Glossary of Terms

K

Kaivalya:

1) Isolation. 

2) Absolute unity.  See Nirguṇa Brahman.

Kāla:

Time.  See below.

Kālacakra:

The wheel of time.  Symbolized by the mythical snake that swallows its tail (ouroboros).  See below.

Kālavāda:

The doctrine of time.  The corollary of string theory (guṇavāda).  It states that time (kāla) is the cyclical passage (cākra saṃsāra) toward equality (sāmya).  It’s the attempt to equalize the inequality (vaiṣamya) between the spiritual and material triads (pauruṣa and prākṛta trayas).  The seven strings (saptaguṇa) are encircled (parivṛta) by the twelve spokes (dvādaśāra) of the wheel of time (kālacakra).  They’re dependent (pratītya) in that they rely on their predecessors like links in a chain.  Furthermore, they’re impermanent and successive (anitya and parampara) in that they periodically cede the focus to their successors.  Existence (sat) is twelve o’clock, bliss (ānanda) is one and eleven o’clock, and so on down to physics (tamas) at six o’clock.  Each rotation consists of four overlapping arcs (sarpiṇīs).  Each arc is delineated by a boundary line (saṃdhi).  The two vertical arcs are the descending arc and the ascending arc (avasarpiṇī and utsarpiṇī).  They’re synonymous with evolution and involution (saṃcara and pratisaṃcara).  The descending arc turns from the twelfth (dvādaśama) spoke to the sixth (ṣaṣṭha); the ascending arc turns from the sixth spoke back to the twelfth; the sixth and twelfth spokes are the boundary line.  The two horizontal arcs are the arc of rebirth and the arc of law (bhāvasarpiṇī and dhārmasarpiṇī).  They’re synonymous with suffering and happiness (duḥkha and sukha).  The arc of law turns from the third (tṛtīya) spoke to the ninth (navama); the arc of rebirth turns from the ninth spoke back to the third; the third and ninth spokes are the boundary line.  Each spoke contains endless (ananta) “wheels within wheels” (cakras within cakras).  These circular modifications (cākra vṛttis) are living aggregates of seeds (jīvana skandhas of bījas).  Modifications in the arc of law (dhārmasarpiṇī) are spiritual laws (pauruṣa dharmas); modifications in the arc of rebirth (bhāvasarpiṇī) are material things (prākṛta bhavas).  Modifications in the descending arc (avasarpiṇī) are spinning without (pravṛtti); modifications in the ascending arc (utsarpiṇī) are spinning within (nivṛtti).  Like waves (taraṃgas), modifications are mutually suppressive, supportive, generative, and interactive (anyonya abhibhava, āśraya, janana, and mithuna).  Modifications are twelvefold (dvādaśataya) and either afflicted or unafflicted (kliṣṭa or akliṣṭa).  The co-arising of suffering (samudaya of duḥkha) is afflicted modifications; the co-arising of happiness (samudaya of sukha) is unafflicted modifications.  Without restraint and without observance (ayama and aniyama), modifications become afflicted during rebirth (bhava).  Afflicted modifications are unlawful and inauspicious (adhārma and pāpa).  After the arc of rebirth, they remain accumulated (saṃcita) in their abodes (āśayas), which are mind, emotion, and physics (sattva, rajas, and tamas).  Then, after the arc of law, they’re undertaken again (punar prārabdha).  On the other hand, unafflicted modifications are lawful and auspicious (dhārma and puṇya).  They attain reabsorption (pralaya) after the arc of rebirth and become a permanent part of our nature.  See Guṇavāda.

Kāma:

1) Love, as opposed to attachment (rāga).

2) See below.

Kāmamayakośa:

The love sheath.  The first principle (tattva) of emotion (rajas) and the sixth of the seven sheaths (saptakośa).  Part of a triad (traya) that includes the subtle body (liṅgaśarīra) and devotion yoga (bhaktiyoga).  See Kośa.

Kāraṇa:

1) Cause, as opposed to effect (kārya). 

2) One of the four causes (catuṣkāraṇa) for every change proposed by the Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle.  They are the final cause, or purpose (kāryakāraṇa), the formal cause (pratirūpakāraṇa), the material cause (upādānakāraṇa), and the efficient cause (nimittakāraṇa).  See Brahman.

3) See Kāraṇaśarīra.

Kāraṇaśarīra:

The causal body.  The second principle (tattva) of existence (sat) and the first of the seven bodies (śarīra saptaka).  Part of a triad (traya) that includes the existence sheath (sanmayakośa) and absorption yoga (samādhiyoga).  See Śarīra.

Karma:

1) Action. 

2) See Karmayoga.

Karma Yoga:

The book on action yoga by Swami Vivekānanda.

Karmabhūmi:

The sphere of action.  See Tamas.

Karmāśaya:

The abode of karma.  See Karmavāda.

Karmavāda:

The doctrine of karma, which refers to the circular consequences of our actions.  Basically, it states, “what comes around goes around” or “you reap what you sow.”  Past actions (vṛttis) originating from the afflictions (kleśas) are stored in the abode of karma (karmāśaya).  They’re to be experienced (vedanīya) again in future births (adṛṣṭa janmas).  Advaita Yoga adopts the fundamental tenets of this doctrine in its doctrine of time (kālavāda), wherein karma plays a specific part.  See Kālavāda.

Karmayoga:

Action yoga.  The third principle (tattva) of physics (tamas) and the seventh of the seven yogas (yoga saptaka).  Part of a triad (traya) that includes the energy sheath (prāṇamayakośa) and the gross body (sthūlaśarīra).  See Yoga.

Karmendriya:

The action aspect of a sense (indriya).  The five named action senses (karmendriyas) being speaking (vāc), moving (pāda), grasping (pāṇi), reproducing (upastha), and eliminating (pāyu).  See Indriya.

Kārya:

1) Effect, as opposed to cause (kāraṇa).

2) Purpose.  See below.

Kāryakāraṇa:

Of the four causes (catuṣkāraṇa), this is the final cause, or purpose.  For example, the purpose of a clay pot is storage.  The original purpose being the unqualified source (nirguṇa brahman).  Because the purpose has no direct relationship to manifestation, it’s called the “causeless cause.”  See Kāraṇa.

Kaurava:

Relating to or belonging to the Kurus.

Kleśa:

Affliction, as opposed to remedy (bheṣaja).  The four afflictions (catuṣkleśa) are ignorance (avidyā), egotism (asmitā), attachment and aversion (rāgadveṣa), and inertia (abhiniveśa).  Ignorance is the wrong view (samyagdṛṣṭi), which is unequal vision (viṣamadṛṣṭi) of the seen (dṛśya).  It’s the field (kṣetra) of the subsequent afflictions (uttara kleśas).  Egotism is the false nature (asvarūpa) of the seen.  Attachment and aversion are the thrill (mada) of the seen.  And inertia is the binding (bandha) of the seen.  Each affliction has its own abode (āśaya).  See Āśaya.

Kliṣṭa:

Afflicted, as opposed to unafflicted (akliṣṭa).  See below.

Kliṣṭa Vṛtti:

An afflicted modification, as opposed to an unafflicted modification (akliṣṭa vṛtti).  See Kālavāda.

“Kliṣṭa vṛtti nirodha”:

“Cessation of afflicted modifications.”  The stated goal of Advaita Yoga.  See Advaita Yoga.

Kośa:

1) One of the seven sheaths (saptakośa).  They are the existence sheath (sanmayakośa), the bliss sheath (ānandamayakośa), the consciousness sheath (cinmayakośa), the intellectual sheath (vijñānamayakośa), the mental sheath (manomayakośa), the love sheath (kāmamayakośa), and the energy sheath (prāṇamayakośa).  They’re spiritual (pauruṣa), as opposed to the material bodies (prākṛta śarīras).  See Tattva.

2) One of the five classical sheaths (pañcakośa).  They are the food sheath (annamayakośa), the energy sheath (prāṇamayakośa), the mental sheath (manomayakośa), the intellectual sheath (vijñānamayakośa), and the bliss sheath (ānandamayakośa).

Kṛ:

To do, to make, to perform.  The root of “karma” and “kriyā.”

Krama:

Order, series, succession.

Kriyāyoga:

Performance yoga, as opposed to restraint yoga (saṃyamayoga).  See Aṣṭāṅga.

Kṣaṇa:

Instant, moment.

Kṣetra:

1) Field of the afflictions (kleśas).  See Avidyā.

2) Field of the remedies (bheṣajas).  See Vidyā.

3) Field.  Part of a triad (traya) that includes the knower of the field and the unified field (kṣetrajñā and saṃyuktakṣetra).  See Prakṛti.

Kṣetrajñā:

Knower of the field.  Part of a triad (traya) that includes the field and the unified field (kṣetra and saṃyuktakṣetra).  See Puruṣa.

Kṣīṇa:

Diminished, worn away, destroyed.

“Kṣurasya Dhārā”:

“Razor’s edge.”  See Srotas.

Kurukṣetra:

The field of the Kurus.