When I started studying Vedānta, one of the things that bothered me most was not understanding the Sanskrit terms. The teacher would say "ātman", "avidyā", "adhyāsa" — and I'd be trying to translate mentally while the teaching went on.
Over time, I realized the path isn't translation. It's integration. When you absorb the meaning of a Sanskrit term, it functions as a tool for thought — much more precise than any translation.
Here are 30 words that every Vedānta student encounters repeatedly. Don't try to memorize them all at once. Use them as a reference and come back whenever you need to.
Terms about reality
1. Brahman — the total, unlimited, attributeless reality. It's not a god, not an entity. It is the substratum of all that exists.
2. Ātman — the real "self." Not the person, not the mind, not the body. The pure consciousness that is the essential nature of every being. Vedānta teaches that ātman is Brahman.
3. Māyā — the power that makes Brahman (unlimited) appear as the universe (limited). It's not "illusion" in the sense of "it doesn't exist." The world exists — but not the way it appears.
4. Sat — existence. That which is, which never ceases to be.
5. Cit — consciousness. Not "my consciousness" — consciousness as the fundamental principle of reality.
6. Ānanda — fullness, completeness. Not "pleasure." It's the absence of lack that is the nature of ātman.
7. Sat-cit-ānanda — existence-consciousness-fullness. The definition of Brahman/ātman in the Upaniṣads.
Terms about ignorance and error
8. Avidyā — ignorance. Not "stupidity" — it's the non-knowledge of one's own nature. It is the cause of all suffering according to Vedānta.
9. Adhyāsa — superimposition. The error of attributing to the ātman what belongs to the body/mind, and vice versa. "I am fat," "I am sad" — this is adhyāsa.
10. Saṃsāra — the cycle of seeking, achieving, dissatisfaction, and new seeking. It doesn't just refer to "reincarnation" — it's the psychological pattern of every human being.
11. Duḥkha — suffering, discomfort, dissatisfaction. The fundamental problem that leads someone to seek Vedānta.
12. Kartā — the agent, the "doer." Identification with being the one who performs actions.
Terms about the path
13. Jñāna — knowledge. In Vedānta, it's not information — it's direct knowledge of one's own nature.
14. Jñāna-yoga — the path of knowledge. The primary means of Vedānta.
15. Karma-yoga — the attitude of offering actions to Īśvara and receiving results as prasāda. It prepares the mind for jñāna.
16. Bhakti — devotion. It's not religious emotion — it's the recognition of the total order (Īśvara) and surrender to that order.
17. Viveka — discrimination between the real (nitya) and the transient (anitya).
18. Vairāgya — dispassion. It's not rejection — it's the inner freedom that comes from viveka.
19. Śraddhā — trust. In the teacher, in the teaching, in oneself as a candidate for knowledge.
20. Mumukṣutva — the ardent desire for freedom (mokṣa). It's what differentiates a curious person from a serious student.
Terms about the teaching
21. Guru — teacher. Literally, "one who removes darkness (of ignorance)." In Vedānta, a guru is one who masters the method (sampradāya) and the texts.
22. Śiṣya — student. One who has the inner preparation to receive the teaching.
23. Śravaṇa — listening to the teaching directly from the guru. The first step of study.
24. Manana — reflection to remove doubts about what has been heard.
25. Nididhyāsana — assimilation. Integrating the knowledge into life, dissolving old thought patterns.
Terms about Īśvara and the universe
26. Īśvara — the "Lord." Brahman associated with māyā — the intelligence that governs the universe. It's not a bearded old man in the sky.
27. Jagat — the universe, the manifested world.
28. Dharma — cosmic order. It also refers to individual duty and universal ethical laws. It is that which sustains everything.
29. Karma — action and its results. The universal law that every action generates a proportional result.
30. Mokṣa — freedom. It's not going somewhere. It's recognizing that you are already free — you always have been.
How to use this list
Don't memorize. Use it as a living reference. When you hear "ātman" in a class, come back here. When you read "avidyā" in a text, check the meaning. Over time, these terms will become as natural as any word in English.
If you want to understand why Sanskrit is so important for Vedānta, read What is Sanskrit and Why Learn Sanskrit to Study Vedānta.
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