| abhiseka |
a ceremonial bath performed in the worship of a Deity |
| acarya |
one who teaches by his own example; a spiritual master |
| ahimsa |
nonviolence |
| ananda |
spiritual bliss |
| arca-vigraha |
the form of God manifested through material elements, as in a painting or statue of Krsna |
| asrama |
the four spiritual orders according to the Vedic
social system: brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa
(sometimes refers to living quarters) |
| asura |
a person opposed to the service of the Lord |
| atma |
the self; soul |
| avatara |
"one who descends" - a fully or partially
empowered incarnation of God who descends from the spiritual
world for a particular mission |
| Balarama |
Krsna's elder brother, and His first plenary expansion. |
| bhagavan |
"He who possesses all opulence" the Supreme
Lord, who is the reservoir of all beauty, strength, fame,
wealth, knowledge and renunciation |
| bhakta |
devotee of the Lord (sometimes refers to a new, uninitiated devotee) |
| bhakti-yoga |
devotional service- highest form of yoga |
| Brahma |
the first created being of the universe;
directed by Lord Visnu, he creates all life forms in the
universe and rules the modes of passion. |
| brahmacari |
a celibate student |
| brahmajyoti |
the spiritual effulgence emanating from the
transcendental body of Lord Krsna and illuminating the
spiritual world. |
| Brahman |
1) the individual soul
2) the impersonal, all
pervasive aspect of the Supreme
3) the Supreme Personality of
Godhead
4) the maha-tattva, or total material existence |
| brahmana |
a member of the most intelligent class of men,
according to the four Vedic occupational divisions of
society |
| Brahma-samhita |
prayers offered by Lord Brahma to Lord Krsna,
discovered by Caitanya Mahaprabhu in South India. |
| Caitanya-Caritamrita |
the biography of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
composed in Bengali in the late 16th century by Krsnadas
Kaviraja |
| Caitanya Mahaprabhu |
Lord Krsna's incarnation in the age of Kali, who
appeared in Navadwipa, West Bengal, in the late 15th century
and inaugurated the congregational chanting of the divine
names of God |
| das / dasi |
servant |
| deva |
a demigod or godly person |
| Garuda |
the man-bird carrier of Lord Visnu |
| Goloka |
Krsnaloka, the eternal abode of Lord Krsna |
| gopi |
cowherd maiden (eternal consorts of Krsna) |
| gosvami |
one fully able to control the senses |
| grhastha |
a married person living according to the Vedic social system |
| guru |
spiritual master |
| jiva |
living entity, eternal individual soul |
| Kali-yuga |
"age of quarrel and hypocrisy" which began 5,000 years ago--(see yuga) |
| karma |
material activities, for which one incurs subsequent reactions |
| karmi |
one engaged in fruitive activities (karma); a materialist |
| lila |
a transcendental pastime or activity performed by the Supreme Lord |
| loka |
planet |
| Krsna |
all-attractive; the Supreme Personality of Godhead |
| maha-mantra |
the "great mantra": Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare
Hare--(see mantra) |
| mahatma |
"great soul," a liberated person who is fully Krsna conscious |
| mahat-tattva |
the total material energy |
| mantra |
a transcendental sound or Vedic hymn |
| manu |
the demigod who is the father of mankind |
| maya |
illusion; the energy of the Supreme Lord that
deludes living entities into forgetfulness of their spiritual
nature and of God |
| mayavadi |
impersonalist |
| mukti |
liberation from material existence |
| Narayana |
the four-armed form of Lord Krsna who presides
over the Vaikuntha planets; Lord Visnu. |
| Nityananda |
the incarnation of Lord Balarama who is a principal associate of Lord Caitanya. |
| om (omkara) |
the sacred syllable that represents the Absolute Truth |
| Paramatma |
the Supersoul; the localized aspect of the
Supreme Lord; the indwelling witness and guide who accompanies
every conditioned soul. |
| parampara |
disciplic succession |
| prasadam |
sanctified food; food, flowers, incense
offered in devotion to Lord Krsna |
| prema |
pure, spontaneous devotional love of God |
| purana |
history told in story form |
| Radharani |
Krsna's eternal consort, devotional service
personified |
| Rama |
1) a name of Lord Krsna meaning "the
source of all pleasure"
2) Lord Ramacandra, an
incarnation of Krsna as a perfect righteous king. |
| Rupa Goswami |
the leader of the six Goswamis of Vrndavana,
principal followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. |
| sac-cid-ananda |
eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. |
| sadhu |
a saint or Krsna conscious person |
| samsara |
the cycle of repeated birth and death in the
material world |
| sanatana-dharma |
the eternal religion; devotional service |
| sannyasa/sannyasi |
the renounced order of life for spiritual
culture |
| sastra |
revealed scriptures |
| Siva |
the demigod who supervises the material mode of
ignorance and who annihilates the material cosmos. |
| Srimad- Bhagavatam |
the Bhagavat Purana, written by Vyasadeva
specifically to give a deep understanding of Lord Sri
Krsna. |
| sudra |
a member of the laborer class of men |
| Upanisads |
108 philosophical treatises that appear within
the Vedas |
| Vaikunthas |
the eternal spiritual planets of the spiritual
world |
| vaisnava |
a devotee of the Supreme Lord |
| vaisya |
a member of the mercantile and agricultural
class |
| vanaprastha |
a man who has retired from householder life to
cultivate greater renunciation |
| varnasrama-dharma |
the Vedic social system, which organizes society
into four occupational and four spiritual divisions (varnas
and asramas) |
| Vedas |
the four original scriptures (Rg, Sama, Atharva
and Yajur) |
| Visnu |
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
(Krsna) |
| Vrndavan |
the transcendental abode of Lord
Krsna |
| Vyasadeva |
the compiler of the Vedas and author of the
Puranas, Mahabharata and Vedanta-sutra. |
| yajna |
sacrifice |
| Yamaraja |
the demigod who punishes the sinful after
death |
| yoga |
spiritual discipline to link oneself with the
Supreme |
| yuga |
"age," there are four yugas, which cycle
perpetually: Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga and
Kali-yuga. As the ages proceed from Satya to Kali, religion
and the good qualities of men gradually decline. |
