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Tapas (Sanskrit)
Tapas (tápas) in Sanskritmeans "heat". In Vedic religionand Hinduism, it is used figuratively, denoting spiritual suffering, mortification or austerity, and also the spiritual ecstasy of a yoginor tāpasá (a Vrddhiderivative meaning "practicer of tapas"). In the Rigveda, the word is connected with the Somacult. The adjective tapasvín means "wretched, poor, miserable", but also "an ascetic, someone practicing austerities".
In the yogic tradition, tapas may be translated as "essential energy", referring to a focused effort leading towards bodily purification and spiritual enlightenment. It is one of the Niyamas(observances of self-control) described in the Yoga Sutrasof Patanjali. Tapas implies a self-discipline or austerity willingly expended both in restraining physical urges and in actively pursuing a higher purpose in life. Through tapas, a yogi or spiritual seeker can "burn off" or prevent accumulation of negative energies, clearing a path toward spiritual evolution.
Personified, Tapas appears as the father of Manyuin the Rigveda. The tapo-raaja ("king over austerities") is a name of the Moon.
See also
Topicsin Hinduism
| Shruti(that which is heard):
| Vedas| Upanishads
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| Smriti(that which is remembered):
| Itihasa(Ramayanaand Mahabharataincluding Bhagavad Gita) | Puranas| Sutras| Agama(Tantra& Yantra) | Vedanta
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| Concepts:
| Avatar| Brahman| Kosas| Dharma| Karma | Moksha| Maya | Ishta-deva| Murti| Reincarnation| Samsara| Trimurti| Turiya| Guru-shishya tradition
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| Schools & systems:
| Schools of Hinduism| Early Hinduism| Samkhya| Nyaya| Vaisheshika| Yoga| Mimamsa| Vedanta| Tantra| Bhakti| Carvakas
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| Traditional practices:
| Jyotish| Ayurveda
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| Rituals:
| Aarti| Bhajans| Darshan| Diksha| Mantras| Puja| Satsang| Stotras| Wedding| Yajna
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| Gurusand saints:
| Shankara| Ramanuja| Madhvacharya| Madhavacharya| Ramakrishna| Vivekananda| Sree Narayana Guru| Aurobindo| Ramana Maharshi| Sivananda| Chinmayananda| Sivaya Subramuniyaswami| Swaminarayan| A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada|Lokenath
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| Denominations:
| Vaishnavism| Shaivism| Shaktism| Smartism| Agama Hindu Dharma| Contemporary Hindu movements| Survey of Hindu organisations
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| Hindu deities:
| List of Hindu deities| Hindu mythology
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| Yugas:
| Satya Yuga| Treta Yuga| Dwapar Yuga| Kali Yuga
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| Castes:
| Brahmin| Kshatriya| Vaishya| Shudra
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapas+%28Sanskrit%29 Wikipedia article Tapas (Sanskrit).
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