845 – Pursuit of wisdom

How do we perceive wisdom?

The Greek word for wisdom is Sophia and it refers to the intimate understanding of God’s word and his commandments which result in holy and upright living. Spiritual wisdom is being fully present in the moment and being aware of one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Wisdom is the ability or result of an ability to think and act utilizing knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Continue reading

831 – Namaste International Women’s Day

#InspireInclusion

Live in the presence of the Divine Mother. Close your eyes and visualize nature. Nature with her diamond, dazzling stars, the milky way, the flowers, the birds, clouds, mountains, sky – the countless beauties of creation – is the Divine Mother. In nature you behold the divine aspect of God, which is the mother. It is full of human kindness, beauty, gentleness and kindness. The beauty in the world bespeaks the creative motherly instinct of God, and when we look upon all good in nature, we experience a feeling of tenderness within us – we can see and feel God as Mother in nature. – Swami Yogananda

Dear ones, all of us love nature and it does not matter whether we are females, males or trans. This love that we experience is maternal love and love which is unconditional. We all have it in us and it has nothing to do with what gender we are. And that is the miracle of God. Continue reading

798 – Why do we not lend an ear to people?

Dear Ones, in the practice of Yoga, we are told to be observers. Observers are persons who observe what is happening within themselves and what is happening with others. An observer is an individual, who recognises his/her negative emotions and develops self-awareness. Self-awareness leads to being empathetic and compassionate to others. Continue reading

622 – Gifts from Yoga

The list is unending of the gifts which I have received from the practice of Yoga. They are too many to enumerate. I will start with the first one. Compassion and empathy. These are words freely used by us and how many of us understand the meaning. I also found them difficult to understand. I imagined being sympathetic was enough and then after maybe shedding a tear or saying, ‘you poor thing’ forgetting about the person and the issue. Continue reading

509 – The umbrella of self-love

The umbrella of love is the new kind of self-love. What is the significance of the umbrella? God is the ultimate umbrella of protection over all of us. Protection arises from love.

What is self-love? Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself from having a high regard for one’s own wellbeing. Self-love is not inclusive and therefore to understand a new kind of self-love, which is an umbrella, let us examine this quote by C. S. Lewis. Continue reading

507 – The release of prana in powerful words

What happens to us when we say potent words aloud?

Love, our face lights up. We have a warm feeling inside us.
Joy is an expression of delight and jubilation. We smile.
Friendship, when we have affection and respect for someone. We are included.
Compassion being sensitive to others.
Empathy when we relate to others’ problems.
Hate and anger are intense emotions. They result in an adrenalin rush. We frown, look cross and add lines to our face.
Fear triggers another release, when we say that we are afraid, it reduces our level of fear, or it can further exaggerate it. Continue reading

500 – Practice Atmabhava every day – Part 1

The practice of Atmabhava (love for humanity) is like being aware of all the gods 24/7. We have seven days in the week and each day is allocated to a God.

Monday is dedicated to Shiva. Devotees fast for the whole day and can have one meal only. Fasting starts after sunrise. After rising from the bed, one should meditate on Shiva. Then have a bath and offer prayers to Shiva and Parvati. If fasting, wear white clothes. White flowers and white food are offered. Benefit is to receive Shiva’s blessings. Continue reading

336 – Can I evaluate my personality?

When one thinks of oneself then one assesses oneself as being either a very good person or that one is a rude person. It is not possible to evaluate one’s personality according to Swami Satyananda Saraswati. One never looks at one face in the mirror objectively. One may think that one is hideous or drop dead beautiful. It is never possible to see oneself as one is. Continue reading

206 – How to chase your blues away?

When you are far away from your home and you are on your own, you may feel alone and homesick. I remember when I came to Yoga Vidya for the first time, I was enchanted as it was like being in a wonderfully quiet and beautiful place. I had come alone and I was going to teach a new subject, Prana Healing. I was nervous though I had been teaching for many years and had worked in challenging situations. Continue reading

145 – The air element and anahata connection

The air element is moving constantly and the anahata chakra is in the middle. The anahata chakra is described as the unstruck sound. It is associated as the centre for our wellbeing, our feelings, and emotions. Our atma resides in our heart. It is always pure and uncontaminated. Continue reading