For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

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

Dive into an exploration of Ramakrishna's teachings on love as the essence of life. Discover how love transcends mere liberation and fosters heroism. Nishanth shares insights on embracing the world joyfully, viewing it as God's manifestation. He provocatively contrasts compassion with a profound devotional love, advocating a life sparked by playfulness. The discussion ranges from a whimsical theology of a free Divine to the enriching experience of suffering. Join in for a vibrant theological journey that celebrates love and life in all its forms!

Dive into an inspiring discussion where Nishanth explores the profound principles of pūjā and Tāntrik philosophy. He highlights the role of the pujari as a crucial intermediary in worship and illustrates how sacred places amplify spiritual encounters. Nishanth contemplates the transformative power of saints and introduces the unique interpretation of worshiping Lalita/Shodhashi as the most inclusive deity. The conversation blends intellect and devotion, emphasizing the importance of mature spirituality in connecting with the divine.

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