Archives: Glossary Terms

Jiva

Sanskrit जीव, literally “life, living being, the principle of life, vital breath, soul, existing, existence.”

In Hinduism, jiva is often a reference only to the individual, embodied soul.

“The individual with all his Vasanas (desires or previous impressions) within himself is called a Jiva.” —Yoga-Vasishtha

“Sex and ego are the products of Avidya or nescience. The dawn of spiritual knowledge of the Self will annihilate these two enemies of Atman, the two dacoits who are plundering the helpless, ignorance, little false Jiva, the illusory ‘I’.” —Swami Sivananda

“Man or the little Jiva is imperfect. He is full of defects. He is simply waiting for claiming superiority over others.” —Swami Sivananda

Jnanakumara

This image shows a yogi who was a student of Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava. This yogi’s name is Jnanakumara, which means “king of Gnosis.”  Jnanakumara is shown in a pose that reflects his mythology; he is depicted hiding himself in a cave for many years sustaining himself with one thing, which is water that he took from the rock. He is gathering the water with the top part of a human skull.  This is not literal, it is symbolic, but what does it mean? It means that Jnanakumara, this Master of Gnosis, was transmuting his sexual waters up into his head; he was taking the waters from the rock. What is the rock? It is the foundation stone, Yesod on the Tree of Life; it is “the foundation of the temple, the stone that the builders disallowed, the stone that the builders rejected.” Fuel for Spiritual Experience