raga

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit राग (rāga, “dye, colour”).

noun

1. (countable, music) Any of various melodic forms used in Indian classical music, or a piece of music composed in such a form.
   Coordinate term: ragini
   ‘The song is composed in a raga appropriate to the present hour, which is the evening.’ 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 72
2. (uncountable) Passion, love, lust.
   The conditions of asmita, raga, dvesha, and abhinivesha have a physical basis: they function to inhibit the normal pulsatory rhythms of the physical body. 2009, Jennifer Schwamm Willis, The Joy of Yoga
   We get tired of the slipping and sliding between raga and dvesha and we seek something more permanent - so instead of looking outward we begin to look inward. This is Yoga - the heart of Yoga. 2009, Swami Ambikananda Saraswati, Healing Yoga, page 18
   In order to increase security, desire (raga, trishna, lobha) appears in all its forms, and one accumulates more and more of that which establishes one's position in samsara. 2010, Chogyam Trungpa, The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa
   Raga and dvesha, attachment and hatred, are two sides of the same coin. 2012, Swami Rama, Sadhana: The Path to Enlightenment, page 80