Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti is a powerful Vedic mantra or sacred sound with healing vibrations that call for cosmic peace. It is chanted aloud at the start of a meditation to relax and still the mind and body. It is chanted aloud as a peace invocation after all Hindu prayers. It is also used like a greeting or parting salutation. Continue reading
Sri Aurobindo said that true free will belongs only to the Divine. Human will be a limited ego-driven instrument. If we can align individual will with the universal Divine will, we can rise above ego-driven nature and gain genuine freedom. Continue reading
Sattwa, rajas and tamas, these gunas born of Prakriti firmly bind the imperishable soul to the body Arjuna. – 14:5
Krishna says that the qualities of Sattwa, rajas and tamas are the three gunas which come forth from Prakriti and bind the immortal spirit to this body, the realm of Prakriti. One must transcend the gunas in order to become free, to experience moksha, samadhi or nirvana and again experience the pure, natural spirit. Continue reading
What are ITIES? ITIES are words which end in ity. Each one of these words can change our life and lead to becoming a Jiwan Mukta. They are interconnected and they are all virtues.
Swami Sivananda summed the ITIES in a song. When one sings it, they end in rhyme. Continue reading
In the tradition of the Bihar School of Yoga, the Guru mantra refers to the mantra personally given by the Guru during initiation (diksha), which is kept secret. However, the universal mantra honored by the Bihar School of Yoga is the Guru Stotram. Continue reading
Anaya Bhakti means one-pointed devotion to God, where the devotee perceives nothing else in the universe but the divine derived from “an” (no, not) and “anya” (other), it signifies a state of undivided love and complete surrender, free from material desires, duality or the search for other refuges. Continue reading
Rama’s meaning is given in the Ramayana itself. Rama is that Sat-Chit-Ananda (existence, consciousness, bliss) Brahman, in which all yogis ever revel.
Rama is also, “He who delights everyone”. Continue reading
Shakti is the great process lying almost restless at the deepest sphere of individual consciousness capable of creation, progression and destruction. It is the powerful awareness, which is lying dormant at present in us. Continue reading
Prashnopanishad by Pippalda.
The process of Prana purification is likened to oblations to the Everlasting One. Prana healing happens at the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level.
Gargya the grandson of the sun god, Surya, asked Pippalda:
“What is the nature of sleep and dreams, why does one need sleep and why does one dream?” Continue reading
Swami Satyananda described sadness as a product of the mind, born from guilt, hurt and self-unacceptability, rather than an external event. He taught that emotions are a result of mental conditioning. Spiritual practices can help transcend suffering by shifting the mind’s attitude, gaining control over it and fostering inner acceptance. Continue reading
There are two descriptions of Aakash-Space. In the scriptures, space is known as Brahman, Kham Brahman is the statement of the Vedas, Kham means space and Brahman means the all-pervasive reality. Kham also means ether or the all-pervading, subtle element in which everything exists. Brahman is the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe in Hindu philosophy. Continue reading
And awaken your consciousness.
Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating. There is no such thing as bad weather, there are only different kinds of good weather. – John Ruskin
In the Bhagwad Gita, a new technique is mentioned, which is referred to by Lord Krishna from the beginning to the end. He calls it the mood of awareness, Drashta or Seer. It is not the doer, enjoyer or sufferer. Drashta is the one who is not subject to destiny. He is the one, who is always aware of what is taking place. The faculty of awareness is unmanifest in an ignorant person, but manifest in a person of wisdom. Continue reading
The wise one even though in the body, does not attach importance to it. Neither pleasure nor pain affect him. Whereas the person, who lives by obeying his senses is in a dream like state. Such a person lives in the body which is influenced by our karmas and are influenced by them.
The three gunas which compose us, do not affect a person who does not identify with them. However, the wise one who is free from attachments like sleeping, walking, eating, bathing, smelling and other sensory perceptions becomes a witness. Therefore, living in the midst of Prakriti one becomes unattached like the sky, sun and the wind. – Uddhava Gita: The Last Message of Sri Krishna. Chapter 6: Verses 8—12
How do we define ourselves? Are we spiritual? Are we religious? Spirituality is defined as one’s search for the sacred meaning of life. It means one is seeking to understand one’s inner being. Religious indicates to have a strong belief in religion. It also means being devout and pious.
Can we combine spiritual and religious? Continue reading