Sanskrit Flashcards
Yoga
Yoga: to yoke. It referred to the harnessing of animals to carts in order to make use of them.
“The concentrated effort applied to the accomplishment of spiritual disciplines designed to bring the practitioner (conveyance, vehicle) to a cessation of identification with the ego-sense, leading to the elimination of the false sense of separation from the Self (union, absorb). As such, Yoga is the means (remedy, cure) to remove the affliction of ignorance and the essence of all spiritual paths”; The experience of union btwn seeker and Purusha.
Chitta
Mind/ mind-stuff. Refers to the mind in its totality- subconscious, conscious, and unconscious. It is separate from Prakriti and Purushu. It is the reflected consciousness of the Purusha on Prakriti. The direct experience of the Purusha provides the ultimate quest.
Vritti
Fluctuations, whirl, turn, revolve, activities, changes, operations.
Vritti is the practice of constructing concepts of reality from mental impressions. It creates filters that distort perception. When vritti activity ceases, filters are removed and we perceive Reality in its entirety.
Nirodhah
Control, regulation, channeling, mastery, integration, coordination, understanding, stilling, quieting.
Nirodhah can sound like the suppression or repression of thoughts and emotions, which is definitely not what Yoga is about. Rather, it has to do with a process more like coordinating and setting aside what is not significant or not-self. It is exercised by purposeful Redirection of attention.
Purusha
Enlightenment. Pure unbounded consciousness, the indwelling God; Self, Seer, Spirit. The direct experience of the Purusha provides the ultimate quest. Are there infinite Purushas or One Absolute Truth? That which is eternal and unchanging.
Prakriti
Undifferentiated matter; nature. That which is impermanent and changing. Challenges and blinds the Purusha.
Avidya
Spiritual Ignorance; Obstructs the experience of Purusha; the confusion of the Seer (Purusha) with the seen (Prakriti)
Om
the Cosmic Vibration; the source of all mantras
Samadhi
the super-conscious state, absorption into the object of contemplation
Ishwara
God; the supreme cosmic soul; pure conciousness
Manas
The recording faculty of the citta; the aspect through which impressions enter.
Ahamkara
The ego, the sense that we are individuals, separate from each other and our environment. Ahamkara claims the impressions from manas and buddhi as its own, bundling thoughts to form the individual mind. The ego stakes out the borders of self-identity and then exerts effort to maintain and strengthen it. Goal is to transcend the ego, from identifying oneself as the body-mind to the realization of oneself as Purusha.
Buddhi
Discriminative faculty of the mind. It takes the impressions from manas and, through comparison and discrimination, categorizes them, allowing the impressions to be stored for access at a later time. It is the liaison between Purusha and Prakriti.
Pratyaya
Solitary thought / impression; the cause, the feeling, causal or cognitive principle, notion, content of mind, presented idea, cognition
Samskaras
habits; subconscious impressions
Tada
Then, at that time
Drashtuh
the seer’s,of the soul, witness, Atman, Self
Svarupe
in its own nature,own form or essence (sva=own; rupa = form)
Avasthanam
Stability, setting, remaining, being in a state, resting, standing, abiding
Atha
Now, at this auspicious moment
Anu-shasanam
Anu- Within, implies being subsequent to something else. Shasanam = instruction, disciple, training, exposition.
Sarupyam
Similarity, assimilation, appearance of, identification of form or nature; sa=with; rupa=form
Itaratra
Elsewhere, at other times
Vrittayah
The vrittis are
Pancatayah
five fold (and of two kinds); panch means five
Klishta
colored, painful, afflicted, impure (n. klesha)
Aklishta
a - without; klistha - colored, painful…
Pramana
Right
Viparyaya
Wrong; unreal cognition, indiscrimination, perverse cognition, wrong knowledge, misconception, incorrect knowing, not seeing clearly
Vikapla
Imagined
Nidra
Deep/dreamless sleep
Smriti
Memory
Pratyaksha
direct perception or cognition. Experience is the only teacher. However, this can become colored by limitations of the thought process, ego and memory.
Anumana
inference, reasoning, deduciton. The process of drawing a logical conclusion regarding an experience through accurate recall and assessment. Its only as reliable as the analytical means employed (how sufficient and correct the fact-gathering process is; not jumping to conclusions).
Agamah
authority, testimony, validation, competent evidence. The direct experience of spiritual masters or enlightened individuals is a valid source of knowledge. It should also be knowledge that has the potential to be verified by the individual through her direct perception.
Pramanani
valid means of knowing, proofs
Mithya
of the unreal, of the false, erroneous, illusory
Jnanam
knowing, knowledge
Atad
not its own, not that
Rupa
form, nature, appearance
Pratistham
based on, possessing, established, occupying, steadfast, standing
Shabda
word, sound, verbal expression
Jnana
by knowledge, knowing
Anupati
following, in sequence, depending upon
Vastu
a reality, real object, existent
Shunyah
devoid, without, empty
Vikalpa
imagination, verbal misconception or delusion, fantasy, hallucination
Abhava
absence, non-existence, non-occurrence, negation, voidness, nothingness
Alambana
support, substratum, leaning on, dependent on, having as a base or foundation
Anubhuta
experienced
Vishaya
objects of experience, impressions
Asampramoshah
not being stolen, not being lost, not having addition
Smritih
memory, remembering
Abhyasa
by or with practice, repeated practice
Vairagyabhyam
non-attachment, by desirelessness or dispassion, neutrality or absence of coloring, without attraction or aversion
Tat
of those, through that of, that
Tatra
of these two (abhyasa and vairagya)
Sthitau
stability, steadiness, stable tranquility, undisturbed calmness
Yatnah
effort, persistent exertion, sustained struggle, endeavour
Sah
that (practice)
Tu
and, but, however
Dirgha Kala
long time (dirgha = long; kala = time)
Nairantaira
without interruption, continually
Satkara
with devotion, sincerity, respect, reverence, positive attitude, right action
Asevitah
pursued, practiced, cultivated, attended to, done with assiduous attention
Dridha-bhumih
stable, solid foundation, firmly rooted, of firm ground (dridha = firm; bhumih = ground)
Drista
seen, perceived
Anushravika
revealed, scriptural, heard in tradition
Vishaya
objects, subjects, matters of experience
Vitrishnasya
of one who is free from desire or craving
Vashikara
supreme, mastery, total control
Sanja
awareness, consciousness, knowing
Vairagyam
non-attachment, desirelessness, dispassion, neutrality or absence of coloring, without attraction or aversion
Param
is higher, superious, supreme, transcendent
Khyateh
through knowledge, vision, discernment
Guna
elements, prime qualities, constituents, attributes; (three gunas of sattvas, rajas, tamas)
Vaitrshnyam
state of freedom from desire or craving (from the gunas)
Vitarka
gross thought or reasoning
Vichara
subtle thought
Ananda
bliss, ecstasy
Asmita
I-ness, individuality
Rupa
appearances, nature, form
Anugamat
accompanied by, associated with
Samprajnatah
cognitive absorption, lower samadhi
Virama
cessation, stopping, receding
Purvah
preceeding, coming before
Shesha
Residual, subliminal
Anyah
the other (the other samadhi)
Yama
External practice; how to engage in the world.
Niyama
Internal observances
Asana
Postures
Pranayama
Breath control
Pratyahara
Sense withdrawal
Dharana
One pointed focus. Concentration.
Dhyana
Meditation
“klish”
to cause trouble
“a-“
without
“prati-“
anti-
