Glossary of Spiritual and Religious Words

N

Nadi

(Sanskrit; Tibetan tsa) Nerve channel for subtle energies.

“The term Nadi comes from the root Nad which means motion. The body is filled with an uncountable number of Nadis. If they were revealed to the eye, the body would present the appearance of a highly-complicated chart of ocean currents. Superficially the water seems one and the same. But examination shows that it is moving with varying degrees of force in all directions.” - Swami Sivananda, Kundalini Yoga

Naga

(Sanskrit. In Tibetan: klu) Powerful water spirits who take the forms of serpents or serpent-humans.

Nagarjuna

(Second century) A Buddhist master and scholar from India who founded the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy, whose central doctrine is the comprehension of Emptiness. The Tibetan traditions consider him to be one of the most important figures of Indian Mahayana Buddhism.

Nahasch

(Hebrew נחש) Literally, "serpent." A very deep and multifaceted symbol in the Judeo-Christian scriptures, whose meaning is revealed in Kabbalah. Nahasch, meaning “serpent” and “a shining one,” comes from the root "to shine." In Chaldee it means brass, because of its shine.

"Now the nachash was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" - Gen 3:1

"And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a nahasch; and Moses fled from before it." - Ex 4:3

"And Moses made a serpent (nachash) of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." - Numbers 21

Nahemah

Or Naamah. (Hebrew נעמה‎) A symbol in Kabbalah related to lust, seduction, and the infernal worlds (Klipoth, hell).

"...she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain [was] Naamah [נעמה]." - Genesis 4:22

"And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam [was] forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name [was] Naamah an Ammonitess. And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done." - 1 Kings 14

"Rabbi Chiya quotes, "And the sister of Tuval Kayin was Naamah" (Beresheet 4:22). Why do the scriptures mention her name, Naamah (tender)? It is because people were seduced by her OVERWHELMING BEAUTY AND TENDERNESS, and spirits and demons LUSTED AFTER HER. Rabbi Yitzchak said that the sons of Elohim, Aza, and Azael were seduced by her. BECAUSE OF THOSE SEDUCTIONS, SHE WAS NAMED NAAMAH. [...] Adam had intercourse with the female spirits for 130 years until Naamah came. Because of her beauty, she led the sons of Elohim, Aza and Azael astray. She bore them ALL SORTS OF NEW KINDS OF KLIPAH. Evil spirits and demons spread out from her into the world. They wander around the world during the night, deriding human beings and causing nocturnal pollution. Wherever they find men sleeping alone in their own homes, they hover over them and cling to them, arousing lustful desires and having offspring by them." - The Zohar

"Nahemah is the mother of malignant beauty, passion and adultery." - Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony

Another interesting appearance of this name is in Genesis 3:

"And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree נחמד [to be desired] to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." - Genesis 3

Nastika

"Religious esotericism does not teach atheism of any kind, except in the sense that the Sanskrit word nastika encloses: no admission of idols, including that anthropomorphic God of the ignorant populace. It would be an absurdity to believe in a celestial dictator who is seated upon a throne of tyranny and throws lightning and thunderbolts against this sad human ant hill." - Samael Aun Weor, The Three Mountains

Nativity

from Latin nativitatem (nom. nativitas) “birth.”

Nazarenes

As described by H.P. Blavatsky: The same as the St. John christians; called the Mendaeans or Sabeans. They designate Christ “a false Messiah” and only recognize John the Baptist, whom they call the “great Nazar.”

Negative Disclosure

(Egyptian) A prayer or testament found in the Egyptian Book of the Dead in which the Initiate describes in detail all of the sins he has not committed. See Chapter 48 of Cosmic Teachings of a Lama by Samael Aun Weor.

Nephesh

(Hebrew נפש; alternatively, nefesh) In Kabbalah, one of the three souls of the human being. The animal soul.

"And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath [נשמה neshamah] of life; and man became a living soul [nephesh נפש]." - Genesis 2:7

"The Initiate must descend into the infernal worlds during forty-days and has to recapitulate all of the evil deeds and frightful dramas of his past incarnations; little by little, the Initiate departs from these tenebrous regions. Before departing, the three souls, Nephesh (Animal Soul), Ruach (Thinking Soul) and Neshamah (Spiritual Soul) are submitted to ordeals. How interesting it is to see the animal soul submitted to ordeals, as well as the thinking soul and the Essence (Part of Neshamah) that also is submitted to ordeals. The Bible states, "Nephesh, Nephesh, blood is paid with blood." Within the Hebrew words wisdom is hidden." - Samael Aun Weor, The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah

Nephesh Chaiah

(Hebrew נפש חיה) Literally, "living soul." In Kabbalah, a soul (see Nephesh) who has acquired spiritual life (Chaiah), the soul.

"And God said, This [is] the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living soul that [is] with you, for perpetual generations..." - Genesis 9:12

Neshamah

(Hebrew נשמת or נשימה, literally "breath") In Kabbalah, one of the three souls of the human being, called the Spiritual Soul.

"The נשמת (Neshamah) of אדם (Adam, man) is a lamp of יהוה (Jehovah)..." - Proverbs 20:27

"One must distinguish the difference between the Astral Body and the Lunar Bodies. The lunar bodies move during the night, and after death. Conventionally, these bodies have been called Astral Body, but they are not the Legitimate Astral Body. Whosoever wants to have the luxury of having the Legitimate Astral Body must perform the work of the Maithuna where the H-TI-12 is built (H = Hydrogen, TI = musical note, 12 = 12 Laws). The H-TI-12 vibrates in our organism with the musical scale and crystallizes in the Solar Astral Body if the practice is intense. The fraction (Buddhata) of the soul (Neshamah) that is trapped within the previously mentioned principles is submitted to very difficult ordeals. After triumphing, the Initiate ascends to the causal world to have a meeting with Sanat Kumara, a venerable Elder mentioned in very ancient religions. He is one of the four Thrones that the Bible speaks of." - Samael Aun Weor

Netzach

(Hebrew נצח means victory) The seventh sephirah of the Tree of Life; the Mental World; the Mental Body; corresponds to the Fifth Dimension.

Neurasthenia

A category of mental disorder described as a condition with symptoms such as irritability, fatigue, weakness, anxiety, and localized pains without any apparant physical causes. It was thought to result from urban life and exhaustion of the nervous system.

Nicolaitans

“So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” - Revelation 2:16

“Only absolute saintliness and chastity can convert us into Angels. The Nicolaitans spill the sacred wine of the temple. They waste the oil of the lamp and remain within the darkness. The Nicolaitans spill the raw matter of the Great Work in their practises of Sexual Alchemy.  This is Black Tantrism... The Nicolaitans are submerging themselves into the abyss.  The Nicolaitans converted themselves into terribly perverse demons.” - Samael Aun Weor, The Aquarian Message

Ninth Sphere

In Kabbalah, a reference to the sephirah Yesod of the Tree of Life (Kabbalah). When you place the Tree of Life over your body, you see that Yesod is related to your sexual organs.

"The Ninth Sphere of the Kabbalah is sex." - Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony

The Ninth Sphere also refers to Yesod and to the lowest sphere of the Klipoth.

"The great Master Hilarion IX said that in ancient times, to descend into the Ninth Sphere was the maximum ordeal for the supreme dignity of the Hierophant. Hermes, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Dante, Zoroaster, Mohammed, Rama, Krishna, Pythagoras, Plato and many others, had to descend into the Ninth Sphere in order to work with the fire and the water which is the origin of worlds, beasts, human beings and Gods. Every authentic white Initiation begins here." - Samael Aun Weor, The Aquarian Message

Nirvana

(Sanskrit, "extinction" or "cessation"; Tibetan: nyangde, literally "the state beyond sorrow") In general use, the word nirvana refers to the permanent cessation of suffering and its causes, and therefore refers to a state of consciousness rather than a place. Yet, the term can also apply to heavenly realms, whose vibration is related to the cessation of suffering. In other words, if your mind-stream has liberated itself from the causes of suffering, it will naturally vibrate at the level of Nirvana (heaven).

"When the Soul fuses with the Inner Master, then it becomes free from Nature and enters into the supreme happiness of absolute existence. This state of happiness is called Nirvana. Nirvana can be attained through millions of births and deaths, but it can also be attained by means of a shorter path; this is the path of “initiation.” The Initiate can reach Nirvana in one single life if he so wants it." - Samael Aun Weor, The Zodiacal Course

"Nirvana is a region of Nature where the ineffable happiness of the fire reigns. The Nirvanic plane has seven sub-planes. A resplendent hall exists in each one of these seven sub-planes of Nirvanic matter where the Nirmanakayas study their mysteries. This is why they call their sub-planes “halls” and not merely “sub-planes” as the Theosophists do. The Nirvanis say: “We are in the first hall of Nirvana or in the second hall of Nirvana, or in the third, or in the fourth, or fifth, or sixth, or in the seventh hall of Nirvana.” To describe the ineffable joy of Nirvana is impossible. There, the music of the spheres reigns and the soul is enchanted within a state of bliss, which is impossible to describe with words." - Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of Beelzebub

Nirvikalpa-samadhi

(Sanskrit, literally “changeless samadhi”) An ecstasy within the divine abode of the Gods. Originally a term from Vedanta, referring to the highest possible state of consciousness, a state of no-mind, and non-dual union with Brahman.

Nitrogen

A symbol used in the tradition of Alchemy. "The Nitrogen of alchemy is the sacred fire of the Kundalini. This Nitrogen is only achieved by working intensely with the Mercury of the secret philosophy. It is impossible to be an alchemist if one does not work with the Philosopher’s Stone." - Samael Aun Weor, The Manual of Practical Magic

Noah

(Hebrew נח nun-chet) A Kabbalistic symbol with many important meanings.

1. Physiologically and spiritually: the "Master atom" or Nous Atom located in the heart.

2. A historical figure related to the end of the Atlantean epoch. "...the Four Thrones (Deities) said to the White Emperor Noenra (Noah), “Leave from this land, and pass to the Gobi desert, where you will find dry land, because God will sink this land.” Noah obeyed and departed with all his people towards the Gobi desert." - Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of Beelzebub. "The Savior-guide of the elected Atlanteans, the one who took them out of the country of ‘the hills of clay,’ was the Biblical Noah, the Manu Vaivasvatha, the founder of the Aryan Race..." - Samael Aun Weor, The Three Mountains.

Nogah

(Hebrew נוגה) "Brightness, brilliance." In the Judeo-Christian scriptures, the name of one of David's sons. Esoterically, Nogah relates to: (1) the planet Venus, (2) the sephirah Hod (the Astral world), (3) the Astral body, (4) the Astral light, and more.

Nous

(Greek "mind, reason, intellect") This is not the concrete, sensual mind that we commonly experience. Nous refers instead to Abstract Mind, the kind of mind of a person such as Buddha, Jesus, or Krishna. Also known as the Fourth State of Consciousness.

"Nous is perfect awakened Consciousness. Nous is the state of Turiya, profound perfect interior illumination. Nous is legitimate objective clairvoyance. Nous is intuition. Nous is the world of the divine archetypes. Noetic thought is synthetic, clear, objective, illuminated. Whosoever reaches the heights of Noetic thought totally awakens Consciousness and becomes a Turiya. The lowest part of man is irrational and subjective and is related with the five ordinary senses. The highest part of man is the World of Intuition and objective spiritual Consciousness. In the World of Intuition, the archetypes of all things in nature develop. Only those who have penetrated into the World of objective Intuition, only those who have reached the solemn heights of Noetic thought, are truly awakened and illuminated." - Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony

From The Philokalia (writings of the Christian Desert Fathers): “[Nous] is the highest facility in man, through which - provided it is purified - he knows God or the inner essence or principles of created things by means of direct perception. Nous must be carefully distinguished from reason; nous does not formulate abstract concepts or argue them using deductive reasoning; but it understands divine truth by means of immediate experience or intuition. It dwells in the ‘depth of the soul’; it constitutes the innermost aspect of the heart.”

Nous Atom

A spiritual atom located in the left ventricle of the heart. This atom is also called the Master Atom and is directly related with the Christ.

"As we have already stated in our book entitled “The Perfect Matrimony or The Door to Enter into Initiation," the heart of the Sun is constructed like the heart of our human organism. Just as Seven Hierarchs exist in the Sun, who direct the seven cosmic rays, seven brains exist in our heart which belong to the Seven Great Cosmic Hierarchies. The sun has an atomic central nucleus, which is the Atom Nous, and this atom is the dwelling of Brahma within us. This atom is the first vital center which functions in the fetus and also the last atom which stops living in our organism. This atom contains the mind, life, energy and will power of the human being. It has an opal-like luminous aura which irradiates and shines." - Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of Beelzebub.

For more information, read The Dayspring of Youth by M.

Nukva

(Hebrew נוכבי. In Aramaic, "female") A term in Kabbalah hidden behind many symbols and words in the scriptures, such as earth, land, body, bread, daughter, woman, bride, cup, throne, temple, tabernacle, and more. Nukva refers to the two aspects of our physical body, symbolized on the Tree of Life by Yesod and Malkuth. The Nukva is influenced by the Moon.

"When the Temple, which is the Nukva, was defiled, death was caused to the world for the period of time until the moon, which is the Nukva, is corrected and resumes her radiance." - Zohar 3. Beresheet B : 57

"One needs to draw illumination into the Nukva." - Zohar

"Whatever exists down on earth also exists above. There is nothing in this world, in the Nukva, be it ever so small, which does not depend on something appointed over it above, in Binah." - Zohar 9. Vayetze : 23

"The mother of Solomon, as it is written: “Bat-Sheva the mother of Solomon” (I Melachim 1:11) is the Nukva..." - Zohar

Nun

The fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it symbolizes "a fish" (Aramaic).

Nun is written with the following letters: Nun, Vav, Nun-Sophit, which mean: the Light above, the Shechinah of the three primary forces hidden within the “Nun,” “the N” descending through “Vav” (spinal medulla) even through the final Nun in order to expand the Infinite Light below in the Ninth Sphere, the center of the Earth. In Yesod, the Solar Forces of Kether, Chokmah, and Binah (their Messiah or Solar-Light-Force), the Heir to the Throne (the Spinal Medulla) are hidden within Nun, the Sperm and the Ovum (the fish) that swims within the Mem, the waters of Yesod, the Ens Seminis.

Its Kabbalistic value is 50.