KAMAL, also wrinen as kanvalm Punjabi, is a flower, lotus, bearing the richest symbolic and philosophical significance in Indian lore. Its use in Indian romantic and spiritual literature goes back to ancient times. It carries, in Sanskrit, a multiplicity of names such as saroj, jalaj, vdrij, mraj (grown in

VISHNU Remember Vishnu again and again; By remembering Vishnu you will never suffer defeat.(Gauri Bawan Akhri Kabir, p. 342) At whose door should I take refuge, Vishnu, Shiva, an adept, a Muni or Indra. One may give you kingdom, the other may take you to heaven, rare one among

VAHIGURU, also spelt and pronounced Vahguru, is the distinctive name of the Supreme Being in the Sikh dispensation, like Yahweh in Judaism and Allah in Islam. In Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, the term does not figure in the compositions of the Gurus, though it occurs therein, both as

SATI or sachch, Punjabi form of the Sanskrit satya or sat, lit. truth, in the philosophical sense is essential and ultimate reality as against inessential or partial truth. Rooted in Sanskrit as meaning "to be, live, exist, be present, to abide, dwell, stay", satya means " true, real, pure," as

RUTI (RUTTI), a composition by Guru Arjan in Raga Ramkali in the Guru Granth Sahib comprising eight six line stanzas, preceded by two slokas, each of two lines. Rutfi is the plural of rutt, Skt. rtu (season). The slokas introduce the theme briefly while the stanzas, called chhantshere, elaborate

RAMKAIJ SADU, by Sundar, is an "elegy" (sadd, in Punjabi) included in the Guru Granth Sahib in Raga Ramkali, eighteenth of the thirty-one musical measures used in Sikh Scripture. Sadd is a form of folk poetry prevalent in rural Punjab. Literally the term means an invocation call, hark or

RAMANANDA (1300-1410?), promoter of Vaisnav Bhakti in North India and founder of the Bairagi sect of anchorites, was born at Prayaga (Allahabad) in a Kanyakubja Brahman family. He studied in Kasi (Banaras), the ancient seat of learning, and it was here that he became a disciple of Raghavananda, the

RAHRASI is the name given to the main evening prayer of the Sikhs. The word itself implies supplication, though some traditionalist scholars have interpreted it as rahirdst which, in Persian, means the straight path, the path of faith and devotion as against that. of mere ritual practices or yogic

ONKAR, generally written down as Oankar in Sikh Scriptural writings, is derived from the Upanisadic word Oankara (om+kara) originally signifying pronouncing or rendering into writing the syllable Om. Known as synonym of Om it has been used in the Vedic literature and, in particular in its religio philosophical texts known

MUL MANTRA. This is the title commonly given to the opening lines of the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikh scripture, or to these lines when they or a portion of them are repeated at the beginning of each new raga section as contained in the Holy text. This is the primary

ANAND (Skt. Anand, from nand meaning "to rejoice" or "to delight") denotes mystical experience, spiritual bliss or a state of consciousness such as that ofaJi`van mukta, i.e. one released while still in body. Anand in the Upanisadic texts istaken to be one of the three inherent attributes of atman

JIVANMUKTA, in Sikhism the ideal and aim or objective of man`s spiritual life. The term is derived from jivanmukti {j`tvan=`ife; mukli=recasc, liberation, emancipation, freedom from bondage), and means one who has attained liberation from human bondage or one who has attained to the highest spiritual slate of being in tune