G
Gayatri-mantra: a famous Vedic mantra recited particularly at sunrise: tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yo nah pracodayat,"
Gheranda-Samhita ("[Sage] Gheranda's Compendium"): one of three major manuals of classical hatha yoga, composed
in the seventeenth century; cf. Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, Shiva-Samhita
Goraksha ("Cow Protector"): traditionally said to be the founding adept of hatha yoga, a disciple of Matsyendra
Granthi ("knot"): any one of three common blockages in the central pathway (sushumna-nadi) preventing the full ascent
of the serpent power
(kundalini-shakti); the three knots are known as brahma-granthi (at the lowest psychoenergetic center of the subtle
body), the vishnu-granthi (at the heart), and the rudra-granthi (at the eyebrow center)
Guna ("quality"): a term that has numerous meanings, including "virtue"; often refers to any of the three primary
"qualities" or constituents of nature (prakriti): tamas (the principle of inertia), rajas (the dynamic principle), and sattva
(the principle of lucidity)
Guru ("he who is heavy, weighty"): a spiritual teacher; cf. Acarya
Guru-bhakti ("teacher devotion"): a disciple's self-transcending devotion to the guru; see also bhakti
Guru-Gita ("Guru's Song"): a text in praise of the guru, often chanted in ashramas
Guru-Yoga ("Yoga [relating to] the teacher"): a yogic approach that makes the guru the fulcrum of a disciple's practice;
all traditional forms of yoga contain a strong element of guru-yoga
H
Hamsa ("swan/gander"): apart from the literal meaning, this term also refers to the breath (prana) as it moves within the
body; the individuated consciousness (jiva) propelled by the breath; see jiva-atman; see also parama-hamsa
Hatha Yoga ("Forceful Yoga"): a major branch of yoga, developed by Goraksha and other adepts c. 1000 C.E., and
emphasizing the physical aspects of the transformative path, notably postures (asana) and cleansing techniques
(shodhana), but also breath control (pranayama)
Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika ("Light on Hatha Yoga"): one of three classical manuals on hatha yoga, authored by Svatmarama
Yogendra in the fourteenth century
Hiranyagarbha ("Golden Germ"): the mythical founder of yoga; the first cosmological principle (tattva) to emerge out of
the infinite Reality; also called Brahma
I
Ida-nadi ("pale conduit"): the prana current or arc ascending on the left side of the central channel (sushumna nadi)
associated with the parasympathetic nervous system and having a cooling or calming effect on the mind when activated;
cf. Pingala-nadi
Ishvara ("ruler"): the Lord; referring either to the Creator (see Brahma) or, in Patanjali's yoga-darshana, to a special
transcendental Self (purusha)
Ishvara-pranidhana ("dedication to the Lord"): in Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga one of the practices of self-restraint
(niyama); see also bhakti yoga
J
Jaina (sometimes Jain): pertaining to the jinas ("conquerors"), the liberated adepts of Jainism; a member of Jainism, the
spiritual tradition founded by Vardhamana Mahavira, a contemporary of Gautama the Buddha
Japa ("muttering"): the recitation of mantras
Jiva-atman, jivatman ("individual self"): the individuated consciousness, as opposed to the ultimate Self (parama-atman)
Jivan-mukta ("he who is liberated while alive"): an adept who, while still embodied, has attained liberation (moksha)
Jivan-mukti ("living liberation"): the state of liberation while being embodied; cf. Videha-mukti
Jnana ("knowledge/wisdom"): both worldly knowledge or world-transcending wisdom, depending on the context; see also
prajna; cf. Avidya
Jnana-Yoga ("Yoga of wisdom"): the path to liberation based on wisdom, or the direct intuition of the transcendental Self
(atman) through the steady application of discernment between the Real and the unreal and renunciation of what has
been identified as unreal (or inconsequential to the achievement of liberation)
K
Kaivalya ("isolation"): the state of absolute freedom from conditioned existence, as explained in ashta-anga-yoga; in the
nondualistic (advaita) traditions of India, this is usually called moksha or mukti (meaning "release" from the fetters of
ignorance, or avidya)
Kali: a Goddess embodying the fierce (dissolving) aspect of the Divine
Kali-yuga: the dark age of spiritual and moral decline, said to be current now; kali does not refer to the Goddess Kali but
to the losing throw of a die
Kama ("desire"): the appetite for sensual pleasure blocking the path to true bliss (ananda); the only desire conducive to
freedom is the impulse toward liberation, called mumukshutva
Kapila ("He who is red"): a great sage, the quasi-mythical founder of the Samkhya tradition, who is said to have
composed the Samkhya-Sutra (which, however, appears to be of a much later date)
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