The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2306 page)

 
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(1866–1931).
Christian
archbishop
of Sweden and pioneer of the Christian
ecumenical movement
. He was appointed archbishop in 1914, and he committed himself to the task of reconciliation between nations that had been at war, involving the Churches in working for peace and justice. This led to a necessary quest for common ground in this ‘work of the Kingdom’. This work was recognized by the award of the Nobel peace prize in 1930.

 
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(Heb., ‘secret’). A Jewish esoteric method of exegesis, based on the biblical understanding that prophets enter into the sodh of God. Sodh extends the belief that the
Torah
has more than one level of meaning. It was used particularly to interpret the Creation account in
Genesis
and
Ezekiel's
vision of the chariot (see
MA‘ASEH
).

 
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odhana
.

Hindu purification. Cleansing from impurity may be necessary on different levels, and for different reasons. Physical purification is a part of daily ritual, which may, in the case of
s
dhus
, be very elaborate. It is necessary also if
caste
rules have been broken, and before
p
j
. Interior purification is an important part of
Hatha yoga
. Spiritual purification involves setting the self free, as through the exercise of the restraints (
niyama
).

 
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So
h
.