third Spiritual Region.
SADHSANG - Association with or company of Sadhs.
SAGGAN - A man who was a thug prior to becoming a devoted disciple of a Saint and eventually himself became a Saint.
SARUP or SAROOP - Real Form; True Form; Essential or Important Form.
SAT - True; truthfulness; actual; right; fit; essence; existence; permanent; abiding; eternal.
SAT CHIT ANAND - Literally, Truth-Consciousness: Bliss.
SAT DESH - The same as Sach Khand.
SAT GURU or SATGUR - A Master or Spiritual Teacher who has access to the fifth Spiritual Region.
SATGURU BHAKTI or SATGUR BHAKTI - Devotion to the Sat Guru.
SATGURU BHAO or SATGUR BHAO - Love for the Sat Guru.
SATGURU SEVA - Service to the Sat Guru; the real way to render Him service, and that which He will always accept, is for the disciple to go within and enjoy the Shabd.
SAT LOK or SAT LOKA - Same as Sach Khand.
SAT NAM - Literally, True Name; the appellation of the Lord of the fifth Spiritual Region.
SATO GUNA, SATOGUN or SATWA GUNA - The quality or attribute of rhythm, harmony and truth.
SAT PAD - Same as Sach Khand.
SAT PURUSH or SAT PURKH - God; True Lord, who presides over Sat Lok and all the universes below it. He is also called Akal Purush.
SATSANG or SAT SANG - Literally, True Association; Association with a Saint or Perfect Master is external Sat Sang, and association of the soul with Shabd or Nam within is the Internal Satsang. The highest form of Satsang is to merge with Shabd and to engage in the prescribed meditation. When a congregation is addressed by a Master, that is also Satsang. Even to think about Him and His Teachings is Satsang.
SATSANG GHAR - The hall or building in which Satsangs are held.
SATSANGI - One who has been Initiated by a True Master; a disciple or associate of Truth; appellation of disciples of Radha Soami Faith; however, true Satsangis are only those who faithfully perform the Spiritual Practice, follow the instructions of the Master and conduct themselves accordingly in their daily lives and in their dealings with others.
SAT SHABD - Literally, True Word or Sound; the Divine Sound which is contacted in Par Brahm.
SATYAM - The same as Sat; truthfulness.
SAT GUNA - Same as Satoguna.
SAT VACHAN - Truthfulness; same as Satyam.
SATVIK - Having the qualities of Satogun.
SAT YUGA or SAT YUG - The first of the four cycles of Time, also called Krita Yuga. See Yuga.
SAWAN - The chief rainy month of the Hindus, which corresponds with July and begins about the middle of July.
SAWAN SINGH JI MAHARAJ - The Great Master Who was the favorite and devoted disciple of Baba Jaimal Singh Ji in the Punjab. While Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj was the one who first settled in and established what is now known as the Radha Soami Colony at Beas, it was Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj who actually built and developed it into the flourishing place which it now is. He attracted souls from all walks of life and from all corners of the world. He was born in Memansingh Walla, District Ludhiana (Punjab) on July 27, 1858, was appointed Successor by Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj in 1903 and assiduously served in that capacity until His departure on April 2, 1948.
SEVA or SEWA - Service.
SEVAK, SEWAK, SEVADAR or SEWADAR - One Who does seva.
SHABD or SHABAD - Word; Sound; Spiritual Sound; Audible Life Stream; Sound Current. As the soul manifests in the body as consciousness, the Word of God manifests Itself as Inner Spiritual Sound. It is therefore synonymous with Sound Current. It is the same as "Word" in the Bible; "Kalma," "Isme-i-Azam." "Bang-i-Asmani" or "Kalam-iIllahi" in the Koran; the "Nad" or "Udgit" in the Vedas; and "Nam.," "Ram Nam," "Hari Nam," "Gurbani," "Bani," "Ajapajap," "Akathkatha," "Har Ras," "Har Jas," "Har Simran" and "Dhun" in the Adi Granth. There are five forms of the Shabd within every human being, the secret of which can be imparted by only a True Master. The first real Sound which one hears is the Anahad Shabd, which takes the soul up to Sahansdal Kanwal. Then the soul goes beyond the three gunas, into Sar Shabd: thence into the Sat Shabd, and finally merges into Nij Shabd.
SHABD or SHABAD - Also refers to chapters, paragraphs or stanzas of sacred texts, such as the Sar Bachan, the Granth Sahib, etc.
SHABD ABHYAS - Practice of the Sound Current; union of the soul with Shabd.
SHAH RAG or SHAH RUG - Literally, Royal Vein, but this does not refer to a vein in the physical body. It is the central current or canal in the finer body, which is located and traversed by means of spiritual practice according to the instructions of a True Master. It is also called Sushmana or Sushumna, which is the central current in the spinal column. The current on the left is called Ira or Ida, and that on the right is known as Pingala.
SHAKTI or SAKTI - Power ; strength; appellation of the deity presiding over the throat chakra; the highest form of Maya (1. Maya, 2. Maha Maya, 3. Shakti); she is known also as Mahamai (the great mother) of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
SHAMAS-I-TAB RIZ or SHAMS-I-TABRIZ - A Moslem Saint (1147 - 1247 A.D.) who settled at Multan and was flayed alive because he rebelled against the outward forms of worship.
SHAR'A or SHAR'IAT - Moslem religious law; Quranic law and. ritual.
SHAR'AIS - Followers of Shariat.
SHARAN - Same as Saran.
SHARIR - Same as Sarir.
SHASTRAS - Hindu scriptures; books of philosophy and moral code.
SHEEL or SHIL - Continence.
SHEIKH or SHEKH - Chief; a Mohammedan holy man; a descendant of anyone of the disciples of the Prophet Mohammed; also a courtesy title of many classes of Mohammedans.
SHEIKH FARID or SHEIKH FAREED - A Muslim Saint (1181-1265), born near Multan in northwestern India. His Master was Qutabuddin of Delhi, whom he joined as a disciple when he was about twenty years old. On his Master's death, he inherited his patched mantle. Farid spent most of his life at Ajodhan, now Pak Pattan, in the southern Punjab. Because of his austerity and intense devotion, he was called the "Reservoir of Sugar."
SHETASH UPANISHAD - It is one of the eleven important Upanishads, of which the total number is 108.
SHIV NETR - Tisra Til; Third Eye; the black point; same as Nuqta-i-Swaida.
SHIVA - Third of the Hindu Triad; the Destroyer; same as Mahadeo.
SHLOKA - A couplet; verse; stanza.
SHUGHAL-I-AFTABI - MUSLIM name for the practice of fixing one's attention on the rising sun, and it is done mostly during the winter months. This practice is also prevalent amongst the Hindus, and is called Tratak Dhyan.
SHUGHAL-I-BARI-I-AKBAR - The Muslim term for contemplating on the Master's form with the eyes fixed inwardly, after having fixed them on the outer form of the Master.
SHUGAL-I-BARZAKHE-I-AKBAR - The Muslim term for controlling the breath while fixing the attention on the Third Eye. The Hindus also practise this method while sitting in Padamasan.
SHUGHAL-I-IENA - The Muslim designation for the practice of placing a mirror in front of oneself and gazing at the pupils of his own eyes, reflected in the mirror.
SHUGHAL-I-ISME-ZAT - The Muslim name for the practice of fixing one's attention on the light inside.
SHUGHAL-I-MANSURA - The Muslim name for the practice of lying flat on the floor with face turned up, keeping the entire body relaxed and the eyes fixed inside at the eye center. The Hindu yogis also practise this and call it Shavasan.
SHUGHAL-I-NIM-KHWABI - The Muslim name for the practice of staring with the eyes continuously open, in order to avoid sleep, but feeling as if half asleep.
SHUGHAL-I-SULTANAN-NASIRA - The Muslim name for the practice of fixing the eyes at the tip of the nose, and gradually the attention is taken inside. The Hindu Scriptures also mention this practice and call it Chachari Mudra.
SHUNYA SUN, SUNN or SUNNA - Void; emptiness; vacuum; esoterically, the appellation of the third Spiritual Region. See Maha Sunn.
SHYAM SUNDAR - Shyam means black, and Sundar means beautiful. As Krishna was of dark complexion and very handsome, he was called Shyam Sundar.
SIDHANT or SIDDHANT - Ideal; doctrine; also scientific doctrine; philosophy.
SIDDHIS - Miraculous powers obtained by means of yoga practice. They are eighteen in number, but the famous ones consist of the eight perfections or super-human faculties. These powers are to be shunned by Satsangis.
SIKH - Literally, disciple; the same as chela; the followers of Guru Nanak and his nine successors are known as Sikhs. The name also applies to one who has reached the first Spiritual Region within.
SIKH GURUS - Guru Nanak, the first of the Sikh Gurus, was followed by nine others, each appointed by his predecessor, as is the age-old tradition when there is a line of unbroken succession of a number of Saints or Masters. The ten Sikh Gurus were:
1. Guru Nanak (1469-1539).
2. Guru Angad (1504-1552).
3. Guru Amar Das (1479-1574.).
4. Guru Ram Das (1534-1581).
5. Guru Arjan (1563-1606).
6. Guru Har Govind (1595-1644).
7. Guru Har Rai (1630-1661).
8. Guru Har Kishan (1656-1664).
9. Guru Teg Bahadur( 1621-1675).
10. Guru Gobind Singh( 1666-1708) .
The Sikh Gurus were obliged to convert their followers into a military as well as a spiritual army shortly after 1600, due to fierce attacks launched against them by the Mogul Emperors of Delhi. This was the work chiefly of the sixth Guru, Har Govind, and of the tenth and the last Guru, Gobind Singh. When Guru Gobind's father, Guru Teg Bahadur, was summoned by Emperor Aurangzeb and given a choice between conversion to Islam or death, he preferred death and left the message: "I gave my head but not my faith." Under Guru Gobind Singh, the Sikhs took new names having the suffix 'Singh' (Lion) attached to them. This custom has been followed by the Sikhs since that time.
SIKHI - The path of discipleship.
SIMRAN - See Sumiran.
SINGHIT - Literally, hoarded, collected or stored. See Karma.
SMADHI - See Samadhi.
SNAN - Literally means bathing. Esoterically, it means the inner bathing by means of worship, good conduct, etc., which washes the mind and body of all bad currents arising therein. It also includes concentration of attention at the Eye Center, thereby cleansing the mind, etc.
SOUGH - See SUOUCH.
SUFI or SOOFI - An adherent of Sufism, which is a Mohammedan Mystic Sect that was developed in Persia, who believe in a living Murshid (Guru) and lead a holy life. The term is now being used to denote any holy man among the Moslems.
SUKH - Pleasure; happiness; comfort.
SUKHMANI - Literally the psalm of peace: It is an important composition of Guru Arjan (1563-1606) in the Holy Granth and is recited early in the morning by all devout Sikhs.
SUKSHAM, SUKSHIM or SUKSHM - Subtle; fine; astral.
SUKSHM KARMAS - Subtle karmas, the roots of which are at the top of Trikuti.
SUKSHM SAROOP or SARUP - Subtle form; astral body.
SUKSHM SHARIR - Same as Sukshm Saroop.
SUMERU - Another name for Mount Meru, the place where gods are said to reside; symbolically, the top of the spine. It is also called the Golden Mountain, Jewel Peak, Botus Mountain, and Mountain of the gods, the Olympus of the Hindus.
SUMIRAN - Repetition; remembrance. Also called Simran.
SUNN or SUNNA - The same as Shunya.
SUNN-SAMADHI - Perfect Samadhi; the state of the Lord (Purush) - when He was absorbed within Himself before creation; the state of Eternal Polarisation.
SUOUCH or SOUCH - Cleanliness.
SURAT - Soul ; consciousness; inner attention. As consciousness in the body is due to the presence of the soul, hence the soul is called 'surat' or consciousness.
SURAT SHABD YOGA or SURAT SHABD ABHYAS - The practice of the Sound Current; the union of the soul with Shabd; the spiritual exercise by which the current of consciousness is applied to the hearing of the Sound within; joining the mind and the attention to the Sound Current. It is also called Sahaj Yoga.
SUSHMANA or SUSHUMNA - Apex of the central current in the spinal column. Same as Shah Rag.
SUSHUPTI - Deep sleep; sound sleep without dreams or any interference of thought; also, when all attention has collected in the eye center and has gone up to the Agya center (the first Spiritual Region), which condition is known as Turiya, and one is dead to the world but wide awake within.
SWADHYAYA - study of scriptures or religious books and self.
SWAMI - Literally, Lord; the Supreme Lord; Supreme Creator; esoterically, the Lord of the eighth and Highest Spiritual Region; the name is also applied to the Sound Current, the Original Shabd and the Real Home; it is also a title given to religious teachers.
SWAMI JI - The Great Saint and Founder of what is now known as the Radha Swami Faith, Science and Philosophy. His real name was Seth Shiv Dayal Singh. See Radha Swami Dayal.
SWAMI SAGAR - Literally, Ocean of the Lord; name given to the well, which was excavated by Baba Ji in 1897 and completed in 1898, at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, and is still used in the Colony, for drinking water.
SWARATH - Worldly duties; worldly work.
SWARG, SWARGA or SWARG LOK - Heaven or Paradise in general; the same as Bahisth and Baikunth, except that this is supposed to be the kingdom of Indra, the ruler of the gods.
T
TAMAS, TAMO-GUNA or TAMOGUN - Darkness; ignorance; inertia; one of the three gunas.
TANASUKH - The Muslim name for Awagawan or Chaurasi; coming into and going out of the eighty-four lakh species of life.
TAN - The body.
TAN-MATRAS - Subtle essence from which the tattwas originated.
TAP or TAPA - The practice of austerities; penance; self-control or discipline.
TAPASVIS or TAPASIS - Devotees; ascetics; those who practise Tap.
TARIQAT - Practice leading to Spiritual Realization.
TATTWAS or TATTVAS, also TATT - Essences; elements; they are five in number and may be gross or subtle. The entire universe is made up of five tattwas; Prithvi (earth), Jal (water), Vaytt (air), Agni (fire), Akash (ether).
TEJAS - Lustre; beauty; power; also the state of dream consciousness.
TEK - Blind faith.
TEN SIKH GURUS - See Sikh Gurus.
TIKA - Literally, a mark made on the forehead; esoterically, when used to describe the condition of the mind, it means that it is fixed or concentrated.
TIL - Literally, seed of the sesamum plant; esoterically, the small aperture through which the soul enters Brahmand from Pind; the center between the eyebrows.
TISRA TIL - Third Eye; the seat or headquarters of the mind and the soul in the human body, situated between the two eyebrows; since the nine doors of the body (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc.) lead outward, this is also called the Tenth Door or Tenth Gate, and is the only one which leads within.
TITIKSHA - Patience; resignation; forbearance; endurance.
TRATAK DHYAN - Same as Shughal-i-Aftabi.
TRETA - The second cycle of Time, following Sat Yuga. See Yuga.
TRIKUTI - Three Prominences; appellation of the second Spiritual Region; also called Musallasi by the Muslim Saints, as it means 'three-cornered'; Gagan is the sky of Trikuti.
TRILOKI - Literally, three worlds; the appellation of the group of Pinda, Anda and Brahmanda.
TRILOKI NATH - Lord of the three worlds; Brahm or Brahmandi mind.
TULSI DAS - A famous Indian Saint of the sixteenth century, the period of the great Emperor Akbar. He was the author of the Ramayana in Hindi, originally composed in ancient times by the Sage Valmiki.
TULSI SAHIB - A great Poet-Saint of Hathras, an exponent of Sant Mat and the author of the Ghat Ramayana. He was born in the princely family of Peshwas in 1788 and was heir to the throne of the kingdom of Poona and Satara. He began to show signs of a devotional trend of mind at a very early age, and had no attachments or desires for worldly pleasures and pursuits. A few days before his coronation was to take place, he left his home and fled towards the north in the garb of a sadhu. He settled in Hathras, near Aligarh, in the U.P., where he was known as Dakkhini Baba (the Sage from the South). Swami Ji also came in contact with him; in fact, Swami Ji's mother was a disciple of Tulsi Sahib long before Swami Ji was born. Tulsi Sahib departed from this world in 1848.
TURIYA PAD - Another name for Sahansdal Kanwal. The state of superconsciousness, where the soul makes its first contact with the Real Shabd.
U
UDO, UDHO or UDHOJI - Name of a friend and disciple of Krishna.
UPANISHADS - The philosophical and mystical part of the Vedas, which describes the inner or esoteric teachings. Upanishad literally means "to sit near or close," and the doctrines were so named because these secrets and mysteries were personally imparted to the disciple by the teacher. These writings come very close to the teachings of the Saints.
UPARTI - Freedom from ceremonial worship; freedom from or indifference to sensual pleasures.
UPASNA - Devotion; worship; meditation; worship in the esoteric sense.
UPDESH - Instructions; advice; Initiation.
V
VAH GURU or WAHI-GURU - The Sikh name for God; the Supreme Lord.
VAIRAG or VAIRAGYA - Detachment from the world and its pleasures; renunciation; asceticism.
VALMIKI - Was a dacoit until he tried to rob a Saint and was made to see the error of his ways in a very subtle manner. He eventually became a Saint himself and was the author of the Ramayana, which he in Vedic phrase is said to have "seen". It is supposed to have been composed about fifteen centuries B.C., and to have received its present form a century or two later.
VARNATMAK or VARNATMIK - Expressible ; that which can be spoken or written. There are two forms of Shabd - one is Varnatmak and the other is Dhunatmak, perceivable as Sound within.
VASTI - A sort of enema, but the water is drawn up through the rectum by means of muscle control, while the practitioner sits in water.
VEDANT or VEDANTA - A system of Hindu philosophy, based particularly on the Upanishads, believing in the unitary existence of God and the identity of the soul with God.
VEDANTIC - Pertaining to Vedanta.
VEDANTIS or VEDANTISTS - Followers of Vedant system of philosophy.
VEDAS - Literally, knowledge; revealed knowledge as embodied in the four holy books of the Hindus, which are called Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
VEEN - See Been.
VIGYAN - Knowledge in the esoteric sense; also scientific knowledge.
VIN, BIN, VEEN, BEEN, VINA or BINA - See Been.
VIRAH or VIREH - Same as Bireh.
VISHNU - Second of the Hindu Triad; the Preserver and the Maintainer of the world.
VISHNU PURAN - It is one of the eighteen Puranas penned by Rishi Vedvyas.
VISHWA - Universe; one of the three forms of the ego; the conscious form.
VIVEK - Discrimination.
VRITTIS - Waves of the mind.
VYAS - A Hindu Rishi, founder of the Vedant System of Philosophy; literally, "arranger."
W
WAHI-GURU - Same as Vah Guru.
Y
YAG, YAGYA or YAJNA - Sacrifice; ritual or religious ceremony, which in ancient times often included the sacrifice of some animal.
YAMA - God of death; lord of the nether regions; angel of death; also means restraint.
YAMDOOT - Messenger of death.
YOG or YOGA - Literally, means union; esoterically, spiritual exercises; practice; meditation in the spiritual sense; any system which leads to or aims at the union of the soul with God.
YOG SHASTRA - Book on the subject of Yoga.
YOGABHYAS or YOGA ABHYAS - The practice of yoga; generally applied to the practitioners of Ashtang Yoga; esoterically, the yoga of Bhajan and Sumiran.
YOGIS - Those who practise yoga.
YOGISHWARS or YOGISHWARS - Those who, by spiritual practices, have reached up to the top of the second Spiritual Region.
YUDISHTRA or YUDHI-SHTHIRA - The eldest of the five Panda princes (Pandavas), mythologically the son of Dharma, the god of justice. With the Hindus he is the favorite one of the five brothers, and is represented as a man of calm, passionless judgment, strict veracity, unswerving rectitude, and rigid justice. He was renowned as a ruler and director, but not as a warrior. Educated at the court of his uncle, Dhrita-rashtra, he received from the family preceptor, Drona, a military training, and was taught the use of the spear. When the time came for naming the Yuva-raja or heir-apparent to the realm of Hastina-pura, the Maharaja Dhrita-rashtra selected Yudhi-shthira in preference to his own eldest son, Dur-yodhana. A long-standing jealousy between the Pandava and Kaurava princes then broke forth openly, which resulted in the Mahabharata (Great War).
YUG or YUGA - -Age or cycle of Time. Hindus divided time into four yugas or cycles, called Sat or Krita Yuga (the True or Golden Age), Trcta Yuga (the Silver Age), Dwapar Yuga (the Copper or Bronze Age), and Kal Yuga (the Dark or the Iron Age). We are now passing through Kal Yuga. One thousand yugas make a Maha Yuga (a Great Age) or incomprehensible length of time. And one Maha Yuga is called 'one day' of Brahm.
Z
ZARDUSHT - The prophet of the Zoroastrians.
ZIKAR - The Muslim term for Sumiran, meaning repetition or remembrance.
BOOKS ON THIS SCIENCE
1. Sar Bachan By Swami Shiv Dayal Singh Ji Maharaj, translated by Sewa Singh, Distt. & Sessions Judge.
2. The Path of the Masters By Dr. Julian P. Johnson M.A. M.D.
3. The Path of the Masters, Abridged - By Dr. Julian P. Johnson, M.A. M.D.
4. With A Great Master in India By Dr. Julian P. Johnson, M.A. M.D.
5. Mysticism, The Spiritual Path Vols. I & II By Prof. Lekh Raj Puri, M.A., P.E.S.
6. Teachings of the Gurus - Series 1 to 4 (As given in Adi Granth) By Prof. Lekh Raj Puri, M.A., P.E.S.
7. The Mystic Bible By Dr. Randolph Stone
8. Santmat and the Bible - By Narain Das, B.A., C.E.
9. The Inner Voice By Colonel C.W. Sanders.
10. Spiritual Gems Letters from the Great Master, Hazur Maharaj Sawan Singh Ji (1919-1948).
11. Light on Sant Mat By Maharaj Charan Singh Ji (Dis-courses and Excerpts from letters-1952-1958).
12. Spiritual Letters Letters from Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj (1896-1903) .
13. The Science of the Soul - By Sardar Bahadur Jagat Singh Ji Maharaj (Discourses, Dialogues, Sayings and Excerpts from letters-1948-1951).
14. Tales of the Mystic East - As narrated in Satsangs By Hazur Maharaj Sawan Singh Ji.
15. Discourses on Sant Mat By Hazur Maharaj Sawan Singh Ji.