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Dictionary

S.No.	Word - I	Sound	Description	Key Word
1	iccha	Desire; wish; will	‘Desire’ or ‘wish’ in general is termed icchā. In the context of yoga, it is often a synonym of rāga. Wishing for something or liking something and hating something else, this is an example of various dualities (heat and cold, happiness and sadness, etc.) that the yogī must avoid. One reason for this is that thinking about something with such emotions attached, creates saṃskāras in the mind of the yogī. If these are not addressed through various practices in yoga, the yogī will then have to be born again until the saṃskāras are cleared. Another reason is that liking and hating cause the yogī to run after or away from objects, create grudges, frustrations or other temporary emotions, which perturb the stability of mind that yoga tries to create.	i
2	ida	Name of a nāḍī; left nostril	Several nāḍīs are located within the body. However, for the purposes of yoga, three of these are of primary importance: Iḍā, Piṅgalā and Suṣumnā. Suṣumnā is located along the spinal cord. Iḍā is located to its left and Piṅgalā to its right. For ordinary people, prāṇa (breath) flows along the Iḍā or Piṅgalā. However, for a yogī who has awakened kuṇḍalinī, prāṇa flows along the Suṣumnā. Various practices given in texts (especially in Haṭhayoga) are aimed at achieving this feat. Apart from this meaning, when instructing about methods in prāṇāyāma, texts use ‘iḍā’ to refer to the left nostril.	i
3	indra	God of Rain; Ruler of the Devas; best (of any class of objects)	Indra is the deity responsible for rain. He is the ruler of the Devas and considered the best among them. He bears the Vajra (thunderbolt) which he uses against his enemies, esp. Vṛtra (the serpent demon). He is very intelligent and is the closest out of all Devas in understanding Brahman (a story for this is given in the Kena Upaniṣad). Any object which is the best in its category is referred to by adding ‘indra’ after the category name. For example, ‘nara’ meaning human with ‘indra’ becomes ‘narendra’ meaning ‘king’ (best among humans), or ‘gaja’ meaning elephant, with ‘indra’ becomes ‘gajendra’ meaning best among elephants (name of a particular elephant). As a deity, Indra is the presiding deity of various nāḍīs in the different systems of nāḍīs used.	i
4	indriya	Sense organ; sensory and motor organ	The first meaning of indriya is ‘sense organ’. These are the five organs by which a living being acquires information from the outside world. They are: the ears (hearing), skin (touch), eyes (vision), tongue (taste) and nose (smell). When extending the meaning of ‘indriya’, these five are called jñānendriyas or buddhīndriyas, i.e. the indriyas which bring in information. Additionally there are five karmendriyas (karma meaning ‘action’) which act upon the wishes of the person. They are: vāk (speech), hasta (hands), pāda (feet), pāyu (anus) and upastha (urethra) which are responsible for speaking, manipulation (taking, receiving, doing tasks, etc.), locomotion and excretion (for the last two) respectively. In some texts, only the jñānendriyas and karmendriyas are treated as indriyas, giving ten indriyas. Other texts add manas (mind) making eleven indriyas. Manas is responsible for taking information from the jñānendriyas, changing the information (in concert with buddhi, puruṣa and others) and giving instructions to karmendriyas.	i
5	indriya-siddhi	Siddhis related to the indriyas	The five indriyas have natural limitations. However, through yoga, one attains special siddhis which break through these limitations and give the yogī the ability to use these as per will. For example, capacity to hear something from several kilometres away or see something that cannot be seen, and so on. This applies to all indriyas.	i
6	indriyaghatah	Damage to the sense organ.	‘Āghāta’ refers to damage caused to some part of the body (esp. due to external blows, etc.). When the indriya (any of the five sense organs) ceases to function due to whatever reason, indriyāghāta is said to have occurred.	i
7	indriyajaya	Winning over the sense organs	Texts within yoga and elsewhere speak of controlling the indriyas or winning over them. The import of this is that, the indriyas are directed to the outside world and a person (puruṣa) who is of a worldly bent of mind uses these to access the outside world. The sense organs display the picture of the outside world and the person experiences it and directs them as required to experience whatever he wants. He goes towards things that he likes and away from things that he does not like. When the person does not have self control, the indriyas are instructed to move from place to place without any sense of order. The texts state that “the indriyas have tendency to move from place to place”, when referring to this phenomenon, since in general, self control is a cultivated quality and thus there is a natural tendency to move. A person interested in achieving anything whether in the world or towards liberation must put an effort to bring the sense organs under control. That is to say that a conscious effort must be made to think everything through, to act where required and move away when not required, i.e. to pull the sense organs away or apply them as per one’s own wishes.	i
8	ista	Wished; desired; liked; favourable; worshipped	Anything that is wished for by a person or would be wished for is called iṣṭa. This includes people, objects, actions or ideas. Anything that will bring favourable results is also called iṣṭa. The meaning ‘worshipped’ comes from a different root ‘yaj’ denoting worship or yajña.	i
9	istadevata	Personal deity	There are two derivations of this word: iṣṭa can mean ‘worshipped’ or ‘liked’. The deity who is worshipped is called ‘iṣṭadevatā’. A deity which is liked by a person, as the deity of choice is also called iṣṭadevatā.	i
10	isvara	Lord; God; master; Īśvara (yoga)	The general meanings of Īśvara include ‘Lord’, ‘God’ or ‘master’ in the sense of someone who owns or is able to control (from root ‘īś’ meaning possess or control). However, in yoga, there is a technical meaning. Puruṣa and Prakṛti form the basis of the world and are common to Yoga and Sāṅkhya. However, Yoga differs from Sāṅkhya in having the additional concept of Īśvara. By definition (Yogasūtra 1.24), Īśvara is a special kind of puruṣa who is not bound to saṃsāra (since it does not have kleśa, karma, vipāka or āśayas). Iśvara does not have attachment, never had it nor will it ever have it. Though part of saṃsāra and interacting with other objects in it, Īśvara remains unattached to it. Visible forms of deities such as Śiva, Viṣṇu or Devī are viewed as forms of Īśvara which each person worships according to their own wishes or convenience. Īśvara is equated to Brahman, as stated in the Upaniṣads.	i
11	isvarapranidhanam	Karmayoga	Īśvarapraṇidhāna is a niyama given in several texts. Vyāsabhāṣya states that it is a special type of bhakti, however the definition given is the same as karmayoga (q.v.).	i
12	isvarapujanam	Worship of God	This is a niyama in several works on yoga. By worshipping Īśvara, there are several benefits: Firstly, it is a way of practising bhaktiyoga. Here, the person worships the deity whom he likes the most (iṣṭadevatā) and cultivates the feeling of bhakti (q.v.). Secondly, any act (including ritual) when submitted to Īśvara is an act of karmayoga (q.v.). Thirdly, worship of various specific deities changes one’s own fate in particular ways – different procedures towards different deities give specific results (details given in manuals of worship and astrology). By using this, the person can improve his own life and progress in the direction he wishes, including towards success in yoga.	i
13	isvari	Goddess; female deity; kuṇḍalinī	‘Īśvarī’ means ‘Goddess’ and is an epithet for any female deity such as Pārvatī or Lakṣmī. In several works of yoga, īśvarī is a synonym of Kuṇḍalinī (q.v.).	i