BANDHA: Muscular contractions to gain control over the life force in the physical body.
BENARES: A holy pilgrimage center of Hindus, now called Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India.
BHAGAVAD-GITA: One of the great scriptures of the world containing Lord Krishna's teachings. It is a small book of 18 short chapters, each chapter dealing with the development of the whole person; the physical, the mental, the emotional, the ethical, and the spiritual.
BHAGAVATA: Name of a Purana (sacred work dealing with the doctrines of creation, etc.)
BHAJAN: Devotional song
BHAKTA: Devotee of God
BHAKTI: Love or devotion. Bhakti is one of the four paths of Yoga.
BHARATAVARSHA: India.
BHAVA(NA): Feeling, mental attitude.
BHAYANAKA-SABDA: A fear inducing sound.
BHOGI: Enjoyer.
BHUMA: The Unconditioned, the Great Infinite, Brahman.
BHUTA-SIDDHI: A psychic power by which mastery is gained over the elements.
BODHISATTVA: A being who, having developed the Awakening Mind (a mind infused with the aspiration to attain the state of Buddhahood), devotes his life to the task of achieving Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings.
BRAHMA: The principle of creation; the god of creation, one of the Hindu Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva).
BRAHMA-CHINTANA: Constant thinking of Brahman.
BRAHMA-JNANA: Direct Knowledge of Brahman.
BRAHMA-NADI: The river of God.
BRAHMA-NISHTHA: One who is established in the Knowledge of Brahman.
BRAHMA-RANDRHA: The doorway of God.
BRAHMA-SROTRI: One who has knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads.
BRAHMA-SUTRAS: Classical Vedantic scripture.
BRAHMA-TEJAS: Spiritual halo.
BRAHMA-VIDYA: The science of Brahman and the Knowledge of the Reality.
BRAHMACHARYA: Practice of celibacy. Purity in thought, word and deed. The third of the five Yamas.
BRAHMAMUHURTA: Period from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. The most auspicious time for the practice of meditation and other spiritual practices.
BRAHMAN: The Absolute Reality; God.
BRIHADARANYAKA: Name of an Upanishad.
BUDDHA: One who is totally purified from all defilements and who has realized all that can be known.
BUDDHI: Intellect and comprehension. One of the four elements of the mind or Antakharana.
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CHAKRAS: Centers of energy in the human system. Mass-energy-converters, which are also known as wheels, lotuses, or padmas because of their resemblance to the lotus flower. Although there are 72,000 chakras, seven are considered to the most significant. They are threaded upon the subtle sushumna channel at various levels along the spinal column. They are: the Saturn chakra at the base of the spine, called muladhara chakra; the Jupiter chakra, at the level of the small of the back, also known as swadhisthana chakra; the Martian chakra, at the level of the navel and called manipura chakra; the Venus chakra, at the level of the heart and known as the anahata chakra; the Mercury chakra, at the level of the throat and known as the vishuddha chakra; the Sun chakra or single eye at the root of the nose between the eyebrows call the ajna chakra; and the Moon chakra, which is known as the chandra chakra. It is at the same level as the Sun chakra. The sun is at the front of the head and Moon at the back.
CHANDRA: The moon.
CHANDOGYA: Name of an Upanishad.
CHELA: Disciple.
CHINMATRA: Pure consciousness expressing the Transcendental Essence, or the True Self (Atma).
CHIRANJIVI: One who has gained eternal life.
CHITTA: The lower mind, or mind-stuff. It is this section of the mind that we must fist master. It is in the mind-stuff that all the sensations experienced in a lifetime are stored as information (correct and incorrect), and are available for use when needed.
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DAIVIC: Divine.
DAMA: Control of senses.
DAHARA: The subtlest space within the Venus or heart chakra (anahata), which encompasses the ‘linking-point’ of the mind/body, and the Transcendental Self.
DAMA: The control of the body, or the ‘becalming’ of the ten body organs, five of sense and five of action, so they become and remain quiet when not needed. Dama is one of the six attainments (shat-sampatti) that each student seeks to attain.
DARSHAN: Vision.
DATTA-TREYA: A hermit or an ascetic.
DAYA: Mercy.
DEHA: Body.
DEVA/DEVI: A Sanskrit name for celestial or heavenly beings. It is also a celestial energy. It is the personification of natural forces in the universe, as well as within the human body. Deva indicates the masculine principle, while devi the feminine energy.
DHARANA: Concentration. The holding of the mind to one point through effortful use of the mind. The sixth limb of the Ashtanga or Raja Yoga system.
DHARMA: Duty, characteristics, and righteousness. That which sustains and upholds, a life of high conduct, being true to oneself, and law,
DHAUTI: The cleansing of the physical body.
DHYANA: Meditation. A meditative examination of the truths heard or read. The seventh limb of the Ashtanga or Raja Yoga system
DIVYA-DRISHTI: Divine perception.
DRASHTA (DRASHTRI): A term that Patanjali uses to refer to the Self as the On-Looker, or Witness of the flow of cognitive phenomena.
DRIK: The Seer, the Atma, the Jive, the Brahman, the Witness. In short, what which sees manifestation.
DVAITA: Duality. The first effect of ignorance is to think that we are apart from the rest of life, rather than a part of life.
DVAPARA YUGA: The cycle following the Kali Yuga. It is twice as long and twice as positive as the Kali cycle.
DVESHA: Repulsion; hatred; dislike.
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EKA-CHITTA: Of one mind, fixed thought on a concept.
EKADASI: Eleventh day of the Hindu lunar fortnight.
ETHER: One of the five elements. Ether is sometimes to referred to as sky-matter. The Sanskrit word for ether is akasha, and it is the akashic record or ethereal space, which holds the memory tract of each individual soul, as well as of the universe.
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GANGA: The River Ganges, which is the most sacred river in India. Its personification as a goddess, symbolizes purity derived from the primordial waters.
GAYATRI: One of the most sacred Vedic Mantras; goddess.
GITA: Renowned sacred text "Bhagavad-Gita".
GUNA: The three qualities born of nature: tamas (darkness, laziness, stability), rajas (emotionality, heat, restlessness), and sattva (light, wisdom, orderliness).
GURU: Teacher, dispeller of darkness, a preceptor who takes on the responsibility of the spiritual unfoldment of another soul.
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HAMSA: The spirit that migrates from body to body just as wild geese migrate from place to place.
HANUMAN: One of the heroes of the epic, the Ramayana, who has the form of a monkey, which is the symbol of the mind, among other things.
HARI: One of the names of Lord Vishnu, the principle of preservation. The indwelling Lord, and the remover of all ignorance.
HATHA YOGA: One of the many forms of yoga that deals more with body postures and breathing patterns.
HAVAN: Sacred oblations.
HIRANYAGARBHA: Cosmic intelligence; the supreme lord of the universe; cosmic mind.
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ICHCHHA-SHAKTI: The power of the ‘will’ over thoughts and emotions, but even over events in one’s life. In its highest level it has the power to sustain control over things. It is the key power, which lies behind all concentration.
IDA: A primary nadi located on the left side of the sushumna in the astral body, and ending in the left nostril at the ajna chakra. In yogic terminology, ida and pingala are the ascending and descending channels of the autonomic nervous system. These two pathways function to peon both the subconscious and the superconscious minds of the yogi.
INDRA: The Lord of gods; the ruler of heaven.
INDRIYAS: The ten bodily organs by which one gains ‘knowledge’ of the world. Five of these are the sense organs, such as seeing touching, etc. The other five are the organs of actions, such as speaking, walking etc. The average earthling spends his whole life living in the ten organs.
ISHTA DEVATA: The guide who assists the seeker to attain his/her final goal.
ISHVARA: Lord; God. The divine willer or the internal supreme giver.
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JAGRAT: The waking state of consciousness.
JAPA: Repetition of the Lord's Name or Mantra.
JIVA: Individual Soul. A person’s True Self beyond the body and mind factors. In Western thought it would relate to the ‘psyche.’
JIVANMUKTA: One who is liberated in this life.
JNANA: Wisdom, learning, and knowledge of the Self. Jnana is one of the four paths of Yoga. The Gita cites three types of jnana: seeing a single thing as the Reality, seeing the composite nature of things, but not the underlying Reality, and seeing the Reality in all things.
JNANA-INDRIYAS: Organs of knowledge or perception.
JNATRI, JNANA, JNEYA: The knower, the known, and the act of knowing.
JNANI: (Pronounced Nyani) A wise person who is endowed with Jnana.
JYOTI: Spiritual light. The holy flame waved before a person to bless him/her by reminding him/her that the true flame is within each soul.
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KAIVALYA: Emancipation; state of absolute independence. Liberation in which pure consciousness is not affected by forms and energies. Everything in this universe is conditioned existence. Liberation alone is unconditioned existence.
KALA: Time. The flow of energy that is the cause of all projection and redissolvement.
KALI-YUGA: The present age, the age of ignorance and disorder.
KALPA: A cycle of time, also called a Day of Brahma consisting of 1,000 yugas, or a period of four thousand three hundred and twenty million earth years.
KAMA: Desire or emotions. Memories of pleasure and pain previously experienced in relationship with objects and persons.
KAMA-RUPA: The form that passion or desire takes.
KARMA: Action. The law of action and reaction. The fruits of the action.
KARMA-INDRIYAS: Organs of action - tongue, hands, feet, genital organ and anus.
KARMA-KANDI: One who observes strictly the duties ordained in the scriptures.
KARMA YOGA: The yoga of conscious worldly action. Karma yoga is unselfish motivational action. Karma yoga is an action based upon the unselfish concept of the welfare of others. Karma yoga is action motivated by Wisdom and Love.
KARMASRAYA: Receptacle of actions.
KARUNA: Compassion
KASHAYA: Hidden desires.
KIRTAN: Singing devotional songs.
KLESHAS: The five sources of human trouble; ignorance, ego personality, desire, aversion, and possessiveness.
KOSHA: Koshas are vessels in which something is stored or contained. Man is described as having five sheaths or koshas. They are: Anna-maya-kosha, the sheath composed of food, the dense physical body; prana-maya-kosha, the sheath composed of prana or of life-essence; mano-maya-kosha, the sheath composed of the higher and lower mind, which includes manas, chitta, and kama; vijmana-maya-kosha, the sheath composed of knowledge; and ananda-maya-kosha, the sheath composed of bliss.
KRISHNA: The incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He had a blue body. He died in 3,102 B.C.E., which marked the beginning of the Kali Yuga (iron age, dark age, etc.).
KRITA-YUGA: The first of the four ages or periods in the world’s existence. Also called the golden Age where souls are endowed with the four virtues of kindness, devotion, charity, and youth.
KRIYA: Action. The science of conscious efforts directed along certain lines of spiritual action. A type of exercise in Hatha Yoga.
KRIYA-SHAKTI: The power of the mind or thought. The power of thought over matter far beyond the normal patterns or power of the average man or woman. When kriya-shakti is used, the results appear to the average person as marvels or miracles.
KRIYA YOGA: The yoga of efforts directed along certain lines of spiritual action. The only yoga mentioned by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. It is composed of three basic building blocks: tapas, svadhyaya, and ishvara-pranidhana. Tapas are the standard observances to be carried out daily by the yogi. Svadhyaya is the studying or the understanding of one’s self. Ishvara pranidhana is the attunement of the bliss that is divinity, and to see this reflected in all things; the searching and finding of God’s benefic, divine purpose in all things; the daily attunement or attentiveness of full devotion and right feeling with regard to all events, internal or external.
KSHAMA: Forgiveness.
KUNDALINI: The primordial cosmic energy located in the individual. The coiled power of the central nervous system, in the sushumna, which lies latent in the Saturn chakra at the base of the spine. When Kriya or Kundalini is completely awakened, the chakras give progressive enlightenment to the yogi.
KURMA: Kurma means ‘tortoise’ and is associated with early cosmogonic theories, which likens the cosmos to an egg.
KURU-KSHTRA: The field of the heart.
KUTIR: A small cottage; hut.
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LAKSMI: The goddess of learning.
.LATA CHAKRA: A chakra located at the front of the forehead, which relates to the pituitary gland.
LAYA: Merging; dissolution
LAYA YOGA: A yoga stressing the awakening and the directing of latent forces in the Saturn chakra at the base of the spine. It is similar to kriya yoga or kundalini yoga. LINGA-SARIRA: The subtle body, the astral body.
LOKA: The regions or levels of existence of living beings in any given world.
LOKA-PALA: The guardians of the regions and also of the four cardinal and intermediate points of the compass.
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MAHA: Great.
MAHA-ATMA (MAHATMA): A title given to earthlings that are believed to be highly developed, spiritually.
MAHABHARATA: A Hindu epic. The longest epic poem in world literature. One of the two great epic poems from India that deals with duty and keeping one’s vows.
MAHABHUTAS: The five material states of matter or ‘elements.’
MAHANT: Great sage
MAHAPURUSHA: A great soul.
MAHARISHI: Great sage
MAHASAMADHI: The departure of a Self-realized saint from his mortal coil.
MAHATMA: Great soul
MAHESHVARA: The great Lord. Lord Shiva, the possessor of great spiritual power. Within Maheshvara are coordinated the three energies from which knowledge arises: understanding (jnana), willing (iccha), and action (kriya).
MAI-STAKIKI-BRAHMACHARYA: Total celibacy.
MAITRI: Friendship.
MANO MAYA KOSHA: The mind sheath. (See kosha).
MANAS: The instrument of action in the mind. It is this instrument of action that produces and modifies objective things.
MANAS CHAKRA: A small chakra located between the Martian chakra and the heart chakra.
MANONASA: Destruction of mind.
MANTRA: A thought form. A sacred syllable or word, or set of words through the repetition and reflection of which one attains perfection. A sacred formula or mystical verse that contains within it primary vibratory forces that create mystical states of consciousness.
MARGA: The spiritual path upon which one walks to reach Enlightenment.
MAYA: The illusive power of God.
MATHA: A monastery or ashram where people go to learn and practice yoga undisturbed by the outside world. Some enter for life, whereas others enter for a year or so.
MAUNA: The abstaining from speaking, i.e. the vow of silence. This vow can be anywhere from a few minutes to the total life.
MAYA: Often inaccurately translated as ‘illusion.’ The doctrine of maya is that everything experienced in this manifest universe is a projection of the mind, either from the mind of the individual or from the mind of the Cosmic Being. Thus what we see in the physical universe veils something, which exists in the divine world but is not perceived in the physical world. Maya also means the power, which has produced this universe, that which is composed of the three gunas, that which has no beginning, and the power of the divine will.
MAYA-KOSHA: A temporal sheath. (See kosha).
MOHA: Infatuation. Delusion, which brings confusion, foolishness and thus affliction. The Great Delusion is the mistaken notion that one is a limited identity, rather than the Transcendental Self.
MOKSHA: Liberation, which is the final spiritual goal of the mystic.
MOUNA: Vow of silence.
MOUNI: One who observes silence.
MUDRA: Hand gestures or gestures made with the fingers that are used during certain types of rituals and/or meditations. Many different yoga texts list from 10 to 37 different mudras. The main purpose of a mudra is to ‘gather’ energy in a given chakra so as to obtain metaphysical visional states and/or psychic powers (yoga siddhis).
MULA-DHARA CHAKRA: The Saturn chakra at the base of the spine. (See chakra.)
MUKTI: Liberation.
MUMUKSHU: One who aspires after moksha or liberation.
MUNI: An ascetic, a person who has taken the vow of silence (mauna). However, today it is often used as a term for a yoga philosopher.
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NADA: Mystic sound, innerward sound, or astral sound. The yogi uses these sounds as mental steps to ascend to the Soundless Sound.
NADA YOGA: The yoga using sound for the unifying factor.
NADI: Nadi means ‘river.’ It is the name for the channels in the astral or subtle body through which Kriya and/or prana energy flows.
NADI SOGHANA: The purification of the astral channels.
NADI SUDDHI: The purification of the astral channels.
NETI: A nasal cleansing technique.
NIDRA: An idea obtained during the sleep state. For the average person these are ‘dream fragments.’ For the disciple these can be deep, profound concepts, ideas, ideals, and feelings.
NIRODHA: The control of the ideas in the mind-stuff (chitta).
NIRVANA: Liberation; final emancipation.
NIRVIKALPA-SAMADHI: Superconscious state where there is no mind or Triputi.
NITYA-SIDDHA: A liberated soul of marvelous powers who is ever present on the astral plane.
NIVRITTI: Renunciation.
NIYAMA: The second step in Raja Yoga, observance - purity, contentment, austerities, etc.
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OJAS: Spiritual energy.
OM: The sacred monosyllable, which symbolizes Brahman. (See Aum).
OM MANI PADME HUM: A sacred mantra meaning on the exoteric level: ‘The Jewel is in the Lotus.’
OM NAMA SHIVAYA: This mantra contains the secret of any being, which has five senses.
OORDHVARETA: A Yogi who has stored up the seminal energy in the brain after sublimating the same into spiritual energy (Ojas).
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PADMA: Lotus.
PARA: That which is beyond manifested states.
PARA-HAMSA: A title given to highly developed Gurus. It means the most perfect gander.
PARIVRAJAKA: Wandering monk.
PARAM-DHAMA: Supreme abode.
PARAMAHAMSA: The highest class of Sannyasins.
PASU-SVABHAVA: Animal nature, bestial nature.
PATANJALI: The author of Yoga-Sutras, the foremost scripture on Raja Yoga, the Yoga of mind control.
PINGALA (NADI): The nadi to the right of the sushumna. This nadi coils around the sushumna and enters the right nostril at the ajna chakra.
PRABIBHA: Intuition or insight.
PRAJAPATI: The Lord of creation. A Vedic concept symbolizing the personified forces of nature as a single creative force. Prajapati was later merged into the concept of Lord Brahma.
PRAJNA: Wisdom containing spiritual understanding. It manifests in the mind of the yogi when has walked the eight stages of yoga.
PRAKRITI: Mother Nature, causal matter.
PRAKRITI: The fourth-made. The primordial material from which matter is made. It is a Shankya Yoga term used to describe the primordial matter in the physical universe, which divides itself into three types, called gunas. Everything in the universe is made out of prakriti, except the spiritual selves, called purushas.
PRAKRITI-LAYA: A bodiless state of consciousness.
PRA-LAYA: The dissolution of the universe. It is the dissolving of the world at the end of each kalpa, or at the end of the Day of Brahma. It precedes a new creation or emanation.
PRAMANA: The ideas (vrittis) in the mind supported by perception, inference, or testimony, and therefore regarded as correct (for all practical purposes).
PRANA: Vital energy, life-breath.
PRANAVA: The sacred monosyllable Om.
PRANAYAMA: Practice of breath-control. The control or the correct regulation of the breath.
PRAPTA: That which manifests in a person’s life, and which is not the result of his immediate efforts.
PRARAB-DHA: That karma which has ‘ripened’ and is active in a person’s life. Some yogis state that this karma cannot be averted as it is already active. Other yogis say that it can be softened (by attitude, etc.).
PRATYAHARA: Abstraction or withdrawal of the senses, the fifth step in Raja Yoga. It is well known that when one is deeply engaged in something interesting, loud noises, etc. are not heard. Sense withdrawal is a conscious, deliberate attempt to withdraw from the activity of the external world, so as to gain entrance into the inner world.
PRATYA-KSHA: Direct perception. The state of being able to obtain or use direct perception is a vital essential in order to progress on the spiritual path, as books and words are too limited.
PREMA: Divine Love.
PRITHVI: Earth.
PURANA: Hindu myths and legends.
PURUSHA: The Supreme Being, Spirit, or pure consciousness. Patanjali refers to Purusha as the Onlooker or the Self-aware One. Some yogis call the Purusha, the Self-Existent One.
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RAGA: Attachment, desire. An emotion of liking and thus desiring, arising from a memory of pleasure connected with past experiences.
RAJA: King.
RAJAS: One of the three Gunas or qualities of Prakriti, which generates passion and restlessness.
RAJA-YOGA: A system of Yoga generally taken to be the one propounded by Patanjali Maharishi, in which the person declares and affirms himself as the king (raja) of his mental possessions, and thus his astral powers. The aim of this realization of king or master is the attitude of self-dependence, and of not depending on any outside force or being.
RAJASUYA-YAJNA: A sacrifice performed by a monarch as a mark of his subduing all other kings.
RAMAYANA: A holy narrative of Lord Rama.
RASASVADA: Tasting the bliss of lower Samadhi.
RISHI: Sage.
RISHIKESH: A sacred place in the Himalayas.
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SA-BIJA: With seed. It refers to those structures of meditation and samadhi, which result in a new level of awareness regarding the object of meditation.
SACHCHIDANANDA (SAT0CHITANANDA): The nature of the Reality, called ‘That’ (Tat) in yoga.
SADHAKA: Spiritual aspirant.
SADHANA: Spiritual practice. The yogic practices which are methods for attaining spiritual goals.
SADHU: Pious man, Sannyasin.
SAHASRANAMA: The thousand Names of the Lord.
SAHAS-RARA PADMA: The thousand-petalled lotus. It is not a chakra, but a lotus, and exists at the top of the astral spinal column, in the astral brain.
SAKTI: Power; the feminine aspect of Divinity.
SAKTI-SANCHAR: Transference of power by a developed Yogi.
SAMA: Serenity; control of mind.
SAMADHI: The state of superconsciousness. Contemplation. It is the highest and last stage of yoga. Samadhi cannot be developed by desiring or by will power. It is attained only through tapas and self-discipline.
SAMATVA: Equality of the mind. This state exists when all antagonism and discontentment is no longer alive in the mind.
SAMSARA: The process of worldly life. The course of human experience and existence through incarnation after incarnation. Egocentric-wise, it implies moving through the same set of thought-patterns, again and again.
SAMSKARAS: Impressions in the subconscious mind. A deep subconscious habit or mood from a past life, which acts as an activator of the karma of this lifetime. Samskaras cause a person to act in an automatic fashion.
SAMYAMA: Concentration, meditation and Samadhi practiced at one and the same time.
SAN-CHITA: That karma which is in storage, awaiting an opportunity to manifest. This type of karma can be softened and even prevented by wise actions and skillful means.
SANKARA: The well-known teacher of Vedanta philosophy.
SANKIRTAN: Singing of divine songs.
SANNYASINS: Those who have embraced the life of complete renunciation, putting aside possession and worldly activities.
SANTOSHA: Contentment. One of the five observances.
SAT: The Reality, Truth, Brahman.
SATCHIDANANDA: Existence absolute(Sat), Knowledge absolute(Chid), Bliss absolute(Ananda).
SATSANG: Association with the wise.
SATTVA: Purity. One of the three qualities of nature or Gunas.
SATYA: Truthfulness.
SHANTI: Equilibrium or peace. It is most often repeated three times, each repetition being softer than the one before. It is preceded by OM. Exoterically, it means, ‘May the physical universe be in equilibrium. May the mental universe be in equilibrium. May the causal universe be in equilibrium.’
SHARIRA: Body. The earthling has three bodies: dense or gross (sthula), subtle or astral (sukshma), and causal (karana). The sub-divisions within these bodies are called vessels or sheaths (koshas).
SHAUCHA: Cleanliness of mind and body. The first of the five observances.
SHESHA: The serpent, which symbolizes ‘Time,’ which manifests in repetitious cycles so that what a person could not do in one cycle, can be accomplished in another cycle.
SIDDHI: Psychic power. Occult powers, which the yogi can develop or attain.
SITA: The female principle of the charkas. Also, the wife of Lord Rama.
SIVA: Lord Siva - bestower of auspiciousness on His devotees. The Lord of re-dissolvement; the protector and benefactor of yogis. Lord Siva does not have incarnations but has manifestations. He is depicted with either two or four arms. Taurus is his mount.
SLOKA: Verse.
SRADDHA: Faith, confidence. It is not blind faith, but confidence due to mystical experiences and philosophical reflection.
SRI: Auspiciousness-a name is qualified by putting "Sri" before it as a mark of courtesy and auspiciousness.
STOTRA: Hymn.
SUDDHA: Pure.
SUKSHMA SHARIRA: The astral or subtle body.
SUSHUMNA: The chief among astral tubes in the human body running inside the spinal column. The center channel through which Kriya energy flows to produce samadhi or cosmic consciousness.
SUTRA: Aphorism.
SVADHITHANA: The Jupiter chakra. (See chakra.)
SVADHYAYA: Study of scriptures.
SVARUPA: Essential nature; Reality.

TAMAS: One of the three qualities of nature (Gunas), which generates inertia, laziness, dullness and infatuation.
TANTRA: A text or treatise on yoga, which offers methods, referred to as kriya yoga, laya yoga, and/or kundalini yoga.
TANTRA YOGA: The yoga of the union of the male and female principle.
TAPAS: Austerity. The third Niyama of the Ashtanga Yoga system. See page on the 8 limbs.
TAPASCHARYA: Practice of austerity.
TARAKA: The star seen in the ajna chakra during meditation.
TAT: That. Refers to the Reality, also called The Boundless.
TATTVA: Essence; principle. The true state or condition of anything.
TEHSILDAR: Revenue officer.
TIRTHAS: Important places of spiritual pilgrimage. In the yoga philosophy they are internal places for the mind to walk towards. This produces spiritual cleansing, the removal of karma, and sacred blessings.
TITIKSHA: The acceptance of one’s present karmic condition to the degree that there is not even a subconscious antagonism, nor a discontentment, and therefore not even impatience.
TRETA YUGA: The third yuga. It is three times as long, and three times better than the Kali Yuga.
TRI GUNAS: The three qualities inherent in primordial matter, which are often called; darkness, fire, and light.
TRI MURTI: The three manifestations of form; creation by Lord Brahma, sustainment by Lord Vishnu, and re-dissolution by Lord Siva.
TRIPUTI: The triad-seer, sight and seen.
TRISHNA: Sense-hankering, craving, or desire
TURIYA: The state of superconsciousness, the fourth state transcending the waking, dreaming and the deep sleep states.
TYAGA: Renunciation (of egoism, desires and the world).
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UDDALAKA: A great sage of yore.
UNMANI: A state of trance caused by various yoga practice.
UNMANI SAMBHAVI: When the eyes are held open, but no object is perceived.
UPA-RATI: The suspension of all personal desires.
UPADANA: The unchanging sub-substance of prakriti from which all things are projected or molded.
UPADESA: Spiritual advice.
UPADI: Things that hide or cover up the clear seeing of Reality. The Upadis can be dissolved by constant yoga practice and continual renunciation.
UPANISHADS: Revelation; text dealing with Ultimate Truth and Its Realization.
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VAIRAGYA: Dispassion. Detachment from worldly attachments. Has been prescribed by the great sage Patanjali Maharishi in his Yoga Sutras and by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as an essential means to control the mind together with Abhyasa.
VASANA-KSHYA: Desireless.
VASANAS: Subtle desires.
VEDANTA: The school of Hindu thoughts (based primarily on the Upanishads).
VEDANTIN: One who follows the path of Vedanta
VEDAS: The highest authority among the Aryans of India. VEERYA: Seminal energy.
VETTA: Knower.
VICHARA: Enquiry into the nature of Brahman. Deep and continual thinking by which knowledge is attained. It also refers to a higher, spontaneous thought process associated with samadhi.
VIDYA: Knowledge.
VIJNANA: consciousness, intelligence.
VIKSHEPA: The tossing of mind.
VISHAYA: Sense-objects.
VIRTAKA: Obstacles on the path.
VIVEKA: Discrimination.
VRITTI: A wave in the mind-lake.
VYAVAHARA: (Worldly) activity.
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YAJNA: Sacrifice. The yogi realizes that life is to be seen as a continuous sacrifice. Thus, the inner sacrifice is the dedication of one’s self and one’s life to a higher purpose: the serving of all life forms.
YAJNAVALKYA: A great sage of yore.
YAMA: The first limb of Raja Yoga; Eternal vows - non-violence, truthfulness. The first of the 8 limbs.
YANTRA: A mystical diagram that possesses occult energies, which strongly affect the astral body and the flow of pranic energy.
YOGA: Union; union with the Supreme Being - any course that makes for such union.
YOGI (N): One who practices Yoga; one who is established in Yoga.
YONI: Source.
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ZAMINDAR: A rich landlord.