Yoga Sutras Vocabulary
First Session Vocabulary*
(Definitions borrowed from the glossary in Bryant's edition of the Sutras)
Sankhya – “Enumeration” or “counting”; a philosophical school focusing on the twenty-four ingredients of material reality (prakrti). Sankhya is the earliest philosophical system of the six classical Schools and provides the metaphysical framework for the Yoga School.
Purusha – Term favored by the Yoga School to refer to the innermost conscious self, loosely equivalent to the soul in Western Graeco-Abrahamic traditions.
Prakrti – Also known as pradhana; the material world with all its varieties within which the purusha is embedded; the raw stuff from which the world is formed.
Buddhi – Intelligence, discriminatory aspect of the mind (citta). Buddhi has the functions of judgment, discrimination, knowledge, ascertainment, will, virtue, and detachment.
Ahankara – “I am the doer”; sankhya term for ego. The Gita describes the false “I” as thinking of oneself as the [sole] doer of action.
Manas – Mind, the thinking and organizing aspect of citta.
Citta – In the Yoga School citta refers to the combined functioning of the three cognitive aspects of the internal organ – buddhi (intelligence), ahankara (ego), and manas (mind).
* A Sanskrit word can have multiple meanings depending on the context in which the word is used.
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(Definitions borrowed from the glossary in Bryant's edition of the Sutras)
Sankhya – “Enumeration” or “counting”; a philosophical school focusing on the twenty-four ingredients of material reality (prakrti). Sankhya is the earliest philosophical system of the six classical Schools and provides the metaphysical framework for the Yoga School.
Purusha – Term favored by the Yoga School to refer to the innermost conscious self, loosely equivalent to the soul in Western Graeco-Abrahamic traditions.
Prakrti – Also known as pradhana; the material world with all its varieties within which the purusha is embedded; the raw stuff from which the world is formed.
Buddhi – Intelligence, discriminatory aspect of the mind (citta). Buddhi has the functions of judgment, discrimination, knowledge, ascertainment, will, virtue, and detachment.
Ahankara – “I am the doer”; sankhya term for ego. The Gita describes the false “I” as thinking of oneself as the [sole] doer of action.
Manas – Mind, the thinking and organizing aspect of citta.
Citta – In the Yoga School citta refers to the combined functioning of the three cognitive aspects of the internal organ – buddhi (intelligence), ahankara (ego), and manas (mind).
* A Sanskrit word can have multiple meanings depending on the context in which the word is used.
Click here for a printable version of this page.
Yoga Sutras Vocabulary, Week 2 [Sutras 1-2]
Yoga – One of the six classical Schools of Indian philosophies; the Yoga school as represented by Patanjali presents techniques through which purusa (soul) can be realized as distinct from prakrti (matter). Patanjali defines yoga as the cessation (nirodha) of the activities (vrttis) of the citta. Historically, Yoga just referred to a cluster of meditative techniques, some form of which was common to numerous different schools and sects, rather than a distinct philosophical school.
Samadhi – Full meditative absorption or final absorption in the self, Patanjali subdivides samadhi into seven levels: the six levels of samprajnata-samadhi (savitarka, nirvitarka, savicara, nirvicara, ananda, asmita) and the seventh level of asamprajnata-samadhi.
Vrttis – Any sequence of thought, ideas, mental imaging, or cognitive act performed by either the mind, intellect, or ego (collectively citta).
Avidya – Ignorance. Considered by the Yoga school as a mental state or perception of reality which confuses or misidentifies the nature of the soul (Purusa) with that of the body.
Gunas – Strands or qualities; the three gunas inherent in prakrti – sattva (lucidity), rajas (action), and tamas (inertia). These gunas are like the threads which ake up a rope, and all manifest reality consists of a combination of the gunas.
Sattva – One of the three gunas; literally means “being-ness.” When sattva is predominant in an individual, the qualities of lucidity, tranquility, wisdom, discrimination, detachment, happiness, and peacefulness manifest. Also used as a synonym of buddhi.
Rajas – One of the three gunas; when rajas is predominant in an individual, hankering, attachment, energetic endeavor, passion, power, restlessness, and creative activity manifest.
Tamas – One of the three gunas. When tamas is predominant in an individual, ignorance, delusion, disinterest, lethargy, sleep, and disinclination toward constructive activity manifest.
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Samadhi – Full meditative absorption or final absorption in the self, Patanjali subdivides samadhi into seven levels: the six levels of samprajnata-samadhi (savitarka, nirvitarka, savicara, nirvicara, ananda, asmita) and the seventh level of asamprajnata-samadhi.
Vrttis – Any sequence of thought, ideas, mental imaging, or cognitive act performed by either the mind, intellect, or ego (collectively citta).
Avidya – Ignorance. Considered by the Yoga school as a mental state or perception of reality which confuses or misidentifies the nature of the soul (Purusa) with that of the body.
Gunas – Strands or qualities; the three gunas inherent in prakrti – sattva (lucidity), rajas (action), and tamas (inertia). These gunas are like the threads which ake up a rope, and all manifest reality consists of a combination of the gunas.
Sattva – One of the three gunas; literally means “being-ness.” When sattva is predominant in an individual, the qualities of lucidity, tranquility, wisdom, discrimination, detachment, happiness, and peacefulness manifest. Also used as a synonym of buddhi.
Rajas – One of the three gunas; when rajas is predominant in an individual, hankering, attachment, energetic endeavor, passion, power, restlessness, and creative activity manifest.
Tamas – One of the three gunas. When tamas is predominant in an individual, ignorance, delusion, disinterest, lethargy, sleep, and disinclination toward constructive activity manifest.
Click here for printable page.