For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

Why do we such high ideals in spiritual life? What is renunciation and why is it important for genuine spirituality? Once we understand why these ideals are the way they are, we will naturally take up and attempt to live according to them. Naturally, we will also  fall short time and time again. The temptation here might be to drag the ideal down to make excuses for our weakness. Or conversely, our tendency might be to be overly critical of ourselves for failing and thus render our spiritual practice wholly unsustainable. What then are we to do? This class first establishes what ideals exactly are valuable in spiritual life by studying the teachings of Jesus next to the Buddha. We read a little from a transcribed talk from Swami Ashokananda. Then, we offer some suggestions about how to deal with falling short of these ideals with reference to the standing balancing poses of Hatha Yoga as a metaphor.I hope this talk will be some encouragement to you as you endeavour to live a genuinely spiritual life, a life lived insight of the Highest. After this little talk, we all go into a Hatha Yoga class called "The Spiritual Ideal", to apply some of these ideas in real-time. You can follow along with that class here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/spiritual-ideal-70669024?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creatorOM 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

In this mini-episode, we say a few words about the Vedic calendar month of Shravan and what makes it so auspicious for the study and practice of Non-Duality. Then, we ask the question: "why is Lord Shiva so blissful all the time?" The answer reveals a lot about the context in which live our hatha yoga and meditation practice. For more classes like this, visit our lecture library here: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishOM Namah Shivay!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 wonderful Q&A discussion comparing Classical Non-Duality with Tantrik Non-Duality to show that despite what pandits might say, they are actually ultimately one and the same and perfectly complementary!00:01:06 What Is It To Be a Human Being? Does Buddhism/Advaita Invalidate My Personhood? Yes. All Religion Does! Here's Why!00:12:14 Kashmiri Shaivism and "Playing the Character of Me"00:14:20 Tantrik Non-Duality vs Classical Non-Duality: Iccha-Shakti, the Role of Desire in God00:19:18 The Role of Creativity in Enlightenment00:23:35 Why Is There Suffering in The World? The Tantrik Response to the Problem of Evil00:28:55 How Is One Thing Different From Another In Tantrik Non-Duality? 00:30:00 Non-Dual Worship in Tantra and Abinava Gupta's "Devi Stotra", Hymn to the Goddess00:34:11 Advaita Vedanta, Prasangika Madhyamika Buddhism and Tantrik Non-Duality Are The Same and Complementary and Why I Don't Teach Tantra To The Public00:36:25 The Dangers of Tantra and Kali Worship and some Precautions 00:41:55 Some Resources To Study Tantra00:53:17 Live Lectures Throughout the Week00:55:00 How To Set Up Boundaries If You Are Not The Body?01:02:53 How Are Things Different If Awareness Is One? What Is A Jiva, Individual?01:09:27 The Erotic Metaphors of Tantra and the Role of Embodiment01:22:30 Does Tantra Contradict Classical Non-Duality? They are actually the same! Here's why.  01:32:11 How Does Reincarnation Work? And the End of the Mahabharatha 01:41:06 The Role of Renunciation in Spiritual Life01:47:11 "Walking Each Other Home?" and the Story of Sukadeva01:55:30 Discernment in Tantra vs in Classical Vedanta (The Doctrine of the 7 Perceivers in Shaivism)02:07:20 Should I Be A Monk? Householders vs Renunciants and the 4 Ashramas02:30:30 Does The Brain Produce Consciousness? Or Does Consciousness Produce The Brain? How Do You Know Spirituality Isn't Just Chemicals?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 one of our most productive Q&A sessions of all time (in my opinion, at least!) we ask the central question: "why aren't you enlightened yet?" "why have you not seen with clarity that you are Awareness, ever free?" "what is keeping your from claiming with conviction your essential nature as the Self, which is even now the case?"00:00:00 Introduction: Why Aren't You Enlightened Yet?00:00:30 Awareness vs Mind: Does Awareness Change? It Seems To!00:08:45 The Role of Discernment/Intellect in Spiritual Life (And It's Limits)00:14:30 After Enlightenment, What Do You Do?00:34:00 How Does Jnana, Knowledge support Bhakti, Devotion and Raja Yoga, Meditation?00:59:16 What Is Samadhi?01:08:53 Brett's Success! + How Mantras Mysteriously Work To Liberate Us01:23:00 Spiritual Health vs Physical Health: Does Spirituality Mean The Body-Mind Will Always Be Healthy? + The "Sin" Narrative In The New Age 01:56:35 Channelising the Power of the Avatar02:03:13 How To Maintain Spirituality in the Midst of Busy-ness and Overwhelm02:14:00 The Joy of Monday Night Sangha/ Celebrating Our Community!02:17:08 Does Enlightenment Go Away? and Flow States vs Meditation02:26:10 Closing PrayerSupport 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

Who (or what) is a Guru? Today we talk about the role of a Guru in our spiritual life as the living embodiment of scripture, as an initiator or empowerer of mantras, as a "broadcaster of reality" and as a living example of the full possibilities of a human life. What qualifies the Guru to be a Guru? And when/how does one find one's Guru in this life? Must the Guru have a body?All this and more in today's class!This lecture is from our program "Journey Into Tantra"! It is an 18 part, college-level lecture series in audio and video featuring ~44 hours of content with Q&A + a guided meditation. The idea was to create an interactive learning environment in which these ancient and transformative teachings come to life! I'm very excited to share that with you! You can pick up a copy here!https://nishthefish.gumroad.com/l/journeyintotantraA Poem to my Guru:Better than a hundred ministers who preachAre the lessons that Silence can teach.A mountain’s instruction unceasingIs better than the pastor’s wheezing!And yet how many among us who yearnFor God’s vision can profitably learnFrom the Sphinx-like silence inscrutable?How many are truly ableTo draw from the rock it’s sacred teachingIn a way that is stable and far reaching?A precious few, I say, a precious few!And even among them there is need tooOf a living emissary between Spirit and matterOtherwise we remain enmeshed in the latter!But whence forth comes the one who can teach like the mountain?Who is truly fit to serve as God’s fountain?of unfaltering Grace and Wisdom unstintingTo be a holy jewel, glimmering and glinting?A previous few, I saw, a previous few!But this I can guarantee to you:If you are sincere in your searchAnd if you practice some,Then to you this true Teacher will come.A teacher who is strong and infallibly pure.Of this my friend, you can be sure!God is drawn to the devoteeWho is pure at HeartGod years for such a one –She cannot keep apart!To the one who has no thoughtFor pleasure or for moneyGod is drawn like a bee to honey.After all, the Guru is God in a mortal frame.The Guru is God’s first name.Like lightning flashing in the dark of the stormThe Guru is Silence clothed in form.The Guru is a tree with roots reaching deep.The Guru is the Witness in dreamless sleep.The key to meditationIs the Guru’s face.The key to liberationIs the Guru’s grace.Oh, my friend, haven’t you heard?The key to your freedomIs the Guru’s word.So he who hath ears, please listen wellTo what Nishanth has to tell:The Guru is God in a mortal frame.The Guru is God’s first name.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 is it that turns someone away from the shallow, fleeting pleasures of the world and towards genuine spiritual life? Obviously, it is grace. Abinava Gupta, in his masterwork, Tantraloka takes up the very nuanced work of articulating the science of Grace: how did this Grace come about and who is "worthy" of receiving it? Are there practices you can do to invite this grace? And where does this grace come from and why? All these questions are taken up and brilliantly answered in Chapter 13 of Abinava's Tantraloka and in this lecture we sketch out his reasoning so that we can truly understand the Tantrik doctrine of Shaktipata (Descent of Power/Grace/Sudden Awakening). From our discussion of Shaktipata, we learn the 9 different "grades" of awakening which sheds light on Chapter 2 of the Tantraloka, on Anupaya (The Wayless Way) which consequently contextualizes the Anava Upaya we get in Chapter 5 and onwards.If any of the above discussions on the practice and theory of Tantra are exciting to you, you should know that we do a weekly live class every on zoom every Thursday at 7:30pm PST on the Vijnana-Bhairava Tantra, the central practice manual of non-dual Tantra. In these classes, we discuss together some of the subtlest nuances of our Tradition. All are welcome. You can sign up for these classes by clicking on my name and reserving your spot in the Yoga World Heart website here: https://yogaworldheart.com/scheduleYou can of course access all the previously recorded classes in our lecture library here: www.patreon.com/yogawithnish or pick up this introductory program: https://nishthefish.gumroad.com/l/journeyintotantra(PS: Right now, I’m working on a shorter introductory Tantra program that is not as in-depth, thorough and long as the one linked above. Kind of like a crash course on Tantra. By Mother’s grace, I expect to have that one out by our next newsletter!)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

Who or what is Kali? In what form does Shakti create this Universe? And how can I (a) interact with that and (b) BECOME that?In perhaps one of our deepest discussions yet, we explore the ultimate nature of Reality: the mantric body of Shiva, i.e Shakti. Everything that you see around you is a mantra, a subtly vibrating phoneme that gives rise to thought structures in the mind which in turn produce language structures in speech which ultimate filters down into your subjective and intersubjective realities as you perceive it and negotiate it against others. Does that sound philosophical and obtuse? Necessarily it must! Because today we are discussing the subtlest and highest of Tantrik philosophies. In this lesson, we unveil the "Way of Shakti", a particularly subtle and exciting approach to spiritual practice. We contemplate verses 99 and 102 of the Vijnana-Bhairava Tantra.May your contemplations of these two verses flower into the full bloom of Enlightenment, the attainment of your own innate Shiva-nature of Pure Consciousness.Jai Maa Kaali!OM Namah Shivay!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 10th CE Kashmir, there were a slew of Tantrik masters who wrote brilliant commentaries on principal texts in Tantra and in so doing developed a wholly unique, thrilling and sophisticated approach to spirituality. These masters wrote within the tradition of Shaivism, the spiritual philosophy centered around Shiva as the principal divinity. Naturally then, their approach came to be called "Kashmir Shaivism." While this is a broad and far reaching school with many technicalities and subtleties, I wanted to share with you one particularly striking feature of Kashmiri Shaivite meditation, namely, the Shambava Upaya (Way of Shiva) approach that attempts to seize every day moments of ordinary cognition as profound opportunities to recognise the deepest Truth of your own being. If you properly master this technique, the idea is that in each and every moment of your embodied existence, you will constantly be reawakened to the ever-fresh joy of rediscovering your essence nature as Lord Shiva himself.If you'd like to come and have your question answered, LIVE lectures happen every Monday at 7pm PST on Zoom. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction, access to our lecture library, and to support this work, 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 this Buddha Purnima special, we celebrate the birth, death and enlightenment of one of the world's greatest spiritual teachers, Gautama the Buddha by having a Q&A discussion on various themes in Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and spiritual life in general. 00:01:16 Is Buddha's Enlightenment and Sri Ramakrishna's Enlightenment the same?00:07:46 Nagarjuna's "Nirvana = Samsara"00:12:15 The Buddha as an Avatar of Vishnu?00:21:45 How is Advaita Vedanta different from Soliplism/Subjective Idealism?00:34:51 Westopher's Firm Footing00:50:30 Why Is There Suffering In The World?01:09:25 Dzogchen and Tantrik Buddhism with Orion01:45:50 What Is Bhuta Shuddhi, The Essence of Tantrik Puja? + Kundalini  01:56:03 How Stay Motivated On The Path02:03:29 "Let He Who Hath Ears Hear" (The Importance of Reviewing)If you'd like to come and have your question answered, LIVE lectures happen every Monday at 7pm PST on Zoom. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction, access to our lecture library, and to support this work, 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

When you surrender your life to the Divine Inspiration arising from deep within you, then, you no longer live your life. Your life lives you.In this sangha Q&A discussion, we interview celebrity author and sister-disciple, Lissa Coffey (Parama) to talk about:Why don't we do the things we know we want to do? What is holding us back? And what will happen when we surrender our life to our inspiration, that is, to our Svadharma, our Personal Mission?In this moving discussion, we hear about Lissa Coffey's new project, the Bhagavad Gita Rock Opera, and how following her inspiration has created positive changes in her life and spiritual practice. Her testimony proves to us that if we surrender to the Divine, we will always be provided for and that our lives will be filled with genuine joy and ease-fulness. Then, we answer some questions on how to find motivation for spiritual practice, reincarnation, the obstacles to spiritual practice and many other important themes in spiritual life.For more videos, guided meditations and instruction, access to our lecture library, and to support this work, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishLIVE lectures happen every Monday at 7pm PST on Zoom. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815To 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