celibacy: Complete sexual abstinence.

celibacy: Complete sexual abstinence. Also the state of a person who has vowed to remain unmarried. See: brahmachari, brahmacharya. centillion: The number 1 followed by 600 zeros. An unimaginably large figure. ceremony: A formal rite established by custom or authority as proper to special occasions. From the Latin caerimonia, "awe; reverent rite." cf: An abbreviation for "compare." A scholastic notation.

chaitanya: (Sanskrit) "Spirit, consciousness, especially higher consciousness; Supreme Being."A widely used term, often preceded by modifiers, e.g., sakshi chaitanya, "witness consciousness," or bhakti chaitanya, "devotional consciousness," or Sivachaitanya, "God consciousness." See: chitta, consciousness, mind (five states), Siva consciousness.

Chaitanya: (Sanskrit) A renowned Vaishnava saint (1485-1534), revered today especially in Bengal and Orissa, remembered for his ecstatic states of devotion. He taught a dualistic philosophy in which bhakti (devotion) to the divine couple Radha and Krishna is the only means to liberation. Practice revolves mainly around kirtana, devotional singing and dancing. He gave prominence to the Gaudiya Vaishnava sect, of which several branches thrive today, including ISKCON.

See: Krishna, Vaishnavism, Vedanta. chakra: (Sanskrit) "Wheel." Any of the nerve plexes or centers of force and consciousness located within the inner bodies of man. In the physical body there are corresponding nerve plexuses, ganglia and glands. The seven principal chakras can be seen psychically as colorful, multi-petaled wheels or lotuses. They are situated along the spinal cord from the base to the cranial chamber. Additionally, seven chakras, barely visible, exist below the spine.

They are seats of instinctive consciousness, the origin of jealousy, hatred, envy, guilt, sorrow, etc. They constitute the lower or hellish world, called Naraka or patala. Thus, there are 14 major chakras in all.

The seven upper chakras, from lowest to highest, are: 1) muladhara (base of spine): memory, time and space; 2) svadhishthana (below navel): reason; 3) manipura (solar plexus): willpower; 4) anahata (heart center): direct cognition; 5) vishuddha (throat): divine love; 6) a jna (third eye): divine sight; 7) sahasrara (crown of head): illumination, Godliness.