dasa marga: (Sanskrit) "Servant's path.

dasa marga: (Sanskrit) "Servant's path." See: pada. Dashanami: (Sanskrit) "Ten names." Ten monastic orders organized by Adi Shankara (ca 800): Aranya, Vana, Giri, Parvata, Sagara, Tirtha, Ashrama, Bharati, Puri and Sarasvati. Also refers to sannyasins of these orders, each of whom bears his order's name, with ananda often attached to the religious name. For example, Ramananda Tirtha. Traditionally, each order is associated with one of the main Shankaracharya pithas.

See: Shankaracharya pitha, Smarta Sampradaya, Shankara. daurmanasya: (Sanskrit) "Mental pain, dejection, sorrow, melancholy and despair." See: chakra. daya: (Sanskrit) "Compassion." See: yama-niyama. death: Death is a rich concept for which there are many words in Sanskrit, such as: mahaprasthana, "great departure;" samadhimarana, dying consciously while in the state of meditation; mahasamadhi, "great merger, or absorption," naming the departure of an enlightened soul.

Hindus know death to be the soul's detaching itself from the physical body and continuing on in the subtle body (sukshma sharira) with the same desires, aspirations and occupations as when it lived in a physical body. Now the person exists in the in-between world, the subtle plane, or Antarloka, with loved ones who have previously died, and is visited by earthly associates during their sleep.

Hindus do not fear death, for they know it to be one of the most glorious and exalted experiences, rich in spiritual potential. Other terms for death include panchatvam (death as dissolution of the five elements), mrityu (natural death), prayopavesha (self-willed death by fasting), marana (unnatural death, e.g., by murder). See: reincarnation, suicide, videhamukti. deceit (deception): The act of representing as true what is known to be false. A dishonest action.

decentralized: Whose administrative agencies, power, authority, etc., are distributed widely, rather than concentrated in a single place or person. In Hinduism, authority is decentralized. decked: Covered with fine clothing or ornaments. defiled: Polluted, made dirty, impure. deformity: Condition of being disfigured or made ugly in body, mind or emotions.

deha: (Sanskrit) "Body." From the verb dih, "to plaster, mold; anoint, fashion." A term used in the Upanishads, yoga texts, Saiva Agamas, Tirumantiram and elsewhere to name the three bodies of the soul: gross or physical (sthula), astral or subtle (sukshma) and causal (karana). A synonym for sharira. See: sharira.