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Madhusudana: "the destroyer of the demon Madhu", another name for Krishna.

Madri: second wife of King Pandu, and mother of Nakula and Sahadeva.

maha: Sanskrit word meaning great.

Mahabharata (Sanskrit word meaning “great [epic of] the Bharatas”): the great Indian epic which includes the Bhagavad Gita.

mahabhuta (Sanskrit word meaning “great elements”): the gross elements.

Mahadeva (Sanskrit word meaning “Great Lord”): a name of Lord Shiva.

mahah-loka: Sanskrit word meaning the fourth of the seven upper spheres of existence (loka). Corresponds to the emotion (air) center.

Mahakala: Sanskrit word meaning "the supreme time"; destiny; a name of Lord Shiva.

mahamudra (Sanskrit word meaning “great seal”): the yogic technique of physical, astral and causal purification.

Mahaprabhu (Sanskrit word meaning "Great Lord"): see Chaitanya.

maharshi (Sanskrit word meaning “great seer”): a person of right vision.

mahavakyas (Sanskrit word meaning “great sayings”): the four great pronouncements which make up the essence of the Upanishads: 1) “Wisdom is Brahman (the Absolute God).”  2) “I am Brahman.”  3) “That thou art.”  4) “This soul is Brahman.”

mala (Sanskrit word meaning “garland”): a rosary, made of beads stringed together.

manas (Sanskrit word meaning “mind”): the faculty of discursive thinking.

manipura chakra (Sanskrit word meaning “wheel of the jeweled city”): the lumbar (stomach) center.

mantram: Sanskrit word meaning a holy syllable or prayer; formula of mystic power.

Manu: the father of mankind; the Noah of Indian mythology.

Mark, Saint: He was not an apostle, but a close associate of the Apostle Peter. His name is a Roman surname (from the Greek Markos), which means “a large hammer.”

Mark, Gospel of: one of the four Gospels of the New Testament. The Gospel of Mark is thought to be the earliest of the four, written more than one generation after the death of Jesus, and was written primarily for the Romans.

Masnawi: the greatest work of Sufi master Jalaluddin Rumi, who took 43 years to write it. Known in Iran as the "Persian Koran", it is a series of parables and mystical poems to guide the seeker into the Mystery of mysteries.

Mata Amritanandamayi: born in Kerala in South India in 1953, her name means "Mother of Immortal Bliss", but she is better known as "Amma" (mother) or "Ammachi" (beloved mother). A great saint and mother of compassion, she has launched many humanitarian charities in more than 30 years of service and travels around the world.

Mathura: a holy city in India where Lord Krishna was born.

Matthew, Saint: one of the original 12 disciples, or apostles, of Jesus Christ. He was a reformed tax-collector (publican). His name in Greek was Matthios, which means “Gift of God” or “of YHWH.”

Matthew, Gospel of: one of the four Gospels of the New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew is based largely on the earlier Gospel of Mark. It is an eyewitness account, by a Jew and for the Jews, of the life and works of Jesus.

matrikanyasa (Sanskrit word meaning “placing (nyasa) the little mothers (matrikas)”: placing the 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet (matrikas) in the whole body, a Hindu religious practice.

maya (Sanskrit word meaning “she who measures”): the cosmic delusive force, and illusory appearance of the sensible world. This Sanskrit word corresponds to the Abrahamic religions’ concept of satan—a Hebrew word meaning “the adversary” or “the one who turns away” [“…from the Truth”, ed.]

Mira or Mirabai (1498-1550): the Rajput queen who left the court in her 30s to live the life of a wandering mendicant, composing over a thousand devotional poems to her chosen deity Krishna.

moksha: Sanskrit word meaning liberation; the state of complete soul-awareness, emancipation, and samadhi; freedom from the bondage and attachment that arise from delusion.

money-center: see coccygeal center.

Moses (circa 13th century B.C.E.): at God's command, he led the Hebrew slaves from Egypt to the Promised Land and gave them the Law (Torah) which he received from God at Mt Sinai. According to tradition, he is the author of the five books of the Law, the Pentateuch of the Hebrew Bible.

Mother of the Aurobindo Ashram (1878-1973): born Mirra Alfassa in France, she had mystical experiences from an early childhood.  She met Shri Aurobindo in 1914 in Pondicherry, and accepted him as his spiritual guide. In 1926 she became the Mother of the Shri Aurobindo Ashram and conducted its affairs after Shri Aurobindo's passing in 1950.

mudra (Sanskrit word meaning “seal”): a Kriya Yoga technique or posture.

mukti (Sanskrit word meaning “release”): liberation; freedom.

muladhara chakra (Sanskrit word meaning “wheel of the root (mula) foundation (dhara)”): the coccygeal (money) center.

mulam: Sanskrit word meaning root; base; cause.

muni (Sanskrit word meaning “sage”): one who seeks truth; a person of meditation.

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