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St. Catherine of Siena
    St. Catherine was born in Siena (Italy) on March 25, 1347. From Her earliest childhood Catherine had spiritual experiences, such as divine visions. Right from childhood She voluntarily practiced detachment from worldly pleasures through extreme austerities. In Her sixteenth year she entered a Christian group called Dominican Tertiaries and commenced a spiritual life even as she was at her father's home. After three years of spiritual experiences of progressively higher level, such as increasingly experiencing divine presence, conversations with the Christ, Catherine rejoined her family. There, she began to serve God by tending to the sick, serving the poor and spreading Spirituality.

    Soon Catherine had a flock of disciples. During the summer of 1370 She had a series of high level spiritual experiences, which culminated in a prolonged meditative trance. During this, she received knowledge about hell, heaven and the various regions (lokas) of the subtle world. At the time, She also received a divine command to leave her life of a renunciant and spread Spirituality in the world.

    Accordingly, Catherine implored the pope, Gregory XI, to reform the clergy and the administration of the Papal States, to unite Christian groups and restore peace to Italy. During this time, on the fourth Sunday of Lent, 1375, Catherine received the spiritual experience of the Stigmata, although at Her special prayer, the marks did not appear outwardly on Her body while She lived.

    She made such a profound impression upon the mind of the pope that in spite of the opposition of the French king and many Christian groups in France, he returned to Rome (January 17, 1377). Catherine spent the greater part of 1377 in effecting a spiritual revival in Italy's country districts. Early in 1378 Pope Gregory sent Her to Florence, to make a fresh effort for peace in the country. During the revolution known as "the tumult of the Ciompi", She remained at Florence and its territory. Finally, after the news reached the city that peace had been signed between the republic and the new pope, Catherine instantly returned to Siena, where She passed a few months, dictating the "Dialogue", a compilation of Her spiritual journey, experiences (revelations) and teachings.

    St. Catherine passed away on April 29, 1380 at Rome after calmly enduring a prolonged and mysterious agony for three months, from Sexagesima Sunday till the Sunday before the Ascension. Even from Her deathbed, St. Catherine brought worked for peace in Italy by bringing about the reconciliation of Pope Urban VI with the Roman Republic (1380).

    The works of St. Catherine of Siena rank among the classics of the Italian language. Her compilations consist of:

The "Dialogue" or "Treatise on Divine Providence".
A collection of nearly four hundred letters.
A series of "Prayers".

    In Her life and teachings, St. Catherine's strove to spread the universal spiritual message that man, whether in renunciation or in the world, must always strive to realize his divine identity.

Catholicism
    A denomination of Christianity, whose center is the Vatican in Rome, Italy, and dates from the original church created by the Apostle Peter, a disciple of Lord Jesus.

Chaitanya
    Divine consciousness

Chakra
    (lit. wheel) A center through which the spiritual energy flows. The different centers separate one level of consciousness from another. According to the path of Kundalini Yoga, the spiritual energy lying dormant within gets activated as one does spiritual practice, and this proceeds upward from the base of the spine to the top of the head through the sushumna nadi (central channel). In the sushumna nadi it passes through seven main chakras (or centers):
  1. Muladhar chakra - Chakra at the base of the spine
  2. Swadhisthan chakra - Chakra at the sexual organ
  3. Manipur chakra - Chakra at the navel
  4. Anahat chakra - Chakra at the heart
  5. Vishuddha chakra - Chakra at the throat
  6. Adnya chakra - Chakra in between the eyebrows
  7. Sahasrar chakra - Chakra at the crown of the head

Chameli stick
    A branch of a particular tree that is noted for its ability to repel certain distressing energies.

Chandra nadi
    Chandra means moon; nadi means channel. Chandra nadi is another name for Ida, one of the main channels of the spiritual energy system located to the left of the body and carries soothing energy.

Chanting
    The spiritual practice of repeating the Name of the Lord from one's religion of birth. See Gurukrupayoga for more information on spiritual practice according to the Path of Guru's Grace. The following quote gives the importance of chanting:

      There are millions of impressions in the subconscious mind and to erase even a single one takes a long time. Hence, by following observances and regulations (Yama-Niyama), a considerable period of time would elapse in overcoming the tendencies of the subconscious mind. It is more important to make efforts continuously to become one with God (Purusha), instead of trying to erase these impressions, which arise from Prakruti. This is precisely what can be achieved by chanting. The mind, intellect, subconscious mind, etc., are all constituents of Prakruti and these function according to their own characteristics. Instead of wasting the spiritual practice (sadhana) in opposing them, one would reach the goal faster if the Spiritual practice is utilised to progress towards the God-principle (Purusha-tattva), i.e., to become one with the ‘Name’ (of God) that one chants.
 

Chanting strips



    A chanting strip is a strip made of yellow colored paper on which the chant is printed in red color. Yellow color denotes divine knowledge while red color is auspicious. Further, special attention is paid to the sattvikta of font, placement of letters, decorative borders to suit the chant (for example, a chanting strip of 'Shri Ganeshaya namaha' may have a decorative border of red hibiscus flowers, since they attract the divine principle of Lord Ganesh), etc. Further, like any material published or sold by the Sanatan, the strips are prepared not by hired professionals, but by seekers, who approach it as their spiritual practice, with continuous chanting, etc., to ensure the sattvikta of each strip.

Charitra
    Biography

Chaturdashi
    The 14th day of the fortnight as per the Hindu lunar calendar.

Chaturmas
    the four Hindu calendar months during which the subtle tamasik yama frequencies reach the earth in higher proportions; see Pitr Paksha.

Chaturthi
    Chaturthi refers to the fourth day of each fortnight, as per the Hindu lunar calendar. Chaturthi is of three types:
  1. Angaraki: The chaturthi that falls on a Tuesday is called Angaraki chaturthi.
  2. Vinayaki: It is the fourth day in the bright fortnight of each Hindu lunar calendar month. The Vinayaki is observed for well-being and prosperity.
  3. Sankashti: The fourth day in the dark fortnight of each Hindu lunar calendar month. The Sankashti is observed to overcome the bondage (sankat) of the 360 frequencies - emitted from the core of the earth - that surround the body and slow down its processes.)

Chile Maharaj
    A Saint from Maharastra.

Swami Chinmayananda
    (1916-1993) Founder of Chinmaya mission. He met Swami Shivananda at Rishikesh and became very interested in the spiritual path. He studied for 12 years under Swami Tapovan's guidance, leading a very austere and rigorous life. During his forty years of travelling and teaching, He opened numerous centres and ashrams worldwide, and He also built many schools, hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. As well as reinvigorating India's rich cultural heritage, Swami Chinmayananda made Vedanta accessible to everybody regardless of age, nationality, or religious background.

Sri Chinmoy
    Born as Chinmoy Kumar Ghose in the small village of Shakpura in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in 1931, Sri Chinmoy was the youngest of seven children. In 1944, after both his parents had died, 12 year-old Chinmoy entered the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a spiritual community near Pondicherry in South India. Here he spent the next 20 years in spiritual practice - including long hours of meditation, practicing athletics, writing poetry, essays and spiritual songs.

    In his early teens, Chinmoy had many profound inner experiences and in subsequent years achieved very advanced states of meditation. In 1964, he moved to New York City to share his inner wealth with sincere seekers in the West.

    Sri Chinmoy sees aspiration - the heart's ceaseless yearning for, ever higher and deeper realities - as the spiritual force behind all great advances in religion, culture, sports and science. By living in the heart and aspiring for continual self-transcendence, men and women can bring forward the best in themselves and find their path to true satisfaction. In his words: "Our goal is to go from bright to brighter to brightest, from high to higher to highest. And even in the highest, there is no end to our progress, for God Himself is inside each of us and God at every moment is transcending His own Reality".

    Today, Sri Chinmoy serves as a spiritual guide to students in some 60 countries around the world, encouraging a balanced lifestyle that incorporates the inner disciplines of prayer and meditation with the dynamism of contemporary life.

    Sri Chinmoy's life is an expression of boundless creativity. His vast output spans the domains of music, poetry, painting, literature and sports. His contributions in each of these fields have been striking and far-reaching.

    He regularly travels throughout the world to offer free concerts, lectures, guidance and public meditations, to meet with his students, and to meet and discuss spirituality with world and community leaders.

Chintan
    Contemplation

Chit-shakti
    The word Chit means both Absolute Knowledge and Chaitanya (divine consciousness). Hence, chit-shakti means Shakti (divine energy) which has Absolute Knowledge and Shakti which is full of Chaitanya.

Chitta
    Subconscious mind.

Saint Chokhamela
    A Saint from 17th century India, in today’s Maharashtra state in India.

Christ
    Christ, also known as 'the anointed one', is a title bestowed on one who has attained a spiritual level of at least 80%. Such people can take birth on their own will and are not born as per destiny. But, They take birth again to guide people.

Chuang Tzu
    Chuang Tzu, Taoist Philosopher circa 360 B.C. Along with Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu was a defining figure in Chinese Taoism.

John Climacus
    John Climacus (579 – 649) was a 7th Century monk living on Mount Sion (Zion). After 40 years of living as a hermit, he was elected Abbot of the monastery of St Catherine at Mt. Sinai.

Collective chanting
    A chanting session in which seekers chant the recommended God's Name aloud for a given number of hours. (Currently, seekers are advised to chant a total of two hours everyday collectively. One can split the sessions into half-an-hour or one hour at a time and complete two hours during the entire day.) In this session, all seekers sit together in a circle around God's pictures/Guru's photo in the center. When chanting, the seekers either look at the pictures or visualize that deity's destroyer form. There is a specific tune in which the collective chanting should be done to derive the desired benefits. The Sanatan has recommended this mainly for overcoming the effects of the negative energies and to gain energy to sustain one's spiritual practice. If there is only one seeker, then that seeker can chant by sitting in front of God's photo or altar. For more information, see the Collective Chanting page.

Cyril of Alexandria
    St. Cyril lived in Alexandria, Egypt from 378 to 444. C.E. As a theologian, he played a pivotal role in the shaping of the Christian church’s understanding of the Incarnation of God in Christ.

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