Sanskrit B Flashcards
Bandha (“bond/bondage”)
the fact that human beings are typically bound by ignorance (avidya), which causes them to lead a life governed by karmic habit rather than inner freedom generated through wisdom (vidya, jnana)
Bhagavad Gita (“Lord’s Song”)
the oldest full-fledged yoga book found embedded in the Mahabharata and containing the teachings on karma yoga (the path of self-transcending action), samkhya yoga (the path of discerning the principles of existence correctly), and bhakti yoga (the path of devotion), as given by the God-man Krishna to Prince Arjuna on the battlefield 3,500 years or more ago
Bhagavata-Purana (“Ancient [Tradition] of the Bhagavatas”)
a voluminous tenth-century scripture held sacred by the devotees of the Divine in the form of Vishnu, especially in his incarnate form as Krishna; also called Shrimad-Bhagavata
Bhakta (“devotee”)
a disciple practicing bhakti yoga
Bhakti (“devotion/love”)
the love of the bhakta toward the Divine or the guru as a manifestation of the Divine; also the love of the Divine toward the devotee
Bhakti-Sutra (“Aphorisms on Devotion”)
an aphoristic work on devotional yoga authored by Sage Narada; another text by the same title is ascribed to Sage Shandilya
Bhakti Yoga (“Yoga of devotion”)
a major branch of the yoga tradition, utilizing the feeling capacity to connect with the ultimate Reality conceived as a supreme Person (uttama-purusha)
Bindu (“seed/point”)
the creative potency of anything where all energies are focused; the dot (also called tilaka) worn on the forehead as indicative of the third eye
Bodhi (“enlightenment”)
the state of the awakened master, or buddha
Bodhisattva (“enlightenment being”)
Mahayana Buddhist yoga, the individual who, motivated by compassion (karuna), is committed to achieving enlightenment for the sake of all other beings
Brahma (“he who has grown expansive”)
the Creator of the universe, the first principle (tattva) to emerge out of the ultimate Reality (brahman)
Brahmacharya (from brahma and acarya “brahmic conduct”)
he discipline of chastity, which produces ojas
Brahman (“that which has grown expansive”)
the ultimate Reality (cf. atman, purusha)
Brahmana
a brahmin, a member of the highest social class of traditional Indian society; also an early type of ritual text explicating the rituals and mythology of the four Vedas; cf. Aranyaka, Upanishad, Veda
Buddha (“awakened”)
a designation of the person who has attained enlightenment (bodhi) and therefore inner freedom; honorific title of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, who lived in the sixth century B.C.E.
