A
Ashta-anga-yoga, ashtanga-yoga ("eight-limbed union"): the eightfold yoga of Patanjali, consisting of moral discipline
(yama), self-restraint (niyama), posture (asana), breath control (pranayama), sensory inhibition (pratyahara),
concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi), leading to liberation (kaivalya)
Asmita ("I-am-ness"): a concept of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga, roughly synonymous with ahamkara
Atman ("self"): the transcendental Self, or Spirit, which is eternal and superconscious; our true nature or identity;
sometimes a distinction is made between the atman as the individual self and the parama-atman as the transcendental
Self; see also purusha; cf. Brahman
Avadhuta ("he who has shed [everything]"): a radical type of renouncer (samnyasin) who often engages in
unconventional behavior
Avidya ("ignorance"): the root cause of suffering (duhkha); also called ajnana; cf. Vidya
Ayurveda, Ayur-veda ("life science"): one of India's traditional systems of medicine, the other being South India's Siddha
medicine
B
Bandha ("bond/bondage"): the fact that human beings are typically bound by ignorance (avidya), which causes them to
lead a life governed by karmic habit rather than inner freedom generated through wisdom (vidya, jnana)
Bhagavad Gita ("Lord's Song"): the oldest full-fledged yoga book found embedded in the Mahabharata and containing
the teachings on karma yoga (the path of self-transcending action), samkhya yoga (the path of discerning the principles
of existence correctly), and bhakti yoga (the path of devotion), as given by the God-man Krishna to Prince Arjuna on the
battlefield 3,500 years or more ago
Bhagavata-Purana ("Ancient [Tradition] of the Bhagavatas"): a voluminous tenth-century scripture held sacred by the
devotees of the Divine in the form of Vishnu, especially in his incarnate form as Krishna; also called Shrimad-Bhagavata
Bhakta ("devotee"): a disciple practicing bhakti yoga
Bhakti ("devotion/love"): the love of the bhakta toward the Divine or the guru as a manifestation of the Divine; also the
love of the Divine toward the devotee
Bhakti-Sutra ("Aphorisms on Devotion"): an aphoristic work on devotional yoga authored by Sage Narada; another text
by the same title is ascribed to Sage Shandilya
Bhakti Yoga ("Yoga of devotion"): a major branch of the yoga tradition, utilizing the feeling capacity to connect with the
ultimate Reality conceived as a supreme Person (uttama-purusha)
Bindu ("seed/point"): the creative potency of anything where all energies are focused; the dot (also called tilaka) worn on
the forehead as indicative of the third eye
Bodhi ("enlightenment"): the state of the awakened master, or buddha
Bodhisattva ("enlightenment being"): in Mahayana Buddhist yoga, the individual who, motivated by compassion (karuna),
is committed to achieving enlightenment for the sake of all other beings
Brahma ("he who has grown expansive"): the Creator of the universe, the first principle (tattva) to emerge out of the
ultimate Reality (brahman)
Brahmacharya (from brahma and acarya "brahmic conduct"): the discipline of chastity, which produces ojas
Brahman ("that which has grown expansive"): the ultimate Reality (cf. Atman, purusha)
Brahmana: a brahmin, a member of the highest social class of traditional Indian society; also an early type of ritual text
explicating the rituals and mythology of the four Vedas; cf. Aranyaka, Upanishad, Veda
Buddha ("awakened"): a designation of the person who has attained enlightenment (bodhi) and therefore inner freedom;
honorific title of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, who lived in the sixth century B.C.E.
Buddhi ("she who is conscious, awake"): the higher mind, which is the seat of wisdom (vidya, jnana); cf. Manas
C
Cin-mudra ("consciousness seal"): a common hand gesture (mudra) in meditation (dhyana), which is formed by bringing
the tips of the index finger and the thumb together, while the remaining fingers are kept straight
Cit ("consciousness"): the superconscious ultimate Reality (see atman, brahman)
Citta ("that which is conscious"): ordinary consciousness, the mind, as opposed to cit
D
Darshana ("seeing"): vision in the literal and metaphorical sense; a system of philosophy, such as the yoga-darshana of
Patanjali; cf. Drishti
Deva ("he who is shining"): a male deity, such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Krishna, either in the sense of the ultimate Reality or a
high angelic being
Devi ("she who is shining"): a female deity such as Parvati, Lakshmi, or Radha, either in the sense of the ultimate Reality
(in its feminine pole) or a high
angelic being
Dharana ("holding"): concentration, the sixth limb (anga) of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga
Dharma ("bearer"): a term of numerous meanings; often used in the sense of "law," "lawfulness," "virtue,"
"righteousness," "norm"
Dhyana ("ideating"): meditation, the seventh limb (anga) of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga
Diksha ("initiation"): the act and condition of induction into the hidden aspects of yoga or a particular lineage of teachers;
all traditional yoga is initiatory
Drishti ("view/sight"): yogic gazing, such as at the tip of the nose or the spot between the eyebrows; cf. Darshana
Duhkha ("bad axle space"): suffering, a fundamental fact of life, caused by ignorance (avidya) of our true nature (i.e., the
Self or atman)
Ashta-anga-yoga, ashtanga-yoga ("eight-limbed union"): the eightfold yoga of Patanjali, consisting of moral discipline
(yama), self-restraint (niyama), posture (asana), breath control (pranayama), sensory inhibition (pratyahara),
concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi), leading to liberation (kaivalya)
Asmita ("I-am-ness"): a concept of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga, roughly synonymous with ahamkara
Atman ("self"): the transcendental Self, or Spirit, which is eternal and superconscious; our true nature or identity;
sometimes a distinction is made between the atman as the individual self and the parama-atman as the transcendental
Self; see also purusha; cf. Brahman
Avadhuta ("he who has shed [everything]"): a radical type of renouncer (samnyasin) who often engages in
unconventional behavior
Avidya ("ignorance"): the root cause of suffering (duhkha); also called ajnana; cf. Vidya
Ayurveda, Ayur-veda ("life science"): one of India's traditional systems of medicine, the other being South India's Siddha
medicine
B
Bandha ("bond/bondage"): the fact that human beings are typically bound by ignorance (avidya), which causes them to
lead a life governed by karmic habit rather than inner freedom generated through wisdom (vidya, jnana)
Bhagavad Gita ("Lord's Song"): the oldest full-fledged yoga book found embedded in the Mahabharata and containing
the teachings on karma yoga (the path of self-transcending action), samkhya yoga (the path of discerning the principles
of existence correctly), and bhakti yoga (the path of devotion), as given by the God-man Krishna to Prince Arjuna on the
battlefield 3,500 years or more ago
Bhagavata-Purana ("Ancient [Tradition] of the Bhagavatas"): a voluminous tenth-century scripture held sacred by the
devotees of the Divine in the form of Vishnu, especially in his incarnate form as Krishna; also called Shrimad-Bhagavata
Bhakta ("devotee"): a disciple practicing bhakti yoga
Bhakti ("devotion/love"): the love of the bhakta toward the Divine or the guru as a manifestation of the Divine; also the
love of the Divine toward the devotee
Bhakti-Sutra ("Aphorisms on Devotion"): an aphoristic work on devotional yoga authored by Sage Narada; another text
by the same title is ascribed to Sage Shandilya
Bhakti Yoga ("Yoga of devotion"): a major branch of the yoga tradition, utilizing the feeling capacity to connect with the
ultimate Reality conceived as a supreme Person (uttama-purusha)
Bindu ("seed/point"): the creative potency of anything where all energies are focused; the dot (also called tilaka) worn on
the forehead as indicative of the third eye
Bodhi ("enlightenment"): the state of the awakened master, or buddha
Bodhisattva ("enlightenment being"): in Mahayana Buddhist yoga, the individual who, motivated by compassion (karuna),
is committed to achieving enlightenment for the sake of all other beings
Brahma ("he who has grown expansive"): the Creator of the universe, the first principle (tattva) to emerge out of the
ultimate Reality (brahman)
Brahmacharya (from brahma and acarya "brahmic conduct"): the discipline of chastity, which produces ojas
Brahman ("that which has grown expansive"): the ultimate Reality (cf. Atman, purusha)
Brahmana: a brahmin, a member of the highest social class of traditional Indian society; also an early type of ritual text
explicating the rituals and mythology of the four Vedas; cf. Aranyaka, Upanishad, Veda
Buddha ("awakened"): a designation of the person who has attained enlightenment (bodhi) and therefore inner freedom;
honorific title of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, who lived in the sixth century B.C.E.
Buddhi ("she who is conscious, awake"): the higher mind, which is the seat of wisdom (vidya, jnana); cf. Manas
C
Cin-mudra ("consciousness seal"): a common hand gesture (mudra) in meditation (dhyana), which is formed by bringing
the tips of the index finger and the thumb together, while the remaining fingers are kept straight
Cit ("consciousness"): the superconscious ultimate Reality (see atman, brahman)
Citta ("that which is conscious"): ordinary consciousness, the mind, as opposed to cit
D
Darshana ("seeing"): vision in the literal and metaphorical sense; a system of philosophy, such as the yoga-darshana of
Patanjali; cf. Drishti
Deva ("he who is shining"): a male deity, such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Krishna, either in the sense of the ultimate Reality or a
high angelic being
Devi ("she who is shining"): a female deity such as Parvati, Lakshmi, or Radha, either in the sense of the ultimate Reality
(in its feminine pole) or a high
angelic being
Dharana ("holding"): concentration, the sixth limb (anga) of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga
Dharma ("bearer"): a term of numerous meanings; often used in the sense of "law," "lawfulness," "virtue,"
"righteousness," "norm"
Dhyana ("ideating"): meditation, the seventh limb (anga) of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga
Diksha ("initiation"): the act and condition of induction into the hidden aspects of yoga or a particular lineage of teachers;
all traditional yoga is initiatory
Drishti ("view/sight"): yogic gazing, such as at the tip of the nose or the spot between the eyebrows; cf. Darshana
Duhkha ("bad axle space"): suffering, a fundamental fact of life, caused by ignorance (avidya) of our true nature (i.e., the
Self or atman)
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