Terms commonly used in Gita Wisdom classes
- Acarya Teacher-by-example, authorized by an established disciplic line (sampradaya)
- Ahankara Material ego, identification of self with body/mind
- Ahimsa Non-aggressive action (as opposed to “do no harm”)
- Ananda Bliss
- Aparashakti Inferior energy (matter)
- Archana Scriptural system for worship of an approved deity (archa-vigraha)
- Aroha Pantha “Ascending” knowledge, knowledge arrived at through speculation and conjecture.
- Ashrams 1) Religious schools; 2) Four orders of Vedic social life: brahmacharya (student), grihastha (family life), vanaprastha (retired), sannyasa (renounced order)
- Astanga The eightfold yoga path codified by Sage Patanjali (dates unknown, assumed between 400-200 BCE): yama and niyama (moral codes), asana (postures), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (mind withdrawn from external stimuli), dharana (steady mind), dhyana (meditation), samadhi (“union” with God)
- Atma The non-material self, the source of consciousness in the body
- Avaroha Pantha “Descending knowledge, knowledge received through an approved lineage”
- Avatar one who descends from the spiritual realm, incarnation
- Bhagavan God who is the “Possessor of opulence,” i.e. beauty, strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, renunciation
- Bhajana-kriya performance of devotional service
- Bhakti (also Bhakti-yoga) Devotional service to God
- Bhava Ecstasy arising from closeness to God
- Brahmin (also brahmana) Member of the priesthood
- Brahman 1) the individual soul; 2) the impersonal, all-pervading energy of God
- Darshan Vision: both physical as well as metaphysical: “vision of truth”
- Deva Demigod, empowered being
- Dharma 1) religious principles, 2) righteous behavior
- Gunas The three dominant behavioral types: sattva (goodness, creation, light and harmony), rajas (passion, preservation, ambition), and tamas (ignorance, inertia, destruction)
- Guru Gu-darkness, ru-dispeller. Guru is one is one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. Guru also means heavy (with knowledge).
- Janma Birth
- Jnana Knowledge, study
- Jnana-yoga The path of knowing God through intellectual and philosophic scrutiny
- Kali-Yuga The current and most problematic age in the cycle of four cosmic ages
- Kama Desire, personal ambition, selfish behavior, actions geared towards ego gratification.
- Karma Material actions (performed for one’s own benefit or one’s extended circles)
- Karma-yoga Linking with God by offering the results of action (e.g. charity)
- Krishna God in personal form; sometimes described as eighth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, yet also as avatari: source of all incarnations
- Mantra Non-material sound, hymn, manas-traya: sound that liberates from the mind
- Math A school for spiritual education
- Maya Illusion, “that which is not,” e.g. thinking the visible world to be the only reality
- Mayavada Doctrine of teacher Shankara (8th century), also called Advaita-Vedanta, which asserts that all forms are temporary and when ego disappears the soul loses its individuality and merges into brahman
- Moksha Liberation
- Mukti The soul’s liberation from further births in a material body
- Nirguna Without attributes or qualities, i.e. beyond material form
- Nirvana Similar to mukti, the dissociation of self from any material identity; a state of mind in which greed and anger have been “blown out” (nir-vana)
- Nitya Buddha Eternal conditioned beings (until liberation)
- Nitya Siddha Eternally liberated beings
- Om (also AUM) The first and generating sound of creation, “the Word,” used at the start of most Sanskrit hymns; God in the form of sound
- Paramatma “Super-soul,” God in the heart of each being as witness and well-wisher accompanying each soul through its many births
- Parampara Disciplic succession, chain of teachers through history who preserve teachings
- Parashakti Superior energy (the living force)
- Prakriti Material nature, environment
- Pranayama yogic breathing techniques
- Prasadam Literally “mercy”; food that has become sanctified by first offering it to God
- Prema The goal of all yogic disciplines: love of God
- Ruci an affinity, or “taste”, for devotional practice
- Sadhu a holy person who has renounced material life
- Sadhu-sanga the company of others on the spiritual path
- Sat-chit-ananda The inviolable qualities of all souls: eternity, self-awareness, bliss
- Satsang short for sadhu-sanga
- Saguna Possessing qualities and for m; with reference to God or the soul, possessing eternal individuality and shape
- Samsara Cycle of birth and death
- Sankirtan The public congregational chanting of mantra
- Shastra Sacred texts
- Shraddha Faith, devotion, the object (srad) in which we place (dha) our heart
- Shaktyavesha avatar a being empowered to carry out a particular mission
- Shruti “That which is heard”, directly enunciated by the Supreme Being
- Siddhanta the “anta” or end-goal of knowledge
- Siddhis The eight mystic powers achieved through intense yoga practice
- Sisya Disciple. One who voluntarily submits to discipline in spiritual life
- Smriti “That which is remembered”, commentaries
- Tatasta Shakti Marginal energy (the individual soul)
- Upanishads 108 philosophical treatises within the Vedic canon
- Vedas Four original “revealed” texts (Rig, Sama, Atharva, Yajur) and certain supplements including the Brahmanas, Itihasas, and Upanishads
- Yajna Sacrifice; any action offered as a gesture of love for God (and not contrary to scriptural standards)
- Yoga Various contemplative, physical, meditative techniques for linking with God