Yoga Philosophy

 

I have been studying Yoga philosophy and there are many new terms that I have come across. Although they are translated from Sanskrit to English, they are still alien to me. So I have compiled a lookup reference that I thought I would share with you. I beleive the terms are vedantic translations which puts a slight twist on there spelling/pronunciation, there are also solely Vedantic terms described.

Yoga = Union; philosophy of control of thought waves, the breaking of contact with pain
Vedanta = Philosophy of the Vedas, the earliest Hindu scriptures
Sutra = Thread of thought

Godhead = Reality underlying the universe
Atman = Purusha = God within the creature/the Godhead residing in the body. Patanjali believed each creature had a complete copy of Purusha residing in it, other texts show the belief that there is one Purusha and each creature has only a part of it residing in them.
Prakriti = The Atman/Purusha viewed from a human perspective, has attributes called Gunas
Gunas = Forces opposed yet complimentary; Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas. One will always dominate
Sattwa = Essence of Form
Tamas = Obstacle to realisation of form
Rajas = The power to remove obstacles

The Vedas have their versions of above:
Reality = Innermost self of creature or object = Atman
Brahman = Reality spoken in universal aspect = Godhead
Cosmos = Elemental undifferentiated stuff of mind and matter. The power/effect of Brahman = Praktriti

Yoga differs from Vedanta on the distinction of Purusha Vs Prakriti. Patanjali states they are seperate but equal entities, Vedanta says they are the same thing.

Ishwara = This is patanjalis cop-out, this is the idea of God himself. The Vedantan philosophy speaks of Ishwara as the supreme ruler of the universe. Ishwara is said to be Brahman seen through Prakriti.

Liberation/Enlightenment can be reached without devotion to God; it is written. However this is a dangerous path to take. Devotion to a personal idel of God brings inclination to humility and service, it brings forth the highest form of love.

Mind = Chitta, has three attributes; manas, buddhi, ahamkar
Manas = Recording facility of the mind, stores the outside world as perceived by the senses
Buddhi = Discriminative faculty, recieves impressions of world from the Manas and reacts to them
Ahamkar = Ego sense, stores impressions as personal knowledge
Vritti = A thought wave in the mind
Samskara = A sandbank in the mind, our characters are made up of well developed Samskaras, these are collected over many lives.

Thought Types = Right Knowledge, Wrong knowledge, Verbal delusion, Sleep, Memory
Right Knowledge = Direct perception, Inference, Scriptual testimony
Wrong Knowledge = False knowledge, i.e. not based on the nature of the object
Verbal delusion = Words do not corrispond to reality
Sleep = Thought of nothingness. According to Patanjali; dreaming is remembering in your sleep.
Memory = Perceived objects come back to conciousness

Attachment = Trapped by your Ego
Non-attachment = Freedom from desire, descrimination. Thought waves can be made to flow toward desire or toward liberation. Non-attachment does not mean indifference toward others


Creation = Evolution from undifferentiated to differentiated consciousness, from mind to matter
Universe = Mahat, Buddhi, Ahamkar
Mahat = The great cause. First stage of evolution from undifferentiated Prakriti; the cosmic Ego sense
Buddhi = In the universal sense it is the second stage of evolution; Discrimination
Ahamkar = In the universal sense it is the third stage; Personal Ego. This branches three ways to Perception, Action, and Tanmantra
Perception = Sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch
Action = Tongue, feet, hands, organs of evacuation/procreation
Tanmantra = The subtle essence within; Aspect, odor, sound, flavour, feel

Meditation works backward from the makeup of the universe, the ultimate mediation is that which focuses on the fundamental aspect of the universe
Concentration = Meditation
Meditation = Single Object, Higher subconscious impressions, Bad Concentration

Single Object = Examination, Discrimination, Joyful peace, Simple Awareness
Examination = Perfectly concentrated on a gross element
Discrimination = Piercing the outer layer and fastening on the Tanmantra
Joyful Peace = Inner powers of perception or the mind
Simple awareness= Concentration on the Ego sense in elemental form

Higher Subconcious
impressions
= Constantly checking thought waves through the practice of Non-attachment, Perfect Yoga

Bad Concentration = Attached meditation, ignorance. This leads to state of disincarnate gods, and/or becomming one with nature. In this state desire can be realised, but enlightenment cannot. Meditation on sense organs can bring about this state.

OM/AUM = The most basic range of sounds you as a human can make, according to the Hindus
Mantram = Meditation name/subject of the meditation
Prayer = Mantram
Japam = The act of repeating out loud the Mantram, this should not be done wih others around!

Patanjali says; once the aspirant has found his ideal form of Godhead and his way of approaching it, they must stick to it.

Hindus believe that the Karmas you create in your life determine whether you will go to heaven or hell, which are just planes of existance that you visit between incarnations. This plane that we are all in now is the only one where Yoga can be performed.

Karma = A mental or physical act. Karma also means the consequences of an act.
Plane = Place that
Fate = Sum of all Karmas

Achievement of perect Yoga does not mean an end of mortal life. The thoughts of a liberated man are said to be like burnt seeds; they are the beginning of all possibilities but because they are burnt they cannot germinate. Thus they can no longer affect his Samskaras and cannot create Karma.

True Faith = For someone to have True faith, Yoga says they must demonstrate: flexible, undogmatic thinking, they must be open to doubt and reason. True Faith it is said is a growing plant, shooting out new branches and leaves.

Energy = Energy is talked about in the psychic sense, It is needed for liberation/Enlightenment. Laziness is a true sin, the more energy we use up, the more we aquire.
Prana = The Energy we draw into ourselves fro the surrounding universe, primarily by breathing
Pranyama = Breathing exercises
Lotus of the Heart = This is the Spiritual centre of consiousness.
Mandala = Lotus of the heart, it is a temple and inside resides the Atman


There is much more to list here, but I have only gotten half way through the book, i'll modify this list as I go.


03/09/03

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