Glossary: here the words are collected that in the Vahinis at this site are explained by Sai Baba, complemented with glossaries from Bhagavad Gîtâ and S'rîmad Bhâgavatam

 

 

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S

 

  • Sabari: She received the Darsan of Râma; Mathanga Rshi was her Guru (RRV2-3b)
  • Sabda Brahmâm: The sky or Akasa is the fifth elemental force, characterized by Sound; sound is the symbol for Brahmâm, known as Sabda Brahmâm (RRV2-2)
  • Sadhaka: Spiritual Seeker. (RRV-1)
  • Sadhana: Spiritual discipline or exercise; self effort (BV-30), (BV-33)  The essential ingredient of this Sadhana is Love. Sadhana without Love (Prema) towards all creation, will reveal only Satan. (SSS-III)
  • Sadhus: Good men. (BV-34) Saint, who is devoted to spiritual discipline.
  • Sadhuvamma Pose: 'Saintly Woman' (SSS-III)
  • Sadhvimani: Gem among virtuous women. (BV-15)
  • Sagara: King [RRV-7a, RRV-7c, BV-32]
  • Saguna: With qualities, with form, materialized.
  • Saguna Bhakta: worshipper of the attributeful (SSS-IV)
  • Saguna Brahmân: the Universal Absolute incarnated as a 'limited' being (SSS-IV)
  • Sahana: Forbearance; patience and fortitude (SSS-III)
  • Sahasra Seersha Purushah Sahasraksha Sahasra Patˆ:  Myriad headed, myriad eyed, and myriad footed is the Purusha (Supreme Lord) 
  • Sai: Master; Divine Mother; Bhagavân Srî Sathya Sai Baba (Sathya Nârâyana) (SSS-III)
  • Sakku, 'Sakkubai': whose devotion to Panduranga was so intense that the Lord Himself took her form and served her husband and mother-in-law in order to release her from her home, for the pilgrimage to the Panduranga Temple (SSS-II). A famous Krishna devotee.
  • Sakshathkara(m): Realization (SSS-II) (SSS-IV)
  • S(h)akthi: Power (BV-39). Female consort of Shiva. Vital core (RRV2-10
  • Samadhi: concentration of the thoughts, profound or abstract meditation, intense contemplation of any particular object (so as to identify the contemplator with the object meditated upon) (BV-36), (BV-37).
  • Samathva: Equal love for all (SSS-III).
  • Samavarthana: Rite of giving away gifts as selected cows and costly vessels to Brahmins (RRV-7d).
  • Sambhashan(a): Hearing about the Lord (saint) (RRV-7b) (RRV2-1)
  • Sam(n)karsana: [One of the four original expansions of Lord Krishna in the spiritual world; also, another name of Balarâma, given by Garga Muni] He who was attracted, drawn (BV-44)
  • Samsar(a): The world of change, the constant flow. (BV-29)
  • Samsayatma: the person afflicted with doubts (SSS-IV)
  • Samskara: 'impression'; "Every action that you do produces a two-fold effect. It produces an impression in your mind and when you die you carry the Samskara in the Karmashaya or receptacle of works in your subconscious mind. It produces an impression on the world or Akashic records. " (Swami S'ivananda) 
  • Samskâra:Purificatory ceremony or sacrament. (Garbâdhâna samskâra & Anna-prâsana). Refining process (Vidhya Vahini) and SSS-IV
  • Sanathana Dharma: Universal eternal ancient Wisdom (Prasn. Vahini) (Srîmad Bhâgavatam 7 : 11)
  • Sanathana Sarathi: The "timeless, eternal charioteer" (SSS-I) Baba inaugurated a monthly magazine to convey His Teachings into every home, meaning: "The Timeless Everpresent Charioteer" (SSS-II) (SSS-IV). Sanathana Sarathi is devoted to the social, moral and spiritual uplift of humanity through sathya, dharma, santhi and prema.
  • Sandepani: Preceptor (Guru-teacher) of Balarâma and Krishna, a pundit from Avanthi, living in Kasi, the Holy City on the sacred Ganga (BV-41).
  • Sandhya: Rite; reciting the Gayathri mantra (SSS-II)
  • Sandhya periods: Each yuga has 200, 400, 600, or 800 contact periods. (BV-34)
  • Sankarsan: ['He with the plow' see SB 5.25].
  • Sannyasi: Devotee of the Lord, giving up everything to be able to serve Him.
  • Sandhya-vandana: Worship at dawn and dusk. (BV-1)
  • "Santhi kamasthuhomayeth": "Those who desire the establishment of peace have to do this sacrifice", say the Vedas. (SSS-II)
  • Sanathana: Eternal (SSS-II)
  • Sanathana Bhagavatha Bhaktha Samajam: Association of the Dedicated and Devoted (SSS-II)
  • Sankalpa: Resolve, will (SSS-II)
  • Sankara-vijaya: The classical biography of Sankaracharya. (SSS-II)
  • Sankha: Conch
  • Sankirtan: Congregational glorification of God, especially through chanting of His holy name.
  • Santhi: Peace (Geetha Vahini). Unruffled equanimity (SSS-III)
  • Santhi Vedika: An eight pillared Mantap in classical style with frescoes of the Githopadesh scene and of a scene from the Râmayana, and of the S'ivalinga and the Pranava (SSS-II)
  • Santhosham: Happy, very happy (SSS-III)
  • Sapthaha: 7 days; a sacrificial performance lasting 7 days (SSS-II)
  • Sarabhanga: Sage, who cast off his body while gazing at Râma on a pyre of fire (RRV2-1)
  • Saraswati: Goddess of learning, speech (RRV-7c)
  • Sarayu: The river that runs alongside Ayodhya.
  • Sarga: The process of creation, one of the ten characteristics of the Purana's (BV-34).
  • Sârî: Long seemless colorfull peace of fabric worn by female devotees.
  • Sârnga: Name of the bow, carried by Vishnu 
  • Sarpastra: A powerful (Dragon) weapon with serpent-arrows, used by Meghanada  in the battle against Râma (RRV2-8b)
  • Sarvabhutha-Anthar-Atma: (Krishna is) the Inner Core of all beings (SSS-III)
  • Sarvabhutha dhaya: Compassion towards all beings.
  • Sarvadaivathwa Swaroopam: The Form of God in all Forms (SSS-III)
  • Sarvadaivathwaswaroopalanu Dharinchina Manavaakarame Ee Aakaramu: This Human Form is one in which every Divine Entity, every Divine Principle, that is to say, all the Names and Forms ascribed by man to God, are manifest (SSS-III)
  • Sarvam Brahmâ Mayam: All this is Brahmân. The offering is Brahmân, the fire is Brahmân, the offerer is Brahmân, the goal is Brahmân. Brahmân that is the real Reality of the Universe. (SSS-III)
  • Sarvam khalu idam Brahmâ; Na iha nana asthi kinchana: ... lives in the constant awareness that all this is Brahmân. He has understood that there is no manifoldness or diversity here; it is all One. He knows that the entire Cosmos is constituted of the same Brahmân, that there can be no second entity apart from Brahmân.  (RRV2-2)
  • "Sarvamathasammathaya Namah": "Prostrations to Him to whom all religions are equally acceptable" (SSS-II)
  • Sarvam Sajivam: 'All is alive' (BV-37).
  • Sarvanama and Sarvaswarupa: All names and all forms (Sai-Discourses).
  • Sastras: Vedic scriptures (RRV-7a), (RRV-12).
  • Satharupa: The hundred-facetted. One Body was transformed into two and therefore, where there was one Will formerly, two appeared, one which attracted and the other which was drawn towards creation, the feminine and the masculine. Since the one attracted in a hundred distinct ways it was called Satharupa (hundred-facetted) and Beloved of Brahmâ (Brahmâpriya). The other was named Manu. (BV-30)
  • Sath-Chith-Ananda: I am Existence, Knowledge, Bliss. (BV-32) Baba spoke another day in great detail about Sath-Chith-Ananda. "There are three desires or urges which every 'I' has to fulfil: 1. I must live. This is the prompting from the core immortality, Sath2. I must know. This is the reminiscence of the omniscience of which the 'I' is a spark. 3. I must be happy. This is the evidence of the Ananda which is innate in the individual." [SSS-III]
  • Sat(h)î: Voluntary self-burning of women after the death of their husband. Traditional compulsiveness which has fallen into disuse.
  • Sathya: Thruth (BV-1), (RRV-10b).
  • Sathyadeep: Prayer Hall (for example in Dharmashketra) (SSS-III)
  • Sathya Sai EHV: Education in human values. It is based on the values of truth, right action, peace, love and nonviolence. It stresses the importance of service to society, tolerance for people of different races, cultures, nationalities and regligions.
  • Sathya Sai Nagar: Suburb of bungalows where Sai devotees live (SSS-II)
  • Sathyabhama: The temperamental Consort of Lord Krishna (SSS)
  • Sathyam: He is the sub-stratum, the substance; the separate and the sum, the Sath; the Sathyam (SSS) His Nature and His Reality are Truth, Light and Beauty, Sath, Chith and Ananda, Existence, Awareness and Bliss (SSS-II).
  • Sathyam Sivam Sundaram: Sathyam, S'ivam, Sundaram" speaks of Me, as immanent in every one of you. For, Sathyam is Truth; you resent any imputation of untruth. The real 'you' is Sathyam. How then will it accept any other appellation? So too, you are Sivam; joy, happiness, goodness, contentment, auspiciousness. You are not Savam; dead, miserable, weak; you are S'ivam. Then again, the real 'you' is Sundaram; beauty, harmony, melody, symmetry. (SSS-II) "Follow the Karma-marga with the harmony and charm of Sundaram; follow the Bakthi-marga with the exhilaration and exaltation of S'ivam; follow the Jnana-marga with the directness and steadfastness of Sathyam." (SSS-II) (SSS-IV) "Sathyam is the feet, S'ivam is the trunk and Sundaram the head. On Sathyam we stand, on S'ivam we act and on Sundaram we think. In Truth we are born, in Goodness we live and into Beauty we merge." (SSS-IV)
    The title 'Sathyam Sivam Sundaram' is full of meaning. It speaks of HE, imminent in every one of you. Sathyam is the basic reality of you all; that is why you resent being called a liar. The real 'you' is innocent, you will not accept an imputation that is false. The real 'you' is joy, happiness, and auspiciousness. It is not Savam but Sivam, it is Subham, Nithyam, and Anandam. How then can you bear being called ugly? The Atma has got entangled in the body which it does not like; it is weighed down by shame, when you identify it with the body and attribute to it the weaknesses and deficiencies of that physical vehicle.
  • Sathyanarayana: God who lives in all living beings as the highest truth. It is also the name Sai Baba received at his birth (SSS).
  • Sathya annasti paradharmah: there is no Dharma higher than Truth (SSS-III)
  • Satyavatî: daughter of a fisherman and mother of Vyâsadeva.
  • Sathwic (Satva Guna): Harmony (BV-33), sathwic way of life: pure, equal and steady and detached (RRV-9). The tranquil quality (SSS-I).
  • Satrughna: "the slayer of enemies". Half-brother of Râma, together with Lakshmana born from Sumitra. (RRV-4)
  • Satsang: Coming together of devotees with the purpose to listen to holy scriptures and to sing bhajans; good company.
  • Sauca, tapah, dayâ, sathya: Austerity, cleanliness, compassion and thruthfullness are the legs that established the age of truth [Sathya Yuga, the 'old days'] [SB; C1:17-24]
  • S'aunaka Rishi: [see also Vedas] the spokesman for the sages gathered at Naimisharânya.
  • Savam: Dead, miserable, weak (SSS-II)
  • Seemollanghanam: Means the act of crossing the boundary, from one kingdom into another. Kings, in former days, gathered their forces, equipped them with arms, worshipped and propitiated on Ayudha Puja Day (the Day previous to Vijayadasami Day) and, crossing their own state boundaries, they invaded the neighbouring states, eager to achieve Vijaya or Victory. That was on the tenth Day of Dasara, the tenth or Dasami day of the bright half of the Aswija month. (SSS-II)
  • Self: What is Self? see SSS-IV
  • Sesha: Primeval Serpent (SSS-II)
  • Seshamaraju: Baba's older brother, teacher of Telugu (SSS-II)
  • Seva: Loving Service (SSS-II) (SSS-IV)
  • Seva Dal (units): men and women living on Sai ideals and trained for service to the distressed, the disabled and the diseased (SSS-IV
  • Siddhasram: Hermitage of Achievement (RRV-6b).
  • Sima:  Area (SSS-II)
  • Simhalagna: The zodiacal sign of the Lion - the time when Râma was born. (RRV-4)
  • S'is'umâra-cakra: ('dolphin-disc'): the celestial sky that is called  Vâsudeva, because one can directly perceive Krishna that way in the form of cosmic, galactic time or the milky way in the form of a dolphin (see picture
    - Also called the lotus of creation, the universe unfolded, from which Brahmâ was born, sprouting from the navel of Vishnu.
    - Name for the impersonal aspect of time of Krishna (see also
    kâla and cakra)
  • Sîtâ: I am Sîtâ, which means, cool, the cool Moonlight! Wife of Râma (RRV-12), Sîtâ - Goddess Mahalakshmi Herself (RRV-17a).
  • S'iva (also Bhava: SB 8:6-27, also Mrida 'the merciful' in SB 10:60-44): Associated with Creation, He is Brahmâ; with Protection, He is Vishnu; with Dissolution, He is S'iva (BV-30) S'iva Destroyer in the trinity of Brahmâ (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (Rudra). The embodiment of spiritual wisdom and God of Gods, Mahadeva. Sankara (RRV-9). S'iva, the deity whose bow Râma lifted to win Sîtâ's hand in marriage. Mahadeva (RRV-7c). 
  • S(h)ravana: The son of blind parents, who was killed by accident by Dasharatha, father of Râma (RRV-16)
  • Sibi: King [RRV-10b, BV-32, Sathya Sai Vahini]
  • Siddhis (8 perfections): animâ: smallness, mahimâ: greatness, garimâ: weight, laghimâ: lightness, prâpti: free access, prâkâmya: doing at wish, vasitva: control over the elements and isvara: lordship over all (SB 3:15-45
    Siddhis: spiritual accomplishments that can be a hindrance in ones selfrealization: the ability to identify with the smallest (animâ), the biggest (mahimâ), the heaviest (garimâ) and the lightest (laghimâ) and that one acting in ones own way (Prâkâmaya) finding access everywhere (prâpti) and controlling the elements (vashitva) is able to control everything (isatva), (see also and
    S.B. 5.6: 1 about their being limitations, or S.B.: 9.4: 24-25 for them being of no interest to the devotees).
  • Sindhuranatha: Minister of Ravana, respected elder, far gone in years who was in close proximity to Vibhishana, when he was formerly in Lanka (RRV2-9)
  • Sishya: Pupil, student, disciple.
  • Sîtâ: Wife of Râma; She plays a very important role in the Râmayana: She was kidnapped by the demon Ravana. Also called Janakî, as the daughter of Janaka. She was called Sîtâ or 'furrow'  because, reputedly, she was born out of a furrow in the earth made by Janaka during ploughing, to prepare the earth for a yajna, to pray for offspring; that is why she received the nick-name Ayoni-ja, "not born from the womb". (Sîtâ, without ^ means "the clarity of the moonlight", whereas 'candra' of Râmacandra refers to the moon). (RRV-7c) Sîtâ: I am Sîtâ, which means cool, the cool Moonlight! Wife of Râma (RRV-12), Sîtâ - Goddess Mahâlakshmi Herself (RRV-17a).
  • S'ivam: He is the awareness, the activity, the consciousness, feeling, the willing and the doing, the chith; the S'ivaM (SSS) So too, you are S'ivam; joy, happiness, contentment, auspiciousness. You are not Savam: dead, miserable, weak; you are S'ivam (SSS-II)
  • S'ivanamajapasapthaha: Week-long Continuous Recitation of the God S'iva (SSS-II)
  • S'ivarathri: 'Night of S'iva'; rathri means night (SSS-III)
  • Soham: "I am That" - "I am God"
  • Soumya: A quality of Sri Râma, His gentle, soft and mild nature. (RV-34)
  • Soundharya: Beauty (Sai-Discourses).
  • Spars(h)an: Touching of a saint (RRV-7b), (RRV2-1)
  • Sradha: Steady Dedication.  (RRV-1)
  • Sravanam and Smaranam: Listening  and Remembering  the sacred teachings. (RRV-1) (RRV-2)
  • Srî:  An honorific prefixed to the names of deities, sacred texts and eminent persons. It is an auspicious word indicating good fortune. The word also came to be used as an honorific for each individual, universalizing or democratizing good fortune as it were (SSS-III)
  • S'rîmad Bhâgavatam: [see also Vedas] (Bhâgavata Purâna), 'The Story of the Fortunate One'. The Krishna-Bible, spoken by S'ukadeva Gosvâmî, the son of Vyâsadeva, who laid down the story of Krishna. This book of approx. 18.000 verses describes the importance of bhakti-yoga as everything and for everybody and also the whole life of Lord Krishna and other avatâra's of Vishnu. Contains brief the purpose of the Vedic scriptures. Go to S'rîmad Bhâgavatam on Internet. (Legend, 18 very old books about the history of this planet and other planets).
    - The S'rîmad Bhâgavatam is also known by the name of 'Paramahamsa Samhîta': the collection of stories about the Supreme Swanlike Lord.
  • "Sriman Nârâyana Charanou Saranam Prapadye": "I take refuge in the Feet of the Lord" (SSS-II)
  • Srinivâsa: the Master of the Abode (SB, 9:5-60)
  • Sripadarenu: 'dust from the lotusfeet' (SSS-III)
  • Sriphala: Tree sacred to Parvati.
  • Srishti: The One Divine Principle works through three Forms, as Brahmâ, Vishnu and S'iva, in order to manipulate and complete the process of becoming a being, called Srishti. (BV-30)
  • Sriyah: prosperity (SSS-III)
  • Srshti: the power to create (SSS-III
  • Sruthakeerthi: Wife of Satrughna, daughter of Kusadhwaja (brother of Maharaja Janaka) (RRV-7d).
  • Sruthi: (That which is heard) The Vedas which have come down from guru and disciple, through recitation and listening only. (RRV-5), the Veda's (BV-34), (BV-42). The Four Vedas, which are collectively called Sruthi, that is to say, "The Heard", which means, the Ear (RRV2-2)
  • Sthanam: State, the fixation of limits, and the processes by which the limits are honoured, one of the ten characteristics of the
    Purana's.
    (BV-34)
  • Sthithaprajna: The person whose consciousness is calm and beyond all agitations. (BV-35) .
  • Sthithi: the power to foster, guard and protect (SSS-III)
  • Subahu: Son of Satrughna (RRV2-13b)
  • "Subham, Subham": May it attain fulfilment (RRV-7a), Most welcome! Most welcome! (RRV-7d), "O most auspicious! Fortunate are we (RRV-9).
  • Subhadrâ: was the sister of Lord Krishna. She married with Arjuna after the battle of Kurukshetra. Subhadrâ was the mother of Abhimanyu who was the father of Emperor Parîkchit to whom the Bhâgavatam was spoken.
  • Subrahmânyam (Murugan): Second son of S'iva and Parvathi. The Lord who protects the soul and the spiritual growth of the devotee. Also Saravanabhava, a name for SuBrahmânyam, which means: Lord who was born in a reed bush. The peacock (paravani) is the vehicle of SuBrahmânyam. (SSS-II)
  • Sudarsana: [Lit.: with ten-hundred spokes], the disc carried by the Supreme Lord Vishnu.
  • "Suddha Brahmâ paraath para Ram, Kalathmaka parameswara Ram": Ram, the pure Essence, the Supreme Beyond Ram, the Time Principle, the Lord of Lords (SSS-II)
  • S'ûdra: A laborer; the fourth of the Vedic social orders.
  • Sugriva: Son of Ruksharaja, the Ruler of the Vanara hordes (monarch of monkeys at Kiskindha), brother of Vali, residing at the Rishyamuka mountain Range,  (RRV-4a)
  • S'uka: [see also Vedas] S'ukadeva Gosvâmî, Supreme son of Vyâsadeva (BV-35), name of the first spiritual teacher, [âcârya] who spoke the S'rîmad Bhâgavatam, the story of Krishna unto Maharâjâ Parîkshit. (BV-44) Suka means a parrot, he was the parrot that plucked the ripe nectar-filled fruit called Bhagavatha from the tree of the Vedas and enabled the world to taste it and be nourished by it. 
  • Sulochana: The wife of Meghanada (RRV2-9)
  • Sumanthra: Charioteer of Dasaratha.
  • Sumitra: Co-wife of Dasaratha who gave birth to twin sons Lakshmana and Satrughna. (RRV-4)
  • Sunayana: Wife (queen) of Janaka, Emperor of Mithila (RRV-17c
  • Sundaram: He is the light, the splendor, the harmony, the melody, the Ananda; the Sundaram (SSS) Sundaram; beauty, harmony, melody, symmetry (SSS-II) [see: sathyam Sivam sundaram]
  • Suputhras: Children born as a consequence of the blessings of God (SSS-III)
  • Sushruta: Author of Sushruta Samhita (600 BC), an ayurvedic treatise: Sushruta performed cosmetic surgery. In fact, his samhita describes over 120 surgical instruments, 300 surgical procedures, and classifies human surgery in 8 categories. The oldest Plastic Surgery operations probably relate to nasal reconstruction. In India, Sushruta performed operations using forehead skin to reconstruct noses which had been amputated as punishment for criminals. The earliest written reference to cataract surgery is found in Sanskrit manuscripts dating from the 5th century BC. They are thought to have been written by the Hindu surgeon Sushruta. He practiced a type of cataract surgery known as couching or reclination, in which the cataractous lens was displaced away from the pupil to lie in the vitreous cavity in the back of the eye. This displacement of the lens enabled the patient to see better. Vision, however, was still blurred because of the unavailability of corrective lenses. As recently as the middle of this century, couching was still practiced in Egypt, India, and Tibet. [see link]
  • Surpanakha: ogress, demon-sister of Ravana, whose nose and ears were sliced off by Râma and Lakshmana (RRV2-2).
  • Surya: Sun-god (RRV2-4a)
  • Surya-Narayana-Murthi: Sungod (RRV2-13b)
  • Sutheekshna:  A pupil of the renowned sage Agastya (RRV2-1)
  • Sûta Gosvâmî: [see also Vedas] son of Romaharshana, a sage who before the sages that gathered in the forest of Naimisharânya recounted the talks between Parîkchit and S'ukadeva.
  • Sutra: Concise rule or aphorism; that which, through a few words only, reveals vast meanings; text consisting of aphorisms or maxims; a thread; something, like a thread, that runs through and holds everything together.
  • Suthradhari: Krishna as the holder of the strings that move the puppets and make them act their roles. (BV-10)
  • Svabhava: One's own way, One's very nature (SSS-II)
  • Svayamvara:  Festival for choice of bridegroom. (BV-17) A ceremony in which a woman selects her own husband from a number of suitors.
    a ceremony in which a princess chooses her husband. At the occasion Krishna, Sâmba and Arjuna kidnapped their wives: Rukminî (
    10.53), Mitravindâ (10.83: 12), Lakshmanâ (10.83: 17; 10.68: 1), and Subadrâ (10.86).
  • Swadharma: "Act in accordance with the rules of conduct laid down for the status you have risen to and the call that has come to you" (RRV2-2)
  • Syamasundara: Name of Lord Krishna, which means "black loveliness". (BV-31)
  • Swami: 'Sai' means 'Master'. It is a derivate of the Sanskrit word Swami. The word 'Sai' has also been traced to the Persian word Shah, Shahi, Sahi, Sai. Term of address by devotees of Sai Baba. (SSS-III)
  • Swarajya: Self-mastery or independence over himself. (BV-33)
  • Swarupa: True form, equal to; essence; embodiment.
  •