Abraham ibn DaudAbraham ibn Daud (אַבְרָהָם בֶּן־דָּוִד הַלֵּוִי אִבְּן דָּאוּד; ابراهيم بن داود) was a Spanish-Jewish astronomer, historian and philosopher; born in Córdoba, Spain about 1110; who was said to have died in Toledo, Spain, a martyr about 1180. He is sometimes known by the abbreviation Rabad I or Ravad I. His maternal grandfather was Isaac Albalia . Some scholars believe he was the Arabic-into-Latin translator known as “Avendauth.” His chronicle, a work written in Hebrew in 1161 under the title of Sefer ha-Qabbalah (ספר הקבלה; some manuscripts give the title as Seder ha-Qabbalah, i.
EckankarEckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. The spiritual home is the Temple of ECK in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Eckankar is not affiliated with any other religious group. The movement teaches simple spiritual exercises, such as singing "HU", called "a love song to God", to experience the Light and Sound of God and recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit. Twitchell was known for adapting Sanskrit words into English, and the word Eckankar is likely Twitchell's adaptation of the sacred phrase Ik Onkar of Sikhism, meaning "One Om".
ThetanIn Scientology, the concept of the thetan (ˈθeɪtən) is similar to the concept of self, or the spirit or soul as found in several belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter Θ, theta, which in Scientology beliefs represents "the source of life, or life itself." In Scientology it is believed that it is the thetan, not the central nervous system, which commands the body. Thetan has been described as: A "thetan is an immortal spiritual being; the human soul." "The being who is the individual and who handles and lives in the body.
Videha muktiVideha mukti (विदेहमुक्ति meaning "liberation after death or literally liberation from the body") refers to the moksha (liberation from the death and rebirth cycle) after death. It is a concept found in Hinduism and Jainism in relation to ending the samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth). The concept contrasts with Jivanmukti, which refers to achieving "liberation while alive". The concepts of Jivanmukta and Videhamukta are particularly discussed in Vedanta and Yoga schools of Hindu philosophy.
Phaedrus (dialogue)The Phaedrus (ˈfiːdrəs; Phaidros), written by Plato, is a dialogue between Socrates, and Phaedrus, an interlocutor in several dialogues. The Phaedrus was presumably composed around 370 BC, about the same time as Plato's Republic and Symposium. Although ostensibly about the topic of love, the discussion in the dialogue revolves around the art of rhetoric and how it should be practiced, and dwells on subjects as diverse as metempsychosis (the Greek tradition of reincarnation) and erotic love, and the nature of the human soul shown in the famous Chariot Allegory.
Inuit religionInuit religion is the shared spiritual beliefs and practices of the Inuit, an indigenous people from Alaska, northern Canada, parts of Siberia and Greenland. Their religion shares many similarities with some Alaska Native religions. Traditional Inuit religious practices include animism and shamanism, in which spiritual healers mediate with spirits. Today many Inuit follow Christianity, but traditional Inuit spirituality continues as part of a living, oral tradition and part of contemporary Inuit society.
Spirit world (Spiritualism)The spirit world, according to Spiritualism, is the world or realm inhabited by spirits, both good or evil of various spiritual manifestations. This spirit world is regarded as an external environment for spirits. The Spiritualism religious movement in the nineteenth century espoused a belief in an afterlife where individual's awareness persists beyond death. Although independent from one another, both the spirit world and the physical world are in constant interaction.
Laws (dialogue)The Laws (Greek: Νόμοι, Nómoi; Latin: De Legibus) is Plato's last and longest dialogue. The conversation depicted in the work's twelve books begins with the question of who is given the credit for establishing a civilization's laws. Its musings on the ethics of government and law have established it as a classic of political philosophy alongside Plato's more widely read Republic. Scholars generally agree that Plato wrote this dialogue as an older man, having failed in his effort to guide the rule of the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse, instead having been thrown in prison.
ZostrianosZostrianos is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the first tractate of two in Codex VIII of the Nag Hammadi library. It takes up 132 of the 140 pages in the codex, making Zostrianos the longest tractate of the entire library. However the text is extensively damaged, especially in the center, making the document difficult to fully understand. The Coptic manuscript is a translation of a Greek original, likely written in Alexandria in c. 200 AD. In the text, Zostrianos goes on a heavenly journey and receives divine knowledge from the aeons.
GhulatThe ghulāt (غُلَاة, 'exaggerators', 'extremists', 'transgressors', singular ghālin) were a branch of early Shi'i Muslims. The term mainly refers to a wide variety of now extinct Shi'i sects who were active in 8th/9th-century Kufa (southern Iraq), and who despite their sometimes significant differences shared a number of common ideas.
