For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

Sri Ramakrishna, like the Buddha before him, often held that what the Absolute Reality, Brahman is cannot be described. It is "ucchishta", meaning, undefiled by the tongue. As such, it is beyond the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantra or any sacred book. Further, because the ultimate Reality is "one without a second", that is, non-dual, It cannot be compared to any other thing, It being all there is. What does ghee taste like? Well, Sri Ramakrishna would say, it "tastes like ghee!". In saying this though, the Master points out that there is a "rasa", a taste or a qualia, a subjective experience that comes with being absorbed in that Absolute Brahman. And he often compares that feeling to the feeling of a fish let loose into the ocean or the feeling of a bird soaring high in the sky. In this video, we take up Sri Ramakrishna's descriptions of what it feels like to be absorbed in Brahman, compare them to Chandogya Upanishad 7.23.1 (yo vai bhūma tat sukam, nalpa sukham asti = there is no joy in the limited, only the vast is joyful) and then come up with a few analogs from our day to day lives to give you a taste of what enlightenment feels like.Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lecture. 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

Today I feel quite inspired to talk about mantra and Deity yoga: what is a deity and in what way is a mantra connected to a deity? How does one properly chant a mantra? What should we visualize? (featuring a brief excursus on yantra, sacred geometry!) and why would we even want to do a mantra practice? etc. Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lecture. 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/U8zKP8yMrM00:03:45 Discussion starts: The Non-Dual View00:05:54 What is a Deity in the Non-Dual View? 00:09:30 What Bootsy Collins said to me00:11:50 What is Consciousness? (A Direct Path Teaching)00:22:40 Jungian Archetypes and Gods and Goddesses00:26:30 What Does A Deity Look Like? (Mantra, Yantra, Murti)00:49:33 PracticeSupport 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

Guru-Yoga is the central practice of the Tantrik tradition. In fact, I would go so far as to say that in any genuine mystical tradition, the role of a living teacher is highly emphasized: in Christian mysticism, its the spiritual perception/director/elder; in Sufism its the Affendi; in Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism its the Guru.  My guru likes to say: the human Guru is a matchmaker who marries you to God, who alone is the Guru, and Who, in Truth is what You are at the essence of your Being.   Yes, the Guru is certainly IN you AS you but long before you can benefit from inner direction, you'll need a human teacher to mirror for you, model for you and instruct you in spiritual life.  Like with all things in life, we need teachers.   But what qualifies a person to become a spiritual teacher?   Some time ago, we had a talk where we explored Swami Vivekananda's criterion for a genuine teacher that appears in the Bhakti Yoga book. And long before that, on Guru Purnima some years ago, we offered a lecture on Guru Yoga in general where we explored a few Tantras like the Kula-Arnava Tantra to get a sense for what guruhood really is according to the Tantrik traditionSince Guru Purnima is coming up yet again, I thought it'd be nice to revisit that discussion, especially since last week we had such an extension discussion on the importance of shāstra, scriptures and also since we're currently discussing the Nārada Bhakti Sutra in which we find this profound set of verses:भवतु न चयदा  याद ू व शा  र णम्।१२-१.१२अ यथा पा त यश कया । १३ - १.१३  "Until one is unshakeably enlightened, one should follow the scriptures." (12) "Otherwise, there is a fear of fall (from spiritual life)." (13)  What does it mean to "fall"? In this talk, I make the case that "falling" for both a practitioner and a more importantly, a practitioner who teaches others is non-adherence to or general disrespect/irreverence for the tradition's scriptures. Remember, this conversation is the follow up to last week's discussion on the importance of scripture (which features a very clear definition of what we mean by "scripture")This is one lecture in a series on the Nārada Bhakti Sutra which you can follow along with hereThese classes meet live every Friday evening at 6pm PST via this zoom link: 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/yogawithnisSupport 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

Every spiritual and religious tradition in the world has some sort of scripture. One very interesting thing about South Asian spirituality (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and others) is that there is no one authoritative scripture but rather a vast commentarial tradition of scripture that features a peer-reviewed and corroborated account of mystical experiences and the subtlest, most refined truths of spiritual life that are gleaned from them. More importantly, the central claim of the South Asian scriptural tradition is a very scientific one: anyone anywhere if they follow the injunctions of any of these scriptures can verify for themselves, through direct experience, the truths claimed by the scriptures. As such, for many of these scriptures, dogmatic belief (though it can be in some cases nourishing for a certain type of person) is discouraged or at the very least, must be transcended. So what really are the scriptures? In this lecture, I make a comprehensive defense of śāstra (scripture) and advocate for their importance in spiritual life. This is one lecture in a series on the Nārada Bhakti Sutra which you can follow along with here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/narada-bhakti-80688555?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkThese classes meet live every Friday evening at 6pm PST via this zoom link: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/U8zKP8yMrMOM Tat SatSupport 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 is "God" and what does it mean to "attain" That?In this lecture, we discuss discuss "The Absolute" on a few different levels from a philosophical perspective but more importantly, we offer a few practice methods for "attaining", that is "recognizing, integrating and acting/thinking/feeling according to"  that Absolute Truth.  This lecture is part of a series on Kashmir Shaivism which you can watch here https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGGe32PDNMb9bvgn4Vfn1mtrfF7JPZQnIn this installment, we hint at the metaphysical explanation behind the Shiva līla (God's play) idea which is central to this tradition by explaining the 5 powers of God with an emphasis on Vimarśa or ānanda-śakti! At the end of the lecture we read a beautiful poem by Shankara that Swami Vivekananda sings to M. towards the end of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. And I'd like to share with you what is for me one of the most moving moments in the Gospel, the final scene where M. smiles and Narendra talks about the ultimate in spiritual life, in one concise sentence. And then I'd like to share the final line of the Gospel and its significance which changed my life and I pray, will change yours too! Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lecture. 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

Does your life have a purpose or meaning? In order to ask the question, "what is the purpose of my life?" you have to first take a few steps back and ask "what is the purpose of the Universe?" Since you are an active participant in and a veritable fraction of (if not entirely) the Universe, your purpose must be in some what articulated along with and according to the purpose of the Universe. But does the Universe even have a purpose? Or is it just insentient matter? Is there a God who created the Universe as in dualistic theistic religion? Or is God embodied AS the Universe as in pantheistic and panentheistic religion? If so, what is God's purpose for creating/becoming all of this? And what does any of that have to do with you? But again, before asking "why the Universe" or "why God", we must first ask "what"! WHAT is God and what is the Universe?! In this lecture, we sketch out the map of Reality as per the Sāmkhya, Advaita Vedanta and Trika-Krama (Kashmir Shaiva) systems of philosophy before offering a teleology (a raison d'etre) for all of it.Ironically, right as we got to the "why" question", my internet connection cut out and the recording stopped. And since I have no idea how to do video editing whatsoever, this video ends in somewhat of a cliff-hanger. You can watch the final ten or so minutes of this lecture for absolutely free here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/true-purpose-of-84533452?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkI promise this is not some clever marketing scheme to direct traffic from here to Patreon! Its only because I felt the last section was too short and out of context to upload unto YouTube as a stand alone video or as a podcast!Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lecture. 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

Every theists (those who accept the existence of God), no matter how strong their faith, will one day have to reconcile for themselves what philosophers have been calling, the "problem of evil": if God is all-good and all-powerful, then, why is there evil in the world? The existence of evil, both natural and man-made seems obvious. Natural disasters, famine, disease, genocides, petty acts of violence etc. So either is this means God is not all-good, because God can intervene but chooses not too or worse still, that God is not all-powerful because even if God wants to intervene, God is powerless to (perhaps because there is something like the "devil" or "karma" which limits God power) which of course make God, well, no longer "God", in the fullest sense of the word. Even non-theists (those who don't believe in God) must come to terms with the suffering their own lives and the general suffering of the world. So what are we to do?In the first three lectures of this series,  "What is Evil?" we first challenge the existence of evil point blank by calling into question the duality of "good vs evil" and reconciling that with a powerful idea from the Advaita Vedanta, or Hindu Non-Duality there is only One that various not in type or kind, but in degree. We prove that evil doesn't actually exist thereby solving the problem of Evil.In the next lecture, "Is God Evil?", we accept the existence of evil but prove that God is not all-good because (a) She cannot be confined to our narrow concepts of good and evil (i.e this position in philosophy is called "skeptical theism") and (b) Her ultimate value is creative self expression that includes all possible events in a spirit of infinite self exploration (the Shaiva Tantra view of "Shiva Lila" or God's play". In this lecture, we walk through a few responses from Sri Ramakrishna to Hari Maharaj (later Swami Turiyananda) regarding the problem of evil to advocate for the "God's play" idea on p.g 436 of Swami Nikhilanandaji's translation of the Kathamrita by M., The Gospel of Sri RamakrishnaThen in the third lecture completing the "Theodicy Trilogy", "Why Do Personal Tragedies Happen?" we go even deeper into Sri Ramakrishna's response to offer a kind of teleology to this theodicy. That is to say, we explain why evil happens at all, ultimately to make the claim that God is not evil but ultimately good and since the ultimate good is spiritual liberation while embodied (jivanmukti), all the so-called evil in life, from personal tragedies to macrocosmic events, have a deep meaning and purpose, i.e: saint making!You may watch the series here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGGe32PDNMZe_6Yju87nv0rvxnSW2ub_Notice that some of the claims of one lecture might contradict another: in the first lecture, we denied evil altogether. In the second, we accepted evil but denied God's goodness in favor of God's all-powerful nature. Then, in the third lecture, we accepted evil and God's all-powerful nature but advocated for God's ultimate goodness in light of "saint-making." You might ask now, "well, which is it?" It's all three! A complex inquiry like this can be approached in many ways to yield different insights. But it is my prayer that those who watch the lecture will find an internal consistency to the reasoning presented and will henceforth feel free and empowered in their theism! Lectures happen live on zoom every MondaSupport 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

If you'll allow me to be a little controversial, I'd like to make a case in this lecture for why you should have a spiritual ego. I'm going to explain what I mean by "spiritual ego" on a few levels in order to transmit to you strength, self-reliance and confidence. I'm going to say that "weakness" (which typically disguises itself as false "humility") is the ultimate obstacle in spiritual life. To combat that, I want to assure you of your own power, your own indomitable strength! And to do that, I'm going to try to convince you to have a very robust sense of ego, a "spiritual" ego! Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lecture. 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

Explore the intriguing connection between language and spirituality in Kashmir Shaivism, featuring insights from ancient texts. Discover how the 'four levels of the Word' can transform limiting beliefs and empower spiritual practices. Learn about the emotional landscape's role in philosophical thought and how to navigate society's pressures with personal truth. Delve into subconscious inspiration and community-driven meditation, highlighting the importance of collective spiritual experiences.

This Q&A from our recent Monday satsangh was so rich especially after Richard asked the beautiful question about learning to see God even in those places and people where its especially hard to see Her! I suspect this discussion will be particularly valuable to those struggling with theodicy, or the problem of evil in theism: "if God is all-good and all-powerful, why does She permit so much suffering?" We also make a rather nuanced point about "karma" being the Indian version of "the devil". Either everything is God's will or it isn't! And if isn't...what kind of God you got?!?The theodicy discussion begins at 00:33:53 Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lecture. 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