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Abhimanyu: one of the sons of Arjuna, cousin of Krishna; one of the most heroic warriors of the Pandava side in the Mahabharata war.

abhyasa yoga: the yoga of practice of self-discipline.

adharma: Sanskrit word meaning absence (a-) of righteousness (dharma); irreligion.

advaita vedanta: the philosophy of non-dual realization of the One.

Agni (the deity): the fire-god from ancient Vedic times.

agni (the elemental energy): Sanskrit word meaning the fire present in all the seven centers. Its special elemental presence is in the navel (food) center.

ahamkara: Sanskrit word made of aham (I) and kara (maker), i.e. the ego, one’s sense of doership.

ahimsa: Sanskrit word meaning non (a-) violence (himsa)—the Buddhist and Hindu spiritual practice of avoiding to cause harm to others either by thought, speech, or action.

ajña chakra (“Sanskrit word meaning command wheel”): the place of concentration inside the pituitary, i.e. the soul center.

akasha (Sanskrit word meaning “ether”): the sky or space; ether.

Akbar: the third Mughal emperor of India (1556-1605), generally considered the true founder of the Mughal Empire in India. He was a rare ruler, legendary for his tolerance and a patron of all major religions of his immense empire. He took the unprecedented step, as a Muslim emperor, to appoint Birbal, a Hindu, as a witty minister to his court. The interactions between Akbar and Birbal have been enthroned in countless wisdom tales. Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, built the famed Taj Mahal to immortalize the love he had for his wife, Arjomand.

amrita (Sanskrit word meaning “immortal”): nectar which gives immortality; the deathless state.

anahata chakra (Sanskrit word meaning “wheel of the unstruck [sound]”): the dorsal (heart) center

ananda: Sanskrit word meaning bliss

Anandamoyee Ma (1896-1982): born fully God-realized, Anandamoyee Ma was one of India's most influential contemporary saints. Married at age 13, her husband immediately recognized her spiritual stature and only considered her as his guru.Virtually illiterate and untrained in any spiritual discipline, she effortlessly instructed scholars and spiritual seekers of all religions.

apana (Sanskrit word meaning “down breath”): one of the five main pranas (vital energies), responsible for elimination; metaphorically, apana means “not yet taken or drunk”, i.e. the fresh air for inhalation.

apara vidya: Sanskrit word meaning knowledge of the phenomenal world or material knowledge.

Argos: the vessel that Jason had constructed by the great shipwright Argus, on which he embarked with 50 great heroes for the quest of the fabled Golden Fleece.

Arjuna: one of the five Pandava brothers; he was the third son of Kunti, born mystically through union with the god Indra.

Ark of Love: the spiritually-oriented charitable organization run by the Hariharananda Mission in Latin America and founded in 2001 by Swami Sarveshwarananda Giri. Its motto is "To awaken, with love and joy, the children’s self-esteem and divinity, in order to allow them to discover their mission, realize their dreams with autonomy, and become true, just, spiritual, peaceful and loving human beings." For more information, please visit their website (outside link).

artha: Sanskrit word meaning material prosperity; to earn wealth in a righteous way; one of the four vital accomplishments in human life.

asad: Sanskrit word meaning falsehood.

asana (Sanskrit word meaning “seat”): sitting; posture; a place to sit for prayer and meditation; the third limb of Patañjali’s ashtanga yoga system.

ashtanga yoga (Sanskrit word meaning “eight-limbs yoga”): the path of complete spiritual development propounded by sage Patañjali.

atma or atman (Sanskrit word meaning “Self”): the soul.

atom-point: a point of no breadth, no length and no depth, which contains the whole power of creation, maintenance and dissolution of the universe; the fontanel.

Augustine, Saint (354-430). Born and educated in a Roman provinces in northern Africa, he studied philosophy extensively. He turned to religion after a profound mystical experience while in his early thirties, and went on to become one of the most influential theologian of Christianity to this day. Two of his most important books are the Confessions and the City of God.

AUM: Sanskrit word meaning the primordial, eternal divine sound heard in deep meditation; it represents the three bodies of every human being or the triple divine qualities: A is the causal body (sound), U is the astral body (vibration), and M is the physical body (light).

Aurobindo, Shri (1872-1950): born in Calcutta, India, he had a brilliant schooling and higher education in England, before returning to India in 1893. Sought by the police for his revolutionary activities to overthrow the British rule in India, he found refuge in the French enclave of Pondicherry in 1910. Giving up his political activities, he concentrated exclusively on his spiritual practice and poetry. He founded the Shri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926.

Ayodhya: a capital city where Lord Rama reigned after his 14 years of exile.

ayuh: Sanskrit word meaning life; life span; health.

ayurveda (Sanskrit word meaning “life science”): a system of medicine of mind, body and soul; one of the upavedas, divinely revealed sciences in India.

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