Glossary
A
abhyas Spiritual practice; spiritual exercise.
abhyasi One who performs spiritual exercise.
adi Primal; first; original.
Adi Granth or Adi Granth Sahib Literally, ‘primal scripture’; also called the Granth Sahib; name given to the scripture that enshrines the hymns of the first five Gurus and the ninth Guru in the line of Guru Nanak and numerous other saints from various parts of India, which makes it a lucid mosaic of esoteric poetry of saints with a variety of religious, cultural, vocational and geographic backgrounds. The Adi Granth was compiled by Guru Arjun, the fifth Guru, who, representing the universal outlook of all true saints, gave it a broad base and acceptability. Ever since its inception the followers of the Gurus have adopted the Adi Granth as their most sacred scripture.
adi karma Original (adi) action causing reaction (karma); karma of the beginning, not earned by the individual, but established by the Creator in the beginning. See also karma.
Agam Lok Inaccessible (agam) region (lok); the name of the third stage of Sat Lok. Agam Purush is the Supreme Being presiding over Agam Lok.
ahankar Ego or I-ness; one of the five deadly passions (lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego); pride and vanity; also one of the four divisions of mind, its function is to separate self and self-interests from all else, which leads to erroneous identification with faces and objects of the world. See also antashkaran, kam, krodh, lobh, moh.
ahimsa Non-violence; not hurting any living being, by either word or act.
Ahura Mazda Ancient Persian name for the lord of life (ahura) and lord of wisdom (mazda), especially in Zoroastrianism.
akal Timeless; beyond birth and death.
Akal Purush Timeless (akal ) being (purush); the one who is beyond the sphere of birth and death; the supreme positive power, as opposed to Kal, the negative power.
akash Literally, ‘sky’ or ‘heaven’; ether, the highest of the five elements, which remains dormant in all living forms except the human. See also tattwa.
Akash Bani Sound or voice (bani ) from the sky (akash); heavenly music; Word or Logos; Audible Life Stream. See also Shabd.
akshar Indelible; imperishable; Akshar Purush is the appellation for God, the creative power.
Alakh Lok Invisible (alakh) region (lok); the second stage of Sat Lok. Alakh Purush is the lord of Alakh Lok.
Allah The Arabic name for God.
Anahat or Anaahat Shabd Unstruck (anaahat) Sound (shabd ).
Anami Lok Nameless (anami ) region (lok); the fourth stage of Sat Lok, presided over by Anami Purush, Radha Soami, the Supreme Being.
And or Anda Literally, ‘egg’; the astral region; the grand division of the creation lying immediately above the physical realm, Pind.
andi man Astral mind.
Anhad or Anahad Shabd Limitless (anhad) Sound (shabd); the Word or divine creative power. Also called the unstruck sound, logos. See also Shabd.
antashkaran or antahkaran Literally, ‘internal (antar) instruments (karan)’. Indian philosophy has described four internal instruments through which cognitive functions are performed: mind (man), intellect (buddhi), reflective aspect of intellect (chitt or chit), and egotism or erroneous identification (ahankar).
Anurag Sagar Believed to be written by Kabir, it is a book of verse in the form of a dialogue between Kabir and his disciple Dharam Das. Modern scholars maintain that this book was written by Dharam Das and not Kabir and can be described as the sayings of Kabir according to Dharam Das.
Arjun Dev See Guru Nanak.
Arjuna One of the Pandavas and the hero of the Mahabharata. It was to him that Lord Krishna taught the doctrines known as Bhagvadgita.
asana Posture; in spiritual practice, a meditative pose, with body erect, mind in poise.
ashtang yoga or ashtanga yoga A yogic discipline consisting of eight (ashta) aspects or limbs (anga) based on the yoga teachings of Patanjali.
Ashtdal Kamal Eight-petalled (ashtdal ) lotus (kamal ); the name of the centre beyond the eye centre where the disciple first meets the Radiant Form of the Master.
astral region That part of the subtle universe which lies above the physical worlds; the first inner region, known as Sahansdal Kamal.
asura Demons. In the oldest portions of the Rig Veda, Asura is used for the supreme spirit; later, sura came to mean ‘gods’, and asura ‘demons’, ‘enemies of God’.
Asura Lok The region of demons.
atma Soul or spirit. See also Paramatma, jivatma.
atma pad Spirit world, referring generally to the astral plane or first region; more technically, refers to Daswan Dwar, the third inner region, where the soul gains self-realization.
Aum See Om.
awagawan Coming and going; refers to age-long cycles of births and deaths; transmigration, reincarnation. See also chaurasi.
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 Soami Ji Maharaj and was appointed by him in 1877 to carry on the spiritual work with headquarters in the Punjab. He left this world on 29 December 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 honour of his Satguru. In the past, a bhandara was held in his sacred memory annually on 29 December at the colony at Beas. He was born in village Ghoman (Punjab) in July 1839.
Baba Ji Same as Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj.
babu A title equivalent to mister or esquire.
bachan Word; discourse; saying; instruction; order; command.
Bahisht Paradise; the same as Baikunth and Swarg.
Baikunth, Baikuntha or Baikunth Lok The abode of Vishnu; the same as Bahisht and Swarg.
Bani Voice, word or teachings; the Voice or Word of God; the Audible Life Stream. See also Shabd.
Beas The name of a small village situated on the banks of the Beas river in Punjab.
Bhagvadgita Literally, ‘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.
bhajan Worship or spiritual practice; listening to the melody of the Shabd within. Also used as an expression of outer devotional songs.
bhakt, bhakta or bhagat Devotee.
bhakti Devotion.
bhakti marg The path (marg) of devotion (bhakti). See also prem marg.
bhandara Religious feast; large scale feeding of people; esoterically the internal spiritual feast.
Bhanwar Gupha Revolving (bhanwar) cave (gupha); the name of the fourth inner region.
bibek See vivek.
bina or been See vina.
bodhisattva One who is on the way to attainment of perfect knowledge and has only a certain number of births to undergo before attaining the state of a supreme Buddha.
Brahm The ruler of Trikuti, the second inner region; known also as the ruler of Brahm Lok, the name given to the three worlds; regarded by many as the Supreme Being.
Brahma God of creation in the Hindu trinity of creator, preserver, destroyer (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva).
brahmacharya The practice of celibacy, remaining continent.
Brahmand or Brahmanda Literally, ‘egg of Brahm’; the grand division of the creation extending from Anda up to Bhanwar Gupha; the entire universe over which Brahm has jurisdiction.
brahmandi Pertaining to Brahmand; universal.
brahmandi manas Universal mind, which rules the subtle worlds such as heaven, hell, etc.
brahmin or brahman A member of the highest of the four Hindu castes; a priest.
buddh, budh or buddhi Intellect; one of the four phases of mind. See also antashkaran.
Buddha The great sage Prince Siddhartha of the Sakya clan. The religion of Buddhism is based on his teachings.
C
causal region See Trikuti.
chakra Wheel; centre; ganglion; any of the six energy centres in the human body, with parts resembling the petals of a lotus. See also kamal.
chaurasi Eighty-four; the wheel of eighty-four, or the wheel of transmigration. The name indicates the concept in Indian mythology and Hindu scriptures of eight million, four hundred thousand species in the creation. Mystics have adopted this phrase to tell of the multiplicity of births that souls pass through in the creation, according to the law of karma. See also karma, awagawan.
chela Disciple.
chetan Conscious; awakened; spirit; conscious living as opposed to jar (inert or inanimate); reason; soul; self; intelligence; wisdom; also called chaitanya.
Chetan Akash The heavenly region above the eyes; part of the first inner region.
Chitakash The same as Chetan Akash.
chit, chitt or chitta Reflective aspect of intellect; one of the four divisions of mind; the faculty of remembering and discerning beauty, form and colour. See also antashkaran.
D
Dadu (1544–1603) A saint of Rajasthan, well known for his bold utterances in his beautiful poetry.
dama Restraining or subduing the passions; curbing the mind.
dand Self-discipline; punishment; law of life.
darshan Vision, sight or seeing; implies looking intently at the Master with a deep feeling of respect, devotion and one-pointed attention.
Daswan Dwar Literally, the ‘tenth door’; an appellation of the third inner region. Trikuti is said to have an inner garh (citadel) having ten gates, nine of which are open. The tenth, that 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 Maha Sunn being the region of intense darkness between Daswan Dwar and Bhanwar Gupha (the fourth region).
daya Mercy; grace.
dayal Compassionate one; a term for the Supreme Being, the positive and merciful power, as opposed to Kal, the lord of judgement, who metes out relentless justice.
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 PO address of Radha Soami colony, Beas.
desh Country or region; inner region. See also Sat Desh.
Dev Lok Region of the gods.
deva or devta Shining one; personification of the forces of nature; god, angel.
dham Region or abode; place or home.
Dharam Rai Literally, ‘King Judge’; the lord of justice, who administers reward or punishment to the soul after death according to its own actions during life.
dharma Righteousness or duty; moral and religious duty in life; also used as a synonym for ‘religion’.
dharma megha A particular state of concentration (samadhi) which frees the mind from all activity, inward or outward; a person in such a state is said to radiate a light like a mantle of glory.
dhoti, neti, vasti Yogic cleansing practices. Dhoti is a small piece of cloth, about four inches 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. Neti is the cleansing of the humours by means of passing a waxed thread through the nostrils and bringing it out through the mouth. Vasti is a sort of enema, but the water is drawn up through the rectum by means of muscle control while the practitioner sits in water.
dhun Sound or melody; the Word; the heavenly music. See also Shabd.
dhunatmak or dhunyatmak Nam The inexpressible primal sound, which cannot be written or spoken or heard with the physical ears; the inner music which can be experienced only by the soul. See also Shabd.
dhyan Inner contemplation. A meditation technique taught by saints in which the devotee contemplates on the form of the Master within.
din dayal Din means ‘humble’, dayal means ‘merciful’; hence, ‘merciful to the humble’.
Dwaparyuga The Copper Age, the third yuga in the cycle of the ages. See also yuga.
F
faqir or fakir Arabic term for a holy man; an ascetic or a religious mendicant.
G
Ganges or Ganga A sacred river in India. Many places of pilgrimage are situated on the banks of this river.
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. It is to be distinguished from the Ramayana (Ramcharitmanas) by Tulsi Das, who lived in another age. Ghat Ramayana pertains to the ascent of the soul within.
Gita See Bhagvadgita.
Granth A book, especially a religious scripture; the Adi Granth.
Granth Sahib A title of respect for the Adi Granth. See also Adi Granth.
guna Attribute or quality; there are three attributes or qualities of primordial matter (prakriti) out of which the creation proceeds (harmony, action, and inertia), the source of which is in Trikuti. See also satogun, rajogun, tamogun.
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 Devotion to a Guru.
Gurdwara The name used by the Sikhs for their house of worship.
Gurmat Teachings of the Guru; same as Sant Mat.
gurmukh One whose face is turned towards the Guru; one who has completely surrendered to the Guru as opposed to one who is slave to the mind (manmukh); a highly advanced soul; a term sometimes used for a saint or perfect Master.
gurmukhta The quality of being a gurmukh; devotion and surrender to the Guru; obedience.
Gurmukhi Punjabi language, so called because it was the language of Guru Nanak.
Guru Master; teacher; spiritual enlightener.
Guru Granth Sahib See Adi Granth.
Guru Nanak (1469–1539) Guru Nanak was born at Talwandi, near Lahore (now in Pakistan). His parents were Kalu and Tripta. Guru Nanak condemned the orthodox creed of the people with great vigour, and he laid emphasis on the spiritual aspect of religion and on love of God and man. He undertook four major tours to propagate his teachings. The following were his successors to the Mastership:
Guru Angad (1504–1552) Second in the line of succession
Guru Amardas (1479–1574) Third in the line of succession
Guru Ramdas (1534–1581) Fourth in the line of succession
Guru Arjun Dev (1563–1606) Fifth in the line of succession
Guru Hargobind (1595–1644) Sixth in the line of succession
Guru Har Rai (1630–1661) Seventh in the line of succession
Guru Harkrishan (1656–1664) Eighth in the line of succession
Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675) Ninth in the line of succession
Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708) Tenth in the line of succession
gyan Knowledge; true knowledge; spiritual knowledge; spiritual wisdom; spiritual enlightenment.
gyani A learned person; one who practises or walks on the path of knowledge and wisdom.
gyan marg The path or way (marg) of learning. See also bhakti marg.
gyan yoga That form of yoga which attempts to achieve God-realization through the acquisition of knowledge. See also gyan marg.
H
Hafiz A famous poet-saint of Persia.
Haq Literally, ‘truth’; Arabic designation of the fifth inner region.
hansa Swan; symbolic of purity, the name given to the highly evolved souls in the regions beyond Brahm; the less evolved souls are often likened to crows.
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 immerse the ashes of their departed relatives into the river at this place, believing that this will secure salvation for the departed ones.
hatha yoga One of the Indian systems of yoga which deals only with the physical body.
Hazrat Mohammed Prophet and founder of Islam.
Huzur or Hazur Term of respect used in addressing or applied to kings, holy men, and high personages.
I
ida or ira See sushumna, Shah Rag.
Ism-i Azam The greatest Name; Shabd; Sound; inner music; Word.
J
Japji Sahib The first portion of the Granth Sahib, which consists of the sayings of Guru Nanak and which contains the essence of the entire Granth Sahib.
jat A caste in modern India, following mostly the agricultural and military professions.
ji An honorific term which indicates respect and endearment.
jiv or jiva Any living being; the individual or unliberated soul; sometimes used to denote human beings generally.
jivan mukti Salvation while alive; spiritual liberation during this lifetime.
jivatma Soul embodied in the physical form.
jnana yoga See gyan yoga.
jot or jyoti Light, flame; refers to the light of the first inner region, Sahansdal Kamal.
K
Kabir Sahib (1398–1518) A well-known saint who lived in Benares (Kashi) and preached and practised Surat Shabd Yoga. He condemned the follies and the external observances of Hindus and Muslims alike. He was succeeded by Dharam Das.
Kal Time or death; the negative power; the universal mind; the ruler of the three perishable worlds (physical, astral, causal); also called Dharam Rai, the lord of judgement, and Yama, the lord of death. Kal’s headquarters are in the second inner region, Trikuti, of which he is the ruler. Another name for Brahm.
Kalma Arabic for Bani; Word; Shabd.
Kaliyug or Kaliyuga The fourth cycle of time, known as the Dark Age or the Iron Age. It is the age in which we live now. See yuga.
kam Lust, passion, desire; one of the five passions (lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego). See also krodh, lobh, moh, ahankar.
kamal or kanwal Lotus; an image used to describe the energy centres, both in the physical body and in the inner regions. See also chakra; Sahansdal Kamal.
karam kanda Rituals, rites, ceremonies and outward practices in the various religions.
karan Causal; cause.
karan man The causal mind, which rules the causal region and extends to the top of Brahm.
karan sharir Causal body; also called seed body (bij sharir) because the seeds of all karmas reside in it; all such actions or karmas manifest in the lower astral and physical body. The causal body corresponds to the causal region. See also Trikuti.
karma Action; the law of action and reaction; the debits and credits resulting from our deeds, which bring us back to the world in future lives to reap their fruits. There are three types of karma: pralabdh or prarabdh karma, the fate or destiny we experience in the present life which has been shaped by certain of our past actions; kriyaman karma, the debits and credits created by our actions in this life, to be reaped in future lives; sinchit or sanchit karma, the balance of unpaid karmas from all our past lives, the store of karmas.
Karvat The name of the saw at Benares. The priests in charge claimed that anyone who had his head cut off by it would go to heaven. This practice has been stopped.
khat chakras The six centres of ganglia in the body.
khat sampatti The six types of riches, or moral and spiritual wealth: 1) sama – balance or equanimity; 2) dama – self-restraint; 3) uparati – freedom from ceremonial worship; 4) titiksha – patience; 5) sharaddha – faith; 6) samadhanta – deep meditation.
Koran Same as Qur’an.
Krishna Lord Krishna, held to be a complete incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He delivered the celebrated ‘Song of the Lord’, called Bhagvadgita.
Krityayuga Same as Satyuga.
kriyaman Karma created in the present life. See also karma.
krodh Anger; one of the five deadly passions (lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego). See also kam, lobh, moh, ahankar.
kundalini Coiled energy situated at the base of the spine, above the lowest centre (mul chakra). When aroused it rises up through the central canal of the spine, unwinding serpent-like; a practice to be shunned by satsangis, as it can easily dissipate spiritual energy and cause illness, insanity or death.
L
lakh One hundred thousand.
laya yoga A form of yoga in which the disciple merges his individuality in that of the Guru or Shabd.
lobh Greed; one of the five deadly passions (lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego). See also kam, krodh, moh, ahankar.
lok Region; world.
M
magi The wise men of the East; priests of ancient Persia.
maha Great.
Mahabharat or Mahabharata The great epic poem of ancient India, the leading subject of which is the great war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The object of the great struggle was the kingdom whose capital was Hastinapur, fifty-seven miles northeast of Delhi. See Pandavas.
Mahadev or Mahadeo The third of the Hindu Triad; the same as Shiva.
Maha Kal Ruler of the upper part of Brahmand; same as Kal.
maha nada Great music; the inner music, or audible life stream.
Maha Sunn The region of intense darkness, situated above Sunn or Daswan Dwar proper, and below Bhanwar Gupha. It is really one of the six great inner regions, but the saints do not refer to it as such so that their disciples, for their own protection, do not start dwelling upon it. It can be crossed only with the help of a spiritual Master. Hence, though there are six great inner 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 Daswan Dwar is really Sunn and Maha Sunn combined.
Maharaj Literally, ‘great king’; a title of respect.
mahatma Great soul; also applied to highly spiritual persons.
Mahayuga See yuga.
Mahesh or Maheshwara The same as Shiva.
man (pronounced mun) Mind.
manas Mind; pertaining to the mind.
manmukh Literally, ‘facing the mind’; one who obeys the dictates of the mind; a materialist or worldly person as opposed to a spiritual person. See also gurmukh.
Mansur (ce 870–923) A Muslim saint of Persia.
Manu An ancient lawgiver who divided Indian society into the four castes.
mardang A musical instrument resembling a long drum; also called mridang.
marg Path or way.
mat Creed; system; way; religion; teachings.
mauj Literally, ‘wave’; will; especially the will and pleasure of the Satguru or the Supreme Being.
Mauj Puri A place of Hindu pilgrimage.
Maulvi A Muslim priest; one learned in Islamic religion and theology.
Maulvi Rum, Maulana Rum or Rumi (1207–1277) A well-known Muslim saint of Persia who was a devoted disciple of Shams-i Tabriz; author of the world-famous Masnavi.
maya Illusion or delusion; deception; unreality, phenomenal universe; all that is not eternal, is not real or true is called maya; it appears but is not. The veil of maya’s illusion conceals the vision of God from our sight. Name of the goddess of illusion.
moh Attachment; worldly attachments or entanglements; one of the five deadly passions (lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego). See also kam, krodh, lobh, ahankar.
Mohammed See Hazrat Mohammed.
moksha Salvation or liberation from the cycle of transmigration.
mudra Symbolic or ritual gesture, usually performed with hands and fingers, used in pranayam. See also pranayam.
Mukam-i Haq Same as Sat Lok.
mul chakra The rectal plexus.
mumuksha One who desires to attain liberation (moksha).
Mundaka The name of one of the Upanishads.
muni A sage; holy man; one who contemplates.
Murshid Persian Islamic term for Master.
N
nabhi Navel.
Nad Sound; Shabd; Word; inner music.
Nad-bindu The Sound out of which all things grow; the name of one of the Upanishads.
Nam or Name The Shabd, Logos, or Word; the divine creative power.
Nam bhakti Devotion to Nam.
Nanak See Guru Nanak.
neel chakra or nil chakra Blue centre; esoteric term for a certain stage in the ascent of the soul within.
newli karma or neoli karma A yogic exercise of lowering the shoulders and flattening the back and, by the force of the breath, moving the abdomen right and left as well as up and down, as curds are churned in the churning vessel.
nij Literally, ‘one’s own’; real; higher; innermost.
nij dham One’s own real home.
nijmanas The inner mind, corresponding to causal body (karan sharir).
Niranjan Literally, ‘pure’; an appellation of the lord of the first inner region.
nirat The soul’s power of seeing; the attention inside.
Nirgun or Nirguna Without attributes; appellation for God. See also guna.
nirvikalpa Unwavering; concentrated; a state of deep meditation (samadhi) in which the disciple cannot distinguish himself from the object of meditation.
nuqta-i suwaida Black point; third eye; Arabic name for tisra til or third eye.
nuri sarup Light body; the Radiant Form of the Master; the astral form.
O
Om The sound and symbol of Brahm; audible life stream or sound of the second inner region. See also Shabd.
Ormuzd The old Persian and Parsi term for God; an angel; also the planet Jupiter.
P
Padam Puran A mythological book giving a detailed account of the cycles of the four yugas.
Paltu Sahib or Paltoo Sahib (1710–1780) A famous Indian saint noted for his bold and clear description of the path of the Masters, which leads to the highest inner region.
Pandavas The five Pandavas were the sons of Pandu, who was the brother of Dhrita-rashtra, King of Hastinapur. Dhrita-rashtra was blind, and Pandu died at a young age. The sons of Dhrita-rashtra were called the 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; brahmin priest; any brahmin.
par Beyond.
Paramatma or Parmatma Supreme Soul or God. See also Radha Soami.
Param Sant A supreme saint; a saint who has attained the highest inner region.
Parbrahm Beyond Brahm; the regions beyond Brahm Lok.
parmarth Spiritual way of life; spiritual work; spiritual gain; spiritual effort; spiritual uplift.
parshad, parshadi or prasad Anything sanctified or blessed.
Patanjali An ancient sage, known for his treatise on yoga.
pie Smallest Indian coin, lowest in value, no longer in use.
Pind or Pinda The physical universe; the physical body of man; the name of the lowest grand division of the creation. See also Anda, Brahmand, Sat Lok.
pindi man Physical (lower or material) aspect of the mind which governs the physical frame and senses.
pingala See sushumna.
prakriti Nature; jyoti; maya; female energy or shakti of any deity; the essential nature of mind and matter, which projects itself in various forms of emotions and actions, and which also influences the various parts of the body; prakritis are twenty-five in number and consist of five principal manifestations of the five elements in the body.
prakritis These are twenty-five in number and consist of five manifestations of each of the five elements or tattwas:
1. Ether – desires, 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.
pralabdh or prarabdh The fate karma; our destiny in this life, created by actions in past lives upon which the present life is based. See also karma.
prana or pran Vital force; essence or vital air.
pranayam Part of the Patanjali yoga system, which attempts to control the vital air (pran), mainly through breath control. This practice is not recommended without an adept or Guru as a guide. See also Guru.
prem marg The path (marg) of love (prem); the path of the saints. Also called bhakti marg.
purush A being; creative energy; man.
Purusha and Prakriti Region The first inner 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
Qur’an or Koran The holy book of the Muslims, revealed to Prophet Mohammed.
R
radha Primal soul.
Radha Soami or Radha Swami Lord (soami) of the soul (radha); appellation of the absolute Supreme Being.
Radha Soami Din Dayal Literally, ‘Lord of the soul, merciful to the humble’.
Rahim, Raheem or Rahman Literally, ‘merciful’; ‘forgiving’; used as a reference to God; Allah.
rajogun or rajas The creative or active attribute (guna). See also tamogun, satogun.
raj yoga A practice that deals with the control of the currents of the mind by increasing the power of the mind through contemplation and certain postures. This practice is not recommended without an adept or guru as guide.
Ram or Rama A name for God; the power that pervades everything; a Hindu god.
Ramayana The oldest of Sanskrit epic poems, written by the sage Valmiki. The Ramayana (Ramcharitmanas) by Tulsi Das was written much later.
Ram Chandra The same as Rama, king of Ayodhya, the seventh incarnation of the god Visnhu, believed to have lived in the Tretayuga or second age. The story of his life is the subject of the Ramayana in Sanskrit by Valmiki.
Rehman Same as Rahman.
riddhis Miraculous powers.
rishi One who sees; enlightened one; sage of ancient India having some level of spiritual attainment, though usually not a saint. See also sant, yogi.
roop Form.
S
Sach Khand True or imperishable (sach) region (khand); the name of the fifth inner region or the highest grand division of the creation. Region of the true Lord (Sat Purush, Sat Nam). Also called Sat Desh, Sat Lok or Nij Dham.
sadhu or sadh One who has controlled the mind; technically, a devotee who has crossed the region of mind and matter and reached the third inner region (Daswan Dwar); sometimes applied to one who has gained the second region (Trikuti); generally, a holy person following a path of spiritual discipline.
sadhu seva Rendering service to sadhus.
Sahansdal Kamal or Sahansrar The thousand-petalled lotus; the name of the first inner region; the astral region.
sahib Lord; honourable sir; a term of respect.
samadhan Deep meditation, superconsciousness; a state of rapture.
samadhi A state of concentration in which all consciousness of the outer world is transcended.
samhita A code of laws, e.g., the Manu Samhita.
sannyasi One who has renounced the world, who is free from attachments.
sannyasin Feminine form of sannyasi.
sanskara Impressions or tendencies from previous births, early upbringing, traditions and social influences which shape the basic outlook and behaviour patterns of a human being.
sanskari One with a previous background; spiritually fit; predestined; a seeker after God.
sant Saint; one who has attained the fifth inner region (Sach Khand); a God-realized soul. See also Param Sant, Sant Mat.
Sant Mat The teachings (mat) of the saints (sant). See also Surat Shabd Yoga.
Sant Satguru A saint who is also a spiritual teacher. Everyone who has reached the fifth inner region is a saint, but not all of them accept followers or are designated to teach. Hence, every true Master or Satguru is a saint, but not all saints are Satgurus.
sar Essential; important; real; essence; true.
Sar Bachan Literally, ‘essential’, ‘true’, or ‘important words’. The name of a book by Soami Ji.
Sar Shabd or Sar Shabda The essence (sar) of the Word or Sound (shabd); the pure Shabd, free from matter, above Trikuti. See also Anhad Shabd.
sat True; real; everlasting. See also Satguru, Sat Desh, Sat Lok, Sat Purush.
Sat Desh True (sat) home or region (desh); another name for Sach Khand.
Satguru or Satgur True (sat) spiritual teacher (guru); perfect Master; true light-giver; a Master who has access to the fifth inner region (Sach Khand). A Satguru teaches utmost humility, truth and compassion, earns his own living and never charges for his teachings.
Satguru seva Service to the Satguru; the real way to render him service, and that which he will always accept, is for the disciple to attend to meditation regularly.
Sat Lok True (sat) region (lok); the fourth plane of existence (Pind, And, Brahmand and Sat Lok); also another name for Sach Khand. Sat Lok is further divided into four stages: Sach Khand, Alakh, Agam and Anami.
Sat Nam True (sat) name (nam); the unspoken, unwritten Name or Word of God; the supreme Creator; Lord of the fifth inner region; original source of souls; the true spiritual Father. See also Sat Purush.
sato guna, satogun or satwa guna The quality or attribute of rhythm, harmony and truth. See also guna.
Sat Purush True or eternal (sat) being (purush); Supreme Being; God; Lord of the fifth inner region. See also Sat Nam.
satsang True (sat) company (sang); association with the true. The company of or association with a perfect Master is external satsang, association of the soul with the Radiant Form of the Master, the Shabd or Nam within, is internal satsang. The highest form of satsang is to merge in the Shabd. A congregation assembled to hear a spiritual discourse is also referred to as satsang; even to think about the Master and his teachings is a form of satsang.
satsangi One who associates with the true; initiate of a perfect Master.
Sat Shabd Literally, ‘true Word’; the divine Sound.
Satyuga True (sat) age (yuga); the Golden Age; the first of the four great cycles of time. See also yuga.
Sawan The chief rainy month in India, which corresponds with the latter part of July and the first two weeks of August.
Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj Known as ‘the Great Master’, he was the favourite and devoted disciple of Baba Jaimal Singh Ji in the Punjab. While Baba Jaimal Singh Ji was the one who first settled in and established what is 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 the village of Jatana near Mehmansinghwalla, District Ludhiana (Punjab), his ancestral home, on 19/20* July 1858, was appointed successor by Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj in 1903 and assiduously served in that capacity until his departure on 2 April 1948.
seva or sewa Service; voluntary service to the Master or his disciples. Of the four types of seva (monetary, physical, mental, spiritual), the highest form is the spiritual – the meditation practice.
Shabd or Shabda Word or Sound; spiritual sound; audible life stream; sound current. The creative power, the source of all creation, which manifests as sound and light in the inner regions. It is the Word or Logos of the Bible; Kalma, Ism-i Azam, Bang-i Asmani, or Kalam-i Ilahi of the Koran; the Nad of the Vedas; Nam, Ram Nam, Gurbani, Bani, and Dhun of the Adi Granth; the Tao of the Chinese; Vadan and the Saut-i Sarmad of the Sufis. The Zoroastrians call it Shraosha, and it is known by many other names. The secret of hearing the Shabd within oneself can be imparted only by a true Master (Satguru). See also Shabd dhun, Surat Shabd Yoga, Anhad Shabd.
Shabd dhun Music (dhun) of the Word (shabd); the Shabd; the audible life stream.
Shabd marg The path (marg) of the Word (shabd); the path of Shabd Yoga; the path of the saints. See also Surat Shabd Yoga.
Shabd Yog Same as Surat Shabd Yog.
shabds Hymns; paragraphs or stanzas of sacred texts put to music. Often sung by a singer (pathi) accompanying a discourse at satsang. These are external sounds, as opposed to inner Sound (shabd). See also Shabd, satsang.
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 the same as sushmana or sushumna, which is the central current. The current on the left is called ida or ira, and that on the right is known as pingala.
shakti Power, ability or strength; the highest form of maya or illusion.
Shams-i Tabriz or Shamas-i Tabriz (1206–1248) Shams-ud-Din Mohammed Tabriz, better known as Shams-i Tabriz, a famous Muslim saint of Persia, was born in Tabriz, Iran. He was the Master of Maulana Rum, who named one of his compositions after the name of his Master – Diwan-i Shams-i Tabriz. He was assassinated by religious fanatics.
Shankaracharya A great commentator of the Vedanta Sutras and the Upanishads.
shanti Peace; peace of mind.
Shariat Islamic code of life, religious law, justice; Koranic law and ritual.
Shastras Hindu scriptures; books of philosophy and moral code.
Shiva God of destruction in the Hindu trinity of creator, preserver, destroyer (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva).
shraddha or sharaddha Faith; belief; reverence.
Shraosha Zarathustra used the term to refer to the inner Sound, the Shabd. It is referred to as the most majestic aspect or power of Ahura Mazda because it brings eternal life.
siddhis Miraculous powers.
sikh or shishya Literally, ‘disciple’ or ‘follower’; 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 inner region within.
sikhi The path of discipleship.
simran or sumiran Repetition or loving remembrance; repetition of the five holy names according to the instructions of a perfect Master. The simran that a perfect Master gives is charged with his power; disciples concentrate the attention at the third eye (tisra til) and carry on repetition with love and one-pointed attention. This practice enables them to withdraw the soul currents from the body to the third eye, from where the real spiritual journey begins.
sinchit or sanchit The store of unpaid past karmas. It is from this store that the fate karmas (pralabdh) are drawn. See also karma.
Soami or Swami Lord; the Supreme Being; the Master; commonly applied to all spiritual teachers. See also Radha Soami.
Soami Ji or Swami Ji (1818–1878) The great saint and founder of what is now known as the Sant Mat path, science and philosophy. His real name was Seth Shiv Dayal Singh.
Sufi An adherent of Sufism, which is a mystic sect developed in Persia, who believes in a living Murshid (Guru) and leads a holy life. The term is now being used to denote any holy man among the Muslims.
Sukshm Sarup Subtle form; astral body.
Sukshm Shahrir Same as Sukshm Sarup.
Sultan-ul-Azkar Literally, ‘the king of methods’; a reference to Surat Shabd Yoga.
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 Park, Lotus Mountain, and Mountain of the Gods.
Sunn or Sunna Derived from Sanskrit shunya, it has usually been translated as void, emptiness, vacuum, but the saints have not used this term in this meaning. According to them it is an inner region which is devoid of matter in any form. On entering this region the soul becomes free from the bondage of matter, mind and the three attributes.
surat Soul; consciousness; inner attention. As consciousness in the body is due to the presence of the soul, hence the soul is also called surat.
Surat Shabd Yoga The practice of joining the soul (surat) with the Word (shabd) and merging (yoga) with it; once the soul merges into the Shabd, it is carried by the Shabd to its source, the Lord.
sushumna or sushmana The central current in the finer body, starting from the eye centre and leading upward to the higher inner regions, located and traversed by means of the spiritual practice taught by a perfect Master; also known as Shah Rag. It is not to be confused with sushumna of the yogis, which is the central canal along the spine in the lower body and is to be ignored by satsangis and spiritual practitioners. The sushumna divides into two currents, on the left is ida and on the right is pingala.
swarath Worldly duties; worldly work; selfishness.
Swarg, Swarga or Swarg Lok Heaven or Paradise in general; the same as Bahisht and Baikunth.
T
tama, tamoguna or tamogun The attribute of dissolution; inertia; darkness. See also guna, satogun, rajogun.
Tathagata One who has attained; a name for the Buddha.
tattwa Elements; essence; the five elements are present, to various degrees, in all living beings: earth (prithvi), water (jal ), fire (agni), air (vayu) and ether (akash).
til Literally, ‘seed of the sesame plant’; esoterically, the small aperture through which the soul enters Brahmand from Pind; the centre between the eyebrows.
tisra til Third (tisra) eye (til ); a point in the subtle body, between and behind the two eyebrows; the seat of the mind and the soul in the human body, and the point at which the disciples of the saints begin their concentration, and from where they go up. Also called the ‘black point’ (nuqta-i suwaida) by Sufis and the ‘single eye’ in the Bible.
titiksha Endurance; patience; power of enduring hardships with calmness and peace.
Tretayuga The Silver Age, the second grand cycle of time, immediately following the Golden Age (Satyuga). See also yuga.
Trikuti Three prominences; that part of the subtle universe which lies above the astral world; the name of the second inner region; the causal region. Also called Brahm Lok.
Triloki Three worlds: the physical world (Pind), astral world (And) and the causal world (Brahmand), all ruled by Brahm.
Tulsi Das A saint of medieval times, author of the Ramcharitmanas in Hindi.
Tulsi Sahib A great poet-saint of Hathras; an exponent of Sant Mat and the author of Ghat Ramayana. He was born in the princely family of Peshwas in 1763 and was heir to the throne of the kingdom of Puna and Sitara. 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 Uttar Pradesh, where he was known as Dakkhini Baba (the Sage from the South). Soami Ji’s mother was a disciple of Tulsi Sahib long before Soami Ji was born, and Soami Ji himself received light from him. Tulsi Sahib departed from this world in 1848.
Turiya Pad Another name for Sahansdal Kamal. The state of superconsciousness where the soul makes its first contact with the real Shabd.
U
Upanishads The philosophical and mystical part of the Vedas relating to 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.
uparati Renunciation; detachment from all worldly desires.
V
Vah Guru or Wahi Guru The Sikh name for God; the supreme Lord.
vairagi One who has attained detachment.
vairagya Detachment, particularly mental detachment from the world and worldly desires; a state of mind – not to be confused with asceticism or physical renunciation of the world.
varnatmak Describable; that which can be spoken or written. See also dhunatmak.
Vedant or Vedanta A system of Indian 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.
Vedas Literally, ‘knowledge’; revelations embodied in the four holy books of the Hindus: Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
Vedic Pertaining to the Vedas.
vina, veena, beena or bina A stringed musical instrument, perhaps the oldest of the classical musical instruments in India, said to be the forerunner of the sitar. While vina is the correct name for this stringed instrument referred to in Sant Mat literature, some authors have used the term bin or been, which should not be confused with the Scottish bagpipe. The exact sound of the region of Sach Khand cannot be conveyed in terms of any material musical instrument, as nothing in this world comes anywhere near that divine melody. In fact, like the light of that region, its sound also defies terrestrial comparison.
Vishnu God of preservation in the Hindu trinity of creator, preserver, destroyer (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva).
vivek Discrimination; searching inquiry; careful study, as the first step on the path of the Masters.
W
Wahiguru Same as Vah Guru.
wheel of eighty-four See chaurasi.
Y
yagna, yag, yagya or yajna Sacrifice; a ritual or religious ceremony, which in ancient times often included the sacrifice of some animal.
Yama The lord of death, who takes charge of the uninitiated soul at the time of death. See also yamdoot.
yamdoot Messengers or angels (doot) of death (yama).
yoga Literally, ‘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.
yogishwar King of yogis, or supreme yogi; one who has reached the second inner region, Brahm Lok, the causal plane.
yogi One who practises yoga.
yuga Age; a great cycle of time. Hindu mythology divides time into four recurring cycles: the Golden Age (Satyuga); the Silver Age (Tretayuga); the Copper Age (Dwaparyuga); and the Iron Age (Kaliyuga) through which we are now passing. One thousand yugas make a Great Age (Mahayuga), which is equivalent to one day of Brahm. Saints have adopted this concept to convey the ever changing nature of life on earth.