| Definitions are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.All links will open a new browser window to Wikipedia which contains more detailed information. Awake |
| Ashram An Ashram (Pronounced ‘aashram’) in ancient India was a Hindu hermitage where sages (See Rishi) lived in peace and tranquility amidst nature. Spiritual and physical exercises, such as the various forms of Yoga, were regularly performed by the hermitage residents. |
| Awareness In biological psychology, awareness describes a human or animal’s perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event. Awareness does not necessarily imply understanding, just an ability to be conscious of, feel or perceive. |
| Bodhi Bodhi, the Pāli and Sanskrit word for “awakening” or “enlightenment”, is an abstract noun formed from the verbal root budh (awake, become aware, notice, know or understand), corresponding to the verbs bujjhati (Pāli) and bodhati or budhyate (Sanskrit). |
| Dualism In theology, dualism can refer the belief that there are two basic opposing principles, such as good, and evil. In philosophy of mind, dualism refers to the views that mind and matter are two ontologically separate entities. |
| Enlightenment Enlightenment or illumination is a fundamental philosophical concept which grew beyond religion and spirituality and essentially means being illuminated by acquiring new wisdom or understanding. |
| Finder Previously the spiritually awakened were referred to as Seekers, someone who has been locked, perhaps even trapped, (stuck) in a constant search for answers. Let us propose a new paradigm, one for the NOW: a Finder. One who finds all they need to grow and evolve on their own spiritual path. |
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Guru A Guru (Sanskrit: guru) is a teacher in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Based on a long line of philosophical understanding as to the importance of knowledge, the guru is seen in these religions as a sacred conduit, or a way to self-realization. |
| Jiva In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva is the immortal essence of a living being (human, animal, fish or plant etc…), it also sometimes referred to the atma, or ‘the true self’ |
| Kashmir Shaivism Kashmir Shaivism is a school of spiritual teaching and practice that arose during the eighth century in Kashmir, India. After a period of obscurity, the tradition has experienced a renewal during the last 100 years amongst both academics and spiritual seekers. Kashmir Shaivism is a monistic tantric system of belief and practice. It says that the universe is a manifestation within the one Consciousness, and that all things are that Consciousness in essence. |
| Maya Maya (Sanskrit maya, from ma “not” and ya “this”), in Hinduism, is many things. Maya is the illusion that the phenomenal world of separate objects and people is the only reality. For the mystics this manifestation is real, but it is a fleeting reality; it is a mistake, although a natural one, to believe that maya represents a fundamental reality. |
| Meditation Meditation is the practice of focusing the mind, often formalized into a specific routine. a state that is experienced when the mind dissolves and is free of all thoughts. |
| Moksha Moksha (Sanskrit: liberation) or Mukti (Sanskrit: release) refers, in Indian religions, to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth and all the suffering and limitation entailed in embodied worldly existence. |
| Namaste South Asian greeting originating in India, which is used when both hello and goodbye would be used in English. The meaning is quite different, however. In a religious context this word can be taken to mean any of these: The Spirit in me meets the same Spirit in you, I greet that place where you and I are one, I salute the Light of God in you, I bow to the divine in you, I recognize that within each of us is a place where Divinity dwells, and when we are in that place, we are One. |
| Oneness Oneness is a spiritual term referring to the ‘experience’ of the absence of egoic identity boundaries, and, according to some traditions, the realization of the awareness of the absolute interconnectedness of all matter and thought in space-time, or one’s ultimate identity with God. |
| Samadhi Samadhi (Sanskrit, lit. “establish, make firm”) is a Hindu and Buddhist term that describes a non-dualistic state of consciousness in which the consciousness of the experiencing subject becomes one with the experienced object [1], and in which the mind becomes still (one-pointed or concentrated)[2] but the person remains conscious. |
| Satori Satori (Japanese satori; Chinese: wù – from the verb Satoru) is a Zen Buddhist term for enlightenment. The word literally means “to understand”. |
| Self-realization In yoga, self-realization is knowledge of one’s true self. This true self is also referred to as the atman to avoid ambiguity. The term “self-realization” is a translation of the Sanskrit expression atman jnana (knowledge of the self or atman). The reason the term “realization” is used instead of “knowledge” is that jnana refers to knowledge based on experience, not mere intellectual knowledge. |
| Shakti In Hinduism, Shakti is an aspect of Devi, and a personification of God as the Divine Mother who represents the active, dynamic principles of feminine power. In Shaktism, Shakti is worshiped as the Supreme Being. |
| Shiva [The topic of Shiva is too big to go into depth here, please refer to the link for further information] Shiva is the supreme God in Shaivism, one of the major branches of Hinduism. However, according to Shaivism, Shiva is not merely a destroyer but performs five functions: 1. Creator, 2. Preserver, 3. Destroyer, 4. Hiding the sins, and most importantly, 5. Blessing. |
| Yogi One who practices yoga is called a yogi or in Sanskrit, a yogin (masculine) or yogini (feminine). These designations are mostly reserved for advanced practitioners. The word “yoga” itself –from the Sanskrit root yuj (“to yoke”)–is generally translated as “union” or “integration” and may be understood as union with the Divine, or integration of body, mind, and spirit. |
| Definitions are taken from  Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia. All links open a new browser window. |