Glossary

Glossary 2

Glossary 2

Kaivalya Upanishad - Meaning in English

  • Tamas

    Tamas is the lowest of the three Gunas (qualities - Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas). Tamas is a force which promotes darkness, dissolution, death, destruction, ignorance, sloth, and resistance.
  • Tattva

    Tattva is a Sanskrit word meaning 'thatness', 'principle', 'reality' or 'truth'. According to various Indian schools of philosophy, a tattva (or tattwa) is an element or aspect of reality. In some traditions, they are conceived as an aspect of deity. Although the number of tattvas varies depending on the philosophical school, together they are thought to form the basis of all our experience. Typically, the five tattvas (elements) depicted in the picture below are as follows: Akasha (Spirit or Space) - black oval symbol Vayu (Air) - blue circle symbol Tejas (Fire) - red triangle symbol Apas (Water) - white moon symbol Prithvi (Earth) - yellow square symbol Tattva_alap

  • Thatha

    Grandfather; colloquial: Grandpa.
  • Thayumanavar

    Thayumanavar or Tayumanavar, Tamil: தாயுமானவர் (1705–1742), pronounced Thāyum-ānavar, is one of the spiritual giants and a Tamil philosopher from Tamil Nadu, India. Thayumanavar's key teaching is to discipline the mind, control desires and meditate peacefully. He went on to say that "it is easy to control an elephant, catch hold of the tiger's tail, grab the snake and dance, dictate the angels, transmigrate into another body, walk on water or sit on the sea; but it is more difficult to control the mind and remain quiet".
  • Turiya

    Turiya is the background that underlies and transcends the three common states of consciousness of waking consciousness, dreaming, and dreamless sleep.
  • Tyaga

    Giving up unselfishly. Renunciation. Willingness to give up things. Willingness to give things to others unconditionally..

Conversations with Ramana Maharshi are rare and priceless. He seldom wrote anything on his own accord. But out of His immense kindness and love, sometimes he answered questions from Devotees on Meditation, Devotion to God and Life. Reading them, contemplating on them and try to practice them are bound to offer great guidance to every true seeker of Real Happiness.

Sometimes Sri Ramana Maharshi used words in Sanskrit or devotional words and scriptural texts. This Glossary provides some insight into those.