164 THE PATH OF PERFECTION
goddess of fortune (Sri-sampradaya) in this age.
Rasagullas—curd balls boiled in sugar juice.
Ss
Samosas—deep-fried vegetable pies.
Sankhya-yoga—the process of linking with the Supreme by in-
Sane racine Out the source of creation. Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation
Sannyasi—one in the renounced order of life, the highest of the
; four spiritual divisions of Vedic society. Throughout the centuries, the Sanskrit language has been writ-
Sastras—revealed scriptures. ten in a variety of alphabets. The mode of writing most widely
Satya-yuga—the first and purest in the cycle of four ages. See also: used throughout India, however, is called devanagari, which
Yugas means, literally, the writing used in ‘‘the cities of the demigods.”’
Srimad-Bhagavatam—the ‘spotless Purana,” which presents The devanagari alphabet consists of forty-eight characters, includ-
the entire science of God consciousness, without any tinge ing thirteen vowels and thirty-five consonants. Ancient Sanskrit
of material religiosity. grammarians arranged the alphabet according to practical
Surabhi—the cows of the spiritual world, which can be milked to linguistic principles, and this order has been accepted by all
_ yield any desire. Western scholars. The system of transliteration used in this book
Syamasundara—the “dark, beautiful boy” of Vrndavana, Lord conforms to a system that scholars in the last fifty years have ac-
Krsna. cepted to indicate the pronunciation of each Sanskrit sound.
T The short vowel a is pronounced like the u in but, long 4 like
Treta-yuga—the second in the cycle of four ages. See also: Yugas the a in far, and short i like the i in pin. Long i is pronounced as in
. pique, short u as in pull, and long @ as in rule. The vowel r is pro-
| V nounced like the ri in rim. The vowel e is pronounced as in they,
Vaisnavas—worshipers of the Supreme Lord, Visnu. ai as in aisle, 0 as in go, and au as in how. The anusvara (m),
Vedas—the original revealed scriptures. which is a pure nasal, is pronounced like the n in the French word
Visnu—the Supreme Lord in His opulent feature as the Lord of bon, and visarga (h), which is a strong aspirate, is pronounced as a
Vaikuntha. final h sound. Thus ah is pronounced like aha, and ih like ihi.
Visnu-marti—the personal form of Lord Visnu. The guttural consonants—k, kh, g, gh, and h—are pro-
Vindavana—the village in which Lord Krsna enacts His most in- nounced from the throat in much the same manner as in English.
| timate pastimes. See also: Goloka Vrndavana K is pronounced as in kite, kh as in Eckhart, g as in give, gh as in
dig hard, and ni as in sing. The palatal consonants—c, ch, j, jh,
| Y and fi—are pronounced from the palate with the middle of the
Yogi—one who has achieved, or is striving for, union with the tongue. C is pronounced as in chair, ch as in staunch-heart, j as in
Supreme. joy, jh as in hedgehog, and fi as in canyon. The cerebral conso-
Yugas—the four great ages of universal time, which occur in re- nants—t, th, d, dh, and n—are pronounced with the tip of the
peated cycles of 4,320,000 years. tongue turned up and drawn back against the dome of the palate.
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