Living Yoga Beyond the Mat
What began as heartfelt community solidarity in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona sparked a certified world record of 1.1 million acts of kindness. Today, that local spark is expanding worldwide. Running from November 1st to January 31st, the Global Kindness Season aims to inspire more than one billion compassionate deeds across the globe. Continue reading
A calm mind is a clear mirror. – Zen saying
When the mind is stirred by anger, fear or desire, it distorts what it sees. When it is still and quiet, it reflects truth effortlessly.
The actual meaning is that a mirror does not cling to what passes in front of it. When a flower appears, it reflects a flower; when it leaves the mirror is empty again, holding no grudges or memories. Continue reading
Live within the meaning of Aum with every breath; your inner awareness then illuminates inner consciousness. Once this occurs, what issue remains? – Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Aum recalls our bond with the supreme soul and dispels false ego. Continue reading
The festival of Diwali is today and it is a time of festivity and joy. Shops are full of gifts, sweets and other wonderful things which one wishes for. We also light fire crackers at night. Now we use green crackers, but the noise of the bombs remain loud. Continue reading
Albert Camus wrote,
In the depth of winter; I finally learnt that within me there lay an invincible summer.
Even when life is bleak and painful, or devoid of guarantees, human beings possess an inner strength and capacity for joy that external circumstances cannot crush. Resilience is not about pretending suffering does not exist; it’s about recognizing that warmth, beauty and vitality persist inside us even through the harshest seasons. Continue reading
Friday is the favorable day for major goddesses such as Lakshmi, Parvati, and Saraswati, and it is regarded as a day of feminine Shakti. Sukra, meaning brightness and clearness in Sanskrit, is the son of Bhrigu and Khyati—an incarnation of Lakshmi—and serves as the preceptor of the Daityas and the guru of the Asuras. Continue reading
What is a spiritual innocent? To find the answers one has to look at the innocence of childhood. What is the innocence of childhood? It is unfiltered wonder, no fear of tomorrow, natural trust and freedom from ignorance and hardship. Why does it matter? Continue reading
Percy Bysshe Shelley is identified as a romantic poet, a movement defined by individual growth and the embrace of nature. The phrase “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer” is credited to him; he added that “to him that hath, more shall be given; and from him that hath not, the little that hath shall be taken away.” Continue reading
A smile is very contagious. It make everyone feel good. There is so much to smile about. Wake up with a smile and go to bed with a smile. A smile is your bestie. Continue reading
We visited the Ranua Sanctuary, which is a wildlife park with arctic animals in the south of Rovaniemi, Finland. Here one can see the magnificent Snowy Owl, which has become famously known as Hedwig in Harry Potter. Continue reading
Lapland has the darkest sky and at night the dark sky is covered with stars, planets and tiny stars. Looking up was like seeing a black velvet blanket studded with myriads of the brightest diamonds. There is a verse in Devimahatmyam, called Ratri Sukta (Sacred Night verse). It is from the Vedas and Goddess Night is personified as a divine presence. Continue reading
Meditation carries a strong meaning, suggesting that daily practice makes us highly advanced beings. I am using the exact sense of the Hindi term ‘pahucha hua’—a holy man—applied to someone who performs daily sadhana with rituals that reinforce the image. As a child, I heard sannyasins described this way. I imagined they had arrived at a distant destination, since the word also implies reaching. Continue reading
Since the time of Hippocrates and the ancient Greeks humans have been trying to classify personality. Today personality is described in terms of five basic traits. They are:
The good news is a newer model called Hexaco has come and it incorporates honesty—humility as the sixth trait. Continue reading
The aim of Karma Yoga is to establish a steady foundation for the mind. During meditation, attention must stay fixed on a single object; yet without mental purification, qualities of tamasa—such as laziness, self-indulgence, and self-absorption—tend to prevail. Karma Yoga is vital for spiritual growth because passions and desires guide us. Removing desires would hinder development; they should not be suppressed but either fulfilled or recognized as empty. Restricting desire limits growth. Continue reading
Enough is when we practice Karma Yoga and are content with what we have. Continue reading