Ideas to live by

A few words that hold a whole way of life.

Five ideas sit underneath almost everything. Learn these and most of the tradition opens up. Each is given in Sanskrit, with a plain-English sense.

धर्म

Dharma

dharma

Living in alignment. The right way to act in your circumstances, your duty done with care, and a felt sense of how to hold your place in the whole.

कर्म

Karma

karma

Action and its echo. What you do returns to shape you. The path is not fate, it is the steady work of choosing well, again and again.

आत्मन्

Atman & Brahman

ātman · brahman

The self within and the whole that holds everything. The tradition's boldest claim is that they are one. "Tat tvam asi", you are that.

मोक्ष

Moksha

mokṣa

Freedom. Waking from the long cycle of wanting and fearing into something steadier and clearer. The aim the whole path leans toward.

योग

Yoga

yoga

To yoke, to join. The practical craft of connecting the small self to the larger one. Four main roads suit four kinds of people.

ज्ञान

Jnana

The way of knowledge and clear seeing. For the reflective.

भक्ति

Bhakti

The way of love and devotion. For the warm-hearted.

कर्म

Karma

The way of selfless work. For the active and the giving.

राज

Raja

The way of meditation and stillness. For the disciplined.