Podcasts about Swami Vivekananda

The krishna-ekadaśi (11th day of the waning moon) right before Phalahārinī Pūjā is known as the Apara-ekadaśi and it coincides with Bhadrakālī Jayanti, the celebration of Mā in her "auspicious" form. While the word "Bhadra" (which can be both a noun and an adjective) means something like "auspicious", "noble", "protectress" etc. we have to ask: what does that really mean? Is this a gentle (saumya) form of Kālī as contrasted with how She is usually depicted in Her smaśāna/ghora (cremation ground/fierce) form? Or do we just have to update our understanding of the word "auspicious" to include even those aspects of life that the mind rejects? In this talk, we read excerpts from Swami Vivekananda's Bengali poem to Kālĩ "And Let Shyāma Dance There" we we learn about the Worship of the Terrible and Mā's Non-Dual, All-Inclusive Form which will radically change the way we understand "auspicious"-ness in the context of spiritual life. Also, we tell some stories from the Puranas to make the case that Vīra-bhadra, in the well-known immolation of Sati/destrcution of Daksha's sacrifice story can be seen as synonymous with Bhadrakālī. Of course, I make a case as to why the latter, female version is better, theologically. This will help us understand why Mā in many of her sahasranāmas stotravalis (thousand names hymns) is called "Daksha-yajña-vināśinī", the one who destroys Daksha's sacrifice. May this be an offering to Her, the auspicious one, who destroys all false ideas and tears down all pretense!PS: here is a playlist (our signature series, our flagship course), all of our talks on 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

I wanted to explore the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and physical health to make the somewhat surprising claim: intense spiritual practice can sometimes compromise health! This is because, in the course of intense sādhana, Kula Kundalinī, our personal Shakti, progressively loosens its hold on the physical body. As such, in this talk I argue for the importance of Hatha Yoga practice to purify the prāna, to purify the blood and to fortify the nerves to account for this strain on the system sketched out above. Many "spiritual emergencies" might come down to just this: experiences have occured in a body ill equipped to whitstand the electrical shock of realization So we must prepare the body! I want to share with you our Kaula heritage of Hatha Yoga as articulated by the Nath Sampradāya and I want to tell you the story of Kukuripa and the black dog, arguing for the power of mantra and the allyship of Kula Kundalini. We read a little bit from the "Life of Swami Vivekananda by His Eastern and Western Disciples" towards the end!I pray this conversation inspires you to take up the study and practice of Hatha Yoga in a systematic and dedicated way! Here is our full playlist of our Hatha Yoga classes over the years. We meet live on zoom for practice every Wednesday at 11am PST and again on Friday at 5pm PST via the house link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7028380815And Kuleśvarī Mā teaches Mondays at 5pm PST, Tuesdays at 3pmPST and Thursdays at 5pm PST, before the evening talks. Image from https://mydattatreya.com/matsyendranath/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

Lecture by Swami Vimohananda, given on April 13, 2025, at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, Boston, MA

Send us a textWe explore how to cultivate courage and inner strength for daily life, examining the difference between rajasic energy and the pure sattvic energy demonstrated by figures like Krishna and Swami Vivekananda.• The courage displayed by spiritual leaders comes from Sattvic energy rather than just Rajasic energy• True courage flows from remembering our essential nature as boundless consciousness• When God gives authority to speak, nothing can stop you and everyone will listen• Surrender to God allows divine attributes to flow through us• The Vishnu Sahasranama (thousand names of Vishnu) can remind us of divine qualities within us• We don't need to cultivate courage; we need to discover the boundless courage already within• Simply saying "I'm not the body" is incomplete – we must also recognize what we truly arePlease like, comment, and subscribe to continue this discussion. If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments or join my Discord server.Support this channel by joining this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEQmXLNdTDOa_7b7J0zO0ew/joinSupport me via Paypal: https://www.paypal.biz/beardedmysticJoin our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hnRf7wESwXVisit my website: https://www.thebeardedmysticpodcast.com/Buy The Bearded Mystic Podcast Merch: https://thebeardedmysticpodcast.myshopify.com/Want a one-on-one spiritual discussion with The Bearded Mystic - book here: https://www.thebeardedmysticpodcast.com/p/spiritual-discussion/You can follow me and contact me on social media:TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdk3HPJh/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeardedmysticpodcast/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBeardedMysticPodcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Bearded-Mystic-PodcastBluesky:  https://bsky.app/profile/beardedmystic.bsky.socialBecome a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/thebeardedmysticpodcastSupport the show

Perhaps one of our finest discussions so far! We cover quite a lot of ground here: "If there is a God, I must see him. If I have a soul, I must feel myself as that." This was Swami Vivekananda's intuition about spirituality: it is about direct, personal experience and not belief! While tangible experience of God is the best proof for God, there are some other proofs offered by our Tantra to(a) define God and (b) prove God's existence on logical grounds!We take up some responses from the materialist an evolutionary biologists and make a defense for theism in light of those!Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

On behalf of this most auspicious occasion of Easter Sunday, celebrating the resurrection of Christ and the upsurge of spring-time energy in nature, we reflect a little bit on Christ as Solar Deity. Importantly, I wanted to compare the Christ's resurrection to the resurrection of Osiris in Egyptian mythology and how that might mirror not only the Tantrik understanding of Shakta Peethas (i.e the natural world as a metaphor for spiritual themes in the soul's journey) but also the reverence for the Sun that we see in Vedic and Saurya-Tantrik context! This lecture follows closely on the heels of the discussion had earlier this week on Why We Worship the SunIt is after all Easter Sun-day!Mainly though, we spend some time reflecting on the Christ's innovation on spiritiuality: that of learning to regard God as your very own, your intimate Master, Friend, Parent, Child and Lover.Christ expressly stressed the first three relationships with a strong emphasis on the third. In this class, using Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga book, we say a few words about "God as Divine Child" having already discussed "God as Master" and "God as Friend" in the How To be God's Friendand How To Be Powerful Like Hanumanlectures respectively. Jai Christ ji! May this be an offering at the lotus feet of that great master, embodiment of purity and incarnation of love. May he arise in all our hearts today! May we all become Christ-like by his grace!Here is a playlist on all things Tantrik Christianity. Support the show

Here's Your One-Second Mood Reset-- Close your eyes. Find God. Open your eyes. See God. Know that that feeling is now appearing as the world. God is always in front of you. Waving at you. Walking by you. Talking to you. God is always right where you are, appearing as you and as everything on display. It's never hidden. This is the highest meditation. To Look and Love. To Look and Love. To Look, and not let the appearance of the world make you forget to feel Love. I Love you, nikki@curlynikki.com Please help me keep the show ad free + Get Merch! ▶▶https://www.patreon.com/goodmornings ________________________________ Today's Quotes: "...and the greatest gift God can give is His own experience. Every object, every creature, every man, woman and child, has a soul and it is the destiny of all, to see as God sees, to know as God knows, to feel as God feels, to Be as God is." -Meister Eckhart "The Life Force that perpetuates your heartbeat and maintains and sustains all the other organs and functions of your body is not physical, but it is spiritual... is not temporal, but is eternal. And once that basic truth has been established in your consciousness, you will experience the dissolution of all fear, the healing of all diseases, and the resolution of all conflicts. This is the supernal activity of the Word being made flesh... this is the sacred process of Divine Grace being established on earth as it is in Heaven." -Don Mardak "The highest meditation is to think of nothing. If you can remain without thought, great power will come." -Swami Vivekananda

Last year, on Hanuman Jayanti we gave the talk The Tantrik Hanuman exploring some of the Tantrik aspects of this fierce rudra, Mahavīra! This year on Hanuman Jayanti, we decided to talk a little about what makes Hanuman so powerful! First, we discuss the significance of Hanuman in our own lineage with a reference to Sri Ramakrishna's Hanuman sādhana and the parallels between Hanuman and Swami Vivekananda. Then, we analyze the secret sauce, the special something that makes Hanuman so unstoppable powerful. Its the Krabby Patty secret formula. Jai Hanuman Ji Ki Jai! You'll find a complete playlist of lectures on Tantra in both theory and practice here. And here is a playlist on Tantrik Vaishnavism. Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

In the second to last chapter of Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga (or Volume III of the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda), Swamiji gives us a walkthrough of all the attitudes of supreme love, prema with which we can relate to God: God as quietistic ideal (shānta), God as master (dāsya), God as friend (sakya), God as child (vatśalya) and of course, God as lover (Madhura).We explore the first three of these attitudes and discuss what makes seeing God as "master" so much more intense than a quietistic reverence and what seeing God as a "friend" that much more radical! We also make a strong claim for non-sectarianism when studying these attitudes to avoid putting everything in a kind of hierarchy and using that to judge others and to feel superior about our own spirituality. As such, we do a study of Bhakti Yoga in the light of Sri Ramakrishna, the spirit of Harmony of Religions and the "bhāva-rāja", king of devotional attitudes!You'll find the playlist for our Swami Vivekananda Bhakti Yoga series here! And here is a playlist on Tantrik Vaishnavism. Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMJai Swamiji! Support the show

In our Friday morning zoom satsangh, we're studying the Paramārthasāra of Abhinava Gupta, a very profound and concise introductory text for Non-Dual Shaiva/Shakta Tantra. In Verses 2 & 3 of this text, we're given a hint as to what qualifies a person to become a Tantrik Guru and what qualities are required in the student for them to be ready receptacles for the Guru's transmission. We compare and contrast Abhinava Gupta's point in Verse 2 with Sri Ramakrishna's teachings on the Guru with a reference to Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga discussion on the qualifications of Guru and Disciple to triangulate on what the true Guru is!We also discuss the different kind of dīkshas and abhisekhams (initiations and consecrations) in the Tantrik tradition as per Abhinava Gupta's Tantrāloka. Then, we do an overview of the text so far and close out with a meditation on the sky like nature of Awareness, as per Verses 35 and 36 of our text!You'll find a complete playlist of lectures on Tantra in both theory and practice here.Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

There have been many, many profound moments in Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga but this is perhaps the signature lecture: the "triangle of love". Here, Swamiji defines just what prema, true ecstatic love for God looks like: this is the kind of love that knows no bargaining and knows no fear; It has nothing to gain and nothing to lose; It is It's own Highest Ideal! In this short lecture, we really come face to face with what Bhakti really is. And right before this lecture, Swami Vivekananda offers a note of reconciliation between Bhakti and Jñāna, the Paths of Love and of Knowledge by claiming that "Higher Knowledge and Higher Love Are One To The True Lover." We take a preliminary pass at both these profound talks!You'll find a playlist of classes from our series on "Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga here: https://www.patreon.com/collection/728434 Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

In our Vivekananda's Triangle of Love & How Jñāna = Bhakti we introduced Swamiji's signature idea: the three things that make love worthy of the name as well as the idea that Bhakti, Devotion and Jñāna, Philosophy are really ultimately the same thing. This is the core theme of the book, I think. Now, in this lecture, we expound on those two ideas by reading the next lecture, "The God of Love is His Own Proof" which really drives home the point of how Jñāna and Bhakti are two ways of describing the same thing. We quote two verses from the Bhāgavat Gīta, Chapter 7 to substantiate the claim. Finally, we "special treat" in this class is a reading of an excerpt from "The Life of Swami Vivekananda by His Eastern and Western Disciples" which gives us a rare, profound and moving glimpse into Swami Vivekananda's own inner struggle with the Bhakti and Jnana aspects of his personality! You'll find a playlist of classes from our series on "Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga here: https://www.patreon.com/collection/728434 Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

Lecture by Swami Tyagananda, given on February 23, 2025, at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, Boston, MA

We explore one of the most influential and significant Hindu figures in modern times.Written by Anmol KohliCo-written by myself (Filip Holm)Find me and my music here:https://linktr.ee/filipholmSupport Let's Talk Religion on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/letstalkreligion Or through a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/talkreligiondonateSources/Recomended Reading:Swami Saradananda, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play (translated by Swami Chetanananda) - the "Leelaprasanga". Vedanta Society of St. Louis.Mahendranath Gupta, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (translated by Swami Nikhilananda) - the "Kathamrita". Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center,N.Y.Ayon Maharaj, Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna and Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion. OUP USA.The Life of Swami Vivekananda, by his Eastern and Western Disciples. Vedanta Pr. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textThis episode centers around the often-debated criteria for finding the right guru within Advaita Vedanta, questioning the necessity of a guru's knowledge of Sanskrit versus their ability to facilitate direct experiences of spiritual enlightenment. The discussion highlights the significance of moving from intellectual understanding to experiential realization in the spiritual journey.• The debate over the need for Sanskrit knowledge among gurus• Emphasis on experience over intellectualization in spirituality• The teachings of the Upanishads as more than linguistic understandings• Key examples from figures like Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna • Importance of moving from Shravana to Nididhyasana practices• Insights from Sri Ramana Maharshi's non-verbal teachings• Need for teachers who embody teachings rather than just explain them • Overall focus on the pursuit of direct experience over academic masteryJoin our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hnRf7wESwX Visit my website: https://www.thebeardedmysticpodcast.com/Buy The Bearded Mystic Podcast Merch: https://thebeardedmysticpodcast.myshopify.com/Want a one-on-one spiritual discussion with The Bearded Mystic - book here: https://www.thebeardedmysticpodcast.com/p/spiritual-discussion/Subscribe to The Bearded Mystic Podcast channel: https://www.youtube.com/ @TheBeardedMysticPodcastBecome a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/thebeardedmysticpodcastRahul on Bluesky:  https://bsky.app/profile/beardedmystic.bsky.socialSupport the show

The roots of yoga can be traced to more than 3500 years ago in India. Join Brenda as she examines the evolution of yoga from India to the beginnings of our Modern Yoga practices. Who was Vivekananda and what role did he play in bridging the traditions of India's yoga philosophies with Western thought? Vivekananda's yogic teachings, along with his emphasis on the importance of serving humanity, continue to inspire millions around the world, making Vivekananda one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the yoga traditions that we find in our modern yoga studios. Tune in to learn how this titan of yoga played a pivotal role in laying the foundations for your yoga practice.

Earlier this year on Swami Vivekananda's birthday we decided to do three back to back lectures focusing on different aspects of the Swami's teaching: the innate divinity of the soul, the oneness of all existence and the harmony of all religions. We start with the idea of one-ness, Advaita which is so wonderfully expressed in Shankara's song "The Six Stanzas on Nirvana" (which you can find the Sanskrit lyrics for here) which Swami Vivekananda himself was very fond of and which he himself translated into English. As such, in this first of three lectures we sing and contemplate the Six Stanzas on Nirvana using Swamiji's translation (which you can read here) making a case for why music is such an important method for practicing and realizing Advaita, Non-Duality! For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

One of my favorite classes in the series so far! We've been reading from Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga at our Friday evening Bhakti satsanghs and together exploring some of the most refined concepts at the uppermost reaches of the devotional tradition known as Parā Bhakti, Supreme Love. In this talk, we reconcile the idea that Jñāna Yoga, the Way of Philosophy and Bhakti Yoga, the Way of Devotion or somehow incompatible or categorically distinct, as is the commonly held assumption. We also show how Jñāna, Philosophy can lead to ecstatic love and vice verse proving that these two paths are not different but are rather aspects of one Reality: God or Pure Consciousness. For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

In honor of the 125th anniversary of Vivekanda's visit to the Bay Area, Swami Prasannatmananda of the Vedanta Society Berkeley will discuss Vivekanda's timeless message of love, unity and divinity of all, and how that message reverberates to this day.

This year, Swami Vivekananda's birthday happened to fall on a Monday, a day sacred to Shiva which also happened to MLK day here in the United States! Of course the two figures, Swami Vivekananda and MLK are both quite similar in a few ways. In his talk on loving your enemies, MLK is famous for having said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” In exactly the same vein, Swami Vivekananda tells us how we can go about creating actually change in the world along spiritually enlightened lines in his masterpiece address "My Plan of Campaign" delivered in Madras upon his return to India after his triumphant sojourn in the West. In this video, we read out the transcript for this mighty and earth-shattering talk (which is full of Swami Vivekananda calling out those forces which have opposed his mission) and make a few comments here and there. This is the third in a series of three back to back lectures we gave on behalf of Swami Vivekananda Jayanti this year, the two other being Realizing Non-Duality Through Music | Adi Shankara's Nirvana Shatakam and How Do Tantrik Rituals Work? which explore Swami Vivekananda's core teachings on Advaita and the Innate Divinity of the Soul respectively. Jai Swamiji! For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

Two weeks ago we gave the talk called "how to perform the best Tantrik ritual & overcome superstitions in Tantra" where we referenced Swami Vivekananda saying in the Introductory Chapter of Raja Yoga that mystery-mongering and superstition weakens the mind: everything that is could she be taught openly, and preached in the street in the broad daylight of reason. In that lecture, I argued that in some case the secrecy of Tantra was the attempt of an unscrupulous few "to keep the power all to themselves", to borrow Swami Vivekananda's phrase. But perhaps there are indeed good reasons for keeping things secret! While in the worse cases secrecy is a tool for hegemonizing Tantrik discourse, most of the time, it is an expression of compassion and a necessary tool to create an authentic spiritual community where practitioners are practicing in a meaningful and safe way. As such, to balance out the view I presented in the aforementioned lecture, I'd like to make a case for the importance of secrecy in the Tantrik tradition. We can think of a few reasons, some of which I briefly mentioned towards the end of the talk and a few others that are coming to mind now: 1. Because these practices can be exceedingly powerful, they can sometimes backfire and cause a reaction in students who are not ready. 2. Because these practices confer tremendous power, a student with the wrong motives might misuse this power to further entrench themselves in samsaric attachment, thus retarding their spiritual growth. 3. Secrecy ensures the student will seek out a guru to get access to the tradition thus protecting them from the #1 and #2 4. Tantrik practices can be controversial and even transgressive and as such when done openly, there is the risk of public censure and misunderstanding 5. That which is secret is sacred. Secrecy reaffirms the intimacy and privacy we enjoy with God and also helps cultivate reverence and sanctity in the practice. 6. It helps students value what they have more, increasing enthusiasm and reverence for the mantra and for the practice.For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

How do Tantrik rituals work, really? Is it the intercession of spirits and divinities? Or perhaps something far more profound?IIn this talk, I want to make the case that there are no gods or spirits outside Consciousness. The entire Universe and all the powers in it are contained within the Mind, which is an expression of Consciousness, with reference to verses 160 onwards in Abhinava Gupta's Tantrāloka, Part I, and with special reference to Swami Vivekananda's emphasis on strength and non-duality.You are Consciousness and as such, all power is within you! All the gods and demons, all the spirits and energies, they are all in YOU, expressing themselves as body and mind. Harnessing these energies is what Tantra is all about. As such, any time your "prayers have been answered", it is only you gracing yourself. You are God, in every sense of that word. A Tantrik ritual functions only to create the suggestion, through sound and symbol, to call forth that Power inherent in the Self! For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

Some time ago we gave a talk on Divine Madness in Why is Kālī Crazy?  where we looked at the fervor that comes upon the devotee when she is truly in love with God. Now, in this short talk, we present a portrait of that Divine Madness in the form of Swami Vivekananda specifically with regard to his 1896 letter to "Frankincense", one of my favorites!Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMAnd if you feel moved to donate to support me and this work, you're welcome to here:https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jaimakaliSupport the show

This lecture, which follows closely on the heels of How To Become A Bhairavi, A Tantrik Adept and also The Best Tantrik Ritual explores the puraścarana from Chapter 15 of the Kularnava Tantra in much more detail. We present a few different strategies for practicing puraścarana which in the Tantra Lord Shiva describes as the "supreme ritual" (i.e best of all practices). While this is the main feature of the talk, we also offer a reading of the Introductory chapter of Swami Vivekananda's "Raja Yoga", to make a point about the purpose of puraścarana and its true purpose. Also, we respond to degenerating influences on the mind of the aspirant (superstitions, secrecy and mystery-mongering) that we often find in the Tantrik world and present a strategy for getting the most from Tantrik practice while avoiding the aforementioned elements. Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

Pravrajika Vrajaprana gave this talk on Sunday, January 19, 2025, at the Santa Barbara Temple. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Religion is only for the strong! No weakling can realize God! Some time ago, we gave the lecture called "Do I Have To Be Vegetarian To Practice Spirituality"  based on some of the remarks Swami Vivekananda makes in his Bhakti Yoga book, in chapter 10 called "Methods and Means". In this chapter, Swamiji takes up the question of ethics and diet in the practice of spirituality. In this lecture, we pick up the threads of that aforementioned discussion to make the point that only rule in religious life is "keep with you that which makes you strong; disregard that which disempowers you." Whatever diet and whatever ethical code strengthens you, that is the right thing to do. And whatever diet or moral code disempowers you, however "holy" society says it is, throw that away! But of course, first we have to ask the question: "what exactly is strength?" Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

To love is the essence of what it means to be human. Love is the sweetest, most meaningful experience in embodied existence and it is for this love that we do everything. But what does it mean to really love? We have all of us been disappointed in love. This is because we don't know how to truly, really love. We are content with our little loves and little attachments and as such, we are all of us likely to miss out on the real thing! Bhakti Yoga, the path of Devotion, is the science of higher love. In this talk, we give perhaps one of our most lucid interpretations of real, higher love based on Swami Vivekananda's book "Bhakti Yoga". We first discuss the two phases of love, love with form vs ecstatic love. And then, we have a discussion about renunciation, why it is so central to love and how it is naturally produced through love itself, reviewing the material we covered in this talk: How To Get Renunciation | Bhakti Yoga, Swami Vivekananda and then finally, we offer a Tantrik reading of two works by Swami Vivekananda: "The Bhakta's Renunciation Results from Love" and "The Free Soul" from Volume III of the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. This is my favorite talk on Bhakti yet! Thank you all who came live and all who are watching the recording! May we become enflamed with awakened Love for the Infinite!Support the show

Swami Vivekananda's Message on Individuality in Spirituality: when a seed is planted, it is nourished by soil, sun, air, light and rain. And yet the seed does not "become" soil, or sun, or air, or light or rain. The seed becomes a plant, growing according to its own sva-dharma, its own unique law of growth. Similarly, while the seed of spiritual aspiration is nourished by the the various "isms" of the world: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Taoism etc., the point is not to "become" a Hindu or a Christian or a Muslim or a Taoist or what have you! The point is to be free and realized! Books, dogmas, rituals, forms...these are the kindergarten of religion, necessary tools for the "coming up" of the burgeoning saint but they are but secondary details. As such, there should be as many sects as there are people; each person ought to be a religion unto themselves!Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

In October of 1896, in London, Swami Vivekananda gave a series of three lectures on the ancient concept of Māyā, that which causes the One to appear as Many, the Eternal to appear as the Changing and the Real to appear as the Unreal. Naturally, since Māyā is synonymous with "Ignorance" in the Advaita Vedanta system of Srī Shankara, it is a very, very elusive concept that has eluded even some of the brightest minds of India and abroad. As such, Swami Vivekananda's treatment of Maya over three lectures might be the most comprehensive and illuminating to have ever been given in the history of philosophy. Sister Nivedita considers the Swami's best work. In this talk, I focus on the third of the three lectures, "Maya and Freedom". The first on is called "Maya and Illusions" and the second, "Maya and the Evolution for the Concept of God" and all three can be found in Swami Vivekananda's Complete Works, Vol II or in the Jñāna-Yoga book. Particularly in my commentary of this lecture, I would like to compare the Shankarite notion of Māyā as illusion to the Tantrik concept of Śakti, as the playful power of God to hide Herself from Herself (Paramārthasāra, Verse 15) to compare Vedantic Idealism with Tantrik Realism, making the case that Swami Vivekananda's reading might lean closer to the Tantrik notion. Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

In this talk, we give a comprehensive overview of the Path of Devotion:00:00:00 How Bhakti Yoga Works: Vaidhi Bhakti (Devotion with Rules) vs Para Bhakti (Ecstatic Love)00:04:30 The full moon of Bhakti, the scorching sun of Jñāna 00:05:47 An outline of  Swami Vivekananda's "Bhakti Yoga":00:07:10 The definition of Bhakti: " the genuine and earnest quest for God that begins in Love, continues in Love and ends in Love." 00:10:30 The philosophy of Ishvara: the formless pure non-dual Consciousness (Impersonal Absolute), which is the ideal of Jñāna and Buddhism, is exactly the same as the form of God with qualities (Personal God), which is the ideal Bhakti. 00:13:20 Swami Vivekananda's definition of God: unfathomable love. God is Love itself, i.e L.O.V.E Personified. 00:15:00  Bhakti is about realization and for this we need a guru to transmit the wordless, invisible "quickening impulse"00:16:30 Qualifications for aspirants: what kind of a student is required? Pining, patience and perseverance! 00:17:35 Qualifications for teachers: grounded in the spirit of the scriptures, pure in character and teaching for the right reasons (not for material profit)00:19:10 The role of the Avatar in Bhakti Yoga in providing a concrete form for the mind to focus on in Devotion 00:26:03 How mantras work in Devotion (and the meaning of OM) 00:30:34 Technical Difficulties!00:31:32 Technical Difficulties ends...00:34:00 Invocation of Swamiji00:34:23 The Worship of Substitutes and Images (and why its so important)00:47:30 How this idea leads to the Harmony of All Religions 00:49:17 Ishta Nishta, Steadfast Devotion to the Chosen Ideal: while all forms are equally Brahman, we should choose one and dive deep into It without hating any other forms 00:53:19 depth vs breadth in spiritual life 01:02:22 worshipping all deities through your Ishta and worshipping your Ishta through all deities 01:08:00 How to practice Bhakti Yoga, the path of Devotion: the methods and the means.Support the show

Today, on the 12th of January, we are celebrating India's National Youth Day, to commemorate the birth day by Gregorian Calendar of Swami Vivekananda, who was born on the 12th of January 1863. Of course, in the Hindu tradition, we celebrate birthdays by tithi, that is, by moon day so this year (2025), Swami Vivekananda's birthday will be celebrated in earnest on Monday, the 20th of January. But nevertheless, to commemorate this very auspicious day and to get us all revved up for Swamiji Puja that's coming up, I thought I would read you a few excerpts from letters from American disciples describing what it was like to be with the Swami in New York and at the Thousand Islands Park retreat, which was when the Swami was allegedly at his finest. Over the next few days, I will be unleashing a slew of "Vivekananda content" here  so brace yourselves! May my entire breath and being be offered to the Swami's work and mission. I stand ever ready to lay down life and limb for his message!Ever yours in Vivekananda,NishanthFor more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

After making a few comments about calendars and the power of new beginnings, we make a few points from Swami Vivekananda's very radical lecture in San Francisco “Is Vedanta The Future Religion” to show how God, books and prophets are not actually essential to religion and if taken too seriously, can all become serious hindrances to genuine religion! Using Swami Vivekananda's definition of the Vedas (“by Vedas, no books are meant”) as eternally existent spiritual truths that anyone with refined spiritual perception can access, I contest that Hinduism cannot be defined as a four-book religion the way other religions define themselves according to their books but must instead live up to its name of “Sanātana Dharma”, which includes all religions in all places and at all times. Also, we discuss some goals for the upcoming Gregorian calendar year as a spiritual community!For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

While every person and every place is invariably God according to our Non-Dual View, certain places and certain people are particularly strong manifestations of God. Everything is the same in type but different in degree. For example, while every part of the cow is indeed a cow, it is really only from the udder that milk flows. As such, the Avatāra is like the udder and the entire Universe the cow. The Avatāra, Divine Incarnation, is a unique nodal point of Reality through which the very highest can be accessed. In short: the avatāra is the strongest manifestation of God in immanence, in nature. But what makes an Avatāra(a Divine Incarnation) and Avatāra?  In Hinduism, the idea of the Incarnation is very ancient. We find it in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter IV, verse VII) and also in texts like the Bhāgavatam dated between ~1000b.ce to 600bce. The claim is that while various forms of gods and goddesses are each of them emanations or aspects of the One God capital G, the one Divine Reality, the Avatar is a specially concentrated manifestation of that Reality that exists in historicity as an actual person. The gods and goddesses like Kālī, Shiva, Vishnu etc. are all entirely Divine but the Avatāra uniquely is also mortal and like any mortal suffers mortality: birth, old age, sickness, dying etc. Unique to the Avatāra Doctrine is the idea that God can be a person and a person can be God which when you think about it is a startling challenging idea! Swami Vivekananda could never quite accept Sri Ramakrishna as an Avatāra until the latter's dying breath in 1886. Because for any thinking person, this claim is ludicrously challenging! It is one of the deepest mysteries of spiritual life. It takes a special kind of subtle insight, or a special kind of grace to have some semblance of an understanding of this mystery. But it is my conviction that anybody who is sincerely attracted to spirituality will also be attracted to the avatāra because they will feel in them (in their lives and teaching) intuitively the strongest dose of spirituality. But notice how I am using the plural! According to the Hindu view, there is not just one Avatāra. In Christianity, the idea is that there is just one Divine Incarnation who came in the form of Jesus and that's that. But in Hinduism, we understand that to teach a particularly stubborn student, you often have to give the teaching over and over in different ways. Repetition is at the heart of all learning! And so the thing about the Avatāra is that She comes again and again each time teaching the same message in slightly different ways. In this talk, I wanted to tease out some of the similarities in that message between various Avatāras. Also I wanted to continue last week's theme of the emphasis on renunciation and sincerity that we find are at the heart of all genuine spiritual life and also on the warning against affect and pretense in spiritual life. One thing we find about all these avatāras is that they were genuine, simple and willing to give direct answers to sincere questions without any affect or pretense! And because they were free, they did it all for free! From freedom unto freedom a gift of freedom is made!May this be an offering to all Avatarās, past, present and future, who are each and every one of them "L.O.V.E personified."For 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

There are of course innumerable similarities between the life and message of the Buddha and Swami Vivekananda: in a future lecture, I hope to sketch this out in much more detail. I think there is a particularly strong resonance between Swami Vivekananda's various spiritual experiences and realizations (and also his highest ideal of serving God man) and the Boddhicitta/Boddhisattva ideal of Mahayana Buddhism. One day, I will make a strong case for the Mahayana Buddhist interpretation of Sri Ramakrishna's life and teaching. Of course, in terms of modality, Sri Ramakrishna emphasized a Tantrik, deity-oriented approach which leads us into exciting Vajrayana territory too. A discussion comparing Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya to Vaikhari, Madhyama and Pasyanti Vak is of course fore coming. And I have a desire to do a short biography on Milarepaji also, perhaps on his Parinirvana which is the full moon of Bumjur Dawa (by the Tibetan Lunar Calendar) I believe. It will be around Shiva Ratri time!Naturally all these links between Shiva, Swami Vivekananda and the Buddha are particularly pronounced in Varanasi, especially near Sarnath where the Buddha spoke the words that would resound timelessly through eternity! There is a striking resemblance to what he spoke about and what Swami Vivekananda spoke out, a resemblance that is of course more tangibly felt in this place than intellectually cognized. Since I happen to be in Sarnath on Christmas Eve, I thought I'd reflect a little on that in this talk. Jai Jesus Christ! Jai Buddha! Jai Swami Vivekananda Guru Maharajji Ki Jai!Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMAnd if you feel moved to donate to support me and this work, you're welcome to here:https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jaimakaliSupport the show

Before we start walking a path, we should have some idea at least about why we are walking it and about where it leads. In the Buddha's eight-fold system, this is called "samyak drshti", the right view.When we consider the lives of great masters like Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna, we are not only fired up by their fervor, intensity and renunciation but we can also learn something about what is to be valued in spiritual life and what is to be aimed for (and perhaps also what is to be avoided).In this lecture, as we come to the end of the year and wrap our 5th circumambulation around the sun together as a community, I thought it would be good to have a cutting conversation about the essentials in spiritual practice!May this be an offering at the altar of your spirituality!Jai Mā!For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

Lecture by Swami Tyagananda, given on October 27, 2024, at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, Boston, MA

Inspired by Grandma(s), Amy and Jim Burns, Trevor Hall, Kabir, Ram Dass, Sri Aurobindo, Anil Baran, Dianna Lopez, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Radnath Swami, Mike Mauthe. Jai Dev, Jai Uttal, RamDev, KD, Nina, Sharon S, Jack, Trudy, Spring, Ragu Markus, Trace Sahaja, Jeffery Cohen, Reagan, Arlyn, Anna, Alex, Hampus, Deva Premal, Miten, Robert Thurman, Robert Svoboda, Mirabai, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Anandamayi Ma, Neem Karoli Baba, KK and all those who follow the heart.  Audiobook.  Mature listeners only (18+).

Inspired by Sri Aurobindo, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Joseph Campbell, David R. Kinsley, Carl Jung, the Lankavatara Sutra, Pema Chödrön, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Ram Dass, Pam Fusek, Mike Emmit, Maya Vajgrt, Jacquelyn Dobrinska, Dianna Lopez, Nina Rao, KD, Ragu Markus, Mirabai, Duncan Trussell, Rizwan, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Anandamayi Ma, Neem Karoli Baba, KK, Radhanath Swami, Mother Theresa, Saint Francis, Jesus, and so many others.   Audiobook.  Mature listeners only (18+).

Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany by Owen Ware (Routledge, 2024) takes the reader on a tour through the reception of Yoga philosophies in nineteenth-century German and the early twentieth century. European luminaries like Schlegel, Hegel, von Günderrode, Schelling, Humbolt, and Müller all engaged with works like the Bhagavad Gītā and Yogā Sūtras, though in very different ways, some reading yogic thought as entailing a threatening nihilism, others lauding it as superlatively philosophical. Ware shows how their responses to Indian thought illuminates our understanding of post-Kantian philosophy and its anxieties over pantheism indebted to Spinoza. He concludes with two chapters on a range of Indian scholars from Swami Vivekananda to K. C. Bhattacharyya, exploring how their work engages with this history of European readings, grappling with themes of freedom, morality, and devotion in yoga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany by Owen Ware (Routledge, 2024) takes the reader on a tour through the reception of Yoga philosophies in nineteenth-century German and the early twentieth century. European luminaries like Schlegel, Hegel, von Günderrode, Schelling, Humbolt, and Müller all engaged with works like the Bhagavad Gītā and Yogā Sūtras, though in very different ways, some reading yogic thought as entailing a threatening nihilism, others lauding it as superlatively philosophical. Ware shows how their responses to Indian thought illuminates our understanding of post-Kantian philosophy and its anxieties over pantheism indebted to Spinoza. He concludes with two chapters on a range of Indian scholars from Swami Vivekananda to K. C. Bhattacharyya, exploring how their work engages with this history of European readings, grappling with themes of freedom, morality, and devotion in yoga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/philosophy

Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany by Owen Ware (Routledge, 2024) takes the reader on a tour through the reception of Yoga philosophies in nineteenth-century German and the early twentieth century. European luminaries like Schlegel, Hegel, von Günderrode, Schelling, Humbolt, and Müller all engaged with works like the Bhagavad Gītā and Yogā Sūtras, though in very different ways, some reading yogic thought as entailing a threatening nihilism, others lauding it as superlatively philosophical. Ware shows how their responses to Indian thought illuminates our understanding of post-Kantian philosophy and its anxieties over pantheism indebted to Spinoza. He concludes with two chapters on a range of Indian scholars from Swami Vivekananda to K. C. Bhattacharyya, exploring how their work engages with this history of European readings, grappling with themes of freedom, morality, and devotion in yoga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany by Owen Ware (Routledge, 2024) takes the reader on a tour through the reception of Yoga philosophies in nineteenth-century German and the early twentieth century. European luminaries like Schlegel, Hegel, von Günderrode, Schelling, Humbolt, and Müller all engaged with works like the Bhagavad Gītā and Yogā Sūtras, though in very different ways, some reading yogic thought as entailing a threatening nihilism, others lauding it as superlatively philosophical. Ware shows how their responses to Indian thought illuminates our understanding of post-Kantian philosophy and its anxieties over pantheism indebted to Spinoza. He concludes with two chapters on a range of Indian scholars from Swami Vivekananda to K. C. Bhattacharyya, exploring how their work engages with this history of European readings, grappling with themes of freedom, morality, and devotion in yoga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Swami Vivekananda, in his English poem "Kali The Mother" and in his Bengali poem, "And Let Śyāmā Dance There", highlights the Worship of God as the Worship of The Terrible: God might cure our cancer but She is also the one who gave us cancer! If God is truly all powerful then She must also be responsible for all the evil in the world as well as all the good. If God is truly non-dual and all inclusive then She must contain both the auspicious and the inauspicious! Ah, what a challenging theology! On this auspicious Hallowe'en which also happens to be Śyāmā Kālī Pūjā, the day when we worship Mā in her terrible aspect as radiant darkness, we gave a special talk on embracing evil as equally divine, in the name of the most radical and inclusive non-duality! This lecture of course references many of the ideas in our Theodicy Trilogy, one of our signature lecture series which you can watch here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGGe32PDNMZe_6Yju87nv0rvxnSW2ub_&si=-GtdSqUZl-t-SOc3For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

63rd verse: “You have listened to the great spiritual truth and My instructions. Now, you do whatever you want. Act according to your own conviction and understanding.”There is no compulsion from the teacher, Lord Krishna. He encourages the student to use his own intellect and conviction. This is because everyone in the world is at a different level of spiritual evolution. The goal is to experience the truth, not blindly believe.Swami Vivekananda expounded in the parliament of religions that spiritual life is like climbing the top of a hill. Once we are at the top, we see many trails leading to the top. When we are on the trail, we may think that is the only path. Similarly, when someone is early in their spiritual life, at the level of belief and rituals, they think only their path is right.66th verse: “When you feel that all your efforts are in vain, you should very sincerely and mentally give the entire responsibility to God. Then you do not have to worry about anything.”There are two interpretations of this verse. Ramanuja interprets it as sincerely taking refuge in God and becoming a tool in God's hands. Shankaracharya's interpretation is that all problems have a solution at the spiritual level. Psychological problems can only have a permanent solution at a higher, spiritual level. Shankaracharya says that the real reason behind Arjuna's delusion and inactivity is his wrong perception of his true nature – lack of atma-jnanam. Once Arjuna understood his true nature, his delusions vanished, as he states in the 73rd verse.67th verse: “I have taught you this spiritual truth. You should not teach this to a person who does not have the following qualities: (1) a sense of devotion, sanctity and sacredness (2) willing to practice it with spiritual humility, service and discipline (3) has great respect and appreciation for the teacher.”St. Matthew has a similar statement. The effectiveness of spiritual teachings depends on the readiness of the listener's mind. A sense of sanctity and sacredness from the disciple towards the teacher and heritage (Parampara) is important.There is a story of Durvasa rishi and Indra. Indra came on an elephant and had a spiritual conversation with the sage. Pleased, the sage gave him a sacred flower garland. Indra was on the elephant and without paying attention, put the garland on the elephant's neck, who dropped it and crushed it under his feet. Since Indra did not show respect towards the sacred garland, the sage cursed him.68th verse: “Those who teach this to people who are ready to listen and understand its true meaning with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, they will attain supreme liberation.”69th verse: “Anyone who tries to preach this spiritual truth, he is dear to Me and he will be spiritually elevated.”Teaching these spiritual truths itself is a spiritual practice and becomes a road for spiritual progress – even if it does not lead to spiritual growth of the listener.Our mind constantly accumulates ideas. Instead of getting toxic food, even mechanical listening to spiritual ideas has benefits. For complete effectiveness, the mind should be ready.

Since moving to Southern California last year, I've been blessed to cross paths with many souls on a similar journey of spirituality and wellness. I had one of these folks on the podcast a year ago, Kyle Peche, and am now delighted to welcome his wife Sundarri Rodriguez as a guest. Sundarri is an award-winning actress, musician, and philanthropist. You may have seen her appear in shows on Hulu, indie films, or even local theater. Sundarri is passionate about healing others with sound. She is a performing artist, and plays shows around the Southern California area, with music on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms. In 2023 she founded a non-profit organization called Soma Wellness. Soma is a Christ-Consciousness based non-profit formed to build community and to serve those in recovery with holistic modalities, such as sound-healing, breathwork, and yoga. Please note that Soma Wellness is entirely separate from SOMA Breath, a breathwork modality which we've discussed on the show previously. NOTE: Soma Wellness is entirely separate from SOMA Breath, a breathwork modality which we've discussed on the show previously. Sundarri and I discussed many topics, including: How a tiger in a South Carolina zoo served as her namesake, and serendipitously led to discovery of sacred geometry, Kriya Yoga, sound healing, and other holistic modalities. The false dichotomy that often exists between Eastern and Western forms of spirituality such as Christianity and Hinduism. How many mistakenly see the former as overly rigid or confining, and the latter as too ethereal or abstract. How sages such as Paramahansa Yogananda and Swami Vivekananda help to bridge this gap; how their mission being carried forward today at organizations such as Self Realization Fellowship - where I originally met her and her husband (and former podcast guest) Kyle. Sundarri's Southern Baptist upbringing in South Carolina, which exposed her to speaking in tongues, and other spontaneous spiritual practices that she feels have largely faded away in the modern iteration of Christianity. The "origin story" of Soma Wellness, which sprung in some part from the tragic loss of her stepfather to addiction at age 45. How the platform combines sound healing, breathwork, yoga, and music to help those in recovery from addiction. How Sundarri is able to maintain her strong sense of spirituality, even while working in the music and film industries - traditionally seen by some as being more commercial and lacking in spiritual foundation House of Soma - a camping and music Festival held in Southern California, featuring more than 30 acts and the holistic modalities offered by Soma Wellness. To find out more about Soma Wellness and connect with Sundarri / learn about her journey, please visit healwithsoma.com, or connect with her on Instagram at @ayoitssundarri or @healwithsoma. Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Untether Your Life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and other projects: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The 59th and 60th verses take us back to the original narrative of Gita, where Arjuna was facing conflicts as he did not want to do an unpleasant duty. Lord Krishna says: “If instead of practicing karma yoga, you think you can run away from your duty, that is your fantasy. Your own swabhava will compel you to do the duty.”Swabhava is our inherent nature that determines our outlook to life and our actions. It is shaped by tendencies that we gather over many life cycles.Each jiva is a solitary traveler. He meets his parents and relatives as travelers meet in a train and then separate at the end of each life.Bhagavata Purana has the story of a king who crowned his young son as the heir apparent. Unfortunately, the son died and everyone was in grief. Narada and some sages visit him to console him. brings the son back to life, but the son was not able to recognize his parents. He said that he had many parents over many life cycles. This helped the king understand the wisdom of the sages.The story of Jada Bharata explains that life is not just one chance. We are not tools in the hands of destiny. We have enough freedom to build our destiny. King Bharata retired to a hermitage for spiritual practices but developed strong attachment towards a baby deer and forgot his spiritual practices. He was born as a deer in his next life, but under the effect of his samskaras, he stayed near a hermitage. In his next life, he was born as a great saint - Jada Bharata - always established in his identity with Atman. He did not lose his spiritual wealth, but his realization was delayed.We are imprisoned by our samskaras. At the same time, we can use our mind, our five senses of perception and five senses of action to accumulate good samskaras and control our destiny.61st verse: “God is present as the divine spark in everything and everyone. Sitting within everyone as the in-dweller, he regulates and operates this world just like an engineer operates a machine.”Vedanta does not emphasize a creator God. Rather it emphasizes the idea of God as the divinity within. We can manifest this divinity through spiritual practices and by being a good human being. Buddha is a good example of this, as he did not believe in a creator God.When we do noble actions for the good of others or as an offering to God, with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, we become spiritually elevated and the divinity within us begins to manifest.Swami Vivekananda said: “Live life in such a way that Good will accept you even if you do not accept Him.” Swami Vivekananda also said: “Religion is the manifestation of divinity already in man.” Spirituality transcends religion but does not reject religion.62nd verse: “Take refuge in the ultimate divine reality for your own spiritual good.”63rd verse: “You have listened to the great spiritual truth and My instructions. Now, you do whatever you want. Act according to your own conviction and understanding.”There is no compulsion from the teacher, Lord Krishna. He encourages the student to use his own intellect and conviction.64th verse: “I have taught you this great spiritual truth because I consider you as My dear disciple.”65th verse: “If you try to follow this path and be a steadfast devotee, you will attain the highest spiritual enlightenment.”66th verse: “When you feel that all your efforts are in vain, you should very sincerely and mentally give the entire responsibility to God. Then you do not have to worry about anything.”This verse describes the concept of Prapati or Sharanagati. According to Ramanuja, Prapati is the highest state of a devotee of God. Prapati means complete surrender and is composed of the following characteristics. (1) Always having a positive outlook in life, full of sattvic qualities such as serenity, wisdom, compassion, and broad mindedness. (2) Rejecting all the opposing qualities such as skepticism and self-doubt. (3) Strong faith that God will protect me. (4) Strong faith that God is the only protector. (5) A feeling of total helplessness and dependence on God (6) Total self-surrender (atmanikshepa). When the first five characteristics are fulfilled, atmanikshepa is the result. He then becomes an instrument in the hands of God and God operates through him.When we link ourselves to a higher ideal, we can develop the ability to remain unaffected from the outcome of our actions. For example, if we did something good to others but they are still ungrateful, we will not be affected.

Many people all over the world are diligently chanting Tantrik mantras and hymns and yet are not getting any results whatsoever. In fact, many people are doing sādhanā, spiritual practice rather consistently and still they find no real progress! Why is that? In this lecture on "How To Succeed At Tantra", we take up this question and offer a few "troubleshooting" solutions to make sādhanā, especially of the Tantrik kind, more meaningful and effective. Naturally, then, we have to talk about what "effective" looks like! So we reflect a bit on the goals and aims of spiritual life. Because I was in a mood (what with Kālī pūjā coming up in 11 days and all) we went on a nice, long tangent on Swami Vivekananda's Bengali poem "And Let Śyāma Dance There", to make the case for Kālī worship as "the worship of the Terrible". For more detailed puja instructions, watch this playlist:https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799Lectures 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/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the show

When I'm praying for words,  they don't come.  When I am The Word,  they come.  How can that be applied in your own life? In your work? For your goals? Today, we take our focus off of you,  and place them on someone else.  We place them just beyond the someone else,  and initiate miracles. I Love you,  nik I will be on hiatus for a week while I record the Audiobook for 'Wake Up to Love'! In the meantime, I'll be re-running the first Surrender Novena beginning on Monday. Please share it with a friend, pray it with them, change a life, change yours... more! ____________________________________ My new book, 'Wake Up to Love' is a lifetime in the making (and now a Top New Release, thanks to you!). Divinely inspired. Love led. And WILL bring forth the ‘more' in you. ❤️‍

The artist Francesco Clemente may have been born and raised in Naples, but—having lived and worked around the world, including in Rome, India, New York City, and New Mexico—he considers himself a citizen of no place. Widely known for his work across mediums, from drawings and frescoes to mosaics, oils, and sculptures, Clemente makes art that evokes his mystical perspective, with his paintings often featuring spiritual subjects or dreamlike symbols. Beyond exhibiting in galleries and museums, over the years Clemente has also made works for a variety of other venues, including a nightclub, a hotel, a Hollywood film, and the Metropolitan Opera. This fall, his work (and name) will be central to his latest unusual project: the soon-to-open Clemente Bar at chef Daniel Humm's three-Michelin-starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park.On the episode, Clemente discusses his collaboration with Humm, frescoes as the most luminous artistic medium, his deep affinity with India, and the certain timeworn quality to his art.Special thanks to our Season 10 presenting sponsor, L'École, School of Jewelry Arts.Show notes:Francesco Clemente[3:55] Clemente Bar[3:55] Eleven Madison Park[3:55] Daniel Humm[3:55] Alba Clemente[7:50] Murals for the Palladium nightclub[7:50] Hudson Hotel[7:50] Ian Schrager[8:43] Arata Isozaki[8:43] Philippe Starck[8:43] Kenny Scharf[8:43] Keith Haring[8:43] Jean-Michel Basquiat[8:43] Steve Rubell[9:43] Works for Great Expectations (1998)[9:43] “The Sopranos” series[9:43] Portrait of Fran Lebowitz[11:37] Portrait of Toni Morrison[23:12] Jiddu Krishnamurti[23:12] Theosophical Society[24:49] Álvaro Siza[24:49] Museo Madre[32:48] Cy Twombly[32:48] Joseph Beuys's exhibition “We Are the Revolution” (1972)[35:30] Rudolf Steiner[36:56] Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke[37:57] Swami Vivekananda[39:20] Salman Rushdie[41:31] Nisargadatta Maharaj[46:51] Andy Warhol[46:51] Allen Ginsberg[48:13] William Blake[48:54] Raymond Foye[48:54] Hanuman Books[50:04] “The Four Corners” (1985)[53:36] Saint Francis

Here's Your One-Second Mood Reset-- Close your eyes. Find God. Open your eyes. See God. Know that that feeling is now appearing as the world. God is always in front of you. Waving at you. Walking by you. Talking to you. God is always right where you are, appearing as you and as everything on display. It's never hidden. This is the highest meditation. To Look and Love. To Look and Love. To Look, and not let the appearance of the world make you forget to feel Love.    I Love you, nikki@curlynikki.com Please help me keep the show ad free + Get Merch! ▶▶https://www.patreon.com/goodmornings ________________________________ Today's Quotes: "...and the greatest gift God can give is His own experience.  Every object, every creature, every man, woman and child,  has a soul and it is the destiny of all,  to see as God sees, to know as God knows,  to feel as God feels, to Be as God is." -Meister Eckhart   "The Life Force that perpetuates your heartbeat and maintains and sustains all the other organs and functions of your body is not physical, but it is spiritual... is not temporal, but is eternal.  And once that basic truth has been established in your consciousness, you will experience the dissolution of all fear, the healing of all diseases, and the resolution of all conflicts.  This is the supernal activity of the Word being made flesh... this is the sacred process of Divine Grace being established on earth as it is in Heaven." -Don Mardak "The highest meditation is to think of nothing. If you can remain without thought, great power will come." -Swami Vivekananda