A
abadhita अबाधित Sanskrit
- Written
- abādhita
- Say
- uh-baa-dhi-tuh
- Literally
- not contradicted, not cancelled
In Advaita Vedanta, valid knowledge is knowledge that has not (yet) been contradicted by later experience. Paranjpe compares this with Popper's idea of falsification.
A rope seen in dim light as a snake is a classic example: the snake-knowledge is cancelled when the light shows a rope. Knowledge counts as valid so long as nothing has cancelled it. Rao and Paranjpe (2016) argue that this is closer to Popper's falsification than to the positivists' demand for verification.
Nearest Western idea Close to Popper's view that a theory stands only until evidence refutes it. The difference: Advaita also holds that one truth, about Brahman, can never be cancelled.
The rope and snake example is the standard Advaita illustration of a cancelled cognition.
Knowledge and knowing See also: pramana, Karl Popper, falsifiability, sat and satyam Used in: Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
abhava vairagya अभाव वैराग्य Sanskrit
- Written
- abhāva vairāgya
- Say
- uh-bhaa-vuh vai-raag-yuh
- Literally
- dispassion from absence (abhava, absence or lack)
- Also written
- abhaava vairagya
Abhava vairagya is a popular name for false detachment: giving something up only because one cannot get it, like the fox who calls the grapes sour.
One popular account of vairagya lists it beside smashana vairagya, the passing detachment felt at a funeral, and prasuti vairagya, the passing detachment that comes with the pain of childbirth. Each has an outside cause and fades when the cause goes. In abhava vairagya, as one writer puts it, the hidden part of the mind 'is still hankering and waiting for the availability' of the thing. Lasting vairagya grows instead from discrimination between the real and the unreal (viveka).
Nearest Western idea Close to 'sour grapes' thinking, named after the fable of the fox: deciding that something one cannot have was not worth having. The difference: abhava vairagya is named only as a warning, because it does not last.
A popular term, not a classical one. The Western comparison is this guide's own.
States of consciousness See also: vairagya, smashana vairagya, viveka Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
Abhidhamma अभिधम्म Pali
- Say
- uh-bhi-dhuhm-muh
- Literally
- higher teaching; (teaching) about the dhamma
- Also written
- Abhidharma, abhidhamma, abhidharma, Abhidhamma Pitaka
The Abhidhamma is the part of Buddhist scripture that analyses the mind in detail. It lists the mental states and factors that make up experience.
The Abhidhamma is the third 'basket' of the Pali canon (Tipitaka). It breaks experience down into very short moments of mind and lists their parts, such as feeling, perception and intention. Sanskrit Buddhist schools wrote their own Abhidharma texts. Because it classifies mental states so carefully, it is often called the first Buddhist psychology.
Nearest Western idea Close to a classification of mental states in cognitive psychology. The key difference: it is built from trained introspection in meditation and aims at ethical change and freedom from suffering.
Pali Abhidhamma; Sanskrit Abhidharma (अभिधर्म). Devanagari as used in Devanagari editions of the Pali canon.
Texts See also: Tripitaka, skandha, anatta, dukkha, sati Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
abhimana अभिमान Sanskrit
- Written
- abhimāna
- Say
- uh-bhi-maa-nuh
- Literally
- self-assertion; the thought "this is mine"; pride
- Also written
- abhiman
Abhimana is the work of ahamkara: claiming experience as "I" and "mine". In everyday Hindi, abhiman also means pride.
In Raghavan Iyer's translation of the Sankhya Karika (verse 24), ahamkara is "self-assertion". Paranjpe and Rao (2008) note that the most distinctive feature of ahamkara in the Indian tradition is said to be pride and conceit (abhimana), and that the commentator Vacaspati Misra equates ahamkara with abhimana. The technical and everyday meanings meet: claiming things as one's own easily turns into conceit.
Nearest Western idea Close to self-reference and ego-involvement. The difference: Indian schools treat this claiming as a root of attachment and suffering, to be loosened, not strengthened.
Mind See also: ahamkara, antahkarana, adhyavasaya, sankalpa, ego Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
abhyasa अभ्यास Sanskrit
- Written
- abhyāsa
- Say
- uh-bhyaa-suh
- Literally
- repeated practice (abhi + ās-)
Abhyasa means steady, repeated practice. The Yoga Sutra says the mind is calmed by practice and dispassion (vairagya) working together.
The Yoga Sutra (1.13-14) defines abhyasa as the effort to stay in a calm state; it becomes firm when done for a long time, without breaks and with devotion. Abhyasa supplies the effort, while vairagya removes the pull of distractions. The Handbook glosses it simply as practice.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'deliberate practice' and habit formation in the psychology of learning. The difference: abhyasa aims at a steady mind and asks for devotion, not only repetition.
Practice See also: vairagya, sadhana, dharana, samskara Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
adhyatma vidya अध्यात्मविद्या Sanskrit
- Written
- adhyātmavidyā
- Say
- uhdh-yaat-muh vid-yaa
- Literally
- knowledge concerning the self (adhi + ātman)
- Also written
- adhyātma-vidyā, adhyatma-vidya, adhyatma
Adhyatma vidya is the knowledge or science of the inner self. Indian tradition treats it as the most basic of all sciences.
In the Bhagavad Gita (10.32), Krishna says that among sciences he is adhyatma vidya, the science of the self. Cornelissen and his co-editors argue that Indian tradition took knowledge of the self, not physics, as its basic science. This is why consciousness and inner experience are central in Indian psychology. In modern Indian languages, 'adhyatma' means spirituality.
Nearest Western idea Close to a 'spiritual psychology' or a science of consciousness. The difference: mainstream psychology starts from behaviour and the brain; adhyatma vidya starts from the knower.
Knowledge and knowing See also: atma vidya, atman, para vidya, vidya Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
adhyavasaya अध्यवसाय Sanskrit
- Written
- adhyavasāya
- Say
- uh-dhyuh-vuh-saa-yuh
- Literally
- ascertainment; settled determination
Adhyavasaya is the work of buddhi: settling what something is and deciding what to do about it. It is the last of the three steps of the inner instrument.
Sankhya defines buddhi by this function. In Raghavan Iyer's translation of the Sankhya Karika (verse 23), buddhi "is for ascertainment". After manas has put the sense data together and ahamkara has claimed it as "mine", buddhi settles the matter: "this is to be done by me". Shankara, explaining the Bhagavad Gita, describes the intellect as that which decides.
Nearest Western idea Close to judgement and decision-making in cognitive psychology. The difference: buddhi is a kind of subtle matter and is not conscious by itself; it only reflects consciousness.
The Sanskrit wording of Sankhya Karika 23 was not checked in a Sanskrit edition. The course books listed confirm the word.
Mind See also: buddhi, antahkarana, abhimana, sankalpa, viveka Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
Advaita Vedanta अद्वैत वेदान्त Sanskrit
- Written
- Advaita Vedānta
- Say
- uhd-vai-tuh vay-daan-tuh
- Literally
- not-two; non-dual
- Also written
- Advaita, advaita
Advaita Vedanta teaches that the true self (atman) and ultimate reality (Brahman) are one. The feeling of being a separate person comes from ignorance.
Its best-known teacher is Shankara (about the 8th century CE). It separates the everyday level of reality (vyavaharika), where people and things are real, from the ultimate level (paramarthika), where only Brahman is real. Ignorance (avidya) and maya make the one reality appear as many. Freedom comes through study, reflection and deep meditation, ending in direct knowledge of the self.
Nearest Western idea Often called monism. Advaita writers prefer 'non-dualism': reality is not two, but it is not described as one countable thing either.
The books differ on 'monism': the FAIP glossary (p. 393) glosses advaita as 'monistic'; the Handbook glossary (p. 610) says it is 'incorrectly termed monism'. Shankara's dates vary between sources; the FAIP glossary gives 788-820 CE.
Schools of thought See also: Vedanta, Brahman, atman, maya, vyavaharika, paramarthika, non-dualism, Dvaita Vedanta Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
aham brahmasmi अहं ब्रह्मास्मि Sanskrit
- Written
- ahaṃ brahmāsmi
- Say
- uh-huhm bruh-maas-mi
- Literally
- I am Brahman (aham, I + brahma, Brahman + asmi, am)
- Also written
- I am Brahman
'Aham brahmasmi' means 'I am Brahman'. It is one of the four great sentences of the Upanishads, which Advaita Vedanta reads as the identity of the self with ultimate reality.
It comes from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.4.10), which says that whoever knows 'I am Brahman' becomes all this. The other great sentences are 'consciousness is Brahman', 'you are that' and 'this self is Brahman'. In Advaita the 'I' here is not the personal ego but pure consciousness. Dualist Vedanta (Dvaita) rejects this reading: the soul is always distinct from God.
Nearest Western idea Sometimes compared with Maslow's self-transcendence. The difference: self-actualisation develops personal potential, and self-transcendence is an experience or a motive, while aham brahmasmi claims identity with ultimate reality.
Its meaning depends on the school. Advaita reads it as literal identity; Dvaita reads the sentence differently and rejects literal identity.
Self and person See also: atman, Brahman, Advaita Vedanta, Upanishad, mahavakya, Dvaita Vedanta, self-actualisation Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
ahamkara अहंकार Sanskrit
- Written
- ahaṃkāra
- Say
- uh-huhng-kaa-ruh
- Literally
- I-maker (aham, I + kāra, maker)
- Also written
- ahaṁkāra, ahankar, ahankara, ego-sense, I-maker
Ahamkara is the 'I-maker': the function that makes us feel 'I am this body and mind, and these things are mine'. In daily Hindi it means pride.
In Sankhya, ahamkara comes from buddhi, gives rise to the mind, the senses and the elements, and attaches the sense of 'I' and 'mine' to experiences. In Vedanta, it is one part of the inner instrument, and Yoga calls a similar idea asmita (I-am-ness). Salagame argues that ahamkara is not the same as the Western ego, though the two are often equated.
Nearest Western idea Often translated 'ego'. Freud's ego manages between drives and reality; ahamkara is the sense of 'I' and 'mine' that wrongly identifies with body and mind.
The everyday meaning (pride, arrogance) differs from the technical meaning (sense of I and mine).
Mind See also: buddhi, manas, antahkarana, ego, atman Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
ahimsa अहिंसा Sanskrit
- Written
- ahiṃsā
- Say
- uh-him-saa
- Literally
- not harming (a + hiṃsā, injury)
- Also written
- ahinsa
Ahimsa means not harming any living being in thought, word or deed. It is the first restraint (yama) in Yoga and the central value of Jainism.
Ahimsa is shared by Hindu, Buddhist and Jain ethics, and Jainism takes it furthest, with great care not to harm even tiny creatures. In the Yoga Sutra, it is the first of the five yamas. Gandhi made it the basis of non-violent political action. Modern writers link it to compassion and to care for the environment.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'non-violence' and to the 'do no harm' ethic of medicine and psychology. The difference: ahimsa extends to animals and to one's own thoughts.
Ethics and aims of life See also: yama, seva, dharma, anekantavada Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
ajiva अजीव Sanskrit
- Written
- ajīva
- Say
- uh-jee-vuh
- Literally
- not living (a + jīva)
In Jainism, ajiva is everything that is not alive or conscious: matter, space, time, and the conditions that allow motion and rest.
Jain thought divides reality into jiva (living, conscious beings) and ajiva (non-living things). Ajiva includes matter (pudgala), space, time, and the media of motion and rest. Bondage happens when fine karmic matter, a kind of ajiva, sticks to the jiva. Freedom comes when the jiva is cleaned of it.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'matter', the non-mental side in dualist philosophy. Unlike Western matter, Jain ajiva includes karma as a fine physical substance.
Reality and the cosmos See also: jiva, karma, anekantavada, nastika Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
ananda आनन्द Sanskrit
- Written
- ānanda
- Say
- aa-nuhn-duh
- Literally
- bliss, joy
- Also written
- anand
Ananda means bliss: a deep, lasting joy. In Vedanta it is not a passing feeling but the very nature of the true self and of Brahman.
The Taittiriya Upanishad (3.6) says that bliss is Brahman, and its 'inquiry into bliss' (2.8) ranks joys from human pleasure up to the bliss of Brahman. The innermost of the five sheaths is the bliss sheath. Vedanta holds that ananda is uncovered when craving and the busy mind fall quiet, not produced by good conditions. It is the third word of sat chit ananda.
Nearest Western idea Loosely close to eudaimonic wellbeing or a peak experience. The difference: ananda is said to be permanent and to belong to the self, while positive emotions come and go with their causes.
Mainly a Vedanta idea. Buddhism does not speak of a blissful self or of Brahman.
States of consciousness See also: Sat Chit Ananda, sukha, Brahman, atman, kosha, positive psychology Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Revision sheet
anasakti अनासक्ति Sanskrit
- Written
- anāsakti
- Say
- uh-naa-suhk-ti
- Literally
- non-attachment (an + āsakti, clinging)
- Also written
- Anasakti, Anasakti Yoga, Anasaktiyoga
Anasakti means non-attachment: acting and enjoying life without clinging to things or to results. Indian psychologists study it as a source of calm and happiness.
The idea comes from the Bhagavad Gita. Tilak preferred the word anasakti to nishkama, because the aim is not to have no desires but to drop excessive craving for results. Gandhi called his Gujarati version of the Gita 'Anasaktiyoga'. Pande and Naidu (1992) built a measure of anasakti and studied its links with stress and health.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'non-attachment' in mindfulness research, and to acceptance in acceptance-based therapies. The difference: it is rooted in duty (dharma) and service, not only in managing emotion.
Lower-case in running text; the syllabus capitalises it as a topic heading.
Ethics and aims of life See also: nishkama karma, vairagya, Bhagavad Gita, seva, karma yoga Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Becoming a discipline, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Worldview
anatta अनत्ता Pali
- Written
- anattā
- Say
- uh-nuht-taa
- Literally
- not-self (Sanskrit an + ātman)
- Also written
- anatman, anātman, no-self, non-self
Anatta is the Buddhist teaching of 'no-self': there is no lasting, unchanging self behind our experiences. A person is a changing process.
The Buddha taught that each part of a person (the five skandhas: body, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness) is changing and is not 'me' or 'mine'. So there is no fixed soul, unlike the atman of the Upanishads. This is a major point of debate between Buddhism and Vedanta. The Handbook glosses it as the non-existence of a separate, independent self.
Nearest Western idea Close to David Hume's 'bundle' view of the self, and to modern views of the self as something the brain constructs. The difference: anatta is meant to be seen in meditation, and seeing it frees from suffering.
Contested with Vedanta, which holds that the atman is real. Pali anatta (अनत्ता, as in Devanagari Pali editions); Sanskrit anatman (अनात्मन्).
Self and person See also: atman, skandha, anicca, dukkha, Abhidhamma Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
anekantavada अनेकान्तवाद Sanskrit
- Written
- anekāntavāda
- Say
- uh-nay-kaan-tuh-vaa-duh
- Literally
- doctrine of not-one-sidedness
- Also written
- anekanta, many-sidedness, non-one-sidedness
Anekantavada is the Jain teaching that reality has many sides. Any single view captures only part of the truth.
Jain teachers use the story of blind men touching an elephant: each describes one part and thinks it is the whole. Different views can each be true from their own standpoint. This supports tolerance of other views and leads to the method of syadvada. Rao and Paranjpe see it as part of the pluralist spirit of Indian thought.
Nearest Western idea Close to perspectivism, the idea that knowledge depends on standpoint. Unlike strong relativism, Jains hold that there is one reality, seen from many sides.
The blind men and the elephant story appears in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu sources.
Knowledge and knowing See also: syadvada, jiva, ajiva, nastika, cultural relativism Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Worldview
anicca अनिच्च Pali
- Say
- uh-nich-chuh
- Literally
- not lasting (Sanskrit a + nitya)
- Also written
- anitya, aniccā
Anicca means impermanence: everything that arises also passes away. In Buddhism it is the first of the three marks of existence.
Thoughts, feelings, bodies and things are all changing from moment to moment. Suffering comes when we cling to them as if they were lasting. Seeing impermanence clearly is a main aim of insight meditation (vipassana). The Sanskrit form, anitya, is used in Vedanta too, which contrasts the passing (anitya) with the eternal (nitya).
Nearest Western idea Close to Heraclitus' idea that 'everything flows', and to process views of the mind. The difference: seeing impermanence is meant to free a person from clinging.
Pali anicca (अनिच्च, as in Devanagari Pali editions); Sanskrit anitya (अनित्य).
Reality and the cosmos See also: dukkha, anatta, viveka, sati Used in: Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
antahkarana अन्तःकरण Sanskrit
- Written
- antaḥkaraṇa
- Say
- uhn-tuh-kuh-ruh-nuh
- Literally
- inner instrument (antar + karaṇa)
- Also written
- antahkaran, inner instrument, internal organ
Antahkarana is the 'inner instrument': the mind seen as a set of functions. It usually includes manas (mind), buddhi (intellect) and ahamkara (I-maker).
Sankhya counts three parts: buddhi, ahamkara and manas. Vedanta often adds chitta, the part that remembers, making four. The inner instrument is not conscious by itself; it is the tool through which the self knows the world. In Advaita it is contrasted with the passive witness (sakshi).
Nearest Western idea Close to the 'mental apparatus' or the cognitive system in psychology. The key difference: it is an instrument that consciousness uses, not consciousness itself.
Three parts in Sankhya, four in Vedanta.
Mind See also: manas, buddhi, ahamkara, chitta, sakshi Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
anubhava अनुभव Sanskrit
- Say
- uh-nu-bhuh-vuh
- Literally
- direct experience
- Also written
- anubhav
Anubhava means direct personal experience. In Vedanta it is the experience that completes study, and Shankara placed it above tradition: no scripture can make fire cool.
In Sanskrit and in many Indian languages today, anubhava is experience of any kind. In Advaita Vedanta it names the direct realisation that completes hearing and reflecting on a teaching. The editors of the course textbook note that Shankara "puts personal experience (anubhava) above tradition". In the theory of drama a related word with a long a in the third syllable, anubhāva, means something else: the outward signs of an emotion.
Nearest Western idea Close to what William James called 'knowledge of acquaintance': knowing a thing by meeting it, not by being told about it. Also close to first-person experience in phenomenology. The difference: in Vedanta the highest anubhava is said to change the knower.
Knowledge and knowing See also: pratyaksha, knowledge by identity, nididhyasana, Shankara, rasa Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
anumana अनुमान Sanskrit
- Written
- anumāna
- Say
- uh-nu-maa-nuh
- Literally
- measuring after (anu + māna)
Anumana is inference: knowing something you cannot see from a sign you can see. The classic example: there is smoke on the hill, so there is fire.
Inference rests on a fixed link (vyapti) between the sign and what it shows, such as smoke and fire. Nyaya sets out a five-step argument: claim, reason, example, application and conclusion. Every school except Charvaka accepts inference as a valid means of knowledge.
Nearest Western idea Close to inference in logic, mixing deductive and inductive reasoning. The difference: the Indian form always includes a real example from experience.
Knowledge and knowing See also: pramana, pratyaksha, Nyaya, shabda Used in: Unit 1, The paradigm debate
anviksiki आन्वीक्षिकी Sanskrit
- Written
- ānvīkṣikī
- Say
- aan-vee-kshi-kee
- Literally
- examining, looking into
- Also written
- anvikshiki
Anviksiki is critical inquiry: careful reasoning about a question by fixed rules, such as preferring the simpler explanation and avoiding circular arguments.
Classical Indian writers listed anviksiki as one of the branches of learning (vidya). Girishwar Misra (2014) calls it 'philosophizing' rather than 'philosophy', because it names the activity of reasoning, not a finished system of ideas.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'critical thinking' or 'philosophizing'. The difference: it was taught alongside other branches of learning, not as a separate school of thought.
Knowledge and knowing See also: philosophy, vidya, darshana Used in: Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology
apara vidya अपरा विद्या Sanskrit
- Written
- aparā vidyā
- Say
- uh-puh-raa vid-yaa
- Literally
- lower knowledge
- Also written
- apara-vidya, lower knowledge
Apara vidya is 'lower knowledge': knowledge of the world gained through the senses, reasoning and study, including the sciences and even the Vedas.
In the Mundaka Upanishad (1.1.5), lower knowledge includes the four Vedas and the six supporting sciences, such as grammar and astronomy. It is useful and needed in daily life, but it cannot reveal the self. In this scheme, modern science, including mainstream psychology, is apara vidya.
Nearest Western idea Close to empirical and rational knowledge, the kind science works with. The difference: Indian thought sees it as true but limited, not as the only kind of knowledge.
'Lower' does not mean false. It means knowledge of the changing, everyday level of reality.
Knowledge and knowing See also: para vidya, vidya, pratyaksha, anumana Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
artha अर्थ Sanskrit
- Say
- uhr-thuh
- Literally
- aim, purpose; object, meaning; wealth
- Also written
- artha (life aim)
Artha is the life aim of wealth, work and material security. It is one of the four purusharthas and is a worthy goal when pursued within dharma.
Artha covers income, property, power and the means to support a family and society. The Arthashastra is a classic text on politics and economy. The word also means 'meaning', 'purpose' or 'object', as in the objects of the senses.
Nearest Western idea Close to economic and security needs, or to work and career in psychology. The difference: artha is a duty and a value, not only a need.
Ethics and aims of life See also: purushartha, kama, dharma, moksha Used in: Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
asana आसन Sanskrit
- Written
- āsana
- Say
- aa-suh-nuh
- Literally
- seat, sitting; posture (ās-, to sit)
- Also written
- asanas, yoga posture
An asana is a yoga posture. In Patanjali's Yoga it is the third limb and means a steady, comfortable seat for meditation.
The Yoga Sutra (2.46) says only that the posture should be steady and comfortable (sthira sukham). Later Hatha Yoga texts describe many postures for health and energy; tradition speaks of eighty-four. Modern yoga classes focus mainly on asanas, which are only one of the eight limbs.
Nearest Western idea Close to physical exercise or stretching. The difference: in Yoga, posture serves stillness of body, breath and mind, not fitness alone.
Practice See also: ashtanga yoga, pranayama, Yoga, mudra Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives
ashrama आश्रम Sanskrit
- Written
- āśrama
- Say
- aash-ruh-muh
- Literally
- place of effort; hermitage; stage of life (from śram-, to strive)
- Also written
- ashram, asrama, stages of life, four ashramas
An ashrama is a stage of life. Tradition names four: student (brahmacharya), householder (grihastha), forest-dweller in retirement (vanaprastha) and renunciant (sannyasa).
Each stage has its own duties: the student learns and practises self-control, and the householder works, raises a family and supports society. In later life, the forest-dweller slowly withdraws, and the renunciant gives up worldly ties to seek liberation and prepare for death. The word also means a hermitage or spiritual community (ashram).
Nearest Western idea Close to life-span stage theories, such as Erikson's eight stages. The difference: the ashramas are moral duties tied to life aims, and they end with spiritual preparation for death.
Classical texts describe the scheme mainly for upper-varna men (the FAIP glossary says 'in the life of a Brahmin'); how far it applied to women and others is debated.
Society and family See also: Varnashrama, purushartha, varna, dharma, guru Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
ashtanga yoga अष्टाङ्ग योग Sanskrit
- Written
- aṣṭāṅga yoga
- Say
- uhsh-taan-guh yo-guh
- Literally
- eight-limbed yoga (aṣṭa, eight + aṅga, limb)
- Also written
- astanga yoga, eight limbs of yoga, eightfold yoga
Ashtanga yoga is Patanjali's eight-limbed path: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi.
In the Yoga Sutra (2.29), the first five limbs are 'outer': ethics, posture, breath and withdrawal of the senses. The last three, concentration, meditation and absorption, are 'inner' limbs. Rao and Paranjpe note that classical rules for mental health follow the same logic as ashtanga yoga. The modern fitness style called 'Ashtanga yoga' is a different thing.
Nearest Western idea Close to a staged training programme that moves from behaviour to attention to inner states. No Western therapy joins ethics, body, breath and meditation in one sequence like this.
Patanjali's eight limbs and the modern 'Ashtanga Vinyasa' fitness style share only a name.
Practice See also: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
astika आस्तिक Sanskrit
- Written
- āstika
- Say
- aas-ti-kuh
- Literally
- one who says 'it is' (asti)
- Also written
- orthodox schools, astika schools
Astika schools are the Indian philosophies that accept the authority of the Vedas. The usual six are Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta.
The word is usually translated 'orthodox'. It does not mean 'believing in God': Sankhya and Mimamsa accept the Vedas but give little or no role to a creator God. The six schools differ widely on the self, the world and how we know. The opposite term is nastika.
Nearest Western idea Often translated 'orthodox', but it is not the same as 'theist'. The test is acceptance of the Vedas, not belief in God.
In older usage the word could also mean a person who believes in an afterlife or another world.
Schools of thought See also: nastika, darshana, Veda, Sankhya, Mimamsa Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
atma vidya आत्मविद्या Sanskrit
- Written
- ātmavidyā
- Say
- aat-muh vid-yaa
- Literally
- knowledge of the self (ātman)
- Also written
- atma-vidya, atmavidya
Atma vidya is knowledge of the self (atman). It means knowing the self directly, by being it, not by learning facts about it.
In the Upanishads, knowing the self is the knowledge that frees a person from sorrow. Cornelissen, following Sri Aurobindo, calls it 'knowledge by identity', in which the knower and the known become one. He argues that it is central in the Vedas and Upanishads but almost ignored in modern science. It is closely related to adhyatma vidya.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'self-knowledge', but Western self-knowledge usually means knowing one's traits and motives. Atma vidya means knowing the pure self behind all traits.
Knowledge and knowing See also: adhyatma vidya, atman, para vidya, jnana Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms
atman आत्मन् Sanskrit
- Written
- ātman
- Say
- aat-muhn
- Literally
- self; in early use also 'breath'
- Also written
- atma, ātmā, Atman
Atman means the self: the deepest 'I' behind body and mind. In Vedanta it is pure consciousness and is one with Brahman.
The Upanishads say that the true self is not the body, the senses or the mind, but the witness of all of them. Schools differ: in Advaita Vedanta, atman and Brahman are the same; Nyaya treats the atman as a substance that has knowledge, desire and will; Buddhism denies any lasting self (anatta). Sankhya and Yoga use the word purusha for a similar idea.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'self' or 'soul'. The key difference: Western psychology studies the self as a set of thoughts and traits; atman is the conscious witness of them.
School-dependent: one with Brahman (Advaita), a substance with qualities (Nyaya), denied (Buddhism). Devanagari: stem आत्मन्, nominative आत्मा.
Self and person See also: Brahman, jiva, purusha, anatta, sakshi, ahamkara Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
atmanivedana आत्मनिवेदन Sanskrit
- Written
- ātmanivedana
- Say
- aat-muh-ni-vay-duh-nuh
- Literally
- offering of the self (atman, self + nivedana, offering)
- Also written
- atmanivedanam, sharanagati, śaraṇāgati, prapatti, self-offering
Atmanivedana means offering oneself wholly to God, so that the ego dissolves. It is the last and highest of the nine forms of devotion.
The Bhagavata Purana (7.5.23) lists nine forms of bhakti, from listening and chanting to self-offering. Rao and Paranjpe read self-offering as the summit, whose aim is 'total surrender at His feet so that the devotee's ego is dissolved'. The Bhagavad Gita (18.66) ends with Krishna's call to give up all duties and take refuge in him alone. Devotional traditions also call this surrender sharanagati or prapatti, 'taking refuge'.
Nearest Western idea No close match in mainstream psychology. The nearest idea is 'surrender to God' as studied in the psychology of religion.
The course books use atmanivedana. Sharanagati and prapatti are the usual words in the Sri Vaishnava tradition.
Practice See also: bhakti, Ishvara, Bhagavad Gita, ahamkara Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Revision sheet
avidya अविद्या Sanskrit
- Written
- avidyā
- Say
- uh-vid-yaa
- Literally
- not-knowing (a + vidyā)
- Also written
- avijja, avijjā
Avidya means ignorance, but not a lack of facts. It is a basic mistake about who we are, such as taking the body or mind to be the true self.
In the Yoga Sutra (2.5), avidya is seeing the passing as lasting, the impure as pure, pain as pleasure and the non-self as the self. It is the root of the other kleshas. In Advaita Vedanta, avidya makes the one Brahman appear as many separate things. In Buddhism (Pali avijja), it is the first link in the chain of dependent origination.
Nearest Western idea Close to a basic cognitive error or false belief about the self. The difference: it is not removed by new information, only by direct insight.
Rao & Paranjpe (ch. 6) note that Patanjali's definition came centuries before Shankara, who worked out what it means for knowing. Rao and Paranjpe (2016, 2.4) argue that in some Upanishads, where vidya and avidya are paired, avidya 'covers the entire domain of scientific knowledge, not ignorance'. Elsewhere the same book uses avidya for ignorance.
Knowledge and knowing See also: vidya, klesha, maya, pratityasamutpada, viveka Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Sources
Ayurveda आयुर्वेद Sanskrit
- Written
- Āyurveda
- Say
- aa-yur-vay-duh
- Literally
- knowledge of life (āyus + veda)
- Also written
- Ayurvedic, Ayurvedic medicine
Ayurveda is India's traditional system of medicine. It treats body and mind together and aims to keep health in balance, not only to cure illness.
Its classic texts are the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita. It explains health as a balance of three bodily doshas (vata, pitta, kapha) and of the mental qualities (sattva, rajas, tamas). It also has a place for mental health, including a mind-based therapy called sattvavajaya. Indian psychologists use it as the main source for a biological and health perspective.
Nearest Western idea Close to holistic or biopsychosocial medicine. The key difference: its concepts (doshas, gunas) do not match Western physiology, and its care includes diet, daily routine and ethics.
Origins are told differently: the Handbook glossary (p. 612) credits the sage Dhanvantari; the FAIP glossary (p. 394) calls it a supplement to the Atharva Veda. Both are traditional accounts, not historical dates.
Health and healing See also: Charaka Samhita, dosha, sattvavajaya, guna Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
D
darshana दर्शन Sanskrit
- Written
- darśana
- Say
- duhr-shuh-nuh
- Literally
- seeing, view; from dṛś-, to see
- Also written
- darsana, darshan, darshanas
Darshana means 'a way of seeing'. It is the usual word for a school of Indian philosophy, such as Sankhya, Yoga or Vedanta.
Each darshana gives a full view of reality, of knowledge and of the good life, and a path out of suffering. The six schools that accept the Vedas are often grouped in pairs: Nyaya and Vaisheshika, Sankhya and Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta. Buddhism, Jainism and Charvaka are also darshanas, but they reject Vedic authority. In daily language, 'darshan' also means seeing a holy person or image.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'philosophy' or 'school of thought'. The difference: a darshana is meant to be lived and practised, not only argued, and most aim at liberation.
Schools of thought See also: astika, nastika, Sankhya, Vedanta, Nyaya Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
desh-kala-patra देश-काल-पात्र Sanskrit
- Written
- deśa-kāla-pātra
- Say
- day-shuh kaa-luh paa-truh
- Literally
- place, time and person (literally 'vessel')
- Also written
- desha kala patra
Place, time and person: the three things Hindu tradition says you must know before you can judge an action as right or wrong.
Durganand Sinha (2002) used the phrase to show that Indian tradition already read behaviour in its context. The same act can be right in one place, time or role and wrong in another. Modern Hindi uses the shorter form desh-kaal-paatra.
Nearest Western idea Close to Kurt Lewin's idea that behaviour depends on the person and the situation together. The difference: desh-kala-patra adds time, and it is used to judge whether an act is right, not only to explain it.
Society and family See also: dharma Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Revision sheet
dharana धारणा Sanskrit
- Written
- dhāraṇā
- Say
- dhaa-ruh-naa
- Literally
- holding, fixing (dhṛ-, to hold)
Dharana is concentration: holding the mind on one place or object, such as the breath or a point. It is the sixth limb of Yoga.
The Yoga Sutra (3.1) defines dharana as binding the mind to one place. At first the mind wanders and must be brought back again and again. When concentration becomes an unbroken flow, it turns into dhyana. Dharana is one of the self-regulation practices named in Unit 5 of the syllabus.
Nearest Western idea Close to focused attention, as in research on focused-attention meditation. The difference: it is a step toward absorption, not an end in itself.
Practice See also: dhyana, samadhi, pratyahara, ashtanga yoga Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
dharma धर्म Sanskrit
- Say
- dhuhr-muh
- Literally
- that which holds or supports; from dhṛ-, to hold
- Also written
- dhamma, Dharma, svadharma
Dharma is the right way of living: duty, ethics, and the order that holds society and the world together. It depends partly on one's role and stage of life.
Dharma includes duties for everyone, such as non-harming and truthfulness, and duties of one's own role (svadharma). It is the first of the four aims of life (purusharthas). Rao and Paranjpe stress that dharma is lived social practice and must be redefined as times change. In Buddhism, Dhamma (Pali) means the teaching of the Buddha, and 'dhammas' are the basic elements of experience.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'ethics', 'duty' or 'moral order'. The difference: dharma joins personal ethics, social roles and cosmic law, and it depends on context.
School-dependent: duty and right order (Hindu traditions); the Buddha's teaching, or elements of experience (Buddhism).
Ethics and aims of life See also: purushartha, Varnashrama, rta, karma, yuga Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
Dharmashastra धर्मशास्त्र Sanskrit
- Written
- dharmaśāstra
- Say
- dhuhr-muh-shaas-truh
- Literally
- teaching (śāstra) on dharma
- Also written
- Dharmashastras, Dharmaśāstra, Dharmaśāstras, Dharma Sastra, dharmasastra
The Dharmashastras are Sanskrit treatises on dharma: duties, law, ritual and social rules for people of each social group and stage of life. Manu's is the best known.
They belong to smriti, the human-authored tradition based on the Vedas. They set out duties that depend on a person's varna and stage of life (ashrama). For psychology they are a record of norms and values. They also fixed caste privilege: some barred Shudras, the lowest varna, from Vedic learning and prescribed harsh penalties, which Rao and Paranjpe criticise.
Nearest Western idea Close to codes of law and ethics that set social roles. The difference: they tie duty to birth group and life stage, and present it as part of a cosmic order.
Keep the caste caution in any page that uses this entry.
Texts See also: dharma, smriti, Varnashrama, caste, shastra Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Before you begin
dhyana ध्यान Sanskrit
- Written
- dhyāna
- Say
- dhyaa-nuh
- Literally
- meditation, contemplation (dhyai-, to think)
- Also written
- jhana, jhāna, dhyan
Dhyana is meditation: a steady, unbroken flow of attention toward one object. It is the seventh limb of Yoga, after concentration and before absorption.
The Yoga Sutra (3.2) defines dhyana as the continuous flow of the same thought toward the object. The Handbook calls it a steady and even flow of thoughts. In Buddhism (Pali jhana), the word names four or more stages of deep meditative absorption. The words Chan (Chinese) and Zen (Japanese) come from dhyana.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'meditation', and to sustained attention in cognitive psychology. The difference: dhyana is one stage in a sequence, not a general word for any calming exercise.
Meaning differs: one limb of Yoga (Patanjali); stages of absorption (Buddhism, jhana).
Practice See also: dharana, samadhi, ashtanga yoga, meditation, vritti Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
dosha दोष Sanskrit
- Written
- doṣa
- Say
- do-shuh
- Literally
- fault, defect
- Also written
- dosa, doshas, tridosha, tridoṣa
In Ayurveda, the doshas are three bodily forces: vata, pitta and kapha. Health is their balance; illness comes when they are out of balance.
Each person is born with a mix of the three, and the one that dominates shapes their body type and temperament. The doshas also rise and fall with age, time of day, season, food and lifestyle, so they describe both lasting traits and passing states. Rao and Paranjpe note that calling them 'faults' is misleading, since in balance they keep the body healthy. Caraka also names two doshas of the mind: rajas and tamas.
Nearest Western idea Loosely close to the four humours of ancient Greek medicine, or to temperament types. The difference: doshas are not part of modern physiology, and self-report dosha questionnaires still need validation.
The Handbook (p. 613) also gives a Yoga use: five faults of the mind (lust, anger, greed, delusion, envy).
Health and healing See also: vata, pitta, kapha, Ayurveda, rajas, tamas Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Revision sheet
dukkha दुक्ख Pali
- Say
- duk-khuh
- Literally
- uneasy, hard to bear (Sanskrit duḥkha: 'bad space'; opposite of sukha)
- Also written
- duḥkha, duhkha, dukha
Dukkha means suffering or unsatisfactoriness. In Buddhism, the first noble truth is that life as usually lived is marked by dukkha.
Dukkha covers obvious pain, the sorrow of change, and a deeper unease because nothing we hold on to lasts. With impermanence (anicca) and no-self (anatta), it is one of the three marks of existence. The four noble truths name suffering, its cause (craving), its end (nirvana) and the path to that end. Sankhya and Yoga also start from suffering: the Sankhya Karika opens with three kinds of pain.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'suffering', 'distress' or 'dissatisfaction' in psychology. The difference: dukkha includes a quiet unease even in pleasant states, because they do not last.
Pali dukkha (दुक्ख, as in Devanagari Pali editions); Sanskrit duḥkha (दुःख), also used by Sankhya and Yoga.
Reality and the cosmos See also: anicca, anatta, nirvana, klesha, samsara Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Worldview
Dvaita Vedanta द्वैत वेदान्त Sanskrit
- Written
- Dvaita Vedānta
- Say
- dvai-tuh vay-daan-tuh
- Literally
- dualist Vedanta (dvaita, two-ness)
- Also written
- Dvaita, dvaita, Tattvavada, dualist Vedanta
Dvaita Vedanta is the dualist school of Vedanta founded by Madhva. It holds that God, souls and the world are real and forever distinct.
Madhva (13th century, South India) taught that the soul depends on God, whom he identified with Vishnu, and is therefore always different from him. The school also calls itself tattvavada, 'the realist view'. Liberation comes through devotion and God's grace, and the liberated soul enjoys God but never becomes God.
Nearest Western idea Close to classical theism in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, where the creature never becomes the Creator. Its quarrel with Advaita is like the quarrel between theism and mystical monism. The difference: Dvaita keeps the Indian frame of karma and rebirth, and liberation means release from that cycle.
Schools of thought See also: Vedanta, Advaita Vedanta, Madhva, Brahman, atman, jiva, bhakti Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
K
kaivalya कैवल्य Sanskrit
- Say
- kai-vuhl-yuh
- Literally
- aloneness, isolation (kevala, alone)
- Also written
- kaivalyam
Kaivalya is the final goal of Sankhya and Yoga: the 'aloneness' of pure consciousness (purusha), freed from all mixing with mind and matter.
When the mind is fully calm and clear, purusha is known as separate from prakriti, and the gunas stop acting for that purusha (Yoga Sutra 4.34). The Handbook describes kaivalya as release from the chain of actions and their results, a state of pure consciousness. It is the Sankhya-Yoga form of moksha.
Nearest Western idea No close match. It loosely resembles 'pure awareness' or witness consciousness, but kaivalya is a lasting freedom, not a passing state.
States of consciousness See also: purusha, prakriti, moksha, Yoga Sutra, samadhi Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Sources, Unit 1, Worldview
kalpa कल्प Sanskrit
- Say
- kuhl-puh
- Literally
- an arrangement; a cosmic period
- Also written
- kalpas
A kalpa is a vast cosmic period, called a 'day of Brahma', made of a thousand cycles of the four ages (yugas). After it the cycle of creation begins again.
The idea expresses the Indian picture of time as turning in great cycles of creation, keeping and dissolution, rather than running in one straight line. The very large numbers come from later texts and differ between them.
Nearest Western idea No close match in psychology. It contrasts with the Western picture of time as an arrow, moving forward toward progress.
The numbers for yugas and kalpas rest on a secondary summary of later texts.
Reality and the cosmos See also: yuga Used in: Unit 1, Worldview
kama काम Sanskrit
- Written
- kāma
- Say
- kaa-muh
- Literally
- desire, longing, love; from kam-, to desire
Kama is the life aim of pleasure, love and desire. It is one of the four purusharthas and is accepted as good when it follows dharma.
Kama includes sensual, artistic and emotional enjoyment, and also sexual love; the Kamasutra is a classic text on it. In yoga and the Bhagavad Gita, uncontrolled desire (kama) is an enemy of peace, together with anger. So kama is valued as an aim but must be guided.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'desire', 'libido' or 'hedonic pleasure'. The difference: kama is a proper life goal inside a moral order, not a drive to be either freed or repressed.
Two senses: a valued life aim, and a craving that disturbs the mind.
Ethics and aims of life See also: purushartha, artha, dharma, moksha Used in: Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
kapha कफ Sanskrit
- Say
- kuh-phuh
- Literally
- phlegm
- Also written
- kapha dosha
Kapha is the Ayurvedic dosha of structure and stability, linked with water and earth. It gives the body strength and the mind steadiness.
Kapha is described as heavy, cold, mild, oily and stable. Rao and Paranjpe, following the Sushruta Samhita, describe people with a kapha-dominant constitution as strong, steady, generous and thoughtful, firm in their opinions, and inclined to hold on to wealth and friends.
Nearest Western idea No direct match. Kapha types resemble calm, steady temperaments, but kapha is a body-mind process concept, not a trait measure.
Health and healing See also: dosha, vata, pitta Used in: Unit 1, Three perspectives
karma कर्म Sanskrit
- Say
- kuhr-muh
- Literally
- action, deed; from kṛ-, to do
- Also written
- karman, kamma, law of karma
Karma means action, and also the result that every action brings back to the person who did it, in this life or a later one.
The law of karma says that good actions lead to good results and harmful actions lead to suffering. The Handbook names three kinds: stored karma from past lives (sanchita), karma ripening now (prarabdha) and new karma being made (agami). Schools differ: Buddhism stresses intention, the will behind an act, while Jainism sees karma as a fine matter that sticks to the soul. Karma yoga is the path of selfless action.
Nearest Western idea Close to moral causation, or 'you reap what you sow'. The difference: in most schools karma is an impersonal law that works across lives; theistic schools say God oversees it, but even there it is not a judge's verdict on a single life.
School-dependent: intention (Buddhism), fine matter (Jainism), an unseen force produced by action (Mimamsa, Nyaya). Stem karman (कर्मन्).
Reality and the cosmos See also: samsara, punarjanma, nishkama karma, dharma, samskara Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Sources, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
karma yoga कर्मयोग Sanskrit
- Written
- karmayoga
- Say
- kuhr-muh yo-guh
- Literally
- the yoga (discipline) of action
- Also written
- karma-yoga, yoga of action, path of action
Karma yoga is the path of action: doing one's duty fully and well while giving up craving for its results. The Bhagavad Gita teaches it as a way to freedom.
The Gita (2.47) gives a right to action but not to its fruits, and (18.14) names five causes of any result, of which the doer is only one. Tilak argued that karma yoga does not mean having no desires but avoiding greed for gains. Its attitude is nishkama karma (action without craving), and its social aim is loka sangraha, the welfare of the world. Mulla and Krishnan (2009) measured it as duty-orientation, indifference to rewards and equanimity.
Nearest Western idea Close to a focus on process rather than outcome, to intrinsic motivation and to flow, and to altruism when it serves others. The difference: flow is a passing, enjoyable state, while karma yoga is a lifelong attitude, held in dull or painful duty too, and aimed at liberation.
Practice See also: nishkama karma, anasakti, loka sangraha, seva, karma, dharma, Bhagavad Gita Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
klesha क्लेश Sanskrit
- Written
- kleśa
- Say
- klay-shuh
- Literally
- affliction, pain, trouble
- Also written
- klesa, kleshas, kilesa
Kleshas are the afflictions of the mind that cause suffering. Yoga names five: ignorance, I-am-ness, attachment, aversion and clinging to life.
The Yoga Sutra (2.3) lists avidya (ignorance), asmita (the sense 'I am this'), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion) and abhinivesha (clinging to life, fear of death). Ignorance is the root of the others. Buddhism has its own lists, often reduced to greed, hatred and delusion. Practice aims to weaken the kleshas until they no longer drive action.
Nearest Western idea Close to the patterns of thought and emotion that cause distress in clinical psychology. The difference: the root cause is a mistaken sense of self, not a learned belief.
Lists differ: five in Yoga; Buddhist lists vary (the FAIP glossary gives a list of ten).
Mind See also: avidya, vasana, samskara, Yoga Sutra, dukkha Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
kosha कोश Sanskrit
- Written
- kośa
- Say
- ko-shuh
- Literally
- sheath, covering; treasury
- Also written
- kosa, koshas
A kosha is a 'sheath' or layer of the person. Vedanta describes five, from the physical body on the outside to bliss at the core.
The idea comes from the Taittiriya Upanishad, which describes selves made of food, breath, mind, understanding and bliss. Later Vedanta calls these layers sheaths (koshas) that cover the true self. The self is not any of the sheaths but is hidden by them. See pancha kosha for the five layers.
Nearest Western idea Close to layered models of the person, such as body, emotion, thought and spirit. The difference: the deepest self is not a layer at all; it is what the layers cover.
Also written कोष. The Taittiriya Upanishad itself speaks of 'selves' made of food, breath and so on; the word 'kosha' for them comes from later Vedanta.
Self and person See also: pancha kosha, atman, prana, Upanishad Used in: Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
M
Mahabharata महाभारत Sanskrit
- Written
- Mahābhārata
- Say
- muh-haa-bhaa-ruh-tuh
- Literally
- the great (story of the) Bharatas
- Also written
- the Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is a very long Sanskrit epic about a war between two related royal families. The Bhagavad Gita is one part of it.
The Mahabharata tells the story of the Pandava and Kaurava cousins and the great war between them. Around this story it gives many teachings on duty (dharma), politics, ethics and the meaning of life. In its traditional form it has about 100,000 verses, which makes it one of the longest poems in the world. Its characters face hard moral choices, so it is often used to discuss dilemmas.
Nearest Western idea Often compared with Homer's Iliad. It is much longer, and it contains whole books of moral and philosophical teaching.
The Handbook glossary (p. 616) says '11,000 verses'; this looks like an error. The usual figure is about 100,000 verses (couplets) in the traditional text, and somewhat fewer in the critical edition.
Texts See also: Bhagavad Gita, dharma, smriti Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
mahavakya महावाक्य Sanskrit
- Written
- mahāvākya
- Say
- muh-haa-vaak-yuh
- Literally
- great sentence
- Also written
- mahavakyas, great sentences, great sayings
The mahavakyas are four 'great sentences' from the Upanishads that Advaita Vedanta takes as the core of its teaching that the self is Brahman.
Following Vidyaranya's Pancadasi, they are: 'consciousness is Brahman' (Aitareya Upanishad); 'I am Brahman' (Brihadaranyaka 1.4.10); 'you are that', tat tvam asi (Chandogya 6.8.7); and 'this self is Brahman' (Brihadaranyaka 4.4.5). Students first reflect on them with reason (manana) and then meditate on them until the meaning is realised.
Nearest Western idea No close Western match.
Some lists count twelve mahavakyas; the four are the standard set. Many lists cite 'this self is Brahman' from the Mandukya Upanishad (verse 2) instead. Verse numbers for the Aitareya sentence differ between editions.
Texts See also: aham brahmasmi, Advaita Vedanta, Upanishad, atman, Brahman, manana Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
manana मनन Sanskrit
- Say
- muh-nuh-nuh
- Literally
- thinking over, reflection; from man-, to think
- Also written
- mananam
The second step of knowing in Vedanta: thinking a teaching through, testing it with reason until doubts are removed.
After hearing a teaching (shravana), the student reflects on it, raises objections and answers them. Rao (2014) reads manana as understanding through the mind, the step where reasoning and discussion with others come in.
Nearest Western idea Close to critical thinking and reflection. The difference: the aim is to remove doubt so that deep meditation can follow, not to reach a final answer by reasoning alone.
Knowledge and knowing See also: shravana, nididhyasana, manas Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Before you begin
manas मनस् Sanskrit
- Say
- muh-nuhs
- Literally
- mind; from man-, to think
- Also written
- mind (manas), manasa
Manas is the everyday mind. It receives what the senses bring, links it together, and wavers between options. It is a tool of the self, not the self.
In Sankhya, manas is a product of prakriti and works as an inner sense that coordinates the outer senses. In Vedanta, it is the part of the inner instrument (antahkarana) that doubts and imagines, while buddhi decides. In Nyaya, manas is a tiny inner organ that lets only one perception into awareness at a time. Most schools agree that manas is not conscious in itself.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'mind' as a processor of sensory input, or to attention and working memory. The key difference: manas is not conscious by itself; the self gives it awareness.
School-dependent; see the long text. The Handbook (p. 616) notes that manas is also used for the whole inner instrument.
Mind See also: buddhi, ahamkara, chitta, antahkarana, indriya Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
manovijnana मनोविज्ञान Sanskrit
- Written
- manovijñāna
- Say
- muh-no-vig-yaa-nuh
- Literally
- knowledge (or consciousness) of the mind (manas + vijñāna)
- Also written
- manovigyan, manovigyān, manovijnan, manoviññāṇa
Manovijnana is the modern word for psychology in Hindi and many Indian languages. In old Buddhist texts it means 'mind-consciousness', a kind of awareness.
In modern use, manovijnana (Hindi manovigyan) translates the Western word 'psychology'; Hindi textbooks such as 'Samanya manovigyan' (general psychology) use it. In Buddhist Abhidharma, it is the sixth kind of consciousness: awareness that arises from the mind as an inner sense, beside the five sense consciousnesses. The two meanings should not be confused.
Nearest Western idea Closest Western term: 'psychology'. The word joins 'mind' with 'vijnana', which can mean both 'science' and 'consciousness'.
Two meanings. The Handbook glossary gives only the Buddhist one ('mental cognitive awareness'). The meaning 'psychology' is current Hindi usage, not a classical meaning.
Knowledge and knowing See also: manas, psychology, Abhidhamma, chitta Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
marga मार्ग Sanskrit
- Written
- mārga
- Say
- maar-guh
- Literally
- path, way, road
- Also written
- margas, mārgas, jnana marga, bhakti marga, karma marga
Marga means path. Rao and Paranjpe name three paths to the same spiritual goal: knowledge (jnana marga), devotion (bhakti marga) and work or action (karma marga).
The idea is that people differ, so no single method suits everyone. Rao counts all three as forms of yoga, the method of liberation, adapted to different kinds of people. The same three are often called jnana yoga, bhakti yoga and karma yoga, the names used in the Bhagavad Gita.
Nearest Western idea No close Western match. The nearest idea is choosing the kind of therapy that suits the client. The difference: the margas are different roads to one final aim, liberation.
Practice See also: jnana, bhakti, karma, Yoga, moksha Used in: Unit 1, Before you begin
maya माया Sanskrit
- Written
- māyā
- Say
- maa-yaa
- Literally
- measuring or creative power; magic, illusion
- Also written
- Maya
Maya is the power that makes one reality appear as a world of many separate things. It is often translated 'illusion', which is only part of its meaning.
In the Vedas, maya meant the wondrous creative power of a god. In Advaita Vedanta, maya is why Brahman appears as the changing world: the world is real for daily life but not ultimately real. A classic image is mistaking a rope for a snake in dim light. Other Vedanta schools hold that the world is fully real and that maya is God's power to create.
Nearest Western idea Close to the gap between appearance and reality, as in Plato's cave. The difference: the world is not unreal in daily life; it is only not the final truth.
School-dependent. The FAIP glossary stresses the early sense 'creative power'; the Handbook gives the Advaita sense 'grand illusion'.
Reality and the cosmos See also: Brahman, Advaita Vedanta, avidya, vyavaharika, lila Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Worldview
Mimamsa मीमांसा Sanskrit
- Written
- Mīmāṃsā
- Say
- mee-maam-saa
- Literally
- desire to reflect; inquiry
- Also written
- Mimansa, Purva Mimamsa, Pūrva Mīmāṃsā
Mimamsa is the school that interprets the Vedas, mainly their rules for ritual and duty (dharma). Its founding text is Jaimini's Mimamsa Sutra.
Purva ('earlier') Mimamsa studies the ritual parts of the Vedas and how to read them correctly. It built careful rules for interpreting texts and a detailed theory of knowledge. It holds that the Vedas have no author and are valid in themselves. Uttara ('later') Mimamsa is another name for Vedanta.
Nearest Western idea Close to hermeneutics, the theory of interpretation, applied to sacred rules. It also resembles legal reasoning about how to read a law.
The two Mimamsa sub-schools differ on the number of pramanas: Prabhakara accepts five, Kumarila Bhatta six.
Schools of thought See also: Vedanta, dharma, pramana, hermeneutics, Veda Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
moksha मोक्ष Sanskrit
- Written
- mokṣa
- Say
- mok-shuh
- Literally
- release, freedom; from muc-, to free
- Also written
- moksa, mukti
Moksha means liberation: final freedom from the cycle of rebirth and from suffering. It is the highest of the four aims of life.
Schools describe moksha differently. Advaita Vedanta sees it as knowing that the self is Brahman, and Sankhya and Yoga as kaivalya, the freedom of purusha from prakriti. Nyaya sees it as the final end of pain, and devotional schools as lasting loving union with God. Some traditions, such as Advaita, accept liberation while still alive (jivanmukti).
Nearest Western idea Close to 'salvation' in religion, or to 'self-transcendence' in transpersonal psychology. The difference: moksha is freedom through knowledge or insight, not a reward from outside.
School-dependent; see the long text.
Ethics and aims of life See also: purushartha, nirvana, kaivalya, samsara, soteriology Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
mudra मुद्रा Sanskrit
- Written
- mudrā
- Say
- mu-draa
- Literally
- seal, mark
- Also written
- mudras
A mudra is a 'seal': a gesture of the hands or a held position of the body, used in yoga, meditation, ritual and dance to direct attention and energy.
In Hatha Yoga, mudras are special practices, often joined with breath control and the bandhas, said to awaken inner energy (kundalini). In meditation, simple hand mudras, such as joining the thumb and index finger, help to settle the mind. Indian classical dance uses hand gestures, often called mudras, to show meanings and feelings.
Nearest Western idea No close match. Some writers compare hand mudras with embodied cognition, where posture and gesture shape mood and attention; evidence for effects of specific mudras is limited.
The supplied glossaries define mudra only inside names (yoni-mudra). Meaning differs between Hatha Yoga (energy practices), meditation (hand positions) and dance (expressive gestures).
Practice See also: bandha, pranayama, Tantra, asana
N
Narada Bhakti Sutra नारदभक्तिसूत्र Sanskrit
- Written
- Nārada-bhakti-sūtra
- Say
- naa-ruh-duh bhuhk-ti soo-truh
- Literally
- the threads (short sayings) on devotion, by Narada
- Also written
- Nārada Bhakti Sūtra, Narada Bhakti Sutras
The Narada Bhakti Sutra is a short text of sayings that explains bhakti. Its second sutra defines devotion as the highest form of love, for God.
It is credited to the legendary sage Narada, and its date is uncertain. It describes bhakti as selfless love, names eleven forms of loving attachment to God (such as the love of a servant, a friend, a parent or a beloved), and discusses how devotion relates to knowledge. With the Shandilya Bhakti Sutra, it is one of the two classic bhakti sutras. Rao and Paranjpe use its definition in their account of emotion.
Nearest Western idea No close Western match. Psychologically it describes love, gratitude and surrender; in religion it resembles writings on selfless love for God.
No date is given, because none is known. The numbering of the sutras differs between editions.
Texts See also: bhakti, sutra, Ishvara, rasa Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Revision sheet
nastika नास्तिक Sanskrit
- Written
- nāstika
- Say
- naas-ti-kuh
- Literally
- one who says 'it is not' (na asti)
- Also written
- heterodox schools, nastika schools
Nastika schools are the Indian philosophies that reject the authority of the Vedas: Buddhism, Jainism and Charvaka.
The word is usually translated 'heterodox'. Buddhism and Jainism reject the Vedas but have rich ethics, meditation and theories of mind. Charvaka rejects both the Vedas and any life after death. In modern Hindi, 'nastik' also means 'atheist', but the philosophical meaning is about the Vedas.
Nearest Western idea Often translated 'heterodox'. It is not the same as 'atheist': Buddhism and Jainism are nastika but are full religious paths.
Misra counts six heterodox schools: Charvaka, Jainism and four Buddhist schools.
Schools of thought See also: astika, Charvaka, anekantavada, anatta, darshana Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Before you begin
Natyashastra नाट्यशास्त्र Sanskrit
- Written
- Nāṭyaśāstra
- Say
- naat-yuh-shaas-truh
- Literally
- treatise on drama
- Also written
- Natya Shastra, Natyasastra
The Natyashastra is an ancient book on drama, dance and music, credited to Bharata. It contains an early theory of emotion called rasa.
It explains how actors create emotion in an audience. It lists lasting basic emotions (sthayibhava) such as love, sorrow, anger and fear, and the 'taste' (rasa) of each that the audience enjoys. Indian psychologists use it as a source for a theory of emotion and aesthetic experience. It is usually dated between about 200 BCE and 200 CE.
Nearest Western idea Close to theories of basic emotions and of audience response in drama. The key difference: rasa is a shared, aesthetic emotion that is enjoyed, not a private reaction.
Dates are uncertain. The number of rasas is eight in the Natyashastra; later writers added a ninth, peace (shanta).
Texts See also: shastra Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Sources, Unit 1, Before you begin
nididhyasana निदिध्यासन Sanskrit
- Written
- nididhyāsana
- Say
- ni-di-dhyaa-suh-nuh
- Literally
- deep, steady meditation; from dhyai-, to meditate
The third step of knowing in Vedanta: deep, steady meditation in which the truth that was heard and understood becomes one's own direct experience.
In nididhyasana, knowing and being are said to merge: the person does not only know about the self but realises it. Rao (2014) reads it as realisation through consciousness, a first-person way of knowing.
Nearest Western idea No close Western match. It is nearer to contemplative practice than to any research method; supporters see it as a trained first-person method.
Knowledge and knowing See also: shravana, manana, dhyana, para vidya Used in: Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Before you begin
nirvana निर्वाण Sanskrit
- Written
- nirvāṇa
- Say
- nir-vaa-nuh
- Literally
- blowing out, extinguishing (nir + vā-, to blow)
- Also written
- nibbana, nibbāna, Nirvana
Nirvana is the goal of Buddhism: the end of craving, hatred and delusion, and so the end of suffering. The word means 'blowing out', as of a flame.
The Buddha described nirvana as the complete calming of craving, which ends rebirth. Because Buddhism denies a lasting self, nirvana is not a soul merging with God, and most Buddhist schools deny that it is mere nothingness. Jainism also uses the word for final liberation. Hindu texts sometimes use it as another word for moksha.
Nearest Western idea Sometimes compared to deep peace or the end of desire. Calling it 'annihilation' is a common Western mistake; Buddhist texts call it the highest happiness.
The books differ. The FAIP glossary (p. 399) includes 'absolute extinction or annihilation of individual existence'; the Handbook (p. 617) explains it partly in Vedantic terms ('knowing Brahman'). Neither matches the main Buddhist view well. Pali nibbana (निब्बान).
Ethics and aims of life See also: moksha, dukkha, anatta, Tripitaka, pratityasamutpada Used in: Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Worldview
nishkama karma निष्काम कर्म Sanskrit
- Written
- niṣkāma karma
- Say
- nish-kaa-muh kuhr-muh
- Literally
- action without desire (niṣ + kāma + karma)
- Also written
- nishkam karma, niskama karma, desireless action, selfless action
Nishkama karma means doing one's duty without craving its results. The Bhagavad Gita teaches it as a way to act fully while staying calm and free.
In the Gita (2.47), Krishna tells Arjuna that he has a right to his work but not to its fruits. The person acts well, but success and failure do not shake them. Tilak argued that what should go is not all desire but craving for results, and preferred the word anasakti. Indian psychologists link the idea to lower stress and to work motivation.
Nearest Western idea Close to intrinsic motivation and to focusing on the process rather than the outcome. The difference: it is a spiritual discipline, with action offered as duty or to God.
Ethics and aims of life See also: anasakti, Bhagavad Gita, karma, loka sangraha, vairagya, karma yoga Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
niyama नियम Sanskrit
- Say
- ni-yuh-muh
- Literally
- rule, observance
- Also written
- niyamas, five niyamas
The niyamas are five personal observances, the second limb of Yoga: purity, contentment, disciplined effort, self-study and surrender to Ishvara.
The Yoga Sutra (2.32) lists shaucha (cleanliness and purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (disciplined effort), svadhyaya (self-study and study of texts) and ishvara pranidhana (devotion or surrender to the Lord). The yamas guide how we treat others; the niyamas guide how we treat ourselves. Together they prepare the mind for meditation.
Nearest Western idea Close to self-care, healthy habits and values-based living in positive psychology. The difference: they are steps on a spiritual path and include devotion.
Practice See also: yama, tapas, svadhyaya, Ishvara, ashtanga yoga Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
Nyaya न्याय Sanskrit
- Written
- Nyāya
- Say
- nyaa-yuh
- Literally
- rule, method, standard; 'that into which a thing goes back' (ni + i-, to go)
- Also written
- Nyaya school, Nyaya-Vaisheshika, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika
Nyaya is the Indian school of logic and of the theory of knowledge. It studies how we can know things correctly and how to argue well.
Its founding text is the Nyaya Sutra of Gautama, and it is closely linked to Vaisheshika. It accepts four valid means of knowledge (pramanas): perception, inference, comparison and testimony, and it teaches a five-step form of argument. It sees the self (atman) as a real substance that has knowledge, desire and will as its qualities.
Nearest Western idea Close to logic and epistemology in Western philosophy. The differences: Nyaya also aims at liberation, and its inference always includes an example from experience.
Schools of thought See also: pramana, anumana, Vaisheshika, darshana Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
P
pancha kosha पञ्चकोश Sanskrit
- Written
- pañcakośa
- Say
- puhn-chuh ko-shuh
- Literally
- five sheaths
- Also written
- panchakosha, pancha kosa, five sheaths, five koshas
Pancha kosha means the five sheaths of the person: body, breath, mind, understanding and bliss. Each is subtler than the one before.
The five are annamaya (made of food: the physical body), pranamaya (breath and life energy), manomaya (mind and senses), vijnanamaya (understanding and intellect) and anandamaya (bliss). The scheme comes from the Taittiriya Upanishad. Indian psychologists use it as a holistic model of personality and health, and some yoga therapy programmes are built on it.
Nearest Western idea Close to holistic or biopsychosocial models of the person. The difference: it adds a layer of bliss and places the true self beyond all five.
The books describe the fourth layer differently: the Handbook (p. 615) calls it 'cognitive functions'; FAIP, following Sri Aurobindo, calls it 'supramental'.
Self and person See also: kosha, prana, manas, buddhi, atman, holism Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
para vidya परा विद्या Sanskrit
- Written
- parā vidyā
- Say
- puh-raa vid-yaa
- Literally
- higher knowledge
- Also written
- para-vidya, higher knowledge
Para vidya is 'higher knowledge': direct knowledge of ultimate reality. It is gained in deep states of consciousness, not through the senses or reasoning.
The Mundaka Upanishad (1.1.4-5) names two kinds of knowledge. The higher one is that by which the imperishable is known. Rao and Paranjpe say it lets us know things as they are, not only the images our senses give us. The Handbook links it to the 'fourth' state of consciousness (turiya).
Nearest Western idea Close to mystical or transcendent knowledge in the psychology of religion. Mainstream psychology does not accept it as a scientific method; Indian psychologists argue that it can be trained and checked.
Knowledge and knowing See also: apara vidya, vidya, atma vidya, turiya, Upanishad Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
paramarthika पारमार्थिक Sanskrit
- Written
- pāramārthika
- Say
- paa-ruh-maar-thi-kuh
- Literally
- relating to the highest truth (parama + artha)
- Also written
- paramarthika satta, paramartha
Paramarthika means the ultimate level of reality in Advaita Vedanta. At this level only Brahman, pure consciousness, is real.
From the ultimate standpoint, the differences between self and world, and between one person and another, do not hold. This level cannot be reached by the senses or by reasoning, only by direct realisation (para vidya). It does not cancel daily life: a realised person still acts in the everyday (vyavaharika) world.
Nearest Western idea Close to Kant's 'thing in itself' (noumenon). Kant held that it cannot be known; Advaita holds that it can be known by direct experience.
Reality and the cosmos See also: vyavaharika, Brahman, para vidya, Advaita Vedanta Used in: Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
pitta पित्त Sanskrit
- Say
- pit-tuh
- Literally
- bile
- Also written
- pitta dosha
Pitta is the Ayurvedic dosha of heat and change, linked with fire. It governs digestion, body heat and sharpness of mind.
Pitta is described as hot, sharp and fluid. Rao and Paranjpe, following the Sushruta Samhita, describe people with a pitta-dominant constitution as intelligent and quick to understand, argumentative and courageous, and quick to anger but also quick to calm down.
Nearest Western idea No direct match. Pitta types resemble quick, intense temperaments, but pitta is a body-mind process concept, not a trait measure.
Health and healing See also: dosha, vata, kapha Used in: Unit 1, Three perspectives
prajna प्रज्ञा Sanskrit
- Written
- prajñā
- Say
- pruhg-yaa
- Literally
- wisdom, insight (pra + jñā-, to know)
- Also written
- pragya, panna, paññā
Prajna means wisdom or insight: a deep, direct understanding of how things really are. It is central in Buddhism and also used in Yoga and Vedanta.
In Buddhism (Pali panna), prajna is one of three trainings, with ethics (shila) and concentration (samadhi). It means insight into impermanence, suffering and no-self. The Yoga Sutra (1.48) speaks of a 'truth-bearing' wisdom that arises in samadhi. The Mandukya Upanishad uses a related word, prajna with a long a, for the self in deep sleep.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'wisdom' as studied in positive psychology. The difference: prajna is insight gained mainly through meditation, not through life experience or reasoning alone.
The Mandukya Upanishad's prājña (प्राज्ञ), the deep-sleep self, is a different word from prajñā, wisdom.
Knowledge and knowing See also: jnana, samadhi, anicca, anatta, sushupti
prajnaparadha प्रज्ञापराध Sanskrit
- Written
- prajñāparādha
- Say
- pruhg-yaa-puh-raa-dhuh
- Literally
- an offence (or failure) of the intellect
In Ayurveda, a failure of judgement: knowing better but acting against it. Charaka treats it as a root cause of illness.
The Charaka Samhita says suffering grows from a failure of the intellect to tell good from harmful, of self-restraint to hold back, and of memory to recall what one has learned. Health therefore depends partly on judgement and conduct, not only on the body.
Nearest Western idea Close to ideas in health psychology about poor self-regulation and the gap between knowing and doing. The difference: Charaka treats it as a moral and cognitive failure together.
Health and healing See also: Ayurveda, Charaka Samhita, buddhi Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Practice
prakriti प्रकृति Sanskrit
- Written
- prakṛti
- Say
- pruh-kri-ti
- Literally
- what is made first; original nature
- Also written
- prakrti, Prakriti, prakruti
In Sankhya, prakriti is nature: the single source of all matter and all mental activity. It is made of three qualities, the gunas.
Prakriti is unconscious but always active. From it come intellect, ego-sense, mind, senses and the physical elements. When its three gunas are in balance, nothing appears; when the balance is disturbed, the world unfolds. In everyday Hindi, 'prakriti' means nature or temperament, and Ayurveda uses it for a person's basic body-mind type.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'nature' or 'matter-energy'. The key difference: prakriti includes the mind, so thoughts and feelings are natural processes, not consciousness itself.
The FAIP glossary compares the Sankhya pair purusha and prakriti with the Vedanta pair Brahman and maya.
Reality and the cosmos See also: purusha, guna, Sankhya, buddhi, maya Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
pramana प्रमाण Sanskrit
- Written
- pramāṇa
- Say
- pruh-maa-nuh
- Literally
- means of right knowledge; measure (pra + mā-, to measure)
- Also written
- pramanas, means of knowledge
A pramana is a valid means of knowledge: a reliable way to know that something is true, such as perception or inference.
Indian schools disagree on how many pramanas there are. Charvaka accepts only perception; Buddhism and Vaisheshika add inference; Sankhya and Yoga add testimony (shabda); Nyaya adds comparison; Mimamsa and Advaita Vedanta add postulation and non-perception, making six. The study of pramanas is the Indian form of epistemology.
Nearest Western idea Close to a 'source of knowledge' in epistemology. Indian lists include testimony and, in some schools, yogic perception, which Western science does not count.
Counts per school follow the usual textbook scheme; some sub-schools differ (Prabhakara Mimamsa accepts five).
Knowledge and knowing See also: pratyaksha, anumana, shabda, Nyaya, epistemology Used in: Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Worldview
prana प्राण Sanskrit
- Written
- prāṇa
- Say
- praa-nuh
- Literally
- breath, life (pra + an-, to breathe)
- Also written
- life force, vital breath, prana vayu
Prana is breath and life energy. Yoga and Ayurveda say it moves through the body in five main currents and links body and mind.
The five pranas are prana (breathing in), apana (downward and outward), vyana (spreading through the body), samana (digestion and balance) and udana (rising). Breath control (pranayama) works with prana to calm and steady the mind. The Taittiriya Upanishad describes a layer of breath and life (pranamaya) between the body and the mind.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'vital energy' in older Western ideas, or to breathing and autonomic regulation in physiology. Modern science has no measure for prana as such.
The FAIP and Handbook glossaries give slightly different directions and functions for the five pranas.
Self and person See also: pranayama, pancha kosha, kosha, Ayurveda Used in: Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Revision sheet
pranayama प्राणायाम Sanskrit
- Written
- prāṇāyāma
- Say
- praa-naa-yaa-muh
- Literally
- extension or control of prana (prāṇa + āyāma)
- Also written
- pranayam, breath control
Pranayama is the regulation of breath and life energy (prana). It is the fourth limb of Yoga and is used to calm and steady the mind.
Pranayama works with three phases: breathing in (puraka), breathing out (rechaka) and holding the breath (kumbhaka). Slowing and lengthening the breath is said to steady the mind and prepare it for concentration. A common practice is alternate-nostril breathing. Studies of slow breathing link it with relaxation, but claims about prana itself have not been tested.
Nearest Western idea Close to the breathing techniques used in stress management and therapy, such as paced breathing. The difference: in Yoga the breath is a way to work with prana and the mind.
Breath-holding practices should be learned from a qualified teacher.
Practice See also: prana, pratyahara, ashtanga yoga, bandha Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives
pratibhasika प्रातिभासिक Sanskrit
- Written
- prātibhāsika
- Say
- praa-ti-bhaa-si-kuh
- Literally
- belonging to mere appearance
In Advaita Vedanta, pratibhasika is the lowest level of reality: things that only seem real for a while, such as dreams and mirages.
A mirage looks like water until you walk closer. A dream feels real until you wake. Advaita uses these everyday corrections as a model: the everyday world (vyavaharika) corrects the merely apparent, and realisation of the ultimate (paramarthika) shows the limits of the everyday.
Nearest Western idea Close to illusions and hallucinations in perception research. The difference: Advaita uses them as a model for how all ordinary knowledge can be corrected.
Reality and the cosmos See also: vyavaharika, paramarthika, maya Used in: Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
pratityasamutpada प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद Sanskrit
- Written
- pratītyasamutpāda
- Say
- pruh-tee-tyuh-suh-mut-paa-duh
- Literally
- arising in dependence (pratītya + samutpāda)
- Also written
- paticcasamuppada, paṭiccasamuppāda, dependent origination, dependent arising
Pratityasamutpada means 'dependent origination': everything arises because of conditions and ends when they end. Nothing exists by itself alone.
The Buddha explained suffering through a chain of twelve links, from ignorance through craving and clinging to birth, ageing and death. When ignorance ends, the chain breaks. The Handbook calls the idea a corner stone of all Buddhist thought, because it explains how there can be continuity and rebirth without a lasting self.
Nearest Western idea Close to systems thinking, and to the idea that mental events have many interacting causes. The difference: its purpose is to show how suffering can end.
Pali paticcasamuppada (पटिच्चसमुप्पाद).
Reality and the cosmos See also: anatta, dukkha, avidya, karma, skandha Used in: Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
pratyahara प्रत्याहार Sanskrit
- Written
- pratyāhāra
- Say
- pruh-tyaa-haa-ruh
- Literally
- drawing back (prati + ā + hṛ-, to take)
- Also written
- withdrawal of the senses, sense withdrawal
Pratyahara is withdrawal of the senses: turning attention inward so that outside sights and sounds no longer pull the mind. It is the fifth limb of Yoga.
In pratyahara, the senses stop running after their objects and follow the mind inward (Yoga Sutra 2.54). Rao and Paranjpe describe it as turning attention inward to become aware of the senses and gain some control over them, almost like biofeedback. Tripathi (FAIP ch. 16) argues that practices such as yoga nidra and relaxation are forms of pratyahara and useful for mental health.
Nearest Western idea Close to selective attention and sensory gating, or to the inward focus of relaxation and biofeedback. The difference: it is a deliberate step toward meditation.
Practice See also: indriya, dharana, ashtanga yoga, pranayama Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
pratyaksha प्रत्यक्ष Sanskrit
- Written
- pratyakṣa
- Say
- pruh-tyuhk-shuh
- Literally
- before the eyes (prati + akṣa)
- Also written
- pratyaksa
Pratyaksha is perception: knowledge that comes directly through the senses. All Indian schools accept it as a valid means of knowledge.
Schools explain perception as contact between a sense, its object, the mind and the self. Many separate a first, wordless stage (nirvikalpaka) from a later stage in which the object is named and recognised (savikalpaka). Some schools also accept yogic perception, direct knowledge gained in deep meditation. Charvaka accepts perception as the only valid means of knowledge.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'perception' in psychology; the two stages resemble the step from sensation to recognition. Yogic perception has no accepted match in Western science.
Buddhist logicians hold that true perception is free of concepts; Nyaya accepts both conceptual and non-conceptual perception.
Knowledge and knowing See also: pramana, anumana, indriya, Charvaka Used in: Unit 1, The paradigm debate
prayaschitta प्रायश्चित्त Sanskrit
- Written
- prāyaścitta
- Say
- praa-yuhsh-chit-tuh
- Literally
- atonement, expiation; origin of the word uncertain
- Also written
- prayaschita (syllabus spelling), prayaschita, prayashchitta, prayaschit, prayashchit
Prayaschitta means atonement: an action a person takes to make up for a wrong they have done, and to clear the guilt it leaves.
Dharmashastra texts give long lists of atonements, including confession, repentance, fasting, gifts, prayer and acts of repair. The aim is to restore the person and their ties with others and with the sacred order. The syllabus pairs it with compassionate action, as a traditional way of dealing with guilt and wrongdoing.
Nearest Western idea Close to making amends and restorative justice, and to research on guilt, self-forgiveness and repair. The difference: prayaschitta is set within dharma and karma, and it often uses ritual.
The syllabus spells it 'prayaschita'; the standard Sanskrit has a double t (prāyaścitta), which this glossary uses. Not discussed in the supplied books. Monier-Williams marks the origin of the word as uncertain.
Ethics and aims of life See also: karma, dharma, tapas, seva
punarjanma पुनर्जन्म Sanskrit
- Say
- pu-nuhr-juhn-muh
- Literally
- birth again (punar + janma)
- Also written
- punar janma, punarjanam
Punarjanma means rebirth: the belief that after death a being is born again in a new body, according to its karma.
Rao and Paranjpe note that repeated birth and death (punarjanma and punarmrityu) are part of the world view of almost all Hindu, Buddhist and Jain schools; only the Charvaka materialists reject it. Schools differ on what carries over: a lasting self (Vedanta, Jainism) or only a stream of causes (Buddhism). Rebirth is the background for ideas such as samskara and karma.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'reincarnation'. Mainstream psychology treats it as a belief to study, not a fact; it matters for understanding how many Indian clients make sense of life events.
Buddhism teaches rebirth without a lasting self, so 'reincarnation' (a soul taking new flesh) does not fit the Buddhist view.
Reality and the cosmos See also: samsara, karma, jiva, Charvaka Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Worldview
Purana पुराण Sanskrit
- Written
- purāṇa
- Say
- pu-raa-nuh
- Literally
- ancient; of old times (from purā, formerly)
- Also written
- Puranas, Purāṇa, Purāṇas, Puranic
The Puranas are long Sanskrit texts of myths, legends and family histories of gods, heroes and saints. Tradition counts eighteen major ones. Most people know them through retelling.
The first Puranas took shape in the 4th to 6th centuries CE, and the texts kept growing for centuries, so single texts are hard to date. They belong to smriti, the 'remembered' tradition, which ranks below the Vedas. The Bhagavata Purana, about the god Krishna, is a founding text of devotion (bhakti). Retold in many languages, in plays, dance and song, Puranic stories carried ideas about duty, devotion and the self to people who never studied the Vedas.
Nearest Western idea Closest to a body of sacred myth and legend in any scripture tradition. The difference: the Puranas mix stories of creation, family histories, law and devotion, and were meant to be performed and retold.
Dates are debated. The scholar Ludo Rocher held that no Purana as a whole can be dated.
Texts See also: smriti, Mahabharata, bhakti, Veda Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
purusha पुरुष Sanskrit
- Written
- puruṣa
- Say
- pu-ru-shuh
- Literally
- person, man
- Also written
- purusa, Purusha
In Sankhya and Yoga, purusha is pure consciousness: the silent witness that is aware but does not act. It is completely separate from mind and matter.
Sankhya says there are many purushas, one for each being. Purusha does not think, feel or change; thinking and feeling belong to prakriti. Suffering comes when purusha seems to be caught up in the activity of the mind. Much earlier, in the Rig Veda, Purusha is the cosmic person from whose body the world is made.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'pure consciousness' or the 'witness' in consciousness studies. Unlike Descartes' mind, purusha does not think; thinking belongs to matter.
The Handbook (p. 619) adds that in Mimamsa, purusha means a rational, free and responsible agent: a different use.
Self and person See also: prakriti, Sankhya, sakshi, atman, kaivalya Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
purushartha पुरुषार्थ Sanskrit
- Written
- puruṣārtha
- Say
- pu-ru-shaar-thuh
- Literally
- aim of a person (puruṣa + artha)
- Also written
- purusharthas, four aims of life, four goals of life
The purusharthas are the four aims of human life: dharma (right living), artha (wealth and security), kama (pleasure and love) and moksha (liberation).
The four aims give a balanced picture of a good life. Wealth and pleasure are accepted as worthy goals, as long as they are pursued within dharma. Moksha is usually placed highest. The scheme fits the four stages of life (ashramas): for example, the householder stage stresses artha and kama.
Nearest Western idea Close to models of human needs and goals, such as Maslow's hierarchy. The difference: the aims form a moral framework in which ethics guides the others, not a ladder of needs.
Some older texts list only the first three (trivarga); moksha was added later as the fourth.
Ethics and aims of life See also: dharma, artha, kama, moksha, ashrama Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
S
sadhana साधना Sanskrit
- Written
- sādhanā
- Say
- saa-dhuh-naa
- Literally
- means of accomplishing; from sādh-, to accomplish
- Also written
- sadhna, spiritual practice, sadhaka
Sadhana means steady spiritual practice: the daily discipline, such as meditation, prayer or study, that a person follows to grow toward a spiritual goal.
A person who does sadhana is called a sadhaka. Sadhana can include yoga, chanting, service, study and ethical living, often guided by a guru. The Handbook describes it as method, path, training and practice. The stress is on regular, long-term effort, not on one-time experiences.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'deliberate practice', or to a structured training programme for the mind. The difference: its aim is spiritual change, not a measurable skill.
Practice See also: abhyasa, Yoga, guru, tapas, dhyana Used in: Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
sakshi साक्षी Sanskrit
- Written
- sākṣī
- Say
- saak-shee
- Literally
- witness; one who sees with one's own eyes
- Also written
- sākṣin, sakshin, witness consciousness, sakshi bhava
Sakshi means 'witness'. It is the self as pure, uninvolved awareness that watches thoughts, feelings and actions without being caught by them.
In Vedanta, the sakshi is the self that is aware of the mind's activity, and of waking, dream and deep sleep, without taking part. In Sankhya, purusha plays this role, silently watching prakriti. Many meditation practices train a 'witness' stance toward one's own mind.
Nearest Western idea Close to the 'observing self' in acceptance and commitment therapy, or to metacognitive awareness. The difference: the sakshi is held to be the real self, not a skill.
Stem form sākṣin (साक्षिन्); nominative sākṣī (साक्षी).
Self and person See also: atman, purusha, turiya, antahkarana Used in: Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
samadhi समाधि Sanskrit
- Written
- samādhi
- Say
- suh-maa-dhi
- Literally
- putting together; complete absorption (sam + ā + dhā-)
Samadhi is deep absorption in meditation, where the sense of a separate meditator fades and the mind becomes one with its object. It is the eighth limb of Yoga.
The Yoga Sutra separates samadhi that still has an object or thought (samprajnata) from samadhi with no object at all (asamprajnata), the highest. Dharana, dhyana and samadhi practised together on one object are called samyama. In Buddhism, samadhi means concentration and is one of three trainings, with ethics and wisdom. Rao and Paranjpe discuss how such states might be studied by psychology.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'altered' or non-ordinary states of consciousness, and loosely to deep flow. The difference: samadhi comes from long training and is said to give true knowledge.
Meaning differs: the final limb of Yoga (Patanjali); concentration in general (Buddhism).
States of consciousness See also: dhyana, dharana, ashtanga yoga, kaivalya, prajna Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives
samatva समत्व Sanskrit
- Say
- suh-muht-vuh
- Literally
- evenness, sameness (sama, even + -tva, -ness)
- Also written
- samatvam, samata, samatā, evenness of mind
Samatva means evenness of mind: staying the same in success and failure, pleasure and pain, praise and blame. The Bhagavad Gita (2.48) calls it yoga itself.
The Gita says 'evenness is called yoga' (2.48) and asks Arjuna to treat alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat (2.38). The Handbook glossary adds impartiality: making no distinction between friend and foe. Samatva is not indifference: it lets a person act fully without being shaken by results. It is a mark of the sthitaprajna, the person of steady wisdom.
Nearest Western idea Close to equanimity as meditation researchers define it, and loosely to resilience and emotion regulation. The difference: resilience is recovery after setbacks, while samatva is evenness toward good and bad events alike, and comes from loosening the ego's stake in results.
Gita 2.48 reads samatvam yoga uchyate, 'evenness is called yoga'.
States of consciousness See also: sthitaprajna, anasakti, nishkama karma, karma yoga, Bhagavad Gita, vairagya Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Revision sheet
samsara संसार Sanskrit
- Written
- saṃsāra
- Say
- suhm-saa-ruh
- Literally
- wandering, flowing on
- Also written
- saṁsāra, sansar, cycle of rebirth
Samsara is the cycle of birth, death and rebirth that beings go through, driven by karma. It can also mean worldly life in general.
Almost all Indian schools, except Charvaka, accept samsara. Each life follows from past actions (karma), and the cycle goes on until liberation (moksha or nirvana). The Handbook notes that in samsara, suffering is believed to be greater than happiness. In modern Hindi, 'sansar' simply means 'the world'.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'reincarnation' or 'transmigration'. Mainstream psychology does not accept rebirth; a few researchers, such as Ian Stevenson, studied reports of past lives.
Reality and the cosmos See also: karma, punarjanma, moksha, nirvana, dukkha Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Worldview
samskara संस्कार Sanskrit
- Written
- saṃskāra
- Say
- suhm-skaa-ruh
- Literally
- putting together, refining; impression
- Also written
- saṁskāra, sanskara, samskaras, saṅkhāra
A samskara is a mental impression left by past experience or action. Samskaras shape later habits, reactions and desires, often without our knowing.
In Yoga, every experience leaves a trace in the mind (chitta), and these traces later rise again as tendencies. Meditation is said to build new, calming samskaras that replace old ones. The same word also means a life-cycle rite, such as naming or marriage. In Buddhism (Pali sankhara), it names mental formations, one of the five skandhas.
Nearest Western idea Close to a memory trace, a habit or a schema. The difference: samskaras are thought to carry over from past lives as well.
Several meanings: mental impression (Yoga), life-cycle rite (Dharmashastra), mental formation (Buddhism).
Mind See also: vasana, chitta, karma, skandha, vritti Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Worldview
sankalpa सङ्कल्प Sanskrit
- Written
- saṅkalpa
- Say
- suhn-kuhl-puh
- Literally
- putting together; conception; resolve
- Also written
- samkalpa, saṃkalpa, sankalpa-vikalpa
Sankalpa, in the theory of mind, is the work of manas: putting what the senses bring together into a definite idea. In everyday use it also means a firm resolve.
In Raghavan Iyer's translation of the Sankhya Karika (verse 27), manas is "deliberative". Advaita defines the mind as sankalpa and vikalpa: bringing ideas together and telling alternatives apart, so that it keeps weighing options (Rao and Paranjpe, 2016, 4.1.3). Shankara, explaining the Bhagavad Gita, calls the mind that which conceives or imagines. The everyday sense, a resolve or vow, is related but separate.
Nearest Western idea Close to integration and differentiation in perception and thinking. The difference: manas does this work without being conscious itself.
The Sanskrit wording of Sankhya Karika 27 was not checked in a Sanskrit edition. Rao and Paranjpe confirm the word for Advaita.
Mind See also: manas, vritti, antahkarana, adhyavasaya, abhimana Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
Sankhya सांख्य Sanskrit
- Written
- Sāṃkhya
- Say
- saang-khyuh
- Literally
- enumeration, counting
- Also written
- Samkhya, Sāṁkhya, Saankhya, Samkhya-Yoga
Sankhya explains everything with two realities: pure consciousness (purusha) and nature (prakriti). In Sankhya, the mind belongs to nature, not to consciousness.
Sankhya counts 25 principles (tattvas): from prakriti come intellect (buddhi), ego-sense (ahamkara), mind (manas), the senses and the elements, while purusha only witnesses. Suffering comes from confusing the two, and freedom comes from telling them apart (viveka). Its classic text is the Sankhya Karika of Ishvarakrishna. The Yoga school accepts most of this theory and adds a method of practice and Ishvara.
Nearest Western idea Close to mind-body dualism, as in Descartes. The key difference: Sankhya puts the mind on the material side; only pure consciousness is separate.
Classical Sankhya is usually non-theistic, while Yoga adds Ishvara. The Handbook glossary (p. 620) calls Sankhya 'the original Vedic philosophy'; this is a traditional view that historians do not all share. Also spelled Samkhya.
Schools of thought See also: purusha, prakriti, guna, buddhi, ahamkara, Yoga Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Sources, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
santosha सन्तोष Sanskrit
- Written
- santoṣa
- Say
- suhn-to-shuh
- Literally
- contentment
- Also written
- santosa, santosh
Santosha means contentment: being at peace with what one has. It is one of the five niyamas, the personal observances of Yoga.
The Yoga Sutra (2.42) says that from contentment comes unsurpassed happiness (sukha). Santosha is practised as a discipline, alongside purity, effort, self-study and surrender to Ishvara.
Nearest Western idea Close to life satisfaction. The difference: santosha is a discipline one practises, not a judgment one makes about one's life.
Practice See also: niyama, sukha, positive psychology Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
sat and satyam सत्, सत्यम् Sanskrit
- Written
- sat, satyam
- Say
- suht, suht-yuhm
- Literally
- sat: being, what truly is; satyam: truth
- Also written
- sat, satyam
Rao and Paranjpe use sat for an absolute truth that can never be shown false, and satyam for what has been found true so far and stays open to revision.
Rao and Paranjpe (2016) compare satyam to the truths of science, which hold until new evidence overturns them. The distinction helps a student separate metaphysical claims (about sat) from psychological claims that can be tested (about satyam).
Nearest Western idea Like the difference between a metaphysical certainty and a scientific finding that holds only until it is refuted, as in Popper's idea of falsification.
This sharp contrast is Rao and Paranjpe's teaching use of the two words. In ordinary Sanskrit both can mean 'true' or 'real'.
Knowledge and knowing See also: satya, falsifiability, metaphysics Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Worldview
Sat Chit Ananda सच्चिदानन्द Sanskrit
- Written
- saccidānanda
- Say
- suht chit aa-nuhn-duh
- Literally
- being (sat), consciousness (cit), bliss (ānanda)
- Also written
- sat-cit-ānanda, satchitananda, sachchidananda, Satchidananda, being-consciousness-bliss
Sat Chit Ananda means 'being, consciousness, bliss'. Vedanta uses it to describe Brahman and the true self, which is also the source of lasting happiness.
Sat is pure existence, chit is pure awareness, and ananda is bliss or deep joy. They are not three parts but three ways of pointing to one reality. Because the true self is ananda, Indian psychology holds that lasting happiness is found within, not in objects. The syllabus places it at the start of Unit 5 as a basis for wellbeing practices.
Nearest Western idea Loosely close to eudaimonic wellbeing and to peak experiences in humanistic psychology. The difference: ananda is held to be the nature of the self, not a state that comes and goes.
Mainly a Vedanta term; Buddhism does not describe ultimate reality this way.
States of consciousness See also: Brahman, atman, satya, turiya Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Worldview
sati सति Pali
- Say
- suh-ti
- Literally
- memory, recollection (Sanskrit smṛti)
- Also written
- sammā sati, right mindfulness, satipatthana, satipaṭṭhāna
Sati is the Pali word usually translated 'mindfulness': clear awareness of what is happening in body and mind, from moment to moment.
Right mindfulness (samma sati) is the seventh step of the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. Its root meaning is 'remembering': keeping the object of attention in mind and not losing oneself. Buddhist texts teach it through the four foundations of mindfulness (satipatthana). Modern mindfulness programmes grew from this practice but left out most of its ethical and religious setting.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'mindfulness' in clinical psychology: paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, without judging. The difference: classical sati also includes remembering what is wholesome.
Pali sati (सति, as in Devanagari Pali editions); Sanskrit smṛti (स्मृति). Not to be confused with the banned practice of widow-burning, which is a different word (satī, सती).
Practice See also: smriti, mindfulness, anicca, Abhidhamma, dhyana Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
sattva सत्त्व Sanskrit
- Say
- suht-tvuh
- Literally
- being-ness; from sat, being
- Also written
- sattwa, satva, sāttvika, sattvic
Sattva is the guna of clarity, lightness and calm. A sattvic mind is clear, peaceful and ready for knowledge.
Sattva is the highest of the three gunas. It brings light, knowledge, balance and happiness. Practices such as yoga, wholesome food and ethical living aim to increase it. In Ayurveda, 'sattva' is also a name for the mind itself, which is why the therapy of the mind is called sattvavajaya.
Nearest Western idea Close to emotional stability and openness in trait models, or to a calm, focused state. Unlike a trait, sattva is also a quality of foods and actions.
In Ayurveda, sattva can mean 'mind' as well as the guna.
Mind See also: guna, rajas, tamas, sattvavajaya Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
sattvavajaya सत्त्वावजय Sanskrit
- Written
- sattvāvajaya
- Say
- suht-tvaa-vuh-juh-yuh
- Literally
- conquest of the mind (sattva + avajaya)
- Also written
- satvavajaya, satwavajaya, sattvavajaya chikitsa, Ayurvedic psychotherapy
Sattvavajaya is the Ayurvedic therapy for the mind. Caraka defines it as restraining the mind from harmful objects, and it is often called Ayurvedic psychotherapy.
The Charaka Samhita (Sutrasthana 11.54) names three kinds of therapy: spiritual (daivavyapashraya), rational (yuktivyapashraya) and sattvavajaya, the restraint of the mind from harmful objects. Caraka also says that disorders of the mind are treated through knowledge, understanding, courage, memory and concentration. Modern writers compare sattvavajaya with counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Nearest Western idea Close to cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling, which also train how a person thinks about and responds to triggers. The difference: it includes spiritual and ethical guidance and builds courage (dhairya).
The supplied books do not define the term. Caraka gives only a short definition; later writers expanded it into a full therapy.
Health and healing See also: Ayurveda, Charaka Samhita, sattva, manas
satya सत्य Sanskrit
- Say
- suht-yuh
- Literally
- that which is; truth (from sat, being)
- Also written
- satyam
Satya means truth: both what is real and speaking truthfully. Truthfulness is one of the five restraints (yamas) of Yoga.
Satya comes from 'sat', being, so it means 'what really is'. In the Upanishads, Brahman is called satyam, the real. In ethics, satya is honesty in thought, word and deed; in the Yoga Sutra it is the second yama. Gandhi called his method of protest satyagraha, 'holding firmly to truth'.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'truth' in both senses: matching reality, and honesty. The difference: Indian thought treats truth as reality and truth as honesty as one idea.
Reality and the cosmos See also: rta, yama, Brahman, Sat Chit Ananda
seva सेवा Sanskrit
- Written
- sevā
- Say
- say-vaa
- Literally
- service, attendance
- Also written
- selfless service
Seva means selfless service: helping others without expecting a reward. Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist traditions value it as a path to inner growth.
In the Bhagavad Gita (4.34), a student approaches a teacher with respect, questions and service (seva). Rao and Paranjpe read seva there as acting in line with what one has learned. In daily life, seva can mean serving parents, teachers, the poor or the community. It links to compassionate action, a theme of Unit 5.
Nearest Western idea Close to altruism, volunteering and prosocial behaviour. The difference: seva also has a spiritual aim, the weakening of the ego.
Ethics and aims of life See also: nishkama karma, loka sangraha, guru, ahimsa, bhakti Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
shabda शब्द Sanskrit
- Written
- śabda
- Say
- shuhb-duh
- Literally
- sound, word
- Also written
- sabda, verbal testimony
Shabda is knowledge from words: the testimony of a reliable person or of scripture. It is how we learn most things we cannot check ourselves.
Most schools accept that we can gain true knowledge by hearing a trustworthy speaker. Astika schools treat the Vedas as the highest testimony, especially about the self and dharma. Buddhism and Vaisheshika count testimony as a kind of inference, and Charvaka rejects it. The Handbook describes it as the word based on the experience and intuition of the sages.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'testimony' in modern epistemology, which studies how we trust others' reports. Science accepts expert testimony, but not scripture, as evidence.
Yoga calls this means of knowledge agama (tradition).
Knowledge and knowing See also: pramana, shruti, Veda, guru Used in: Unit 1, The paradigm debate
shastra शास्त्र Sanskrit
- Written
- śāstra
- Say
- shaas-truh
- Literally
- instruction, rule; from śās-, to teach
- Also written
- sastra, shastras
A shastra is a systematic book or body of teaching on one subject, such as law, politics, medicine or drama.
Examples are the Dharmashastras (duty and law), the Arthashastra (politics and economy) and the Natyashastra (drama). A shastra sets out rules and reasons in an ordered way. In daily speech, 'shastra' can also mean the authority of tradition in general.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'treatise', or to a 'science' in the old sense of an ordered field of knowledge. Many shastras mix description with rules for how one should act.
Texts See also: Natyashastra, smriti, dharma Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
shishya शिष्य Sanskrit
- Written
- śiṣya
- Say
- shish-yuh
- Literally
- one who is to be taught (from śās-, to teach)
- Also written
- sishya
A shishya is a student or disciple who learns from a guru. The ideal shishya is humble, eager to learn, and ready to practise what is taught.
The guru-shishya relationship is the traditional way knowledge was passed on in India, especially in the arts and in spiritual paths. The Bhagavad Gita (4.34) describes the right approach: bowing in respect, asking questions and offering service. The student often lived in the teacher's home (gurukula). The bond is personal and can last a lifetime.
Nearest Western idea Close to an apprentice or mentee. The difference: the learning is personal and whole, covering character and spiritual growth, not only skills.
Society and family See also: guru, seva, ashrama
shraddha श्रद्धा Sanskrit
- Written
- śraddhā
- Say
- shruhd-dhaa
- Literally
- placing the heart (on something); faith, trust
- Also written
- sraddha, shraddhaa
Shraddha means faith or trust: a committed confidence in a path, a teacher or a text. The Yoga Sutra lists it first among the supports of progress.
The Yoga Sutra (1.20) says that for most people progress depends on faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom, and (1.14) that practice becomes firm when it is kept up for a long time, without breaks, and with devotion. The Gita (17.3) says a person is made of their faith. Shraddha means trust that keeps a person practising, not blind belief.
Nearest Western idea Close to commitment, expectancy and self-efficacy in psychology, and to faith in the psychology of religion. The difference: shraddha is treated as a needed part of the method, which makes its effects hard to separate from expectation in research.
Practice See also: abhyasa, ashtanga yoga, Yoga Sutra, guru, sadhana Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
shravana श्रवण Sanskrit
- Written
- śravaṇa
- Say
- shruh-vuh-nuh
- Literally
- hearing
- Also written
- sravana
The first step of knowing in Vedanta: hearing or studying a teaching. Rao links it to learning from observation, the way science learns.
Vedanta names three steps on the way to self-knowledge: shravana (hearing the teaching), manana (thinking it through) and nididhyasana (deep meditation until the truth is lived). Rao (2014) reads shravana as learning through the senses and the brain, close to third-person observation.
Nearest Western idea Close to learning by instruction or by observation. The difference: it is only the first of three steps, and the later steps change the knower, not only what the knower knows.
Knowledge and knowing See also: manana, nididhyasana, vidya Used in: Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Before you begin
shravana, manana, nididhyasana श्रवण, मनन, निदिध्यासन Sanskrit
- Written
- śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
- Say
- shruh-vuh-nuh, muh-nuh-nuh, ni-di-dhyaa-suh-nuh
- Literally
- hearing, reflecting, deep meditation
- Also written
- sravana, manana, nididhyasana, śravaṇa
Three stages of learning in the Upanishads and Vedanta: hearing the teaching, thinking it through, and meditating on it until it is realised.
K. Ramakrishna Rao (2008) matches the three stages with three ways of knowing in psychology: observation from outside (third-person), reasoning and dialogue (second-person), and meditative realisation (first-person).
Nearest Western idea Like moving from a lecture, to discussion and critical thinking, to practice that changes you. The difference: the last stage is said to change the learner's being, not only their knowledge.
Knowledge and knowing See also: first-person method, manana, nididhyasana, shravana, third-person method, Vedanta Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
shruti श्रुति Sanskrit
- Written
- śruti
- Say
- shru-ti
- Literally
- that which is heard
- Also written
- sruti, Shruti
Shruti means 'heard' texts: the Vedas, including the Upanishads. Tradition holds that seers heard them in deep insight, so no human wrote them.
Shruti covers the four Vedas with their hymn collections, ritual texts, forest texts and Upanishads. Astika schools treat shruti as the highest authority, especially on things the senses cannot reach, such as the self. Knowledge taken from it counts as shabda (testimony). Smriti texts are ranked below it.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'revelation' in Western religion. The difference: shruti is not a message from a god to a prophet; it is said to be eternal and 'heard' by seers (rishis).
Schools differ on authorship: Mimamsa and Vedanta say the Vedas have no author (apaurusheya); Nyaya holds that God composed them.
Texts See also: Veda, smriti, rishi, shabda, astika Used in: Unit 1, Before you begin
siddhi सिद्धि Sanskrit
- Say
- sid-dhi
- Literally
- accomplishment, perfection
- Also written
- siddhis
A siddhi is a special power that the Yoga Sutras say can come with advanced practice. Some Indian psychology writers link siddhis to parapsychology.
The Yoga Sutras list powers such as knowing other minds. Rao and Paranjpe (2016) connect these claims to research on extrasensory perception. Mainstream psychology does not accept such powers as established.
Nearest Western idea Like the 'psi' abilities that parapsychology studies. The difference: in yoga the powers are side effects of a path whose goal is liberation.
Practice See also: parapsychology, Yoga Sutra, samadhi Used in: Unit 1, The paradigm debate
skandha स्कन्ध Sanskrit
- Say
- skuhn-dhuh
- Literally
- heap, bundle; trunk
- Also written
- khandha, skandhas, five aggregates
The skandhas are the five 'heaps' that make up a person in Buddhism: body, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness.
The five are rupa (form, the body), vedana (feeling: pleasant, unpleasant or neutral), samjna (perception or recognition), samskara (mental formations such as intentions) and vijnana (consciousness). The Buddha taught that none of them, alone or together, is a lasting self. Rao and Paranjpe discuss the skandhas as the Buddhist model of the person.
Nearest Western idea Close to a model of the mind in parts: body, affect, perception, motivation and awareness. The difference: the list is used to show that there is no self beyond the parts.
Pali khandha (खन्ध).
Self and person See also: anatta, samskara, Abhidhamma, pratityasamutpada Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
smashana vairagya श्मशानवैराग्य Sanskrit
- Written
- śmaśāna-vairāgya
- Say
- shmuh-shaa-nuh vai-raag-yuh
- Literally
- cremation-ground dispassion (shmashana, cremation ground)
- Also written
- shmashana vairagya, smasana vairagya, cremation-ground detachment
Smashana vairagya is the brief detachment people feel at a funeral, when life suddenly seems empty. It soon fades, so the tradition does not trust it.
Sanskrit dictionaries define it as 'momentary abandonment of worldly desires at the sight of a burning-ground' (Monier-Williams). A similar passing mood is said to come to a woman in the pain of childbirth. Swami Sivananda calls such detachment 'caused' vairagya: the mind is 'simply waiting for a chance' to return to its desires. Lasting vairagya grows from discrimination between the real and the unreal (viveka).
Nearest Western idea No close Western match. Terror management theory studies how reminders of death change people for a short time, but it finds stronger defence of one's worldview, not detachment.
Also written shmashana; this guide keeps the class spelling. The Western comparison is this guide's own, not a source's.
States of consciousness See also: vairagya, viveka, terror management theory, abhava vairagya Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
smriti स्मृति Sanskrit
- Written
- smṛti
- Say
- smri-ti
- Literally
- that which is remembered; memory
- Also written
- smrti, Smriti
Smriti means 'remembered' texts. These are works by human authors, such as the epics, the Puranas and law books, ranked below the Vedas.
Smriti includes the Mahabharata (with the Bhagavad Gita), the Ramayana, the Puranas and the Dharmashastras. These texts explain and apply Vedic ideas to daily life, and they can change with time. The same word also means 'memory' as a mental function, for example in the Yoga Sutra. The Pali word sati, 'mindfulness', comes from the same root.
Nearest Western idea As a class of texts, close to 'tradition' as distinct from 'revelation'. As a mental function, close to 'memory'.
Texts See also: shruti, Mahabharata, shastra, sati Used in: Unit 1, Before you begin
sthitaprajna स्थितप्रज्ञ Sanskrit
- Written
- sthitaprajña
- Say
- sthi-tuh-pruhg-yuh
- Literally
- one whose wisdom stands firm
The sthitaprajna is the Bhagavad Gita's picture of an ideal person: steady in wisdom, calm in success and failure, free of a narrow ego, and compassionate.
The Gita (2.54 to 2.72) describes this person in detail. Rao and Paranjpe use it as the Indian ideal of mental health: equanimity and freedom from the ego's cravings, rather than good adjustment to society.
Nearest Western idea Close to Maslow's self-actualising person or to emotional stability. The difference: the ideal is a settled way of being, not continued growth and achievement.
Self and person See also: anasakti, nishkama karma, moksha, samatva Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Worldview
sukha सुख Sanskrit
- Say
- su-khuh
- Literally
- "good space"; ease, pleasure (su, good + kha, space)
- Also written
- sukham, sukh
Sukha means pleasure, ease or happiness, the opposite of duhkha (pain). Indian texts separate passing pleasure from deeper, lasting happiness.
In Buddhism, sukha is one of three kinds of feeling, with pain and neutral feeling. The Yoga Sutra (2.7) warns that attachment follows pleasure. The Bhagavad Gita (18.37 to 18.39) sorts happiness into three kinds: sattvic happiness, bitter at first and sweet in the end; rajasic happiness, sweet at first and bitter in the end; and tamasic happiness, which deludes. The highest, lasting happiness is often called ananda.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'positive emotion' and hedonic wellbeing in positive psychology. The difference: Indian texts treat pleasure from objects as unstable and a source of attachment, not as good in itself.
The word is used at two levels: pleasure from objects, and the highest happiness (Gita 5.21). The context decides which.
States of consciousness See also: dukkha, ananda, Sat Chit Ananda, guna, positive psychology Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Revision sheet
sushupti सुषुप्ति Sanskrit
- Written
- suṣupti
- Say
- su-shup-ti
- Literally
- deep sleep
- Also written
- susupti, deep sleep, dreamless sleep
Sushupti is deep, dreamless sleep. The mind is at rest, yet on waking we say 'I slept well', which Vedanta takes as a sign that awareness was still present.
In the Mandukya Upanishad, the self in deep sleep is a mass of awareness that enjoys bliss. Vedanta argues that the later memory 'I knew nothing' shows that the self was there as a witness. This is used to support the claim that consciousness does not depend on the activity of the mind.
Nearest Western idea Close to deep, non-REM sleep. The difference: Western science usually treats deep sleep as a loss of consciousness; Vedanta treats it as consciousness without objects.
Contested: whether any awareness is present in deep sleep is debated between schools and in modern research.
States of consciousness See also: jagrat, svapna, turiya, sakshi, prajna Used in: Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
sutra सूत्र Sanskrit
- Written
- sūtra
- Say
- soo-truh
- Literally
- thread
- Also written
- sutras, sutta
A sutra is a very short sentence that holds a teaching in a few words. Whole texts were written this way so that students could learn them by heart.
A sutra text is a chain of short rules or statements, like beads on a thread. Because each line is so short, these texts were almost always studied with a teacher and a commentary. The Yoga Sutra and the Brahma Sutra are examples. In Buddhism the word (Pali sutta) means something different: a recorded talk of the Buddha.
Nearest Western idea Close to an aphorism or a numbered list of propositions. Unlike most Western aphorisms, sutras were meant to be read with a long commentary.
Two meanings: in Hindu texts, a short aphorism; in Buddhism (Sanskrit sutra, Pali sutta), a discourse of the Buddha.
Texts See also: Yoga Sutra, shastra, Tripitaka Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
svabhava स्वभाव Sanskrit
- Written
- svabhāva
- Say
- svuh-bhaa-vuh
- Literally
- own being; own nature (sva, own + bhāva, being)
- Also written
- swabhava, swabhav, svabhav
Svabhava means a person's own nature: the inborn qualities and tendencies that make each individual different from every other.
In everyday Hindi, svabhav means temperament or character. The editors of the Foundations textbooks use the word, with svadharma (one's own rule of action), to show that Indian psychology treats each person as unique. The Bhagavad Gita links a person's proper action to their svabhava.
Nearest Western idea Close to temperament and character. The idea also fits the idiographic approach, which studies one person in depth. The difference: svabhava is often seen as carried over from past lives, and as pointing to one's proper duty.
Not the same as the Buddhist technical term svabhava ('own-being', a fixed inner essence), which the Madhyamaka school denies.
Self and person See also: dharma, guna, jiva, samskara Used in: Unit 1, The paradigm debate
svadhyaya स्वाध्याय Sanskrit
- Written
- svādhyāya
- Say
- svaa-dhyaa-yuh
- Literally
- one's own study; recitation (sva + adhyāya)
- Also written
- swadhyaya, self-study
Svadhyaya means self-study: study of sacred texts, and reflection on oneself in their light. It is one of the five niyamas of Yoga.
Traditionally, svadhyaya meant reciting and studying the Vedas or texts on liberation, and repeating sacred sounds such as Om. The Handbook glosses it as introspective self-study leading to self-understanding. In education, it is paired with teaching (pravachana) as a lifelong habit of learning.
Nearest Western idea Close to reflective practice, journaling and introspection. The difference: the reflection is guided by sacred texts and aims at spiritual growth.
Practice See also: niyama, introspection, tapas, jnana Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
svapna स्वप्न Sanskrit
- Say
- svuhp-nuh
- Literally
- sleep, dream
- Also written
- swapna, dream state
Svapna is the dream state, in which the mind creates its own world from stored impressions while the senses are at rest.
In the Mandukya Upanishad, the self in dream is turned inward and enjoys subtle objects made by the mind. Indian thinkers used dreams to argue that the mind can create a full world of experience on its own. Advaita sees both dream and waking as changing states watched by the same self.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'dreaming' and REM sleep research. The difference: the Indian interest is in what dreams show about consciousness, not in hidden wishes, as in Freud.
States of consciousness See also: jagrat, sushupti, turiya, samskara Used in: Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
svatah pramanya स्वतःप्रामाण्य Sanskrit
- Written
- svataḥ-prāmāṇya
- Say
- svuh-tuh praa-maan-yuh
- Literally
- validity from itself
- Also written
- svatah-pramanya, paratah pramanya, paratah-pramanya, parataḥ-prāmāṇya, intrinsic validity
Svatah pramanya is the view that knowledge is valid by itself, from the very conditions that produce it. Its opposite, paratah pramanya, says knowledge needs outside checking.
Misra (2014) reports that Mimamsa and Vedanta hold the first view: the conditions that produce knowledge also make it valid, so "knowledge is known from the knowledge itself". Nyaya-Vaisheshika holds the second: knowledge "needs external validity". Buddhists took validity to be practical efficiency: knowledge is valid if acting on it works. Unit 2 studies the debate.
Nearest Western idea No exact Western match. Science works more like paratah pramanya: a result counts only after others have checked it.
Knowledge and knowing See also: pramana, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Nyaya, abadhita Used in: Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
syadvada स्याद्वाद Sanskrit
- Written
- syādvāda
- Say
- syaad-vaa-duh
- Literally
- doctrine of 'in some respect' (syāt)
- Also written
- saptabhangi, sevenfold predication
Syadvada is the Jain method of adding 'in some respect' to every claim. It shows how a statement can be true from one view and false from another.
Syadvada puts the word 'syat' (in some respect) before a claim. A clay pot, for example, exists in some respect (as clay, here, now) and does not exist in another (as a wooden thing). Jains list seven such forms of statement (saptabhangi), including 'in some respect it cannot be described'. It is the logical tool of anekantavada.
Nearest Western idea Close to conditional statements and to many-valued logic. Unlike scepticism, it does not deny knowledge; it asks every claim to state its standpoint.
Not defined in the supplied books. 'Syat' is sometimes translated 'maybe', but Jain writers say it means 'from a certain standpoint', not doubt.
Knowledge and knowing See also: anekantavada, pramana Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Worldview
T
tamas तमस् Sanskrit
- Say
- tuh-muhs
- Literally
- darkness
- Also written
- tamasic, tāmasika, tamo guna
Tamas is the guna of heaviness, dullness and inertia. It brings sleep, confusion and resistance to change.
Tamas gives stability and rest, as in sleep. When it dominates, it shows as laziness, confusion, ignorance and lack of care. Ayurveda counts it, with rajas, as a fault (dosha) of the mind. Yoga practice aims to reduce both tamas and rajas and to increase sattva.
Nearest Western idea Close to low arousal, inertia, or the lethargy seen in depression. The difference: tamas is also a quality of matter and of food.
Mind See also: guna, sattva, rajas, dosha Used in: Unit 1, Applied cases, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
Tantra तन्त्र Sanskrit
- Written
- tantra
- Say
- tuhn-truh
- Literally
- loom, framework, system
- Also written
- Tantras, Tantric, tantric
Tantra is a family of Hindu and Buddhist texts and practices. They use the body, breath, sound and ritual as tools for spiritual change.
Tantric traditions include Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava and Buddhist forms. They use mantra (sacred sound), mudra (gesture), visualisation, and ideas such as chakras (energy centres) and kundalini. Unlike paths that turn away from the body, Tantra treats the body as a means of awakening. The popular Western picture of Tantra as mainly about sex is narrow and misleading.
Nearest Western idea No fair single match. Some writers compare it with body-based (somatic) psychotherapy, but Tantra is a religious and ritual system.
Texts See also: mudra, bandha, prana, sadhana Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms
tapas तपस् Sanskrit
- Say
- tuh-puhs
- Literally
- heat, glow (tap-, to burn)
- Also written
- tapasya, tapah
Tapas means 'heat': disciplined effort or austerity that builds inner strength, such as fasting, silence or steady practice in hard conditions.
In the Vedas, tapas was a creative inner heat. In the Yoga Sutra, it is one of the niyamas and part of the yoga of action (kriya yoga), with self-study and surrender. The Handbook says it refers to spiritual practice and its effect, such as 'burning up' past karma. The Bhagavad Gita and the Buddha both criticise harsh self-torture.
Nearest Western idea Close to self-discipline, grit or self-control. The difference: tapas is meant to purify the mind, not only to reach a goal.
Do not confuse with tamas, the guna of inertia.
Practice See also: niyama, svadhyaya, sadhana, prayaschitta Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts
tarka तर्क Sanskrit
- Say
- tuhr-kuh
- Literally
- reasoning, supposition
- Also written
- tarka-vidya, tarka-shastra, tarkashastra
Tarka means reasoning. In Indian logic it tests a supposition by following it until it meets a contradiction, and it helps inference by clearing doubt.
In everyday Sanskrit, tarka is argument. Tarka-vidya, the science of reasoning, was an early name for logic, between the older anviksiki (the science of inquiry) and the later name Nyaya. The Nyaya school checks reasoning for faults: self-dependence (a claim used to prove itself), mutual dependence (two claims that each rest on the other), circular reasoning through a longer chain, and infinite regress. It also prefers the simpler supposition: "if perception is sufficient nothing unperceived should be supposed". Tarka is not a means of knowledge by itself; it serves inference. In Advaita Vedanta, the second step of study, manana, uses tarka to answer every doubt about the teaching.
Nearest Western idea Close to reductio ad absurdum and to testing a hypothesis by its consequences. The difference: tarka proves nothing alone; it serves an inference or a teaching already received.
Later Nyaya names several forms of tarka. Their number and spellings vary in secondary sources, so they are left to Unit 2.
Knowledge and knowing See also: Nyaya, anviksiki, anumana, pramana, manana, shravana, manana, nididhyasana Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate
tattva तत्त्व Sanskrit
- Say
- tuht-tvuh
- Literally
- that-ness; from tat, that
- Also written
- tattvas
A tattva is a basic principle of reality, one of the building blocks a school uses to explain the world. Sankhya counts twenty-five of them.
Asking about tattva is asking what really exists, so the word is close to the Western idea of ontology. In Sankhya the twenty-five tattvas are purusha, prakriti and the twenty-three principles that unfold from prakriti, including intellect (buddhi), ego (ahamkara), mind (manas), the senses and the elements.
Nearest Western idea Close to an 'ontological category' or a basic element of reality. The difference: Sankhya's list puts the mind among the material principles, not beside them.
Reality and the cosmos See also: Sankhya, prakriti, purusha Used in: Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Worldview
Tripitaka त्रिपिटक Sanskrit
- Written
- Tripiṭaka
- Say
- tri-pi-tuh-kuh
- Literally
- three baskets
- Also written
- Tipitaka, Tipiṭaka, Pali Canon, three baskets
The Tripitaka is the main collection of Buddhist scripture. Its three 'baskets' are rules for monks, the talks of the Buddha, and the Abhidhamma.
The three parts are the Vinaya (discipline for monks and nuns), the Sutta (discourses of the Buddha) and the Abhidhamma (systematic analysis of mind and world). The Theravada version in the Pali language is the best-preserved complete canon. It was kept by memory for centuries and written down in Sri Lanka in about the first century BCE.
Sanskrit Tripitaka; Pali Tipitaka (तिपिटक).
Texts See also: Abhidhamma, sutra, nirvana Used in: Unit 1, Before you begin
turiya तुरीय Sanskrit
- Written
- turīya
- Say
- tu-ree-yuh
- Literally
- the fourth
- Also written
- turīyā, fourth state
Turiya is 'the fourth' state of consciousness, beyond waking, dreaming and deep sleep. It is pure awareness, present behind the other three.
The Mandukya Upanishad describes three states: waking (jagrat), dreaming (svapna) and deep sleep (sushupti). Turiya is not a fourth state in the same row; it is the pure consciousness that underlies all three. The Handbook calls it the ever-present witness-consciousness, with no split between subject and object. Rao and Paranjpe treat it as a key idea for the study of consciousness.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'pure consciousness' or 'minimal phenomenal experience' in consciousness research. The difference: turiya is said to be the true self, not a brain state.
Rao & Paranjpe spell it turīyā; the usual Sanskrit form is turīya.
States of consciousness See also: jagrat, svapna, sushupti, sakshi, atman Used in: Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet
V
vairagya वैराग्य Sanskrit
- Written
- vairāgya
- Say
- vai-raag-yuh
- Literally
- absence of passion; loss of colour (vi + rāga)
Vairagya is dispassion: freedom from craving for worldly pleasures and results. With practice (abhyasa), it is one of the two main supports of Yoga.
The Yoga Sutra (1.12) says the movements of the mind are stilled by practice and dispassion. Lower vairagya is losing the thirst for objects seen or heard of; higher vairagya is losing even the pull of the gunas, through knowing purusha (1.15-16). It is not dislike or running away from life. Vedanta also counts it among the qualities a seeker needs.
Nearest Western idea Close to non-attachment, and to reduced craving in addiction and mindfulness research. The difference: vairagya grows from insight into what lasts, not from suppression.
The FAIP glossary glosses it as 'asceticism'; most Yoga commentators stress non-attachment rather than harsh asceticism.
Practice See also: abhyasa, anasakti, viveka, klesha, smashana vairagya, abhava vairagya Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
Vaisheshika वैशेषिक Sanskrit
- Written
- Vaiśeṣika
- Say
- vai-shay-shi-kuh
- Literally
- concerned with particulars (viśeṣa)
- Also written
- Vaisesika, Vaiseshika
Vaisheshika is the school that sorts everything that exists into basic categories. It taught that physical things are made of tiny atoms.
Its founder is said to be Kanada. It lists categories (padarthas) such as substance, quality and action, and nine substances: earth, water, fire, air, ether, time, space, self and mind. It held that physical things are built from atoms. It later merged with Nyaya into one system, Nyaya-Vaisheshika.
Nearest Western idea Close to Greek atomism and to Aristotle's list of categories. Unlike Greek atomism, it counts selves and minds as separate substances.
Schools of thought See also: Nyaya, darshana, astika Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Before you begin, Unit 1, Worldview
varna वर्ण Sanskrit
- Written
- varṇa
- Say
- vuhr-nuh
- Literally
- colour; class, kind
- Also written
- varnas, varna system
Varna is the old four-fold division of society: priests and teachers, rulers and warriors, traders and farmers, and workers who serve.
The four varnas are brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra. Texts disagree on whether varna depends on birth or on a person's qualities and actions; the Bhagavad Gita (4.13) speaks of 'guna and karma'. In practice the system became tied to birth and to caste groups (jatis), and it was used to justify discrimination, including untouchability. The Constitution of India abolishes untouchability and forbids caste discrimination.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'social class' or 'occupational group', but varna claimed religious authority and in practice was fixed by birth. It is not the same as jati, the birth-based caste group.
Contested. Some authors present varna as a flexible scheme based on qualities; critics stress its history of birth-based hierarchy and exclusion. Students should know both views.
Society and family See also: ashrama, Varnashrama, dharma, guna Used in: Unit 1, Before you begin
Varnashrama वर्णाश्रम Sanskrit
- Written
- varṇāśrama
- Say
- vuhr-naash-ruh-muh
- Literally
- class and stage of life (varṇa + āśrama)
- Also written
- varnashrama, varnashrama dharma, varṇāśrama dharma, Varnashramas, varnasrama
Varnashrama is the traditional scheme that sets a person's duties by their social group (varna) and their stage of life (ashrama).
Varnashrama dharma means the duties that fit one's varna and ashrama. The syllabus uses it to discuss life-stage milestones, social structure, ecological balance, wellbeing and preparation for death. Supporters see in it a model of balanced development across the life span. Critics note that its varna part became a rigid, birth-based caste hierarchy.
Nearest Western idea Close to a mix of social role theory and life-span development theory. The key difference: the duties are set by tradition and seen as part of a cosmic order (dharma).
Contested; see varna. The ashrama scheme and the varna scheme can be discussed separately.
Society and family See also: varna, ashrama, dharma, purushartha Used in: Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Worldview
vasana वासना Sanskrit
- Written
- vāsanā
- Say
- vaa-suh-naa
- Literally
- scent, perfume; that which dwells (vas-)
- Also written
- vasanas, latent tendency
A vasana is a hidden tendency or desire that comes from past experience. Like a scent that stays in a cloth, it lingers and colours later behaviour.
Samskaras that build up over time form vasanas: deep, often unconscious leanings toward certain desires and reactions. In the traditional view they can come from this life or from earlier lives. Yoga and Vedanta aim to weaken them through practice and insight. In Yogacara Buddhism, vasanas are 'seeds' stored in a base layer of consciousness.
Nearest Western idea Close to a latent disposition or implicit motive, or to unconscious drives. The difference: vasanas are traced to past actions, not to biology or childhood.
In modern Hindi, 'vasana' usually means lust; this is not the philosophical sense.
Mind See also: samskara, karma, chitta, klesha
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् Sanskrit
- Written
- vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam
- Say
- vuh-su-dhai-vuh ku-tum-buh-kuhm
- Literally
- the earth is indeed a family (vasudhā + eva + kuṭumbakam)
- Also written
- vasudhaiva kutumbakam, the world is one family
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam means 'the whole world is one family'. It expresses care for all people and all life, beyond one's own group.
The phrase comes from a verse in the Maha Upanishad: 'This one is mine, that one is a stranger: so count the narrow-minded; for the noble-hearted, the whole earth is a family.' It is also quoted in the Hitopadesha, a book of fables. Cornelissen links it to seeing the same divine ground in all beings. India used it as the theme of its G20 presidency in 2023.
Nearest Western idea Close to cosmopolitanism, to the 'expanding circle' of moral concern, and to global identity in social psychology. The difference: its basis is a shared spiritual ground, not only shared humanity.
Verse numbering differs between editions (Maha Upanishad 6.71-73). The Maha Upanishad is a late text, so the phrase should not be dated to the early Vedas.
Society and family See also: loka sangraha, ahimsa, atman, Brahman
vata वात Sanskrit
- Written
- vāta
- Say
- vaa-tuh
- Literally
- wind (vā-, to blow)
- Also written
- vata dosha
Vata is the Ayurvedic dosha of movement, linked with air. It governs breathing, circulation and all movement in body and mind.
Vata is described as dry, cold, light and moving. Rao and Paranjpe, following the Sushruta Samhita, describe people with a vata-dominant constitution as slim, active, talkative and changeable in thought and behaviour. Like all doshas, vata changes with age, season, food and lifestyle.
Nearest Western idea No direct match. Vata types resemble restless, changeable temperaments, but vata is a body-mind process concept, not a psychological diagnosis.
Health and healing See also: dosha, pitta, kapha, prana Used in: Unit 1, Three perspectives
Veda वेद Sanskrit
- Say
- vay-duh
- Literally
- knowledge; from vid-, to know
- Also written
- Vedas, the Vedas, Vedic, veda
The Vedas are the oldest sacred texts of India. They are hymns, ritual guides and teachings, first passed on by memory and recitation.
There are four Vedas: Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva. Each has layers: hymn collections (Samhitas), ritual texts (Brahmanas), forest texts (Aranyakas) and philosophical texts (Upanishads). Traditional schools treat the Vedas as shruti, knowledge that was 'heard' and has no human author. Schools that accept their authority are called astika; Buddhism, Jainism and Charvaka do not accept it.
Dates are debated; see the Rig Veda entry.
Texts See also: Rig Veda, Upanishad, shruti, astika Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, Before you begin
Vedanta वेदान्त Sanskrit
- Written
- Vedānta
- Say
- vay-daan-tuh
- Literally
- end of the Veda
- Also written
- Uttara Mimamsa, Vedantic
Vedanta is the family of schools based on the Upanishads. They ask how the self (atman) relates to ultimate reality (Brahman).
Vedanta draws on three sources: the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita. Its schools disagree about the self and Brahman: Advaita (Shankara) says they are one; Vishishtadvaita (Ramanuja) says selves are real parts of Brahman; Dvaita (Madhva) says God and selves are always distinct. Vedanta is one of the main sources of Indian psychology.
Nearest Western idea Sometimes compared with idealist philosophy, which holds that mind or spirit is basic. The key difference: Vedanta claims this can be known by direct experience, not only by argument.
Schools of thought See also: Upanishad, Advaita Vedanta, Brahman, atman, Mimamsa Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Becoming a discipline, Unit 1, Three perspectives, Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality, Unit 1, Revision sheet, Unit 1, The paradigm debate, Unit 1, Sources, Unit 1, Before you begin
vidya विद्या Sanskrit
- Written
- vidyā
- Say
- vid-yaa
- Literally
- knowledge; from vid-, to know
- Also written
- vidya (knowledge)
Vidya means knowledge or learning. In spiritual texts it often means true knowledge that frees a person, as opposed to ignorance (avidya).
Vidya can mean any branch of learning, such as medicine or grammar. In the Upanishads it often means knowledge of the self. The Mundaka Upanishad divides it into lower knowledge of the world (apara vidya) and higher knowledge of the imperishable (para vidya). The FAIP glossary notes that the Isha Upanishad treats both vidya and avidya as needed.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'knowledge', or to 'science' in the broad old sense. The difference: the highest vidya is knowing by being, not knowing about something.
Knowledge and knowing See also: avidya, para vidya, apara vidya, jnana Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Revision sheet
viveka विवेक Sanskrit
- Say
- vi-vay-kuh
- Literally
- discrimination, telling apart
- Also written
- vivek, vivekakhyati
Viveka is discernment: the ability to tell the real from the unreal, the lasting from the passing, and the true self from what is not the self.
In Vedanta, telling the eternal from the passing (nitya-anitya viveka) is the first quality a student needs. In Sankhya and Yoga, liberation comes from the clear knowledge (vivekakhyati) that purusha is different from prakriti. In everyday Hindi, 'vivek' means good judgement or conscience.
Nearest Western idea Close to 'discernment' or 'wisdom', and partly to metacognition. The difference: its main object is the difference between the self and what the self observes.
Knowledge and knowing See also: jnana, Sankhya, purusha, prakriti, avidya Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms, Unit 1, Basic concepts, Unit 1, Practice, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality
vritti वृत्ति Sanskrit
- Written
- vṛtti
- Say
- vrit-ti
- Literally
- turning, whirl; activity
- Also written
- vrtti, vrittis, chitta vritti, citta vṛtti
A vritti is a movement or wave in the mind: any thought, perception, memory or other mental event. Yoga aims to calm the vrittis.
The Yoga Sutra (1.6) lists five kinds of vritti: valid knowledge, error, imagination (ideas with no real object), sleep and memory. Each kind can be helpful or harmful. Yoga is defined as the stopping of the vrittis (1.2). In Vedanta, a vritti is the mind taking the shape of an object when it knows it.
Nearest Western idea Close to a 'mental event' or the stream of thought in cognitive psychology. The difference: sleep and memory count as vrittis, and the aim is to quiet them, not to study them.
Mind See also: chitta, samskara, Yoga Sutra, dhyana Used in: Unit 1, Ancient forms
vyavaharika व्यावहारिक Sanskrit
- Written
- vyāvahārika
- Say
- vyaa-vuh-haa-ri-kuh
- Literally
- relating to daily dealings (vyavahāra)
- Also written
- vyavaharika satta, transactional reality, empirical reality
Vyavaharika means the everyday or 'transactional' level of reality: the world of people, objects and science, which is real for practical life.
Advaita Vedanta speaks of levels of reality: at the vyavaharika level, things are real, causes work and moral rules apply. Rao and Paranjpe explain that knowing at this level depends on the self's dealings with the world through the senses, reason and mind. The ultimate level (paramarthika) goes beyond it, and a third, lower level (pratibhasika) covers dreams and illusions.
Nearest Western idea Close to Kant's world of appearances (phenomena), or to the reality that science studies. The difference: Advaita claims the higher level can be known directly.
Buddhist Madhyamaka has a similar pair: conventional truth (samvriti satya) and ultimate truth (paramartha satya).
Reality and the cosmos See also: paramarthika, Advaita Vedanta, maya, apara vidya Used in: Unit 1, Philosophy and psychology, Unit 1, Perspectives on reality