Sanskrit S

Question 1

Sadhana (“accomplishing”)

Answer 1

spiritual discipline leading to siddhi (“perfection” or “accomplishment”); the term is specifically used in Tantra

Question 2

Sahaja (“together born”)

Answer 2

a medieval term denoting the fact that the transcendental Reality and the empirical reality are not truly separate but coexist, or with the latter being an aspect or misperception of the former; often rendered as “spontaneous” or “spontaneity”; the sahaja state is the natural condition, that is, enlightenment or realization

Question 3

Samadhi (“putting together”)

Answer 3

the ecstatic or unitive state in which the meditator becomes one with the object of meditation, the eighth and final limb (anga) of Patanjali’s eightfold path; there are many types of samadhi, the most significant distinction being between samprajnata (conscious) and asamprajnata (supraconscious) ecstasy; only the latter leads to the dissolution of the karmic factors deep within the mind; beyond both types of ecstasy is enlightenment, which is also sometimes called sahaja-samadhi or the condition of “natural” or “spontaneous” ecstasy, where there is perfect continuity of superconscious throughout waking, dreaming, and sleeping

Question 4

Samatva or samata (“evenness”)

Answer 4

the mental condition of harmony, balance

Question 5

Samkhya (“Number”)

Answer 5

one of the main traditions of Hinduism, which is concerned with the classification of the principles (tattva) of existence and their proper discernment in order to distinguish between Spirit (purusha) and the various aspects of Nature (prakriti); this influential system grew out of the ancient (pre-Buddhist) Samkhya-Yoga tradition and was codified in the Samkhya-Karika of Ishvara Krishna (c. 350 C.E.)

Question 6

Samnyasa (“casting off”)

Answer 6

the state of renunciation, which is the fourth and final stage of life (see ashrama) and consisting primarily in an inner turning away from what is understood to be finite and secondarily in an external letting go of finite things; cf. vairagya

Question 7

Samnyasin (“he who has cast off”)

Answer 7

a renouncer

Question 8

Samprajnata-samadhi

Answer 8

see samadhi

Question 9

Samsara (“confluence”)

Answer 9

the finite world of change, as opposed to the ultimate Reality (brahman or nirvana)

Question 10

Samskara (“activator”)

Answer 10

the subconscious impression left behind by each act of volition, which, in turn, leads to renewed psychomental activity; the countless samskaras hidden in the depth of the mind are ultimately eliminated only in asamprajnata-samadhi (see samadhi)

Question 11

Samyama (“constraint”)

Answer 11

the combined practice of concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi) in regard to the same object

Question 12

Sat (“being/reality/truth”)

Answer 12

the ultimate Reality (atman or brahman)

Question 13

Sat-sanga (“true company/company of Truth”)

Answer 13

the practice of frequenting the good company of saints, sages, Self-realized adepts, and their disciples, in whose company the ultimate Reality can be felt more palpably

Question 14

Satya (“truth/truthfulness”)

Answer 14

truth, a designation of the ultimate Reality; also the practice of truthfulness, which is an aspect of moral discipline (yama)

Question 15

Shakti (“power”)

Answer 15

the ultimate Reality in its feminine aspect, or the power pole of the Divine; see also kundalini-shakti

Question 16

Shakti-pata (“descent of power”):

Answer 16

the process of initiation, or spiritual baptism, by means of the benign transmission of an advanced or even enlightened adept (siddha), which awakens the shakti within a disciple, thereby initiating or enhancing the process of liberation

Question 17

Shankara (“He who is benevolent”)

Answer 17

the eighth-century adept who was the greatest proponent of nondualism (Advaita Vedanta) and whose philosophical school was probably responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India

Question 18

Shishya (“student/disciple”)

Answer 18

the initiated disciple of a guru

Question 19

Shiva (“He who is benign”)

Answer 19

the Divine; a deity that has served yogins as an archetypal model throughout the ages

Question 20

Shiva-Sutra (“Shiva’s Aphorisms”)

Answer 20

like the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, a classical work on yoga, as taught in the Shaivism of Kashmir; authored by Vasugupta (ninth century C.E.)

Question 21

Shodhana (“cleansing/purification”)

Answer 21

a fundamental aspect of all yogic paths; a category of purification practices in hatha yoga

Question 22

Shraddha (“faith”)

Answer 22

an essential disposition on the yogic path, which must be distinguished from mere belief

Question 23

Shuddhi (“purification/purity”)

Answer 23

the state of purity; a synonym of shodhana

Question 24

Siddha (“accomplished”)

Answer 24

an adept, often of Tantra; if fully Self-realized, the designation maha-siddha or “great adept” is often used

Question 25

Siddha-Yoga (“Yoga of the adepts”)

Answer 25

a designation applied especially to the yoga of Kashmiri Shaivism, as taught by Swami Muktananda (twentieth century)

Question 26

Siddhi (“accomplishment/perfection”)

Answer 26

spiritual perfection, the attainment of flawless identity with the ultimate Reality (atman or brahman); paranormal ability, of which the yoga tradition knows many kinds

Question 27

Spanda (“vibration”)

Answer 27

a key concept of Kashmir’s Shaivism according to which the ultimate Reality itself “quivers,” that is, is inherently creative rather than static (as conceived in Advaita Vedanta)

Question 28

Sushumna-nadi (“very gracious channel”)

Answer 28

the central prana current or arc in or along which the serpent power (kundalini-shakti) must ascend toward the psychoenergetic center (cakra) at the crown of the head in order to attain liberation (moksha)

Question 29

Sutra (“thread”)

Answer 29

an aphoristic statement; a work consisting of aphoristic statements, such as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra or Vasugupta’s Shiva-Sutra

Question 30

Svadhyaya (“one’s own going into”)

Answer 30

study, an important aspect of the yogic path, listed among the practices of self-restraint (niyama) in >Patanjali’s eightfold yoga; the recitation of mantras (see also japa)