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Gita Wisdom - Teachings for the Modern Day Yogi
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Vocabulary

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between 400-200 BCE): yama and niyama (moral codes), asana (postures), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (mind withdrawn from external stimuli), dharana (steady mind), dhyana (meditation), samadhi (“union” with God)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

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Under the guidance of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977)
Founder - Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Gita Wisdom is a trademark of Stories To Remember, a New York cultural organization.