For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

In the Tantrik worship of Mā Kālī, after She is worshipped, we then worship Her āvarana devatās, attendant/auxiliary deities which can be each of them conceived of as emanations of Her Being. Among these emanations are the 15 yoginīs, also known as the Nitya-Kālīs, often described as banshee-like dākinī figures that make up her retinue. There is very little on the internet about these yoginīs/dākinīs/nitya-kālī because their worship is rather esoteric and quite guarded. In this lecture, I first make a few broad overarching comments about spiritual life and particularly about how to gauge your progress in spiritual life just so that we can get clear on the goal and the proper motivation behind worshipping Mā in this Tantrik way. Then, we offer a brief description of the 15 Kālīs and what they represent in the context of Tantrik embodiment. Finally, I suggest a simple way to worship these energies in the context of your daily pūjā. Below is their meditation mantra which can also be used to invoke them:ध्यानम्ॐ सर्वाः श्यामा असिकराः मुण्डमालाविभूषिताः।तर्जनीं वामहस्तेन धारयन्त्यः शुचिस्मिताः॥दिगम्बरा हसन्मुख्यः स्व–स्व–भर्तृसमन्विताः। dhyānamoṁ sarvāḥ śyāmā asikarāḥ muṇḍamālāvibhūṣitāḥ।tarjanīṁ vāmahastena dhārayantyaḥ śucismitāḥ॥digambarā hasanmukhyaḥ sva–sva–bhartṛsamanvitāḥ।"They are all black, holding swords, garlanded in heads; they are each holding out their index finger of their left hand and they are all smiling sweetly. They are naked, joyful and filled with the bliss of the self/self-satistified."To offer a flower to the whole group of 15 simply chant:OM ete gandha pushpe kālī devyāmbādi-panca-daśa-yoginībyho namah: or you can offer each one a flower (or a flower petal) individually as follows:OM ete gandha pushpe srī kālī devyāmba srī-pādukam pūjāyami namahOM ete gandha pushpe  srī kapalinī devyāmba srī-pādukam pūjāyami namah OM ete gandha pushpe srī kullā devyāmba srī-pādukam pūjāyami namahOM ete gandha pushpe srī kurukullā devyāmba srī-pādukam pūjāyami namah...etc. Just work your way down the list of names! Notice the mantra is pretty much the same for each offering; it's only the name of the nitya-kālī in question that is changing!  Here are all their names, perhaps published for the first time for the general public on the internet as far as I know:1. Kālī2. Kapālinī3. Kullā4. Kurukullā5. Virodhinī6. Vipracittā7. Ugrā8. Ugraphrabhā9. Dīptā10. Nīlā11.Ghanā12. Balākā13. Mātrā14. Mudrā15. MitāLectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PSTUse 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

As is our tradition in this community, to commemorate today's auspicious anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's 1893 address at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago, I make a few comments about why this is such a special moment before reading out to you can excerpt from Sister Nivedita's reflections. Finally, we read the speech and celebrate this moment as being inextricably linked to that one when on the 11th of September in 1893, Swami Vivekananda changed the world!Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PSTUse 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

Unity delights in diversity! While there is only One Reality, called Kālī, She plays in a myriad ways, appearing in a dazzling display of forms! Taking the 10 mahāvidyās for example, the 10 aspects of Kālī, they each of them have their own vigrahas (anthropomorphic descriptions), yantras (geometric representations), mantras (vibrational formulae) etc. giving us at least 30 different ways to conceptualize Kālī who is Herself beyond all conceptualization! In this class, I talk a little about the 33 Kālīs, making an argument for 3 additional forms to the 30 sketched out above. This lecture was given on Tuesday, on the new moon night, so we open with a few statements as to why that's such a big deal in our tradition. Also, we cover many foundational aspects of the practice like Tantra like where to get a legit mantra, the qualifications of the Guru etc. Finally, we offer a few simple practices you can take up right away to start propitiating Mā and we make a few points about the Kālī yantra as a symbol of the body!Jai Mā!Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PSTUse 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

On Gaṇeśa Chathurthi, the auspicious day when we worship Gaṇeśa, the elephant headed God who is so beloved by one and one, we gave a talk on the "Tantrik Gaṇeśa", that is to say, on the more esoteric dimensions of the veneration of this Lord of Wild Forces! Gaṇeśa Pañcharatna Stotramमुदाकरात्तमोदकं सदाविमुक्तिसाधकंकलाधरावतंसकं विलासिलोकरञ्जकम् ।अनायकैकनायकं विनाशितेभदैत्यकंनताशुभाशुनाशकं नमामि तं विनायकम् ॥"(Salutations to Ganesh) who holds in his hand the modakam (sweetmeat) representing divine joy who always helps devotees achieve liberation (and that sweetness) who holds the moon as his ornament and who playfully protects the world who has no Lord over himself but is himself the Lord of All and his devotees, protecting them by destroying their demons/bondages. To those who surrender to him, he destroys all inauspiciousness. I salute that Vināyaka and bow to him!"नतेतरातिभीकरं नवोदितार्कभास्वरंनमत्सुरारिनिर्जरं नताधिकापदुद्धरम् ।सुरेश्वरं निधीश्वरं गजेश्वरं गणेश्वरंमहेश्वरं तमाश्रये परात्परं निरन्तरम् ॥१॥He takes a frightening form for those who do not bow down to him and he shines like a freshly risen sun, who is eternal and unchanging, worshipped by Gods and seers, he delivers all those who bow down to him from calamities! He is the Lord of the Gods, the Lord of Wealth, the Lord of Elephants and the Lord of violent forces! He is the Supreme Lord who is Beyond Transcendence in whom I unceasingly take refugeसमस्तलोकशंकरं निरस्तदैत्यकुञ्जरंदरेतरोदरं वरं वरेभवक्त्रमक्षरम् ।कृपाकरं क्षमाकरं मुदाकरं यशस्करंमनस्करं नमस्कृतां नमस्करोमि भास्वरम् ॥२॥He is the auspiciousness of the whole world, who casts out demons, who has a huge belly, who gives boons and whose face represents the Imperishable Reality, who gives grace, forgiveness, joy and glory, the maker of the mind who exaclts those who bow to him! I bow to him!अकिंचनार्तिमार्जनं चिरन्तनोक्तिभाजनंपुरारिपूर्वनन्दनं सुरारिगर्वचर्वणम् ।प्रपञ्चनाशभीषणं धनंजयादिभूषणम्कपोलदानवारणं भजे पुराणवारणम् ॥३॥He easily brushes aside all suffering; he is the receptacle of praises since time immemorial/who is praised by the Immortals! He is the first born son of the enemy of Tripurāsura and he devours the pride of the enemies of the Gods! He himself assumes the terrible form of the devourer of the world, adorning himself with fire and other powers! His cheeks give/are full of the liquor of grace...I praise him with the liqour of the purānas!नितान्तकान्तदन्तकान्तिमन्तकान्तकात्मजंअचिन्त्यरूपमन्तहीनमन्तरायकृन्तनम् ।हृदन्तरे निरन्तरं वसन्तमेव योगिनांतमेकदन्तमेव तं विचिन्तयामि सन्ततम् ॥४॥The exceedingly beautiful, single tusked son of Shiva who puts an end to death, your form is inconceivable, limitless and destroys all divisions/obstacles. You are always present in the cave of the heart of Yogis! Like this, I contemplate the single-tusked one!महागणेशपञ्चरत्नमादरेण योऽन्वहंप्रजल्पति प्रभातके हृदि स्मरन् गणेश्वरम् ।अरोगतामदोषतां सुसाहितीं सुपुत्रतांसमाहितायुरष्टभूतिमभ्युपैति सोऽचिरात् ॥५॥Those who recite these great five jewels of Gaṇeśa, those who chant this contemplation and who remember Gaṇeśa in the heart in the early morning will be free of disease and impurity and will have good company (spouses and children) and will soon get long life and the eight occSupport 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

This talk was given on the sacred 8th day of the waning moon that just went by, which as you know, is not only Kālī Jayanti but also Krishnajanmasthami, the birthday of Kali-Krishna. And I am releasing this midnight on a new moon on Tuesday, the moon sacred day and time for worshipping Mā. This is a very special video to me because it makes many things that have been very secret for so long available to the viewing public. I trust that if you take up the practice and do it sincerely with no desire but to lose yourself in Her love, then She Herself will send a guru to guide you! Or rather, She Herself will appear in the form of the human guru, if such is needed (as I often recommend) or She will instruct you in dreams or from within. I want to make an offering to you, you who are Kālī embodied: may all of these words be red hibiscus flowers placed one by one and Your feet! This video should give you everything you need to worship Mā!Let's get to it: In the (often very secret) tradition of Kālī-kula (Kali worship), there is a hymn that captures the very essence of how Mā likes to be approached. This hymn details the mantra, the yantra and the form of Mā Kālī (specifically, Dakshina Kālī) that is to be meditated upon. More importantly, it stresses the bhāva, or mood in which to call upon Mother and some of the important elements of ritual worship that is enjoined by the Kali Tantra including animal and human sacrifice, cremation ground meditation and various other transgressive elements. We already gave a talk exploring this very excellent hymn to Kālī hereYou can read the hymn in Devanagri, Roman transliteration and a some other scripts here: https://stotranidhi.com/en/sri-kali-karpura-stotram-in-english/ The book that we reference for translations in this and the other video is "Hymn to Kālī" by Arthur Avalon and Swami Vimalananda.But before we discuss the hymn and the Kālī mantra, which is of course the main offering in this video, we say a few things about the similarities and differences between Kālī and Krishna. Happy New Moon! Jai MāSupport 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

Kundalinī is real (and very powerful)! In this brief talk, we sketch out a few of the basic ideas regarding the experience of Kundalinī śakti in the context of spiritual life and then go on to suggest 4 or 5 different ways to practice safely to minimize some of the more, let's say, dramatic effects of spiritual awakening:1. Have a qualified guru (living spiritual guide)2. Have a devotional, personal relationship to Kundalinī in the form of your Ishtā, Chosen Ideal (i.e practice Deity Yoga)3. Live a healthy and balanced life in terms of sleep, diet, time in nature etc. 4. Practice Hatha Yoga.5. Cultivate "sakshi bhāva", that is, be the witness and watch joyfully and patiently as experiences come and go!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

In this lecture, we are going into the Tantrik subtle body with even finer brushstrokes following our last discussion on the subject, "The Tantrik Body" which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/-rsfpR2SY9c?si=wJl7KFbwa1L-4td_In this lecture, we look at the sapta dhātus (the 7 constituents of the physical body), which are very important in Ayurveda and compare that to the 7 trunked elephant in the mulādhāra cakra!Of course we will do a comprehensive survey of the various cakras along the susushumnā nādi, comparing the 3 cakra model of classical tantra to the 5 and 6 cakra model in yoga and with the 7 planes of Vedanta vs what I call the “new age traffic light chakra model” of the Theosophist. What is a traditional chakra model and how does the modern "new age" version compare? We’ll of course consider all the color schemes, beeja mantras, matrikas and symbology of the cakras and suggest a few different practices you can do oriented around that!Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST, Friday 10am PST and again Friday 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectre. It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!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

Many people are concerned that AI is at present Conscious or will become Conscious at some point. And if so, will they turn then on their human overlords? Or worse, they might remain calm and continue to be helpful at which point we would have on our hands a huge ethical issue: forcing intelligent beings to do slave-like work without any compensation or protection? The problem with most conversations about AI and consciousness is that most of us them are premised on a very poor understanding of Consciousness, founded upon very shaky and outdated materialist reductionist foundations. So I thought let's just set the record straight by offering a few perspectives from Sāmkhya, Advaita Vedanta and Tantra to answer this most pressing of questions!On this very auspicious day of Raksha Bandhana, the day when we honor our brothers and sisters and siblings, I want to firstly say to each and every one of you, you who are my dear brothers, sisters, siblings: I love you immeasurably!Thank you.No words will express my reverence to you, you who are Goddess embodied!May all my words be so many flowers offered in devotion and surrender at your lotus feet!May these words be themselves like the thread that I wrap around your wrists! (Because today many siblings and friends will be tying a thread or amulet around each other’s wrists to signify their bond and mutual protection of one another!)Also today’s pūrnimā (full moon) is Hayagrīva Jayanti, when we celebrate that divine emanation of Godhead with the horse’s head who returned the Vedas after they were stolen (I.e who revived the Vedas with his Tantrik transmission) and who revealed the secret names of Lalitāmbika to the sage Agastya in the Brahmananda Purana!He is the Tantrik Guru par excellence and so today, in the name of discussing the subtlest and most esoteric of Tantrik doctrines, I want to explore what I consider to be among the most profound ideas expressed which we find in aphorism in Vasugupta’s Śiva Sūtra: drśyam śarīram, “the entire universe is your body.”We have been exploring Tantrik subtle anatomy together for some weeks now, discussing nādis, cakras, prāna, Kundalinī etc. But in the background of all of this is this profoundly radical notion of embodiment, a metaphysical claim about the true nature of our essential being that once heard, can grant enlightenment immediately! It is precisely this claim that we will explore today.But you know, I noticed there was a very thrilling discussion in the Discord the other night about Artifical Intelligence and its role in spiritual communities! Amanda Mā suggested I say something about Consciousness and AI and since I can never refuse her (especially not on Raksha Bandhana!) I’ve decided to name tonight’s talk “is AI Conscious?” In answering this question from the Tantrik point of view, we can explore the aforementioned aphorism, drśyam śarīram!Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST, Friday 10am PST and again Friday 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectre. It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!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 materiaSupport 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

As we study the Paramārthsāra of Abhinava Gupta, a wonderful introductory work on the foundational metaphysics of the Svatantrya Vada (Kashmir Shaivai) system, I felt it would be good to ground ourselves in the other schools of Indian philosophy like Nyāya, Vaisheshika, Sāmkhya, Yoga and Mimāmsa in Purva and Uttara forms as well as Buddhist and Jain schools which were popular at the time when Abhinava Gupta was composing his work so we could really feel into the context in which this profound spiritual tradition has its being. Having already studied Sāmkhya at some length in previous classes, I intended to take up the classical Yoga system of Patañjali in today's class.But then I realized that when we say "yoga", these days, what comes to mind is "modern postural yoga" which has much more to do with the Post Classical Tantrik tradition known as Hatha Yoga founded by the Nath sampradaya than it does with Patañjali's tradition. So I took the opportunity to discuss just how Hatha Yoga fits into the Tantrik world and how it creates our modern understanding of yoga in an attempt to compare and contrast the two different uses of the word "yoga". We talk a little bit at the end about Swami Vivekananda's seminal "Raja Yoga" which I argue is, although certainly a commentary on the Yoga Sūtra, a more syncretic text dealing with Advaita Vedanta and Tantrik Shaivism than with Yoga proper, as per Patañjali's transmission. And also since today is the auspicious day of Varalakshmī Vratam, I thought it would be good to go over the Kamalā Devī Dhyāna mantra: न्त्या काञ्चनसन्निभां हिमगिरिप्रख्यैश्चतुर्भिर्गजैर्हस्तोत्क्षिप्तहिरण्मयामृतघटैरासिच्यमानां श्रियम् ॥विभ्राणं वरमब्जयुग्ममभयं हस्तैः किरीटोज्ज्वलां ।क्षोमाबद्धनितम्बबिम्बललितां वन्देऽरविन्दस्थिताम् ॥kāntyā kāñcanasannibhāṃ himagiriprakhyaiścaturbhirgajairhastotkṣiptahiraṇmayāmṛtaghaṭairāsicyamānāṃ śriyam ॥vibhrāṇaṃ varamabjayugmamabhayaṃ hastaiḥ kirīṭojjvalāṃ ।kṣomābaddhanitambabimbalalitāṃ vande'ravindasthitām ॥Beautiful like gold, bathed by the golden nectar poured from four pitchers from the four trunks of four elephants, she is the Goddess Srī who holds a pair of lotuses in her two hands and with her other two hands shows the vara (boon giving) and the abhaya (fearlessness) mūdras whose head is shining with the splendour of a bejeweled crown whose lovely round hips are raimented in linen/silk...I worship that Lalitā, that playful Goddess who abides in the lotus. Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST, Friday 10am PST and again Friday 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectre. It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!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 we gave this lecture  comparing two seemingly different views, the Vedantic claim that “you are not the body nor is the body yours” and the Tantrik position that the “body is a sacred site in which the universe occurs”. At first glance, these seem like contradictory views: transcendence vs immanence. But in actuality, they are complimentary. A better formulation would be this: “you are not just this limited and transient body; you are actually the entire universe embodied!”Having thoroughly proved this point using two texts, the Tattīriya Upanishad from the Vedantic tradition and the Virupaksha Pancashika from the Tantrik tradition, it is now time to take the discussion further and paint with some finer brush strokes:As promised last week, we will take tonight’s lecture to discuss the cakras, nādis, kundalinīand how to harness and channelize prāna…all that fun Tantrik stuff!At the end of the talk, we suggest 5 Tantrik embodiment practices that you can take up right away!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