My Hindu Page Glossary - T

Tamas, Tamilnadu, Tandava, Tanjavur, Tattva, Tayumanavar, Teertham, Three Conditions of Nature, Thevaram, Thiagaraja,Lord,  Tilak, Tirobhava, Tirumantiram, Tirumular, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvasagam, Trance, Transcending, Trimurthi / Trinity

 

Tamas: One of the three conditions of nature, which are sattva, rajas and tamas. Tamas is a state of being that is dull or slow, unrefined, materialistic and inconsiderate. It is given to materialism, uncaringness or apathy in life and base or unrefined in action.

 

Tamilnadu: A state in South India, population 55 million. Land of countless Scriptures, saints, sages and over 40,000 magnificient temples.

Tandava: The Divine Dance, or the Dance of God. It refers to the constant and interconnected processes of God’s functions of creation, preservation and dissolution that animate life in the universe. From a mystical perspective this unceasing flow of activity is seen as a dance. This dance is also called the leela. The Tandava which is usually short for 'Ananda Tandava' which means the 'dance of bliss,' is often related to God Shiva. As Lord Nataraja, God Shiva is the King of Dance. The Ananda Tandava comprises of 108 dance poses strung together. According to the legend Sage Bharata recorded these poses of Lord Nataraja as He danced the Tandava in Chidambaram temple many thousands of years ago. From these poses Sage Bharata created the Bharata Natyam, the classical Indian dance that is the precursor to all other traditional Indian classical dances. 

 

Tanjavur: Tanjavur is a city in the South Indian State of Tamilnadu. It is located about 350km south of Chennai. Tanjavur used to be the capitol of ancient Chola Kingdom and later the royal city of the Marathas and the Nayaks (Other South Indian dynasties). It is a city steeped in history and is a center for traditional Tamil arts, music and dance. The Tanjavur painting style which is a style of art using gold leaf and gem embroidery originates from here. Tanjavur is also the home of the famed Brihatheeswarar Temple, that was built in the 9th century by King Raja Raja Chola. The temple, whose main deity is a large Shivalingam, is a pilgrimage destination for Hindus especially of the Saivite sect. 

Tattva: The principles of creation. Tattvas explain how every everything in nature evolved from God. All together there are 36 tattvas. The first being God as Pure Energy and Consciousness, known as Satchitananda tattva which is the foundation of all creation. The final or the 36th tattva is the prithivi tattva or the element earth, which is the densest element of God’s creation. The other tattvas include the soul, anava, karma, maya, time, the five senses and so forth. The knowledge of the tattvas helps gurus and ayurvedic doctors to provide remedies for difficult karmas or diseases their devotees or patients may have.

Tayumanavar: A Tamil yogi. He was a devotional mystic and poet who lived around the 17th century. He places himself in the lineage of Saint Tirumular.

Teertham: Holy water or any liquid that has been blessed through abhishegam or the ritual bathing of a deity. Teertam is a sacrement of puja that is offered for devotees to drink after the ceremony.

Three Conditions of Nature: According to the tattva system of Hindu cosmology, the three conditions of nature form the secondary foundation of all creation, the primary one being God as Parashakti. The three conditions of nature are sattva–the spiritual and positive nature; rajas–the intellectual nature and the forces of will; tamas–the instinctive or gross nature and the lethargic forces of nature.

 

Thevaram: Devotional songs to God Shiva sung by some of the 63 SaivaSaints. Thevarams are part of the Tamil Scriptural collection known asthe Tirumurai. These songs are still very much part of Tamil culture.

 

Thiagaraja, Lord: A form of Lord Shiva. In this form He appears with His Consort, Goddess Parvathi, both seated on a pedestal side by side. Often used as a parade deity (ustava murthi) in temples. 

Tilak: In Tamil it is pottu. It is the either a round dot or vertical line applied at the center of the forehead. The shape of the tilak or pottu identifies the Hindu sect the devotee belongs to. The tilak is a symbol of the third-eye or the spiritual eye which is situated within the forehead of one’s spiritual body. The third-eye is also known as the soul’s eye and is the seat of one’s conscience.

 

Tirobhava: God's Action of Obscuring Grace. This is God’s activity of covering or limiting knowledge of spiritual truths from the soul. This action of Paramatma is necessary for the soul to enable the soul to go through it’s process of spiritual evolution. For instance, through tirobhava, we forget our past lives so we can live the current one without interfering memories from past lives. Tirobhava is embodied in the forces of anava and maya. There are no deities that specifically represent tirobhava. The symbols that represent obscuring grace are holding a lotus flower upside down or standing on a lotus flower.  

Tirumantiram: 'Holy Mantras.' One of the oldest Tamil Scripture, written over 2,000 years ago by Saint Tirumular. It is also know as the Tamil Vedas, as it was written by Tirumular for the benefit of the Tamils who had no access to the Sanskrit Vedas. It is part of the Tirumurai collection. It contains the entire philosophy and mystical processes of the Saiva Siddhanta school of Saivite Hinduism. 

 

Tirumular, Saint: One of the 63 nayanars. He wrote the comprehensive Tamil Scripture on the Saiva religion, the Tirumantiram. Tirumular's legend has it that he was a saint who was sent by his Guru, Maharishi Nandinatha from the Himalayas to South India on a mission to teach Saivite philosophy and mysticism. In a miraculous turn of events that involved the transmigration of Tirumular's soul, he ended up in a body of a Tamil cowherd. Tirumular's original body was destroyed by flames in a divine play orchestrated by God. With his new body came the knowledge of the Tamil language. With this knowledge he composed the Tirumantiram. The Tirumantiram is a 3,333 poems Scripture that detail Saivite beliefs, practices and myticism. It is a deeply profound and esoteric Scripture, with many of its poems coded in metaphors from Hindu myths. It is hailed as a distillate of Vedic and Agamic (core Hindu Scriptures) wisdom.

 

Tiruvannamalai: Is a city about 180km north of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is home to one of the most holy of Saivite shrine. The Tiruvannamalai temple that houses Lord Arunachaleswara in the form of a Shivalingam. Known as the temple that represents God Shiva as the element fire or light, it is a large temple complex that covers an area of 24 acres. The city of Tiruvannamalai is also famous for the ashram of the late Saint Sri Ramana Maharishi, the silent sage of Arunachala.

Tiruvasagam: A Tamil Scripture that is the compilation of all the songs sung by Saint Manickavasagar. The arrangement of the songs in the Tiruvasagam provide a chronological framework for the events in Saint Manickavasagar’s life and his travels.

Trance: A state of being when an individual displays a personality that is radically not himself or herself, so as to suggest a different person altogether. Trance state includes possession by disincarnate beings or spirits and split personality or schizophrenia.

Transcending: To surpass or exist beyond all limits. It is a quality of God, as Absolute Reality, that is beyond all limits of manifestation and experience. It is said of God beyond time, form and space.

Trimurthi / Trinity: God as the Trinity of Brahma–the Creator, Vishnu–the Preserver and Rudra–the Destroyer.