Glossary of Spiritual and Religious Words

All

Amitabha

(Sanskrit, literally means "boundless light and boundless life"). He is the Buddha in the Land of Ultimate Bliss (Pure Land), in which all beings enjoy unbounded happiness. The inner Being (Contemplation Buddha) of Gautama and Tsong Khapa. "Let us remember Tsong Khapa who reincarnated in Tibet; he was the Buddha Gautama previously. The Buddha of Buddha Amitabha is another thing, his true divine prototype. Amitabha is the Contemplation Buddha, and Gautama, we could say, is the Manifestation Buddha, the worldly Buddha or Bodhisattva. We cannot deny that Amitabha expressed himself brilliantly through Gautama. We cannot deny that later Amitabha sent Gautama (the Bodhisattva or worldly Buddha) directly to a new reincarnation. Then he expressed himself as Tsong Khapa." - Samael Aun Weor from "Mental Representations"

Amrita

(Sanskrit; Tibetan dutsi) "The ambrosial drink or food of the Gods; the food which gives immortality. The elixir of life churned out of the ocean of milk in the Puranic allegory. An old vedic term applied to the sacred Soma juice in the Temple Mysteries." - from the Theosophical Glossary. The transmutation of the sexual waters elaborates the extraordinary "pure waters of Amrita," the mercury of secret philosophy.

Anael

"The disciple of the rocky path that leads to Nirvana is filled with ecstasy when he has the joy of contemplating Anael, the Angel of love. Anael presents himself before those who invoke him, who know how to call him. Anael is a beautiful child of the dawn. In the presence of the Angel of love, we feel ourselves returning to the lost innocence of Eden. Anael's hair is like a golden waterfall falling on his alabaster shoulders. The face of the Angel of love has the rosy color of the dawn. Anael wears a white tunic and he is indescribably beautiful. Anael is the Angel of music and love, the angel of beauty and tenderness, the delightful cupid of all lovers, the ecstasy of all adoration." - Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony

Anahata

(sanskrit) The chakra or energetic center related to the heart.

Anahata sound

A high pitched note heard in moments of drowsiness or meditation.

Ananke

(Greek) Ananke or Anagke comes from the ancient Greek Ανάγκη, a goddess representing destiny, necessity, and fate. She is a primeval goddess (protogenos) who emerged self-formed at the very beginning of existence, and is said to be a formless serpent encompassing all manifested existence. She emerged with her serpent mate Khronos or Cronos, the god of time. They are far beyond all other Gods. The daughters of Ananke are the three Fates.

"There is a law of stern Ananke (Necessity), the immemorial ordinance of the gods made fast for ever, bravely sworn and sealed: should any Daimon (Spirit or God), born to enduring life, be fouled with sin of slaughter, or transgress by disputation, perjured and forsworn, three times ten thousand years that soul shall wander an outcast from Felicity, condemned to mortal being, and in diverse shapes with interchange of hardship go his ways. The Heavens force him headlong to the Sea; and vomited from the Sea, dry land receives him, but flings unwanted to the burning Sun; from there, to the heavenly vortex backward thrown, he makes from host to host, by all abhorred." - Empedocles, Fragments (Greek philosopher C5th B.C.)

"[Prometheus bound to Mount Kaukasos:] Let him [Zeus] lift me on high and hurl me down to black Tartaros with the swirling floods of stern Necessity (anankê): do what he will, me he shall never bring to death [for Prometheus is immortal]." - Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 1050

"And he [Epicurus] says that the world began in the likeness of an egg, and the Wind [Khronos (Time) and Ananke (Inevitability) entwined?] encircling the egg serpent-fashion like a wreath or a belt then began to constrict nature. As it tried to squeeze all the matter with greater force, it divided the world into the two hemispheres, and after that the atoms sorted themselves out, the lighter and finer ones in the universe floating above and becoming the Bright Air [Aither or Ouranos] and the most rarefied Wind [Khaos the Air?], while the heaviest and dirtiest have veered down, become the Earth (Ge), both the dry land and the fluid waters [Hydros or Pontos?]. And the atoms move by themselves and through themselves within the revolution of the Sky and the Stars, everything still being driven round by the serpent-form wind [Khronos and Ananke?]." - Orphica, Epicuras Fragment (from Epiphanius)

"I [Prometheus] must bear my allotted doom [to be chained to a mountain] as lightly as I can, knowing that the might of Necessity (anankê) permits no resistance." - Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 103

"And there were another three who sat round about at equal intervals, each one on her throne, the Moirai (Fates), daughters of Ananke, clad in white vestments with filleted heads, Lakhesis, and Klotho, and Atropos, who sang in unison with the music of the Seirenes, Lakhesis singing the things that were, Klotho the things that are, and Atropos the things that are to be . . . Lakhesis, the maiden daughter of Ananke (Necessity)." - Plato, Republic 617c (trans. Shorey) (Greek philosopher C4th B.C.)

"Anankei : With Anankei (Necessity) not even gods fight." - Suidas s.v. Anankei (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.)

Ancient of Days

(עתיק יומין Atik Yomin, from Aramaic) A name for God in many traditions.

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment [was] white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne [was like] the fiery flame, [and] his wheels [as] burning fire." - Daniel 7:9

"The First Mystery is Kether, the Ancient of Days..." - Samael Aun Weor, The Pistis Sophia Unveiled

Andrameleck

"Andrameleck, the wealthy and pompous black magician of China, says that the human being is an angel; therefore, he does not need to suffer. He always advises his friends to enter into the aristocracy, to dress like princes and to collect a lot of money." - Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of Beelzebub

Androgynous

Gk. androgynos, "male and female in one," from andros "male" + genika "female", meaning: having male and female sexual polarities or characteristics. A sexless being capable of reproducing its own species by means of asexual reproduction, in other words, a living species that without having evident sexual organs is capable of reproducing its own species (i.e. fissiparous "Tending to break up into parts or break away from an androgynous body").

Angel

(Greek: aγγελος)

"The whole cosmos is directed, watched, and animated by a series of almost interminable hierarchies of conscious beings. Each one of them (whether they are called by one name or another, such as Dhyan Chohans, Angels, or Devas, etc.) have a mission to accomplish, and are messengers only in the sense that they are agents of the Karmic and Cosmic Laws. They vary in their respective degrees of consciousness and intelligence infinitely. All of them are perfect humans in the most complete sense of the word. Multiple angelical services characterize divine love. Each Elohim works within his specialty. We can and must appeal for angelical protection." - Samael Aun Weor, The Three Mountains

“In reality, Angels are perfect human beings.  Therefore, whosoever reaches the perfect state of human being becomes an Angel.  Those who claim that an Angel is inferior to humans are falsifying the truth.  No one can achieve the angelic state if he has not previously reached the state of perfect human being.  No one can achieve the state of perfect human being if he has not previously incarnated his Soul.  This is a sexual problem. The Angel is born only within the true human beings.”  - Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony

“There are two types of Angels: Innocent Angels and Virtuous Angels. The Innocent Angels are the elementals of plants, and the Virtuous Angels are perfect Human Beings.” - Samael Aun Weor, Occult Medicine and Practical Magic

Anger

A psychological element of hostility or violence. In Christianity, one of the seven capital sins. In Buddhism, anger (hate, aggression) is depicted as one of the three core defects upon which the entire Wheel of Samsara rotates. According to the Paramitas, anger is the chief obstacle in the development of patience (ksanti). Samael Aun Weor stated that anger (hate) must be transmuted into its pure form: love, which is related to Mars (Samael).

“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed.” - Bhagavad Gita 16.21

Finding its fuel in the foul state of mind
That arises from its bringing about things I don’t want
And its preventing what I wish,
Anger, once enflamed, destroys me. - Bodhicharyavatara by Shantideva

Why, sir, do you get angry at someone who is angry with you?
What are you going to gain by it?
How is he going to lose by it?
Your physical anger brings dishonor on yourself;
Your mental anger disturbs your thinking.
How can the fire in your house burn the neighbor’s house
Without engulfing your own? - Hinduism. Basavanna, Vachana 248

“The psychic aggregates of anger are multiple. There is anger because of jealousy, because of hatred, because of frustrated desires, because of selfish monetary motives, because of disputed matters, because of terror, or because of various states of spirit, mind, body, and tongue, etc... Anger is associated with many psychic aggregates. The angry one fails in the Great Work of the Father.” - Samael Aun Weor, The Pistis Sophia Unveiled

“One needs serenity in order to have clairvoyance. In order to see in the Internal Worlds, one has to not allow oneself to be driven by anger, because anger destroys the frontal chakra. Therefore, serenity is required.” - Samael Aun Weor, The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah

“Anger is the violent outcome of frustrated desire... Anger, rancor, and hatred are distinct forms of desire that are transmuted into supreme sweetness, infinite pardon, and supreme love.” - Samael Aun Weor, Fundamental Notions of Endocrinology & Criminology

Anima

Latin, soul.

Animal

From Latin “Anima” - the soul of a sentient living entity, whose nature expresses the vocation of its Being

Every Atom is a Trio of Matter, Energy and Consciousness ("Anima")

Animal Mind

The instinctive mind developed by the process of our evolution through the animal kingdom and remaining with us when we enter the humanoid kingdom. This form of mind is instinctive and belongs to nature. This is the lunar mind that must be replaced by the solar mind of the Real Human.

Animal Soul

Part of our own psyche, the Nephesh is related to our motor-instinctive-sexual brain, and is also related with the soul of animals. The Nephesh is related to the blood and to animal instinct.

Annihilation

The destruction of the subjective psychic aggregates, required in the work to free the soul from suffering. The annihilation of the psychic aggregates can be made possible only by radically comprehending our errors through meditation and by the evident Self-reflection of the Being. - The Pistis Sophia Unveiled

Antakarana

(Sanskrit, literally "inner ogran, instrument") The name of the silver cord that joins the physical body with the internal bodies.

"When the bridge called "Antakarana," which communicates the divine triad with its "inferior essence," is broken, the inferior essence (trapped into the ego) is left separated and is sunk into the abyss of destructive forces, where it (its ego) disintegrates little by little." - The Zodiacal Course

Antichrist

The force or energy which is polarized in the opposite vibration of the energy or force of the Christ. The Christ is the force of light which gives rise to all life: it is creative, illuminating, and marked by pure, selfless love or compassion. The energy or force of the Antichrist is destructive, bringing darkness, selfishness, and hatred. According to Universal Gnosticism, the intellect of each human being is the Antichrist, because the intellect of the contemporary human being is selfish, filled with darkness and hatred, and seeks to create destruction through the inventions, books, movies, words, and concepts it produces.

Definitely, the Antichrist is not a particular person, but all people. Obviously, the Antichrist itself exists deep within each person and expresses itself in many ways.

Antimony

The Antimony is one part of the Being. It is the great Alchemist who fastens the Gold into the superior existential bodies of the Being. - The Pistis Sophia Unveiled

Anu atom

(Sanskrit) "A title of Brahma, who is said to be an atom just as is the infinite universe." - from the Theosophical Glossary.

Anubis

Mentioned many times in The Pistis Sophia (he is \the dog-faced one\) and well-known in Egyptian symbolism, Anubis is the supreme hierarch of the Law of Karma who is assisted by 42 Judges. The Temple of the Law where he presides is located on the Sun, which is ruled by Michael, the holder of the scales of cosmic balance, related with the Law.

\The one who awakens Consciousness can travel in his internal bodies outside the physical body, with full conscious will, and study his own book of destiny. In the Temple of Anubis and his Forty-two Judges, the initiate can study his own book. Anubis is the supreme ruler of Karma. The Temple of Anubis is found in the Molecular World, called the Astral World by many people. The Initiates can directly negotiate with Anubis. We can pay every karmic debt with good deeds, but we have to negotiate with Anubis. The Law of Karma, the Law of the Cosmic Balance is not a blind law; one can also ask for credit from the Lords of Karma, but every credit must be paid with good deeds and if not paid, then the Law collects with pain.\ - The Esoteric Treatise of Hermetic Astrology

Anupadaka

(Sanskrit) "Parentless, self-existing." A term applied to certain self-created gods.

Apana

(Sanskrit) The vital energy that carries downward unassimilated food and drink. An aspect of prana.

Apas

(Sanskrit, "water") The tattva or vibration of aquaeous ether. From this vibration arises physical water.

Ape

"Behold, then, in the modern denizens of the great forests of Sumatra the degraded and dwarfed examples -- "blurred copies," as Mr. Huxley has it -- of ourselves, as we (the majority of mankind) were in the earliest sub-races of the Fourth Root-race during the period of what is called the "Fall into generation." The ape we know is not the product of natural evolution but an accident, a cross-breed between an animal being, or form, and man. As has been shown in the present volume (anthropogenesis), it is the speechless animal that first started sexual connection, having been the first to separate into males and females. Nor was it intended by Nature that man should follow the bestial example -- as shown by the comparatively painless procreation of their species by the animals, and the terrible suffering and danger of the same in the woman. The Ape is, indeed, as remarked in Isis Unveiled (Vol. II 278) "a transformation of species most directly connected with that of the human family -- a hybrid branch engrafted on their own stock before the final perfection of the latter" -- or man. The apes are millions of years later than the speaking human being, and are the latest contemporaries of our Fifth Race. Thus, it is most important to remember that the Egos of the apes are entities compelled by their Karma to incarnate in the animal forms, which resulted from the bestiality of the latest Third and the earliest Fourth Race men. They are entities who had already reached the "human stage" before this Round. Consequently, they form an exception to the general rule. The numberless traditions about Satyrs are no fables, but represent an extinct race of animal men. The animal "Eves" were their foremothers, and the human "Adams" their forefathers; hence the Kabalistic allegory of Lilith or Lilatu, Adam's first wife, whom the Talmud describes as a charming woman, with long wavy hair, i.e.-- a female hairy animal of a character now unknown, still a female animal, who in the Kabalistic and Talmudic allegories is called the female reflection of Samael, Samael-Lilith, or man-animal united, a being called Hayo Bischat, the Beast or Evil Beast (Zohar). It is from this unnatural union that the present apes descended." - H.P. Blavatsky. The Secret Doctrine