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).

“Bhā sūryasahasrasya”:

“Light of a thousand suns.”  A phrase from Bhagavad Gītā 11.12, which describes the oversoul (īśvara).  See Īśvara.

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 third principle (tattva) of emotion (rajas) and the sixth of the seven yogas (yoga saptaka).  Part of a triad (traya) that includes the love sheath (kāmamayakośa) and the subtle body (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:

1) Contemplation, meditation.

2) Remembering, recollection.

Bhāvasarpiṇī:

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

Bheṣaja:

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

Bhūmi:

Ground, foundation.

Bhūtaśuddhi:

Clearing the elements.  The definition of purification (śauca).  See Mahābhūta.

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.

Brahman:

The source.  Literally “expansion.”  The unqualified source (nirguṇa brahman) is the infinite point of origin (ananta mūladeśa) and final cause (kāryakāraṇa).  It’s completely devoid of all qualities, or strings (guṇas).  The threefold source (triguṇa brahman) preexists within the unqualified source as the cause (kāraṇa).  It includes spirit, nature, and the oversoul (puruṣa, prakṛti, and īśvara).  They’re the formal cause, the material cause, and the efficient cause (pratirūpakāraṇa, upādānakāraṇa, and nimittakāraṇa).  The sevenfold source (saptaguṇa brahman) preexists within the threefold source as the effect (kārya).  It includes existence (sat), bliss (ānanda), consciousness (cit), the soul (jīva), mind (sattva), emotion (rajas), and physics (tamas).  The unqualified source is the supreme self (paramātman); the threefold source is the thread-self (sūtrātman); the sevenfold source is the living self (jīvātman).  The unqualified source is nonexistence (asat); the threefold source is potential existence (syāt); the sevenfold source is existence (sat).  Each being a conjugation of the Sanskrit verb “to be” (as).  The unqualified source is the absolute reality (pāramārthika satya); the threefold source is the primary reality (prādhānika satya); the sevenfold source is the transactional reality (vyāvahārika satya).  The threefold source plus the sevenfold source is the complete tenfold source (pūrṇa daśaguṇa brahman).  It’s symbolized by the ten dots of the Pythagorean 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.  See Vijñāna.

2)  See below.

Buddhiyoga:

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

Budhya:

To be awakened.  See Suṣupti.