Glossary
Key terms used throughout MeSanatan, with working definitions and cross-references. Terms are defined in the context of this systems model, not as absolute metaphysical claims.
Consciousness (cit / ātman / prakāśa)
The constant capacity-to-know experience. The invariant baseline that remains constant while awareness (the observable output) changes. In Advaita: Brahman/Atman. In Pratyabhijñā: Prakāśa (luminosity). This model treats it as phenomenological invariant.
Awareness (vimarśa / pramā)
Consciousness-as-knowing something; can narrow/widen; can be clear/fuzzy; can be stable/unstable. The variable state (A) — consciousness + object. This is what changes over time (clarity, stability, response quality).
Attention
The steering mechanism (what awareness selects and stays with); a narrow 'pointer' inside awareness. Directional focus — where awareness points.
Brahma
The experience generator function — the rendering layer that creates the appearance of a world: names, forms, time, story, the UI layer of experience. NOT 'creating consciousness' — consciousness is constant. Brahma creates appearance within consciousness. Do NOT conflate with Brahman (the ground).
Brahman
The absolute/ground — consciousness itself (not an object). In Advaita Vedanta, the non-dual reality. Do NOT conflate with Brahma (the function).
Shakti (Devi)
Usable power: pranic throughput, mental clarity, devotional/heart energy, creative force — not physical force alone. In SAE-1.4: Shakti_effective = strength × stability × Capacity, where Capacity = max(0, 1 − physical − mental constraint). Constraint reduces expression, never the Witness.
Purity (Vishnu / Sattva)
Dharmic stabilization layer: emotional regulation, ethics, truthfulness, non-attachment, compassion, discipline (P1–P6), ∈ [0, 1]. In SAE-1.4: Purity adds to the bracket. Fixed Dharma (Yama/Niyama, Gītā ethics) — delivery may be modernized, the ethics are not.
Blockers (Bl)
Awareness-contraction events. Any pattern (thought, emotion, impulse, sensation, memory, identity-knot) that temporarily narrows awareness, increases identification, and reduces your ability to see the full field of experience. Blockers act on awareness/attention, not on consciousness itself.
Belief (Śraddhā / B_total)
The coherence gate (not a 'gain coefficient'). In SAE-1.4: Belief_total = min(B1, B2), ∈ [−1, +1], where B1 = orientation toward truth/growth and B2 = surrender/trust in the container. The weak-link rule: if either goes negative, the whole bracket inverts (the inversion regime). Negative ≠ less consciousness.
Maya (distortion)
Information noise: misinformation, overload, environmental distortion. The appearance/illusion layer. The world 'feels real' because the renderer (Brahma) is convincing. Maya is the distortion that makes constructed reality feel solid.
Moh (attachment)
Attachment amplifier: increases effective blockers via craving/aversion loops. Different from maya (distortion) — moh is the emotional/psychological attachment that amplifies contraction.
Karma
System rules & constraints. What patterns carry forward (jiva patterns). In SAE-1.4: patterns that persist across time. This is a metaphysical (frontier) claim, not empirically validated — use as a systems debugging lens.
Dharma
System alignment. Ethical constraints that stabilize awareness. How to choose a path that doesn't collapse your awareness system. Dharma reduces turbulence and increases purity.
Grace (ε_g)
Stochastic residual: unmodeled timing, breakthroughs, shocks. Not computed; represents unmodeled factors (timing, breakthroughs, randomness, guru-kripa timing, 'bus factor', etc.). This is a directional systems map (not a deterministic law).
Śraddhā
See 'Belief'. Operational trust. Willingness to test + openness to update. Not credulity, conformity, or coercion.