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 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.

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, 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 separating one’s true nature from egotism (vicchedana svarūpa from 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.

Brahman:

The source.  Literally “expansion.”  The unqualified source (nirguṇa brahman) is the infinite point of origin and final cause (ananta mūladeśa and 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, the oversoul, and nature (puruṣa, īśvara, and prakṛti).  They’re the formal cause, the efficient cause, and the material cause (pratirūpakāraṇa, nimittakāraṇa, and upādānakāraṇa).  That major triad (pradhāna traya) is unmanifest (avyakta) and is synonymous with cessation and the silent current (nirvāṇa and niḥśabdasrotas).  It’s related to the Pythagorean triad.  The sevenfold source (saptaguṇa brahman) preexists within the threefold source as the effect (kārya).  It includes existence, bliss, consciousness, the soul, mind, emotion, and physics (sat, ānanda, cit, jīva, sattva, rajas, and tamas).  This minor heptad (apradhāna saptaka) is manifest (vyakta) and is synonymous with transmigration and the sound-current (saṃsāra and śabdasrotas).  It’s related to the Pythagorean heptad.  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 related to the Pythagorean Decad and is 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.  See Vijñāna.

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.

Budhya:

To be awakened.  See Suṣupti.