Glossary of Spiritual and Religious Words

D

Daath

(Hebrew דעת means knowledge) This term is synonymous with the Greek Gnosis. The hidden sphere in the Tree of Life. Daath is the Tree of Knowledge, which is related to sexuality. To learn more about Daath, listen to: Daath: The Door to Knowledge (1)

"My son, hearken to my wisdom [חכמה Chokmah]; incline your ear to my understanding [בונה Binah], to watch [your] thoughts, and your lips shall guard knowledge [דעת Daath]. - Proverbs 5

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Daath-Gnosis): because thou hast rejected knowledge (Daath-Gnosis), I will also reject thee, that thou shall be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Hosea 4: 6 

Dagon

Dagon in Hebrew is spelled: Daleth, Gimel, Vav and Nun = DAG + ON.

Dagon = DAG + AUN = DAGON means the Might of the Fish (Human Sperm)

Dagon is the Nun-Force, the might of the human seed. Fish symbolize the yielding fruits of the sexual strength where the qualities of the Mind Soul and Spirit are placed, and the excellence of the power of Binah, the Holy Spirit.

So, the latent power of God (Nun) in the Ens Seminis (Mem) is Dagon, which ancient, present and future Philistines (Lustful Egos) miscarry through fornication; it is represented by a half-man and half-fish, because the possibilities of becoming a true Human Being are hidden within the Fish (Human Sperm).

Fornicators worship the lustful passional fires of their own particular, individual Dagon or Leviathan; they expel the fish (Human Sperm), their sexual strength through the orgasm or sexual spasm. They are slaves of Dagon, the Leviathan.

Jonah was expelled by the Fish, the Messiah on the shores of Nineveh because he was not a fornicator.

Daimon or Daemon

(Greek) Not to be confused with the Christian term ‘demon.’ The Daemon of Socrates is the inner instructor, the Divine Spirit who guides the soul to perfection. In the original Hermetic works the name has a meaning identical with that of “god,” “angel,” or “genius.” The name was given by ancient people to all kinds of spirits, whether good or bad.

Dakini

(Tibetan kandroma) A race of awakened female entities who are renowned for their great wisdom and power. Males are called Dakas (Tibetan dapo).

"Tibetan texts dedicate a considerable amount of space in order to praise and to disclose the beauty and grace of the Dakinis’ form. They are represented with a beautiful contexture, ruby red skin, gentle and pensive faces, red eyes and red nails, and it is said that they exude the tenuous fragrance of a lotus bud." - from Occult Medicine and Practical Magic

Dalai Lama

A title, which means "Ocean of Wisdom," given by a Mongol leader to the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. It is interesting to notice that in Hebrew "wisdom" is Chokmah, the Son, and that the initiates of the Straight Path incarnate the Christ (Chokmah, Wisdom) who is the same as Vishnu in Hinduism, the same as Avalokiteshvara. The Dalai Lamas are the lineage of spiritual and temporal leaders of Tibet, begun in the 14th century by Tsong Khapa. They are chosen by investigations into their inner identity, which is always determined by qualified lamas or priests. There have been fourteen Dalai Lamas.

"The Dalai Lamas have not always integrated completely with Divinity. However, the Dalai Lamas are adepts in the complete sense of the word." - Samael Aun Weor.

In The Story of Tibet, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama said, "If someone asks me whether I am the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama," he said, "Then I answer, without hesitation, yes. This does not mean that I am the same being as the previous Dalai Lama. Some Dalai Lamas are a manifestation of Mahjushri. Some are a manifestation of Chenrizi... I have a special connection with the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and the Fifth Dalai Lama. I have felt some kind of karmic relations or connections even with the Buddha... we might have been born in the same time during a past life; a teacher and a student; or a ruler and a subject or we might even have been spiritual friends."

Daleth

ד (or Dalet, Daled) The fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ד Daleth symbolizes "a door." When adapted to Greek, it became the letter Delta (a triangle).

Daleth is related with:

• The four elements of the physical world: fire, air, water, and earth
• The four states of the matter: solid, liquid, gaseous, combustion
• The four atoms in Alchemy: hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen
• The four worlds of Kabbalah: Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah
• The four letters of the name of God: Iod, Hei, Vau, Hei
• Etc

In Kabbalah, the letter Daleth represents a youth, the terrestrial man, who receives charity from his heavenly man, his letter Gimel. For this, Shaddai El Chai must stand at the open door (Daleth) of the entrance of his house (physical body).

The Kabbalistic value of Daleth is 4.

Damocles

According to classical mythology, Damocles so persistently praised the power and happiness of Dionysius that the tyrant, in order to show the precariousness of rank and power, gave a banquet and had a sword suspended above the head of Damocles by a single hair. Hence the expression “the sword of Damocles” to mean an ever-present peril.

David

(דוד Hebrew) A Kabbalistic symbol in Hebrew scriptures, who represents the middle stages of Initiation, or in other words, one of the three Malachim (Kings Saul, David, Solomon), who in their synthesis represents the internal, psychological drama of Initiation lived by an genuine initiate, and which conclude when the three kings attend the birth of the Savior (Yeshua). "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David..." - Matthew 1:1. David is related with the sephirah Malkuth.

David-Neel, Alexandra

A French historian and linguist who lived in Tibet for fourteen years and became a Buddhist Lama during a period in which foreigners were not allowed into the country. She studied Tantrism with great enthusiasm, meeting yogis, hermits and lamas including the famous Thirteenth Dalai Lama. She spent many years in meditation retreats and wrote extensively of her experiences in many books.

Dee, John

"The famous doctor J. Dee sought the Philosopher's Stone and never found it, but he was reduced to the most frightening misery. In the final years of his life, the poor doctor horribly degenerated with mediumship and became a toy of the inferior entities that live in the molecular world." - The Zodiacal Course

Defects

The capital sins, whose combinations result in millions of various psychological problems.

"Analyze all the human defects and you will see that they all have their foundation in desire." - The Aquarian Message

Demiurge

(Greek, for “worker” or “craftsman”) The Demiurgos or Artificer; the supernal power that built the universe. Freemasons derive from this word their phrase “Supreme Architect.” Also the name given by Plato in a passage in the Timaeus to the creator God.

"Esotericism admits the existence of a Logos, or a collective Creator of the universe, a Demiurge architect. It is unquestionable that such a Demiurge is not a personal deity as many mistakenly suppose, but rather a host of Dhyan Chohans, Angels, Archangels, and other forces." - Samael Aun Weor, The Three Mountains

"It is impossible to symbolize or allegorize the Unknowable One. Nevertheless, the Manifested One, the Knowable Elohim, can be allegorized or symbolized. The Manifested Elohim is constituted by the Demiurge Creator of the Universe. [...] The great invisible Forefather is Aelohim, the Unknowable Divinity. The great Triple-Powered God is the Demiurge Creator of the Universe: Multiple Perfect Unity. The Creator Logos is the Holy Triamatzikamno. The Verb, the Great Word. The three spaces of the First Mystery are the regions of the Demiurge Creator." - Samael Aun Weor, The Pistis Sophia Unveiled

"The Demiurge Architect of the Universe is not a human or divine individual; rather, it is Multiple Perfect Unity, the Platonic Logos." - Gnostic Anthropology

Demon

There are two main types of demons: those who are aware they are demons, who are awakened in evil and for evil, and those who are not aware they are demons, who are asleep.

"Millions of women and distinguished gentlemen, who are presently living on this world, do not have their Innermost (Spirit), and are therefore perverse demons, even though they still have physical bodies. The human being becomes a demon when the psychological “I” attains absolute control of the four bodies of sin (physical, ethereal, astral and mental), then the Innermost (the Spirit) withdraws from him... When somebody who has a physical body enters into the abyss, the Antakarana, which is the thread that connects the fourth and fifth human principles, is broken. Those inferior quaternaries which are separated from the spiritual triad become demons.
When a soul is very perverse, the Spirit abandons that soul. These people without Spirit are demons. Therefore, when the Spirit definitively abandons the body, the person passes through death, even though he may still be physically alive. Then, the name of this Spirit figures in the book of the deceased. Presently, there are many people who already do not have the Spirit (the Innermost). Whosoever loses the Innermost becomes a demon, and every demon belongs to the abyss." - The Aquarian Message

Demosthenes

(384–322 B.C.) A Greek lawyer who overcame a weak voice to become widely considered the greatest Greek political orator.

Dependent Origination

(Sanskrit: pratityasamutpada) Twelve successive phases of the process of cause and effect. Also called the Twelve Nidanas. A full explanation can be found in our Online Karma Course.

Desire

The root of suffering. 

"This star which guides our interior (the Ain Soph) has sent its own ray into the world in order to build consciousness of its own happiness. Happiness without consciousness of its own happiness is not absolute happiness. Thus is the reason why this ray had to have mineral, plant and animal consciousness. Desire gave birth to the “I.” This is the way in which the instinctive forces of nature trapped the innocent mind of the human being. So, the false mirage of desire emerged and the “I” continued reincarnating in order to satisfy its desires. Thus, we remained submitted to the Law of evolution and karma... Kill desire. Kill even the very shadow of desire." - from The Aquarian Message

"It is craving that leads back to birth, bound up with passionate greed. It finds fresh delight now here and now there, namely, craving for sense pleasures, craving for existence and becoming, and craving for non-existence." - Buddha Shakyamuni, Samyutta Nikaya lvi.11 

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God;" for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death. - James 1.13-15 

"What causes wars, and what causes fighting among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." - James 4.1-3 

Arjuna: What is the force that binds us to selfish deeds, O Krishna? What power moves us, even against our will, as if forcing us?

Krishna: It is selfish desire and anger, arising from the state of being known as passion; these are the appetites and evils which threaten a person in this life.Just as a fire is covered by smoke and a mirror is obscured by dust, just as an embryo is enveloped deep within the womb, knowledge is hidden by selfish desire--hidden, Arjuna, by this unquenchable fire for self-satisfaction, the inveterate enemy of the wise. Selfish desire is found in the senses, mind, and intellect, misleading them and burying wisdom in delusion. Fight with all your strength, Arjuna! Controlling your senses, conquer your enemy, the destroyer of knowledge and realization. - Bhagavad Gita 3.36-41

Devachan

In the lecture “The Mysteries of Life and Death ," Samael Aun Weor describes the Davachan as “a region of ineffable happiness in the World of the Universal Superior Mind.” And in "Mental Representations ," he says, "The dead commonly waste much time in the Devachan. I will not deny that this Devachan is a place of happiness and delights, but the figures that make life in the Devachan agreeable are merely living representations of the families, parents, and friends they left on Earth. In one word, the forms of the Devachan are living mental representations, or effigies. They result in a bizarre nature, that is why I say they waste too much time in the Devachan, but they are happy in this place. They feel accompanied by the loved ones they left on Earth. They do not even remotely notice that this world of happiness is full of mental effigies. If they noticed, they would lose the Devachan for themselves."

Devas

(Sanskrit, "shining ones") The gods of Hindu mythology.

"The Devas or Angels are never inferior to humans.  The Devas or Angels are True Solar Human Beings and that is all.  The Devas or Angels are Twice-born." - The Esoteric Treatise of Hermetic Astrology

Devi

\DEVI or Maheswari or Parasakti is the Supreme Sakti or Power of the Supreme Being. When Vishnu and Mahadeva destroyed various Asuras, the power of Devi was behind them. Devi took Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra and gave them necessary Sakti to proceed with the work of creation, preservation, and destruction. Devi is the Creatrix of the universe. She is the Universal Mother. Durga, Kali, Bhagavati, Bhavani, Ambal, Ambika, Jagadamba, Kameswari, Ganga, Uma, Chandi, Chamundi, Lalita, Gauri, Kundalini, Tara, Rajeswari, Tripurasundari, etc., are all Her forms. She is worshipped, during the nine days of the Dusserah as Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Devi is the Mother of all. The pious and the wicked, the rich and the poor, the saint and the sinner—all are Her children. Devi or Sakti is the Mother of Nature. She is Nature Itself. The whole world is Her body. Mountains are Her bones. Rivers are Her veins. Ocean is Her bladder. Sun, moon are Her eyes. Wind is Her breath. Agni is Her mouth. She runs this world show. - Swami Sivananda, Devi

Devolution

(Latin) From devolvere: backwards evolution, degeneration. The natural mechanical inclination for all matter and energy in nature to return towards their state of inert uniformity. Related to the Arcanum Ten: Retribution, the Wheel of Samsara. Devolution is the inverse process of evolution. As evolution is the complication of matter or energy, devolution is the slow process of nature to simplify matter or energy by applying forces to it.

Through devolution protoplasmic matter and energy descend, degrade and increase in density within the infradimensions of nature to finally reach the center of the earth where these attain their ultimate state of inert uniformity.

Devolution transfers the psyche, moral values, consciousness, or psychological responsibilities to inferior degradable organisms (Klipoth) through the surrendering of our psychological values to animal behaviors, especially sexual degeneration.

Dharana

(Sanskrit) In Patajali's Yoga, dharana is the fourth step, "concentration."

Dharma

(Sanskrit; Tibetan chö) A word with many levels of application. In Sanskrit, "Righteousness, duty." The inner constitution of a thing, which governs its growth. Also, the Law or the Way. The Tibetan version chö implies "change" or bringing transformation." The spiritual teachings themselves are the Dharma. Likewise, the fruit of good actions, which we receive as compensation, is Dharma. Any great truth is Dharma. In common usage, the word Dharma refers to the teachings of the path to the end of suffering, and to the result of that path. One of the Three Jewels (Tri-ratna).

Dharma Megha

“When a Bodhisattva renounces all of his psychic powers, when he radically eliminates the false idea that in order to be happy he needs something external, then a particular knowledge, a marvelous resplendence, will come upon him. In occultism this is called Dharma Megha (“cloud of virtue”).  These types of Bodhisattvas can no longer fall; these types of Bodhisattvas possess within themselves all of the basis of knowledge; they enjoy the most profound peace, and from their hearts spring the substance of love.” - The Doomed Aryan Race

Dharmadatu

(Tibetan chöying) The all-encompasing space which is unoriginated and beginingless from which all phenomena arise.

Dharmakaya

"Only those who possess the Dharmakaya body, the Law-body, the body which is Substance-Being, can enter into the Temple of the Unmanifested Cosmic Mother... Those who enter into the bosom of the Great Reality possess the glorious body of Dharmakaya. Those who possess the body of Dharmakaya submerge themselves within the joy of life, free in its movement." - from The Pistis Sophia Unveiled

See also "Kayas."