GLOSSARY OF TERMS
AGAMA = Scripture.
AGHATI KARMA = Karma that is not capable of obstructing or preventing the intrinsic quality of pure Soul.
AGNANI = Ignorant. Unenlightened.
AHIMSA = Non-injury (to from one-sensed to five-sensed living beings through thought, word and deed).
ANTARAI KARMA = A Karma that acts as impediment (or interference) to the exposition of Soul's intrinsic quality of power and energy.
APARIGRAHA = Voluntary poverty. Opposite of parigraha See Parjgraha.
APOORVA = Inexperienced before, Unprecedented .
APRAMADA= Unslothfulness. Opposite of Pramada.
ASANGATA = Full Unattachment to external substances.
ASATSANGA = Association With persons of worldly desires and carnal happiness.
ASATYA = Falsehood. Untruth.
ASHUBHA = Evil. Not =beneficial.
ATMA = Pure Soul.
ATMA-SIDDHI= Realization of pure Soul.
AVASARA = Occasion
AYUSHYA = Life's duration.
BHAVA = Thought, Psychic impulse, Feeling.
BHAVANA = Idea kept at the focus of thought. Meditation. These are twelve in number. (1) Anitya = impermanent, (2) Asharana= without refuge or protection (3) Samsara = Round of existences, Cycle of births and deaths, (4) Ekatva= aloneness, all oneness, (5) Anyatva =distinct from all else (6) Ashuchi= Impurity, (7) Asrava= Inflowing of Karmas, (8) Samvara=Blocking of the of the inflowinp of karmas, (9) Nirjara=Shedding theold Karmas, (lO) Loka= the universe, (ll),Bodhi Durlabha= rare acquisition of, Wisdom (Self-realization), (12) Dharma Durlabha= Rare obtainment of true Dharma and true preceptor.
BODHA = Teaching. Precept.
BRAHMACHARYA = Celibacy. Chastity. Remaining in the sweet blissfulness of Soul.
CHARITRA = Conduct. Character. From real point of view it means, absorption of self in self.
CHARITRA MOHA = The infatuation vitiating the right conduct (of remaining in Self ).;
DHYANA = Meditation. Thinking. It is of four=kinds, (1) Arta (2) Raudra (3) Dharma (4) Shukla;
(1) Thoughts concerning worldly matters such as body, family, money, fame, power etc. constitute Arta Dhyana.
(2) Thinking of same kind of worldly concerns with severity and involvjnginjury or harm or destruction of other living entities in any manner is Raudrs Dhyana.
(3) Thoughts pertaining and referring to- love and devotion of Supreme Being, =Preceptor and scriptures, Self spiritual welfare, hearing or studying shastras etc. depict Dharma.Dhyana.
(4) Shukla Dhyana, being a very subtle and deep psychic force, .is very difficult to be= described accurately and fully in, words. Shukla means white and bright, pure and clear,. Shukla Dhyana, therefore means the condition of mind engrossed and absorbed in enjoying the nectar of theSoul, who is bright and white, most pure and clear. Herethe activity of mind stops and the all powerful Soul enjoys own Bliss.
DWESHA = Aversion. Dislike.
GATI = State of mundane existence. Form of embodied existence.
GHATI KARMA = From the practical point of view it means a Karma that is capable of annihilating the qualities Of Soul; from the real point of view it denotes the power of karma as obstructing or preventing the un-foldment of Soul's attributes. The intrinsic qualities, and nature of soul can never be absolutely destroyed. These Karmas are four, preventing Absolute Knowledge, Absolute Perception, Absolute Bliss and Absolute Power.
GNANI = One who is self-realized and knows the secrets of the path to liberation.
GUNASTHANA = Stages of spiritual development. Spiritual progress of the self or Atma.
GURU = Religious Enlightened holy preceptor.
JATI SMARANA GNANA = Knowledge of an event or events of foregone birth or births, obtained through exceptional memory. It falls into the sub-division of Mati Gnana intellectual knowledge.
JIVA = Sentient living being. Embodied self.
KARMA = No English equivalent. Literally it means action but quite inadequate. The doctrine that gives us explanation as to how certain characteristics or factors of our present personality have been produced as the result of forces generated in the past, is the doctrine of Karma. Bhava Karma is the thought activity, thought-process of an embodied self. By-the impelling force of this activity is attracted finest particles of matter towards the soul of a living being. These minutest particles of matter attached to the Soul are Dravya Karmas. These are mainly of eight kinds obscuring, obstructing and preventing the natural and other attributes of Soul. The living beings are under the influence of these Karmas and receive the fruits thereof on their ripening. Law of Karma operates unceasingly. It has its rules and by-rules.
KASNAYA = Passion. That which helps sojourning in the world is Kashaya. Emotional feelings of anger, pride, deceitfulness, greed etc.
KSHAPAK SHRENI = The ladder of annihilation of Ghati Karmas and greatly weakening of A-ghati Karmas, leading to Absolute Perfection is this shreni. It begins with the eighth stage of spiritual development and ends at twelfth. The termination at twelfth and entering thirteenth stage gives the status of Complete Veetaraga (Total and complete detachment) or Arhat. This is accomplished through the most powerful, subtle spiritual weapon of Shukla Dhyana.
KSHAYAKA SAMKIT = Samkit means right faith in the nature of substances, animate and inanimate and conviction accompanied with self realization of soul as distinct from body and allied objects. Such a faith remaining alive in an embodied soul night and day and each moment of time is Kshayaka Samkit. On attainment of this sort of faith an individual can be liberated from the bondage to body and Karmas in the same birth or in maximum within three ensuingbirths. This state is obtained by the total annihilation of Darshana Moha (infatuation arising out of illusion and ignorance of self) and Anantanubandhi Kashaya i. e. due to clinging to erroneous belief of body as soul and not heeding the words of the wise, a queer type of passion is generated forcing an individual to act in a manner that causes him to wander in this universe infinitely. This kind of Samkit can be achieved in the present age of spiritual decay and corruption.
MANTRA = Incantation. Magical formula of a word or words powerful to produce the effect.
MOHA = Delusion.
MOHANIYA KARMA = That type of Karma, the operation of which produces ignorance and illusion of Self's own nature and causes the individual to act in a way harmful and detrimental to own well-being. It is divided into Darshana Moha and Charitra Moha explained elsewhere. Charitra Moha impels indulgence in feelings of liking and disliking, from severest to minutest form, by the individual.
NIKACHIT KARMA = It is that type of Karma which rests only after giving its fruit. The enjoyment, good or bad, pleasing or unpleasing, of the fruit of Karma is unavoidable. It cannot be burnt by any other means as love, devotion, study, meditation etc.
PARMA = Great, Supreme, Highest.
PARAMATMA = Great soul, Supreme Being. The word can I be and is used in the case of one who, has advanced far, in the seventh stage of spiritual development ( 7th Gunasthana) though he might have one birth more for getting liberation.
PARAMA PURUSHA = Highest Man. Great Soul.
PARIGRAHA = Will to have worldly possessions and glory. Attachment for external things, as wealth, property, servants, ornaments, clothes etc.
PRAMADA = Laziness of slothfulness in conquering the objects of senses and passions. It also means negligence. Negligences are five (1) pride, (2) sense-pleasures, (3) passions, (4) sleep and (5) useless talk or gossip.
PRAVACHANA = Scripture. Doctrine.
RAGA = Attachment. Liking.
SADGURU = Spiritual preceptor. One who is far advanced in the sixth stage of spiritual development (Sixth Gunasthana) and knows the secrets of the path to liberation by experience is truly a Sadguru, as opposed to 'A-Sadguru- who is spiritually blind and unenlightened.
SAMAGAMA = = Association. Contact.
SAMKIT = Right faith or belief. Faith in soul as separate from body, also faith in Supreme Being Thirthankar Holy-preceptor and Scriptures. It also means Self- awareness, Self-illumination, Self-Realization as the case may be.
SAMSARA = Cycle of births and deaths. Round of births, In this samsara, there are four forms or states of` embodied existence, human, sub-human, (this includes one sense to four sense living beings and five-sensed animals, beasts and birds), heavenly and hellish. The essence of Samsara is birth, growth, suffering and death.
SAMYAK DARSHANA = Samyak means right or true Darshana here means Faith as well as experience of that which is trusted. In the initial stage aspiring individual puts his faith in Scriptures, Sadguru and his teachings. Such a faith is called Samyak Darshana from a practical point of view since he believes through teachings the existence of soul and his qualities as in contradiction to matter and its qualities. In the next stage he is inspired and impelled to experience the Soul and when he succeeds in his effort, it is Samyak Darshana from the real point of view. This is true fourth stage of spiritual evolution (fourth Gunasthana)·
SAMYAK GNANA = Right knowledge. Knowledge is knowledge always. In spiritual language so long as Knowledge is concerned with and knows all kinds of external things except spiritual, is termed ignorance. When it begins to learn about soul and its nature through any means scriptures, preceptor's teachings or preachings etc. and also about the nature and qualities of matter, the mysteries of the universe etc. it turns into right knowledge. Samyak Darshana and Samyak Gnana always go together and are inseparable when reaching the fourth stage of evolution. Because what, individual knows, he believes and what he believes, he experiences. This is a supernatural, superb experience, sweet, tranquil and peaceful, never experienced before.
SAMYAK CHARITRA = Right conduct. From the practical point of view, the observance of five great vows of abstinences, (1) refraining from injury to living beings, (2) refraining from untruth, (3) refraining from stealing, (4) refraining from unchastity and (5) renouncing all worldly possessions for the purification of the Soul, is Samyak Charitra. However, from the real point of view, the observance of such strictly right conduct with the chief aim directed towards attaining Soul, leads to ShuklaDhyana, where un-adulterated experience of most pure and peaceful soul occurs; and is called Real Samyak Charitra. Here is the unity of Samyak Darshana, Gnana and Charitra and it leads to total liberation.
SAMYAMA = Self-control. Spiritual discipline.
SAT-PURUSHA = Very holy and enlightened person. is a higher and pure stage of enlightened soul.
SATSANGA = Association with Sat-purusha, Sadguru or real aspirants.
SIDDHA = Liberated soul. Most pure acid most stainless soul with nor a particle of matter in touch with it. Ever enjoying full Bliss, No birth again any time.
SIDDHA LOKA = Abode where Liberated Souls reside. It is at the utmost peak of this universe (Loka) hanging in the ethereal space.
SIDDHI = Attainment. Accomplishment.
SHUBHA = Good. Beneficial. opp. A-Shubha.
TATTVA = Doctrine. principle, Reality.
TIRTHANKARA = The Omniscient, Omnipotent Teacher. Tirthankar is a most exalted spiritualpada (title) conferred upon him by that type of previously bound Karma when it ripened for fruition. He has totally overcome entire feelings of anger, pride, deceitfulness and greed etc. He never goes into a state of sleep. In every half Kala Chakra (Cycle of time) 24 Tirthankaras take birth. In the present half-Cycle of time, The first Tirthankara was Rishabha Deva, a prehistoric character and the last was Lord Mahavira.
UPASHAMA = Pacification.
UPAHAMA SHRENI = The ladder of pacifying Ghati Karmas and; weakening of A-Ghati Karmas, leading to relative perfection, is this shreni. It also has its beginning like Kshapak Shreni with the eighth stage of spiritual growth. The ascending of the ladder inevitably terminates-on the eleventh step (11th Gunasthana) and the Soul, exhausted in-the effort returns back downwards. This queer stage occurs owing to the rising of Charjtra Moha and soul's submission to it. Be it noted that previous to ascending the ladder, the soul did not succeed in completely destroying Darshana Moha and Anantanubandhi Charitra Moha and so they remained in abeyance. The person fallen from this Step takes minimum three and maximum fifteen births before being liberated, provided he does not fall down much and vomits outright faith and goes to the bottom, that is first Gunasthana. Even if he becomes ignorant again, he has no infinite roaming but gets liberation within half Pudgala Paravarta (This is though a long time yet very short when compared with infinite time).
The ascending of this ladder of relative perfection happens, too, with the help of Shukla Dhyana, which is not very deep and capable of destroying the Ghati Karmas. The Chief causes for fall and descending the spiritual ladder are subtle and secretly indwelling sentient and affection for body, miraculous powers, pride of knowledge, pramada etc.
VAIRAGYA = Non-desire for worldly pleasures and happiness,
VAIRAGYA BHAVA = Existence of Vairagya.
VRATTA or VRITTA = VOW Of abstinence.