For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

We now turn to a very sophisticated discussion about the reasons why we are not immediately, spontaneously aware of the fact that we are non-dual, pure Consciousness in which the world shines non-differently. If I am Shiva, as this tradition tells me, then why don't I know it? How does Shiva hide himself from himself? To explain the mechanism of self-concealment (and also to point the way to instant liberation), we receive this teaching on the 3 malas, the 3 "impurities." In Shaiva Siddhānta, these malas are seen as substantive (i.e real) and therefore must be actually removed through grace. In Non-Dual Tantra, Abhinava reframes "mala" to mean just "ajñāna", ignorance as you can see in the verse below from the Tantrasāra:अज्ञानं किल बन्धहेतुरुदितः शास्त्रे मलं तत् स्मृतं पूर्णज्ञानकलोदये तदखिलं निर्मूलतां गच्छति। ध्वस्ताशेषमलात्मसंविदुदये मोक्षश्च तेनामुना शास्त्रेण प्रकटीकरोमि निखिलं यज्ज्ञेयतत्त्वं भवेत्॥४॥ Ajñānaṁ kila bandhaheturuditaḥ śāstre malaṁ tat smṛtaṁ pūrṇajñānakalodaye tadakhilaṁ nirmūlatāṁ gacchati| Dhvastāśeṣamalātmasaṁvidudaye mokṣaśca tenāmunā śāstreṇa prakaṭīkaromi nikhilaṁ yajjñeyatattvaṁ bhavet (4)Ignorance alone is the cause of bondage and it is that ignorance which is called impurity by the scriptures. With the rising of the moon of perfect knowledge, that ignorance is uprooted completely ! When Pure Consciousness is revealed as a result of the destruction of all impurities: that is indeed what is called Liberation! Therefore by means of this Tantrasāra, I will reveal that highest Reality!This is a very radical reframe and it allows for the view that a person can (a) be instantly liberated and (b) can enjoy liberation even while embodied! Verses from the Paramārthasāra on Mala:तुष इव तण्डुलकणिकामावृणुते प्रकृतिपूर्वकः सर्गः।पृथ्वीपर्यन्तोऽयं चैतन्यं देहभावेन॥२३॥This emission of Prakriti down to Prthvī covers consciousness with (the feeling of) a (limited) body the way the husk covers a grain of rice.परमावरणं मल इह सूक्ष्मं मायादि कञ्चुकं स्थूलम्।बाह्यं विग्रहरूपं कोशत्रयवेष्टितो ह्यात्मा॥२४॥The supreme veil of the (ānava) mala, the subtle kancukas composed of Māyā (kalā, vidyā, rāga, kāla, niyati) (i.e mayīya mala) and the external, physical body (kārma mala) are the three sheaths which cover the Self.This class is part of our Paramārthasāra series which is an introduction to Non-Dual Tantrik metaphysics in theory and practice. You can follow along with the series 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 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

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 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

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 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

In our paddathi (ritual manual), throughout the nyāsa section which we've been studying together over the past few weeks, we find these Sanskrit verses. They are all dhyāna-ślokas, meditation mantras for the Goddess of Speech, Parā Devī or Sarasvatī. This argues the case that nyāsa is not only about consecrating the body, it is also about invoking the Goddess of Speech and meditating upon her as an act of devotion. In a sense, the nyāsa section in our pūjā is itself a kind of Sarasvatī Pūjā! Anyway, since we weren't able to have to have a class on Vasant Panchami last month (which is the day we celebrate Sarasvatī and which also is the first day of Spring in the Vedic calendar) I decided to use this Spring Equinox to discuss the Goddess! May all these words be an offering to Her who is speech and articulation Itself! Here are the three meditation mantras we find in our book, along with some loose translations: oṁ pañcāśallipibhir-vibhakta-mukhadōḥ-pan-madhya-vakṣaḥsthalāṁ bhāsvanmaulinibaddhacandraśakalāmāpīnatuṅgastanīm mudrāmakṣaguṇaṁ sudhāḍhyakalaśaṁ vidyāṁ ca hastāmbujairbibhrāṇāṁ viśadaprabhāṁ trinayanāṁ vāgdēvatāmāśrayē "I take refuge in the Goddess of Speech who is three-eyed and radiant who holds in her lotus hands a mudra, a rosary, a pot of nectar and a book, whose breast are full, who is adorned by the crescent moon and whose face, mouth, hands, body are formed by the 50 distinct letters!" oṁ sindūra-kāntimamitābharaṇāṁ trinētrāṁ vidyākṣasūtra-mr̥gapōta-varān dadhānām pārśvē sthitāṁ bhagavatīm-api kāñcanābhāṁ dhyāyēt karābja-dhr̥ta-pusataka-varṇamālām "Who is beautiful with vermillion, who is adorned with jewelry, who is three-eyed, who shows the boon-giving gesture and who holds a rosary, a book and a young deer, the Divine Goddess who is beside Shiva, radiant like gold; one should meditate upon her who holds a book and a garland of letters in her lotus like hand!"oṁ akṣasrajaṁ hariṇapōtamudagraṭaṅkaṁ vidyāṁ karairavirataṁ dadhatīṁ trinētrāmardhēndumaulimaruṇāmaravindasaṁsthāṁ varṇēśvarīṁ praṇamata stanabhāranamrām"Who holds a rosary and a young deer, whose brows are high and beautiful, adorned with earrings, who constantly holds a book in her hands, who is three eyed, who's crowned is adorned with a half moon and who sits in a red lotus, slightly bent from the weight of her full bosom, She is the Goddess of Speech! I bow to Her! Here is our complete playlist of puja classes: 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 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

Last week on Friday we had a full moon and total lunar eclipse! In the light (or lack thereof) of that (haha), and because we are entering into eclipse season, we took some time on Friday to discuss the Tantrik significance of the eclipse, both lunar and solar. Who exactly is Rahu and why is he considered an inauspicious graha, planetary spirit? How does Rahu cause the eclipse? And are eclipses auspicious or inauspicious? We ask these and other questions. We look at verse 8 of our text, the Paramārthasāra of Abhinava Gupta where he uses the eclipse as a metaphor for Consciousness becoming revealed in those entities with a subtle body to show how Abhinava Gupta subtly reinterprets what is usually considered inauspicious to be in essence, auspicious! We also look at how the eclipse metaphor is used throughout the tradition to argue for its importance in Tantrik theory and practice!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 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

Usually, after a slew of lectures on Sri Caitanya and Tantrik Vaishnavism, which we tend to do around Gaur Purnima, we like to bask in the afterglow by simply comparing Caitanya's philosophy to the other schools that we tend to study in our community. In last year's talk called Nārada vs Caitanya vs Rāmakrishna on Bhakti Philosophy we specifically compared the different schools based on their points on Bhakti in theory and practice. In this talk, we take a more philosophical, metaphysical and soteriological and maybe even more general, "birds-eye-view" approach to some of these schools differ from one another. This video might even be a good introduction for some of these schools and their basic claims about Reality!But first, we have a discussion on why intellectualism is so important in spiritual life!And like we were saying in the last video:it's very good to do this kind of comparative work because then we can appreciate the special features that make each tradition special while recognizing the underlying spirituality unity in which all traditions are established! Also in prevents us from becoming dogmatic or "one-sided" in our approach!May we all attain to mental and emotional flexibility/dexterity that our spirituality may shine forth with ever-new freshness!Jai Gaur! Jai Nitai! Jai Nārada! Jai Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa Deva Ki Jai!Here is our playlist on all things 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 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

After we did our series of lectures on Caitanya and the acintya bhedābedha philosophy of Bengal school of Vaishnavism last year, we did this "bonus talk" comparing Caitanya's philosophy and practice of Bhakti to that of Śrī Nāradamuni (as we see in the Nārada Bhakti Sūtra) and also to that of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. It's very good to do this kind of comparative work because then we can appreciate the special features that make each tradition special while recognizing the underlying spirituality unity in which all traditions are established! Also in prevents us from becoming dogmatic or "one-sided" in our approach! May we all attain to mental and emotional flexibility/dexterity that our spirituality may shine forth with ever-new freshness!Jai Gaur! Jai Nitai! Jai Nārada! Jai Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa Deva 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

After our lecture on The 12 Secret Kālīs | & The Most Closely Guarded Secret in Tantra where we introduced the powers of non-dual consciousness which flow in a 12-step sequence (which we argued was one of the subtlest teachings of Tantrik non-duality if not THE subtlest teachings), many were asking: "how do we invoke the 12 Kālīs, worship them, relate to them and incorporate them into our day-to-day sādhanā?" In this talk, we introduce one of the two Krama Stotrams and introduce Abhinava Gupta's "wheel of fire meditation" from Tantrasāra Chapter 4, which he received from his Krama guru, Bhūtirāja. The 12 KalisPrameyam (aparā): KNOWN OBJECTSṛṣṭikālī = manifesting an object internally, she then Raktakālī (bahirmkuhī) = becomes passionate towards that object Sthitināśakālī = wishes to reabsorb it and starts to internalize it Yamakālī = manifests and dissolves a "vighna" (obstacle) to re-absorption Pramānā (parāpara): ACT OF KNOWING Saṃhārakālī = reabsorbs the object Mṛtyukālī = and contemplates "svabhava": my very nature is to reabsorb! (i.e savors the experience just had) Rudrakālī = perceives a subtle impression left over from perception + also Pure Consciousness and then devours the subtle impressionMārtaṇḍakālī = reabsorbs the solar-mandala of 12 faculties into the "Lord of the Circle" (ego) Pramātr (parā): KNOWER Paramārkakālī = reabsorbs the Lord of the Circle (ego) Kālāgnirudrakālī = reabsorbs the separation of one purusha (individual knowing subject) from another (mayīya-mala) Mahākālakālī = reabsorbs the Universal Subject (Shiva) into full expansion Mahābhairavacaṇḍograghorakālī = reabsorbs even that fully expanded ground into...what? void unspeakable! (or rather: articulates transcendence as immanence!) Here are just the first 5 verses of the Krama Stotram:Kaulārṇavānanda-ghanormi-rūpām unmeṣa-meṣobhaya-bhājam antaḥ |nilīyate nīla-kulālaye yā tāṃ ṣṛṣtikālīṃ satataṃ namāmi || 1 ||I always praise that Kālī of Emission, who blooms and recedes like a wave of bliss in the ocean of the Kaula! mahā-vinodārpita-mātṛ-cakra- vīrendrakā-sṛg-rasa-pāna-saktām |raktīkṛtāṃ ca pralayātyaye tāṃ  namāmi viśvākṛti-rakta-kālīm || 2 ||I always praise that Passionate Kālī who manifests this world and who savours the world during a pause in dissolution, she who happily drinks the nectarean blood offered to the circle of Mothers by heroes (Tantrik adepts)! vāji-dvaya-svīkṛta-vāta-cakra- prakrānta-saṅghaṭṭa-gamāgama-sthām |śucir yayāstaṃ gamitorciṣā tāṃ  śāntāṃ namāmi sthiti-nāśa-kālīm || 3 ||I salute that peaceful one, The Kali Who Destroys Stasis, who is there in the coming and going of the breath and the perfect union of breath which is set in motion by the Wheel of Wind (life-force), who dissolves all notions of purity! sarvārtha-saṅkarṣaṇa-saṃyamasya  yamasya yantur jagato yamāya |vapur mahāgrāsa-vilāsa-rāgāt  saṅkarṣayantīṃ praṇamāmi kālīm || 4 ||I prostrate before that Kali who out of desire for the play of great devouring and controlling the world dissolves Yama the controller, who controls the destruction of things! unmanyanantSupport 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

Having explored the philosophy and life of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, and having outlined Bhakti in practice as part of last year's Gaur Purnima (Chaitanya Jayanti) celebration, we now turn to some more specialized themes in our study of Tantrik Vaishnavism beginning with some dhyāna mantras (meditation and visualization techniques) for Krishna and Rādhā Rāni! Here is some of what we shared in the talk:“I meditate on the golden hued Gauranga whose beautiful hair is bound by a string of pearls whose moonlike face beams a gentle smile his body is smeared with sandalwood and other fragrant pastes and a beautiful cloth who is garlanded and ornamented in a divine way. Asborbed in dancing, he delights in rasa (the sweetness of devotion/chanting the name). He shines brighter than the Cupid (kandarpa-veśojvallam) and is attended to by His devotees.”   Brahma Samhita:A great hexagonal yantra in which the Kāma-bīja is the diamond peg in the center, accompanied by Rādha and Krishna surrounded by the Krishna mantra, the 18 syllabled Gopāla mantra and then the Kāma gāyatrī surrounded by the ashta-manjaris and beyond the petals the abode of the sakis… “evambhūta yoga-pīthe srī srī rādhā-krshnau smaret”...”mīlitam bhāti mudritam” it blooms and contracts through the desire of rādhā-krishna-līla-rasa (the bliss of the union of Rādhā and Krishna)   dhyayed vrndāvane ramye gopa-gobhir alankrte  kadamba pādapacchāye yamuna jala śitalerādhaya sahitam krshnam  vamśī vādana tat param  tribhanga lalitam devam  bhaktānugraha kārakam   “Krishna plays in the cool waters of the Yamuna, rests in the shade of the Kadamba tree in Vrndāvan. He is surrounded by cows and milkmen/milkmaids and is with Srī Rādha. He stands playfully with three bends and plays the flute, blessing us with the gift of devotion!  From svayambhuvāgama:   Kāmadevāya vidmahe  pushpa-bānāya dhīmahi Tan no’nanga pracodayāt   From Gaurī Tantra“I mediate on Rādhā who is shining red (sphurad-aruna) with a smiling lotus mouth, dressed in crimson, the border of her cloth is her veil, from the braids in her hair a lotus flower dangles, and with her thumb and forefinger she offers a tambulam into the mouth of Sri Krishna. She has beautiful long ears and eyes and she is filled with honey, the sweetest in all the three worlds!”   Śrī-rādhikayai vidmahe  prema-rūpāyai dhīmahi  tanno rādha pracodayāt Here is our playlist on all things 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 lectuSupport 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

Having explored the philosophy and lift of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, the incarnation of Rādhā and Krsna in one body, it is now time to turn to something very important: the practices! In this class, we do a quick overview of the various aspects of Bhakti sādhanā, the Path of Devotion. Incidentally, we happened to do this class around this time last year in Lafayette in Caitanya Devī and Sumeru-ji's house, just around the time they were moving in! How wonderful to have returned to their beautiful abode earlier this year for our Spring retreat/ Guhyeśvarī Kālī installation ceremony! Thank you for hosting us all, you two, and for being such powerful example of true Bhakti! Jai Gaur! Jai Nitai! Jai Radhakrshna! Here is our playlist on all things 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 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