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Dictionary
| S.No. | Word - B | Sound | Description | Key Word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bandha | Binding; Bandha (Haṭhayoga) | Bandha means ‘binding’. In some cases, it specifically refers to the binding of the person to saṃsāra (q.v.). It is used in Haṭhayoga in a technical sense to refer to specific postures where a part of the body is constricted (undergoes ‘binding’, i.e. bandha) in a particular way. These procedures are meant to achieve some specific purpose such as capturing amarī (q.v.) or removing the effects of old age (unlike āsanas which are usually meant for dhyāna and samādhi). Three bandhas are usually described: 1. M | b |
| 2 | beejam | Seed | Bīja means ‘seed’. This features in a metaphor that runs throughout the Vyāsabhāṣya that compares the kleśas to seeds and proper knowledge to fire that roasts them, rendering them incapable of sprouting (see jñānāgni). Samādhi is said to be with seed when the samāpatti has an external object as its seed (see sabīja). | b |
| 3 | bhadra | Blessed; auspicious; fortunate; prosperous; happy; good; excellent; gracious | Bhadra is used in a positive sense and can mean any of the words above. It can also refer to the nouns indicated by the above adjectives, i.e. ‘blessing’, ‘auspiciousness’, ‘good fortune’, ‘prosperity’, etc. In conversations, such as in stories or drama, bhadra (masculine), bhadre (feminine) and bhadrāḥ (plural) is used to address a person or people. Bhadra may also refer to bhadrāsana (q.v.). | b |
| 4 | bhadrasanam | Bhadrāsana (āsana) | Bhadrāsana meaning ‘auspicious posture’ (see āsana) is a particular posture commonly mentioned in several yoga works. To achieve this: the two ankles (or heels) are placed under the scrotum on the two sides of the perineum. The left ankle (or heel, according to some works) is placed on the left and the right ankle (or heel) is placed on the right. The feet which are now situated near the sides are to be caught with the hands, and the yogī must then remain motionless. This āsana is said to eliminate diseases | b |
| 5 | bhakti | Devotion; attachment; fondness; worship; faith; piety; division | Bhakti means ‘devotion’ and is used to refer to the devotion displayed towards one’s personal deity (iṣṭadevatā). The meanings ‘attachment’, ‘fondness’, ‘worship’, ‘faith’ or ‘piety’ may be appropriate translations depending on context. Bhakti is the basis of the path towards mokṣa known as bhaktiyoga (q.v.). ‘Division’ is the etymological meaning of bhakti and is very rarely used. | b |
| 6 | bhaktiyoga | Path of devotion | Bhaktiyoga is one of the three principal paths towards mokṣa, the other two being jñānayoga and karmayoga (see yoga for details). Bhaktiyoga involves practising devotion to a personal deity (iṣṭadevatā). Brahman is abstract and cannot be easily conceived or mediated on for ordinary people. This makes the path of knowledge (jñānayoga) difficult. For this reason, the forms taken by Brahman as īśvara – perceivable Gods is expounded in Yoga. The commonly worshipped Gods are Devī, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Gaṇapati, etc. Tra | b |
| 7 | bhavapratyaya | Practising yoga with the notion that the mind, prakṛti or some other object is puruṣa (see pratyaya and prakṛtilaya) | Practising yoga with the notion that the mind, prakṛti or some other object is puruṣa (see pratyaya and prakṛtilaya) | b |
| 8 | bhoga | Enjoyment; eating; experience | The general meaning of bhoga are ‘eating’ or ‘enjoyment’. However in philosophy, this term is most often used to refer to ‘experience’. Experiences can be positive or negative. Any experience (and any object in general) must have a cause, a principle that is visible in philosophical works. The cause here is the set of the actions (karmāśaya) that the person had done in the past (and past lives) (see karma). The result of these actions manifests in three ways: jāti, āyus and bhoga. Jāti refers to the birth o | b |
| 9 | bhokta | Person who experiences; experiencer (See bhoga) | Person who experiences; experiencer (See bhoga) | b |
| 10 | bhoomi | Earth (ground); Earth (Goddess); Earth (element); mental state | Bhūmi, in general parlance, means earth. It can refer to the physical earth, i.e. ‘mud’, ‘soil’ or ‘ground’, Earth personified as a Goddess or to the elemental earth that is found in philosophy. Pṛthivī is used to indicate all these meanings as well (see pṛthivī for explanation). However, the term bhūmi has a technical meaning in yoga. Bhūmi also refers to the general state of the mind and is classified into five: 1. Kṣipta – fickle 2. Mūḍha – forgetful 3. Vikṣipta – distracted 4. Ekāgra – one-pointed 5. Ni | b |
| 11 | bhramaree | Bhrāmarī (kumbhaka) | Bhrāmarī is one of the eight types of kumbhaka (q.v.). It derives from the word bhramara meaning ‘bee’. To perform this procedure: the practitioner must breathe in quickly while making the sound of male bee and breathe out very slowly while making the sound of a female bee. A certain indescribable joy (ānanda) is said to be created in the hearts of the best yogīs through the practice of this procedure (see Haṭhayoga Pradīpikā 2.68) . | b |
| 12 | bhrantidarshanam | See viparyaya | See viparyaya | b |
| 13 | bhutadi | The form of ahaṅkāra that is coloured by tamas (see ahaṅkāra) | The form of ahaṅkāra that is coloured by tamas (see ahaṅkāra) | b |
| 14 | bhutam | Past; creature; element | Bhūta has three principal meanings: ‘past’ (earlier in time), ‘creature’ (living thing) and ‘element’ (one of the five elements). The five elements are together called pañcabhūtas (q.v.). Problems arising from the bhūtas, i.e. other living objects such as animals or humans are called ādhibhautika (q.v.). | b |
| 15 | bindu | See brahmarandhra | See brahmarandhra | b |
| 16 | Brahma | Brahmā (God) | Brahmā is the God responsible for creation in stories. He is also called Hiraṇyagarbha. Brahmā forms part of the Trimūrti, a set of three primary Gods, which are Brahmā (responsible for Creation), Viṣṇu (for maintenance) and Śiva (for destruction). Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.7.61-68) gives a list of objects (inanimate and animate) on which a person can perform dhyāna. These are all viewed as forms of Viṣṇu, but Viṣṇu’s presence is more in some objects than in others (see dakṣa for details). In the entire set of creatu | b |
| 17 | brahmacari | Celibate; student (of Vedas) | Brahmacārī is a person who follows brahmacarya, i.e. maintaining celibacy in thought, word and deed. It may also particularly refer to the first stage in the life (āśrama) of a man, after initiation (upanayana). Here, he goes away from home and lives with his teacher, learning the Vedas and other subjects (see gṛhastha). The Dharmaśāstras prescribe several rules for students who live in this way, including refraining from meat, alcohol and luxury products. These ideas are often borrowed into yoga as well. | b |
| 18 | brahmacarya | Celibacy | Brahmacarya refers to ‘celibacy’. It is a yama and is expected to be followed on a physical, mental and verbal level by the yogī. As a yama, it is one of the foundational principles of yoga. A person who follows brahmacarya is called brahmacārī. | b |
| 19 | brahmagranthi | The lowest granthi on Suṣumnā (see granthi) | The lowest granthi on Suṣumnā (see granthi) | b |
| 20 | brahman | Brahman | Brahman is the name given to the substratum that underlies the world. It is the living spirit that functions in animate objects and the origin of Prakṛti (or Māyā) that creates the entire world of objects. It is eternal, in the form of light and knowledge and without tangible attributes or qualities. In this sense, the concept of Brahman is connected with the concept of Puruṣa (q.v.). The difference between these concepts exists because of the difference in viewpoint between philosophical schools. Vedānta h | b |
| 21 | brahmanadi | See Suṣumnā | See Suṣumnā | b |
| 22 | brahmi | Pertaining to Brahmā; pertaining to Brahman; Sarasvatī | Brāhmī is the feminine form of Brāhma, which means ‘pertaining to Brahman’ or ‘pertaining to Brahmā’. It can also be a synonym of Sarasvatī (q.v.). | b |
| 23 | buddheendriyam | See jñānendriya | See jñānendriya | b |
| 24 | buddhi | Intellect | Buddhi means ‘intellect’ or ‘intelligence’, i.e. the capacity to decide, select or determine, and may be used as such in a text. It may, in some cases, not be distinguished from prajñā or citta (see respective words). It is also a synonym for mahat (q.v.) | b |