A Popilar Dictionary of Hinduism Karel Werner

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32 A POPULAR DICTIONARY OF HINDUISM thought of as sunk in cosmic slumber or deep meditation and has to be awakened if he is needed. He is depicted with four heads, bearded, and with four arms. His wife is Sarasvati, originally his daughter, and his mount is the goose or swan . He has only two temples dedicated to him in India (in near Ajmere and in Khedbrahmā), and he has a bathing at Bithūr. brahmacarya (‘divine faring’) following a discipline for the sake of the realization of the ultimate goal. While in some systems its meaning is narrowed down to ‘celibacy’, as e.g. in the yamas in Patañjali’s yoga, in Tantric systems it may even involve ritual maithuna; also: discipleship or apprenticeship as the first āśrama or stage of life in the ancient Āryan scheme, usually lasting twelve years and spent in the house of the teacher; hence brahmacāri: pupil, disciple, apprentice; one following the life of a spiritual discipline. brahman, Brahman the transcendental divine source and at the same time the innermost essence of all reality, identical to ātman, first fully defined in this way in the . In the early Vedic period brahman designated the mysterious power of mantras, sacrificial formulae and prayer, but gradually its meaning deepened, no doubt under the influence of the AV where it denoted the highest reality. In Advaita Vedānta brahman is asserted as the sole reality, while the multiplicity of the experienced manifested reality, including individual selves, is regarded as a product of illusion (māyā), born out of ignorance (avidyā). , brahman, brāhman, brahmin priest; a member of the first of the four hereditary castes. priestly books, treatises on liturgy and its mythological and cosmic significance. The most important one is Śatapatha (SB). Brahmanaspati, ‘the Lord of brahman’ in the sense of prayer and magic or ritual formula; he is a Vedic god, regarded as the chief priest of the gods, and the precursor of Brahma. Brāhmanism (adj. Brāhmanic, Brahminic) the period in the development of Indian religions which was marked by the dominating influence of brahmins and their ritualistic outlook. It was preceded by ‘Vedism’ and followed by the revival of spiritual endeavours. a seer or sage of Brahminic origin. Brahma Sūtras of the earliest source of the Vedāntic school of philosophy possibly composed between A.D. 200–450. Brahma Veda another name for the AV. Brahma Vidyā knowledge of the ultimate reality; theology. brahma vihāra (‘divine abode’) the designation for a meditative achievement, a state of mind, known to the Buddhist system and to Patañjali’s Yoga system. It has four stages. brāhmī an early form of writing derived from a Semitic source which was used in Aśoka’s rock edicts and developed later into devanāgarī script. Brāhmo Samāj a reform movement founded on 20.8.1828 by R.M.Roy (first as Brahma Sabhā), a kind of Hindu equivalent of European Unitarianism. It stressed
INTRODUCTION 33 the unity of God, rejected priesthood, sacrifices, representations of God, the caste system and the teaching of reincarnation. It was supported by three generations of the Tagore family, then influenced for a time by K.S.Sen and it survives as a relatively small but progressive sect mainly in West Bengal. one of the most important belonging to the White YV, pre-Buddhist, ascribed to Yājñavalkya. a summary of the deities and myths of the RV ascribed to Śaunaka, probably composed in the fifth century B.C. Buddha (the Enlightened or the Awakened One; cca 563–483 B.C.) a title or a designation for a man, in early Buddhist sources described as prince Siddhattha Gotama of the Sakya clan, who reached enlightenment and became the teacher of ‘gods and men’, showing them the way out from the chain of lives in to the final state of liberation called (Pl. nibbāna). Although he may not have intended to part entirely with the Vedic-Brahminic tradition, at least as far as its spiritual message is concerned, an independent religious and monastic movement developed in his wake and dominated much of India for several centuries, virtually finishing off the period of Brāhmanism. After the decline of Buddhism and the revival of the previous Brahminic tradition in the new garb of Hinduism, much of what the Buddha had taught was incorporated into the broadened Hindu outlook and the Buddha was even included in the Hindu Pantheon in some Purānas as the ninth incarnation of , although some resistance to him has remained in evidence in some quarters, backed by conservative brahmins, mainly because of his disregard for the hereditary caste system and his denial of the divine origin of the Vedas. Mahāyāna Buddhism later developed a sophisticated doctrine of transcendental and Cosmic Buddhas, emanations of Ādi Buddha, accompanied by a retinue of Bodhisattvas, their own emanations. There are overlaps of this doctrine with some sectarian teachings in Hinduism, particularly in the Tantric context. buddhi, Buddhi higher mind; intelligence; higher cognition; the first cosmic evolute of in the philosophy. Buddhism the religious tradition derived from the teachings of the Buddha which has grown into a world religion with several schools of philosophy, some major and minor sects and a variety of religious observances and spiritual practices. budha ‘wise, intelligent’. Budha the planet Mercury; also the name of a Vedic . caitanya consciousness, intelligence; supreme consciousness. Caitanya (1486–1533) a Bengali ecstatic and representative of bhakti , combined with Sahajiyā elements, and a great devotee of . His full initiation name is . After his years as a wanderer he lived mostly in Puri where he used to lead the singers and dancers accompanying the Jagannātha processions. A sectarian tradition grew in his wake, with a theology steeped in Madhva’s tradition, but popularized in poetry and through Caitanya’s legendary biography, which promoted him to a full incarnation of .
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A Popilar Dictionary of Hinduism Karel Werner

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