K
Karman, karma ("action"): activity of any kind, including ritual acts; said to be binding only so long as engaged in a
self-centered way; the "karmic" consequence of one's actions; destiny
Karma Yoga ("Yoga of action"): the liberating path of self-transcending action
Karuna ("compassion"): universal sympathy; in Buddhist yoga the complement of wisdom (prajna)
Khecari-mudra ("space-walking seal"): the Tantric practice of curling the tongue back against the upper palate in order to
seal the life energy (prana); see also mudra
Kosha ("casing"): any one of five "envelopes" surrounding the transcendental Self (atman) and thus blocking its light:
anna-maya-kosha ("envelope made of food," the physical body), prana-maya-kosha ("envelope made of life force"),
mano-maya-kosha ("envelope made of mind"), vijnana-maya-kosha ("envelope made of consciousness"), and
ananda-maya-kosha ("envelope made of bliss"); some older traditions regard the last kosha as identical with the Self
(atman)
Krishna ("Puller"): an incarnation of God Vishnu, the God-man whose teachings can be found in the Bhagavad Gita and the
Bhagavata-Purana
Kumbhaka ("potlike"): breath retention; cf. Puraka, recaka
Kundalini-shakti ("coiled power"): according to Tantra and hatha yoga, the serpent power or spiritual energy, which exists in
potential form at the lowest psycho-energetic center of the body (i.e., the mula-adhara-cakra) and which must be awakened
and guided to the center at the crown (i.e., the sahasrara-cakra) for full enlightenment to occur
Kundalini-Yoga: the yogic path focusing on the kundalini process as a means of liberation
Laya Yoga ("Yoga of dissolution"): an advanced form or process of Tantric yoga by which the energies associated with the
various psycho-energetic centers (cakra) of the subtle body are gradually dissolved through the ascent of the serpent
power (kundalini-shakti)
Linga ("mark"): the phallus as a principle of creativity; a symbol of God Shiva; cf. Yoni
M
Mahabharata ("Great Bharata"): one of India's two great ancient epics telling of the great war between the Pandavas and
the Kauravas and serving as a repository for many spiritual and moral teachings
Mahatma (from maha-atman, "great self"): an honorific title (meaning something like "a great soul") bestowed on
particularly meritorious individuals, such as Gandhi
Maithuna ("twinning"): the Tantric sexual ritual in which the participants view each other as Shiva and Shakti respectively
Manas ("mind"): the lower mind, which is bound to the senses and yields information (vijnana) rather than wisdom (jnana,
vidya); cf. Buddhi
Mandala ("circle"): a circular design symbolizing the cosmos and specific to a deity
Mantra (from the verbal root man "to think"): a sacred sound or phrase, such as om, hum, or om namah shivaya, that has a
transformative effect on the mind of the individual reciting it; to be ultimately effective, a mantra needs to be given in an
initiatory context (diksha)
Mantra-Yoga: the yogic path utilizing mantras as the primary means of liberation
Marman ("lethal [spot]"): in Ayurveda and yoga, a vital spot on the physical body where energy is concentrated or blocked;
cf. Granthi
Matsyendra ("Lord of Fish"): an early Tantric master who founded the Yogini-Kaula school and is remembered as a teacher
of Goraksha
Maya ("she who measures"): the deluding or illusive power of the world; illusion by which the world is seen as separate from
the ultimate singular Reality (atman)
Moksha ("release"): the condition of freedom from ignorance (avidya) and the binding effect of karma; also called mukti,
kaivalya
Mudra ("seal"): a hand gesture (such as cin-mudra) or whole-body gesture (such as viparita-karani-mudra); also a
designation of the feminine partner in the Tantric sexual ritual
Muni ("he who is silent"): a sage
N
Nada ("sound"): the inner sound, as it can be heard through the practice of nada yoga or kundalini yoga
Nada-Yoga ("Yoga of the [inner] sound"): the yoga or process of producing and intently listening to the inner sound as a
means of concentration and ecstatic self-transcendence
Nadi ("conduit"): one of 72,000 or more subtle channels along or through which the life force (prana) circulates, of which
the three most important ones are the ida-nadi, pingala-nadi, and sushumna-nadi
Nadi-shodhana ("channel cleansing"): the practice of purifying the conduits, especially by means of breath control
(pranayama)
Narada: a great sage associated with music, who taught bhakti yoga and is attributed with the authorship of one of two
Bhakti-Sutras
Natha ("lord"): appellation of many North Indian masters of yoga, in particular adepts of the Kanphata ("Split-ear") school
allegedly founded by Goraksha
Neti-neti ("not thus, not thus"): an Upanishadic expression meant to convey that the ultimate Reality is neither this nor that,
that is, is beyond all description
Nirodha ("restriction"): in Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga, the very basis of the process of concentration, meditation, and
ecstasy; in the first instance, the restriction of the "whirls of the mind" (citta-vritti)
Niyama ("[self-]restraint"): the second limb of Patanjali's eightfold path, which consists of purity (saucha), contentment
(samtosha), austerity (tapas), study (svadhyaya), and dedication to the Lord (ishvara-pranidhana)
Nyasa ("placing"): the Tantric practice of infusing various body parts with life force (prana) by touching or thinking of the
respective physical area
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Karman, karma ("action"): activity of any kind, including ritual acts; said to be binding only so long as engaged in a
self-centered way; the "karmic" consequence of one's actions; destiny
Karma Yoga ("Yoga of action"): the liberating path of self-transcending action
Karuna ("compassion"): universal sympathy; in Buddhist yoga the complement of wisdom (prajna)
Khecari-mudra ("space-walking seal"): the Tantric practice of curling the tongue back against the upper palate in order to
seal the life energy (prana); see also mudra
Kosha ("casing"): any one of five "envelopes" surrounding the transcendental Self (atman) and thus blocking its light:
anna-maya-kosha ("envelope made of food," the physical body), prana-maya-kosha ("envelope made of life force"),
mano-maya-kosha ("envelope made of mind"), vijnana-maya-kosha ("envelope made of consciousness"), and
ananda-maya-kosha ("envelope made of bliss"); some older traditions regard the last kosha as identical with the Self
(atman)
Krishna ("Puller"): an incarnation of God Vishnu, the God-man whose teachings can be found in the Bhagavad Gita and the
Bhagavata-Purana
Kumbhaka ("potlike"): breath retention; cf. Puraka, recaka
Kundalini-shakti ("coiled power"): according to Tantra and hatha yoga, the serpent power or spiritual energy, which exists in
potential form at the lowest psycho-energetic center of the body (i.e., the mula-adhara-cakra) and which must be awakened
and guided to the center at the crown (i.e., the sahasrara-cakra) for full enlightenment to occur
Kundalini-Yoga: the yogic path focusing on the kundalini process as a means of liberation
Laya Yoga ("Yoga of dissolution"): an advanced form or process of Tantric yoga by which the energies associated with the
various psycho-energetic centers (cakra) of the subtle body are gradually dissolved through the ascent of the serpent
power (kundalini-shakti)
Linga ("mark"): the phallus as a principle of creativity; a symbol of God Shiva; cf. Yoni
M
Mahabharata ("Great Bharata"): one of India's two great ancient epics telling of the great war between the Pandavas and
the Kauravas and serving as a repository for many spiritual and moral teachings
Mahatma (from maha-atman, "great self"): an honorific title (meaning something like "a great soul") bestowed on
particularly meritorious individuals, such as Gandhi
Maithuna ("twinning"): the Tantric sexual ritual in which the participants view each other as Shiva and Shakti respectively
Manas ("mind"): the lower mind, which is bound to the senses and yields information (vijnana) rather than wisdom (jnana,
vidya); cf. Buddhi
Mandala ("circle"): a circular design symbolizing the cosmos and specific to a deity
Mantra (from the verbal root man "to think"): a sacred sound or phrase, such as om, hum, or om namah shivaya, that has a
transformative effect on the mind of the individual reciting it; to be ultimately effective, a mantra needs to be given in an
initiatory context (diksha)
Mantra-Yoga: the yogic path utilizing mantras as the primary means of liberation
Marman ("lethal [spot]"): in Ayurveda and yoga, a vital spot on the physical body where energy is concentrated or blocked;
cf. Granthi
Matsyendra ("Lord of Fish"): an early Tantric master who founded the Yogini-Kaula school and is remembered as a teacher
of Goraksha
Maya ("she who measures"): the deluding or illusive power of the world; illusion by which the world is seen as separate from
the ultimate singular Reality (atman)
Moksha ("release"): the condition of freedom from ignorance (avidya) and the binding effect of karma; also called mukti,
kaivalya
Mudra ("seal"): a hand gesture (such as cin-mudra) or whole-body gesture (such as viparita-karani-mudra); also a
designation of the feminine partner in the Tantric sexual ritual
Muni ("he who is silent"): a sage
N
Nada ("sound"): the inner sound, as it can be heard through the practice of nada yoga or kundalini yoga
Nada-Yoga ("Yoga of the [inner] sound"): the yoga or process of producing and intently listening to the inner sound as a
means of concentration and ecstatic self-transcendence
Nadi ("conduit"): one of 72,000 or more subtle channels along or through which the life force (prana) circulates, of which
the three most important ones are the ida-nadi, pingala-nadi, and sushumna-nadi
Nadi-shodhana ("channel cleansing"): the practice of purifying the conduits, especially by means of breath control
(pranayama)
Narada: a great sage associated with music, who taught bhakti yoga and is attributed with the authorship of one of two
Bhakti-Sutras
Natha ("lord"): appellation of many North Indian masters of yoga, in particular adepts of the Kanphata ("Split-ear") school
allegedly founded by Goraksha
Neti-neti ("not thus, not thus"): an Upanishadic expression meant to convey that the ultimate Reality is neither this nor that,
that is, is beyond all description
Nirodha ("restriction"): in Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga, the very basis of the process of concentration, meditation, and
ecstasy; in the first instance, the restriction of the "whirls of the mind" (citta-vritti)
Niyama ("[self-]restraint"): the second limb of Patanjali's eightfold path, which consists of purity (saucha), contentment
(samtosha), austerity (tapas), study (svadhyaya), and dedication to the Lord (ishvara-pranidhana)
Nyasa ("placing"): the Tantric practice of infusing various body parts with life force (prana) by touching or thinking of the
respective physical area
Next Page
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