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Glossary

Sanskrit and Vraj philosophical terms used across the Vachanamrut, Shikshapatri, and Bhaktachintamani, sourced verbatim from Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Bhuj-Kutch's own published Vachanamrut glossary appendix — not written by us.

26 resultsfor “dharma” · clear

ãchãrya: 1) A person who establishes a religious philosophy. 2) Head of a sampradãy, who protects dharma. A spiritual leader and guru, who initiates a satsangi into the sampradãy. There are two ãchãryas in the Swãminãrãyan Sampradãy; one for northern India (Amdãvãd Gãdi), and one for southern India (Vadtãl Gãdi). They are decedents of Dharma-Dev (the father of Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn). Sahajãnand Swami adopted Ayodhyãprasãdji from His elder brother Rãmpratãpji, and adopted Raghuvirji from His younger brother Ichhãrãmji. Both sons then became the first two ãchãryas of the Swãminãrãyan Sampradãy. The ãchãrya a satsangi follows depends on where they live: satsangis living in northern India fall under the Amdãvãd region, and satsangis living in southern India fall under the Vadtãl region.
adharma: Unrighteousness. Immorality. Sin. The opposite of dharma, which causes dharma to decline.
Aniruddha: One of the four forms of Bhagvãn’s Vishvarup svarup. His role is to teach dharma, and to cause the creation of the brahmãnd (Virãt-Purush). During the state of creation, Virãt-Purush worships Aniruddha.

bhãgvat bhakta: A bhakta who follows bhãgvat dharma, which consists of dharma, gnãn, vairãgya, and bhakti coupled with the knowledge of Bhagvãn's greatness.
bhãgvat dharma: 1) Dharma related to Bhagvãn. The dharma which avatãrs of Bhagvãn come to establish, and the dharma which was adopted by Nãrad, the Sanakãdik, Shukji, Dhruv, Prahlãd, Ambrish and other bhaktas. This form of dharma is not different from bhakti itself. 2) Collective term for dharma, gnãn, vairãgya, and bhakti coupled with the knowledge of Bhagvãn's greatness. This will lead a person to become an ekãntik bhakta who crosses Bhagvãn's Mãyã and attains His dhãm. 3) Also called ekãntik dharma.
bhakti: Devotion to Bhagvãn. One of the four attributes of ekãntik dharma. There are nine types of bhakti:
Bhakti-Devi: The earthly mother of Swaminarayan Bhagwan, also known as Bhakti-Mata. Born in Samvat 1798 in Chhapaiya to a Travadi brahmin family; married to Dharma-Dev.

dharma: 1) Universal law or principle that 'sustains' or 'upholds' the entire world. Righteousness, morality, religion,
Dharma: The dev of dharma.
dharma-: The upholder and protector of dharma. dhurandhar
Dharma-Dev: The earthly father of Swaminarayan Bhagwan. Born Dev-Sharma in Samvat 1796 to a Sarvariya Sam-Vedi brahmin family in Itar village, Kaushal-Desh; became known as Dharma-Dev for his strictness in dharma. Took bhagvati diksha from Ramanand Swami at Prayag-Kshetra.
Dharma-Kul: Family of Dharma-Dev (Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn’s father). Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn’s family. The Ãchãrya of our sampradãy are decedents Dharma-Dev, and are therefore the family of Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn.
Dharma-Rãj: The lord of Yampuri, who protects dharma by punishing those who have sinned. Also called Yam-Rãj.
Dharma-Shãstra: A set of shãstras coding the basic laws and principles of civil and social conduct. They integrate spirituality and political law by including the discussion of creation, stages of life, duties of daily living, tap, and study of the Veds. A part of the Smruti literature.

ekãntik: The highest spiritual state, in which a person offers perfect bhakti to Bhagvãn along with dharma, gnãn and vairãgya.
ekãntik bhakta: 1) Highest level of bhakta. A person who offers ekãntik bhakti, perfectly possesses all four of the qualities of ekãntik dharma (dharma, gnãn, vairãgya, and bhakti). 2) A person who has no desires other than Bhagvãn, and who worships Bhagvãn while realising himself to be brahm-rup. [Gadhadã I – 11].
ekãntik dharma: Collective term for dharma, gnãn, vairãgya, and bhakti coupled with the knowledge of Bhagvãn's greatness. This will lead a person to become an ekãntik bhakta who crosses Bhagvãn's Mãyã and attains His dhãm. Also called bhãgvat dharma.

gnãn: 1) Knowledge. Spiritual knowledge leading to kalyãn. In particular, the knowledge of the ãtmã, and Bhagvãn’s svarup and His greatness. One of the four attributes of ekãntik dharma. 2) Also used to mean ãtmã-nishthã or ãtmã-gnãn.

Krishna: 1) An avatãr of Bhagvãn. He incarnated in the svarup of a cowherd. This is considered to be a greater avatãr than the others, as Shree Krishna possessed all of the powers of Bhagvãn, whereas other avatãrs possessed less power. Shree Krishna conveyed the message of love and humanity to the world. Also, He recited the epic poem, the Bhagvad Geetã, to Arjun in which He stated: ‘Whenever dharma declines and adharma increases, I shall incarnate myself as a human to save the holy, to destroy the sin of the sinner, and to establish dharma. I come into being from yug to yug’. 2) In the Vachanãmrut, Shreeji Mahãrãj also uses the name “Shree Krishna” to describe Bhagvãn Purushottam Nãrãyan.

Moksh-Dharma: A portion of the Mahãbhãrat consisting of Bhishma's teachings from his bed of arrows to Yudhishthir after the end of the Mahãbhãrat war.

niyam: 1) Moral and spiritual disciplines and religious codes of conduct prescribed by Bhagvãn or the shãstras, to protect a bhakta on the path to Bhagvãn. Niyams may relate to either dharma or bhakti. Niyams keep the bhakta fit to travel closer to Bhagvãn and ultimately earn the grace of Bhagvãn. Disobeying niyams causes the bhakta to fall from the path of Bhagvãn. Basic niyams for bhaktas are outlined in the Shikshãpatri. 2) The second step of ashtãng-yog, which involves the observance of religious practices and code of dharma for the control and refinement of the mind.

purushãrths: Collective term for the four goals pursued by all Hindus: dharma (duties), arth (material wealth), kãm (desires), and moksh (liberation). [Amdãvãd – 5].

svadharma: A person’s own dharma, related to his varna and ãshram.

vairãgya: Detachment. A hatred or strong dislike for the world and its mãyik pleasures (the panch-vishays). Remaining detached from the body and the brahmãnd, and from all things that are the products of Prakruti. One of the four attributes of ekãntik dharma.

Yam-Rãj: The dev of justice. The lord of Yampuri, who protects dharma by punishing those who have sinned. Also called Dharma-Rãj.
yug: Era. Age. Division of time used to outline the time-scale of the world. There are four yugs: Satya-Yug (Era of Goodness), Tretã-Yug (Era of Three), Dvãpar-Yug (Third Era), and finally, the present age, Kali-Yug (Era of Darkness). The dharmas of the yugs exist externally as well as internally in the heart. [Sãrangpur – 9].