Abhyasa: Practice; a diligent, repeated effort to steady the mind. It is often paired with vairagya (detachment) in Yoga Sutras to describe the dual path to mastery.Acharya (Acarya): A preceptor or spiritual instructor; a title of respect given to someone who guides students in religious or spiritual matters; cf. guru.Advaita (“nonduality”): The truth and teaching that there is only One Reality (Atman, Brahman), mainly as found in the Upanishads; cf. Vedanta.Ahamkara (“I-maker”): The principle of individuation or ego, responsible for the sense of self; this ego must be transcended to experience union with the ultimate reality. Cf. Asmita; see also buddhi, manas.Ahimsa (“non-harming”): The most important moral discipline (yama) in yoga. Ahimsa extends beyond physical nonviolence to include non-harmful thoughts, words, and actions.Ajna-cakra (“command”): The sixth chakra, also called the third-eye chakra, is located between the eyebrows. It governs intuition, insight, and perception beyond ordinary sight. Associated with the color indigo, it is the seat of wisdom and inner knowing.Akasha (“ether/space”) is the first of the five material elements that compose the physical universe. It also refers to inner space, the space of consciousness (called cid-akasha).Amrita (“immortal/immortality”): A designation of the deathless Spirit (Atman, Purusha); also refers to the nectar of immortality that oozes from the crown chakra (sahasrara-cakra) when activated, transforming the body into a “divine body” (divya-deha).Anahata-cakra (“unstruck”): The fourth chakra, located at the heart center. It governs love, compassion, and emotional balance. Associated with the air element and the color green, it is the bridge between the lower (physical) and higher (spiritual) chakras.Ananda (“bliss”): The condition of supreme joy, an essential quality of the ultimate reality (tattva).Anga (“limb”): A fundamental category of the yogic path, such as asana, dharana, dhyana, niyama, pranayama, pratyahara, samadhi, yama; also refers to the body (deha, sharira).Annamaya-kosha (“sheath made of food”): The outermost layer of the body, also known as the physical body in the five koshas (sheaths) model.Antar Mouna (“inner silence”): A meditation technique involving mindfulness and observation of thoughts.Arjuna (“White”): One of the five Pandava princes who fought in the great war depicted in the Mahabharata; disciple of Krishna, whose teachings are in the Bhagavad Gita.Asana (“seat”): A physical posture; the third limb (anga) of Patanjali’s eightfold path (ashta-anga-yoga). Referred initially only to a meditation posture, but in hatha yoga, it expanded to include a wide variety of postures.
Ashrama (“where effort is made”): A hermitage or retreat; also refers to the four stages of life: brahmacharya (student), grihastha (householder), vanaprastha (forest dweller), and sannyasa (renunciate).
Ashta-anga-yoga, Ashtanga-yoga (“eight-limbed union”): The eightfold yoga of Patanjali, consisting of moral discipline (yama), self-restraint (niyama), posture (asana), breath control (pranayama), sensory withdrawal (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi), leading to liberation (kaivalya).
Asmita (“I-am-ness”): A term in Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga that is synonymous with the ego (ahamkara).
Atman (“Self”): Our true identity is The transcendental Self or Spirit, which is eternal and superconscious. A distinction is sometimes made between the atman (individual self) and the parama-atman (transcendental Self); cf. brahman, see also purusha.
Avadhuta (“he who has shed [everything]”): A radical renunciate (sannyasin) who often engages in unconventional behavior.
Avidya (“ignorance”): The root cause of suffering (duhkha), the veil of ignorance that hides the true nature of reality; also called ajnana; cf. vidya.
Ayurveda, Ayur-veda (“life science”): One of India’s traditional systems of medicine, alongside South India’s Siddha medicine.