Nadi
(From Nada = a species of hollow reed.) A channel for the conveyance of prana in the etheric vehicle. The nadis are a fine reticulation of channels stemming from the three principal ones in the central spinal column (Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna nadis), and roughly follow the paths of the nerves and blood stream. There are said to be 72,000 main nadis in the etheric vehicle, though this number is symbolic. Each nadi allows the passage of the five different types of pranas, or combinations thereof. Where nadis containing twenty one or more pranas intersect then you will find a laya centre for the appearance of a chakra.
Nadi system
The mechanism conveying the energies of the body.
Naga
Literally “Serpent”, a serpent Deity, but esoterically it refers to the evocation of Wisdom, or one who has done so, a wise man, Rishi. It connotes the “serpent power” that flows through the nadi system and which liberates a being, conferring supersensory powers, making one an adept. The “nagas” can be considered as any of the pranas within the etheric vehicle when personified. The serpent grows into a dragon, hence the term Dragon of Wisdom, referring to a Master of Wisdom. The serpent/dragon forces are also those associated with the meridians of energies, the “ley lines” that cover the face of the Earth and which were well known by the Seers of the past, who erected the many stone temples and sacred shrines of antiquity, based upon the points of intersection of these “serpent” lines. Note also the “serpent of time”. Nagas are especially associated with the sanctity of water, or flowing prana (rivers).
Nagarajas
“Dragon or serpent Kings”. They are the guardian spirits of certain lakes and rivers.
Nandi
The sacred bull, the vehicle of Shiva and Parvati.
Nara
Primordial waters.
Narada
A Mind-born Son of Brahma (Brahma-putra), one of the Vedic Rishis and author of some of the Rig Vedic hymns. He is said to be the founder of the Mysteries of the Esoteric tradition, especially that to do with the Law of Cycles. In the Mahabharata he is said to have frustrated the scheme for peopling the Universe (to remain true to his vow of chastity) and was cursed to be born once more, which he did during the time of Krishna. In The Secret Doctrine he is said to be the Hindu prototype of the Archangel Michael.
Narayana
A title of Vishnu, meaning the One who moves on the Waters of Space. (The ability of a Logos to travel through the cosmic Astral Ocean.) The primal manifestation of the Consciousness aspect (Mind) of the Deity that spreads outwards to encompass Absolute Space.
Naros
An esoteric cycle of six hundred years.
Necromancy
Magical practices related to worship of the dead. A Necro-mancer is one who raises the images of the dead, who tries to bring that which is esoterically considered “dead”, of the past and thus antithetical to evolution, back to life. This is a basis to the practice of black magic, the left hand path. That which has been buried is of the darkness.
Neith
The Moon Goddess in ancient Egypt, the Queen of Heaven.
Neophyte
A novice or new candidate willing to undergo the trials and testings related to Mysteries of Initiation into one or other of the Mystery schools.
Nephesh
(Hebrew) The breath of Life. That, for instance, which was breathed into the Adam of clay by God to bring him to Life.
Neptune
The Roman version of the Greek God Poseidon, the God of the Waters. In Esoteric Astrology Neptune is a Sacred Planet governing the dispensation of the sixth Ray of Devotion. He is also equated with Varuna.
Nereids
Daughters of Nereus, a water God. They were the water Nymphs that were the attendants to Poseidon.
Nidana
In Buddhism the twelve causes of existence, or chain of causation. They progressively arise out of each other. We thus have: 1. Ignorance, the root cause of them all (Avidya), 2. attachment to Form (Samskara), 3. the development of Consciousness (Vijnana), 4. the ability to name the various forms (Namarupa), 5. the development and use of the senses and sense objects (Chadayatana), 6. physical plane contact by means of the sense of touch (Sparsa), 7. feeling perceptions (Vedana), 8. thirst or desire for things (Trishna), 9. clinging onto objects of desire (Upadana), 10. becoming, or being content with mundane existence (Bhava), 11. birth, or rebirth (Jati), 12. the ageing process, sorrow and death (Jaramarana). Sometimes these are placed in reversed order.
Night of Brahma
A period of dissolution (pralaya) or Sleep between periods of Creative activity of a Logos. See also Mahamanvantara, manvantara, Pralaya.
Nirmanakaya
One of the three bodies or vestures of a Buddha (Trikaya). It is the outer or phenomenal appearance, the tangible something that can be contacted on the realms of illusion, the Incarnation Body, as for instance the form of the last Buddha. The other two vestures are Dharmakaya, and Sambhogakaya.
In the esoteric doctrine a Nirmanakaya can also be seen as one who has taken the highest Initiation on the Earth sphere (the sixth or greater), but instead of traveling upon a Cosmic Path, still retains a link with the Earth Hierarchy, and thus resides as a Nirmanakaya, in an illusional body of contact with cosmic dense substance. The Nirmanakayas form an occult group that can best be described as embodying the third Eye aspect of the Logos, the All-seeing Eye and link between Hierarchy and Shamballa, and between Shamballa and the Spheres of Activity of other Cosmic Logoi. They are Divine Contemplatives that project the antahkaranas from the One to the Other.
Nirvana
(From the Sanskrit roots nir, nis = out, forth, away from, and va = to blow, as the wind, to move, to be agitated.) The “final” attainment of the evolutionary process with respect to the form. It thus concerns complete liberation from all forms of “taintedness” or identification with the realms of illusion. It concerns the liberation of the consciousness aspect into a state of “Be-ness”, into spaciousness, that which is neither Being nor Non-Being (Buddhi). It is certainly not the “extinction of existence” that certain Orientalists, and Theravadan Buddhists seem to think. It is literally Absorption into the Mind of the Greater All. In our doctrine it refers to the state of Realisation obtained by the Initiate of the Fourth degree, when that which we understand as the Causal Form of the Soul “dies”. See also Buddhi, Bodhi.
Nirvanee
One who has attained Nirvana. Technically a “non-returner” into the realms of illusion by means of repeated incarnations. But this concept is in itself an illusion, for such an enlightened One generally chooses to do so for compassionate reasons and the obeying of group Law. The entire Cosmic Universe opens for the Nirvanee and in the past he had the option of traveling upon one of the Cosmic Paths, but this is not the case today, as these Paths now only open up after the attainment of the fifth, not the fourth. Nevertheless, the Service arenas of the Nirvanee are such that they may entail not having to incarnate again in dense physical form.
Nitya Prayala
Perpetual or constant (Nitya) Prayala or period of dissolution.
Non-sacred Planets
See Sacred Planets.
Noumenon
(Greek) The opposite of phenomena. The intuitively perceived Reality of a thing, as distinguished from the illusory phenomenon or outer appearance which can be contacted by means of the senses.
Nous
A Platonic term, meaning the purest intellect, the functioning from or with the higher or abstract Mind.
Leave A Comment