Aditi: The Vedic goddess of space.
Agni: Hindu god of fire.
Ahims-a: The practice of non-harming.
Air-avata: The white, four-tusked elephant that emerged from the churning of the ocean. Animal in Muladhara chakra and Vissuddha chakra, Airavata draws water from the underworld to seed the clouds.
- Ajña-: To know, to perceive, and to command. The name of the sixth chakra.
-Aka-sha: Ether, space, vacuity; the place where traces of all existence and events remain.
Ana-hata: Sound that is made without any two things striking; the name of the heart (fourth) chakra.
-Anandakanda lotus: A tiny eight-petaled lotus located on the Sushumna between the third and fourth chakras. It contains an altar and a “celestial wishing tree.” Meditation on this lotus is said to bring liberation (moksa).
-Asana: Pose or posture comfortably held; refers to the various hatha yoga positions.
-Atman: Soul, self, eternal principle.
Avidya-: Ignorance, lack of understanding or knowledge.
Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion and service to another, usually a guru.
Bhukti: Enjoyment. That which takes place when higher consciousness descends to the lower chakras.
Bi-ja mantra: Seed sound; represented by a letter-symbol at the center of each chakra, this sound is believed to give one access to or control over the essence of that chakra.
Bindu: (1) Small dot on certain letters to represent the “mmm” sound; (2) mythical basic particle, a dimensionless monad from which matter is built; (3) a drop of semen.
Brahma: Creator god, partner to Sarasvati. Balancer of centripetal and centrifugal forces.
Brahma chakra: (1) Brahma’s wheel, i.e., the universe; (2) the name of a particular magic circle. (p. 49, Stutley)
Chakra: (1)A center for the reception, assimilation, and expression of life-force energies; (2) any of the seven energy centers of the body; (3) a disc-like vortex of energies made from the intersection of different planes; (4) wheel, as on a chariot; (5) discus, favorite weapon of Visnu; (6) the revolving wheel of the gods; (7) the wheel of time; (8) the wheel of law and celestial order; (9) a tantric ritual circle of people, alternating male and female.
Chakra-sana: The Wheel Pose (backbend). An intermediate yoga pose that opens the front of all the chakras simultaneously.
Chakrava-la: The nine mythical mountain ranges that surround the world, at the center of which is Mt. Meru.
Chakravartin: Ruler, king, superman. From early Vedic and pre-Vedic, pre-Aryan times, the all-powerful monarch who was allegedly preceded on his march by a luminous apparition in the form of a sun-wheel. The Chakravartin sees himself as the turner and the hub of the great wheel of karma, the ruler of the center of the universe. The chakra was one of seven symbols he was to receive when the moment arrived for him to fulfill his mission. (See Heinrich Zimmer, p. 130 ff.)
Chakre´svara: Lord of the discus, an epithet of Visnu.
Da-kini-: One of the four elemental shaktis, associated with Earth in the Muladhara chakra.
Devi-: Generic term for goddess.
Deva: Generic term for the god; also celestial power.
Dharma: (1) Divine cosmic order; (2) moral and religious duty, social custom, ethical principle; (3) the act of following religious duty.
Dhya-na: Meditation, contemplation.
Ganesha (or Ganapati): Elephant-headed god, remover of obstacles. Good-natured, he is associated with prosperity and peace.
Gaur-i: “Yellow, brilliant one”—the name of a goddess, depicted in the Vissudha chakra (fifth), who is consort to Siva or Varu•na. She is sometimes a fertility goddess, sometimes related to the primordial waters (apah), sometimes the sacred cattle. The Gauris are a class of goddesses which include Uma, Parvati, Rambha, Totala, and Tripura.
Gu•nas: Qualities. The three threads that weave together the qualities found in all things: tamas, rajas, sattva.
Guru: A religious teacher, especially one who gives initiation.
Ha-kin-i: The Sakti at the Ajna (sixth) chakra.
Ham•: The seed sound of the Vissuddha (fifth) chakra.
Hanuman: Clever god in the form of a monkey.
Hatha yoga: The yoga through the path of training the body.
Id-a: One of the three central nadis which represent the lunar, feminine energy of a person. It is also linked with the Ganges. Its color is yellow.
Indra: One of the chief sky gods in the Hindu pantheon. A god of healing and rain, he usually rides a bull.
-I´svara: God in the heart chakra, who represents unity. Literally, “Lord” he was the closest to a monistic god, though not due to importance.
Jaina: One of the heterodox post-Vedic Hindu systems, focusing mainly on asceticism and protection of all living things (ahims-a) for liberation from karma. The essence of its philosophy was the three ideals: faith, right knowledge, and right conduct.
J-iva: The individual soul or psyche, embodied as a life force, as opposed to atman, a more universal, spiritual sense of soul.
Jñ-ana yoga: The yoga of achieving liberation through knowledge.
K-akin-i: The shakti at the an-ahata (fourth) chakra.
Kali: Crone goddess, terrible mother, all powerful destroyer, consort of Siva. She is also the symbol of eternal time. She is usually black (the eternal night), open-mouthed with tongue hanging out, four armed, holding weapons and a bloody, severed head. She is the destroyer of ignorance and excess.
Kalpataru: The celestial wishing tree located in the Anandakanda lotus below the heart chakra.
Ka-ma: (1) Love, desire, lust—primal mover of existence. (2) the god of lust and love, Kama tried to entice Siva from his meditations and was reduced to a bodiless entity by the wrath of Siva, which is why he hovers over lovers when they are being sexual.
Karma, karman: Action; the continual cycle of cause and effect in which the individual is caught by the effects of past and present actions.
Karma-yoga: The path of yoga that approaches liberation through right action.
Kundalini-: (1) Serpent goddess who lies coiled three and one-half times around the Muladhara chakra. As she awakens she climbs the Sushumna and pierces each chakra. (2) The activating energy force that connects and activates the chakras. (3) a kind of awakening, typified by rising currents of psychic energy.
Ku•n•dala: Coiled.
La-kini-: The Shakti at the Manipura (third) chakra.
Laksmi-: Mother goddess of wealth and beauty, consort of Visnu, pervader and protector.
Lam•:: The seed sound of the Muladhara chakra.
Lingam: Phallic symbol, usually associated with Shiva. A sign of generative power, even though Shiva was believed to never ejaculate in his sexual activities. Symbol of male potential.
Ma•n•dala: A round geometric design used as an aid in meditation.
Ma•nip-ura: Literally lustrous gem, this is the name of the (third) chakra located at the solar plexus.
Mantra: Literally “tool of thought”; denotes a sacred word, phrase, or sound, repeated internally or externally as a tool in meditation and ritual.
Ma-ya-: Illusion, personified as a goddess. Magic, supernatural power, great skill.
Ma-hashakti: Literally, mother power. The great primordial energy field of constantly vibrating forces.
Mok•sa (also Mukti): Release, liberation. That which is obtained by releasing attachment, also by wishing on the Kalpataru.
Mudra-: A sign made by the particular positioning of the hands, sometimes used in meditation.
M-ula-dha-ra: Chakra one, base of the spine, element Earth. It means root support.
Nadi-s: Channels of psychic energy in the subtle body. The root, nad, means motion or flow.
Ojas: Nectar of bliss. That which is distilled from bindu.
Padma: Lotus; sometimes used as an alternate name for the chakras.
Para -sabda: Silent sound, thought form that precedes audible sound.
Pingala-: One of the three major nadis, representing the male or solar energy. Related to the Yamuna river, its color is red.
Prak•rti: Primal material nature, both active and passive. The basic stuff of which manifestation is made, the female counterpart to purusa.
Pra-na: The breath of life, first unit, the five life winds (the pranas), the moving force of the universe.
Pra-nayama: The practice of controlling or exercising the breath for the purposes of purification and spiritual illumination.
P-uja-: Worship in the form of homage or ritual offering to a deity.
Puru•sa: The male principle, creative, active, mental. It is the consciousness that is counterpart to Prakrti. The two together create the world.
Rajas: The guna associated with raw energy, the mover, the changer, the fiery guna.
Ra-kini-: The form of Shakti in the Svadhisthana (second) chakra.
Ram•: The seed sound in the Manipura (third) chakra.
Rudra: Alternate name of Shiva, one of the darker fire gods, associated with thunder and lightning, storms, cattle, and fertility.
Sahasra-ra: Literally, thousandfold, the name for the seventh or crown chakra.
´Sakti (also Shakti): Divine power or energy, female goddess, counterpart to Shiva. She is the active principle in all things, constantly changing. She is represented in many forms and by many names: in the lower chakras—Dakini, Rakini, Lakini, Kakini.
Sama-dhi: A state of enlightenment or bliss.
Samsa-ra: The flow and cycle of birth and death.
Sarasvati-: Literally, river goddess; the patroness of all the sixty-four arts, the mother of speech and writing, the epitome of purity, and the consort of Brahma.
Sattvas: The lightest of the gunas, associated with thought, spirit, and balance.
Siddhis: Magical powers believed attainable at certain stages of yoga practice and/or Kundalini awakening.
´Siva (also Shiva): One of the main Indian male gods, associated with the abstract and formless aspects of thought and spirit. The name means “auspicious.” He is thought of as a burning white light, as a lightning bolt, as a lingam, as the Lord of Sleep, as the Destroyer (for he destroys form and attachments), as consort to Shakti and to Kali.
Sushumn-a: The central vertical nadi that connects all the chakras. To have a full Kundalini awakening, the energy must travel up the sushumn-a.
Sva-dhistha-na: The name for the second chakra, located in the lower abdomen and genital area. Early on the name meant “to drink in sweetness,” from the root svadha, to relish, or sweeten. Later interpretations ascribe it to the root svad, meaning one’s own, giving this chakra the name of “one’s own place.” Both are pertinent to describing the second chakra.
Tamas: The guna that represents matter, inertia at rest, resistance to opposing forces. It is the heaviest, most limited of the three gunas.
Tantra: (1) Literally weaving or loom. (2) refers to a large body of teachings woven from many threads of Indian philosophy that became popular around c.e. 600 to 700. (2) the practice of attaining liberation through the senses and through union with another.
Tantras: Doctrines referring to Tantric philosophy and practice.
Tapas: A heat force believed to be generated by ascetic practice, considered as a measure of personal power and advanced spirituality.
Tejas: Fiery energy, vital power, majesty authority. With tejas from the sun, Visnu’s chakra was made. (p. 302, Stutley)
Trikona: Triangle that appears in several of the chakras and in other yantras. Pointing downward, it represents Shakti, pointing upward, Siva. In the heart chakra they are interlaced, representing sacred marriage.
Upanishads: A set of teaching doctrines that followed the Vedas, believed to be written between 700 and 300 b.c.e.
Vaikhari: audible sound.
Vam•: The seed sound of the Svadhisthana (second) chakra.
Varu•na: One of the earliest Vedic sky gods, father of many of the later gods, associated with law and divine order; he is associated with the stallion (from the early sacrifices) and the makara, as ruler of the primordial waters.
V-ayu: (1) Wind, and god of the wind, believed to have purifying powers. (2) Refers to one of five pranic currents in the body: udana, prana, smana, apana, and vyana.
Vedas: Literally, “knowledges,” the earliest set of written doctrines, mostly sacred hymns and descriptions of rituals, originally coveted by the Aryan priestly class.
Veda-nta: A post-Vedic philosophy accenting the sense of divinity within the self. “Thou art that.”
Vi•s•nu: Major Indian male deity, one of the major triad (Brahma, Visnu, Shiva), known as the Pervader and partner to Lakshmi.
Vi´ssuddha: Literally, purification; the name for the fifth chakra, located at the throat.
Yam•: The seed sound of the ana-hata (fourth) chakra.
Ya-ma: God of death.
Yantra: Similar to mandala, a design used for meditation. (A yantra need not always be round.) Also a system of yoga based on meditation on visual symbols.
Yoga: Literally, yoke; a system of philosophy and techniques designed to link mind and body, and individual self to universal or god-self. There are many forms and practices of yoga; see Bhakti, Hatha, Jnana, Karma, Tantra, Mantra, Yantra, Pranayama.
Yoni: Female genitalia; sometimes depicted or worshiped in the form of a chalice; counterpart to lingam worship.