against the British government. His
political career lasted only four years,
but his intellect and energy soon made
him a leader in the Bengali language
and national politics.
His life was transformed again by a
stay in prison, during which he
remembered the advice of an ascetic
who had told him to focus on his inner
self. Aurobindo later had a vision of
Swami Vivekananda, who guided his
yoga practice, and after he was
released from prison, Aurobindo with-
drew from political life. In 1910 he
moved to the French enclave of
Pondicherry in southern India, where
he lived until his death in 1950.
Aurobindo spent these years develop-
ing his spiritual life, and in his later
years he was known as Shri Aurobindo.
His teachings focus on the insights
found in the Upanishads, and stress
the development of true knowledge,
which leads to self-realization.
Auspiciousness
This is the general term for events or
conditions that cause or promote life,
prosperity, and overall well-being.
Along with purity and impurity
(ashaucha), auspiciousness and
inauspiciousness are fundamental
concepts in Hindu life.
The life-giving qualities connected
with auspiciousness make it a state
that Hindus pursue—whether through
performing rituals, scheduling impor-
tant events such as marriage cere-
monies for astrologically favorable
times, or avoiding people and things
deemed to be inauspicious. For exten-
sive information of auspiciousness
and its importance in Hindu life, see
Frederique Apffel Marglin, Wives of
the God-King, 1985.
Avadhi
Avadhi is a language known in two dif-
ferent contexts. In a literary context,
Avadhi is a dialect of medieval Hindi
(and a sister language of Braj Bhasha)
found in the eastern part of the state of
Uttar Pradesh, in the region sur-
rounding Ayodhya(Avadh). It is recog-
nized as the language in which the
poet-saint Tulsidas (1532–1623?)
wrote his vernacular retelling of the
Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas.
In a linguistic context, Avadhi is
one of the dialects of modern standard
Hindi spoken throughout the same
region. Although it shows similarities
to the language of Tulsidas, it has
evolved from that version.Avadhuta
(“one who has cast away [all attach-
ments]”) In its most general sense,
an avadhuta is an asceticwho does
not adhere to any social or religious
rules but his (or far more rarely,
her) own. Needless to say, their
behavior is often unpredictable, seem-
ingly capricious, and sometimes
intentionally shocking.
As a more technical title, avadhuta
is a term of respect for the senior
members of the Naga class of the
Dashanami Sanyasis, renunciant
ascetics who are devotees (bhakta)
of the god Shivaand who formerly
made their living as traders and
mercenary soldiers.Avahana
(“summoning”) The first of the sixteen
upacharas (“offerings”) given to a
deityas part of worship, which is done
to treat the deity as an honored guest.
Although the literal translation of this
word (“summoning”) seems inappro-
priate for interacting with a god, the
true sense of the word is inviting the
deity to become present for worship,
just as one would invite a guest into
one’s house for hospitality.Avahana Akhara
The name of a particular group of the
Nagaclass of the Dashanami Sanyasis,
which is comprised of renunciantAvahana Akhara