 163. Terminology |
FORCES: Four force groups:
- Natural forces: physics, heat, light, sound, electricity, magnetism.
- Etheric forces: included is the power of the kundalini.
- Metaphysical forces: include thought forms generated from the mind and can last for centuries, often called an "Egyptian tomb curse(s)," etc.
- The "power" of love (and hate) can generate the forces of telepathy, clairvoyance, psychometry, levitation, teleportation, etc. Astral travel is not a force, but an ability.
FORM: An ideal concept that, for Plato, actually exists in its own separate, ideal reality. This ideal reality influences the imperfect reality in which we live by lending it shape. (Spirit-Consciousness)
FUNCTIONALISM: Emily Durkheim's theory that a society, in essence, takes on a personality of its own and can be objectively viewed the way a scientist or physician may regard a living organism.
GAYATRI: The most important Hindu mantra, "Om, bhur, bhuvah, swah. Tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi. Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat. Om." In English means, "We meditate upon the ineffable effulgence of that resplendent sun. May that sun direct our understanding for the good of all living."
GENDER: Refers to ideas about sex differences, as opposed to sex differences themselves. Gender roles are thus the different positions society assigns the different sexes.
GHOST: An etheric force or etheric double of a human person.
GREAT PATH OF RETURN: The traditional religious and Spiritual paths of the first six stages of life as the "great path of return," because the traditional methods of the un-Enlightened stages of life seek to regress, or return, to a specific, or absolute, Goal, which is often termed God, Truth, Reality, and so on. Previous to Divine Enlightenment in the seventh stage of life, practice of the Way of the Heart does not seek to fulfill any stage of life but is lived (progressively) in the context of the first six stages of life. In such uniquely self-transcending, or "radical," practice, all goals and all motivated methods are to be persistently observed, understood, and transcended.
GUNAS: Three qualities which we must enter into in this life and then discard to be free.
GURU: Often called master, i.e., he is the master of his/her own evolution and/or destiny, not the master (controller) of others. Means "light over darkness."
GURU BHAI: A "student" studying under a spiritual teacher.
HIGHER SELF: The oversoul, super consciousness, holy spirit (not the inflated egoic self).
HABIT: An action or series of actions which have become impressed upon the subconscious mind so that a person may perform even intricate operations or maneuvers without conscious effort or the intervention of the conscious mind.
HATHA YOGA: A series of exercises, or physical exertion for spiritual or mental discipline. It is for the body and mind, more than for spiritual realization (i.e., self control).
HEDONISM: The belief that the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain is the greatest goal of mankind. Social Hedonism was at the foundation of the Utilitarian philosophy.
