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200 Key Sanskrit Yoga Termsa b c d e h i j k l m n o p r s t u v Excerpted with permission from the author: www.traditionalyogastudies.com. Copyright 1999 by Georg Feuerstein aAbhyasa: practice; cf. vairagya Acarya (sometimes spelled Acharya in English): a preceptor, instructor; cf. guru Advaita ("nonduality"): the truth and teaching that there is only One Reality (Atman, Brahman), especially as found in the Upanishads; see also Vedanta Ahamkara ("I-maker"): the individuation principle, or ego, which must be transcended; cf. asmita; see also buddhi, manas Ahimsa ("nonharming"): the single most important moral discipline (yama) Akasha ("ether/space"): the first of the five material elements of which the physical universe is composed; also used to designate "inner" space, that is, the space of consciousness (called cid-akasha) Amrita ("immortal/immortality"): a designation of the deathless Spirit (atman, purusha); also the nectar of immortality that oozes from the psychoenergetic center at the crown of the head (see sahasrara-cakra) when it is activated and transforms the body into a "divine body" (divya-deha) Ananda ("bliss"): the condition of utter joy, which is an essential quality of the ultimate Reality (tattva) Anga ("limb"): a fundamental category of the yogic path, such as asana, dharana, dhyana, niyama, pranayama, pratyahara, samadhi, yama; also the body (deha, sharira) Arjuna ("White"): one of the five Pandava princes who fought in the great war depicted in the Mahabharata, disciple of the God-man Krishna whose teachings can be found in the Bhagavad Gita Asana ("seat"): a physical posture (see also anga, mudra); the third limb (anga) of Patanjali's eightfold path (astha-anga-yoga); originally this meant only meditation posture, but subsequently, in hatha yoga, this aspect of the yogic path was greatly developed Ashrama ("that where effort is made"): a hermitage; also a stage of life, such as brahmacharya, householder, forest dweller, and complete renouncer (samnyasin) Ashta-anga-yoga, ashtanga-yoga ("eight-limbed union"): the eightfold yoga of Patanjali, consisting of moral discipline (yama), self-restraint (niyama), posture (asana), breath control (pranayama), sensory inhibition (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi), leading to liberation (kaivalya) Asmita ("I-am-ness"): a concept of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga, roughly synonymous with ahamkara Atman ("self"): the transcendental Self, or Spirit, which is eternal and superconscious; our true nature or identity; sometimes a distinction is made between the atman as the individual self and the parama-atman as the transcendental Self; see also purusha; cf. brahman Avadhuta ("he who has shed [everything]"): a radical type of renouncer (samnyasin) who often engages in unconventional behavior Avidya ("ignorance"): the root cause of suffering (duhkha); also called ajnana; cf. vidya Ayurveda, Ayur-veda ("life science"): one of India's traditional systems of medicine, the other being South India's Siddha medicine Subscribe to Yoga Journal Magazine Reader Comments
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