364 The Law of the Rhythmic Breath 



breathing mark over it by which the letter would be rec- 

 ognized as having very nearly the sound-value of sh in 

 shun, or ss in session. Therefore, the spelling for the 

 English reader should be Shakti; so also Sushumnd, not 

 Susumnd; Akasha, not Akasa; Shiva, not Siva. 

 I A is the most important vowel in Sanskrit, and its 

 two sounds, long like a in ah! and short like u in up, 

 are distinguished by a slight change in the letters. Short 

 or " medial " a is considered inherent in every consonant, 

 unless it is followed by another vowel. A typical word 

 to illustrate pronunciation and common usage is Pandit, 

 a learned Brahmin, which has become most familiar to 

 English eyes as well as ears in the spelling Pundit, which 

 preserves its pronunciation. In the English Theosophical 

 works of the best-known writers, long a in Sanskrit words 

 has the circumflex accent over it, and short a is without 

 mark. 



E has the sound of a in may; long i, of i in machine; 

 short ij of i in kin; long u is like oo in moon, and short, 

 like u in push. 



Adi ah'dee ; primordial universal Force. " The ve- 

 hicle containing potentially everything." 



Agni ag'nee (a almost like a in as, g hard); fire, 

 sacrificial fire, god of fire; name sometimes given to 

 Tejas Tattva. 



I Akasha ah-kah'shuh; subtle ether, fifth Tattva, the 

 subtle sound-granules of space, without and within every 

 atom. 



Anupadaka on-oo-pah'du-ku ; the sixth Tattva. 



Amrita om-ree'tuh; the nectar of the gods; the 

 water of eternal life. 



