Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga

520 Glossary

Hala

Hams a

'Harhsah'

Hanuman

HaHa

Hatha.

H afha-vidyii

Hatha-yoga

Hafhii-yoga­

pradfp ikii

Himalaya

Hirhsii

Hirar:ya-kasipu

Idii

lndra

Indriya

Indriya-jaya

!Svara

!Svara­

prar:idhiina

] iigrata-avas thii
]iilandhara­
bandha

A plough.

A swan.

'I am He, the Universal Spirit', the unconscious

repetitive prayer that goes on with each exhalation

within every living creature throughout life.

A powerful monkey chief of extraordinary strength

and prowess, whose exploits are celebrated in the epic

Ramayana. He was the son of Ailjana and Vayu, the

god of wind.

The hand.

Force. The word 'ha!ha' is used adverbially in the

sense of 'f orcibly' or 'against one's will'. Ha!ha-yoga

is so called because it prescribes rigorous discipline,

in order to find union with the Supreme.

The science of Ha!ha-yoga.

The way towards realisation through ngorous

discipline.

A celebrated textbook on Hatha-yoga written by

Svatmarama. ·

The abode of ice and snow. Name of the mountain

ranges on the northern borders of India.

Violence, killing.

A celebrated demon king, slain by Visnu.. to save

Prahlada, his devotee.

A na<;f'i, a channel of energy starting from the left

nostril, then moving to the crown of the head and

thence descending to the base of the spine. In its

course it conveys lunar energy and so is called

chandra·na<;li' (channel of the lunar energy).

Chief of the gods. The god of thunder, lightning and

ram.

An organ of sense.

Conquest, restraint or mastery of the senses by con­

trolling desires.

The Supreme Being, God.

Dedication to the Lord of one's actions and one's will.

The complete awareness of the state of the mind.

Jalandhara is a posture where the neck and throat are

contracted and the chin is rested in the notch between

the collar-bones at the top of the breast-bone.