Sanskrit G

Question 1

Gayatri-mantra

Answer 1

a famous Vedic mantra recited particularly at sunrise: tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat

Question 2

Gheranda-Samhita (“[Sage] Gheranda’s Compendium”)

Answer 2

one of three major manuals of classical hatha yoga, composed in the seventeenth century; cf. Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, Shiva-Samhita

Question 3

Goraksha (“Cow Protector”)

Answer 3

traditionally said to be the founding adept of hatha yoga, a disciple of Matsyendra

Question 4

Granthi (“knot”)

Answer 4

any one of three common blockages in the central pathway (sushumna-nadi) preventing the full ascent of the serpent power (kundalini-shakti); the three knots are known as brahma-granthi (at the lowest psychoenergetic center of the subtle body), the vishnu-granthi (at the heart), and the rudra-granthi (at the eyebrow center)

Question 5

Guna (“quality”)

Answer 5

a term that has numerous meanings, including “virtue”; often refers to any of the three primary “qualities” or constituents of nature (prakriti): tamas (the principle of inertia), rajas (the dynamic principle), and sattva (the principle of lucidity)

Question 6

Guru (“he who is heavy, weighty”)

Answer 6

a spiritual teacher; cf. acarya

Question 7

Guru-bhakti (“teacher devotion”)

Answer 7

a disciple’s self-transcending devotion to the guru; see also bhakti

Question 8

Guru-Gita (“Guru’s Song”)

Answer 8

a text in praise of the guru, often chanted in ashramas

Question 9

Guru-Yoga (“Yoga [relating to] the teacher”)

Answer 9

a yogic approach that makes the guru the fulcrum of a disciple’s practice; all traditional forms of yoga contain a strong element of guru-yoga