> Note: This glossary contains only uncommon words and names which are not obvious in the context in which they first appear


acharya
spiritual guide or teacher, title affixed to learned men like Doctor, Ph.D.

Adler, Alfred
(1870-1937) Austrian psychiatrist; pupil of Freud

aes dhammo sanantano
Pali: 'this is the eternal law', often spoken by Gautama the Buddha

Aga Khan, the
(b.1936) head of the Ismaili sect of Mohammedans

Ajanta
Buddhist caves, tourist attraction in Maharashtra

Ambedkar, Dr. Babasaheb
(1893-1956) untouchable (sudra) educated in England, became a lawyer, wrote Indian Constitution

Amritsar
city in Punjab, site of the Golden Temple, holy place of the Sikhs

asana
yoga posture

Assagioli
Italian psychologist

ayurveda
Indian science of medicine; adj. ayurvedic

Bahauddin
Sufi mystic, a.k.a. Bahauddin Shah, Bahauddin Naqshband

Basho
(1644-1694) Matsuo Basho, pseudonym of Zen master and famed haiku poet, originally called Matsuo Munefusa

Baul
independent ecstatic religion, generally known as wandering minstrels

Beelzebub
devil, of the Christian religion

Benares
see Varanasi

Berkeley, George
(1689-1753) idealist philosopher, Bishop of Cloyne

Bertrand Russell
(1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher, author of Principia Mathematica

Bhagavadgita, Shrimad
Hindu scripture, lit. 'the divine song'

Bhagwan
'blessed one'; Osho was known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh between 1970 and 1988, when he changed his name

bhajan
devotional song

bhikkhu
Pali word for beggar, monk, one who has renounced; common word for a Buddhist monk

Bodhgaya
place in Bihar where Buddha became enlightened

Bodhidharma
(d.532) Indian master who went to China and became the first patriarch of Zen

Bodhisattva
enlightened being who helps others towards enlightenment

Boehme, Jakob
1575-1624 German mystic

Bradley F.H.
(1846-1924) English philosopher

brahmin
Hindu priest, member of the highest Hindu caste

buddha
enlightened person

Buddha
founder of Buddhist religion, a.k.a. Gautama the Buddha

Buddha Hall
name given to main meditation hall in Osho's commune

Castaneda, Carlos
anthropologist who wrote about his apprenticeship to a Mexican sorceror

chakra
energy center in the human body

chapatti
small, flat, unleavened bread, staple of North Indian diet

charansparsh
traditional Hindu practice of bowing and touching the feet of the master

Charvaka
atheistic sect, before Gautama the Buddha, founded by Brihaspati

Chinmaya, Swami Yoga
Osho's disciple, and former secretary

Chuang Tzu
Taoist master

Confucius
(c. 551-479 BC) Chinese philosopher

crore
Indian term for 10 million

Dadaji
Osho's father, aka Swami Devateerth Bharti

Dadu
Indian enlightened master

darshan
literally 'to see', refers to sitting with a holy person

Desai, Morarji
prime minister of India, 1977-79

dhal
spicy lentil or bean dish, part of staple Indian diet

dhamma
Pali word for Buddha's teaching, translated as 'law, religion'; Sanskrit version is dharma

Dhammapada
a Buddhist scripture

dharma
see dhamma

Diogenes
(412-322 BC) Greek mystic

Dokuon
Zen master

Dwarka
town in Gujarat

Einstein, Albert
(1879-1955) German-Swiss author of The Theory of Relativity

Ellora
Buddhist caves, tourist attraction in Maharashtra

Emerson, Ralph Waldo
American writer

Epicurus
(342-270 BC) Greek mystic

Esalen
pioneer psychotherapy center in California

Farid
enlightened contemporary of Kabir, wrote love songs of the divine in Punjabi

Francis of Assisi
(1181-1226) founder of Franciscan order of monks, canonized in 1228

Freud, Sigmund
(1856-1939) Austrian neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis

Ganges
the Ganges river, also Mother Ganges, Ganga, thought to be holy and worshipped by Hindus

Gautama Siddhartha
(c. 563-483 BC) original name of the Buddha, a.k.a. Sakyamuni, Sakya, Tathagata etc.

Gautama the Buddha
(c. 563-483 BC) name of the Buddha, a.k.a. Sakyamuni, Sakya, Tathagata etc.

gayatri mantra
famous Hindu mantra addressed to the sun

Gita
'song'; common abbreviation for Shrimad Bhagavadgita

Godot
Waiting for Godot, play by Samuel Beckett

Gurdjieff
enlightened mystic of 20th century

gurudwara
Sikh temple

haiku
small poem in Japanese tradition

hara
lit. abdoment, Osho uses this word for the energy center below the navel

Harrappur
ancient city in Pakistan

Hassid
member of sect founded in Poland, 1750's, in opposition to rationalism and ritual laxity

Hillary, Edmund
mountaineer who climbed Everest

Hippocrates
one of the founders of Western medicine

homeopathy
system of medicine, estb. by Hahnneman, C19th

I-Ching
Chinese book of divination

Ikkyu
(1394-1481) Ikkyu Sojun, Japanese Zen master, disciple of Kaso Sodon

Indira Gandhi
Prime Minister of India, and daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India

Jabalpur
city in Madhya Pradesh, where Osho lived from 1957 to 1970

Jaina
member of religion founded by Mahavira

Jalaluddin Rumi
great Sufi master

Jamnagar
town in Gujarat

Janov, Arthur
psychotherapist and founder of primal therapy

japa
prayer, mantra, telling of beads

Jawaharlal Nehru
first Prime Minister of India after Independence in 1947

Jayantibhai
Osho's main host in Gujarat, sponsor to all Osho's Mt. Abu Camps

Juhu
suburb and beach in Bombay

Jung, Carl Gustav
(1875-l961) Swiss psychologist, pupil of Freud

Kaaba, the
building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which houses the sacred stone, of extraterrestrial origin, towards which Mohammedans turn in prayer

Kabir
Indian mystic from Kashi (Varanasi), his poems and songs are well-loved

Kashi
sacred city where Kabir lived; now Varanasi

Kazantzakis, Nikos
(1885-1955) author of Zorba the Greek

Khajuraho
place with tantric temple carvings in Madhya Pradesh

khanjhari
tambourine type drum

Kierkegaard, Soren
(1813-1855) Danish philosopher and theologian

kirtan
devotional music, singing, and dance, in the Hindu tradition

kohinoor
famous diamond, now in British crown jewels

Konark
city in Orissa with temples, famous for their erotic carvings

Koregaon Park
exclusive residential suburb of Poona, where Osho lives from 1974-1981, and 1987-1990

Krishnamurti, Jiddu
(1895-1986) Indian enlightened master

kshatriya
member of the warrior caste, the 2nd highest in the Hindu caste system

Kulu Manali
town in India, in foothills of Himalayas

kundalini
untranslatable word used in the Yogic tradition, approximately: the 'vital life force'

Kutch
an area in the extreme West of Gujarat and India

lakh
Indian term for 100,000;100 lakhs are equal to one crore

Lao Tzu
enlightened master of China; Taoist

Laxmi, Ma Yoga
Osho's disciple, and former secretary

Lohia, Ram Manohar, Dr.
Indian politician and journalist

mahaparanirvana
death of an enlightened person

Maharashtra
state in which Poona situated, and of which Bombay is the capital

Maharishi, Shree Ramana
enlightened man, lived in the hills of Arunachal, in S. India; taught the meditation technique 'Who am I?'

Mahavira
enlightened master of Jainas, last tirthankara

Mahayana
lit. great vessel; a sect of Buddhism, main religion of Tibet

Maidan
public open area in city, used for meetings, parades, recreation, etc.

mala
rosary, usually with 108 beads

mandir
Hindu temple

Manjushree
enlightened disciple of Buddha

Mataji
Osho's mother

Matheran
hill resort in Maharashtra

matric
Abbr. for matriculation

Maulvi
teacher, Mohammedan priest

Mehta, Ashok
Indian socialist leader

Mevlana
title of love and respect

Mohammed Ali
world-champion boxer

Mohenjo Daro
ancient city in Pakistan, also known as Mohenjo-Daro, Mohenjodro, Mohenjodaro or Mohanjodaro

moksha
Indian word for the ultimate, 'absolute freedom'

mudra
gesture

muni
final stage of Jaina monkhood

namaste
traditional Hindu greeting with palms together

Nanak
Indian enlightened master, a.k.a. Guru Nanak; his followers are called Sikhs

Narayan, Jayaprakash
late Indian socialist leader (a.k.a. J.P.)

Narendra
childhood friend, and later disciple of Osho

Nargol
place where Osho held meditation camp, in the state of Gujarat

Nathuram Godse
Mahatma Gandhi's assassin

neem
tree with bitter medicinal leaves, margosa tree

Nerudas, Pablo
Chilean poet C20th

Nestorians
small sect of Christians in Central Asia

Nietzsche, Friedrich
(1844-1900) German philosopher, author of Thus spake Zarathustra

Nijinsky, Vaslav F.
(1890-1950) Russian dancer

Nizam
ruler, e.g. the Nizam of Hyderabad

omkar
divine sound mantra

Ouspensky, P.D.
Russian mathematician, disciple of Gurdjieff

pai, paise
money: 100 paise to one Rupee

pan
mild stimulant, usually containing betel nut, common throughout India

panwallah
person who prepares and sells pan

Parsi
one of a small community of Persian origin, prominent in Bombay and Gujarat, adherents of Zoroastrianism, the religion of Zarathustra

Patanjali
creator of the science of Yoga (namely 'Yoga Sutra')

Poona
town in Maharashtra, where Osho's ashram is situated in Koregaon Park

Prakrit
vernacular language spoken by Mahavira

prasad
blessed food, also a common first name

Puri
city in Orissa, home of the Jagannath temple, seat of the Shankaracharya of Puri

Raidas
a mystic, a shoemaker, fellow disciple of Kabir, master of Meera

Rajasthan
state in West India

Rajiv Gandhi
Prime Minister of India, and son of Indira Gandhi

Rajkot
town in Gujarat

Rajneesh
name Osho was known by, until he changed it in 1988; first as Acharya Rajneesh until 1970; then as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Rajneeshpuram
city developed in Rancho Rajneesh

Ramakrishna
enlightened mystic of Bengal

Rancho Rajneesh
ranch where a commune was established by Osho's disciples 1981-1985

Rasputin, Grigori Y.
(1871-1916) Russian peasant who was powerful in the court of Tsar Nicholas II

Reich, Wilhelm
psychotherapist and inventor, founder of 'bio-energetics'

Rishikesh
holy city in Uttar Pradesh, North India

Rolf, Ida
psychotherapist and founder of deep-tissue manipulation technique, Rolfing

Rotarian
member of Rotary Club, originally a group of businessmen dedicated to helping their community

rup, rupa
form

sadhana
spiritual discipline, spiritual endeavor, spiritual practices

Sai Baba
term of respect for a holy man, eg. Sai Baba of Bangalore famous for his 'miracles', manifesting holy ash, Swiss watches, etc

samadhi
lit. 'going beyond all sickness'; Patanjali's word for enlightenment

sammasati
'right remembrance'; Buddha's word for witnessing

samsara
see sansara

Sanatan dharma
'eternal religion', another name for Hinduism

sannyasin
renunciant, ascetic of the Hindu religion; in 1970 Osho created his own neo-sannyasin movement which combines celebration with meditation, not renunciation

sansara
Hindi for 'the world', also samsara

Sanskrit
ancient language of India, ancestor of European languages

satori
glimpse of enlightenment

satsang
sitting in the presence of an enlightened person

Satyuga
age of truth, first of the four aeons, the 'four-legged' age

shakti
energy

Shankaracharya
(b. 788) brahmin philosopher, mystic, Hindu reformer, a.k.a. Shankara, Adi Shankara; also title for leader in Hindu religion

Shiva
a God in the Hindu religion

shivalinga
representation of the phallus of Lord Shiva

Shivir
Meditation Camp

Sikh
member of Sikh religion, mainly found in the Punjab

sirod
Indian musical stringed instrument

sitar
Indian musical stringed instrument (also: bina)

Socrates
(470-399) Greek philosopher

sudra
untouchable; means 'impure by birth';

Sufi
member of esoteric sect of Mohammedanism, many of whom use music, dance, and poetry as a way to commune with God

Surat
city in Gujarat

sutra
religious scripture, originally transmitted orally

Sw Krishna Mohammed
Osho's disciple

Swedenborg, Emanuel
Swedish visionary, 19th Century

T'ai Chi
system of exercises, once connected with martial arts in China; now used for health

tabla
pair of small drums used in North Indian classical music

Tagore, Rabindranath
(1861-1941) Bengali poet, novelist, dramatist, composer, painter, winner of 1913 Nobel prize for literature on his book of poems Gitanjali

tambura
Indian musical stringed instrument

tantra
non-duality; no division between material and spiritual

tantrika
adherent of tantric way

Tao Te Ching
small book attributed to Lao Tzu, containing the essence of Taoism

Tao, Taoism
religion, originally in China; 'Tao' can also refer to the state of enlightenment

Tathagata
another name of Buddha

The Dalles
main town of Wasco County

Tirthankara
one of the 24 enlightened masters of the Jainas, (not 'teerthankara')

Vaishya
businessman caste (third in Hindu caste system)

Varanasi
city in Uttar Pradesh on the Ganges; ancient Hindu holy place. Formerly spelt Benares by the British, now sometimes called Banaras

veena
Indian musical stringed instrument (also: bina)

Vimalkirti
enlightened disciple of Gautama the Buddha; also disciple of Osho who became enlightened at the time of his death, formerly Prince Welf of Hanover

Vipassana
Buddha's meditation of insight, and watching the breath

Vivekananda
Ramakrishna's chief disciple

Yehudi Menuhin
violinist in the Western classical tradition

Zarathustra
founder of the Zoroastrian religion, known as Parsi religion in India

zazen
Zen/TR>

Surat
city in Gujarat

sutra
religious scripture, originally transmitted orally

Sw Krishna Mohammed
Osho's disciple