The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (311 page)

(Skt., ‘This Self is Brahman’:
B
had
ra
yaka Upani
ad
4. 4. 5) one of the
Mah
v
kyas
in Hinduism, the realization that
tman
is
Brahman
.

 
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Aya Sofya
(mosque, formerly basilica)
:

see
HAGIA SOFIA
.

 
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(Arab., ‘sign of God’). Title of high-ranking Shi‘ite Muslim authorities, especially in Iran. It is a recent (20th cent.) title for exceptional jurists (
mujt
hid
), whose authority rests on that of the infallible
Im
m
—though in 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini (see
KHUMAYNI
) adopted the title of Im
m for himself. An Ayatollah's decisions (
fatw
) have authority only for those who examine and agree with them—in theory; in practice, Ayatollahs gain personal followings, among whom their decisions are accepted as binding. The extension of these personal followings to even wider communities is again a recent innovation.