
Secrets of Hinduism Revealed:
Selected Works of Sir John Woodroffe and a Sanskrit Glossary
Contents:
introduction
selected works of Sir John Woodroffe (aka Arthur Avalon)
general notes about the books
chapter contents of each book
notes about the glossary
glossary and appendix
note to readers
Introduction
“Brothers and sisters of America!” With that stirring greeting to the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism to the West. But it was only a start. Meanwhile, back in India, scholars were trying to grasp wisdom as ancient as any on earth and Sir John Woodroffe was busy parsing Sanskrit texts and translating them for the rest of us.

Woodroffe, who spent eighteen years on the British High Court in Bengal, including a stint as Chief Justice, adopted the pseudonym Arthur Avalon and tenaciously pursued the study of Hinduism. His thorough absorption in Indian culture along with its ancient philosophies and religion was unusual for a European, especially one so prominent in the British government. Friendship with numerous highly educated Indians afforded Woodroffe the opportunity to delve deeply into the sources of religious and philosophical traditions that customarily eluded the grasp of westerners and ordinary Indians. Woodroffe also found special niches in which to concentrate his attention. Soon, he was a noted author and lecturer whose legacy remains important.
There are numerous approaches to truth, each with many perspectives and interpreters. Advaita (non-dualistic) Vedanta is one approach; Shakta Shastra is one of its perspectives and Tantra is one of the most misunderstood aspects. Vedanta, little known to many westerners, nonetheless ranks among the most significant formulations of Indian thought; Shakti and Tantra were among its most mysterious and misunderstood features. Woodroffe set about changing misperceptions and became one of the foremost advocates for revised interpretation. For most, this is an obscure corner of philosophy and religion, but for interested students, it is important and deserves clarification.
A quick glance at fundamental meanings is in order: Monism is the philosophical principle that all existence is of a singular essence. Although Vedanta transcends philosophy through the agency of experience, it may be approached as monism overlaid with religion. Shakta Shastra refers to formal worship in the Hindu tradition and regards power as its vehicle for understanding and attainment. Sir John Woodroffe was uniquely positioned to interpret the scope of Shakta Shastra for English speakers, many of whom are Indian.
Words unfamiliar to westerners are clearly an issue for those who want to learn more about philosophies and religions rooted in India. Sanskrit, an ancient language used by Indian philosophers, presents a formidable obstacle. Woodroffe, both because of his formal education and the depth of his independent studies, bridges the gap of understanding with the West. He communicates in part with references to European philosophy and Christian religious beliefs that are familiar to westerners.
The significance of difficulty involving words is not limited to language and culture alone. As anyone who has undertaken to read Woodroffe’s books will attest, the complexity of philosophy and the traditions of an unfamiliar religion, along with numerous variations, combine with an overwhelming number of Sanskrit terms to make reading a serious challenge. That, essentially, is why I began to construct a glossary while reading Woodroffe’s works. In addition, I found it helpful to keep handy a little additional information beyond what would be expected in a glossary, a decision that led to a brief appendix. Finally, the lack of sufficiently descriptive chapter headings prompted me to compile lists of subjects covered in each chapter, helpful for locating passages later and isolating specific points for further study.
Ideas embedded in Vedanta make Woodroffe’s books compelling. The spark that Vedanta provides to monism not only enlivens philosophy, but poses a challenge for those among us who reject religion outright. Readers who succumbed to all sorts of lurid rumors about Hinduism, especially certain of its most exotic religious practices, will find an authoritative source to reevaluate misconceptions. Students of culture and history will be interested in the tangle of ritual and tradition that pervades Indian life.
Woodroffe himself, his education, his position in the British Raj and the depth of his understanding of Hindu India reflect the importance of his work. Delving into it is a pleasure as well as a challenge.
Selected Works*
Mahanirvana Tantra: Tantra of the Great Liberation (Nirvana). Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe, translator) 1913.
Shakti and Shakta: Essays and Addresses on the Shâkta Tantrashâstra. Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe). London: Luzac & Co., 1918.
The Garland of Letters: (Varn Amala) Studies in the Mantra-Sastra. Arthur Avalon (Sir. John G. Woodroffe). Madras: Ganesh & Company and London: Luzac & Company, 1922. Third Edition, Madras: Ganesh & Company, 1955.
The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga. Arthur Avalon.
*Except for The Serpent Power, I used ebooks of the above works, all available from Amazon. For The Serpent Power, I located a version on the Internet in PDF format and I did not make a list of chapter contents of that book because the material is sufficiently covered in his other works. The level of detail included in The Serpent Power surpasses even that of his other works about a subject that is adequately addressed elsewhere. For readers particularly interested in the material covered there, it is a uniquely outstanding source of information.
General Notes About the Books
Readers looking for a guru in a book will be disappointed. Woodroffe offers no intentional inspiration or proselytizing. What he provides, however, is extremely valuable information about and explanation of religion and philosophy, not the religion and philosophy itself. If the distinction is finely cut, it because Woodroffe is a scholar on a mission to educate with accurate translation and precise facts. Woodroffe is willing to allow the reader to decide what to do with those facts. His erudition and familiarity with western religion and philosophy as well as eastern thought enhances his ability to communicate. His commitment to accuracy could create a tendency to relax and unquestioningly accept what he says except that the subject matter requires so much concentration and the concepts are so intellectually challenging that the reader remains constantly engaged.
The amount of unfamiliar detail is apt to be staggering, while repetitiousness can be annoying. Because the text of these books is largely drawn from essays and lectures that are necessarily standalone pieces, material is sometimes repeated several times, a fact that can rescue readers who forgot some points previously covered but stultify those who are conversant with the material. Another challenge is Sanskrit itself. No reader should feel inadequate; there are plenty of obstacles and difficulties to overcome and Woodroffe is aware of them.
The subject matter of the books, being so closely related, necessarily portends repetition. Breaking it down, however, it is observed that while simultaneously translating and parsing Sanskrit words and ancient idioms, Woodroffe is also explaining the thought, reasoning, philosophy and religion behind those words. Small pieces of his explanation suddenly illuminate an aspect encountered previously, perhaps in the writings of a different author, that clear up meaning and make it comprehensible and more useful. This makes reading Woodroffe potentially important for any serious student of Vedanta who is apt to receive unanticipated benefits. Woodroffe can be read as instructive of language, interpretation and scholarship but this reading also serves the comprehension of deeper meaning embedded in the philosophy he explicates.
In some respects, Woodroffe’s status as an outsider paves his way to address some of the most daunting issues. By insisting on accuracy, both semantic and historical, Woodroffe takes a fresh approach to subjects wrongly conceived by westerners and Indians themselves. Repeatedly, Woodroffe calls out western scholars and laymen for accepting flawed interpretations, sometimes commenting plainly that they don’t know what they are talking about. He finds Indians too frequently unfamiliar with their own religious and philosophic heritage with both easterners and westerners too quick to accept shibboleths and tropes that mischaracterize the truth.
Woodroffe eagerly approaches two specific areas for special focus, both of which are widely misunderstood in the west and in India. By addressing Shakta Shastra, for example, Woodroffe explains the meaning of power as interpreted in Hindu religion and takes the opportunity to explicate gods and associated ritual. By plunging into the controversial subject of Tantra, Woodroffe avails himself of the chance to correct misperceptions that have stigmatized adherents for hundreds of years.
It is as an educator and scholar that Woodroffe makes his mark. By explaining religious practices in excruciating detail along with the scriptural references that underpin them and the cultural context that envelopes them, Woodroffe is able to dispel some of the most persistent misconceptions about exotic rituals that have meaning in the lives of adherents. For those who deem themselves too jaded about religion to countenance any redemptive reason for it, Woodroffe carefully traces the intent of ritual and its purpose in the daily lives of followers. There is a reason for mantra, and a goal behind the mechanics of ritual, for example, that creates meaning in life, as he carefully explains, meaning that is fulfilling. But it is worth noting that Woodroffe is not paternalistic or condescending to either westerners or Indians whose cultural parameters previously missed the significance of what he elucidates. In fact, Woodroffe respects the work of other scholars, both western and Indian, and offers generous praise for some of them, providing guidance for further reading. Above all, Woodroffe is not, except in a few carefully noted instances, speaking his own thoughts but simply passes along wisdom gleaned from his studies.
One topic that Woodroffe turns to repeatedly and elucidates well is the subject of creation. Here, the full panoply of mythology comes to the fore, affording him the opportunity to delve in detail into descriptions, both physical and metaphorical, of the lives of gods and goddesses. More importantly, a thorough explication of creation serves to illuminate the cultural perspective of Indians as well as the philosophic foundations of Hindu faith. Woodroffe also frequently attempts to explain the complex theory of Maya that is too often dismissed as “illusion.” To accomplish this, he compares the approaches of dualism and non-dualism and does a good job of representing the considerations of each. But in this rare instance, in my opinion, Woodroffe fails to appreciate completely the depth of understanding required to penetrate the veil of misapprehension surrounding appearances and thus cannot convey the deeper level of awareness. The fact that he is able to communicate the significance of Maya is sufficient treasure to leave the reader wondering on a higher plane and ready to pursue further inquiry. Such, after all, is why the reader found Sir John Woodroffe in the first place.
CHAPTER CONTENTS OF THE BOOKS
Mahanirvana Tantra
Preface
• tantras are scriptures for the Kaliyuga and contain a large amount of information of contemporary interest
• first reliable English translation of this tantra
• notes problems associated with obtaining manuscripts
• prejudices and misunderstandings about Indian beliefs
Introduction
• reviews basic understanding of gods, creation
• reviews fundamentals of Hindu religious perspective
• excellent, highly detailed explanation of gunas
• explanation of the various spiritual beings, their levels and meaning along with different levels of existence regarding earth, heaven and hell
• four stages of life
• castes
• ages
• microcosm and macrocosm
• scriptures according to ages
• extremely detailed explanation of the body and its sheaths along with their functions
• explanation of the various centers of the body
• discussion of forms of worship
• types of worship
• stages of development and advancement
• details of the meaning of mantra
• yantra explained
• review of types of ritual and worship
• explanation of yoga
• aspects of the body, especially regarding worship and ritual
• Samadhi explained in detail
• sin and virtue
• karma
• goals
• dharma
• kama
• moksha
• siddhi
Chapter 1: Questions relating to the Liberation of Beings
• review of characteristics of men of the Kaliyuga
Chapter 2: Introduction to the Worship of Brahman
• review of characteristics of those who seek liberation
Chapter 3: Description of the Worship of the Supreme Brahman
• review of characteristics of recognition of Brahman
• mantra, worship, ritual, meditation
• guru and disciple
• worshipers
Chapter 4: Introduction of the Worship of the Supreme Prakriti
• worship, ritual, doctrine
• validation of Kaula
• characteristics of the Kaliyuga
Chapter 5: The Formation of the Mantras, Placing of the Jar, and Purification of the Elements of Worship
• methodology of constructing mantras
• advantages and benefits of mantra
• details of worship
Chapter 6: Placing of the Shri-patra, Homa, Formation of the Chakra, and other Rites
• mantra
• details of worship ritual
Chapter 7: Hymn of Praise (Stotra), Amulet (Kavacha), and the description of the Kula-tattva
• mantra
• hymns
• explanation of meaning of worship rituals
Chapter 8: The Dharmma and Customs of the castes and Ashramas
• previously four castes; in Kaliyuga there are 5 castes
• stages of life explained
• familial responsibilities enumerated
• prescriptions of worship and ritual
• requirements of conduct in a variety of circumstances
Chapter 9: The Ten Kinds of Purificatory Rites (Sangskara)
• rights concerning castes
Chapter 10: Rites relating to Vriddhi Shraddha, Funeral Rites and Purnabhisheka
• rites and worship
• ancestors
Chapter 11: The Account of Expiatory Rites
• requirements for expiation
• punishments for a variety of offenses
Chapter 12: An Account of the Eternal and Immutable Dharmma
• details the division of property inheritance
Chapter 13: Installation of the Devata
• instructions concerning worship
Chapter 14: The Consecration of Shiva-linga and Description of the Four Classes of Avadhutas
• instructions concerning worship
• mantra
• human action
• liberation
• maya
• knowledge
• readiness
• levels of worship and understanding
• detachment
• stages of man
• value of the Mahanirvana Tantra
SHAKTI and SHAKTA
Note: author says that the subject of the book is the “doctrine and ritual of the Shaktas.”
Chapter 1: Indian Religion as Bharata Dharma
• Dharma established as orderly basis of mankind in the world.
• Defines religion as binding together or recognition of orderliness. Stresses harmony of the whole.
• Religious man bound to all being.
• “Disharmony is suffering”
• desire created the universe
• how desire operates in the world and impacts man
• possible to participate in world harmony without belief in God.
Chapter 2: Shakti: The World as Power
• power
• definition of terms
• Tantras
• monism explained in detail
• nature of acceptance of belief
• nature of knowledge
• maya
• reasoning
• experience
• thorough discussion of reality
• ancient Kashmiri scripture: “The ‘without’ appears without only because it is within.”
• explains why Kali is dark and stands on top of Shiva
• Consciousness
• “bloodless abstractions” of Vedanta
• explanation ties daily life to reality
• Shankara explanation v. Shakta explanation of “creation”
• explanation of the complexities of “creation” including Shankara’s viewpoint
• beginning of concept of “otherness”
• Knower, Knowing, Known (division of Bindu)
• explains Shankara’s viewpoint and criticism of it
• explains in detail the process through which consciousness appears apart from itself
• maya explained in detail including time and space
• nature of mind and matter explained
• mind and matter universally found throughout the world
• nature of animate and inanimate forms
• plants, animals, man, inert matter
• life
• importance of using human experience to fullest potential
• reason that human life is important and should be valued
• Sadhana
Chapter 3: What Are the Tantras and Their Significance?
• detailed explanation of the meaning of the word “tantra” as well as definitions of many other words
• how tantra fits into current use and meaning
• highly detailed evaluation of various texts and schools of thought
• disputes misinterpretations of meaning of Tantra generally and specifically
• discusses how Shakta doctrine deviates from Shankara and is similar (also with other viewpoints)
• rituals, effectiveness of religion, evaluation of sects and differences of approach
Chapter 4: Tantra Shastra and Veda
• addresses question as to whether or not the Agamas are Vaidik or non-Vaidik
• English university professors exhibit defective knowledge of Indian philosophy, religion, art
• discusses and disputes English chauvinism and prejudice with special emphasis on unfounded, inaccurate, ignorant criticism of Indian culture, religion, philosophy
• stresses importance of Shastra in the context of Vedanta
• extensive theological exploration intended to show that Shastra Tantra is consistent with traditional Hinduism, Veda and accepted texts, practices and beliefs
• acknowledges that dualists will object to its monistic perspective
• tries to explain dismissively the criticisms based on objected practices
• deals in detail with rituals
• detailed explanation and evaluation of magic
Chapter 5: The Tantras and Religion of the Shaktas
• begins with an evaluation and comments upon the work and perspective of a German Sanskritist
• translation from German into English of an article by that German professor (comments and notes that follow that are based on the professor’s article are in blue)
• begins by noting with appreciation the tremendous religious diversity in India
• overview of “Hinduism”
• appreciation for Avalon work
• mention of reviled practices and balance with mention of depth of philosophic and religious quality
• evaluates Avalon’s contribution to Hindu studies
• evaluates importance of Shakta and the Tantras
• end of article by Professor Winternitz and end of chapter
Chapter 6: Shakti and Shakta
• defines Shakta as worship of Shakti
• discussion of various scriptures, historical positioning of age, meaning according to various interpretations, divisions, cults, definitions of words, application of words and their meaning, overall meaning of scriptures, basic necessity of experience
• describes ritual practices and applies meaning to various sects
• history of meaning of words, writings and practices
• outlines details of worship in various levels and forms in the various perspectives and how these gradually lead to liberation
• passage of time in relation to stages of development
• the four stages of life explained in great detail along with many designations of levels of attainment and their respective attributes, responsibilities and descriptions
• description of various religious practices associated with different levels of worship and perspectives
• explains why literal meaning of some directions for worship deviate from their actual practice rendering various aspects of worship less objectionable than previously believed by people who do not investigate fully
• cites need for full information to dispel ignorance about Hinduism and its various forms and practices
• considers geography in association with various practices of worship and beliefs
• summarizes Shakta features including monism, equal view of gender, nonsectarian perspective, Sadhana that is effective
• importance of Sadhana
• excellent long quotation
• summary of meaning of study of tantras along with their historical significance in the overall study of Vedanta
• validation of both effort in this book, the study of Vedanta and its application in tantra ritual and worship
• place in overall meaning for people studying philosophy and religion
• long quotation from a helpful article that cites the work of Arthur Avalon, providing a sense of context of the study of Hinduism
• excellent comparison of Hinduism to the Ganges
Chapter 7: Is Shakti Force?
• cites famous and learned observers who say that the worship of Shakti is the worship of force
• observations about European worship of force
• interesting quote from Rabindranath Tagore
• explains how that is only a surface explanation
• provides a fuller explanation
Chapter 8: Cinacara (Vashishtha and Buddha)
• detailed examination of rituals involving wine, food, meat eating and sex
• history of transmission of these rituals
• explores historical dates of origins concluding that Veda, Tantra-Shastra and Buddhism were without beginning as a type but that some of the forms may have been “latent” in previous ages
• considers the fact that to the fully illuminated, past and future are known in the present
• provides consideration of teachings, incarnations and timelines of history and location
Chapter 9: The Tantra Shastras in China
• reviews history of spread of Indian thought and religion to China, Korea and Japan
• western criticism of Hindu thought provided with detailed examples
• detailed story of tantrik Buddhist rituals being inttoduced into China
Chapter 10: A Tibetan Tantra
Chapter is reprint of review by Johan Van Manen in The Theosophist, July 1919
• praises Arthur Avalon for his work on Tantra texts
• surveys uneducated presumption of disdain for Tantra texts
• discusses consciousness and meditation
• auto-suggestion, intuition, imagination, tradition, authority as components of determination of content and direction
• manipulation of these components
• Tibetan meditational structure as assistance for worship
• symbology and ritual
• Indian symbology is kinetic, not static, making it more difficult for westerners to understand
• philosophical principles aspects of other principles, rendering understanding difficult for many
• psychological mythology as opposed to cosmic mythology
Chapter 11: Shakti in Taoism
• traces development of Taoism in relation to its roots in Indian philosophy and compares it to Vedanta
• disputes interpretation of Taoism as reflecting only material meaning, citing deeper representations and spiritual resonance
• repeatedly cites monist aspect of Taoism
Chapter 12: Alleged Conflict of Shastras
• explains in detail the concept of Adhikara, differing paths to accommodate different levels of capacity and competency in order to explain why there seems to be contradictions in Indian texts
• the seven stages of yoga
• considerable detail concerning various states of capacity along the path of progress
• forms of Shakta worship, complexities listed with many discussed
• forms followed depend on Adhikara
• detailed evaluation of teachings through consideration of Adhikara
• extremely important reference made and explanations given that are applicable elsewhere
• duty as prescribed by various approaches and their suitability for each person
Chapter 13: Sarvanandanatha
• relates the story of the life of Sarvananda
• key comment about those who quietly render what they know to share with others without pushing their perspective on others
• very important observation concerning the human mind and learning
Chapter 14: Cit-Shakti (The Consciousness Aspect of the Universe)
• intense exploration of terms
• special emphasis on explanation of consciousness and its meaning
• explanation of relationship of inorganic material to consciousness
• highly detailed evaluation and explanation of Cit and consciousness with inclusion of intuition
• extremely important observations with wide implication
• occultism explained
• Maya according to Shankara (briefly)
• Maya with a Shakta interpretation (dualistic) in great detail
• explains creation with emphasis on differences between dualistic interpretation and Shankara’s monism
• detailed explanation of maya in regard to the dissolution and creation of the universe and of consciousness
Chapter 15: Maya-Shakti (The PsychoPhysical Aspect of the Universe) EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
• mind-matter aspect of consciousness
• detailed differences between Shankara’s single pointed view and the dualistic Shakta viewpoint
• extended, highly detailed discussion of differences between Shankara’s viewpoint and the Shakta perspective of maya
• example’s of Woodroffe’s loose use of “spiritual”
• summation of difference between Shakta interpretation and Shankara’s perspective on maya, explained in a variety of ways
• Ether, Pakriti, Maya
• takes up issue of modern science in relation to Maya-Shakti and explains both in detail
• highly detailed explanation of consciousness, mind, reality, maya, an extremely important examination that explains the relationships of each to the other and more
• differences between Shankara’s perspective and that of Samkaya philosophy
• noumenon
• knowledge
• important distinctions made along with clarification
• Vedanta perspective
• Life along with a discussion of its meaning and scientific perspective on life
• Prana
• consciousness applied to the body; also as related to ultimate consciousness
• detailed explanation of sentiency
• states of consciousness
• relatively brief but thorough and well stated summary of Shankara’s perspective on Maya and the Samkhya perspective with comparisons made
• after the summary, Woodroffe makes a strong positive case for the Shakta interpretation in which he makes no effort to be anything but partisan before attacking Shankara’s interpretation of Maya
• compares “grace” and “conversion” in the Christian world to acknowledgement of oneness of Indian philosophy and religion
Chapter 16: Matter and Consciousness
• lecture on mind, matter and consciousness
• provides Indian background and scientific background
• asserts unity
• consciousness, unconsciousness
• addresses the issue of reality of consciousness
• admits Shankara’s perspective as a transcendentalist, that of perfect monism, but says that it is unnecessarily complicated and offers an explanation based on Samkhya interpretation
• continues to fault Shankara’s perspective on maya
• to explain the seeming duality of apparent unconsciousness along with Consciousness, Woodroffe makes an argument that concludes that Shakti is Consciousness
• self-mastery ultimately reveals the unreality of the world
Chapter 17: Shakti and Maya
• Shankara as the opponent of Buddhism in India
• immediately takes up Shankara’s perspective on maya
• says that a worshiper accepts the world as real for purposes of pursuing religion
• differences of systems of thought and approach using terms specific to each
• heart of differences among systems
• ultimate monistic perspective sustained
• Cidabhasa is key to understanding difference between Shankara’s perspective on maya and that of Samkhya
• offers brief paragraph that is the best comparison and explanation of differences between Shankara and Samkhya on the subject of maya
• further explains differences between Samkhya and Shankara
• meaning and means of reflection explored in detail
• consciousness and unconsciousness as well as their various interpretations and representations are detailed
• reveals how Shakti is involved in all of this
Chapter 18: Shakta Advaitavada
• establishes that wrongful assumptions exist pertaining to the placement of Shakta Tantra in Indian religious context
• establishes that wrongful assumptions are accepted widely concerning the actual meaning and practice of Shakta
• establishes wrongful and correct questioning of meaning of Shakta Tantra, especially in comparison with other viewpoints
• essential to note that the Sadhaka looks at the world from a different vantage than that of the yogi and this difference creates the difference in perspective as written and pursued philosophically despite the fact that ultimately Brahman alone is accepted as real
• distinguishes between monism experienced by the yogi and the functioning of the world that is governed by the “collective Karma of the world” without disturbing the ultimate Reality thus making study of Shakta perspective worthy given that those studying it are less than perfect manifestations of Reality
• weighs the various arguments concerning consciousness and creation presented by Shakta and Shankara perspectives and concludes that neither offer a complete explanation although Woodroffe clearly believes the Shakta explanation is more suitable for humanity
Chapter 19: Creation as Explained in the Non-dualist Tantras
• undertakes to explain differences in the view of explanations of world origin of the three systems under consideration, Samkhya, Vedanta and Tantra
• lengthy, complex explanation of why, from Shankara’s perspective, Maya does not exist
• Samkhya explanation of creation
• the reality of the world (or not) explained through Shankara’s Mayavada, Samkhya philosophy and the Shakta doctrine of “Duality in Unity”
• Advaitavada of the Shakta Tantra
• presses the explanation of Mayavada and Shakta perspectives
• quotes Shankara to the effect that faith is required beyond philosophy in order to attain enlightenment
• extremely detailed account of the creation process with discussion of numerous points of diversion among the three perspectives under consideration
Chapter 20: The Indian Magna Mater
• the Supreme Mother as conceived and worshiped by Shaktas
• graphic representations in Hinduism
• concentration on the Mother
• God as the Godhead, Supreme Self, Person, God
• Shiva-Shakti as the manifest and limited Universe
• alogical aspects and the Real; the Alogical Whole
• the Immense as the Measurable or Form
• pictorial representations of Shiva and the meaning associated with them
• creation and the world explained in relation to the roles of Shiva and Shakti
• the question of what is and is not real in relation to power and the world
• the question of the reality or unreality of appearance
• cosmic evolution of Power
• limited selves and God as Shiva-Shakti
• desire, creation, procreation
• nature of being to become form
• lila, play
• change in, not of, the whole
• limited centers as a contradiction of the whole
• symbolism of power and the evolution of symbols discussed
• the symbols involving sound
• Om
• symbolism involving Bindus
• cycle of birth and destruction of worlds
• imagery associated with Kali and destruction of the world
• meaning of evolution as a gradual release from limitations of form
Chapter 21: Hindu Ritual
• ritual is the art of religion
• necessity of ritual among human beings
• rejection of ritual
• appropriate ritual is that which is suitable to each person; effectiveness is the gauge of success
• object of ritual
• summarizes his book The World As Power
• consciousness, spirit, man, mind, matter: definitions and explanations and relationships
• knowing
• concentration
• processes and details explained
• summarizes Wave of Bliss
• says that in “western language” spirit means bodiless and pure consciousness
• three aspects of Ultimate Reality
• imagery associated with worship and representation; interpretation of this
• discusses basis for ritual and imagery, connecting to the meaning of worship
• idols and ritual that invokes divine presence then dismisses it
• mantras and sounds
• initiation by a guru, the common practice and the correct, intent
• prayer, context and power of prayer
• mummery
• methods of japa
• breathing ritual
• affirmations
• spreading and touching with hands, its meaning in ritual
• ritual expressed in imagination only and in actual practice
• Kundalini explained
• yoga in which experience is absorbed
Chapter 22: Vedanta and Tantra Shastra
• opening with quotation from Kularnava Tantra with enumeration of disconcerting factors associated with physical life
• difficult to obtain human birth; should not waste opportunity
• knowledge gained from actual experience necessary; book oriented knowledge is insufficient
• Sadhana necessary
• ritual is means to an end
• discussion of meaning of Tantra and the misunderstanding of terms and other aspects with references to various schools of thought
• belief that ritual is unnecessary only a recent development; opposes this viewpoint
Chapter 23: The Psychology of Hindu Religious Ritual
• deals with Shakta ritual
• “Ritual is the art of both Religion and Magic.”
• definition of terms important
• Hindu ritual must deal with metaphysics
• reviews some previously covered material as background for this subject
• states of being
• oneness possible; unity with one being possible for man through Sadhana and Yoga
• Hindu concept of heaven explained
• magic and clairvoyance explained
• religious ritual either formal or devotional according to division of Veda
• distinction between gross (before an image) and subtle (inner) worship
• Vedantic theory of mind
• shaping the mind
• the use of images in worship
• gesture in worship, japa, nyasa and other rituals explained
• rise of Shakti in the kundalini explained
• ritual described as a sort of preparation for yoga, primarily by purifying the mind
• important discussion of the natural functions of humanity and the placement of a conscious man within the context of humanity and beyond (highly insightful, related to the consideration of ritual but much more meaningful than ritual itself)
• includes an explication of a hymn
◦ the body is divine
◦ not necessary for everyone to practice austerity
◦ not all paths apply to every person
◦ places are within
◦ read but eventually give up reading and attain experience
• four chief scriptures of Hindus: Veda, Smriti, Purana and Agama
• there are also four ages; Agama is the currently governing scripture
• placement of Tantras within context of Agamas
• explanation provided of the meaning of terms applied to scriptures with consideration to geographical location and misunderstandings
Chapter 24: Shakti as Mantra (Mantramayi Shakti)
• misunderstanding
• Veda source of mantras with specific references
• meaning of Shakti made clear
• explanation of how mantras operate
• details of words and letters used in mantras
• meaning of mantras detailed
• origins of mantras
• reasons for the charge of meaningless of mantras
• uses and power of mantras
• role of thought and the role of man
• “New Thought” and Indian history
• creativity and thought
• occultism, magic and thought
• mantra and thought
• discussion of the various aspects and possibilities of sound
• creation and destruction explained in terms of equilibrium of Shakti
• first cause of Mantra; first manifestation
• creation of the universe
• extremely detailed explanation of letters and words in their relation to aspects of Vedanta as well as the physical aspects of the body used to produce them and of the mind to comprehend them
• highly detailed account of the physical aspects of speech associated with their mental antecedents
• Shakti, sadhaka and the effective meaning of mantra
• formation of sounds and the placement of letters
Chapter 25: Varnamala (The Garland of Letters)
• acknowledgement that symbols and appearances associated with one culture are often misunderstood or even displeasing and uncomfortable for people of a different culture
• cites India and the West
• detailed example of Kali
• explanation of Kali’s garland of heads or letters
• explains the creation and destruction of the world through the symbolism of the Varnamala
Chapter 26: Shakta Sadhana (The Ordinary Ritual)
• essential elements of ritual
• elements of caste
• requirements of worshiper
• description of guru and the relationship of guru to disciple
• relationship of all elements and flow from one to another
• processes involved according to the individual state of readiness
• the gunas in relation to the types of human beings and their point of process
• classification of men according to the gunas considered in detail with acknowledgement of degrees
• good description of the Kaliyuga, rituals available and not available, appropriate and not appropriate during that time along with governance of the Agama
• four forms of worship according to four states of Bhava
• relationship of castes and women to ritual and worship
• Yantra, Nyasa and other rites and rituals explained
• ritual appropriate for each individual
• detailed explanation of allegations of idol worship
• explains how ritual and worship are a waste of time if merely run through without thought and attention but if done with devotion, attentiveness, concentration the devotee achieves a degree of purification and comes closer to attaining his ideal
• detailed explanation of japa and mantra
• descriptions of ritual and worship
• explanation of caste in relation to worship
• purpose of worship and ritual explained carefully and clearly
• various types of worship described
• ultimate goal of ritual and worship
• extremely important argument against focus on sensual enjoyment because it prevents knowledge of the higher aspect available to man
• again defends Tantra Shastra against critics who see it as wrong
• importance of purity
• the body, food, exercise
• steps of ritual and worship from most basic to highest
• erotic symbolism defended and explained
• Agamas as the basis of Temple governance
Chapter 27: The Pañcatattva (The Secret Ritual)
• acknowledges the reputation of some religious rituals to have generally and specifically unsavory context and practice
• wants to understand and set record straight
• explanation of the validity of worship associated with drinking and sexual intercourse
• substitutions, restrictions, interpretations, meanings of elements of ritual
• special emphasis on wine and sexual intercourse regarding worship
• exaggeration in scripture
• careful, excellent explanation of relationship of worship, ritual and daily life to monism, including issues of sexual intercourse, consumption of food and alcohol along with how all of this relates to the practice of religion and therefore why Tantric practice is misunderstood by many
• quotes explanation of an Indian Sadhaka on how Tantric ritual and worship can supplant human sexual desire with knowledge — an entirely unique and satisfying explanation as well as very important
• lengthy discussion of Antinomianism, Christian history and beliefs concerning sin
• dealing with the question of sin and intent
• differences of understanding between east and west
• defends Tantrik practices as being ancient and intended for those who are qualified for them and which helps engender awareness of God in adherents
• notes misundestanding among westerners
Chapter 28: Matam Rutra (The right and Wrong Interpretation)
• relates story about a guru’s disciples who recorded instructions
• ego
• examples of those fallen from the path toward liberation
• recounts the important legend concerning the Matam Rutra along with the meaning of its symbolism, thus sustaining the value of Dharma
• Vajra
Chapter 29: Kundalini Shakta (Yoga)
• basis for and meaning of yoga
• explanation of meaning of purity applied to preparation for yoga
• types of yoga
• explanation of Kundalini Shakti and various associated aspects
• man as microsom: everything in the universe in each
• highly detailed account of the spinal column, its relation to the body and Hindu perspective on science, especially regarding the human body
• excellent explanation of jnana yoga as well as kundalini yoga; highly recommended perspective on the details of each as well as a comparison
• hatha yoga explanation given
• they physical body and enjoyment of the world discussed in relation to liberation, Shakti and other perspectives
• enjoyment and yoga
• hathayoga, its difficulties and rewards
• conquering death
• important and helpful explanation of Shakta Shakti and the perspective of liberation compared to perspective of striving
• addresses the subject from the standpoint of physical terms, comparing with scientific findings
• explanation of how Kundalini Shakti operates along with comparison to jnanashakti
• explains why some maintain that Kundalini yoga is superior to jnana yoga
Chapter 30: Conclusions
• straightforward summary of most salient points
• reviews and recasts some important aspects of detail from previous chapters such as the dispute over the meaning of maya
• employs fewer Sanskrit terms than previous chapters
Overview Comment:
Woodroffe says that the book concerns the “doctrine and ritual of the Shaktas.” While this is certainly correct, it is much more. It explains many things including Hindu culture, the meaning of Vedanta and the background of numerous religious topics. It is also a reasoned defense of India and its customs, with special defense of Tantric rituals that are misunderstood by most westerners and many Indians. In fact, Woodroffe’s work significantly furthers the education of westerners and Indians with a carefully conceived fact-based approach that relies on deep erudition tempered by sympathy. Because he uses numerous Sanskrit terms and delves deeply into esoteric detail, Woodroffe’s writing can become tedious, especially for those unfamiliar with Vedanta. Hopefully, the glossary will help but it might also be helpful to read the last chapter, “Conclusions,” before beginning with Chapter One. There is considerable benefit to be derived, not necessarily understood immediately, from detailed attention to the many terms, forms and beliefs as well as ritual and worship that Woodroffe addresses. A richer understanding results from this study.
THE GARLAND OF LETTERS
Preface
• study of mantra
• refutes allegation that mantra is nonsensical
• rebuffs critics of Indian culture
• sustains Indians who uphold their homeland traditions
• affirms perspective of universal Cit
Chapter 1: Vak or the Word
• explores in great detail the meaning of Word and its relationship to creation
• excellent explanation of creation
• relates understanding of creation to Christian tradition and Greek philosophy
• points out differences with Christian approach
• explores will and the meaning of desire
Chapter 2: Artha, Pratyaya and Sabda
• explains Cit
• duality briefly explained
• creation
• mind and matter
• parallel aspect
• worship
• extremely important explanations offered concerning thought, mind, matter and spirit
• intuitive perception (not a term used by Woodroffe)
Chapter 3: Asabda and Parasabda
• change, changelessness and aspects of Brahman
• sound and motion
• extremely detailed explanation of sounds at all levels of consciousness
• causation and meaning
Chapter 4: Parasabda, Causal Sabda
• Sabda manifested in all forms
• linkage of Sabda and Shakti
Chapter 5: Sakti as Stress
• stress explained
• perspective on creation
• time and creation
• apprehension of sabda
Chapter 6: Eternality of Sabda
• the meaning of eternal
• types of change and distinctions
• important distinction in meanings of terms and the understanding they produce
• details of physical production of speech and the sounds produced
• creation, lower animals, thought process
Chapter 7: Sabda as Language
• words, thought and language
• analysis of sequence and meaning
• cause and consequences
• role of sound in language and perception
• equilibrium and Sakti
Chapter 8: Natural Name
• matter
• movement
• sound
• role of the mind
• natural names and language
• basis of cause of sound
• influence of senses other than sound
Chapter 9: Vaidika-Sabda
• natural names and sounds
• approximately natural names and sounds
• Veda and sound
• Sanskrit
• eternality and contemporary concerns
Chapter 10: The Tattvas
• Tattvas explained
• process of experience detailed
• mind and matter
• maya
• creation
• consciousness explained as a process developed in the universe
• enumerates and names kalas associated with tattvas
Chapter 11: Sakti — Potency to Create
• details concerning Sakti, consciousness, the relationship between them as well as sequence and process including creation
• cites important earlier work and commentary with details of the various sages involved, the names of existing works and dates
• the meaning of Sakti along with various names and references
• important explanation of the polarization of consciousness
• illustration offered of Shiva and Sakti and maya
• knower, knowing and known
Chapter 12: Nada — The First Produced Movement
• symbols of creation
• western misunderstanding of Indian thought and religion
• process of creation
• action and sound
• nada as the most subtle aspect of Sabda
• composition of letters and symbols
• mantra
• gradual aspect and stages of consciousness
• excellent note on the helpfulness of detailed explanation that must also accompany sadhana in order to be effective and meaningful
^
Chapter 13: Bindu or Sakti — Ready to Create
• definition and detailed explanation of “bindu”
• objection raised to western misunderstanding
• references to commentaries
• detailed explanation of meaning in terms of various aspects of creation
• relationship of bindu to sabda, mantra and sadhana
Chapter 14: Maya-Tattava
• mind and matter as two aspects of one being
• consciousness
• Sakti
• differences among Samkhya, Mayavada Vedanta and Sakta-Advaitavada; good, concise explanation followed by considerable elaboration
• creation
• Brahman constituting the universe as Sakti
• discussion of the various aspects, forms of purpose and activity of Sakti
• Sakti, creation and evolution
• how mantras function; their relationship to spiritual progress
Chapter 15: The Kancukas
• limitations placed on consciousness
• maya
• contraction explained; the process of creation narrowed to individual human lives
• Niyati explained
• Raga explained
• Kala explained
• how parts of the process are simultaneous and thus never associated
• important details of how creation operates
• philosophical disagreement about specifics attributed to specific perspectives explained
Chapter 16: Hamsa
• explanation of Hamsa
• explanation of Prakriti
• creation
• Sabda and Artha
• explanation of Purusa
• consciousness throughout the universe in all forms of matter
• impact of thought
• maya and Brahman
• excellent and thorough explanation of gunas
Chapter 17: Kamakala
• Kama being used in its indication of Iccha, the divine creative will towards the life of form, explicated from Bindu, the aspect previously assumed by Sakti through Nada
• Iccha (will) is a form of Kriya (action) in the sense that it is the preliminary to action and sets the self in motion
• difficulties in the translation of poetry are explained
• symbolism
• use of erotic imagery explained
• mantra
• sabda
• consciousness
Chapter 18: The Gross Tattvas and their Lords
• creation
• clear explanation of the evolution of individual consciousness
• Avidya and the will to life as well as its destruction
• Buddhist perspective
• relationships
• symbolism
• maya
• desire
• sense perception
• Purusa
• Asuddha Tattvas
Chapter 19: Causal Saktis of the Pran ava
• Shakta origins and monism
• creation clearly explained
• thought, motion and sound
• divisions enumerated and explained
• development of speech and objects
Chapter 20: The Kalas
• difficulty rendering an English definition of Kalas
• difficulty with Sanskrit sources
• influences on Kalas
• various interpretations
• enumeration of of many terms and aspects and application of Kalas to those aspects
• symbolism
Chapter 21: The Garland of Letters of Varn Amala
• manifestations of sound along with explanations of their meaning in context
• aspects and stages of development
• physical, mechanical aspects of speech and sound
• good explanation of relationships associated with creation, manifestations, thought and Sakti, Brahman
• mantra explained carefully and understandably
• importance of all this explained, given the necessity of words for the process of thinking
• universe composed of letters
• Kali symbolism and function
Chapter 22: Om
• Om explained along with Nada and Bindu marks above
• creation
• mantra
• life
• destruction
• energy
Chapter 23: The Necklace of Kali
• symbolism
• misunderstanding of symbols across cultures
• misunderstanding of symbols among different cultures
• aspects of Kali
• emphasis on oneness of Kali
• symbolism associated with Kali
• Sabda and letters
Chapter 24: Dhvani
• motion produced and unproduced
• causal stress
• sound
• unlettered sound
• evaluation of sound from various perspectives
• sound and meaning
• discussion of permanence of causal sound
• contrast of eastern and western perspectives
Chapter 25: Sun, Moon and Fire
• creative Trinity
• symbolism explained
Chapter 26: Bija-Mantra
• action and sound
• types of sound and their apprehension
• Om explained
• sound and letters
• symbolism
• mantra
• worship and interpretation
Chapter 27: S Adadhvas
• mantra
• modes involved
• letters and syllables
• worship
• applicable classification including a chart
Chapter 28: Mantra-Sadhana
• meaning of mantra
• application and interpretation
• letters and sound
• unique qualities
• mantra as “sound-body of consciousness”
• mantra as a “mass of radiant Energy”
• worship
• physical aspects and breath
• relationship of Sakti to mantra
• cleansing, purification and preparation
• relationship of Jiva, Sabda, Dhvani, Devata
Chapter 29: The Gayatri-Mantra
• context
• translation
• explanation
• importance
Chapter 30: The Gayatri-Mantra As An Exercise Of Reasoning (reproduction of a lecture to the Rationalistic Society, Calcutta)
• individual responsibility to acquire knowledge and think
• reason in western thought and Vedanta
• basis of reason
• commonalities across religions and cultures
• acceptance and rejection of reason
• science
• self-knowledge
• importance, role and history of reason and thought
• role of religious and political oppression in Europe that stimulated thinking and overcame obstacles to form a right of thinking freely
• defense of Indian thought
• explanation of the Gayatri Mantra
• seven stages of Parthiva consciousness
• subjectivity and objectivity
• perception, senses, consciousness
• nature of the relation between the cause producing the objective world and the effect so produced
• Vedanta (segment brought forth after consideration of other aspects and elevates it meaningfully)
• unity, meaning, worship, harmony
• reason
• power
• evolution
• individuality
• universality
• relationship between the individual and the universal
• reaching the point of the Gayatri-Mantra
• reason and intuitive realization
• understanding through universal perspective
• Atma-sadhana and moving into a higher realm of understanding
• evolution of understanding
• sufficient purity of mind and body required for Vedanta
• Adhikara significant in process of recognition of reality
• importance for man to embrace the search for the reality within
Chapter 31: Atma-Sadhana (Yoga by Reasoning)
• Atma-Sadhana begins at the ending point of the Gayatri-Sadhana
• introspection required
• purity as a progressive experience
• Rupa experience
• subjective and objective factors
• Sabda consciousness
• recognition of oneness
Notes about the Glossary and the Appendix
Some information about the words encountered in Woodroffe’s works is helpful before reading. This information is also pertinent to the construction of the glossary and appendix and is listed in no particular order.
First, however, I want to make it clear that I take no credit whatsoever for any of the information while assuming full responsibility for errors. I am not a Sanskrit scholar and I have no advanced degree qualifying me as any sort of expert. When I began creating the glossary, I tended to use quotation marks around quoted material but soon gave this up because definitions using Woodroffe’s own words were more efficacious and expedient; quotation marks would have been redundant and disconcerting to the extent that would have been necessary. I want to clearly state that I am NOT attempting to take credit for having done anything except to compile and organize the glossary. Except as indicated otherwise, the definitions in plain text are directly from Woodroffe, typically, but sometimes indirectly through context that he provides in lieu of clearer definition. For this and other reasons (including the fact that I have likely made mistakes) the reader is advised to be cautious and evaluate material for themselves. In a few instances, identifiable by the use of italics, I could find no acceptable definition in Woodroffe’s text, instead, substituting definitions quoted from a glossary included in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by Mahendranath Gupta, better known under the pseudonym, “M.,” and published by the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Society, an organization upholding rigorous scholarly standards.
Most of the information in the appendix is organized around unifying principles that become fractured when shuffled into a glossary. The five senses, for example, are listed in the appendix under that heading, while each of the Sanskrit words also appear in separately in the glossary. Mostly, Woodroffe’s words and context provide the content of the appendix, although in some instances I relied on other sources such as Wikipedia in order to provide conveniently available information pertaining to the subject that Woodroffe might have neglected to make explicit.
No Sanskrit dictionary was used in preparing the glossary or appendix because I wanted the study of Woodroffe’s works to rely as purely on his terms as possible; to do otherwise would risk adding perspective that he did not intend. In some work, whether one of the books addressed here or elsewhere, Woodroffe mentions his own use of A Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Sir. Monier Williams. In subsequent study, the results of which are not included here, I have used A Sanskrit Dictionary by John M. Denton, principally because I prefer to use digital books whenever possible. While I have found this book to be valuable, it has some drawbacks including the difficulty of rendering consistent spelling (not Denton’s fault and a facet noted below in reference to Woodroffe’s own works), the fact that the words being defined are insufficiently identifiable from the text (failure to use bold to distinguish them, for example), and flawed word search within the dictionary. Still, the book is valuable and relatively convenient, a dictionary being necessary for extended study.
Observations About the Glossary
· Inconsistencies of all sorts are rife, including those of Woodroffe himself.
· Letters in one Sanskrit rendition may not appear in another location. The letter “i” is notorious for being omitted, as is “h” and other letters.
· Spaces sometimes appear between letters of a Sanskrit word.
· Hyphenation is problematic.
· It is easy for context to become confusing.
· Words are explained differently in different locations in the text. Context can sometimes be identified as the reason, but emphasis also plays a part. Words therefore cannot necessarily be said to have a single meaning.
· Capitalization can be hazardous to undertake. For that reason, each word in the glossary is capitalized initially.
· Bold font is used to separate the initial words in the glossary for visual distinctiveness.
· Woodroffe sometimes employs accent marks on letters and omits them at other times. I was inconsistent in the glossary, although I eventually decided to disregard them.
· Woodroffe’s use of parentheses in defining terms is slightly less than straightforward. Usually, the definition appearing in parenthesis applies to the preceding word.
· Woodroffe is basically good about defining words as he writes, but occasionally fails entirely. More often, words are not defined after the first use when they are employed frequently. This can be challenging when a word suddenly appears long after earlier use.
· There is sometimes uncertainty about the meaning of a word based on its context, an enigma compounded by questions surrounding previous statements and word use.
· Repetition over the course of multiple books, while helpful in many ways, is also a challenge when trying to nail down definitions and spelling.
· Sometimes Woodroffe defines Sanskrit terms by using other Sanskrit terms.
· There are more typographical errors in these books than modern readers are accustomed to seeing. Garland of Letters is particularly riddled with them.
· Multiple meanings are, of course, always an issue.
· Use of brackets in the glossary is extremely rare and indicates information acquired apart from Woodroffe or any other source mentioned here.
· To further break the continuousness of the list, space is provided between words beginning with the first two letters and those beginning with the first and third letters and so forth. For example, words beginning with “ab” are grouped and words beginning with “ac” are grouped separately.
GLOSSARY
A
Abhasa: emanation
Abhava: negation or want of something
Abheda: unity
Abhicara: malevolent magic
Abhinna: undifferentiated
Abhivyanjaka: vehicle of expression
Abhyasa: continual practice of worship
Acara: practice, way, rule of life governing a Sadhaka or one who does Sadhana or practice for some desired end (Siddhi)
Acaryas: masters
Acchadaka: veils; power which veils
Acetana: unconscious
Achara: way, custom, practice of a particular class of sadhaka
Acidrupa: unconscious
Acit: unconsciousness or matter
Adambha: guilelessness
Adharma: evil; Disorder in the world (temporary) related to sin
Adhatma: soul on lower and destructive path
Adhikara: doctrine that one selects the spiritual “food” or interpretation that the individual needs; literally, “spreading over” in the sense of “taking possession of”; capacity
Adhikari-anusare: fitness of particular person
Adhikaribhedena: different classes of competency
Adhva: path
Adrishta: karma
Adrishta Srishti: doctrine that impulse to creation is proximately caused by the Adrsta or Karma of the Jivas
Advaita: nondualism; literally “not-two”
Advaitavada: Monistic interpretation of Brahman; doctrine that One is of dual aspect (static Shiva; kinetic Shakti); seeks to reconcile facts of changelessness and change
Advaya: one without second
Advesha: freedom from malice
Adya Shakti: primal power; primordial Shakti from which all other power is derived
Agamas: one of the four great classes of Hindu scripture (with Purana, Smriti and Veda); divided into three groups according to worship, whether Shakti, Shiva or vishnu: Shakta Agama, Shaivagama, Vaishnava Agama
Agni: natural name or sound
Aham: the “I”
Ahamkara: individuality; self-arrogation
Ahankara: selfhood
Ahangkara: selfhood; egoism
Ahanta: “I-ness”
Ahimsa: avoidance of harm to other beings
Ahingsa: avoidance of harm to others
Ajata: unborn class of devas
Akara: form
Akar Rutra: Egoism of speech
Akasa: sensation of hearing; gross body of sound
Akasha: Brahman with Maya
Akasha-vani: revelation
Akhanda: seamless
Akritrima: that which is unproduced and enduring
Akshobhaka: control over feelings and mind
Akula: Shiva
Alaukika Jnana: unworldly knowledge
Alocana: sensation
Amanah: mindless
Amarsha: supreme experience
Amatsryya: freedom from envy
Ambika: Mother of the Universe
Amr tatva: deathlessness
Amutra: there
Anadi: beginningless; unbeginning
Anadirupa: eternal
Anahamkara: selflessness
Ananda: bliss
Anandaghana: mass of bliss
Anandamayi: bliss
Anirvacaniya: unexplainable, inscrutable
Anitya: non-permanent
Anna-maya kosha: the material body
Antahkarana: mind; operation of mind
Antar: subtle Atma which pervades all things; Hamsa known only by Yogis
Antaratma: part of Paramatma in all bodies related to making gross bodies (see Atmas)
Antargata: included within
Antarlaksha: inward determination
Antariksha: atmospheric sphere between earth and sun
Antar-laksha: inward determination
Antarpuja: inner worship
Anubhava: discerning through experience
Anugraha: grace
Anukala: suitable
Anupahita-Cit: pure transcendent spirit
Apara: lower or manifested Brahman who is the subject of worship; manifested Sabda
Aparajati: idea types of the physical world
Aparasabda: language
Aparokshajnana: realization
Aprakasha: nonluminous
Apta: knowledge received from a source of authority
Apurna: imperfection
Araga: desirelessness
Arghya: offering
Artha: object; meaning; wealth; means by which lawful desires are given effect; means by which life is maintained
Arupa: formless reality
Asabda: without Sabda
Asadharana: distinct regions
Asana: seat
Asat: unreal
Ashariri: bodiless
Ashrama: a stage of four stages in life
Asuddha: impure
Atindriya: supersensible matter; higher objects beyond the reach of the senses
Atma: soul; consciousness; spirit; one spirit with two aspects (Paramatma and Jivatma); one with Shakti; spirit
Atma-darshana: self-realization
Atmajñana: realization of the Self
Atma-Shakti: the universe
Aupadika: attributed
Avadhuta: one who has washed off everything and has relinquished the world; one of the four stages of life
Avarana: veiling
Avastu: no real thing; unreal
Avidya: ignorance “under which all logical thinking and speaking is done.”; that which is not seen or experienced
Avikari: changeless
Avinabhavasambandha: inseparable connection of Shiva and Shakti
Avyakta: unmanifested; not present to Consciousness
B
Bahirmukhi: outward looking consciousness
Bahya-karana: outer instruments of sensation; see Indriyas
Bandhana: covering
Bhaktimarga: path of devotion
Bhairava: “terrible” aspects of divinities when describing the various characteristics of gods
Bharata Dharma: Indian religion (term by Woodroffe)
Bharata Dharma: common principles of all Aryan beliefs
Bhautika: material substance
Bhaumanananda: modes and forms of earthly bliss
Bhava: that which exists; disposition; right feeling and frame of mind; individual jiva consciousness
Bhavana Yoga: Dhyana Yoga; that yoga derived through jñana
Bhavarupamajanam: positive entity
Bhavat: that which exists
Bhaya: fear
Bheda or Bheda-dhi: difference
Bheda-Buddhi or Bhedabuddhi: sense of difference; “Sense of Difference” outcome explained as the end of the process whereby consciousness appears apart from itself
Bhikshu: one of the four stages of life (the last stage), that of a beggar (see Avadhuta)
Bhinnavartma: differing paths
Bhoga: happiness or pain; enjoyment; suffering
Bhogya: experienced
Bhoktr: limited experiencer
Bhrashta: one who has deviated from social rules
Bhuh: earth
Bhukti: enjoyment (of the senses)
Bhumi: earth created
Bhumika: stages of yoga
Bhurloka: earthly sphere; earth plane between Lokas and Talas representing “normal” experience
Bhuta: matter; elements; ghost; sensible matter; five forms of “sensible matter”
Bhutasuddhi: purification of the elements of which the body is composed
Bija: seed
Bindu: point at which power “is fully equipped to pass from the stage of potency into that of active manifestation” called Mahabindu’ metaphysical Point of Stress (see Ghanibhata-Sakti); literally “drop” or “point;” point into which the world collapses; the Point; the Mother as Concentrated Power ready to create; seed
Brahmacarya: one of the four life stages, that of the chaste student
Brahmacharyya: continence
Brahmana: highest of the four castes
Brahmasmi: I am Brahman
Brahmavadhuta: a class of Avadhutas
Brahmavidya: Brahman-knowledge
Buddhi: personal form of limited experience; intelligence or discriminating faculty which classifies sense impressions
C
Caitanya: Consciousness; unity of consciousness
Caitanyam Atma: changeless Reality of the nature of a purely experiencing principle
Cakras: centers in the spinal column (regions, lotuses therein)
Cannaka: grain of gram
Caranatritaya: “The Three Feet” of Tantrik worship
Caturvarga: sentient being
Cetana: conscious
Chakra: centers in the body
Chandah: harmony
Chinta: contemplation
Chittavritti: thinking faculty
Cidabhasa: appearance of something as Cit which is not really Cit; reflection
Cidakasa also Cidakasha: universal Ether of Consciousness; “the Brahman in which stress of any kind manifests itself, a condition from which the whole creation proceeds”
Cidrupa: consciousness; feeling consciousness
Cidrupini: pure, blissful consciousness
Cidrupini-Sakti: Unchanging Brahman
Cinacara: specific rites of worship (see Chapter 8 of Shakta and Shakti)
Cit: consciousness; objectified self-consciousness; Feeling-Consciousness; changeless principle of changing experience; infinite basis of Consciousness and Feeling; association with power; Cit “is that which is behind the mind and by which the mind itself is thought, that is created.” (Vedanta: Ananda, bliss, love are synonymous with Cit); the power of Cit is not different from itself; “Cit is not the subject of knowledge or speech;” according to the Varaha Upanishad, Chapter IV, it is “the reality which remains after all thoughts are given up;” “What it is in Itself, is unknown but to those who become It”
Cit-Shakti: Consciousness in movement associated with Maya
Cit-Svarupa or Citsvarupa: Cit as it is in itself (beyond all causality and notably not consciousness or sentiency as known in the West); appears in the form of mind (and clothed with mind, not merely mental function but in the sense of all the forms in which consciousness is displayed, as distinguished from Cit Itself, which is the unity behind all forms whether reason, sensation, emotion, instinct, or will)
Citta: mind and disposition
Cittashuddhi: purity of mind; moral purity of every type, knowledge, detachment, capacity, attention, meditation,
D
Dama: external control
Darshana: philosophy
Daya: pity as the feeling which binds (see Karuna)
Deva: consciousness aspect of the psycho-physical form
Deva Agni: the one Consciousness in its aspect as Lord of Fire
Devalaya: temple
Devas: higher spiritual beings above man but below Brahman
Devata: deity; an aspect as the Causal Consciousness itself
Devi: goddess
Dhairya: steadiness
Dharana: steadying of mind; fixing attention
Dharma: religion; morality; good; world order, upholding the world (reasserts when lost) associated with natural tendency and righteousness; not imposed; for and of each separate being as well as the whole; expresses right relations of parts to whole; related to religion; the principle and action of right living; the result of good action and the merit acquired thereby
Dhvani: unlettered sound
Dhvani (dhvanyatmaka-sabda): physical unlettered sound which manifests Shabda; arises from two objects striking each other
Dhyana: meditation
Dhyana Yoga: Bhavana Yoga; that yoga derived through jñana and detachment
Diksha: initiation; giving of Mantra by a Guru
Dosha: defects
Dukha: sorrow
Durlabha: difficult to obtain human birth
Dvaitavada: dualsim
Dvandva: composite of happiness and suffering in the world
Dvija: twice born
E
Ekagrata: one pointedness
Ekstasis: the self standing out from the mind and body
G
Gandha: sensation of smell
Gauda: Bengal (one of three home locations of the Agama with Kashmira and Kerala
Gauni: secondary (in reference to Bhakti)
Ghana: dense
Ghanibhata-Sakti: metaphysical point of stress; (see bindu)
Ghanibhuta: massive; that which was not dense but has become dense
Ghrina: disgust
Goptavyam: silent concealment
Grahaka: perceiver; subjective knowing aspect
Grahana: shields
Grahya: perceived; objective or known aspect
Grihastha: one of the four stages of life, that of a married house-holder
Guna: quality
Gunas: of nature (see Prakriti); representing Nature as the revelation of spirit, Natue as the passage of descent from spirit to matter, or of ascent from matter to spirit, and Nature as the dense veil of spirit; (see Three Gunas in the Appendix)
Gunakshobha: equality of the gunas
Gurovakyam: word of the guru
H
Hamsa: Purusa-Prakrti-Tattva; Paramahamsa; supreme aspect as the Consciousness-ground of the manifested Hamsa or Jiva; see Antar
Hamsa-dvandva: Hamsa pair (Purusa and Prakrti)
Hangsa: fourth class of Avadhutas (paramahangsa)
Hridayam parameshituh: Supreme level of experience “above all planes”
I
Iccha: will, one of the trinity of powers; “in the supreme creative sense…the direction of Consciousness towards activity”
Ichchha: will, the eternal precursor of creation
Idam: the “this,” the objective side of experience; universe
Iha: here
Indriya: senses; organs of sense
Ishta: desired deity
Ishta-devata: chosen deity
Ishvara Anugraha: grace of God
Ishvaropasti: worship of the Lord
Isvara: reflection of Brahman on unconscious maya
J
Jada: unconscious; material
Jagat: world; “what moves” (the world)
Jagrat: cosmic waking stage
Japa: recital of mantra
Jata: individual birth
Jati: supersensual primal images or patterns of visible things; genus or class
Jatiya Dharma: sense of nationality
Jitendriya: control of the senses
Jiva: living, embodied spirit; reflection of Brahman on unconscious Avidya
Jivanmukta: liberated while living
Jiva-Shakti: vital energy
Jivatma: Jiva consciousness; separate embodied souls; “in its philosophical sense all is Jivatma which is not Paramatma”
Jnana: Knowledge; seeing as in known
Jnana-bodha: wisdom
Jnanad eva tu: “from jnana alone”
Jnanamarga: path of knowledge
Jnanashakti: loose synonym for Cit; otherwise as knowledge of objects; meditative powers
Jnanavritti: limited, differentiated consciousness
Jnanendriya: cognition
Jnata: one who sees
Jnatavya: what is to be known
Jnatrtva: passively accepted experience as contrasted with Kartrtva or creative activity, ideation and formation
Jneya: that which is seen
Jyotirbindu: point of light
K
Kaivalya: the supreme state of oneness without attributes without modification of the energy of consciousness; standing aloof (see mahanirvana)
Kala: prakriti; time; parts of power; fact sections; (kalas are associated with tattvas as forms of activity); “That which was his power of all-doing-ness, the same being contracted and capable of accomplishing but a few things and reducing him to the state of little doer;” supreme might reduced to limits of human power
Kalatrayasattvavan: that which is and will be
Kalpa: a cycle in the overall progression of ages
Kalpana: imagination
Kama: desire (the first creative impulse as well as sexual desire)
Kamakala: divine desire; creative will
Kameshvara, Kameshvari: Shiva and Shakti as the Causal Head (Shiva-Shakti Tattvas) of the world-evolution
Kancuka: sheaths; limiting Saktis
Karana: cause
Karanavantara-sharira: intermediate causal body
Karmakanda: Tantrik rituals and observances
Karmendriya: action
Karma: action, its cause and effect
Karta: doer
Kartavya: what is to be done
Kartrittva: agency
Kartrtva: creative activity, ideation, formation contrasted with passive, accepted experience; power of modifying the Idam
Karuna: compassion; highest Sadhana; divine compassion
Karya: effects
Kaula: Shakta Shastras
Kaulacara: controlling, informing life of the body
Khatram Rutra: Egoism of the mind; the mental “I”
Kimcit: little
Klesha: passions
Krama: specified order
Kriti: creation
Kritrima: that which is produced and transient
Kriya: Action, one of the trinity of powers
Kriyamarga: path of action
Kshattriya: second of the four castes; militant (see Shaivacara)
Kula: Shakti; family
Kulayogis: see Avadhutas
Kundala: coiled
Kundalini: base center in the spinal column
Kundaliniyoga: Layayoga
L
Lakhs: [term used in measurement; often referring to the number of lifetimes or earthly experiences]
Lajja: shame
Laukika: worldly
Laukika Jnana: worldly knowledge
Laya: change
Lila: play
Loka: worlds
Lokayatas: a particular sect
Lokas: “ascending light planes of experience,” seen or experienced representing super normal experience
M
Magna-Mater: Great Mother
Mahabhuta: sensible matter
Madhyama: middle
Mahabindu: point at which power “is fully equipped to pass from the stage of potency into that of active manifestation;” (see bindu)
Mahakali: that aspect of Consciousness-Power which dissolves worlds
Maha-karana: causal body
Mahakundalini: Supreme Serpent Power
Mahamoha: desire for worldly pleasure
Mahanirvana: supreme state of oneness (see kaivalya)
Mahapralaya: complete dissolution
Maha-Shakti: Almighty, infinite, Supreme Power
Mahatripurasundari: creative aspect of Consciousness-Power
Mahavakya: That thou art
Mahayoni: great womb
Maithuna: sexual union
Mala: rosary
Malina: coarse
Mamata: self-interest
Man: to think (root of mantra)
Manana: meditation
Mananam: thought, investigation and discussion which marks the independent thinking mind; thinking, investigating,understanding, discussion, testing teachings as opposed to mere acceptance
Manas: mind
Manasa: mind
Manasapuja: mental worship
Manasi Kriya: mental action
Mantra: divinity represented by or in the form of sound
Mantracaitanya: vitalizing through consciousness
Mantramayi: mantra form
Mantravidya: the “thought science” as the basis of mantra; a form of Sadhana by which union is had with the Mother Shakti in the mantra form
Matam Rutra: Egoism attached to the physical body; name of a demon
Maya: sense of difference in all Jivas (see Bhedabuddhi); Experience in time and space of self and not-self; a form of Shakti
Maya-pramatri: experiencer of maya
Maya Shakti: “Power whereby the One gives effect to Its Will to be Many;” continuous veiling therefore it evolves
Mayatita: beyond maya
Mayavada: Shankara’s perspective on Vedanta
Mithyabhuta sanatani: eternal falsity, eternal unreality
Miyate: measures out
Moha: ignorance, bewilderment; illusion; delusion
Mohapanka: delusion
Moksha: (Nirvana) the fourth Purushartha (see mukti)
Mokshana: projection
Mudha: ignorant
Mudra: posture; positions of the body; gestures made with the hands while in worship
Mukti: liberation
Mula: root; substance of things
Muladhara: fundamental support; seat of Kundali Shakti
Mulaprakriti: nature in the sense of becoming
Mulavidya: root of wisdom
Muni: sage
Murti: aspect
N
Nada: action; indistinct or unmanifested sound; “the first produced source of Mantra and the subtlest form of Shabda of which Mantra is a manifestation;” threefold as Mahanada, Nadanta, Nirodhini
Nada-bindu: primordial power
Nadi: meaning artery is applied in yoga as “channels of energy”
Nama: name; names
Namarupa also namarupatmaka: name and form
Naraka: hell
Natura Naturans: natural things
Natura Naturata: Nature itself
Nididhasanam: attention and profound meditation (see mananam)
Nigama: Shiva
Nimesha: “Cosmic Sleep” or dissolution
Nimitta: instrumental
Niradhara: self-existent
Niramsha: part-less
Nirguna: without attribute
Nirvinna: indifferent
Nis: without
Nishcaya: unity of the individual self and Atma
Nishedhavyapararupa shaktih: the function of Shakti to negate
Nishkama Karma: selfless work
Nishkala: unity without parts
Nis panda also nishpanda: motionless
Nitya: unending; imperishable; invariable
Nityata: eternity
Nivritti: evolution or return of Supreme Power to Itself
Nivritti marga: path of return (see nivritti)
Niyama: regulation
Niyantrana: subdues
Niyati: destruction of independence and freedom through restrictions and regulations on what an individual must do or not do in any moment of time: “that which constitutes that Sakti of His which is called Independence or Freedom; this same Sakti and none other, becoming contracted and subjecting Him perfore to guidance and regulation in a definitely ordered and restricted manner as regards what is to be done or not done;” the “subtle regulator of everything”
Nyasa: placing; used in ritual to refer to placing of hands on the body
O
Ong Tat Sat: (said in the Mahanirvana Tantra to be the principally important mantra); see Tat Sat
P
Pada: syllable; word
Padma: lotuses
Padmasana: posture for worship
Pancaratra: ancient form of Vaishnavism
Panda: motion
Papa: wrong
Papapurusha: man of sin
Para: supreme
Parabrahman: supreme Brahman
Parahanta: Supreme Person, Supreme Deity, Supreme Personality
Paraloka: next world
Paramahangsa: perfect class of Avadhutas
Paramananda: supreme bliss
Paramashiva: Benefactor of the Worlds, Promulgator of all Vidyas
Paramatma: transcendent, supreme aspect of Atma; pure being
Paramarthika: transcendental state of being (see Satta)
Paramparyya: tradition
Parasabda: state of agitation in the cosmic Sakti
Parasamvit: supreme experience
Parashabdasrishti: Para sound; cosmic sound
Parashiva: supreme experience
Paravastu: Supreme Substance
Pariccheda: delimitation
Paricchinna: heterogeneous
Parin ama: seeming development applied to creation process
Parishishta: supplementary
Parivrat: imperfect class of avadhutas
Parthiva: earth; Indwelling Universal
Parthiva bhuta: crust of solid matter
Pasajala: bondage
Pasa-samvit: the pure changeless aspect of Cit
Pash: to bind
Pashu: animal; creature (as in part of the world); all men (generally applied to ordinary, unenlightened men)
Pasupati: lord of creatures in Saiva-Shastra (see Prajapati)
Pasyanti: seeing
Pasyanti-Vak: Vak going forth as Iks
Pati: Lord (as of the world)
Pitris: fathers, a creation separate from the predecessors of humanity; human ancestors
Pra: before
Prabhu: Lord
Prabuddha: illuminate
Prajapati: lord of creatures (see Pasupati)
Prakara: nature
Prakasha: luminous; an aspect of Brahman
Prakashavimarshasya-rupini: union of Prakasha and Vimarsha
Prakriteranya: without prakriti
Prakriti: nature; that state of Sakti that arises as the result of the collective operation of Maya and the Kancukas; a transformation of Sakti existing as a homogeneity and general objectivity which develops of its own power which is the summation of the Saktis producing it into the heterogeneous universe; Primordial nature; the material principle of the world which, in association with Purusha, creates the universe. Prakriti is one of the two ultimate realities of Sankhya philosophy.
Prakshipta: interpolation
Pralaya: destruction; state of dissolution
Pram: breathing creatures
Pramana: authority
Prameya: objects
Prana: vital, vitality; manifested life; defined (Hindu Realism, by J. C. Chatterji) to be, “the special relation of the Atma with a certain form of matter which, by this relation, the Atma organizes and builds up as a means of having experience.”; represents involuntary reflex action of the organism
Prana-maya-kosha: the sheath of breath
Pranapranasya: life of all lives
Prasarati: goes forth (used when Brahman as Sakti creates)
Prana Vayu: self-begotten but limited manifestation of eternal life
Prani: all breathing creatures
Prapanca: “extension of the five forms of sensible matter (Bhuta)”
Praptavya: what is to be acquired
Prataya: mental apprehension; apprehension or image which one has of an object evoked by a word
Prathibhasika: illusory state of being (see Satta)
Pratibimba: reflection (Maya); reflection of consciousness in Tattva
Pratima: image
Pratyahara: restraint of the senses
Pravritti: outgoing or involution as universe
Pravritti marga: path of desire for enjoyments of the world or heaven
Prithivi: earth
Puja: ritual worship
Punya: virtue
Purna: wholeness; perfection; the supreme experience; spaceless
Purnaham: Infinite Self
Purnahambhava: state of full “I,” the experience of I am
Purnahanta: divine or full “I”
Purnosham: the Supreme “I”
Purusa also Purusha: One of the two ultimate realities of Sankhya philosophy. The divine Self, the absolute Reality, pure Consciousness; consciousness subject to maya (Garland 32%); related to Brahman and Consciousness as opposed to Maya and Prakriti
Purusa-Tattva: Atma enveloped by the Kancukas derived from Maya and specific of its operation
Purusharthas: four aims of man
R
Raga: desire; interest in objects which precedes desire; interest in objects seen as other than the self which ripens into desire for them; “Sakti becoming limited, makes the Purusa interested in objects and thus attaches them to enjoyment;” Sakti “which is eternal complete satisfaction; the same becoming limited and attaching him ever to enjoyment”
Raga Kancuka: creates interest in objects as something other than the self and therefore desire for them
Rajas: that which acts (see Prakriti; see also Gunas in the Appendix)
Rajasika: modification
Rasa: sensation; sensation of taste
Ri: to get, to know, to enjoy
Rishis: seers; makers of shastra; (see also Three Chief Classes of Rishis in the Appendix)
Rupa: appearance, form; sensation of color, form and sight
Rudra: [that aspect of God that breaks down the physical universe]; chemical action breaking down the combinations of matter
Rutra: a fierce spirit sometimes with connotation of evil
S
Sabda: language (see vak)
Sabdabrahman: causal aspect; creative Brahman
Sabdatanmatra: subtle body of sound; pure natural sound
Sacchidananda: (also Saccidananda); nature of Brahman or Consciousness (see Parasamvit)
Sadasat: partly real and partly unreal
Sadh: to exert
Sadhaka: worshiper; consciousness of worshiper
Sadhana: (from root Sadh, to exert); practical experience; discipline, ritual, worship, Yoga
Sadhana Shastras: practical scriptures
Sadharana: undivided whole
Sadhya: class of devas evolved from humanity; desired, sought for
Sadrishya: likeness in Dvaitavada perspective
Sadvastu: Brahman
Sagwa: with attribute
Sah: inspiring breath
Saham: She I am
Sahasrara: thousand petaled lotus
Sahasrara-padma: thousand petaled lotus
Sak: capacity of action or power
Sakala: creative; with parts
Sakama: desire and self-regard
Sakshatkara: Actual experience; “Spiritual” (primary) experience
Saktiman: possessor of power
Saktipata: grace
Sama: internal control
Samadhi: ecstasy which transcends all reasoning; capacity for the highest contemplation
Samanya Dharma: universal law governing all
Samanya-spanda: the general sound of the first creative movement
Samarasya: Union
Samashti: collectivity of all which exists
Samgamana: synthesis
Samhara-Shakti: destructive energy
Samipya: nearness in Dvaitavada perspective
Samketa: symbol
Samkoca: contraction
Samkucadrupa: contracted form of infinite Sakti
Samkhya: science of analysis and discrimination; using intellectual faculties exclusively, concludes that the existence of God is not proven
Samsara: world; “Wandering” in transmigratory worlds; series of births and deaths of worlds and reincarnation
Samskara: sacraments, purifications
Samya: equality
Samyavastha: state of equality
Sandhya: a rite; Dhyana or meditation
Sangketa: sign
Sangsara: phenomenal world
Sangskara: purificatory ceremony
Sanketa: symbol
Santa: supreme peace
Saras: flow; motion
Sarga: creation
Sarvakartrta: omnipotence
Sarvam: world
Sarasvati: dynamic Brahman
Sarvapindavyapin: permeating the whole physical body
Sarvatmakatva: “I am all”
Sarvatravastha: all-pervading
Sat: real unitary Being; consciousness of being; fact
SatCit: Being-Consciousness
Sat-karanavada: doctrine of reality of the original source or basis of things
Satta: being; the three levels or planes of being (see Paramarthika, Vyavaharika, Prathibhasika)
Sattva: that which manifests (see Prakriti; see also Gunas in the Appendix)
Satya: real
Satyaloka: highest plane of experience
Satyam: truth
Savita: indwelling universal; projector of the universe
Shabda: sound; possibility of sound; language
Shabdabodha: knowledge of words
Shabdabrahman: Brahman as the cause of sound
Shaiva: one whose chosen deity is Shiva
Shaivacara: third stage of spiritual progress (see Kshattriya)
Shaivavadhuta: a class of Avadhutas
Shak: to be able
Shakta: a monist worshiper of Shakti
Shakta Darsha: monistic form of Brahmanism
Shakta doctrine: a form of Advaitavada
Shaktas: worshipers of Shakti
Shakta Shastra: “practical Scripture of Worship”
Shakta Tantra: Sadhana Shastra of Advaitavada
Shakta Tantra Shastra: contains rituals
Shakti: power; divine power; changing Power appearing as mind and matter; God as Mother, creator, sustainer, “source of all Becoming,” “kinetic aspect” of Consciousness
Shaktiman: possessor of Power, one with Shakti
Shaktivada: Shakta Darshana
Shakti Vishvottirna: supreme, perfect experience beyond all worlds
Shaktopaya Yoga: Sadhana employing activities such as mantra
Shambhavopaya: meditative, introspective process seeking a direct realization (see Shaktopaya Yoga)
Shamkaracarya: Shankara
Shamkoca: contraction “due to limitation as Shakti in the form of mind and matter”
Sharira-kosha: the gross body
Shas: to control
Shastra: scripture
Shastradrishti: understanding the meaning of Shastra
Shasvata: timeless
Shatkarmma: cleansing process
Shila: custom; habit and observance
Shishta: social rules
Shishya: disciple
Shiva: formless, unchanging Consciousness, static transcendent aspect, “static aspect of Consciousness”
Shiva-Shakti: Consciousness and Its Power
Shraddha: faith
Shravanam: listening (see mananam)
Shriyantra: greatest of the Yantras; symbol of the Mother; diagram used in worship symbolizing both the universe and its cause
Shrutarshi: makers of Shastras
Shruti: experience
Shuddha: pure
Shuddhacitta: state of being pure
Shuddhatma: purity of the soul
Shudra: last of the four castes
Shunya: void; term used in Buddhist Tantrik writings and by Shaktas and Vaishnavas
Siddha: one who has perfected spiritual development
Siddhanta: conclusions drawn from what is heard and reasoned upon (see mananam)
Siddhi: powers; success, accomplishment, achievement, fruition; transcendental experience; result; that which is gained by Sadhana
Sishya: student of a guru
Smriti: subjective experience
So’ham: He I am
Spanda: movement
Spandana: vibration
Sparsa: consciousness (objectively Vayu) consisting of externality ideapoints spread over subjective being
Sri Mata: Great Mother
Srishti: change; creation; first appearance creation
Srishtikaplana: “‘imagining’ which is ‘creation’”; creative ideation which is the manifestation of Shakti as Cit-Shakti and Maya-Shakti
Sr s ti: creation; (see Sr s ti-kalpana)
Sr s ti-kalpana: cosmic ideation of Isvara; the divine word
Sruti: experience of others
Sthirata: fortitude
Sthiranishta: faith in Brahman
Sthiti: existence; change; continuance through agency of Prana maintenance; a day of Brahma
Sthula: gross; name given to object of meditation
Sthula-deha: gross body
Sthularupa: worship of Mother in material form
Sthula-sharira: physical or gross body
Stuti: praise
Suddha: pure
Sukha: happiness
Sukshma: subtle
Sukshmadeha: subtle body
Sukshma-shrira: subtle body; also called linga-sharira and karana-shanra
Sunya: the void or formless but not nothingness
Suryya: the sun
Sushupti: dreamless sleep; “dreamless slumber of the World-Consciousness”
Sutratma: “string” along which “all the Beads of Form are strung”
Sva: individual self
Svabhava: nature of the ultimate being
Svabhavatah: nature
Svagata: immanent
Svagata-bheda: potential differentiation within something
Svanubhava: self-realized
Svapna: cosmic dreaming
Svaprakasha: self-illuminating
Svarga: heaven
Svarat: self principle
Svarupa: nature; own form; Itself, formless Brahman; divine essence
Svarupavisranti: “resting in the Self”
Svatantrata: independence
Svavimarshah purusharthah: self-knowledge as the end of man
Svayamjyotih: self-illuminating
Sveccacara: region beyond Acaras reached after attaining Brahmajnana
Svechacara: the doctrine of Svechacari of “do as you will”
Svechacari: doctrine of Svechacara; own will
T
Taditara: exterior
Tadrisatadrishacittaikasadhyani: capacity of an individual
Talas: “dark descending planes,” places representing sub
normal experience
Tamas: that which veils and produces inertia (see Prakriti; see also Gunas in the Appendix)
Tamomayi Shakti: lowest representation of planes, “Veiling Power of Being in all its infinite intensity”
Tan: root of Tantra; to spread
Tanmatra: subtle essences
Tantra: system of Shakti-Sadhana; “Tantra means injunction (Vidhi)”; system of Shakti-Sadhana; denotes injunction, regulation, Shastra or treatise; can refer to a secular writing; root is “tan” to spread or possibly (but less likely) “tatri,” origination or knowledge: thus the current meaning of Tantra is scripture by which knowledge is spread; the suffix “tra” means to save
Tantra Shastras: Tantric scriptures
Tantras: injunction, regulation, treatise, or Shastra; scriptures of the Agama
Tantrik: follower of the Agama
Tapas: penance; austerities including fasting
Taraka: saving
Tat: that; that (referring to Brahman)
Tat Sat: That which is
Tat tvam asi: That thou art
Tattva: a posture of power; power defined in a particular way; a stage in the evolutionary process
Tattvajñana: ultimate truth; liberation
Tattvas: evolutes that compose mind and matter as created by gunas
Tattvatita: alogical aspect beyond all Tattvas
Tilaka: caste mark
Tirthas: holy places
Trivarga: (of the Purushartha) three aims of sentient being
Tvam: thou (Tat tvam asi = that thou art)
U
Ucchuna: inclined
Ucchunavastha: creation
Unmukhi: “upward looking” consciousness (“not looking to another”); creation
Upadana: material; attachment and enjoyment of sense organs
Upadanakarana: material cause
Upahita-Cit: immanent, associated with mind, matter and maya
Upasana: worship
Upasti: worship
Urddhva-saktirupa: looking upwards (toward liberation)
Utsrijya: casting off
Uttama: high
V
Va: to move
Vach: to speak
Vadhita: that which can never be contradicted
Vahni: fire
Vaidika Acara: Vedic practice
Vaikhari: spoken speech; utterance
Vairagya: dispassion
Vaishnava: a follower of Vishnu (see Vaishanavism in the appendix)
Vairagya: dispassion
Vaishya: third of the four castes
Vajra: diamond; Dorje (Tibetan: anything of a high mystical character that is lasting, indestructible, powerful, irresistible); an appellation of the Vajrayana school; the static manifestation of Brahman
Vak: voice; spoken words; sound of inanimate objects; (see vach and Sabda); an effect either subtle or gross
Vak-virat: Vak in the form of the universe
Vakya: sentence
Vama: woman
Vandana: homage
Vanaprastha: one of the four stages of life, that of a recluse in retirement
Varna: lettered sound; letters of the alphabet; caste
Varnamaka sabda: lettered sound
Varnamala: garland of letters
Vasikaranam: powerless
Vayu: universal vital activity; sensation of touch and feel but not of all forms of contact
Veda: spiritual experience; (based on vid, to know) Knowledge “par excellence, that is super-sensual experience”; Whole knowledge or experience (primary or secondary)
Vedaka: knower
Vedana: feeling with sense organs
Vedanta: science of synthesis and assimilation; (see Advaita above); (see also Vedanta in the Appendix)
Vedasvarupa: knowledge of Self
Vedatmika: Vak in the form of Veda
Vedya: known
Vibhava: manifestation
Vicara: argument, useless argument
Vicikirshu: longs to create
Vid: to know
Videha Mukti: bodiless liberation
Vidhi: injunction
Vija: seed mantra
Vidya: knowing
Vikairi: variable
Vikara: impermanent change of state
Vikritis: see Tattvas
Vikshepa: moving, changing, projecting
Vimarsa also Vimarsha: experience; (see Idam)
Vimarsha-Shakti: cause of phenomenal objects; an aspect of Brahman
Vimoha: delusion
Vira: heroic
Virat: universal
Visaya: object (see Artha)
Vishesha Dharma: varies with, peculiar to each class of being
Vishishtadvaita: qualified monism of Ramanuja
Vishvarupa: the world
Vishvarupini: the gross aspect of Brahman appearing as the universe (see Cidrupini)
Vishvatmaka: in the form of the world
Vishvatmika: the experience of man
Vishvottirna: beyond the universe (see Cidrupini)
Vissvottirna: beyond mind, speech and the universe
Visvatma-Sakti: harmony with the active
Viveka: discrimination
Vrata: voluntary karma (see punya)
Vritti: Experience-Modes; mental operation
Vyasti: individual
Vyavaharika: empirical state of being (see Satta)
Vyavaharika Satta: conventional experience
Vyutpadana: origination or knowledge
Y
Yajna: sacrificial rite; worship
Yama:: forbearance; self-control
Yantra: geometrical design; diagrammatic presentation of Divinity; instrument; that by which something is accomplished
Yat: which
Yatis: [of a higher spiritual elevation]
Yogabala: Yoga as the highest power
Yoni: causal womb
Yuga: an age as in the Kaliyuga
Yuj: to join
APPENDIX
OTHER TERMS (defined using sources apart from Woodroffe)
• Rudraksha: seeds traditionally used for beads
• Tripundra: three horizontal lines on the forehead
• Vaishanavism: a dualistic religious path of Hinduism regarding the worship of Vishnu or an avatar of Vishnu such as Rama or Krishna
• Vedanta: the most prominent of the schools of orthodox Hinduism
THREE GUNAS (of Prakriti) (work by mutual suppression)
1. tamas: inertia (purpose to veil consciousness)
2. sattva: equilibrium (purpose to reveal consciousness)
3. rajas: activity (purpose to make tamas suppress sattva and sattva to suppress tamas)
THE THREE BODIES
1. causal
2. subtle
3. gross
THE FOUR STATES OF EXPERIENCE
1. Jagrat: awake
2. Svapna: sleep with dreams
3. Sushupti: sleep without dreams
4. Turiya: transcendence
VARNA: CASTES (four original)
1. Brahmana: priesthood and teaching
2. Kshattriya: warrior
3. Vaishya: merchant
4. Shudra: servile
Samanya: hybrid resulting from intermixture of others; added during Kaliyuga
Chandala: lowest caste
ASHRAMAS: periods of life
(all for Brahmana; first three for Kshattriya; first two for Vaishya; last only for Shudra)
1. Brahmachari: (first) chaste student
2. Grihastha: (second) married householder
3. Vanaprastha: (third) recluse
4. Bhikshu: (fourth) beggar
According to the Tantra, during the Kaliyuga there are only the second garhasthya and last stages bhikshuka or avadhuta and both stages are open to all castes.
AGES
• Satya
• Treta
• Dvapara
• Kaliyuga
SCRIPTURE (the four main classes)
1. Shruti (includes the four Vedas: Rik, Yajuh, Sama, Atharva and the Upanishads; Vedas are root of all shastras)
2. Smriti
3. Puranas
4. Tantra (sometimes called the fifth Veda)
HUMAN BODY
• Anna-maya kosha: the material body called “sheath of food”
• Sharira-kosha: the gross body
• Indriya: senses; organs of sense
• Prana-maya-kosha: the sheath of breath
• Mano-maya: a sheath
• Vijnana kosha: a sheath
• Sthula-sharira: physical or gross body
• Sukshma-shrira: subtle body; also called linga-sharira and karana-shanra
YOGANGGA: Three interior methods of subjugation of the mind
1. Dharana: attention, steadying mind, fixing chitta (internal organ) as indicated by particular instruction for yoga
2. Dhyana: uniform continuous contemplation of the object of thought
3. Samadhi: a deeper more intense contemplation on the Self to the exclusion of other objects and constituting trance or ecstasy
SIN — the six principal sins
1. Kama: lust
2. Krodha: anger
3. Lobha: covetousness
4. Moha: ignorance or delusion
5. Mada: pride
6. Matsaryya: envy
KARMA — the three types
1. Sanchita karmma: the whole accumulation of unexhausted karma from the past, both good and bad, that remains to be worked out; Sangskara also called vasana: past karma that causes rebirth
2. Prarabdha: that portion of sanchita karmma that is “ripe” and worked out in the present birth
3. Vartamana also called agami: new karma being continuously made
BINDUS (constituting a triangle known as the Kamakala)
• Bindu (Karya)
• Nada
• Bija
SENSATIONS
1. Akasa: hearing
2. Vayu: touch and feel but not in the sense of all forms of contact
3. Rupa: color, form and sight
4. Rasa: taste
5. Gandha: smell
TRINITY
1. Iccha: will
2. Jnana: knowledge
3. Kriya: action
SEVEN STAGES of Parthiva Consciousness
1. separation of objective world and mind; objective world seen as independent of the senses that perceive it
2. realization that objects are conditioned by the senses of the perceiver
3. understanding that the objective world is dependent both upon the senses and attentive mind of the self which is behind them
4. understanding that the self is uncontrolled by the physical body, is self-luminious and overlaps the bounds of physical senses
5. understanding that the Self is independent of mind and matter, of senses and objects sensed and contains the causal relation by which it evolves them
6. understanding that what fully persists and is therefore fully real is the self
7. understanding that the entire objective world necessarily lies within the cause
THREE CHIEF CLASSES OF RISHI (see also Shrutarshi in the glossary)
1. Brah-marshi: born of the mind of Brahma
2. Devarshi: of lower rank
3. Rajarshi: kings who became Rishis through knowledge and austerities
Note to Readers
Creating a glossary and list of chapter contents based on some of Sir John Wodroffe’s books was a project that I commenced for my own benefit. Later, it occurred to me that others might profit from the work as well. In returning to the books for specific reasons, I have found the contents list useful and the glossary indispensable, saving a tremendous amount of time. I hope that others will also find the information helpful. Readers who have comments or suggestions or those who identify errors are urged to contact me at MichaelDriver@mac.com. There is a possibility that a revised document can be posted in the future. In addition, as I explore other texts, including, possibly, other books by Sir John Woodroffe, I may elect to produce similar treatments of different material. Your comments would be very helpful.
Note: This essay is available in traditional format here.
in the public domain by Michael Driver (no rights reserved)

