Akincana: The Lord’s intervention in a person’s life to take everything away in order to clear the path for something greater.
Archangel: A chief or principal angel.
Asura: A person opposed to the service of the Lord; a demon.
Bhagavad-gita: The principal scripture of the Vedic tradition, presenting the teachings of Lord Krishna to his devotee and friend, Arjuna, and expounding devotion to the Supreme Lord as the highest spiritual perfection. The Bhagavad-gita is an episode in the Mahabharata, the epic Sanskrit history of the ancient world.
Demigod: A highly evolved being who acts as an agent of the Supreme Lord and is responsible for a particular day-to-day function of this material universe.
Goswami: A person who has taken vows of renunciation. One who is fully able to control the senses. See also swami.
Kali Yuga: The “Age of Quarrel,” which began five thousand years ago and lasts a total of 432,000 years. There are four yugas, which cycle perpetually: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. The good qualities of human beings gradually decline from Satya Yuga to Kali Yuga.
Karma: Material activities, as a consequence of which we incur reactions.
Maya: Illusion; the external energy of the Supreme Lord that deludes living entities into forgetfulness of their spiritual nature and of God.
Nirvana: Freedom from material existence.
Prema: Pure, spontaneous love of and devotion to God.
Rasa: The transcendental “taste” of a particular spiritual relationship with the Supreme Lord.
Rishi: A seer or sage.
Samadhi: Trance; complete absorption in God-consciousness.
Sat-chit-ananda-vigraha: The Supreme Lord’s spiritual body, composed of eternality (sat), knowledge (cit), and bliss (ananda).
Srimad Bhagavatam: Also known as the Bhagavata Purana. Ancient, lengthy Vedic scripture providing narrations and instructions for achieving the highest spiritual goal of love for and devotion to the Supreme Lord. There are eighteen Puranas, of which the Srimad Bhagavatam is the most important.
Swami: A person who has taken vows of renunciation. One who is fully able to control the senses. See also goswami.
Yogi: Spiritual renunciant who seeks mystic power. Also refers to spiritual practitioners of various paths such as the path of knowledge (jnana), the path of action (karma), and the path of devotion (bhakti). The Bhagavad-gita says that the best yogi is one who always thinks of and serves the Supreme Lord with faith and love.
Yuga: Millennium or age. One of the spiritual seasons that occur on a cyclical basis in this universe.
Yuga dharma: The appropriate religion or spiritual practice for a particular millennium.