A

Adhama - The lowest or bad

Agamas Shaivite--scriptures

Agni Vedic--sacred fire

Aranyaka Vedic--forest texts

Artha--pursuit of wealth

Aryan--people of spiritual values

Asanas--yogic postures

Ashram--state or stage of life

Atharva Veda--fourth Veda

Atman--the Divine Self

Avatar--incarnation of God

Ayurveda--Vedic Medicine

  B

 

Bhagavad Gita--scripture of the avatar Krishna

Bhakti Yoga--Yoga of Devotion

Bhuktis--planetary time periods, minor

Brahmacharya--control of sexual energy; state of life of learning and purity

Brahma--form of the Hindu trinity governing creation

Brahman--the Absolute or ultimate reality

Brahmanas--Vedic ritualistic texts

Brahmins--people of spiritual values

Brihaspati--Vedic God of the ritual, the planet Jupiter

Buddha--ninth avatar of Vishnu

  C

 

Chakra - spinning circle

Chalitchakra - chart of houses as opposed to the rasi chakra which is the chart of signs

Chamara - A white or light gray fluffy whisk fan made out of a yak tail

Chandala - This is the name of one of the lowest rungs of human society

Chandra -  the Moon

Chandrashtama - This is when the Moon transits in the eighth sign from a person's rising sign and is not considered good at all

Chandrodaya - moonrise

Chara dasha - dasha system propounded by Sage Jaimini

Chara - This means movable and is often used in combination with rasi to indicate the movable signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.

Chatur - Four.

Chaturdasi - This is the fourteenth tithi or lunar day.

Chaturmas - Literally means the four months of winter. During this period many yogis and devotees practice more strict austerities to help them in their spiritual advancement.

Chaturtamsha - Literally means four parts and refers to the four-part divisional or varga chart. The chaturtamsha chart fills in more information than the fourth house about one's home, happiness and matters relating to the fourth house.

Chaturthi - This is a combination of the two words chatur and tithi and therefore refers to the fourth lunar day of both the dark and bright halves of the lunar month.

Chatuspada - a four-footed animal such as a cow or a horse

Chaya graha - chaya means shadow and graha means planet; referring to Rahu and Ketu,

Cheshta - Motion; chesta bala refers to motional strength.

 

  D

 

Dashas--planetary time periods, major

Dharana--yogic concentration or attention

Dharma--teaching or religion; honor or status

Dhatus--bodily tissues in Ayurvedic Medicine

Dhyana--meditation

Doshas--biological humors of Ayurvedic medicine

Durga--the Goddess as the destroyer of demons

  E

Ekadashi - The eleventh tithi or lunar day.

Ekadhipatya - This refers to a planet which owns two signs.

Ephemeris - A book wherein you can find the positions of the planets.

 

    G

 

Ganesh--elephant faced God who destroys all obstacles

Gayatri--Vedic chant for awakening the soul

Grihastha--householder stage of life

Gunas--prime qualities of nature

Guru--spiritual teacher

  H

 

Hanuman--the monkey God

Hatha Yoga--Yoga of the physical body

Hinduism--modern name for the Vedic teaching

Homa--Vedic worship, Fire offerings

Hum--great mantra of Agni and Shiva

  I

 

Indra--Vedic God of being or life

Ishwara--the cosmic Creator

Itihasas--Hindu epics

  J

 

Jainism--non-orthodox form of Vedic/Aryan teaching emphasizing non-violence

Jnana Yoga--Yoga of Knowledge

Jyotish--Vedic Astrology

  K

 

Kailas--the world mountain

Kali--the dark form of the Goddess

Kali Yuga--dark or iron age

Kalki--tenth avatar of Vishnu

Kama--pursuit of desire

Kapha--biological water humor

Kapila--great Hindu sage, founder of the Sankhya system of philosophy

Karakas--planetary significators

Karma--Law of Cause and Effect

Karma Yoga--Yoga of Work or Service

Kashmiri Shaivism--Shaivite philosophy of medieval Kashmir

Ketu--south node of the Moon, dragon's tail

Krishna--eighth avatar of Vishnu

Kriya Yoga--yoga of technique

Kshatriya--people of political values

Kundalini--serpent power, power of subtle body

  L

 

Lakshmi--Goddess of prosperity and beauty; consort of Vishnu

Lalita--Goddess of bliss

Laya Yoga--Yoga of absorption into the sound-current (nada)

  M

 

Mahabharata--epic story of Krishna

Mahavakyas--great sayings of Vedantic knowledge

Mahayana--great vehicle, northern school of Buddhism

Manas--mind or emotion

Mantra--spiritual or empowered speech

Manu--Vedic original man, founder of human culture

Marmas--sensitive bodily points used in Ayurvedic treatment

Maya--illusion

Mayavada--doctrine that the world is unreal

Meru--the world mountain

Mimamsa--ritualistic form of Vedic philosophy

Moksha--pursuit of liberation

  N

 

Nada--the sound current of the subtle body

Nadis--nerves of the subtle body

Nataraj--Shiva as lord of the cosmic dance

Nirvana--liberation, the state of peace

Niyamas--yogic observances

Nyaya and Vaisheshika--Hindu philosophies; two of the six systems

  O

Om--The mantra of the Divine

  P

 

Pancha Karma--five Ayurvedic purification methods

Parashurama--sixth avatar of Vishnu

Parvati--the consort of Shiva

Patanjali--main teacher of classical Yoga system

Pitta--biological fire humor

Prakriti--great Nature, matter

Prana--breath or life-force

Prana Yoga--Yoga of the life-force

Pranayama--yogic control of the breath

Pratyahara--yogic control of mind and senses

Puja--Hindu worship, flower offerings

Puranas--Hindu mythological texts

Purusha--pure consciousness, spirit

  R

 

Radha--consort of Krishna

Rahu--north node of the Moon; dragon's head

Rajas--quality of energy or agitation

Raja Yoga--integral or royal yoga path of Patanjali

Rama--seventh avatar of Vishnu

Ramayana--epic story of Rama

Rasayana--Ayurvedic rejuvenation methods

Rig Veda--oldest Hindu scripture; Veda of chant

Rishis--ancient Vedic seers

Rudra--terrible or wrathful form of Shiva

  S

 

Sama Veda--Veda of song

Samadhi--absorption, bliss

Sankhya--Vedic philosophy of cosmic principles

Sanskrit--Vedic and mantric language

Sannyasa--stage of life of renunciation and liberation

Santana Dharma--the eternal teaching; traditional name for the Hindu religion

Saraswati--Goddess of speech, learning, knowledge and wisdom

Sat--being

Sattva--quality of truth or light

Sautrantika--Buddhist philosophy of the momentariness of all things

Savitar--Vedic Sun god as the guide of Yoga

Shakti--the power of consciousness and spiritual evolution

Shankara--the great philsopher of non-dualistic Vedanta

Shiva--form of the Hindu trinity governing destruction and transcendence

Shudras--people of sensate values

Shunyavada--Buddhist philosophy that everything is void  

Sita--consort of Rama

Skanda--the war God

So'ham--natural mantric sound of the breath

Soma--Vedic God of bliss

Srotas--channel systems used in Ayurvedic medicine

Surya--Vedic Sun God or god of the enlightened mind

  T

 

Tamas--quality of darkness and inertia

Tantra--medieval yogic and ritualistic Indian texts

Tara--the Goddess in her role as savior

  U

Upanishads--Vedic philosophical texts

  V

 

Vaishyas--people of commercial values

Vak--Divine Word, the Goddess

Vanaprastha--hermitage stage of life

Varna--Social Value or Class

Vata--biological air humor

Vedas--ancient scriptures of India

Vedanta--Vedic philosophy of Self-knowledge

Vedic Science--integral spiritual science of the Vedas

Vijnana--intelligence

Vijnanavada--Buddhist philosophy that consciousness alone exists

Vishnu--form of the Hindu trinity governing preservation

    Y

 

Yajna--sacrifice, sacred ritual

Yajur Veda--Veda of ritual or sacrifice

Yamas--yogic attitudes

Yantra--geometrical meditation designs

Yoga--techniques of developing and integrating energy

Yoga Sutras--classical text of Patanjali on Yoga

Yogi--practitioner of yoga

Yugas--world-ages