Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Bhagavad Gita with Commentaries / Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Atman — the main essence of beings: that part of a multidimensional organism which abides in the highest spatial dimension (see more details in [3]).

Brahman — Holy Spirit.

Buddhi yoga — a system of methods for development of human consciousness following after raja yoga.

Varnas — evolutionary stages of man’s development that are corresponded by his social role: shudras — servants, vaishyas — merchants, farmers, craftsmen, kshatriyas — leaders, warriors, brahmans — in the original meaning of this word — those who have attained the state of Brahman. In India and in a number of other countries the varna membership became inherited by birth. This rule has been disputed by many thinkers and is denied by God (see below).

Gunas — three human qualities: tamas — dullness, ignorance; rajas — energy, passion; sattva — harmony, purity. Every evolving person has to ascend by these gunas-steps and then go higher (see about this in the text). The qualities peculiar to the gunas rajas and sattva have to be mastered sequentially by every person who wants to go further.

Guru — spiritual teacher.

Dharma — objective law of life; predestination, path of man.

Indriyas — “tentacles” that we “extend” from our organs of sense and also from the mind (manas) and buddhi — to the objects which we perceive or think about.

Ishvara — God-the-Father, Creator, Allah, Tao (in the Taoist meaning), Primordial Consciousness, Adibuddha.

Yoga — Sanskrit equivalent of the Latin word religion, which means “link with God”, “methods of advancement to Him”, “Mergence” of a person with God. One may speak of yoga: a) as of the Path and methods of religious advancement and b) as of the state of Union with God (in the latter case the first letter of this word is capitalized).

Maya — Divine Illusion: the world of matter, seemed to us existing on its own.

Manas — mind.

Mahatma — “Great Atman”, i.e. a person with highly right developed consciousness, evolutionary mature, wise person.

Muni — wise man, sage.

Paramatman — Highest, United Divine Atman: the same as Ishvara.

Prakriti — cosmic matter (in the collective sense).

Purusha — cosmic spirit (in the collective sense).

Raja — ruler, king.

Rishi — sage.