Glossary
Naksatra: the constellation in which the moon sits in the heaven at a particular time, commonly called as 'birth Star'
Vedic sciences: refer to a number of disciplines found in the Vedas, a large body of texts originating in ancient Bharat, among the oldest sacred texts
Rg Veda: an ancient Hindu sacred collection of hymns, counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas
Āryabhaṭa : one of the first astronomer and great mathematician of Bharat, born in 476
Copernicus: (1473-1543) the first astronomer to formulate a heliocentric cosmology, which displaced the Earth from the center of the Universe
Galileo: (1564-1642) Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and important astronomical observations
Yojanas: a Vedic measure of distance used in ancient Bharat, between 6 to 15 km (4 and 9 miles)
rşi : a sage through whom the Vedic hymns flowed, a "seer" able to reach states of higher consciousness.
Yogi: a practitioner of various forms of spiritual discipline, as yoga
Parāśara: author of many ancient Hindu texts and important astrological texts, known as a traveling Master
Brhat Parāśara Hora Śāstra: a prominent astrological scientific text. It is written as a recorded dialogue between Parāśara and his disciple Maitreya.
Vaśiṣṭa: Rāma's guru, a great ṛiṣi and had complete knowledge of the whole cosmos and the gods
Veda Vyāsa: a sage of ancient Bharat, compiler of the Vedas and great epics like the Māhābhārata
Māhābhārata: one of the major Sanskrit epic of Bharat and philosophical scripture, depicting a great war that happened in Bharat, written in 250 000 verses
Samskāra: engraved memories, memories stored in the subconscious part of the mind. They are continually interfering with our decision making process
Grahas: energy centers, energy fields that planets exert in the universe. They are generally assimilated to 'planets'
Karmas: the collection of unfulfilled experiences and actions that stay in us and constantly pull us to fulfill them
Āyurveda: a system of traditional medicine native to the Hindu Subcontinent; ayus, meaning 'life', and veda, meaning 'related to knowledgne' or 'science'
Yoga: literally union, union of the individual self and the divine Self, often taken to mean Hatha yoga, which is one of the components of yogasana, relating to body postures
Rudrākṣa: a large broad-leaved tree whose seed is traditionally revered and used for prayer beads, or mala, mainly growing in foothills of the Himalayas up to South-East Asia
Sanskrit: the Indo-Aryan language, language of the Rg Veda and of many scriptures, as well as mantras
Mantra: a sound, a formula, sometimes a word or set of words, which because of their inherent sounds, have energizing properties, an approach to spiritual evolution
Unclutching: understanding that each thought is completely independent, unconnected to the precedent; which leads to disengage oneself from the mind, resulting in experiencing the no-mind state
Sanskrit: the language of the Rg Veda and of many scriptures, as well as mantras
Priyanguflower: priyanguliterally means that which is lovable or charming, herb mentioned in all ancient scriptures of Āyurveda
Cakra: literally a 'wheel': refers to energy centers in the mind-body system
Viśuddhi cakra: the fifth cakra, or subtle energy center located in the throat region, locked by comparing ourselves with other
Visnu: the preserver in the trinity, His incarnations include Krsņa, Rāma, etc. in ten incarnations; also means 'all encompassing'
Guru: master, literally one who leads from gu (darkness) to ru (light)
Brahma: the creator; one of the Hindu trinity of supreme gods, the other two being Viṣṇu and Śwa
Pārvati: consort of Lord Śiva, mother to Ganeśa
Lord Śiva: rejuvenator in the trinity also means 'causeless auspiciousness'
Sītā: consort of Rāma, revered as an incarnation of Goddess Laksmi
Rama: hero of the Ramayana epic, one of the two most popular incarnation of Visnu, along with Krsna
Rāmāyaṇa: Famous Hindu epic
King Janaka : a noble and benevolent king who ruled Mithila; father of princess Sītā in the epic Rāmāyaṇa
Vata: one of the three humors (body constitution) of Ayurveda, related to the principle of movement in the mind and body; air element
Yogic: a quality developed through spiritual and yoga practices.
Pūjas: worship performed in home, temple or shrine to a deity; purifies the atmosphere and connect to the inner world
Homas: fire offering, a sacred ceremony through which gods are offered oblation through fire in a sanctified pit
Vāstu: science of construction, a traditional Vedic system of design based on directional alignments
Māya: illusion
Viśuddhi cakra: the fifth cakra, or subtle energy center located in the throat region, locked by comparing ourselves with other
Dośa: in Ayurvedic medicine, one of the three biological humors or energies (kapha, pitta, vata) which combine in various proportions to determine individual constitution, mental and physical disorders
Vajrāsana: common yoga and meditation posture, where the person sits on his heels
Cin mudra: palms upraised with thumb and forefinger forming a circle and other three fingers outstretched
Guru Pūja: form of worship offered to the master
Asana: body postures performed in yoga, literally means 'seat'
Aṣṭānga namaskār: prostrating to a deity or master by lying on the floor with all eight limbs of the body touching the earth
Bhujangāsana: 'cobra posture' in yoga, in which the head and chest are raised while lying down
Pranic layer: the second layer of energy of the body, related to prana or life energy
Lord Śiva: rejuvenator in the trinity also means 'causeless auspiciousness'
Brahman: the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality, the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe
Bija mantra: refers to the single syllable mantra used to invoke certain deities
Pūja: a ritual made of different offerings related to the deity propitiated
Navagraha dośa: literally means 'planetary defects' or inauspicious alignment of planets
Homa: ancestral Vedic fire ritual
Nirvanic layer: seventh subtle body that we have and last layer of energy which is the space where one experiences intense bliss
Physical layer: the gross body made of flesh and bones
Aum: the primordial cosmic sound from which the whole Universe emerged Śakti: energy, intelligent energy, considered feminine aspect of Śiva
Jīvan Mukti: the state of achieving liberation from the cycle of birth and death during one's lifetime