Concepts of Sanatan Dharma
The vocabulary of Sanatan Dharma, defined plainly and placed in scriptural context. Start with foundational ideas such as karma, dharma, and moksha, then follow the threads into atman, Brahman, and the practices that bring each concept to life.
Karma
The universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction, which governs all consciousness.
Dharma
The underlying order in nature and human life and behavior considered to be in accord with that order.
Moksha
Freedom from the cycle of birth and death (samsara) and the realization of one's true nature.
Samsara
The continuous cycle of birth, life, death, and reincarnation.
Maya
The cosmic illusion that conceals the true nature of reality and projects the apparent multiplicity of the world.
Brahman
The transcendent and immanent ultimate reality, supreme cosmic spirit.
Yoga
Physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India.
Guru
A personal spiritual teacher or guide who leads the student from ignorance to enlightenment.
Bhakti
The path of loving devotion, surrender, and heartfelt relationship with the Divine.
Jnana
Direct spiritual knowledge that reveals the difference between the real and the unreal.
Viveka
The faculty of discerning the eternal from the transient and the real from the unreal.
Vairagya
Freedom from compulsive attachment to pleasure, possession, and identity in the transient world.
Samadhi
A state of profound meditative absorption in which the ordinary sense of separateness falls away.
Seva
Action performed in a spirit of service without egoic expectation of reward or recognition.
Avidya
Fundamental spiritual ignorance that obscures true reality and causes mistaken identity.
Ishvara
The personal dimension of the Divine understood as Lord, ruler, or supreme guiding intelligence.
Jiva
The individual embodied being that experiences life through mind, body, karma, and rebirth.
Karma Yoga
A path of spiritual growth through action performed without attachment to personal reward.
Raja Yoga
The disciplined path of mastering mind and consciousness through meditative and psychological training.
Purushartha
The four classical aims of human life: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.
Advaita
The philosophical view that ultimate reality is one without a second and that separation is only apparent.
Ahamkara
The principle that constructs the egoic sense of individuality and identification.
Niskama Karma
Acting fully and responsibly without attachment to personal gain or the fruits of action.
Pranayama
The yogic discipline of regulating breath to steady mind, energy, and awareness.
Rta
The primordial cosmic order that sustains truth, harmony, and right relation in the universe.
Mantra
A sacred sound, phrase, or syllable used to focus the mind, refine consciousness, and invoke a specific spiritual force or divine presence.
Japa
The repeated chanting or inward repetition of a mantra as a focused spiritual practice.
Dhyana
A state of continuous meditative flow in which attention rests steadily on its object without frequent interruption.
Sadhana
The intentional, repeated spiritual discipline through which a seeker turns aspiration into lived transformation.
Om
The primordial sacred syllable that symbolizes total reality and serves as a sonic gateway to meditation and divine remembrance.
Guna
The three foundational qualities of material nature—Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas—that shape mind, behavior, and experience.
Avatara
A manifestation of the Divine that descends into the world to restore order, protect Dharma, and guide beings toward truth.
Tapas
The purifying heat generated by disciplined effort, restraint, and voluntary acceptance of constructive difficulty.
Dharana
The disciplined act of holding the mind steadily on one chosen object, point, or field of attention.
Lila
The vision of creation and divine activity as a spontaneous play of consciousness rather than a mechanical act of necessity.
Satya
The practice of absolute honesty and aligning oneself with what is real rather than what is comfortable.
Prana
The animating energy that drives all physical, mental, and cosmic activity, most visibly tracked through the breath.
Chakra
A concentrated hub of subtle energy (Prana) in the body where specific psychological drives, emotions, and physical functions intersect.
Prajñā
Spontaneous, direct knowledge that arises without the need for intellectual reasoning or conceptual thought.
Shanti
A profound state of inner peace that remains undisturbed regardless of external circumstances.
Kundalini
The dormant, evolutionary cosmic energy residing at the base of the spine, which when awakened, drives spiritual transformation.
Kosha
The five concentric layers of experience that cover the true Self (Atman), from dense matter to pure bliss.
Mudra
Specific physical gestures—often of the hands—used to direct subtle energy, lock in focus, and induce specific states of mind.
Bandha
Internal muscular and energetic locks used to capture, compress, and direct the flow of Prana within the body.
Asana
The steady, comfortable physical posture required to minimize bodily distraction during deep meditation.
Ojas
The refined subtle essence of physical digestion and vitality that provides immunity, stability, and enduring strength.
Tejas
The subtle essence of digestion, intelligence, and transformation that manifests as charisma, mental clarity, and spiritual fire.
Bindu
The infinitely small, dimensionless point of concentrated energy and consciousness from which the universe expands.
Puja
A highly structured ritual offering of reverence, honoring a divine guest through physical actions, mantras, and sensory gifts.
Yajña
The ancient Vedic ritual of fire offering, symbolizing the broader spiritual principle that life itself is a continuous offering to the cosmic fire.
Kirtan
The communal, ecstatic singing of mantras and divine names, designed to temporarily bypass the intellect and flood the emotional system with devotion.
Yantra
A precise geometric diagram used as a highly focused tool or 'machine' for meditation, concentration, and visualizing cosmic forces.
Sankalpa
A deeply held, one-pointed resolve or vow set at the beginning of a spiritual practice or undertaking to align the subconscious will.
Darshan
The act of beholding the Divine—either through a physical deity or a living saint—and receiving a transmission of grace through that mutual gaze.
Prasāda
The tangible, material blessing—often in the form of food—returned to a devotee after being offered and consecrated by the Divine.
Āratī
The culminating devotional act of waving a flame before a deity to physically illuminate the Divine and to burn away the worshiper's own ignorance.
Puruṣa
The eternal, unchanging, pure, and passive consciousness that acts solely as the silent witness to reality.
Prakṛti
The massive, dynamic, unconscious matrix of all material and psychological reality, driven entirely by three fundamental forces (Gunas).
Buddhi
The sharpest, most refined faculty of the human mind, responsible for deep discernment, existential decision-making, and wisdom.
Manas
The lower, processing layer of the mind that continuously receives sensory data, remembers the past, worries about the future, and oscillates in doubt.
Citta
The vast, largely submerged subconscious repository of all memories, latent impressions, fears, and conditioning.
Vṛtti
Any active thought, memory, perception, or emotion rippling across the surface of the mind.
Kleśa
The five innate psychological conditionings that generate all human suffering, rooted in fundamental ignorance.