Happiness and the Art of Being
Glossary
In this glossary, {T} after a word indicates that it is Tamil, {TS} indicates that it is a Tamil form of a Sanskrit word, {Ts} indicates that it is a Tamil word or phrase derived partly from Sanskrit, and {S} indicates that it is Sanskrit (though most of the Sanskrit words listed here are also used frequently in Tamil spiritual literature, either in the same or a euphonically modified form).
A
a {T} that, those (a demonstrative prefix)
ā {T} come into being, become, be, happen, occur, be done, be completed, be fit, be appropriate, be proper – see ādal, ām, āy, etc.
abhēda {S} not different, undivided, identical
ādal {T} being, becoming (verbal noun formed from ā)
aḍaṅgi {T} yielding, submitting, subsiding (tenseless verbal participle of aḍaṅgu)
aḍaṅgu {T} yield, submit, subside, shrink, be subdued, be still, settle, cease, disappear – see aḍaṅgi
adaṟku {T} to that
adaṟku aḍaṅgi-y-irāmal {T} ‘instead of being having yielded to that’
ādhāra {S} support, substratum, ground, container
adhiṣṭhāna {S} standing place, base, substratum, ground, abode
ādi {S} beginning
ādi-guru {S} original guru
a-dvi-tā {S} no-two-ness
advaita {S} non-duality
advaita vēdānta {S} non-dualistic vēdānta
aham {S} ‘I’
aham {T} inside, heart, home, abode, space
ahaṁ brahmāsmi {S} ‘I am brahman’
ahamukham {Ts} inward facing, introspection, introversion, ‘I’-ward facing, self-attentiveness
ahandai {TS} (ahantā {S}) ego
ahantā (ahaṁtā) {S} ‘I’-ness, ego – see ahandai
āhāra {S} food
āhāra-niyama {S} food-restraint
ahiṁsā {S} non-harming
ajñāna {S} ignorance, lack of self-knowledge – see ajñāni
ajñāni {S} a person who lacks self-knowledge
ākāśa {S} space – see bhūtākāśa; cidākāśa; cittākāśa
akhaṇḍa {S} unbroken, unfragmented, undivided, indivisible, whole, entire
akṣara {S} imperishable, letter [of the alphabet], syllable – see Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai
akṣaramaṇamālai (akṣara-maṇa-mālai) {Ts} marriage garland of letters, fragrant garland of letters, garland of imperishable union – see Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai
allāh {Arabic} God
am {T} beauty (or before a word beginning with ‘m’, am can also be the demonstrative prefix a [meaning ‘that’ or ‘those’] with an extra ‘m’ added for euphonic conjunction)
ām {T} [it] is, [they] are (singular or plural future or habitual third person form of ā); which is, which are, who is, who are (future or habitual relative participle of ā)
āmalaka {S} a grape-sized fruit
amar {T} abide, remain, be seated, become still, rest, repose, settle
amarndu {T} settling, having settled (tenseless verbal participle of amar)
anādi {S} beginningless
ānanda {S} happiness, joy, bliss (see also sat-cit-ānanda)
ānandamaya kōśa {S} ‘sheath’ composed of happiness (the self-ignorance that remains in sleep, even though the mind has subsided)
ananta {S} endless
ananya {S} non-other, not other, otherless, without otherness
ananya bhāva {S} meditation on [God as] not other [than ourself]
anātmā {S} non-self, not self
anattā {Pāḷi} (anātmā {S}) non-self, not self, devoid of self, no self
aṉbu {T} love
aṉbu pūṇumē {T} be possessed with love
aṉḏṟi {T} except, besides, without
āṉmā {TS} (ātmā {S}) self
āṉma-viddai {TS} (ātma-vidyā {S}) science of self (see also Āṉma-Viddai; ātma-vidyā)
Āṉma-Viddai {TS} ‘[Song on] the Science of Self’
annamaya kōśa {S} ‘sheath’ composed of food (the physical body)
anta {S} end
antar {S} within, inside
antarmukham {TS} inward facing, introspection, introversion, self-attentiveness
anubandham {TS} appendage, appendix, supplement – see Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham
anugraha {S} grace, kindness
anusandhāna (anusaṁdhāna) {S} investigation, close inspection, contemplation
aṇu {S} atom
aṇuvum (aṇu-v-um) {Ts} even an atom
anya {S} other, another
anya bhāva {S} meditation on [God as] other [than ourself]
ār {T} who (interrogative personal pronoun) – see Nāṉ-Ār?, yār
ār {T} become full, spread over, abide, be, combine with, eat, experience, obtain, put on, wear, gird, bind (also used in poetry as a relative participle meaning ‘which is’, ‘which is combined with’, ‘which is bound by’)
ārāy {T} investigate, scrutinise, examine, inspect, explore
ārāycci {T} investigation, scrutiny, inspection, exploration, research
aṟi {T} know, cognise, experience, be conscious of – see aṟivu, aṟiyādu, etc.
aṟivē (aṟivu-ē) {T} consciousness alone, consciousness certainly
aṟivē nāṉ {T} consciousness alone [or certainly] is ‘I’
aṟivu {T} knowledge, consciousness (noun formed from aṟi)
aṟiyādē (aṟiyādu-ē) {T} only not knowing
aṟiyādē muyalum {T} ‘which [we] practise only [due to] not knowing’
aṟiyādu {T} not knowing (negative tenseless verbal participle of aṟi)
artha {S} aim, purpose, meaning, substance, wealth, property, object, thing
aruḷ {T} grace, benevolence
aruḷum vēṇumē {T} grace also is certainly necessary
aruṇācala {TS} Arunachala (the name of the sacred hill at the foot of which Sri Ramana lived, and which he worshipped as a physical manifestation of God and guru, our own real self)
Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai {Ts} – see Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai
Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam {TS} – see Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam
āśā {S} desire – see nirāśā
asaiyādu {T} [it] does not move
āsana {S} sitting, abiding, posture
asat {S} unreal, non-existent
asher {Hebrew} that, which, what, who (a ‘relativizer’, a word that indicates a relative clause, like a relative pronoun in English)
asi {S} [you] are – see tat tvam asi
asmi {S} [I] am
aṣṭakam {TS} collection of eight parts (especially a poem of eight verses) – see Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam
āśrama {S} ‘ashram’, hermitage, abode of an ascetic, religious institution formed around such an abode, dwelling-place of a religious community
aṣṭan (aṣṭa in compound) {S} eight
asti {S} [it] is, [it] exists, there is, existence, presence, being
asti-bhāti-priya {S} being-illumination-love
aśubha {S} ugly, unpleasant, disagreeable, inauspicious, bad, evil
aśubha vāsanā {S} disagreeable propensity
atiśaya śakti {S} extraordinary power, wonderful power
atītam {TS} that which has gone beyond, that which transcends
ātmā {S} self, spirit (nominative singular form of ātman, serving in Tamil as both its nominative and its inflectional base)
ātmānusandhāna (ātma-anusaṁdhāna) {S} self-investigation, self-contemplation
ātma-cintanā {S} self-contemplation
ātma-jñāna {S} self-knowledge
ātma-jñāni {S} sage, one who knows self
ātman (ātma in compound, ātmā in nominative) {S} self, spirit, soul, life, essence (also serves as the reflexive pronoun for all persons and genders: oneself, myself, yourself, itself, ourselves, etc.)
ātma-niṣṭha {S} self-abidance, being established in self
ātma-saṁsthaṁ manaḥ kṛtvā {S} ‘having made the mind stand firm in self’
ātma-siddhi {S} self-attainment
ātma-sukha {S} self-happiness
ātma-svarūpa {S} our essential self, the ‘own form’ of ourself
ātma-vicāra {S} self-investigation, self-scrutiny, self-attentiveness, self-enquiry
ātma-vidyā {S} science of self
Ātma-Vidyā Kīrtanam {TS} ‘Song on the Science of Self’
ātmāvil (ātmā-v-il) {TS} in self (locative singular form of ātmā)
a-t-taṉmai {T} that first person
āttumā {TS} (ātmā {S}) self
avaṉ {T} he
avaṉ aruḷ aṉḏṟi ōr aṇuvum asaiyādu {T} ‘except by his grace, not even an atom moves’
āvaraṇa {S} covering, veiling, hiding, concealing, obscuring
āvaraṇa śakti {S} power of veiling, concealing, obscuration
avasthā {S} state, condition
avatārikai {TS} (avatārikā {S}) introduction
āy {T} having become, being, as (tenseless verbal participle of ā; often used as an adverbial suffix, like ‘-ly’ in English)
ayam {S} this
ayam ātmā brahma {S} ‘this self is brahman’
B
bahirmukham {TS} outward facing, extroversion
Bhagavad Gītā {S} ‘Divine Song’, ‘Song of God’
Bhagavad Gītā Sāram {TS} ‘The Essence of the Song of God’
Bhagavān {S} Lord, God
Bhāgavatam {S} ‘[Book] about God’ – see Śrīmad Bhāgavatam
bhakti {S} devotion, love
bhakti-mārga {S} path of devotion
bhāti {S} shining, light, illumination, knowledge, consciousness
bhāva {S} being, state, state of being, way of thinking, attitude, idea, concept, opinion, conviction, contemplation, meditation
bhāvanā {S} forming in mind, imagination, thought, meditation
bhramaṇa {S} wavering, bewilderment, confusion
bhūtākāśa (bhūta-ākāśa) {S} physical space
brahman (brahma in compound and in nominative neuter [not to be confused with the nominative masculine, brahmā, which is a name of God as the creator]) {S} God (as pure impersonal being), the absolute reality, the infinite spirit, the one non-dual being-consciousness, ‘I am’, our essential being or real self, the source, ground and substance of all things
brahma-ṛṣi {S} sage who experiences himself as brahman
Brahma Sūtra {S} ‘Aphorisms about Brahman’
buddhi {S} intellect, mind, faculty of discernment, discrimination, reason, understanding (see also dēhātma buddhi)
C
cakra {S} wheel, circle, mystic centre in the body
cāvādavar {T} – see sāvādavar
cāyndiḍum {T} – see sāyndiḍum
cidākāśa (cit-ākāśa) {S} space of consciousness
cintanā {S} thinking, thought, meditation – see ātma-cintanā
cit {S} faculty of knowing or experiencing, that which knows, experiences or is conscious, consciousness (particularly pure non-objective consciousness), awareness (also a verb meaning to know, experience, cognise, perceive, observe, attend to, be attentive, be conscious); (like other Tamil and Sanskrit words that are translated as ‘consciousness’ or ‘awareness’, such as aṟivu, uṇarvu, jñāna and prajñāna, in the teachings of Sri Ramana cit means not merely the state of being conscious but more specifically that which is conscious, namely ourself)
cit-jaḍa-granthi {S} the knot that binds consciousness to the non-conscious [body]
cit-śakti {S} power of consciousness
citta {S} mind, will, faculty of volition
cittākāśa (citta-ākāśa) {S} mind-space
citta-bhramaṇa {S} mental wavering, bewilderment, confusion
citta-śuddhi {S} purification of mind
cittattiṉ {TS} of mind (an oblique case form of cittam, often serving as a genitive form of it)
cittattiṉ śānti {TS} peace of mind
cogito ergo sum {Latin} ‘[I] think therefore [I] am’
col {T} – see sol
coṯporuḷ {T} – see soṯporuḷ
cūḍāmaṇi (cūḍā-maṇi) {S} crest-jewel
cummā {T} – see summā
cummā-v-iru {T} – see summā iru
D
darśana {S} seeing, looking, perception, discernment, vision, experience
daśamaṉ {TS} tenth man (a personal noun formed from daśama, tenth)
dēha {S} body
dēhātma buddhi {S} ‘body [is] myself’ notion, ‘I am the body’ sense
dēva {S} god, deity, divine being
dharma {S} that which upholds, supports, sustains, preserves, maintains, restrains, keeps in place or regulates; nature, function, duty, obligation, righteousness, fundamental correctness, order, how anything should be or act, moral law, justice, religion [as an ordered and correct way of life, rather than as a particular set of beliefs or doctrines], law [of human nature and spiritual development] (‘dharma’ is an extremely important and deeply meaningful concept in all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, which are collectively described as the ‘dharmic religions’; the word derives from the verbal root dhṛ, which means hold, uphold, carry, support, sustain, preserve, maintain, hold together, hold back, restrain, keep in place, control or regulate; everything – even an insentient object, an element such as fire or water, or any abstract quality – has its own dharma, that which holds it together, making it what it is, preventing it from being anything else, its essential nature, its particular property or quality, its function, its ‘duty’, its order, how it should be or act, the law of its being and action; since we are sentient, rational and social beings, with a sense of right and wrong, and aspiring to rise above the limitations of our present finitude, our dharma includes our moral dharma, our social dharma, our religious dharma, our spiritual dharma, our natural duties and obligations in every area of our lives, all of which collectively constitute our svadharma or ‘own dharma’; likewise, every society or section of society, every profession or trade, every social role, every familial relationship, every mode of life or stage of life, has its own particular dharma)
dhātu {S} layer, element, constituent, ingredient
dhyai {S} contemplate, meditate on, think of, imagine, recollect, bear in mind
dhyāna {S} contemplation, meditation, mindfulness, attentiveness
dīrgha {S} long-lasting
dṛg {S} – see dṛś
dṛg-dṛśya-vivēka {S} discrimination between the seer and the seen
dṛś (dṛk or dṛg in compound) {S} seeing, looking at, knowing, discerning, sight, eye, that which sees, that which knows (consciousness, the subject, seer or knower)
dṛśya {S} visible object, that which is seen, that which is known (the object, seen or known)
dṛṣṭi {S} seeing, sight
dvaita {S} duality
dvandva (dvaṁdva) {S} pair [of opposites] – see iraṭṭai
E
-ē {T} an intensifier, a suffix used for emphasis (meaning ‘only’, ‘alone’, ‘itself’, ‘certainly’, ‘indeed’)
edu {T} what
edu nāṉ? {T} ‘what [am] I?’
ego {Greek} I
ego eimi {Greek} I am
ehyeh {Hebrew} [I] am
ehyeh asher ehyeh {Hebrew} ‘[I] am that [I] am’
eimi {Greek} [I] am
ēka {S} one, the one
ēkāṉmā (ēkāṉma in compound) {TS} – see ēkātman
Ēkāṉma Pañcakam {TS} – see Ēkātma Pañcakam
ēkātman (ēka-ātman; ēkātma in compound) {S} one self, ‘self, the one [reality]’ (see also Ēkātma Pañcakam)
Ēkātma Pañcakam (Ēkāṉma Pañcakam) {TS} ‘Five [Verses] on Self, the One’, ‘Five [Verses] on the Oneness of Self’
ēkātma vastu {S} the one self-substance
eṇ {T} think, consider, meditate upon, scrutinise
eṉḏṟum {T} always, for ever, constantly
eṉḏṟum taṉṉai viṉavum usāvāl {T} ‘by subtle investigation, which is constantly scrutinising self’
eṅgē {T} where indeed, wherever (interrogative pronoun eṅgu, meaning ‘where’, with intensifying suffix ē)
eṅgē-y-irundālum irukkalām {T} ‘wherever [one] may be [one] can be’, ‘wherever [one] may be let [one] be’
eṇṇa {T} when [we] think, consider, meditate upon, scrutinise
eṇṇa naṙuvum {T} ‘when [we] scrutinise, it will vanish’
eṉṉum {T} who says, which says, which is called (a quotative relative participle [like iti in Sanskrit], which often functions like inverted commas enclosing the preceding word or clause)
eṉum {T} who says, which says, which is called (a poetic abbreviation of eṉṉum)
eppōdum {T} always, at all times
ergo {Latin} therefore
ēttiṉum {T} even if one worships
evaiyum {T} everything
evaiyum kāṇum {T} which sees everything
G
garbha {S} womb, embryo
gati {S} way, path, means, refuge, liberation
gītā {S} song – see Bhagavad Gītā
granthi {S} knot
guṇa {S} [finite] quality, property, attribute
guru {S} [spiritual] teacher, guide
Guru Vācaka Kōvai {Ts} ‘Series of Guru’s Sayings’
H
hiṁsā {S} harm, injury, hurt
hṛdaya {S} heart, core, essence
I
icchā {S} wish, desire, liking, inclination
iḍam {T} place, location, position, station, site, situation, state, room, space, abode, home, ground (see also muviḍam)
iladāl {T} since [it] is not, since [it] is devoid of
iṉbu {T} happiness
iṉbu tōṇumē {T} ‘happiness will certainly appear’
iṉṉāṉ {T} so-and-so, such a person
irāmal {T} not being, without being, instead of being (tenseless verbal negative participle of iru)
iraṭṭai {T} pair [of opposites], dvandva
iraṭṭaigaḷ {T} pairs [of opposites] (plural form of iraṭṭai)
iru {T} be, exist, remain
iṟudi {T} end, limit, cessation, death
iṟudi taṉṉai-y-uṇarndu tāṉ-ādal {T} ‘finally knowing ourself [and] being ourself’
irukka {T} to be, when [one] is, when [we] are
irukkalām {T} let [us] be, let [one] be, [one] can be
irukkiṟēṉ {T} [I] am
irundālum {T} even if [one] is, though [one] is
iruppadu {T} being, existing, remaining (verbal noun formed from iru, be, exist, remain)
iruḷ {T} darkness (of self-ignorance), spiritual ignorance
īśaṉ {TS} God
īśaṉ sannidhāna {TS} (īśa-saṁnidhāna {S}) presence of God
J
jaḍa {S} non-conscious, insentient, material, lifeless matter
jāgrat {S} [state of] waking, wakefulness
jāgrat-suṣupti {S} waking sleep
jāla {S} net, snare, web, deception, collection, multitude
japa {S} whispering, repetition [of a name of God, prayer or mantra], invocation
jīva {S} life, living being, soul
jīvātmā {S} personal self, soul
jñā {S} know, be conscious of, cognise, ascertain, experience
jñāna {S} knowledge, consciousness (often used to mean ātma-jñāna, self-knowledge)
jñāna-dṛṣṭi {S} knowledge-sight
jñāna-mārga {S} path of knowledge
jñāna-mātā {S} mother of knowledge
jñāna-vicāra {S} knowledge-investigation
jñānēndriya {S} sense organ
jñāni {S} a knower, sage, one who knows [self]
K
kaḍa {T} pass through, go across, exceed, excel, transcend, escape from) – see kaḍandu
kaḍandu {T} transcending (tenseless verbal participle of kaḍa)
kaḍandu-uḷḷavaṉ {T} he who exists transcending
kaḍavuḷ {T} God
kālam {TS} time
kalaṅgārē (kalaṅgār-ē) {T} they will certainly not deluded
kaliveṇbā {T} an extended version of the veṇbā metre
kalpanā {S} mental creation, imagination, fabrication, mental image – see kaṯpaṉai
kaṇ {T} eye
kāṇ {T} see, perceive, discover, know, experience (also used in poetry as a verbal noun meaning ‘seeing’, etc.)
kaṇḍavarē (kaṇḍavar-ē) {T} only those who have seen
kāṇum {T} which sees, perceives, knows (relative participle of kāṇ)
kāraṇa {S} cause
kāraṇa śarīra {S} causal body
kāraṇam illāda karuṇai {Ts} causeless grace
karma {S} action, activity
karma-mārga {S} path of action
karma-vāsanā {S} propensity or desire that impels one to do action
karmēndriya {S} organ of action
kartṛtva {S} doership
karu {T} (garbha {S}) embryo, egg, efficient cause
karuṇā {S} compassion, grace
karuṇai {T} – see karuṇā
karuvām ahandai (karu-v-ām ahandai) {Ts} ‘ego, which is the embryo’
kāṭci {T} that which is seen, sight, vision, appearance
kaṯpaṉai {Ts} (kalpanā {S}) mental creation, imagination, fabrication, invention, mental image, illusion, illusory superimposition
kaṯpaṉaigaḷ {Ts} imaginations, illusions, mental images (plural form of kaṯpaṉai)
kaupīna {T} loincloth
kēḷ {T} hear, listen, learn, ask, question, investigate
khaṇḍa {S} broken, fragmented, divided, division, break, part, fragment
kīrtanam {TS} song, praise
kōśa {S} ‘sheath’, covering
kōvai {T} stringing, series, succession, arrangement – see Guru Vācaka Kōvai
kṛ {S} do, make, cause, effect – see kṛtvā, kṛtya
kṛtvā {S} having done, made (past participle of kṛ)
kṛtya {S} action, function – see pañcakṛtya
kṣaṇika {S} momentary
kuṟaḷ veṇbā {T} a two-line version of the veṇbā metre
kūr {T} be abundant, intense, sharp, keen, acute, penetrating – see kūrnda
kūrnda {T} sharpened, pointed, sharp, keen, acute (past relative participle of kūr)
kūrnda mati {Ts} sharp, piercing, acute, keen, concentrated, subtle, discerning mind
L
lakṣya {S} aim, target, goal
lakṣyārtha (lakṣya-artha) {S} target meaning, intended meaning
laya {S} lying down, temporary subsidence, abeyance
M
mā {S} not
mahākartā (mahā-kartā) {S} the ‘great doer’ (God)
mahāraṇya (mahā-araṇya) {S} great forest, desert, wilderness
maharṣi (maha-ṛṣi) {S} great ‘seer’, sage
mahāvākya (mahā-vākya) {S} great saying
mahēśaṉ (mahā-īśaṉ) {TS} great Lord, God
mai {T} darkness, ignorance
-mai {T} suffix denoting an abstract state or quality (similar to the suffix ‘-ness’ in English) (see also naṉmai; taṉmai; uṇmai; viṇmai)
mālai {TS} (mālā {S}) garland – see akṣaramaṇamālai and nūṉmālai
manaḥ {S} mind (nominative, accusative or vocative singular form of manas)
maṉam {TS} (manas {S}) mind
maṇam (maṇa in compound) {T} marriage, union, fragrance – see Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai
manana {T} thinking, considering, pondering, musing, reflection
manas {S} mind (see also maṉam)
maṉattai {TS} mind (accusative singular form of maṉam)
maṇḍapam {TS} temple hall
maṅgalam {TS} auspiciousness, verse composed as an auspicious introduction
maṉidaṉ {TS} (manu-ja {S}) man, male person
māṉiḍaṉ {TS} (mānuṣa {S}) man, human being
māṉiḍaṉāy (māṉiḍaṉ-āy) {Ts} having become human, being human, as human, as [a] man
māṉiḍaṉāy irukkiṟēṉ {Ts} ‘[I] exist as [a] man’, ‘[I] am [a] man’
maṉṉu {T} be permanent, endure, remain long, stay, persevere, be steady, abound – see maṉṉum
maṉṉum {T} which endures (relative participle of maṉṉu)
manō- (for manas in compound) {S} mind, of mind
manōlaya {S} abeyance of mind
manōmaya kōśa {S} ‘sheath’ composed of mind
manōmayam {TS} (manōmaya {S}) composed [only] of mind
manōmayam-ām kāṭci {Ts} ‘vision which is composed of mind’, mind-made appearance
manōnāśa {S} annihilation of mind
manōnigraha {S} mind-restraint
mantra {S} sacred syllable, word, phrase (such as a name of God or a prayer)
mantra-japa {S} repetition of a mantra
mārga {S} path, way, means (see also bhakti mārga; jñāna mārga; karma mārga; yōga mārga; vaṙi)
mātā {S} mother
mati {S} mind, intellect, power of discernment (see also buddhi; kūrnda mati; nuṇ mati)
matiyāl (mati-y-āl) {TS} by mind (instrumental form of mati)
mati-y-iladāl {Ts} ‘since it is devoid of consciousness’
mātra {S} mere, only, nothing but
mauna {S} silence
-maya {S} suffix meaning ‘made of’, ‘composed of’, ‘consisting only of’ – see ānandamaya, annamaya, manōmaya, prāṇamaya, tanmaya, vijñanamaya
māyā {S} that which is not (see yā mā), illusion, delusion, self-deception
mey {T} reality, truth
meypporuḷ (mey-p-poruḷ) {T} real substance, true essence, reality, God
meypporuḷ-viḷakkam {T} light of the real substance (consciousness of being, ‘I am’)
mita {S} measured, moderate
mudal {T} origin, cause, root, base
muḍiyum {T} [it] will end, cease, be possible
mukti {S} liberation, emancipation
muṉṉilai (muṉ-nilai) {T} ‘that which stands in front’, the second person
muppuḍi {Ts} (tripuṭi {S}) triad, three factors [of objective knowledge] (knower, knowing and known)
muppuḍigaḷ {Ts} triads (plural form of muppuḍi)
mūrti-dhyāna {S} meditation on a form [of God]
muttoṙil (mu-t-toṙil) {T} threefold function [of God]
mūviḍam (mū-v-iḍam) {T} ‘three places’, three persons (in grammar) (see also muṉṉilai; paḍarkkai; taṉmai)
muyal {T} begin, undertake, attempt, practise, make effort, exert, persevere – see muyalum
muyalum {T} which [we] undertake, practise (relative participle of muyal)
N
na-iti {S} ‘not [this]’ (see also nēti nēti)
naḍakka {T} to walk, proceed, behave
nāḍu {T} seek, pursue, inspect, examine, investigate, explore, know
nām {T} we (inclusive of whoever is addressed)
nāma-rūpa {S} name-form
nāṉ {T} ‘I’
Nāṉ-Ār? {T} ‘I [am] Who?’, ‘Who am I?’
nāṉ ār iḍam edu {T} ‘who am I? what is the place [from which I arose]?’, ‘what is the place where I abide?’
nāṉ eṉum sol-poruḷ {T} ‘the import of the word I’
nāṉ iṉṉāṉ {T} ‘I [am] so-and-so’
nāṉ maṉidaṉ {Ts} ‘I [am a] man’, ‘I [am a] male person’
nāṉ māṉiḍaṉ {Ts} ‘I [am a] man’, ‘I [am] human’
nāṉ māṉiḍaṉāy irukkiṟēṉ {Ts} ‘I exist as [a] man’, ‘I am [a] man’
nāṉ nāṉ {T} ‘I [am] I’
nāṉ yār? {T} ‘I [am] who?’, ‘who am I?’
Nāṉ Yār? {T} ‘I [am] Who?’, ‘Who am I?’
naṉavu {T} [state of] waking, wakefulness
naṉavu-tuyil {T} waking sleep
naṉmai (nal-mai) {T} goodness, righteousness, benefit, virtue, morality
nāṟpadu {T} forty – see Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu
naṙuvum {T} ‘[it] will vanish’
nāśa {S} annihilation, destruction – see manōnāśa
nāṭṭam {T} investigation, examination, scrutiny, inspection, observation, attention, attentiveness
nēti nēti (na-iti, na-iti) {S} ‘not [this], not [this]’ (implying ‘[I am] not [this adjunct], nor [this adjunct]’, the word iti being a quotative indicator that is equivalent to the use of inverted commas in English)
nididhyāsana {S} deep contemplation, meditation, attentiveness, observation, scrutiny (derived from the verb nidhyai, in which the prefix ni means down, deep, back, in or within, and dhyai means to contemplate or meditate on, from which dhyāna is derived)
nihaṙviṉai {T} present time
nihaṙvu (often transliterated as nihaḻvu and transcribed loosely as nihazhvu) {T} present time
niṉaivu {T} thought, mind
niṉḏṟa {T} which stands, exists, abides, remains, endures, continues, is permanent (though it is actually the past relative participle of the verb nil, it indicates permanence and hence implies continuity from past to future)
nirāśā (nir-āśā) {S} without desire, desirelessness
nirguṇa (nir-guṇa) {S} without qualities, without [finite] properties, unqualified
nirguṇa brahman {S} ‘brahman without [finite] qualities’, the unqualified reality, God (as pure being, ‘I am’, the impersonal ground, essential substance or infinite whole)
nirguṇa upāsana {S} worship without attributes, worship of the unqualified reality (God as pure being)
nirvāṇa {S} blown out, extinguished, extinction, annihilation
niṣṭha (or niṣṭhā) {S} standing in, fixed in, grounded in, being in, abiding in, intent on, devoted to, attached to, steadiness, firmness, abidance, attachment, devotion, application, skill, familiarity with, certain knowledge of, position, condition, state
nitamum maṉṉum {T} ‘which always endures’
nitya {S} innate, fixed, perpetual, eternal
niyama {S} restraining, restraint, restriction
nūl {T} thread, treatise, scientific text, spiritual text, scripture – see nūṉmālai and nūṯṟiraṭṭu
nuṇ {T} subtle, refined, precise, acute, sharp, discerning
nūṉmālai (nūl-mālai) {Ts} garland of texts – see Śrī Ramaṉōpadēśa Nūṉmālai
nuṇ mati {Ts} discerning mind
nūṯṟiraṭṭu (nūl-tiraṭṭu) {T} collection of texts, compilation of texts – see Śrī Ramaṇa Nūṯṟiraṭṭu
O
oḍukkiḍavē {T} when it is subdued, reduced, condensed, dissolved, merged, destroyed
oḷi {T} light
oḷirum {T} [it] shines
oḷiyāl (oḷi-y-āl) {T} by light (instrumental form of oḷi)
oṉḏṟu {T} one
ōr {T} one, an
ōr {T} consider attentively, investigate, examine, know (also used as a poetic form of the relative participle ōrum)
ōr vaṙi {T} ‘one path’, ‘investigating path’, ‘knowing path’, ‘path of investigation [or knowing]’
oru {T} one, a
ōrum {T} which investigates, which knows, investigating, knowing (relative participle of ōr)
P
paḍarkkai {T} that which has spread out [and become remote], the third person
pākkaḷ {T} verses (plural form of pā) – see taṉippākkaḷ
pañcakam {TS} collection of five parts (especially a poem of five verses) – see Ēkātma Pañcakam
pañca-kōśa {S} five ‘sheaths’ or coverings
pañcakṛtya (pañca-kṛtya) {S} five functions (of God)
pañcan (pañca in compound) {S} five
pañca vāyu {S} five ‘vital airs’
para-bhakti {S} supreme devotion
parama-īśa-bhakti {S} – see paramēśa-bhakti
parama karuṇā {S} supreme compassion
paramārtha (parama-artha) {S} most excellent aim, principle meaning, ultimate substance, true essence, highest truth, entire truth, ultimate reality
pāramārthika {S} related to the ultimate reality, truest, most essential (adjectival form of paramārtha)
pāramārthika satya {S} essential truth, ultimate reality, absolute reality
paramātman {S} supreme self
paramēśa-bhakti (parama-īśa-bhakti) {S} supreme devotion to God
paramēśvara śakti (parama-īśvara-śakti) {S} supreme power of God
para-sukha {S} supreme happiness
parā-vāk {S} supreme word
pati {S} lord, master, God
pāyiram {T} preface, introduction (especially a verse or group of verses explaining the genesis of a work or giving a synopsis of its subject matter)
pēr {T} name
pēr-uruvil {T} ‘in name and form’, ‘nameless and formless’
piḍikka {T} to cling to (infinitive of piḍi, catch, grasp, hold, cling to)
piṇam {T} corpse
piṇam pōl tīrndu uḍalam {T} ‘leaving the body like a corpse’
pōl {T} like
poṉ {T} gold
pōṉḏṟa {T} which resembles
poṟi {T} sense organ, mind
poruḷ {T} substance, essence, reality
poy {T} falsity, unreality, illusion, deceptive appearance (also used adjectivally to mean ‘false’, ‘unreal’, ‘illusory’)
poy mai-y-ār niṉaivu aṇuvum uyyādu oḍukkiḍavē {T} ‘when thought, which is unreal darkness, is destroyed without reviving even an iota’
pōy {T} going, having gone
prajñāna {S} pure consciousness (adjunct-free self-consciousness, ‘I am’)
prajñānaṁ brahma {S} ‘pure consciousness is brahman’
pramāda {S} intoxication, negligence, carelessness, inattentiveness (in a spiritual context, specifically self-negligence or lack of self-attentiveness)
prāṇa {S} breath, life, life-force, vitality
prāṇamaya kōśa {S} ‘sheath’ composed of breath
prāṇāyāma {S} breath-restraint
prārabdha {S} action (karma) that has begun to give fruit, destiny, fate
prasthāna {S} source, origin, starting point
prasthāna-traya {S} triple source
pratibhāsa {S} appearance, semblance, illusion
prātibhāsika {S} seeming, existing only as an appearance
prātibhāsika satya {S} seeming reality
pravṛtti {S} outgoing effort, extroverted activity
priya {S} love, kindness, loving, beloved, liked, pleasing
puhaṙcci {T} praise, applause, appreciation, adulation, eulogy, fame, renown, glory, celebrity
pūṇumē {T} put on, wear, be adorned with, be possessed of, be yoked to, be ensnared in
pūjā {S} worship (particularly ritual worship), adoration, reverence
pūrṇa {S} filled, full, complete, entire, whole, fullness, completeness, entirety
puruṣa {S} man, human being, person, primal ‘person’, supreme being, spirit (as the original source and substance of everything)
R
rajas {S} passion, emotion, restless activity
rajō- (for rajas in compound) {S} passion, emotion, restless activity
rajōguṇa {S} quality of passion (rajas)
ram {S} settle, become calm, rest, experience joy, give joy, delight, please
ramaṇa {S} joy, pleasure, that which gives joy, beloved, lover, husband
Ramaṇa Nūṯṟiraṭṭu {Ts} – see Śrī Ramaṇa Nūṯṟiraṭṭu
ramaṇōpadēśa (ramaṇa-upadēśa) {Ts} teachings of Sri Ramana – see Śrī Ramaṇōpadēśa Nūṉmālai
Ramaṉōpadēśa Nūṉmālai {Ts} – see Śrī Ramaṉōpadēśa Nūṉmālai
ṛṣi {S} (commonly transcribed as rishi) ‘seer’, sage
rūpa {S} form, outward appearance, nature (see also nāma-rūpa; svarūpa)
S
śabda {S} sound, noise, word
śabda jālaṁ mahāraṇyaṁ {S} ‘great forest of snares of words’
saccidananda (sat-cit-ānanda) {S} being-consciousness-bliss (see also sat-cit-ānanda)
sadā {S} always, ever, continually, perpetually
sadākālam (sadā-kālam) {TS} always, at all times
sadākālamum maṉattai ātmāvil vaittiruppadu {Ts} ‘always being keeping mind fixed in self’
sadguru (sat-guru) {S} real guru, being-guru, true spiritual teacher
sādhakattil {TS} in spiritual practice (locative singular form of sādhakam)
sādhu {S} good person, gentle person, saintly person, religious mendicant
saguṇa (sa-guṇa) {S} with qualities, with [finite] properties, qualified
saguṇa brahman {S} ‘brahman with [finite] qualities’, the qualified reality, God (as a ‘person’ or separate being)
saguṇa upāsana {S} worship with attributes, worship of the qualified reality (God as a person)
sahitar {TS} person who is joined to, connected with, associated with, possessed of
śakti {S} power
samādhi {S} state of mental stillness, subsidence, absorption, composure, intense meditation, unwavering contemplation
saṁhāra {S} drawing together, closing, contraction, dissolution, destruction [of the universe]
saṁsāra {S} flowing together, going about, wandering, spreading among, being diffused, moving thoroughly, restless activity [of mind]
saṁstha {S} standing together, standing firmly, abiding, resting in, being as
śanaiḥ śanair (śanais śanais) {S} gently gently, calmly and gradually
śanais {S} calmly, quietly, softly, gently, gradually
sanātana {S} ancient, primeval, eternal, everlasting, constant, perpetual
sanātana dharma {S} that which eternally upholds, supports, sustains, maintains, holds together, keeps in place or regulates; eternal law [of human nature and spiritual development], eternal ‘religion’ (that is, religion as an ordered and correct way of life, rather than as any particular set of beliefs or doctrines)
sankalpa (saṁkalpa) {S} volition, intention, wish, will, desire
sankalpa sahitar {TS} person possessed of volition
sannidhāna (saṁnidhāna) {S} nearness, presence
śānti {S} peace, tranquillity, calmness
sapta {S} seven
sapta dhātu {S} seven constituents [of the physical body] (namely chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and semen)
sāra {S} essence, substance, core, pith (see also sāram)
sāram {TS} essence
śarīra {S} body
sarva {S} all, entire, whole, every
sarvakartā (sarva-kartā) {S} all doer, one who does everything (God)
śāstra {S} rule, precept, teaching, instruction, book, scientific treatise, religious treatise, scripture, sacred book
sat {S} being, existing, existence, that which is, reality, truth, essence, real, true, right, good, honest, wise
sat-bhāva {S} real being, state of being
sat-cit {S} being-consciousness
sat-cit-ānanda {S} being-consciousness-bliss
sattva {S} being-ness, reality, calmness, clarity, purity (the true nature or essence of the mind and all its creations)
sattva-guṇa {S} quality of being-ness, calmness, clarity, purity
sāttvika {S} pure, pristine, endowed with sattva
satya {S} true, real, truth, reality
sāvādavar {T} those who do not die, immortals
sāyndiḍum {T} [it] hangs down, bends down, lies down, breaks (like branch under pressure)
siddha {S} accomplished, fulfilled, effected, achieved, attained, acquired, person who has accomplished [either a spiritual or non-spiritual goal]
siddhi {S} accomplishment, [spiritual or supernatural] attainment, miraculous power
śiva-svarūpa {S} God as our ‘own form’ or real self, the absolute reality
smaraṇa {S} remembering, bearing in mind, remembrance, mindfulness, attentiveness, meditation
sol {T} word, term, saying (also a verb meaning to say, speak)
sol-poruḷ {T} – see soṯporuḷ
soṯporuḷ (sol-poruḷ) {T} word-substance (the substance, import or meaning of a word)
sorūpam {TS} (svarūpa {S}) ‘own form’, essential self
śravaṇa {S} ‘hearing’, learning, studying, reading
śrī {S} light, lustre, radiance, splendour (often used as an honorific prefix [meaning ‘sacred’] before the names of deities, holy people, places or objects)
Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai {Ts} ‘Marriage Garland of Letters to Sri Arunachala’, ‘Fragrant Garland of Letters to Sri Arunachala’, ‘Garland of Imperishable Union with Sri Arunachala’
Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam {TS} ‘Eight [Verses] to Sri Arunachala’
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam {S} ‘Sacred [Book] about God’
Śrī Ramaṇa Nūṯṟiraṭṭu {Ts} ‘Compilation of Sri Ramana’s Texts’, ‘Collected Works of Sri Ramana’
Śrī Ramaṇōpadēśa Nūṉmālai – Viḷakkavurai {Ts} ‘Commentary on Sri Ramana’s Upadēśa Nūṉmālai (Garland of Teaching Texts)’
sṛṣṭi {S} letting go, bringing forth, discharging, emission, projection, creation [of the universe]
sthāna {S} standing, state, situation, place, locality, abode
sthiti {S} standing, staying, continuing, enduring, maintenance, sustenance [of the universe], state, situation, condition
sthūla {S} massive, gross, material, physical
sthūla dēha {S} physical body
sthūla śarīra {S} physical body
śubha {S} bright, beautiful, pleasant, agreeable, auspicious, good, righteous, virtuous, pure
śubha vāsanā {S} good inclination, agreeable propensity
śuddhi {S} cleansing, purification, purity, clearness
sukha {S} easy, pleasant, agreeable, ease, comfort, happiness
sūkṣma {S} subtle, fine, minute, keen, acute, sharp
sūkṣma śarīra {S} subtle body (the mind, ego or soul)
sum {Latin} ‘[I] am’
summā {T} easily, leisurely, inactively, at rest, at ease, peacefully, happily, quietly, silently, barely, merely, just (perhaps derived from sukhamā, a Tamil adverbial form of the Sanskrit word sukha)
summā amarndu irukka (summā-v-amarndirukka) {T} ‘when [one] just is, having settled’
summā iru (summā-v-iru) {T} just be, quietly be, be without activity [of mind, speech or body]
summā irukkalām (summā-v-irukkalām) {T} ‘let us just be’
summā iruppadu (summā-v-iruppadu) {T} just being
śūnya {S} empty, void
suṣupti {S} sleep (dreamless deep sleep)
sūtra {S} thread, cord, string, short string of words, aphorism, concise instruction, text consisting of a string of aphorisms (especially aphoristic instructions)
sva {S} own (referring to any of the three persons or three number [singular, dual or plural]), one’s own, oneself (also serves [like ātman] as a reflexive pronoun)
svarūpa {S} own form, own nature, essential self
svarūpa-darśana {S} seeing self, self-discernment, self-experience
svarūpa-dhyāna {S} self-attentiveness, self-contemplation, self-meditation
svarūpa-smaraṇa {S} self-remembrance, self-attentiveness
sva-svarūpa-anusandhāna {S} self-investigation, self-inspection, self-contemplation, self-attentiveness
T
talai {T} head (literally or figuratively)
talai-sāyndiḍum {T} [it] head-bends, becomes head-bent, hangs [its] head [in shame or modesty], dies
tamas {S} darkness, delusion
tamō- (for tamas in compound) {S} darkness, delusion
tamōguṇa {S} quality of darkness (tamas)
taṉ {T} self (inflexional base of tāṉ, and its oblique case form, often used as a genitive [of self, his, her, its, one’s own])
tāṉ {T} self (also serves as a third person pronoun [he, she or it], an indefinite pronoun [one or anyone], the reflexive pronoun for all persons and genders [oneself, myself, yourself, itself, ourselves, etc.], and an intensifying suffix [certainly, only or alone])
tāṉ-ādal {T} becoming self, being self
tāṉ ām avaṉ {T} ‘he who is self’
taṉadu {T} of self, his, her, its, one’s own (a genitive form of tāṉ)
taṉadu oḷiyāl eppōdum uḷḷadu {T} ‘that which always exists by its own light’
tāṉē (tāṉ-ē) {T} self itself, self alone, self certainly
tāṉē tāṉē tattuvam {T} ‘self itself alone certainly is the reality’
taṉi {T} singleness, solitude, independence, uniqueness, purity (also used adjectivally) – see taṉippākkaḷ
taṉippākkaḷ (taṉi-p-pākkaḷ) {T} solitary verses – see Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ
taṉmai (taṉ-mai) {T} ‘self-ness’, the first person
taṉmaiyiṉ (taṉmai-y-iṉ) {T} of the first person (an oblique case form of taṉmai, used as a genitive)
taṉmaiyiṉ uṇmai {T} the truth of the first person
tanmātra (tat-mātra) {S} ‘it-only’, merely that, basic element, essence
tanmayānanda (tat-maya-ānanda) {S} bliss composed only of tat (‘it’, the absolute reality)
tanmaya-niṣṭha (tat-maya-niṣṭha) {S} abidance as tat (‘it’, the absolute reality)
taṉṉai {T} self (accusative singular form of tāṉ)
taṉṉai-y-uṇarndu {T} knowing self
taṉṉāṭṭam (taṉ-nāṭṭam) {T} self-investigation, self-observation, self-scrutiny, self-attentiveness
taṉṉuḷ (taṉ-ṉ-uḷ) {T} within self, in oneself
tāṙ {T} fall low, descend, decline, sink, subside, stay, stop, rest, bend down, bow down, be subdued
tāṙndu {T} falling low, subsiding, bowing down, being subdued, being humble (tenseless verbal participle of tāṙ)
tat {S} it, this, that (the third person neuter pronoun, which is used in philosophy to denote brahman, the one non-dual absolute reality)
tat tvam asi {S} ‘it you are’, ‘that thou art’
tattuvam {TS} reality – see tattva
tattva (tat-tva) {S} it-ness, that-ness, reality, truth, principle (used to denote both the one absolute reality, and any of the variously enumerated ontological principles)
tēḍu {T} seek, search for, enquire into, examine, investigate
Tipiṭaka {Pāḷi} (Tripiṭaka {S}) ‘Three Baskets’ (the oldest written collection of the teachings of Lord Buddha, popularly known as the ‘Pāḷi Canon’)
tiraṭṭu {T} gathering, collection, compilation – see nūṯṟiraṭṭu
tirōbhāva {S} – see tirōdhāna
tirōdhāna {S} concealment, obscuration, veiling
tīr {T} end, expire, vanish, separate, leave, cease, die, perish – see tīrndu
tīrndu {T} ending, separating, leaving (tenseless verbal participle of tīr)
tiru {T} brightness, brilliance, lustre, splendour, eminence, distinction, fortune, blessing, holiness, sacredness, divinity (used like śrī as an honorific prefix [meaning ‘sacred’] before the names of deities, holy people, places or objects) – see tiruvaruḷ
tiruvaruḷ (tiru-v-aruḷ) {T} divine grace
tōṉḏṟum {T} [it] will appear, arise, become visible, come to mind, be known, become clear
tōṇumē {T} [it] will certainly appear, become known
traya {S} triple, threefold, consisting of three
tripuṭi {S} triad, three factors [of objective knowledge] (knower, knowing and known)
turiya {TS} (turya {S}) fourth (the ‘fourth’ state, the state of clear thought-free self-consciousness, also known as ‘waking sleep’)
turīya {S} fourth (the ‘fourth’ state)
turīya (or turya) avasthā {S} the fourth state
turīyātīta (turīya-atīta) {S} fourth-transcending, that which transcends the fourth (an alternative name of turīya, so called because it transcends the three false states of consciousness, waking, dream and sleep, and hence is not actually the ‘fourth’ but the only real state)
turiya-v-atīta {TS} (turīyātīta {S}) fourth-transcending
turya {S} fourth (the ‘fourth’ state)
tuyil {T} sleep
U
uḍal {T} body
uḍal nāṉ {T} ‘[this] body [is] I’, ‘I [am this] body’
uḍal nāṉ eṉṉum a-t-taṉmai {T} that first person, which is called ‘I [am this] body’
uḍalam {T} body
Udāna {S/Pāḷi} ‘Joyous Exaltation’
ūkkam {T} impulse, ardour, zeal, exertion, effort, firm conviction
ūkkam-uḷḷavaṉ {T} he who has zeal, he who makes [earnest] effort
uḷ {T} be, exist, have (a tenseless verb, from which most of the following words beginning with uḷ are derived)
uḷ {T} within, inside, interior, heart, mind
uḷ-mai {T} ‘be’-ness, ‘am’-ness
uḷḷa {T} to be, which is, who is, being (as an adjective), existing, real, true, actual (infinitive, relative participle and adjective form of uḷ)
uḷḷa {T} to think (infinitive of uḷḷu, think, cogitate, meditate)
uḷḷa-poruḷ {T} substance which is, real substance, being-essence, existing reality
uḷḷa-v-uṇarvu {T} consciousness which is, existing consciousness, being consciousness, real consciousness
uḷḷadē (uḷḷadu-ē) {T} only being
uḷḷadu {T} being (verbal noun formed from uḷ, be), that which is (uḷḷa-adu), that which [really] exists
Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu {T} ‘Forty [Verses] on Being’, ‘Forty [Verses] on That Which Is’
Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham {Ts} ‘Appendix to Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu’
uḷḷal {T} thinking, thought, meditation (verbal noun formed from uḷḷu)
uḷḷam {T} mind, heart, spiritual core (also a poetic form of uḷḷōm, which means ‘[we] are’, and which is thus an inclusive way of expressing our singular consciousness of being, ‘[I] am’)
uḷḷattē (uḷḷattu-ē) {T} in heart, only in heart, in heart itself
uḷḷavaṉ (uḷḷa-avaṉ) {T} he who is, he who exists, he who has
uḷḷu {T} think, remember, cogitate, meditate, investigate
ūṇ {T} that which is eaten, food
ūṉ {T} flesh, meat, body
ūṇ ādal kāṇ {T} ‘becoming food [is] seeing’
ūṉ ār karu ahandai {Ts} ego, [which is] the body-bound embryo
uṇar {T} be conscious of, know, experience, feel, understand, examine, scrutinise, think
uṇara {T} to know (infinitive of uṇar, know, be conscious of)
uṇara niṉḏṟa poruḷ {T} ‘the reality that stands [exists, endures or continues] to know’, ‘the reality that exists and knows’
uṇarndu {T} knowing, having known (tenseless verbal participle of uṇar)
uṇarvu {T} consciousness, knowledge, clear discernment, perception, feeling, sense, awakening (noun formed from uṇar, know, be conscious of)
undiyār {T} a particular poetic style – see Upadēśa Undiyār
uṇmai (uḷ-mai) {T} ‘being-ness’, existence, being nature, essence, reality, truth
upadēśa {S} pointing towards, indicating, instructing, specifying, instruction, teaching
Upadēśa Nūṉmālai {Ts} ‘Garland of Teaching Texts’ – see Śrī Ramaṉōpadēśa Nūṉmālai
Upadēśa Sāram {S} ‘Essence of Instructions’, ‘Essence of Teachings’
Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ {Ts} ‘Solitary Verses of Instruction’
Upadēśa Undiyār {Ts} ‘Teachings in [the poetic style called] Undiyār’
upādhā (or upadhā) {S} place upon, superimpose, take up, seize
upādhi {S} adjunct, superimposition, disguise, substitute, that which is put in place of something else, that which is mistaken to be something else
upādhi-uṇarvu {Ts} adjunct-consciousness, adjunct-knowledge, adjunct-sense
upalabdhi {S} acquisition, attainment, perception, knowledge
upaniṣad {S} any one of a group of philosophical texts in the Vēdas (see also Index of Texts)
upāsana {S} waiting upon, serving, attendance, reverence, adoration, worship, meditation, contemplation, being intent upon
upāya {S} coming near, approach, way, means, that by which an aim is reached or achieved
upēya {S} aim, goal, that which is to be approached, reached or achieved
upēyamum tāṉē upāyamum tāṉē {Ts} ‘the aim is only self, and the means is only self’
urai {T} speaking, saying, telling, explanation, interpretation, exposition, commentary – see viḷakkavurai
uraṉ {T} mental strength
uru {T} form
uruvil (uru-v-il) {T} in form (locative form of uru), formless (privative form of uru)
uruppaḍuvāṉ (uru-p-paḍuvāṉ) {T} [he] will be formed, reformed
usā {T} subtle investigation, close examination, keen scrutiny
usāvāl (usā-v-āl) {T} by subtle investigation (instrumental form of usā)
usāvu (or usavu) {T} ponder, consider, investigate keenly
uy {T} live, subsist, revive, escape, be saved – see uyyādu
uyarvu {T} height, elevation, loftiness, eminence, greatness (also used adjectivally to mean ‘lofty’, ‘eminent’, ‘superior’)
uyir {T} life, soul, living being
uyyādu {T} not living, not escaping, not reviving, without reviving (tenseless verbal negative participle of uy)
V
vācaka {S} speaking, telling, saying, word – see Guru Vācaka Kōvai
vācya {S} spoken, told, said, expressed – see vācyārtha
vācyārtha (vācya-artha) {S} spoken meaning, expressed meaning, literal meaning
vai {T} put, place, seat, keep, hold, maintain, fix – see vaittu
vairāgya {S} dispassion, freedom from desire, desirelessness, indifference (from vi-rāga, without passion, desire, liking, interest)
vaittu {T} placing, keeping, holding, fixing (tenseless verbal participle of vai)
vaittiruppadu (vaittu-iruppadu) {T} keeping fixed, being keeping, being having kept (verbal noun formed from vaittiru, a compound verb in which iru [be] serves as an auxiliary to vaittu [keeping])
vāk {S} word
vaṙi (often transliterated as vaḻi and transcribed loosely as vazhi) {T} path, way, means
vāsanā {S} disposition, propensity, tendency, inclination, impulsion, desire (derived from vāsa, meaning abiding or remaining, because a vāsanā is a disposition that remains in the mind as a result of previous actions or experiences)
vastu {S} substance, essence, reality
vastu-upalabdhi {S} direct knowledge of the reality or true essence
vastu-vicāra {S} scrutiny of our essential reality
vattu {TS} (vastu {S}) substance
vattuvām (vattu-v-ām) {T} which is the substance
vēda {S} knowledge (derived from vid, to know), the ‘Vēdas’ (all or any one of the four groups of ancient scriptural texts, the Ṛg-Vēda, Yajur-Vēda, Sāma-Vēda and Atharva-Vēda)
vēdānta (vēda-anta) {S} the ‘end’ or final conclusion of the Vēdas (the spiritual philosophy and science expounded in the Upaniṣads, Brahma-Sūtra and Bhagavad Gītā, and elucidated by many sages including SrI Ramana)
vēdāntic {English adjective formed from vēdānta}
veṇbā {T} a four-line Tamil poetic metre (see also kaliveṇbā; kuṟaḷ veṇbā)
vēṇḍum {T} [it] is wanted, desired, needed, necessary, indispensable (often used with an infinitive as an optative auxiliary to mean that one should or must do a certain action or be in a certain state)
vēṇum {T} [it] is needed, necessary, indispensable (as vēṇdum)
vēṇumē {T} [it] is certainly needed
vicar {S} investigate, examine, scrutinise, ascertain
vicāra {S} investigation, examination, scrutiny
vicāri {TS} (vicar {S}) investigate, examine, scrutinise, inspect, explore
vicārikka {TS} to investigate
vicārikka vēṇḍum {TS} [it] is necessary to investigate, [one] should investigate
viḍāppiḍiyāy (viḍā-p-piḍi-y-āy) {T} firmly, tenaciously, incessantly (literally, unleaving-graspingly)
viḍāppiḍiyāy-p piḍikka vēṇḍum {T} [it] is necessary to cling tenaciously, [one] should cling tenaciously
viddai {TS} (vidyā {S}) knowledge, science
vidyā {S} knowledge, philosophy, science, practical art, learning
vijñānamaya kōśa {S} ‘sheath’ composed of discriminative knowledge
vikṣēpa {S} throwing out, projection [of thoughts that form the world appearance], throwing about, scattering, dispersion, dissipation, distraction, confusion, agitation
vikṣēpa śakti {S} power of projection, dispersion, dissipation
viḷakkam {T} light, lamp, clearness, elucidation, explanation
viḷakkavurai (viḷakka-v-urai) {T} explanation, interpretation, exposition, commentary – see Śrī Ramaṉōpadēśa Nūṉmālai – Viḷakkavurai
viṉavu {T} question, enquire, investigate, examine, scrutinise, listen, pay attention to, bear in mind, hear
viṉavum {T} which scrutinises, which is scrutinising (relative participle of viṉavu)
viṇmai (viṇ-mai) {T} sky-ness (illusory like the blueness of the sky)
viṉai {T} action (karma),
viṉai-mudal {T} doer (literally, origin or cause) of action, subject (as the originator of any action)
viśēṣa {S} distinction, difference, peculiarity, speciality, special quality, excellence
viṣaya {S} extent, range, region, domain, sphere, sphere of activity, [worldly] affair, sense ‘region’, sense perception, sense object, sense pleasure, object of desire
viṣaya-vāsanā {S} desire that impels one to attend to sense perceptions and worldly affairs, and to seek enjoyment in such things
viśiṣṭādvaita (viśiṣṭa-advaita) {S} differential non-duality, qualified non-duality (an ancient philosophy that is distinct from the absolute non-duality of advaita, because it maintains that differences are real and not just false appearances)
vittu {T} seed
vittu-p-pōṉḏṟa {T} ‘which resembles a seed’, seed-like
vivēka {S} discrimination, discernment, power to distinguish the real from the unreal
Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi (vivēka-cūḍā-maṇi) {S} ‘Crest-Jewel of Discrimination’
vyavahāra {S} doing, activity, conduct, affair, occupation, transaction, business, commerce, disputation, litigation, mundane matter
vyāvahārika {S} transactional, related to worldly affairs, mundane, commonplace, relative (adjectival form of vyavahāra)
vyāvahārika satya {S} transactional reality, mundane reality, relative reality
Y
yā {S} she who (feminine form of ya or yad, who, which or what)
yā mā {S} she who is not, that which is not, what is not (see māyā)
yār {T} who (interrogative personal pronoun)
artha {S} aim, purpose, meaning, substance, wealth, property, object, thing
yathārtha (yathā-artha) {S} according to the meaning, genuine, actual, real, true
yathārtha svarūpa {S} real self
yatna {S} effort, exertion, energy, zeal, endeavour, striving
yōga {S} yoking, joining, uniting, union, means [to attain union]
yōga-mārga {S} path of union
yōgi {S} one who is seeking union, one who has attained union
yōgic {English adjective formed from yōga} pertaining to yōga
