Dictionary of common Sanskrit spiritual words
A - B

A

a

as a prefix to another word, it changes it into the negative. e.g. vidya - knowledge, avidya - ignorance.

acharya

a spiritual guide or teacher. See shankaracharya.

adhyasa

used to refer to the 'mistake' that we make when we 'superimpose' a false appearance upon the reality or mix up the real and the unreal.

Advaita

not (a) two (dvaita).

agamin

That type of sanskara which is generated in reaction to current situations and which will not bear fruit until sometime in the future. It literally means 'impending', 'approaching' or 'coming'. Also called kriyamANa, which means 'being done'. See prarabdha, sanchita, sanskara.

aham

I am.

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 - see antakarana.

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'.

anadi

without any beginning, often used to refer to 'ignorance'.

ananda

'true' happiness; usually called 'bliss' to differentiate it from 'ordinary' happiness because this is a an aspect of our true nature. See sat, chit and satchidananda.

anandamaya kosha

the sheath of bliss, i.e. the samadhi of deep meditation - the last of the five sheaths (kosha) with which we identify.

annamaya kosha

the sheath made of food, i.e. the gross material body - the first of the five sheaths (kosha) with which we identify.

antakarana

used to refer to the overall functions of mind; the seat of thought and feeling. It consists of a number of separate functions - see manas, buddhi, chitta and ahankara.

apaurusheya

literally 'not coming from men'; used to refer to the shruti - scriptural texts passed on verbatim from generation to generation since their original observation by realised sages. - see shruti.

arjavamarga

direct path (teaching). Arjava - honest, sincere, directness; mArga - track of a wild animal, any road or path.

artha

acquisition of wealth. See purushartha.

asat

non-existent. See sat.

Astavakra

the eponymous Sage of the Astavakra Gita (or Samhita). The word literally means 'twisted' (vakra) in 'eight' (aShTan) ways. Astavakra was so called because he was born severely deformed after being cursed in the womb by his father (because the unborn child had criticised him for making mistakes whilst reading the scriptures!). Later in life, after he had secured his father's release through defeating the court philosopher in debate, his father blessed him and, after swimming in a sacred river, he was cured. See gita, samhita.

atmabodha

knowledge of Self; a book ascribed to Shankara (though this is disputed by modern scholars).

atman

the Self. Usually used to refer to one's true (individual) nature or consciousness - see jiva.

atmavicara

vicAra in this context means reflection or examination upon the Atman, the Self. See atman.

avacheda-vada

theory that the Self is limited by ignorance in the forms of upadhis. See upadhi.

avarana

the 'veiling' power of maya. See maya, vikshepa.

avidya

ignorance (in a spiritual sense) - see also maya.

B

badha

sublation or subration - the process by which an accepted point of view or understanding is superseded by a totally different one when some new information is received.

Bhagavad

in the context of Bhagavad Gita, it refers to the God, Krishna and Bhagavad Gita means Krishna's Song. (Bhagavat means prosperous, happy etc.) See gita.

Bhagavad Gita

the scriptural text forming part of the Hindu epic, the Mahabarata. See Bhagavad, smriti.

bhakta

one who practises bhakti yoga. See bhakti yoga.

bhakti

devotion or worship as a means to enlightenment. See karma, jnana.

bhashya

commentary on some other scriptural document.

Brahma

God as the creator of the universe in Hindu mythology (the others are Vishnu, viShNu, the preserver and Shiva, shiva, the destoyer). N.B. Not to be confused with Brahman!

brahmacharya

the first stage of the traditional Hindu spiritual path, in which the Brahman begins his life as an unmarried, religious and chaste student (charya means 'due observance of all rites and customs'). See also grihasta, sanyasa, vanaprastha.

Brahman

the universal Self, Absolute or God. There is only Brahman. It derives from the Sanskrit root bRRih, meaning to grow great or strong and could be thought of as the adjective 'big' made into a noun, implying that which is greater than anything. See also atman, Brahma, jiva, jivatman, paramatman.

Brahma Sutra

a book (in sutra form, which is terse verse!) by Vyasa. This book is the best known of the third accepted source of knowledge (nyaya prasthana). Effectively, it attempts to summarise the Upanishads. The three main philosophical branches of Indian thought, Dvaita, Advaita and Vishishtadvaita have provided commentaries, or bhashyas (brahmasUtrabhAShya). The proponents of each school state that it substantiates their beliefs. That for Advaita was written by Shankara and provided extensive arguments against any other interpretation. See bhashya, nyaya prasthana, sruti, smriti.

Brihadaranyaka

one of the major Upanishads. See Upanishad.

buddhi

the organ of mind responsible for discrimination and judgement. See also, ahankara, antakarana, manas and chitta.