ESSAYS

A jivanmukta is one who, having realized the Self, lives free while the body continues due to prarabdha karma. Experiences of pleasure and pain occur, but without bondage, as the sage knows the Self is ever free.

Jagat means “that which is born and that which goes.” Vedanta teaches the jagat is mithya — inseparable from Ishvara but not identical with Him. Creation is Ishvara, but Ishvara is not exhausted by creation.

Hiranyagarbha means “Golden Womb,” the cosmic subtle body. It is Brahman reflected in the total mind, sustaining the dreamlike subtle universe. Vedanta honors it as a teaching concept, while pointing beyond it to the Self.

Dvaita means “duality.” In philosophy, it names Madhva’s system where God, soul, and world are eternally distinct. In Advaita Vedanta, duality is provisional (mithya), ultimately resolved in non-dual Brahman.

Learn the Vedantic meaning of dhyana (meditation). Discover how it is defined as a steady flow of thought, why mind-wandering is part of the process, and how its highest form, nididhyasana, leads to abidance in Self-knowledge.

Buddhi means intellect — the faculty that decides, discriminates, and directs action. Superior to the vacillating mind, it reflects consciousness like the moon reflects the sun. Vedanta honors it as the seat of discrimination, while reminding us it is still not the Self.

Brahma satyam jagan mithya jivo brahmaiva na aparaḥ — Brahman is real, the world is dependent, and the individual is none other than Brahman. This half-verse condenses the entire teaching of Advaita Vedanta.

Avyakta means “unmanifest,” the seed state of creation. Identified with prakṛti, māyā, and mūlāvidyā, it is beginningless ignorance — the potential from which the world arises. Vedanta teaches that Brahman, the Self, is beyond both manifest and unmanifest.

Avastha-traya refers to the three states of experience — waking, dream, and deep sleep. Vedanta uses them as a mirror to reveal the witness, the Self, beyond all states.

Ashtanga Yoga — “the eight limbs of yoga” — is Patañjali’s system for disciplining the mind: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi. Vedanta honors it as a vital preparation for Self-knowledge, while clarifying that liberation is knowledge, not experience.

Antahkarana means “inner instrument” — the subtle body’s core faculty that appears as mind, intellect, memory, and ego. Vedanta shows it is not the Self but a tool, which, when purified, reflects the light of consciousness.

Anatma means “not-Self” — everything that can be observed, from body and mind to the entire universe. Vedanta teaches that liberation lies in discriminating between the witnessing Self and the changing anātma.

Ahankara — the ego or “I-maker” — is the subtle principle that fashions individuality by borrowing awareness from the Self and attributes from the mind. Vedanta reveals it as mithyā: real enough for transaction, but not the truth of who we are.

Vedanta often seems to say one thing in one place and the opposite elsewhere. The secret lies in adhyāropa–apavāda—a teaching method that first grants provisional truths, then withdraws them, revealing the Self as the sole reality.

Āgāmi karma is the “arriving” karma—the fresh results of present actions that will bear fruit in the future. Unlike sañcita (accumulated) and prārabdha (already-fructifying), āgāmi is constantly being generated through the sense of doership. Vedānta teaches that while the ignorant continually produce new karmas, the knower of the Self is free from āgāmi, for action without ego cannot bind.

Advaita (non-duality) is the core vision of Vedanta: the recognition that the individual self and Brahman are not two. Explore its roots, scriptural basis, and meaning in the glossary.

Ajāta-vāda is the Advaita doctrine of non-origination, teaching that the world and the individual soul are never truly born. From the highest standpoint, there is no creation, bondage, or liberation—only brahman, ever unborn and free.

Adhikāritva refers to the inner preparedness of a student for Vedānta—the maturity of mind expressed in discrimination, dispassion, self-discipline, and sincere longing for liberation. Without these, the highest knowledge cannot be fully grasped.

We praise the "light," but rarely understand it. Sattva is not morality, though it favors goodness. It is not peace, though it brings calm. It is not wisdom, though it makes knowledge possible. It is light—subtle, luminous, and intelligent. It is the quality of clarity in a mind, the reflective power that allows awareness to be known. Without sattva , even the most noble teaching remains opaque. With it, a single word can pierce illusion. Sattva is one of the three gunas ,

Svadharma means “one’s own dharma”—the unique expression of duty, temperament, and action aligned with your inner nature and role in the total. It is not chosen, but discovered, and lived as an offering. In Vedanta, honoring svadharma is a preparation for freedom.