My Hindu Page Glossary - I

Illupai Tree, Immortality, Incarnations of God,  Inherent, Innate, Inner Experience, Intensely Peaceful, Internal Worship, Ishta Devata, Ishwara

Illupai Tree: Java plum tree, syzygium cumini. A hardy tree that grows wild all over India and the tropics. It produces small juicy red-purple edible fruits and the tree provides wide shade area. Its wood is widely used in homas (fire ceremony) and funeral pyres as it is easily gathered.

Immortality: Deathless or indestructible. A quality of God and the soul.

Incarnations of God: Avatar. Some Hindu sects believe that God takes births on earth periodically to bring balance, often to avert the destruction of human-kind or to alleviate suffering on earth caused by demons who occasionally rise to rule the earth. While all sects of Hinduism believe that God can manifest Him or Herself on earth at will the concept of avatar which is one of the foundations of the Vaishanva sect of Hinduism postulates that God may take on a birth and grows from childhood to adulthood as a normal human being. In Vaishnavism God Vishnu incarnates on earth in 5 of his 9 incarnations. tt: Avatar. Some Hindu traditions believe that God takes earthly births to perform a mission which is usually to bring back balance on earth. Click for more information.

Inherent: Existing in something as a permanent or essential characteristic attribute. It is said of God existing within the soul.

Innate: The natural quality of a person or an element. It is similar to the word inherent and is often used to describe God’s existence as the substratum of the universe. (Substratum: The underlying layer or substance that is the foundation of something. It is said of God as Parashakti, being the all-pervasive underlying foundation of all creation.)

Inner Experience: Inner in this context refers to within a person or in his or her mind. Any experience one has in their mind, including visualizations, thoughts, emotions and so forth are inner experiences. In most cases inner experience refers to spiritual experience one has during meditation, prayers or religious ceremony.

Intensely Peaceful: This phrase is an oxymoron, as it has two words with seemingly contradictory words together. Intense generally refers to acute or extreme activity, where as peaceful refers to calm and quite conditions. Intensely peaceful is used to describe the experience of Parashakti in savikalpa samadhi. This is because the in this this state a meditator experiences absolute peacefulness yet is filled with intense, vibrant and rejuvenating energy from God.

Internal Worship: Prayer. Worshipping God within oneself. It is also a form of meditation. It is an essential form of prayer in Hinduism, as the physical body is seen as a mystical temple to God.

Ishta Devata: The preferred deity. Ishta Devata is central belief in Smarta theology. In Smartism a devotee may choose his or her central deity of worship from any of the deities withing Hinduism. Their choice is their Ishta Devata. In general practice a devotee usually chooses only one deity as their Ishta Devata, rarely does a devotee have two Ishta Devatas though this is not contrary to the theology, where all forms of God represent a singular Godhead.

Ishwara: In the Vedas, God in his entirety, which includes all The Three Aspects is Ishwara. He is often addressed as Brahman and sometimes as Ishwara in Vedic texts.