Glossary of Italicized terms:
adiparashakti - the original divine female principle, the Divine Mother.
Advaitic - monistic
agarbathi - incense
Agastya - a Vedic sage
akanda mounam - wide Silence
Ananda - bliss
ananda loka - the world of bliss
anushtanam - rituals
Anusuya - wife of a Rishi
archana - shlokas recited in worship
Arjuna - the hero of the Gita, one of the five Pandava brothers
asanas - physical poses as part of yoga
asuras - titans
avatara - God descended as a human being
Bhagavad Gita - The sacred Indian scripture recited as part of the battle of Mahabharata
Bhagavan - God
bhakta - devotee
bhakti yoga - yoga of devotion
Brahma - God who created the universe
brahmachari - celibate unmarried spiritual disciple
brahmanda jyothi - infinite light
casurina - an Indian tree used as fuel
chakras - subtle centres in the body
Chettiar - the third caste in India
chit loka - the world of consciousness
crore - ten millions
dakshina - token offering
darshan - audience that God grants, literally meaning ‘seeing God'
darshans - the four important days in the Ashram when Sri Aurobindo saw devotees
Deepavali - festival of light
Devaki - mother of Lord Krishna
Devi - female god
Divya Prabhandam - a devotional hymn of an Indian sect
drishti - seeing
Durga - Kali, an Indian goddess
Durvasa - a Rishi
Ganesh - son of Lord Shiva, a member of the Indian trinity
Gayatri mantra - mantra that worships the sun god
Govardhana - a hill
hatha yoga - a form of yoga where asanas are prominent
Indra - a God
janma - a period of one birth
japa - repetition of a mantra
jnana drishti - vision of knowledge
jnanalaya - temple of knowledge
jutkaman - driver of a horse carriage
jutkawalla - driver of a horse carriage (another term)
jyothi - flame
karma - a person's actions in one life determining fate in the next
karma yoga - yoga that sacrifices, that makes an offering of life actions
karma yogi - one who does karma yoga
karnam - village revenue official
Krishna - Lord Krishna
kundalini shakti - spiritual power in the subtle centre at the lower end of the spine
lakh - hundred thousand (100,000)
Lakshmi - a goddess of beauty of wealth
Madhvachariyar - a south Indian rishi, founder of a sect
Mahakali - Great Kali (* one of the four aspect of the Divine Mother)
Mahalaxmi - Great Lakshmi (*)
Mahasamadhi - state of body of rishi when he voluntarily withdraws from the body
Mahasaraswati - Great Saraswati (*)
Maheswari - Great Ishwari (*)
mandapam - hall
mirasdar - landowner
moksha - realisation of God
mukti - another term for moksha meaning fulfillment
muni - one who has attained silence
Munsif - village official
naga - serpent
nakshatrathirtam - star
Narada - a god interested in creating quarrels
Narayana - Lord Krishna
nishkamya - without desire
nishkamya karma - work done without desire
paan - betal leaf
Pillaiyar - Ganesh
poorva janma punya - virtues of the last birth
pradakshina - perambulation
pranams - prostrating before the guru or elders
pranayanam - breathing exercise
prasad - blessing
PUC - pre-University class
puja - religious ceremony, worship
punya - virtue
Puranas - ancient scriptures of India's early history
purna - total
Purushas - gods; being of god; male aspect of Shakti
rahasyam - secret
rahukalam - inauspicious hour
raja yoga - King of Yogas
rishi - saint
Rishyasringar - a saint mentioned in the Puranas; wherever he went, it rained
Rudra - Another term for Shiva
sadhaks - disciples of yoga
sadhana - yoga
Saivism - religion worshipping Shiva
Saivite - follower of Saivism
samadhi - trance; tomb
samipa - near
sanyasi - one who has renounced life
Saraswati - goddess of learning
sat loka - world of existence
Satchidananada - Existence-Consciousness-Bliss
Shakti - female aspect of Purusha
Shankara - an Indian saint of the 9th century who won India back to Hinduism from Buddhism
Shiva - a member of the Indian trinity
siddhi - realisation
SSLC - Secondary School Leaving Certificate
swabhava - nature
swar -- paradise
taluq - a division of a district
tamas - inertia
tantra yoga - a form of yoga that worships the Divine Mother
tantric - follower of Tantra yoga
tapas - austerity
tapasvi - one who practices tapas
tapasya - tapas, austerity
tahsildar - a revenue official
tejas - glow of light on the face or skin
Tirumurthis - Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva
uttara yogi - yogi from the North
vijnana loka - Surpamental world
Vinayagar - Ganesh or Pillaiyar
Vishnu - one of the Trimurthis
Vishvarupa - God revealing his universal form
Vyasa - a Vedic sage