Bhagavad Gita

Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Atman — the main essence of beings: a part of the multidimensional organism which resides in the highest spatial dimension (see more details in [6-7,13]).

Brahman — Holy Spirit.

Buddhi yoga — a system of methods for development of human consciousness, which follows raja yoga.

Varnas — evolutionary stages of man’s development that correspond with one’s social role: shudras — servants, vaishyas — merchants, farmers, craftsmen, kshatriyas — leaders, warriors, brahmans — in the original meaning of this word — those who have attained the state of Brahman. In India and in a number of other countries, the varna membership became inherited by birth. This rule has been disputed by many thinkers and is denied by God (see below)

Gunas — three human qualities: tamas — dullness, ignorance, rajas — energy, passion, sattva — harmony, purity. Every evolving person has to ascend by these gunas-steps and then go higher (see about this in the text). The qualities peculiar to the gunas rajas and sattva has to be mastered sequentially by a person, so that he may go further.

Guru — spiritual teacher.

Dharma — objective law of life; predestination, path of man.

Indriyas — “tentacles” that we “extend” from our organs of sense and from the mind (manas) and buddhi — to the objects which we perceive or think about.

Ishvara — God-the-Father, Creator, Allah, Tao (in the Taoist meaning), Primordial Consciousness, Adibuddha.

Yoga — a Sanskrit equivalent of the Latin word religion, which means “link with God”, “methods of advancement to Him”, “Mergence” of a person with God. One may speak of yoga: a) as of the Path and methods of religious advancement and b) as of the state of Union with God (in the latter case the first letter of this word is capitalized).

Maya — Divine Illusion: the world of matter which seems to us existing on its own.

Manas — mind.

Mahatma — “Great Atman”, i.e. a person with a highly rightly-developed consciousness, an evolutionary mature and wise person.

Muni — wise man, sage.

Paramatman — Highest, Divine Atman: the same as Ishvara.

Prakriti — cosmic matter (in the collective sense).

Purusha — cosmic spirit (in the collective sense).

Raja — ruler, king.

Rishi — sage.