Dictionary of common Sanskrit spiritual words
aham vRRitti - antaryAmin

Note that words appear in order of the Roman alphabet, not the Sanskrit alphabet.

aham vritti

the thought “I am” as opposed to thoughts about objects, feelings etc. – idam vritti. See vritti.

ahankara

the making, kara ( kAra), of the utterance “I,” aham ( aham) – this is the equivalent of what we would call the “ego” but specifically refers to the identification or attachment of our true Self with something else, usually the body or mind but can be much more specific e.g. I am a teacher, I am a woman. It is one of the “organs” of the mind in classical Advaita – see antakarana.

ahimsa

not injuring anything (one of the yama-s).

aikya

unity, oneness; in Advaita specifically the identity of Atman and brahman.

aishvarya

the state of being a mighty lord, sovereignty, power; super-human power.

ajati

a – no or not; jAti – creation; the principle that the world and everything in it, including these mind-body appearances were never created or ‘brought into existence’. Most clearly stated by Gaudapada in his karika on the Mandukya Upanishad. jAta is the adjective, meaning born, brought into existence. The theory that there has never been any creation is called either ajAta vAda or ajAti vAda.

ajnana

(spiritual) ignorance. See jnana. An aj~nAnI is one who is not enlightened, i.e. still (spiritually) ignorant.

akasha

space, ether or sky; one of the five elements in the Upanishads, the subtle fluid supposed to pervade the universe. Associated with sound and hearing.

akandakara vritti

the mental ‘occurrence’ which effectively causes enlightenment. This is the vRRitti (thought modification) in the form of (AkAra) the formless or undivided (akhaNDa).

akshara

imperishable, unchangeable.

alatashanti

the fourth topic in gauDapAda’s kArikA on the mANDUkya upaniShad – “On the Quenching of the firebrand.” alAta is a firebrand or coal; shAnti is “peace.”

alpaprana

In the Sanskrit alphabet, describes a consonant that is sounded without any additional expelling of air. It means “with little breath.” Specifically, it is used for those consonants on the 1 st and 3 rd rows of the main groups, namely k, ch, T, t, p and g, j, D, d, b.

amsha

part or portion.

amurta

unmanifest, formless, shapeless.

anadi

without any beginning, often used to refer to ‘ignorance’.

ananda

“true” happiness; usually called “bliss” to differentiate it from the transient variety that always alternates with pain or misery. It is an aspect of our true nature and is often combined with the other elements of our real nature – sat and chit – into a single word, satchidananda. See sat, chit and satchidananda.

anandamayakosha

the sheath made of bliss (one of the “five Coverings” that surround our true essence).

ananta

eternal, without end.

anatman

something other than spirit or soul (not Self or atman); perceptible world. See atman.

anichcha

without desire. See prArabdha.

anirvachaniya

not able to be categorized; literally: unutterable, indescribable, not to be mentioned. Used to describe nature of reality etc.

anitya /
anityatva

transient /
transient or limited existence (mortality).

annamayakosha

the sheath made of food, anna. (One of the “five Coverings” that surround our true essence).

anta

end, conclusion, death etc.

antakarana

used to refer to the overall “organ” of mind; the seat of thought and feeling. It derives from antar – within, interior – and karaNa, which means “instrument” or sense-organ (an alternative for indriya). It consists of a number of separate functions – see manas, buddhi, chitta and ahankara.

antaranga

essential to, internal, interior as opposed to bahira~Nga, external or worldly (in relation to spiritual disciplines).

antaryAmin

the soul, “internal ruler.”