For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

In our What Is Our Lineage, Actually? | Tradition vs. Innovation lecture, we started an inquiry into lineage, responsibility and accountability by taking into consideration all the subtleties and nuances of our tradition, from a historical and somewhat academic perspective. I offer a few stories from various sampradāyas (traditions) to show how multifaceted all of this can be to drive home the complexity of the Ramakrishna lineage and the ideals which we, across different interpretations, stand for. All of that was part of my own personal reflection on how to responsibly share my enthusiasm and delight about this tradition, which is a delicate balancing act between honoring my own instincts, inspirations and interpretations with what we call ekavākyatā (lineage consistency). In this talk, which acts as a sequel of sorts, I take a much more personal approach and using a reflection on svadhārma as per the Bhagavad-gītā, I articulate some of my most cherished ideas about being yourself & following your heart, as an expression of svatantrya, the innate playfulness of Reality. However, while I do just want to say what is in my heart to say, I also offer a few methods of accountability and means for calling me out on anything and everything!For whom my ramblings have not been helpful and appropriate, I apologize sincerely and pray you'll find the traditions, interpretations and practices that do. Naturally, you will because Hinduism is nothing if not maximally diverse and inclusive! For those who my ramblings have been somewhat interesting at least, I am deeply grateful for your support and indebted for your kindness, patience & understanding. On this sacred first day of Navaratri and Ugadi, the New Year, I offer you this from my heart to yours! namah śīvāyah.Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Towards the end of 2024, we gave a talk called What's Our Lineage? and then in May of 2025, we presented a sequel called Our Tantrik Lineage. Both these talks are my attempt to reflect upon and understand the diverse influences that pour like so many streams into my lectures and spiritual life. These two talks are also a commentary on how complex and nuanced the lineage of Sri Ramakrishna is! But even having presented these ideas over the course of the last three years, and even having given about 21 lectures on the the role of the guru in the Tāntrik tradition over the course of the last six years (they're all here in this playlist), there's still some confusion about who I am, whether or not I have the right to do what I do and whether or not my views are based. And in the interest of having a broader discussion on responsibility, integrity and accountability in the spiritual world, especially on the internet, we present this talk "What is Our Lineage, Actually" to reflect upon the tension between sticking to tradition and innovating beyond it! In this talk, our subtlest & most nuanced yet, we dicusss mīmāmsa, the reverential & yet critical reading of a sacred text with an appeal to Yāska's rules of grammar & etymology (Nirukta) before asking: are these still relevant and valuable today? In other words, do the rules still apply when we read texts now in the modern era?And more importantly, which texts should be read reverentially?Is there a sense in which the texts that are considered authoritative and sacred back then no longer hold the same place in light of modernity? And perhaps an even more cutting question is this: is there even a place for logic, grammar, etymology (i.e the analytical mind) in the study and practice of sacred texts like Vedas & Tantras? And if we don't think there is, then, what tools are left for us when it comes to discernment in our study and practice? More importantly, even if we accept Niruka (the rules of Sanskrit grammar and etymology), when we comment on a text is it ever exegetical (an unbiased attempt to explain what the text is saying) or is it necessarily, given the confirmation bias that we all carry, eisegesis (explaining a text to promote and support what we already believe). Besides these questions above, we ask a series of 8 difficult questions about the tensions between sticking to tradition and innovating beyond it! More importantly, I present a few different stories from our history to show some divergences between Gurus and their disciples:1. Ramanuja & Yamunacarya 2. Chaitanya, Krishna Bharati & Ishvara Puriand some more contemporary examples3. Vivekananda & Ramakrishna4. Chaitanyananda (Ayaji) & Amritananda Saraswati5. Anakin Skywalker & Obi Wan Kenobi to pose a few difficult questions about ekāvākyatā, sampradāyic consistency!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

A rather foundational and exciting discussion about linguistic mysticism in both its psychological and metaphysical dimensions. We first sketch out the Sanskrit language system and then we make a case for how words sculpt our reality, on a psychological level. But then, we daringly go beyond mere linguistic mysticism to a far deeper insight on the inseparability of the world and language. The world IS language!And so if Tantra is a tradition that promises to create change in the world through its application (which is to say, change in the mind since, having proven that world is only ever internal and never external, to change the mind is to fundamentally alter the "world" experienced within it), then naturally the main modality employed in tantra is language, or rather, the power of the Word. Also, I was trying to share my wifi password but then accidentally turned off the wifi at the end so the video dropped. By I think that was a good place to end our discussion anyway! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Sanskrit words are multivalent: they mean many different things in many different contexts. And so understanding the context in which a charged word like "God" or "Tantra" is used is very important since almost all of our misunderstandings between one other might just come down to this: we assume we all mean the same thing and have the same experiences with terms that we use in common, like "God" and "Tantra." Because this is simply not the case, we take some time in this video to carefully specify and define just what we mean in our community when we use the word "Tantra"! And just as Sanskrit words are complex, the Sanskritic traditions are doubly so. The world of Śaiva & Śākta Tantra is dizzying in its dazzling display of diversity and so approaching things with care, subtlety and nuance is doubly important! And for this, once again, we must define just what we mean when we say "Tantra"! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Tonight is the eclipse full moon celebrating the birthday of Sri Chaitanya, the Incarnation of Divine Love (premāvatara) and commemorating both the burning of the demoness Holikā (as per the Vaishnava story of Prahlāda, the demon boy who loved Vishnu) as well as the burning of Kāmadeva, or Cupid (as per the Shaiva and Shakta Puranic stories of Shiva burning Kāmadeva and Lalitā defeating Bandhāsura).Since many are already familiar with the celebration of Holi (pelting each other with colored powders) and since we gave a talk on it last year called What is Holi?, I thought this year, it would be nice to offer a few more esoteric reflections on the celebration with regards to Tantrik Non-Duality! Find all our talks on Tāntrik Vaishnavism here. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Besides the fact that Sri Krishna and Ma Kali share the same bīja mantra and besides the significant historical and cultural overlap between these two traditions in Bengal, there is a certain esoteric "bħāvic" connection between these two deities, one of madness and ecstasy that we see so perfectly expressed in Sri Ramakrishna. In this talk, we explore that bhāva of mad love, with some important digressions into the Tāntrik understanding of Deity and of Mantra. Happy Holika/Kama Dahanam! Happy Chaitanya PurnimaHappy Vasant Purnima/ Spring Eclipse Full Moon!You'll find all of our Tāntrik Vaishnavism lectures here & all our stuff on Mā Kālī here. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

We start by explaining the pañca-makāras, the transgressive offerings in the context of Kālī pūjā in the Vāmācāra, the so-called "left-hand path" of Tantra, mainly to point out the "curse" that is on alcohol & meat with reference to King Parsokhit in the Bhāgavātam, and to Pauranic stories of Brahmā & Śukra who all have cursed alcohol. We explain also how meat is cursed also before offering some modern day examples to show how that curse plays out. These remarks act as a sort of disclaimer for anyone who wants to experiment with Kaulācāra or Vāmācāra! Mainly, we present he Vāmācāra strategy of mitigating the curse, with a reference to the Brahma-śāpa-vimocana stotram which is used to remove the curse on the Devī Māhātmyam. We explain also the logic of using the pañca-makāra to demonstrate how this approach could be spiritually nourishing for a certain kind of person. We also offer a short digression about the esoteric deities  of Vāmācāra: Ānanda-Bhairava & Ānanda-Bhairavī in sexual union, i.e ārdhanarīśvara. But very quickly we digress into a subtle discussion about the Big "I", pūrnahantā, my essential nature as the Self, Consciousness reflecting upon Herself through all beings sentient and insentient. This is the highest non-dual teaching of our tradition! As such, we present the pañca-makāras as a modality, an approach to co-opt intensely disturbing as well as intensely pleasurable experiences to "touch down" on my essential nature as blissful, ever-full consciousness! You'll find all of our lectures on Vāmācara & the more transgressive aspects of our tradition here. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Śiva is often described as "vicitra", strange and wonderful! Having touched upon this idea off Śiva's weirdness a little bit in our Shiva, Paradox Personified lecture, we go in with some finer brush strokes to make a point about how all the various depictions of Śiva in Pauranic literature might be pointing to a very unique, mind-boggling kind of theology that is wholly unlike anything else you might have heard in the world of comparative religion! We gave this talk as part of our Śiva rātri celebrations up in our new retreat space in Oxnard. We paused the recording after the first section to go and do our Ganesh puja and then we recorded the second session, picking up where we left off later in the evening before the first prahara puja! Forgive me for the little discontinuity in the middle! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Just a little riffing on the Puranic depictions of Shiva, as per or Shiva Ratri festivities this year! There's something very weird and wonderful (vicitra, in Sanskrit) about our Mahadeva, is there not? Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

I'm a little late on this video (I had meant to get it out before the festivities this year) but hey, maybe this is for next year and if you're particularly hardcore, for next month (since there's a śiva rātri every month the night before the new moon)! In this talk, we go over some rituals and practices for observing śiva rātri for people asking questions like, "when/what is śiva rātri?", "what should I do all night?", "what is fasting and how to do it?" etc. Here is a playlist of all our talks for śiva rātri.Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Leading up to Śiva Rātri (which is coming up for us this Sunday on February 15th, 2026), I'm releasing a bunch of videos on different aspects of our tradition, as part of the celebration! Having already put out Secret Kālī Teachings in Śaiva Texts which featured a (śaktra reading) of sample from the Paramārthasāra, a profound non-dual transmission from the master, Abhinava Gupta, we now turn to something even more esoteric (guhya) and essential (sāra): a teaching from the Vijñāna-Bhairava Tantra on worshipping Śiva as the pure, non-dual consciousness which you, yourself, right now are!This is the 2nd of 4 or 5 videos for Śiva Rātri this year! Here is a playlist of all our Śiva Rātri content over the years!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

In this talk, we ask the question "which deity should I worship?"  & "does it even matter?" going off last week's reflection on how Tantra works and our conjectures about Swami Brahmananda's Ishta (chosen deity). Naturally, we end up discussing some of the nuances and complexities around the central claim of our lineage: "all religions are true" which for Tāntrikas shopping for an Ishta, comes across as "all deities are different forms of the One Absolute Reality" pointing to the tension between the broadness invited by this view versus the focus (ishta-nishta) & depth that is typically insisted upon in our view particularly with regards to choosing one path/deity and sticking to it! Mainly though, we talk about faith & renunciation, "īśvara-anurāg-vishāya-virāg" the most essential things in spiritual life. This was quite an inspiring and meaningful talk for me. Thank you for all who came live! May it be an offering! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Recently, we've started giving some classes on the हठप्रदीपिकां haṭha-pradīpikāṁ, the central text on the post-classical tradition in the Nāth sampradāya as part of our weekly Wednesday postural yoga class on zoom. The other day, I was looking at some of the letters Swami Premeshanandaji sent to Swami Svahanandaji in the book "Go Forward" and I was struck by this elegant and beautiful idea that the former was expressing to the latter: Swami Vivekananda is subtly reinterpreting Hatha Yoga in his conception of Karma Yoga, engaging relentless with the world in a spirit of self-sacrificing, enthusiastic and unattached service (i.e pūjā) to God embodied as beings, sentient and insentient.So before we started doing some postures, I thought I'd just reflect upon this for a little bit. Enjoy!Jai Swamiji! śrī guru arpanam astu! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Since we are in the lineage of Sri Ramakrishna and since you will be interacting with his life and teachings quite a bit in our community, it's important at this point to say that no one interpretation of Sri Ramakrishna and of his lineage can ever be absolute or definitive.A lot of what you will hear us say about Sri Ramakrishna might be markedly different from what some other places that represent Sri Ramakrishna are saying and that's just fine and as it should be to show the many colors of the infinitely rich and illimitable Reality called God! But if we don't point out now how our take on Thakur (which is what we lovingly and affectionately call Sri Ramakrishna) differs from others', you're likely going to feel a little confused when you visit some of the other lineage holders and centers associated to him, which I always encourage you to do to get a more well-rounded take! Here is a series of talks on a few central themes worth revisiting from time to time to marinate your mind in the View (darśana) and orient yourself to the tradition (sampradāya), lineage (paramparā) and practice (sādhanā). They are presented here in an order that made sense to me, but you can watch whichever talks whenever and it whatever order, as you like! Just click the links to be redirected to the talk: i. What is Śākta Tantra?ii.​​How To Be Blissful & In Love | My Reading on Ramakrishnaiii.Śrī Rāmakrishna & The Whole Spectrum of Tantraiv.The Best Tāntrik Philosophy | & How Pūjā Worksv. And now here is this talk walking us through how to dive in and get started! You'll find all of these in order + a bunch of other resources in our How To Practice Tantra playlist here. And here's our playlist of classes on How To Perform Tāntrik Pūjā Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

What does Tantra really look like in practice? Whether its "right" hand path Tantra or the so-called "left" hand path, Tantra is essentially a form of Deity Yoga, that is, an ongoing practice of cultivating a deep, personal, devotional relationship to a Deity. Importantly, the "deity" is a particular reading on the one, Absolute Reality. We call the deity an Ishta, the "Chosen Ideal." Since we are all of us unique, the way we are each of us going to understand the Absolute Reality, the way we will come to It and the way we will express It is necessarily going to be different & unique to us and our qualities, competency & proclivity. As such, while Tantra is essentially deity yoga, it is also a tradition that maximally offers innumerable deities, paths, lineages, rituals & practices so that no one is excluded and that everyone, whatever they're individual spiritual tastes may be, can find a practice (i.e choose an ishta, a deity) that most resonates with them, most inspires them and is most able to spiritually nourish them! We discuss how the Vijñāna-Bhairava Tantra and the various sahasranāma stotrams make a case for the illimitable and infinitely, maximally variegated nature of Reality, which the Tāntrik tradition tries to reflect by offering diverse deities, paths, lineages, rituals & practices all along the spectrum from "right" (orthodox) to "left" (transgressive). Mainly, we contemplate how Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda & Swami Brahmananda reflect the above ideals in their lives and teachings as part of our Swami Brahmananda Jayanti celebration! Jai Guru Maharajji Ki Jai! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Here is a particularly inspired and lively discussion from our Atlanta retreat in which we sketch out the Sāmkhya, Yoga & Śaiva Siddhānta traditions & thus, prepare the foundations for understanding Non-Dual Śaiva/Śākta tantra, in both theory and practice, in a much deeper way.By Ma's grace, this talk turned out to be all at once a good introduction for absolute beginners, a helpful review for intermediate practitioners/students and a subtle, direct path teaching on the higher dimensions of Śrī Vidyā for the seasoned! You can watch the video version here on the Vedanta Atlanta YouTube page, along with the other talks from this retreat!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Some years back, we gave a talk called "Can Atheist Be Spiritual?" (alas its gone now since the YouTube ban of 2025!) Anyway, there, I presented some non-theistic traditions like Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, Jainism and of course, Sāmkhya to show how Indian spirituality is inclusive to all spiritual dispositions. i.e: you don't have to believe in "God" to make spiritual progress! In that talk, we also pointed out how the atheistic position is important for theists too since we must first reject the God of dogma, i.e the God of Religion, before we can move towards the God of Realization, the Living God. Now, a few years later, in this talk, we take a slightly different approach: understanding that the bhūpura is as much the cakra as the Bindu, I try to construct a non-dual, spiritually edifying view using the basic premises of scientific materialism. My claim here is that if we are to be honest materialists, we would be fully realized actually since this too, is a valid way like any other for realizing Mā!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

After our second day of talks at the Atlanta retreat, I was feeling particularly charged and inspired and so I insisted on hosting the Monday night zoom satsangh and this is the discussion we happened to have! In this talk, I first sketch out some foundational metaphysical principles of pūjā, Tāntrik ritual worship which is at the heart of the tradition. Then, I compare various schools of thought within the wider tradition to make a case, like Abhinava Gupta and Ramakrishna, that the broadest, most capacious and most inclusive philosophy is the "best" because it afford the fullest & deepest realization! As such, I argue why our somewhat Śrī Vidyā coded reading of Kālī, which is unique to our lineage, is just such a philosophy! Giving this talk in the Swami's room at the Vedanta Center, where my Guru and many great spiritual beings stayed I think lent the discussion a special fire. This was to me, one of our finest and most inspired discussions yet! If any good comes of this talk, it is by the grace of the Guru alone! May it be an offering! You can watch all the videos from the retreat here.Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

From our opening talk at the December 2025 Vedanta Society of Atlanta retreat, which I felt was especially inspired and rather foundational for almost everything we discuss here in this corner of the internet. May it be an offering to the lineage and to you, God incarnate! |You can watch all the videos from the retreat here. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Spiritual life is unbelievably simple. It is essentially all about single-pointed, sincere, intense love for God, by whatever name you want to call Her! It's about obsessions and absorption, about losing yourself in love for that which is most love-able, Love Itself. It's all about just choosing one Ideal and like a moth into flame, plunging recklessly into it! It should be fun! It should always be fun. It's the most fun! But, part of the fun is that we tend to make things very complicated for ourselves! Especially given how maximalist the Tāntrik tradition can be with all of its concepts, tools and techniques, we tend to ask somewhat unimportant questions and focus on peripheral, non-essential, and often unhelpful priorities. There is a great temptation and proclivity in Tantra to overcomplicate. As such, the so-called left hand path of Tantra (Kaulamārga, Vāmācāra etc.) has always emphasized intensity and sincerity over rules and purity, force and feeling over form and finesseecstasy of feeling over technicality and thought! Let's fucking lose our heads and go crazy for Mā already! What the fuck are you waiting for? The world is mad! Let the dead bury their dead. Fuck 'em. Lets go dance mad with joy in the smaśāna with our friends, the ghosts and drink deep the liquor of devotion! Here are the 3 simple, direct, no-nonsense, single-syllable mantras to do just that! ^ Jai fucking Mā! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

These past few weeks, we've been discussing some slightly more esoteric ideas including the ethos and strategy around Vāmācāra, the often misunderstood and misrepresented "left-hand path" of Tantra. Since it's the Gregorian new year, and since we're just about to roll out some Vāmācāra stuff in both practice and theory, in the light of Śrī Ramakrishna I thought it'd be good to start with this discussion from the Kāmakalā Vilāsa, an important Sri Vidya text in which we learn the bīja mantra which is, arguably, the foundational bīja for all śakti vidyās. We both present the bija as well as some exegesis on how it represents the entire universe, which is entirely reflected non-differently in the mirror of Consciousness, which is my very own Self, all for the sake of play. You'll find all of our other lectures on Vāmācāra here, in this rapidly growing playlist! Happy Gregorian New Year! May every moment be new for you!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Recently, we've been having some fascinating discussions around Sārada Devī = Jaggadhātri = Ṣoḍaśī in order to understand the deep mystery of the pūjā that Śrī Rāmakrsna performed to Her on the Phalahārinī Kālī Pūjā new moon! Because the worship of the woman's body is considered to be the culminating practice in the Kaula mārga (as per its characterization in Abhinavagupta's Chapter 29 from Tantrāloka), we reflected a little bit on the Kaula (I.e left hand path) elements in Thakur and Holy Mother, especially with reference to elements in Her dhyāna mantra from last week's How To Meditate on the Tāntrik Goddess | Śrī Sāradā Devī Dhyāna Mantra lecture. In this class, we explore Holy Mother's avatarahood (to make the exciting claim that we have our female Avatāra in Her) and also the significance of this Shodaśī-pūjā, aforementioned. We continue to point out some Kaula or Vāmā mārga elements in Holy Mother's life and teaching!You'll find all our talks on Holy Mother over the years in this playlist. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

When we don't have honest and open discussions, with close scriptural and lineage citation when it comes to the more esoteric dimensions of our tradition and heritage as śaivas, it allows for so much superstition! Now, many are under the impression that Vāmāchāra is nothing more than hedonism masquerading as spiritual practice! What Vāmāchāra is or isn't is surely not up to any one lineage to define but at the very least we can say: it is surely a lot more than just offering transgressive items like meat and wine! In this video, I argue that Vāmācāra/Kaulācāra is about bhāva, an inner disposition of fearlessness and intensity of devotion! While its true that almost all of our talks are given from a Kaula point of view anyway such that a playlist would be superfluous here, I thought it might still be helpful to have some of the more specific, focused and directed lectures on the more left leaning ideas and practices of our tradition all in one place for you! So here is a playlist for all our Vāmāchāracontent ! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

In this exceedingly beautiful discussion we did last week as an offering to Holy Mother for Her Jayanti, he say a few things about how Tāntrik meditation and practice works in general (with reference to some of its unique, aesthetically rich features) and then based on this understanding, we translate and unpack the dhyāna-mantra, meditation/visualization mantra of Holy Mother Sārada Devī and in so doing, we explore many very esoteric Tāntrik concepts encoded in the verses of this hymn! The mantras are reproduced below and all our talks on Holy Mother over the years are in this playlist. dhyānamoṁ dhyāyeccittasarojasthāṁ sukhāsīnāṁ kṛpāmayīm। prasannavadanāṁ devīṁ dvibhūjāṁ sthiralocanām॥ālulāyitakeśārdhavakṣaḥsthalavimaṇḍitām। śvetavastrāvṛtārdhāṅgāṁ hemālaṅkārabhūṣitām॥ svakroḍanyastahastāṁ ca jñānabhaktipradāyinīm। śubhrāṁ jyotirmayīṁ jīvapāpasantāpahāriṇīm॥ rāmakṛṣṇagataprāṇāṁ tannāmaśravaṇapriyām।tadbhāvarañjitākārāṁ jaganmātṛsvarūpiṇīm॥jānakīrādhikārūpadhāriṇīṁ sarvamaṅgalām।cinmayīṁ varadāṁ nityāṁ sāradāṁ mokṣadāyinīm॥snehamayīṁ śivāṁ śāntāṁ bhuktimuktipradāyinīm।sarvajīvatrāṇakartrīṁ sāradāṁ jñānadāyinīm॥One should meditate on She who abides in the lotus of the mind, sitting easefully, filled with compassion and with a serene face, the two armed Goddess with steady eyes, Her long flowing hair adorning half Her bosom with half Her body clothed in white garments, adorned with golden ornaments, Her hands placed in Her own lap and bestowing knowledge and devotion, She is radiant light, the Destroyer of ignorance and suffering in human beings, whose every breath flows to Ramakrishna, who delights in the hearing of His name, Her form saturated with the ecstatic mood of absorption in Him, She is the Mother of the whole world! She is all-auspicious One who becomes Rādhā and Sītā, She is the Eternal Sārada, Sarasvatī, the giver of boons and liberation! Full of love, auspicious and peaceful, She is Sāradā, the bestower of enjoyment, knowledge and liberation, the protector of all beings!dhyāyed hṛdambuje devīṁ taruṇāruṇavigrahām।varābhayakarāṁ śāntāṁ smitotphullamukhāmbujām॥sthalapadmapratīkāśa-pādāmbhoja-suśobhanām।śuklāmbaradharāṁ dhīrāṁ lajjāpaṭavibhūṣitām॥prasannāṁ dharmakāmārthamokṣadāṁ viśvamaṅgalām।svanāthavāmabhāgasthāṁ bhaktānugrahakāriṇīm॥One should meditate upon the Goddess in the lotus of the heart. She has a youthful, red form, her hands showing the boon-giving and fear removal gestures. She is peaceful and upon her lotus-like face blooms a smile! Her feet are like radiant lotus flowers upon the earth, clad in white garments, steady, She is adorned with the veil of mystery! She is gracious and grants the four goals of life: dharma, pleasure, wealth and liberation! She is embodied as this auspicious universe (She is the auspiciousness in all things auspicious), seated to the left of Her lord (established in the yoni), bestowing grace upon devotees! gāyatrī – oṁ hrīṁ sāradāyai vidmahe viśvajananyai dhīmahitanno mātā pracodayāt oṁ।Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

One of the distinctive features of Kālī pūjā is animal sacrifice. But you know, this is only practice for a much greater sacrifice: the killing of the paśu, that is, one's own sense of limited self. Notice how Sri Ramakrishna used the same sword that is reserved for the goat sacrifice to offer Mā Kālī his own head (the best form of Nara Bali, human sacrifice) and also how later in his sādhana, he used a subtle, internal sword to cut even his beloved Kālī in half, to discover Her formless aspect? This krama (process) of killing the literal, external animal, then killing the "paśu" (the animal within) and then finally even killing Mā as the "other" or "object of devotion" (in order to recognize Her as the Self) are the three stages of Tāntrik sādhana that I hope to explore with you a little bit in this talk.You see, to become Śiva you must first kill Brahmā as per the foundational Puranic story of the beheading of Brahmā and the transformation of Śiva into Bhairava, the Kāpālika par excellence. This narrative arc is the age old process of going beyond religion to spirituality, from externalized institutions to the interiority of genuine mysticism. Its at its core a story about transcending the rules and regulations (and above all, externally and societally informed purity codes of the Vedācāra all of which at one point can be spirituality productive but eventually become obstacles to intimacy, to true interiorization. And to get to Mā you have to then kill Śiva! Otherwise, on what corpse will Mā dance? We gave this talk a day or two after the Śyāma-Kālī pūjā and clearly we're in some kind of bhåva because this might be one of our more controversial, yet most honest and if I may say so, most inspired  discussions we've had in a while: Khadganāthāya namah! Śīghram! Śīgrham! Kuru Kuru Svāhā!Mā, idam māmsa ca raktam! Mā, esha sa-pradīpa śirsha! Rudhirapriye, Balipriye, Grhna imam! Grhna imam! Prasīda, prasĩda! Siddhi me bhavatu, Devī Tvat prasādān, Vameśvarī!Salutations to the performer of the animal sacrifice!Quickly! Quickly! Do it, quickly! May it be an offering!O Mā, here is some meat! Here is some blood! Here is the severed head with the burning lamp!O You who are fond of blood and sacrifice,Come! Come and take this and be pleased, Mother!Grant us power and perfection, O Goddess of the Left, By Your grace alone is anything possible. MāLead us from religion to spiritualityFrom externalized institutions to the interiority of genuine mysticism From purity to powerFrom morality to freedom From the periphery to the centre!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

On the 8th day of the waning moon in the Vedic calendar month of Mrgaśirsha, we celebrate the birth anniversary of Holy Mother Sārada Devī. This an exceedingly auspicious a day for our lineage especially if not also for all worshippers of the Divine Mother everywhere in every lineage. It is a special day for everyone, actually, because today, we celebrate the "avatarahood" of the Divine Mother Herself! In 2023, we gave the talk The Tantra of Holy Mother Sarada Devi exploring Holy Mother's central teaching, "don't find fault with others/no one is a stranger to you/the world is your very own": we tried our best there to point out the non-dual teaching embedded in this seemingly innocuous, but actually theologically dense, teaching. Then, we asked Who is Holy Mother Sārada Devī? in 2024. With the disclaimer that स्वरूपं त्वदीयं न विन्दन्ति देवाः, "even the gods do not understand her true nature", we tried to sketch out a brief biography of this mysterious avatāra of Mā. Also, I thought it would be helpful to contemplate Holy Mother both as the ideal student as well as the Guru in Sārada Devī as Tantrik Guru. In this talk we encounter her emphasis on japa, that is, the recitation of the holy name as the centerpiece of spiritual practice. This year, I thought we'd do something a little more esoteric: let's explore the link between Holy Mother and various forms of the Tāntrik Goddess, with a special emphasis on the red-hued Jaggadhātī (who is very likely Holy Mother's ishta besides Ramakrishna and certainly her kula-devī, family deity) and the red-hued Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī (or Ṣoḍaśī).We also make a few etymological claims also about Her name and about Sāradā as the patron deity of Kashmir and also Adi Shankara's Śrī Vidyā stronghold in the south: Sringeri Math. You'll find all of our talks on Holy Mother all in one place here. Today is also the Feast Day of the Lady of Guadalupe! Last year, we gave a lecture called Kālī = The Lady of Guadalupecomparing the two! It is to this day one of my favorite talks ever! But ultimately, what can we say about She who becomes the very words we use to praise Her? Who can praise Her here? By Her power Brahma, Vishnu and I have taken our embodied forms! Who then can truly praise You, You who are prior to all of us? And yet, futile though it may be, here is our attempt to try to fit the ocean of your limitless Being into the teacup of our limited understanding! May all these clumsy words be like so many hibiscus flowers placed one by one at Your lotus feet in worship! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

I'm just so thrilled about all the new Kālī content we've been putting out this past month, in the days leading up to Śyåma Kālī Pūjā, and the weeks after: First, in How To Get Possesed By Kālī we carefully explained what it is to be a paśu or anu, a discreet unit of consciousness (i.e an embodied soul or jīva) and then carefully pointed out why the ānavopaya is so suited for most of us, despite our pretense at high-flying non-dual philosophies! The ānavopaya assumes duality, individuality and the separate, external existence of God that can be invoked, evoked and experienced in the vigraha (image). We discussed how the goal of ānavopaya is a kind of immersion in the Goddess through worship and other techniques that can very well be understood as a kind of "possession" (aveśa) experience. Then, having explained all of that, we presented you with How To Get Started With Kālī Worship and also Who Is Kali? | & A Ritual to Invoke Her to kickstart your practice and for more seasoned practitioners, we even went over a A Left Hand Path Ritual for Kālī having given some nuance and context for it in Introducing The Left Hand Worship of KālīAnd for whatever reason if you're somehow not convinced about the power and importance of ritual worship in your spiritual life (because you're attached to some notion of non-duality or something, for instance), we make a case for it in The Essence of Tantra | & Why You Should Learn Pūjā. I think it's neat also that you can watch a demo of the whole pūjā (in an albeit abbreviated form) in Śyāmā Kālī Pūjā 2025. Of course, lectures like How To Say Grounded & Reasonable In Kālī Pūjā and The Two Extremes of Kālī Worshipadd further theoretical nuance to the very practice-oriented, anavopaya-esque discussions aforementioned and I am particularly fond of this year's Hallowe'en special Vampires, Kali and Christ | A Hallowe'en Special which was about yoginīs and what not but also touched upon some pretty deep themes regarding free will vs determinism ("my" will vs. "God's" will that is and if they can even be distinguished!).Anyway, in this class, I point out some distinctive features in Kālī pūjā like the ghost worship, jackal worship, cremation ground sacrifices, the transgressive offerings and animal/human sacrifice that give this pūjā and the Deity to whom it is offered its unique flavor! Jai Śrī Rādha-Rānī Ki Jai!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

We gave this talk around the time of the Śyāmā Kālī Pūjā last month and now here is the recording as a present to celebrate this Scorpio New Moon! May it be an offering to each of you who are each living incarnations of the Goddess we worship! You'll find all our classes on Kālī pūjā guiding you in a step by step, mantra by mantra ritual here. Jai Mā!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

After we performed our Śyāmā Kālī Pūjā this year (which you can watch here), we took up a short, concise but I think quite concentrated discussion on how image worship, the danger of superimposing our projections unto Kālī & the check and balance of taking seriously what Her saints have had to say about Her through their own mystical experiences throughout history. Most importantly, we point to the two "extreme" ends of the spectrum when it comes to Kālī devotees and we propose a sort of synthesis of these two, that I pray, will lead to a deeper felt sense of the inscrutability and immediacy of Mā Kālī's unfathomable, all-pervasive wild power! (We recap some material from the How To Say Grounded & Reasonable In Kālī Pūjā lecture also to renew our commitment to śāstra, lineage, and accountable, honest and reasonable spiritual instruction. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Before we plunged into the fervor of Śyāma Kālī Pūjā, we paused to reflect on an important question that Sandhyā Devī astutely asked one morning which was more or less along the lines of "how can we verify the truth claims of the tradition"? "how do we stay sane, grounded & reasonable while practicing a somewhat radical form of Tantra?" "how do we know that our spiritual experiences are legitimate and not a function of delusion or egoic thinking?" (I paraphrase). Essentially, before participating fully in something, we have to ask if there are checks and balances inherent in the tradition to keep the narratives and the individuals who represent them grounded and accountable. And the tradition replies resoundingly in the affirmative! In this somewhat foundational and important discussion, we explore what some of these checks and balances might be and how we might access and benefit from them to stay sane, grounded, reasonable and safe even as we plunge recklessly into the fire of devotion like intoxicated moths! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Some time ago on the 11th of September, we gave this talk on the very heart of our tradition and practice. September 11th in 1893 was the day Swami Vivekananda opened his transmission to the West (and the the world at large) at the Parliament of World Religions so for us it is a very sacred day when we commemorate the "turning of the wheel of dharma" yet again! Strangely, I haven't uploaded this talk until now. It felt fitting to do so since as I type this, we are in the midst of the vrśchika sankranti, that is, the sun's transition from the solar house of tulā (libra) and into vrśchika (scorpio) as per the Vedic system. Moments like this are considered incredibly auspicious for spiritual practice. There's also a flavor of a new beginning, of turning over a new page. As such, it is important to return to the fundamentals at a time like so there couldn't be a better moment for this video, I realize! In this talk, we describe Sri Ramakrishna's approach to Tāntrik spiritual practice which is really, at its core, the sincere and fervent performance of ritual worship, pūjā. If as a result of this talk, you're inspired to take up a dedicated pūjā practice, here is our playlist for step by step, mantra by mantra instruction for pūjā. May all be flame with awakened Consciousness! Jai Mā!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

One of my favorite lectures of all time. We inquire into some "scary" themes in spiritual life like the potential difference between my will and God's will, as it is understood across various traditions with an emphasis on the life-affirming, immanence-oriented and desire-positive view of the Goddess traditions. We make a few remarks about why vampires as such a good metaphor for Tantrik spirituality and point out how the theme of vampirism appears in our tradition in the form Dākinīs and Yoginīs, Mā's fierce fanged, bloodthirsty attendants! We discuss Dākinī pūjā towards the end. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

The best way to start is to just start. Here's everything you need and more.Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

A conversation about the mechanism of image-worship and the subtler (and more radical) aspects of the Tāntrik worship tradition. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

One of the most important ideas in Tantra (and often one of the most misunderstood and most difficult to discuss) is Kuṇḍalinī! What exactly is this "serpent power", as Arthur Avalonji once called it? Specifically in this talk, we relate Kuṇḍalinī to Kālī to show her centrality in the Kaula tradition of Tantra! Finally, based on this reflection, we discuss the quintessential Kaula ritual, the "Ādi Yāga" which features in Chapter 29 of Abhinava Gupta's Tantrāloka. You'll find all of our talks on foundational Tāntrik concepts hereSupport the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

After we gave our Secrets of the Devī Māhātmyam | Śākta Theology 101 talk at the start of Navarātri (The Autumn Goddess Festival) earlier this year, we then gave this talk where we examined the Devī Māhātmyam (which we only introduced in the previous talk) in much more detail to see exactly what kind of text it is and from that, learn how we may use it in the context of our day-to-day spiritual practice! Most importantly, I make the claim that the 700 verses that make up this text all of them form a complex and powerful mantra (or more technically, vidyā) that one can repeat like any other mantra for a whole host of both magical and spiritual applications!You'll find all of our lectures on this profound and ancient śākta text, the Devī Māhātmyam here.Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

As one of the most ancient and important texts of the Tāntrik Goddess (śākta) tradition, the Devī Māhātmyam is of course unspeakably rich in its every dimension!In its esoteric dimension, it is a very complex manual of mantra, ritual and magical application. As literature, is aesthetically and poetically sublime beyond comparison. As a narrative, it is astoundingly complex and ingenious in terms of structure and progression. And as a philosophy or theology, it is among the most refined and sophisticated that any religious tradition has ever offered! Politically, never have we encountered a more triumphant depiction of fierce, untamed feminine power! Theologically, the texts challenges our metaphysical ideas of objective reality & temporality, our ethical understanding of "good & evil" (the narrative is intensely morally ambiguous, after all as I point out in this talk) and our spiritual notions of the One & the Many, the Transcendent & the Immanent, the Absolute & the Relative etc. Studying and contemplating this text (and of course chanting and living the text) will dramatically transform everything about your world view, especially with regards to how you view the self, the world and "God" who in the text is "put to sleep", i.e transcended by this Absolute Reality we call Śakti, Power. In order to tease out some of this complexity as part of our Navarātri celebrations last week, we offered this talk! May all this be placed at the feet of our beloved Mā who comes to me in the form of all of you! Jai Mā! PS: you'll find all the talks we've given on the Devī Māhātmya in this playlist.Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

After our discussion on the Three Kinds of Madness | Kālī vs. Laxmī vs Sarasvatī on Laxmī Purnimā earlier this week, we launched into a very beautiful, rich and universally helpful Q&A discussion on difficult emotions and how to transform them into ecstasy! We discuss the importance of setting boundaries and not spiritually bypassing our feelings but we also present that state beyond all boundaries in which everything is seen, accepted, and celebrated as God's will! We argue against "healing", "growth" and "transformation" as valid goals in spiritual life in favor of unconditional love, Bhakti for the Infinite Reality, God. We argue that there is no such thing as a true atheist! We present a few metrics for gauging our own spiritual growth. And most importantly, we discuss what happens after you see God!Here is a playlist of our all our Q&A discussions over the years! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

On this very auspicious Laxmī Pūrnimā (Autumn full moon) I want to discuss the topic we've been meaning to discuss for sometime now: “Kundalinī emergency” or “spiritual crisis" & how to say safe.First, we distinguish between three different kinds of “lunacy”with an emphasis on the destabilizing, “not so fun” kind that can sometimes induced by intense spiritual practice! I argue that the kind of divine madness we see in great realized souls like Sri Ramakrishna is fundamentally different in nature and flavor than the kinds of mental illness that we sometimes fetishize in the name of spirituality but is really a destabilizing and painful experience for ourselves and others. Although outwardly, the "spiritual" kind of madness might resemble the "not so fun" kind, they are not the same and in this lecture we carefully explain why. We also make a reference to a politicized use of "madness" to disenfranchise groups or ideologies that don't fit into the norm as defined by the powers that be, just so that we can be nuanced in our use of the word "madness" or "lunacy" or "craziness", which are all themes that are very central not just to mysticism and spiritual as a whole but specifically to Mother Kālī & her cremation ground retinue! You'll notice much of this talk is expanding on ideas that you might have first encountered here in the Why is Kālī Crazy? talk. And since it was Laxmī Pūrnimā we made sure to have plenty of asides on Mā Laxmī as the embodiment of abundance in every sense of the word. We tell a few Purānic stories to show the secrets of calling in abundance & also, I make a case against understanding "money" (which we point out as a rather superficial conceptual structure) to be the only symbol for wealth! Naturally, this took us into a discussion of the Goddess in all her aspects as Kālī, Laxmī & Sarasvatī (as encountered in the Devī Māhātmyam) and as per the next three big moon celebrations (Laxmī Pūrnimā followed by Śyāma Kālī Pūjā followed by Sarasvatī Pūjā) that come after Navarātri, the 9 Nights of the Goddess. We make a few arguments as to why the cremation ground/cemetery is so important for spiritual life as representing that realm beyond the conscious, "civilized" mind of concepts which we are attempting to venture into as part of spiritual quest, in our journey from the finite to the Infinite! It was a rather rich talk, if I may so myself.May it be an offering to the Divine Mother! Jai Mā!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

As part of our Navarātri celebrations, we explored some stories from the Devī Māhātmyam and contrasts them to/built up on them with some similar narratives from other Purānic Śakta texts like the Devī Bhāgavatam (i.e the Devī Gitā) to excavate some deeper meaning and significance, from a philosophical and esoteric, sādhana point of view!You'll find all our talks on Navarātri & the Devī Māhātmya, its central litany here. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Congratulations on completing another 9 (or perhaps 10) nights of intense contemplation, celebration and worship of Mā! What a powerful Navarātri it's been and each time feels like the first time especially if it was, in fact, your first time celebrating! But whether you are a seasoned śākta or just now getting acquainted to the festivals and practices of the tradition, Navarātri and its central litany/liturgy, the Devī Māhātmyam remain ever fresh and ever meaningful! Anyway, at the end of the 9 nights of the Goddess, there is a festival called Vijaya Daśamī, "The Victorious 10th night" when we bask in the after glow of our worship. Essentially, we are celebrating the fact that we've been celebrating...But it's also very poignant time because Mā's image will be immersed and that is sometimes a very sad thing for some. And not only that, one can feel a little listless on this day or like there's a kind of anticlimactic feeling arising. In this talk, we discuss what Vijaya Daśamī is, from a philosophical point of view, with an inquiry into form vs formlessness and we also address some of the aforementioned feelings that can come up. Also, I launch into a sustained defense of what some might call "idol worship". Jai Mā! Śrī Durgārpanam astu!The books mentioned in this video for further study:1. Srīmad-Devī Bhāgavatam by Swami Vijñānānanda 2. I didn't mention it in the video, but as a companion to this ^, try "The Devī Gītā" by C.Makenzie Brown 3. Devadatta Kali's "In Praise of the Goddess" (and also "Veiling Brilliance", which I forgot to mention in the video) And the Sanskrit texts to recite and contemplate as part of your Devī Māhātmya sādhanā moving forward:1. Devī Sūkta from Rg Veda (10.125) and 2. Rātri Sūkta from Rg Veda (10.127)You'll be able to find these online quite easily but their also available in Devanāgri and translation in Devadatta Kali's "In Praise of the Goddess"!and here's the full Caṇḍi & Navarātri playlist featuring all our talks over the years (I'm trying to organize it in a way that makes sense: https://www.patreon.com/collection/784368Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

It's that time of the year again, gang! You know what's up. Here's the document we were presenting in this talk: it walks you through a Navarātri sādhanā (spiritual practice) that you can do over the course of the 9 nights of the Goddess. Remember that Navarātri happens 4 times a year (and in some traditions, 8 times) and so this sādhanā can be done at least that many times but it is also a sādhanā that you can do anytime, for as long as you like. It is a profound sādhanā because it uses as its centrepiece the most powerful and beloved text of the Śākta tradition, the Devī Māhātmya which is, among many other things, a compilation of unbelievably powerful and transformative mantras! Every word of this text is mantra (or rather, vidyā in the Tāntrik sense of the word) and the sādhana which we outline in this talk will lead you directly into the text and ideally, Mā willing, enable you to access its fullest power! May Mā bless us all with fervor! PS: as supplement to all this, you'll find many videos in this Caṇḍi & Navarātri playlist to help you flesh out this sādhanā and to keep you company during this most auspicious of festivals! This talk How To Worship Mā Durgā might be especially helpful in contextualizing Navarātri and the opportunity it presents! Jai Mā!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

A high level talk on some of the subtle and esoteric ideas sketched out by Devī in the opening verses of the Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra.Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

In the Who Should Worship Kālī? | Dakṣiṇa Kālī vs Smaśāna Kālī talk, we explained the technical term "jagadānanda" which describes the bliss of fullness. We argued that from the Kaula point of view, the goal is not transcendence but fullness; not freedom "from" the world but freedom "as" the world. And we pointed out how Kālī sādhanā is uniquely about embracing this non-dual totality of all things! The Absolute Reality is dynamic, ever-free Consciousness, my very own Self and the goal is to realize this in all things, as all things. Necessarily, this involves coming to terms with realities that the dualistic, conditioned and limited mind often rejects. "Who dares misery love: to him the Mother comes" etc. Then, in Kālī's Non-Duality of Radical Acceptance | vs. Classical Non-Duality we went in with some finer brush strokes to compare the view of Classical Advaita, which we termed the "path of absolute negation" with that of Tāntrik Advaita, or the Non-Duality of Kālĩ which we described as the "path of absolute acceptance". Both can lead to non-dual realization and yet who can deny that these might be different flavors of non-dual realization! The former path is fit for some while the latter suits the disposition of others and for many, the two paths are practiced sequentially, one after another. All this we discussed in last week's talk. Now, this week, we take up this topic yet again but using the Sāmkhyan idea of the gunas to show how Kālī sādhana (i.e Tāntrik non-duality) is unique and therefore for some people, uniquely disturbing. I make a case against transcendentalists, "sattva-only" oriented traditions! Originally, I had intended this lecture to be about staying safe and grounded in Kālī sādhanā or something along the lines of a PSA on kundalini emergencies/spiritual crisis but I spent so much time describing how Kālī sādhanā uniquely leads to destabilization that I never really got around to talking about techniques for grounding! We briefly mention a few towards the end but I suspect I'll want to develop these theme on safety more next week: stay tuned! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Broadly speaking, there are to archetypical non-dual traditions, two very valid paths to bliss: The Non-Duality of Total Negation (Classical Advaita) & Kālī's Non-Duality of Total Acceptance (i.e Tāntrik Non-Duality or paramadvāya). Of course there are infinite shades of nuance and variation in between these two extremes. In this talk, we do a comparison of these two extreme models (or rather, flavor)s of non-dual Sādhanā, playing off of some ideas from last week's “Who Should Worship Kālī? | Dakṣiṇa Kālī vs Smaśāna Kālī” talk! This lecture is mostly a theoretical survey of the absolute state of realization which can anyone anywhere can attained through grace (i.e, sudden spontaneous insight) of course, but which is more likely to be a result of sincere spiritual practice! As for the practical side of this discussion, you might like to pair this talk with the What Do You Need To Start Worshipping Kālī & Practicing Tantra? lecture from two weeks ago! PS: you might find this lecture somewhat reminiscent of Who Created The World? | Vedanta vs Tantra and also Who or What is God? | Vedanta vs Tantra but we've certainly developed the ideas quite a bit since then! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

After watching What Does Kālī Want From You? | The Yoga of Grief & Fullness, Who Should Worship Kālī? | Dakṣiṇa Kālī vs Smaśāna Kālī and What Do You Need To Start Worshipping Kālī & Practicing Tantra? you might be starting to get the impression that Kālī pūjā and sādhana is (as Sri Ramakrishna himself put it) no joke! As such, to stay safe and to practice in a meaningful, gradual and integrated way, we have to discuss some foundations. After all, Mother Kālī is always standing on Śiva: isn't this a clue for us? To practice Kālī sādhanā, we should become like Śiva, that is to say, we should build our Kālī practice on top of some firm and stable Śaiva foundations! As such, in this class, which is the culmination of this year's śrāvana festivities, O walk you through more or less the entirety of śiva pūjā & sādhana with a special emphasis on the foundational mantras of our Tāntrik tradition, known as the pañca-Brahmā mantras from the Taittirīyāranyaka from Yajur Veda, the foundational Veda for Śaivism & Tantra: sadyojātaṁ prapadyāmi sadyojātāya vai namo namaḥbhave bhave nāti bhave bhavasva māṁ bhavodbhavāya namaḥI take refuge in the ever-fresh (newly born) Śiva, salutations again and again! Do not let me be born into mundane existence again and again with every birth! Become my very Being! Salutations to You, the source of all Becoming! oṁ sadyojātāya paschimavaktrāya namaḥSalutations to Sadyojāta, the Westward facing Śiva!vāmadevāya namo jyeṣṭhāya namaḥ śreṣṭhāyanamo rudrāya namaḥ kālāya namaḥkalavikaraṇāya namo balāya namobalavikaraṇāya namo balapramathanāya namaḥsarvabhūtadamanāya namo manonmanāya namaḥSalutations to Vāmadeva, the eldest, the supreme Rudra (howling one), to Time and Dynamism, to Strength, to the Transformer of Strength and Destroyer of Strength, to the One who Subdues All Beings, abiding beyond the mind! oṁ vāmadevāya uttaravaktrāya namaḥSalutations to Vāmadeva, the Northward facing Śiva!aghorebhyo'tha ghorebhyo aghoraghoretarebhyaḥsarvabḥyo śarvaḥ sarvebhyo namaste rudra rūpebhyaḥSalutations to the gentle forms, fierce forms and forms that are both gentle and fierce, salutations to all the forms of Rudra everywhere! oṁ aghorāya dakṣiṇavaktrāya namaḥSalutations to Aghora, the Southward facing Śiva!oṁ tatpuruṣāya vidmahe mahādevāya dhīmahitanno rudraḥ pracodayāt oṁMay that spirit, may that Great God, may that Rudra guide my intellect!oṁ tatpuruṣāya purvavaktrāya namaḥSalutations to Tatpuruṣa the Eastward facing Śiva!īśāna sarvavidyānāmīśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ brahmādipati brahmaṇo'dhipatirbrahmā śivo me astu sa eva sadāśiva oṁO Lord of all Knowledge, the Lord of all Beings, the Primordial Lord of Brahmā (and the other gods) and theLord of  Brāhmanas, may you Śiva be Brahmā for me. You are the eternally auspicious oṁoṁ īśānāya urdhvavaktrāya namaḥSalutations to īśāna the Upward facing Śiva!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

The word Tantra essentially refers to a set of texts, or a genre of spiritual literature in which we encounter profound philosophies, intricate visualizations, techniques for meditation involving the phonetic power of language and various other tools for spiritual practice. In short, the tantras (also called the āgamas) present an entire system of spiritual practice designed to lead the aspirant to the fullest realization of Reality in which all her bliss and fulfillment can be found, in which all her suffering is transcended. Tantra is a scientific (and artistic path) to God and the tantras (the source literature) come in many, many flavors to account for the many different dispositions and proclivities in the heart of the many aspirants who enter into its many living lineages. In this talk, we explore a few of the different flavors of Tantra and then present our community's paddhathi (ritual manual) for daily contemplation and practice. We say a few things about why this resource is really at the heart of the Tāntrik tradition. discuss how our role as a Tāntrik community (a kula) is really to refine this resource for the generations to come. The Kālī paddhathi is unique to our community but it draws from so, so many resources. So many streams pour into it: my upbringing in Tamil Śaiva Siddhanta in my family gurukula, at the feet of my paternal grandfather, my upbringing in Malayalee Śaktism from the jungles of Kerala (from my Mother's side of the family), the paddhatis from the Hollywood Vedanta Temple Kālī Pūjā paddhathi and from the Kali Mandir Laguna Beach as part of my involvement in the Ramakrishna lineage, the paddhathi from Abhinava Gupta's Tantrāloka, from Chaitanyananda Nathaji's (Ayyaji) Śrī Vidyā paddhathi and of course from my study of the tantras throughout my life, in general. But you know what? While this paddhathi has inherited so much from all the paddhathis that came before, it is a living, growing, breathing resource that responds to the needs, desires and unique expression of our community. Each of you contribute your presence to the guru-mandala (the circle of instruction and practice) and that in turn will affect the paddhathi, the mantras, the sequence, the flavor, and the outcome. As we grow, it grows. For in truth, the paddhathi (ritual manual), the priests/priestesses (that is, the practitioners in tthe gurukula using the paddhathi for daily ritual and practice) and the Deity (Kālī) are all part of one dynamic reality, the trinity (trika) of worshipper (pūjāri/pūjārinī), the worshipped (pūjyā) and the act of worshipping (pūjā) reconciled in the Non-Duality of Consciousness which is your essential nature, the sole Reality that inheres in all things as all things! The ones that came before walked so we could run. They gave their lives to this so we can pick up from where they left of. Let us now live up to that legacy and strive to contribute what we can to the ever deepening treasury of resources regarding the worship and veneration of our Divine Mother! May this be my constantly evolving and deepening offering to you. May this be our offering to each other. May this be our offering to the world at large and to all those that will come after us! May Her will be done! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Last week, we had a profound and poignant discussion on the heart of Kālī sādhana in What Does Kālī Want From You? | The Yoga of Grief & Fullness where we explored what Swami Vivekananda called "The Worship of the Terrible"! Notice that the imagery around Mā Kālī doesn't just focus on terror, chaos and death in an amorphous or abstract way; it presents some very concrete motifs of intoxication, arousal and madness. The idea that Mā dwells in the jungles or in the cremation grounds (i.e in a realm of the chaotic unknown beyond all law, reason and order, perhaps a symbol for the wild and untrammeled Subconscious) surrounded by bloodthirsty female spirits (dākinīs), ghosts and jackals (perhaps symbols for the dark, violent and often repressed dimensions of the human psyche) is very important and deserving of a courageous, careful, considered, serious and earnest inquiry. What does all of this mean? And why are such (to some people) disturbing images so insisted upon when it comes to Mā Kālī's iconography? I want to discuss some of this tonight, playing off some ideas we first encountered in the Why Is Kālī Drunk? & Mā Kālī's Non Dual Aspect & Tantrik Sādhanās to Attain Itlectures. And so at tonight's 7pm PST zoom satsangh, I want to take up this inquiry with you in the context of a discussion on the different shades of insanity, i.e discerning between the fun kind that we saw in Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda vs. the not-so-fun and often, debilitating kind that can sometimes come about as a result of ungrounded, unsupervised śakti sādhana like we did in the Why is Kālī Crazy? lecture to answer these questions:Is there a difference between  Dakṣiṇa Kālī and Smaśāna Kālī?Is one for householders and the other for ascetics?What will happen if I start worshipping the former, and what if I worship the latter? Etc. Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

On the last Monday of śrāvana is an especially sacred day for contemplating the Absolute because it is a culmination four or six weeks of very intense Sādhanā (spiritual practice). As such, as a celebration and consummation, I'd like to discuss something quite poignant: the yoga of grief & fullness.I want to compare some transcendalist schools of Advaita to the Tāntrik approach which emphasizes fullness, especially with regard the full spectrum of flavors (rasa) that arise in Consciousness! We'll offer some a touching and telling stories of Lord Śiva's grief, Matsyendranātha's fall, and the pain and grief of Sarada Devi, Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda!Often I feel there can be nothing more important than presenting this profoundly humanizing portraits of our heroes because rather than subtracting from their spirituality , they only add to it. Essentially, I want to talk about an all embracing kind of spirituality that leaves no experience unexplored, no facet untasted: in short, the Advaita of Kālī!. Naturally, we'll explore the 5 phases of the 12 Krama deities too and Abhinava Gupta's nava-rasa theory to point to the philosophical complexity and poetry of this position!Many of you will find this lecture someone reminiscent of some our community favorites like: 1. Mā Kāli's Bowl of Blood | Turning Suffering Into Ecstasy2. Mā Kālī's Non Dual Aspect & Tantrik Sādhanās to Attain It3. What Does Kālī Really Want?4. and most especially How To Succeed At Tantra & The Worship of The TerribleYou'll notice that in a sense, this is the key teaching or rather the uttama-vāda, highest revelation of our Kālī tradition! This talk also contains elements from another one of my favorites: What Makes Art Spiritual? | Kashmir ShaivismAt the end we offer a very refined spiritual practice for transforming all our pain and grief into an experience of aesthetic rapture or poetic delight! On this auspicious Tuesday, on Mā's sacred day, I lay all of these words as so many flowers at your feet, you who are Mā incarnate! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

One of the most exalted, refined and mysterious aspects of the Tāntrik non-dual tradition is the veneration of the devītraya, the Three Wisdom Goddesses who are linked to three dynamic expressions of Consciousness: Knower (Parā), Knowing (Parāparā) and Known (Aparā). More mysterious than this is the idea that Consciousness, the central Goddess (Samvit Devī) expresses Herself simultaneously (akrama) and sequentially (Krama) as 12 phases within those three aforementioned Goddesses.As such, having taken a first swipe at this topic in the The Knower, The Knowing & The Known As Tāntrik Goddesses | Vijñāna-Bhairava Tantra, Verse 106 lecture from our Vijñāna-Bhairava Tantra class and having explored them in a ritual context in Worshipping the Trika Goddesses we now take up the topic of the One Goddess, the Three Goddesses (devītraya), the Twelve Goddesses (kālī-krama) and the Fifteen Goddesses (pañca-daśa-yoginī) to show how they are in truth, the dynamic aspect of the One Consciousness which you yourself are! Jai Samvit Devī Ki Jai! Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

As part our our How To Do Tāntrik Pūjā lecture series, we've recently been exploring the topic of mānasa pūjā, or Mental Worship vs External Worship by looking at theMantra for Mental Worship | Mānasa Pūjā which if you recall, is the mantra we used in this talk How To Worship Mā Kālī Mentally (Mānasa Pūjā)! Now, I often argue that cultivating of our inner world through techniques such as mānasā pūjā (which is part of a broader practice in the Tāntrik tradition called bhāvanā orcreative, dynamic visualization) is The Most Important Spiritual Resource. The quality of our so-called "external reality" is wholly determined by our inner state since the world is nothing but an appearance within Consciousness! As such, interiorized practices like this are so wonderful for refining our inner state and aligning it with the Absolute. But Mānasa-pūjā is also very helpful in the context of Kālī sādhana for doing things like Substituting the Pañcamakāras, Forbidden Offerings & also for  Substituting Animal Sacrifice & Other Transgressive Offerings in Kālī Worship for those whose temperament might not lean this way and who might still want to participate somehow in these more vīra-bhāva-esque practices that come with the territory. So having given so many lectures now on the beauty and importance of mānasa-pūjā, I wanted to spend a little time in this talk reminding us why external rituals are also so important! After all, Tantra is essentially, ritualism! Often, when we understand something of interior worship, we might become very quick to dismiss external forms! And in truth, this is also a valid approach and this what the Samaya-marga or "right hand path" in Tantra tries to do. And in one sense, the Kaula marga is more likely to emphasize externals since in the Kaula view, the "external" is nothing but God embodied! And since we tend to lean towards the latter approach in our community, I first present some arguments for the importance of externals before presenting two very important techniques in tantra that complement external worship: substitution and interiorization!Jai Mā!Support the showLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM