adharma. Not acting in accord with our purpose and our commitments.
agami karma. The karma we create now that will be added to the sum total of our past actions.
akasha. The vastness of space in which all phenomena occur.
amrita. Nectar of immortality—a combination of hormones and neurotransmitters that is released with the opening of the chakras in the head.
ashrama. The stage of life based on our developmental phase.
asuras. Evil forces of the cosmos that are at constant war with the devas.
atmavichara. Self-inquiry.
AUM. The primordial vibration from which all creation arises. In us, it is the sense of being or “I-Am.”
bhakti yoga. The path of devotion.
brahmacharya. The cultivation of thoughts, actions, and emotions that are conducive to realizing our true nature, Brahman. Also a stage of life, or ashrama (see above).
Brahman. Also called the Self, I-Am, awareness, or consciousness in this book, Brahman is the ultimate reality that is our true nature.
brahmarandhra. The topmost point of the head.
brahmin. One called toward scholarly activity.
chakras. Energy centers of the subtle body that are seen as wheels in the mind’s eye when activated.
chitra. Multicolored.
Dasha Mahavidya. The ten great forces of wisdom, referring to the ten forms of Shakti that represent particular forces of creation.
devas. Good forces of the cosmos that uphold the laws of nature.
dharana. Single-pointed focus or concentration.
dharma. To act in accord with our purpose, which in turn is based on our stage in life and the work we have committed to do.
dhyana. Meditation.
divya. The condition of predominant sattva in the body-mind where extreme practices are unnecessary.
doshas. The principles that drive the objects of creation as described below.
granthis. Knots or obstructions that reside in the subtle body, made up of the issues that keep us from realizing our true nature.
grihastha. The second stage of life where, having finished our education, we enter the workforce and relationships (first stage of life is brahmacharya).
gunas. The three universal qualities of creation. See also sattva, rajas, and tamas below.
iccha shakti. Divine will.
ida. The main energy channel that runs along the left side of the spine.
jnana shakti. Divine knowledge.
jnana yoga. The path of self-inquiry.
kapha. The principle of structure, heaviness, and stability.
karma. The sum total of all of our past actions that result in our current life situation and determine our future.
karma yoga. The path of selfless service.
kriya shakti. Divine action.
kshatriya. One called toward dynamism and leadership.
kundalini. The pent-up life-force that resides in the subtle body at the base of the spine.
maha. Great.
mala. A string of beads (usually 108) used for keeping count of mantra or other spiritual practice.
mantra sadhana. The practice of sacred sound.
mudra. A hand gesture that conveys a particular meaning in sacred imagery.
nidus. Site of origin.
nadis. The energy channels of the subtle body that carry our life-force.
neela. Blue.
nirvikalpa samadhi. The absorption of the meditator into awareness, where there is no separation between the one meditating and the object of meditation.
niyamas. The virtues that several spiritual paths, including yoga and tantra, encourage cultivating, including purity, contentment, perseverance, Self-reflection, and surrender.
paraa vak. Unmanifest speech, which resides as our vasanas in the causal body.
pashu. The condition of having excessive tamas in the body-mind with not enough discrimination or dispassion for certain types of tantric practice.
pashyanti vak. Thoughts and images that arise from the causal body and reside in the subtle body, ready to be expressed as articulated speech.
pingala. The main energy channel that runs along the right side of the spine.
pitta. The principle of transformation, metabolism, and change.
prajna. Wisdom that arises from development of discrimination and dispassion.
prakasha. The limitless potential of Shiva-Shakti, which is commonly thought of as pure illumination.
prana. The essential life-force that enables the functioning of our body-mind.
pranayama. Regulation of prana through regulating the breath.
prarabdha karma. A certain portion of the sum total of our past actions that we choose to work out at any given time.
pratyahara. Withdrawal of the senses.
purnam. Without lack or brimming with fullness.
raja yoga. The path encompassing the ethics, virtues, and practices involving the body, breath, and mind.
rajas. The guna of movement, dynamism, change, and activity.
sadhana. Spiritual practice that is directed toward liberation or self-realization.
samadhi. Absorption in the object of meditation.
samsara. The cycles of pleasure and pain related to identification with the limited I-self.
samyama. A practice that combines concentration, meditation, and absorption.
sanchita karma. The sum total of all our past actions.
sannyasa. The fourth and final stage of life where we ideally turn inward, having cultivated the qualities necessary for self-realization.
sat-chit-ananda. The eternal bliss that is the nature of awareness, consciousness, Self, turiya, or Brahman.
sattva. The guna of intelligence, lightness, contentment, and sweetness.
Shakti. The divine feminine, the power of Shiva.
Shiva. The divine masculine, the unchanging awareness. Used synonymously with consciousness, Self, Brahman, and turiya in this book.
siddhi. A supernormal power, such as the ability to control the weather or walk on water.
Sri Vidya Sadhana. A spiritual practice of tantric origin that is based on realizing Shakti, the divine feminine, as the essence of all things in creation, including our body-mind.
sudra. One called toward active work, turning ideas into products.
sukla. White.
sushumna. The main energy channel that runs along the spine.
tamas. The guna of structure, heaviness, inertia, and stagnation.
tantra. A path of spiritual practice where all of our experiences are used for the purpose of self-realization.
tapas. Perseverance or purposeful action and the heat of sustained effort.
turiya. The Self, or witnessing awareness, in which the three states of dreaming, deep sleep, and waking occur.
Uchistha Chandali. Another name for Matangi, which means the depraved goddess who feeds on leftovers.
vaikhari vak. Articulated speech.
vaishya. One called toward managing resources.
vak. Speech.
vanaprastha. The third stage of life, or retirement, where we have fulfilled our obligations of raising children and contributing to society.
varna. The classification of a society by the type of work each of us is called to do, which in turn is based on our gunas.
vasanas. Latent tendencies that have risen from the emotional imprinting of our past actions, vasanas are our likes and dislikes and our attachments and aversions that form the basis for our thoughts and emotions, how we behave with others, and why we act in certain ways.
vata. The principle of dryness, coolness, and movement.
Vedanta. A path of spiritual practice where we come to realize our true nature as awareness through logic and inquiry.
vira. The condition of predominant rajas in the body-mind with high levels of discrimination and dispassion for extreme tantric practices.
yamas. The ethics that several spiritual paths, including yoga and tantra, encourage cultivating, including nonviolence, truth, non-stealing, appropriate cultivation of sexual energy, and non-clinging.
yoga. A path of spiritual practice where we seek self-realization as the union of our lower self (body-mind) with higher self (awareness). The classical eight-fold path of yoga includes yamas, niyamas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi (see above for definitions of each of these terms).