Glossary of Terms

B

Baddha:

Bound, as opposed to free (mukta).

Bahiḥsādhana:

Outer practice, as opposed to inner practice (antaḥsādhana).  See Kriyāyoga.

Bahir:

Out, without, outer, as opposed to inner (antar).

Bahiraṅga:

Outer limb, as opposed to inner limb (antaraṅga).  See Aṣṭāṅga.

Bāhya:

External, as opposed to internal (ābhyantara).  See Prāṇāyāma.

Bandha:

Binding, bondage, as opposed to liberation (mokṣa).

Bhagavad Gītā:

“The Lord’s Song.”  Part of the epic Mahābhārata.  Attributed to Veda Vyāsa.

Bhakti:

1) Devotion.

2) See Bhaktiyoga.

Bhakti Yoga:

The book on devotion yoga by Swami Vivekānanda.

Bhaktiyoga:

Devotion yoga.  The second principle of emotion (tattva of rajas) and the sixth of the seven yogas (yoga saptaka).  Part of a triad (traya) that includes the love sheath and the subtle body (kāmamayakośa and liṅgaśarīra).  See Yoga.

Bhāṣya:

Commentary.

Bhava:

1) Rebirth, as opposed to law (dharma).  See Bhāvasarpiṇī.

2) A thing, as opposed to a law (dharma).  See Kālavāda.

Bhāvana:

Contemplation.

Bhavasarpiṇī:

The arc of rebirth, as opposed to the arc of law (dharmasarpiṇī).  See Kālavāda.

Bheṣaja:

Remedy, as opposed to affliction (kleśa).  The four remedies (caturbheṣaja) are wisdom, seeking liberation, non-attachment, and discernment (vidyā, mumukṣutva, vairāgya, and viveka).  Wisdom is the right view (samyagdṛṣṭi), which is equal vision of the seen (samadṛṣṭi of dṛśya).  It’s the field of the subsequent remedies (kṣetra of uttara bheṣajas).  Seeking liberation is overcoming inertia (jayana abhiniveśa).  Non-attachment is lack of desire for attachment and aversion (vaitṛṣṇya for rāgadveṣa).  And discernment is non-identification with egotism (asārūpya with asmitā).  Each remedy has its own abode (āśaya).  See Āśaya.

Bhūmi:

Ground, foundation.

Bhūtaśuddhi:

Clearing the elements (mahābhūtas).  See Śauca.

Bīja:

Seed, primary cause.  See Satkāryavāda.

Brahmacarya:

Non-wasting, which is preservation of energy (rakṣaṇa of prāṇa).  The fourth of the five restraints (yamas).  See Yama.

Bodhya:

To be awakened.  See Suṣupti.

Brahman:

1) The source.  Literally “expansion.”

2) The unqualified source (nirguṇa brahman).  The empty origin (śūnya mūla).  The final cause (kāryakāraṇa).  Seedless nonexistence (nirbīja asat).  The absolute reality (pāramārthika satya).  The supreme self (paramātman).  The great ocean of absolute unity (mahāsāgara of kaivalya).

3) The threefold source (triguṇa brahman).  Undifferentiated, unmanifest potential existence (nirvikalpa, avyakta sadasat).  The primary reality (prādhānika satya).  The thread-self (sūtrātman).  The formal, efficient, and material causes (pratirūpakāraṇa, nimittakāraṇa, and upādānakāraṇa).  The major triad (pradhāna traya) of spirit, the oversoul, and nature (puruṣa, īśvara, and prakṛti).  The silent current of cessation (niḥśabda srotas of nirvāṇa).  Related to the Pythagorean triad.

4) The sevenfold source (saptaguṇa brahman).  Differentiated, manifest existence (savikalpa, vyakta sat).  The transactional reality (vyāvahārika satya).  The living self (jīvātman).  The minor heptad (apradhāna saptaka) of existence, bliss, consciousness, the soul, mind, emotion, and physics (sat, ānanda, cit, jīva, sattva, rajas, and tamas).  The sound-current of transmigration (śabdasrotas of saṃsāra).  Related to the Pythagorean heptad.

5) The qualified source (saguṇa brahman).  The tenfold source (daśaguṇa brahman) consisting of the threefold source and the sevenfold source together (triguṇa brahman and saptaguṇa brahman ekatra).  Related to the Pythagorean Decad.  Symbolized by the ten dots of the Tetractys.

Buddha:

1) Awakened.

2) Gautama Siddhārtha, the founder of Buddhism.

3) The deep sleep state (suṣupti avasthā) after it’s awakened.  See Suṣupti.

Buddhi:

1) Intellect.

2)  See below.

Buddhiyoga:

Intellectual yoga.  The second principle of the soul (tattva of jīva) and the fourth of the seven yogas (yoga saptaka).  Part of a triad (traya) that includes the intellectual sheath and the ego body (vijñānamayakośa and ahaṃśarīra).  See Yoga.