GAJA (KUNCHARA) When the Gaja (elephant) took refuge in the Merciful Lord, he was released from the clutches of the crocodile. (Sorath M. 9, p. 632) The king of elephants meditated on Thee, O Lord! and he was liberated. (Basant M. 5, p. 1192) Ajamala, Pingala, Lubhata and Kunchara

GANA The Ganas, Gandharvas, Siddhas and saints...are engaged in uttering the infinite Praises of the Unapproachable and Unfathomab\'" Lord. (Devgandhari M. 5, p. 535) The Ganas and Gandharvas were emancipated through the remembrance of the Name of the Lord..... (Malar M. 3, p. 1259) Ganas or Gana-Devatas are the

GANDHARBA (GANDHARVA) NAGARI They are in maze on seeing a mirage and abide in Gandharva Nagari (Utopia). They only seem bedecked in their mind and body, who meditate on Truth. (Shalok M. 5, p. 1425) The Gandharvas generally had their dwelling in the sky or atmosphere. Their abode is

GANDHARVA Millions of Gandharvas hail Thee, O Lord! (Bhairo Kabir, p. 1163) In whose house there are Ganas (attendants of gods), Gandharvas, sages and where helpless musicians sing..... (Malar Namdev, p. 1292) A Gandharva is half-man, half-bird. Gandharvas are celestial minstrels. Vishnu Purana states that they were bom from

GANGA Jaharnavi (Jahnavi) or Ganges was brought (to earth) by Bhagiratha..... (Malar M. 4, p. 1263) If the wine is made from the waters of Sursuri (Ganges), the saintly persons do not drink it; if the impure wine or any other water, mixes with Sursuri, it becomes the Sursuri

GANGEVA PITAMA By remembering the same name Gangeva Pitama (Bhishma Pitama) was saturated with ambrosia, having concentrated his mind on the Feet of the Lord. (Swayye Mahle Teeje Ke, p. 1393) Bhishma Pitama was the son of king Shantanu and bom of the holy river goddess Ganga, therefone he was

GANIKA Ganika, the deformed Kubja and the sinner Ajamila were emancipated. (Gauri Cheti Namdev, p. 345) While teaching the parrot, Ganika attained emancipation. (Gond Namdev, p. 874) Ganika was a reputed courtesan and led a sinful life. Some sage, probably Narada, taking pity on her, went to her house

GARUDA Whose master is the light of the world (i.e. the sun), and whose relative (brotner) is Garuda, the king of the birds,that Aruna is crippled because of his past actions. (Dhanasari Trilochan, p. 695) Govind (The Lord) came riding on Garuda, producing music of the wings (of Garuda).

GAUTAMA Indra seeing Ahalya, the wife of ascetic Gautama was allured. But (with the curse of Gautama) he had a thousand disgraceful marks on his body; then he repented in his mind. (Prabhati M. l, pp. 1343-44) Because of the punishment of a thousand disgraceful marks, Indra wept..... (Var

GAYA The visits to Ganga, Gaya and Godavari are only worldly works. (Basant Namdev, p. 1196) He goes to Gaya and offers rice-balls. (Gond Namdev, p. 873) It is one of the seven sacred puris (places of religious merit) of Hindus. It is a famous pilgrim station not only

GAYATRI O, Pundit! Your Gayatri was grazing in the fields of a Lodha Jat. With a staff, the owner broke her leg and she was liinping. (Gond Namdev, p 874) Satarupa, Savitri, Sarasvati, Gayatri and Brahman are said to be the names of Sarasvati, the wife o Brahma. One

GIAN (Skt.jnana), knowledge, understanding or consciousness, is what differentiates human beings from the animal world and establishes the superiority of homo sapiens over the other species. Nature has not only provided man with a qualitatively superior brain but has also endowed human mind with a dynamic inner stimulus called jagiasa

GOD, a term used to denote any object, of worship or evocation, signifies the belief of most modern religions in the existence of a Supreme Being who is the source and support of the spatio temporal material world. Theologians remember Him by the name of God. The fundamental belief of

GODAVARI Going to Ganga, Gaya and Goda van are mere worldly rituals. (Basant Namdev, p. 1196) Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari and Sarasvati all long for the dust of the feet of the saint. (Malar M. 4, p. 1263) Godavari is a river, originating from the hills of! Nasik, Bombay. Though

GOLAK or GURU KI GOLAK (the Guru`s own till). Golak (Sanskrit golak; Persian gholak) means, in Punjabi, a till, cash box or any other container used for keeping money especially one used for receiving contributions for charitable purposes. It is a time honoured Indian custom to carry an offering

GOMATI My Haj (Muslim Pilgrimage) is on the banks of Gomati, where lives my Pir (Guru) of yellow garments (i.e Krishna). (Asa Sri Kabir, p. 478) Gomati is a river in Uttar Pradesh. The Sikh Gurus and radical saints do not believe in religious rituals. Kabir, in the reference

GOSHTI, from Sanskrit gostha (go = cow + stha = place, i.e. cowpen) means, secondarily, an assembly of people engaged in a discourse or debate on some metaphysical, theological or ethical point, thereby seeking to expound their respective views or tenets and revealing in the process their dialectical prowess

GOVARDHANA Through the Guru\'s discipline, Krishna lifted the Govardhana (mountain). (Maru M. l, p. 1041) Govardhan-dhari (One who holds up the mountain Govardhana)... (Maru M. 5, p. 1082) Govardhana is the name of a mountain in Vrindavana near Mathura. Once Krishna induced the cowherds and Gopis to worship this

GRANTHI, from the Sanskrit granthika (a relaier or narrator), is a person who reads the granih, Sanskrit grantha (composition, treatise, book, text). The terms are derived from the Sanskrit grath which means "to fasten, tie or string together, to compose (a literary work)." In Sikh usage, granih refers especially to

GURDWARA, lit. the Guru\'s portal or the Guru\'s abode, is the name given to a Sikh place of worship. The common translation of the term as temple is not satisfactory for, their faith possessing no sacrificial symbolism, Sikhs have neither idols nor altars in their holy places. They have

GURMANTRA, Punjabi Gurmantar, is that esoteric formula or term significant of the Supreme Being or the deity which the master or teacher confides to the neophyte to meditate on when initiating him into his spiritual discipline. The concept of mantra goes back to the pre-Vedic non Aryan tradition and to

GURMAT (gurmat, mat, Sanskrit mati, i.e. counsel or tenets of the Guru, more specifically the religious principles laid down by the Guru) is a term which may in its essential sense be taken to be synonymous with Sikhism itself. It covers doctrinal, prescriptive and directional aspects of Sikh faith and

GURMUKH (gur = Guru; mukh = face), a word employed in Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, in several distinct shades of signification. The gurmukh is, for instance, the Primordial Guru (God) who created all forms; it is He, too, who strings them into one thread oan gurmukhi kio

GURPURB, a compound of two words, i.e. guru, the spiritual preceptor, and purb, parva in Sanskrit, meaning a festival or celebration, signifies in the Sikh tradition the holy day commemorating one or another of the anniversaries related to the lives of the Gurus. Observance of such anniversaries is a

GURU, a spiritual guide or preceptor. The term, long used in the Indian religious tradition, has a special connotation in the Sikh system. The Sikh faith itself signifies discipleship, the word sikh (sisya in Sanskrit and sissa or sekha in Pali) meaning pupil or learner. The concept of Guru,

GURU KA LANGAR (lit., langar or refectory of the Guru) is a community kitchen run in the name of the Guru. It is usually attached to a gurdwara. Langar, a Persian word, means \'an ahnshouse\', \'an asylum for the poor and the destitute\', \'a public kitchen kept by a