| Term | Definition |
| Gyana | Yoga of understanding / knowledge / science / self-reflection |
| Bhakti | Yoga of love and devotion |
| Karma | Yoga of action / selfless service |
| Raja | Yoga of techniques / meditation / royal path |
| Three Gunas | That which binds / fundamental quality or property |
| Sattva | Creation / purity / goodness |
| Rajas | Maintenance / transformation / active / excited |
| Tamas | Dissolution / resistance / heavy / dull |
| Yama | Rules of social behavior |
| Niyama | Rules of personal behavior |
| Asana | Seat or position / physical postures / yogic postures |
| Pranayama | Mastering the life force / breath exercises |
| Pratyahara | Directing the senses inward to become aware of the subtle senses |
| Dharana | Mastery of attention and intention |
| Dhyana | Development of witnessing awareness |
| Samadhi | The state of being settled in pure, unbounded awareness |
| Ahimsa | Non-violence |
| Satya | Truthfulness |
| Brahmacharya | Appropriate sexual control |
| Asteya | Honesty |
| Aparigraha | Non-attachment |
| Shoucha | Purity |
| Santosha | Contentment |
| Tapas | Discipline |
| Svadhyaya | Spiritual exploration |
| Ishwara-Pranidhana | Surrender to the divine |
| Chakras | Junction points between consciousness and the body / Energy wheel or center |
| Muladhara | Root chakra |
| Svadhisthana | Creativity chakra |
| Manipura | Energy chakra |
| Anahata | Heart chakra |
| Vishuddha | Expression chakra |
| Ajna | Intuition chakra |
| Sahasrara | Consciousness chakra |
| Mahavakyas | Great sayings or pronouncement. Spoken by a Guru, to create a shift in consciousness of the student |
| Aham Brahmasmi | I am Brahman (Who I really am is absolute reality) |
| Ayam Atma Brahm | Atman and Brahman are the same (the individual Self is one and the same with the absolute) |
| Prajnanam Brahm | Brahman is the supreme knowledge (knowing the absolute reality is the supreme knowledge) |
| Tat Tvam Asi | That is what you are (that absolute reality is the essence of what you really are) |
| Nadi | Subtle channel through which energy flows to all areas of the body. According to Ayurveda, we each have 72,000 nadis of which there are three main ones |
| Sushumna Nadi | Runs through center of spine, channel through which Kundalini rises |
| Pingala (Surya) Nadi | Sun channel, lies to the right of the Sushumna, carries the vital force |
| Ida (Chandra) Nadi | Moon channel, lies to the left of the Sushumna, carries the mental force |
| Annamaya Kosha | Layer of illusion derived from food |
| Pranamaya Kosha | Layer of illusion of biological energy |
| Manomaya Kosha | Layer of illusion of the mind |
| Buddhimaya Kosha | Layer of illusion of the intellect |
| Ahankara | Ego |
| Brahman | Divine Spirit / pure consciousness / beyond space and time without beginning or without end |
| Jagrat | Waking |
| Swapn | Dreaming |
| Sushupti | Deep sleep |
| Turiya | Transcendental |
| Turiyatit | Cosmic Consciousness |
| Bhagavad | Divine Consciousness |
| Brahmananda | Unified Consciousness |
| Karma | Action, consequences of previous actions |
| Sanskara | Seeds of memory, impressions of tendencies stored from past actions |
| Vasana | Seeds of desire |
| Nistraigunyo bhavarjuna | "Go beyond the three gunas, Arjuna" |
| Sat Chit Ananda | Purity Consciousness Bliss |
| Om Tat Sat | That alone is Real |
| Yogastha Kuru Karmani | "Established in Being, perform action" - this is the essence of the teachings in the Bhagavad Gita |
| Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha | "Yoga is quieting the fluctuations or the mind" |
| Advaita | Non-dualism |
| Adi | First |
| Adi Shankara | Great saint from the 7th century, commentator of Vedanta. Led revival of Hinduism and established the Shankaracharya monasteries |
| Agni | Fire, digestive fire, one of the ancient Vedic deities |
| Amma | Mother, mother goddess |
| Amrit | Nectar of immortality |
| Ananda | Bliss |
| Ashram | Retreat center, hermitage |
| Atman | Soul |
| Aura | Luminous radiation, field of subtle energy surrounding the physical body |
| Avatar | Direct incarnation of God |
| Ayurveda | Science of life, mind-body health systems |
| Bandha | To hold, lock or embrace |
| Bhagavad Gita | Epic poem of eighteen chapters |
| Bhajan | Devotional hymn |
| Bija | Seed |
| Bindu | Spot, symbol for the universe in its unmanifest form |
| Brahma | The Creator of the Universe |
| Brahman | The Absolute, totality, all there is |
| Brahmin | Highest of the Indian castes |
| Chaitanya | Consciousness |
| Deva / Devi | God / Goddess |
| Dharma | Purpose in life |
| Darshan | To see or be in the presence of a holy person or deity |
| Guru | Dispeller of darkness, great teacher |
| Jai | Salutation, glory or victory to. Proceeds the name of the person being honored |
| Japa | Repetition of a mantra for a specific number of times |
| Ji | Suffix, added to the end of the name of a person being honored or respected |
| Jiva | Personal soul, the embodied soul which identifies itself with the mind and body |
| Jyoti | Light |
| Jyotish | Vedic science of astrology |
| Kundalini | Spiritual energy lying dormant at the base of the spine which, when awakened, rises to the crown chakra |
| Lingam | Elliptical shape, symbol of the unmanifest form of Lord Shiva |
| Loka | Planes or worlds of existence vibrating at different frequencies |
| Maha | Great |
| Mahabhutas | Great elements |
| Mala | String of beads |
| Mantra | Instrument or vehicle of the mind, sound which protects and liberates |
| Maya | Illusion of the senses |
| Moksha | Freedom, liberation |
| Mudras | Positions of the eyes, hands, or body |
| Nada | Sound, energy manifested as sound |
| Nakshatra | Lunar constellations |
| Nama | Name |
| Namaha | Represents the self, curving back within itself to the unmanifest |
| Namaste | I bow to you - or - the divine light in me honors the divine light in you |
| Om (AUM) | Primordial sound from which all other sounds and mantras have emanated |
| Pada | Quadrant of the Nakshatra |
| Para | Beyond, the transcendental beyond which there is no other |
| Patanjali | Great saint, founder of the Yoga Philosophy which contains the Eight Limbs of Yoga |
| Prana | Life force of vital energy |
| Pranava | Primordial Sound |
| Prem | Love |
| Puja | Sacred ceremony |
| Pundit | Vedic Scholar / Vedic Priest |
| Purusha | Inner Self in the sense of personhood, Cosmic Person or the universe as a single Being |
| Rishi | Seer, one who sees the Truth, highly evolved person |
| Rudraksha | Seeds used for malas, sacred to Shiva |
| Sadhana | Performance of spiritual disciplines to take the practitioner towards an intended goal, usually enlightenment |
| Samsara | Cycle of birth and death |
| Sanskrit | The ancient sacred language of the Vedas |
| Satsang | Gathering of people seeking truth |
| Seva | Selfless service |
| Shakti | Dynamic creative principle, Primal Energy, envisioned as feminine |
| Shanti | Peace |
| Shiva | Unmanifest pure potentiality, the destructive and creative force behind the Universe. The first yogi |
| Siddhi | Yogic powers |
| Sutras | Threads or stitches, collection of statements with inner meanings |
| Swami | Title of respect for a learned or holy person |
| Tulsi | Indian Holy Basil tree. The wood is made into mala beads sacred to Vishnu, Rama and Krishna |
| Upanishads | Collection of 108 Vedic texts exploring higher states of consciousness |
| Vastu | Vedic science of architecture and interior design |
| Vedanta | The culmination of Vedic Wisdom |
| Vedas | The four holy books which are the foundation of Vedic understanding. Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda |
| Vedasya | Of the Vedas |
| Vishnu | Maintainer and harmonizing force of the Universe |
| Yagna (Yagya) | Ritual fire ceremony intended to evoke specific archetypal energies |
| Yantra | Geometric shape / a visual form of a mantra |
| Yatra | Pilgrimage |
| Yoga | Union of the environment, body, mind, soul, and spirit |
| Yuga | Four periods of time: Sat (golden), Treta, Dwapara, Kali (least evolved and present period) |
| Ama | Toxic residue which accumulates in the mind and body |
| Abhyanga | Oil massage |
| Dosha | Mind body constitution |
| Vata | Dosha responsible for movement (elements - space and air) |
| Pitta | Dosha responsible for metabolism, transformation (elements - fire and water) |
| Kapha | Dosha responsible for structure (elements - earth and water) |
| Prakruti | Nature or original doshic proportions |
| Vrikruti | Doshic imbalance |
| Dhatu | Bodily tissues |
| Mahabhutas | Great elements |
| Akasha | Space |
| Vayu | Air |
| Jala | Water |
| Prithivi | Earth |
| Marma | Junction points between consciousness and matter on the body |
| Panchakarma | The five purifying therapies |
| Ojas | Subtlest life essence, which exists at the junction of consciousness and matter, giving strength and vitality |
| Madhura | Sweet |
| Amla | Sour |
| Lavana | Salty |
| Tikta | Bitter |
| Kashya | Astringent |
| Katu | Pungent |
| Srota | Channel of circulation in the body |
| Tanmatras | Subtle elements, sense perceptions |
| Shabda | Sound |
| Sparsha | Touch |
| Rupa | Sight |
| Rasa | Taste |
| Gandha | Smell |
| Five Kleshas | Veils or coverings |
| Avidya | Mistaking the unreal for the real or ignorance |
| Asmita | Holding tightly to the concept of "I" |
| Raga | Attraction to pleasure |
| Dvesha | Aversion to pain |
| Abhinevesha | Fear of ending |
| Atman Darshan | Glimpsing the soul |
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