transcend the illusion that objects
are unconnected and recognize the one
real power in the universe. The insight
is believed to give a definitive under-
standing into the workings of the
universe and to bring the individual final
release of the soul (moksha) from the
cycle of reincarnation (samsara).
Ishitvam
(“superiority”) One of the eight superhu-
man powers (siddhi) traditionally
believed to be earned when a person
reaches a high degree of spiritual attain-
ment. This particular power stems from
the control over matter (prakrti), which
along with purushaare the two princi-
ples of the Samkhyaphilosophical sys-
tem. This control over primal matter
allows one to create, destroy, and
rearrange material objects.
Ishtadevata
(“chosen deity”) The specific Hindu
divinity that an individual has chosen for
more or less exclusive worship and
devotion. In many cases, this choice is
done without denying the existence of
the other Hindu deities, although they
are sometimes interpreted as secondary
manifestations of the ishtadevata. On
the whole, Hindus have been willing to
acknowledge a plurality of divine names
and forms, but each person generally
directs attention and worship to only
one of these deities. The particular deity
one worships is ultimately a matter of
personal choice, although family and
regional loyalties usually play a strong
role in this choice.
Ishvara
(“lord”) Primarily an epithet of the god
Shiva, especially when the word is used
at the end of compound names, such as
Rameshvar, “the Lord of Rama,” or
Mahakaleshvar, “the Lord of Death.” In
its more general meaning as “lord,” ish-
vara can also be part of the name taken
by earthly rulers, such as the Chalukya
monarch Someshvara(r. 1242–1268).
Ishvarakrishna
(4th c.) Indian philosopher who is
traditionally cited as the author of the
Samkhyakarikas, a collection of sayings
that explain the basic position of the
Samkhya philosophical school. The
Samkhya school is one of the six
schoolsin traditional Hindu philoso-
phy, and its position is an atheistic
philosophical dualism, in which two
fundamental principles, prakrti(“nature”)
and purusha(“person”), are the source
of all things.Ishvara Puri
(c. 1500) Ecstatic devotee (bhakta) of the
god Krishna, who is famous as the guru
of the Bengali saint Chaitanya. Little is
known about Ishvara Puri’s background,
although his surname “Puri” indicates
that he took formal ascetic initiationin
the Puri branch of the Dashanami
Sanyasis. After meeting Ishvara Puri in
1508 in the pilgrimage town of Gaya,
Chaitanya was fired with devotion to
Krishna, and he began to perform the
public ecstatic recitations of Krishna’s
name that have become an established
element in the religious life of the com-
munity that claims him as its founder,
the Gaudiya Vaishnavas. See also ISKCON.ISKCON
Acronym for the International Society
for Krishna Consciousness, a Hindu
missionary community commonly
known as the Hare Krishnas. This
name comes from ISKCON’s emphasis
on the importance of repeating the
divine name, particularly the formula
known as the mahamantra (“Hare
Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna,
Hare Hare”). ISKCONwas founded by A. C.
Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, and its reli-
gious roots lie in the Vaishnavapiety of
his native Bengal. The Bengali Vaishnava
tradition has long emphasized the
importance of publicly chanting
Krishna’s name, particularly in the
Gaudiya Vaishnavacommunity founded
by the Bengali saint Chaitanya.Ishitvam