पद्मा चैतन्य Here is a non-exhaustive list of correct and incorrect use of Vēdānta terminology. Sanskrit is a beautiful language, and it evolved to incorporate the sentiments and expressions of a Vēdic culture, and thus it has terminology which cannot be found in any other language. The best thing would be to avoid using English words for some untranslatable words in Sanskrit. We routinely come across people, even Vēdāntins, who use terms for Sanskrit words that are just not right. Here is an incomplete list of words that our tradition would discourage using, so please try avoid using them as they only dilute the tradition further, as well as hurt yours or someone elses understanding of the concepts. Also do share this with others. ____________ Correct: Ātmā: - Incorrect: Soul Ātmā is defined as : Apnoti sarvam iti Ātmā | That which pervades everything is AtmA. consciousness or awareness. Reason: Soul, in Judeo-Christian is defined in the following two ways. The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal A persons moral or emotional nature or sense of identity. Not even close to what we understand the ātmā to be as talked about in shāstras (sat chit ānanda) ----------------------- Correct: mōksha - Freedom from limitation Incorrect: salvation Reason: Salvation is defined as: Deliverance from sin and its consequences. Preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss. Same reason as above, does not fit into our Vēdic model ----------------------- Correct: Brahman Incorrect: God Reason: God defined as: 1. The creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the Supreme.. Brahman is defined as satyam jñānam anantam, in the Taittriyōpanishad. ----------------------- Correct: Īshvara/ Bhagwān Incorrect: God Reason: Again, just as above, in our tradition we accept two orders of reality: satyam and mithyā, and we refer to brahman as ishvara from the perspective of srishti kartā and karma phala dāta. God is too limited a term to incorporate these subtleties, so it neither describes brahman, nor Īshvara/Bhagwān ----------------------- Correct: Māyā Incorrect: Magic, Illusion Reason: Māyā is the potential of brahman to manifest as this jagat. All our transactions here are a result of this māyā shakti, it is neither magic nor illusion, its just mithyā, which brings us to the next word [;)] ----------------------- Correct: Mithyā Incorrect: Fake / False/ Illusory/ Unreal Reason: This jagat is very much real, it is only not absolute. If a mithyā pot falls on someones mithyā head, I doubt anyone will laugh and say the pain is mithyā. Its going to hurt! So transact carefully in this jagat, it is your only means to be able to understand satyam, which is the self [:)] ----------------------- Correct: Jīvanmukti Incorrect: Self realization, Enlightenment, Reason: The self is ever realized in every thought, one doesnt sit in meditation one day and just realize the self. The self cannot be realized as an object, hence it cannot be experienced. The self can only be understood through the teachings of the Shāstra as unfolded by a competent Guru immersed in the paramparā, and this understanding is firmly assimilated as knowledge. Here the danger is mixing up Jain/Buddhist terminology (where they believe the self can be experienced) with the Vēdic one. Ātmā is the subject, it cannot be objectified in the form of an experience. ----------------------- Just for fun, here is a sentence a Vēdantin should never use [;)] This enlightened soul, gained self realization from this unreal world by the grace of God. Please dont ever say anything even remotely close to this [:)] These are just some of the words that should be avoided in Vēdic parlance.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 05:11:53 +0000
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