* idhmavāhat — the devotee who
approaches the spiritual master. Idhma refers to wood that is taken to
burn as fuel for a fire. A brahmacārī is supposed to take this idhma to
ignite the fire used in performing sacrifices. By spiritual instruction a
brahmacāri is trained to ignite a fire and offer oblations in the
morning. He is supposed to go to the spiritual master to take lessons on
transcendental subject matter, and the Vedic injunction is that when
approaching the spiritual master one must carry with him fuel to perform
yajñas, or sacrifices. The exact Vedic injunction is as follows:
tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet
samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham
[MU 1.2.12]
“To
learn transcendental subject matter, one must approach the spiritual
master. In doing so, he should carry fuel to burn in sacrifice. The
symptom of such a spiritual master is that he is expert in understanding
the Vedic conclusion, and therefore he constantly engages in the
service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad
1.2.12) By serving such a bona fide spiritual master, gradually a
conditioned soul becomes detached from material enjoyment and invariably
makes progress in spiritual realization under the direction of the
spiritual master. Those who are misled by the illusory energy are never
interested in approaching a spiritual master to make life successful.
* idli — steamed dumpling made of ground, fermented rice flour or with lentil dal, usually eaten with coconut chutney.
Ikṣvāku — The first ruler of the earth. He was a son of Vaivasvata Manu.
* Ikṣvāku — the son of Manu who was king of the earth in ancient times and to whom Manu spoke Bhagavad-gītā.
* Ikṣvāku — the son of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and the first king of the earth planet.
Ilāvṛta-varṣa — The
central division of Jambūdvīpa, which in turn is the central part of
the earthly planetary system. In the center of Ilāvṛta-varṣa stands the
great mountain Sumeru. Lord Śiva resides in Ilāvṛta-varṣa with his
consort Durgā. Ilavṛta-varṣa was also the ancient name of India before
it was renamed after King Bharata, the son of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva.
* Ilāvṛta-varṣa — the original name of this earth planet, before it became known as Bharata-varṣa.
* impersonal monism — See: māyāvāda.
indīvara — A blue lotus.
Indra — (Mahendra) The king of the demigods, ruler of Svargaloka. In each manvantara there is a different Indra. The name of the current Indra is Purandara.
* Indra — the chief demigod of heaven and presiding deity of rain, and the father of Arjuna. He is the son of Aditi.
* Indra-nīla — gems decorating Kṛṣṇa’s flute.
* Indraloka — the planet where Lord Indra resides.
indranīla — Sapphire.
* Indraprastha — see: Hastinapur.
* indriya-saṁyama — curbing one’s senses.
* Irāvān — the son of Arjuna by Ulūpī. He was killed by the Rākṣasa, Alambuṣa, during the Kurukṣetra battle.
* Īśa — the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
* Īśa-tattva — the Supreme Lord.
* īśānukathā — scriptural information about the Lord and His devotees.
* īśāvasya — (īśa — the Lord + vasya — control) the concept that everything is owned and controlled by the Lord and should be used in His service.
ISKCON — Acronym for the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.
* ISKCON — the
abbreviation for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness;
the Hare Krishna Movement. The society was founded in New York, 1966, by
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who came by boat,
the Jaladuta from Calcutta in 1965, with just forty rupees and a trunk
full of books. Sumati Morarji kindly donated his passage. See also: Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Īśopaniṣad — One of the 108 principal Vedic scriptures known as the Upaniṣads.
* Īśopaniṣad — one of the 108 principal Vedic scriptures known as the Upaniṣads.
* Iṣṭā — the performance of public welfare activities such as digging wells or planting trees.
Iṣṭa-goṣṭhī — Discussions on the teachings of the spiritual master among his disciples.
Īśvara Purī — Lord Caitanya’s spiritual master.
īśvara — A controller. Kṛṣṇa is parameśvara, the supreme controller.
* īśvara — a controller. Kṛṣṇa is Parameśvara, the Supreme Controller.
* itihāsa — a historical account.
Itihāsas — Epic histories, including the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. In contrast to the more encyclopedic Purāṇas, each Itihāsa usually tells one heroic story.