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The Nectar of Wisdom and Sacred Practice
The distinction between religion, ceremony, and true spirituality is essential for realization.Religious ceremonies are good, creating positive vibrations and purifying the environment through elements like fire and water. These ancient Vedic practices, such as yajña and abhiṣeka, utilize life-sustaining elements. The nectar, or amṛta, used is about … read more »
The Mind, Dharma, and Karma: A Discourse
The mind is the source of all action, pleasure, and pain.It controls the senses and is volatile, yet it is the root of all innovation. Its key limitation is that it cannot know another's mind, so we are incompetent to judge others but fully competent to … read more »
Seminar in Vep. Afternoon satsang
A guided meditation for performing a Śiva abhiṣeka through visualization and mantra.Sit straight and chant Oṁ, visualizing an altar. Hold the sa kalpa mudrā with offerings. Sing the Gāyatrī Mantra five times, feeling a connection in divine oneness. Visualize placing flowers and water upon the Śivali gam. … read more »
The Triad of Grace: Guru Vākya, Seva, and Kṛpā
The path requires understanding Guru Vākya, performing Guru Seva, and receiving Guru Kṛpā.These three are inseparable. Guru Vākya is the unchangeable truth spoken by realized beings, found in perfect scriptures like the Bhagavad Gītā and Upanishads. Manipulating these words creates conflict. Understanding this divine message inspires Seva. True … read more »
The Essence of Kriyā and Anuṣṭhāna
Kriyā is any action, from breathing to meditation.Haṭha Yoga unites the moon and sun channels, balancing emotion and intellect toward realizing the unchanging reality. Spiritual Kriyās, like mantra and breath control, require deepening daily practice. Success arises from increasing, not limiting, your practice, … read more »
The Light That Dispels Darkness
The light of awareness dispels the darkness of ignorance through divine grace and personal purification.Trusting and acting in God's name allows Him to assume your karmic burdens. Life's events, whether good or bad, are opportunities for gratitude, as their full scale remains unknown. This retreat focuses on purifying the inner … read more »
A Beautiful Beginning: Spiritual Practices for Daily Life
Begin the day with awareness to solve life's problems.You are the creator of your problems. Accepting this responsibility ends the problem there. Additional support exists, but you must practice. Upon waking, before moving, recite "Oṁ Śrī Gaṇeśāya Namaḥ." OM is the universal resonance. Śrī … read more »
Seminar in Vep. Morning meditation, 16th of August 2010
A guided practice for awareness and energy through breath and movement.Sit comfortably with an erect trunk. Relax the body completely, letting go of worries. Simply follow the movement of the breathing process; the abdomen expands and contracts. Feel the space the body occupies. Expand consciousness to … read more »
Swamijis birthdays celebration, 15th of August 2010
The essence of spiritual practice is bhāva, the feeling and attitude brought to each moment.This retreat is an opportunity to restart the inner self, away from the distractions and mental pollution of daily life. True practice requires sustained, dedicated effort over time, not brief sessions expecting quick results. The atmosphere … read more »
The Grace of Darśana
The gift of darśana, seeing the Guru, is the most important practice.Viewing the Guru, even for seconds, imparts intense energy and inspiration that lasts for months. Singing bhajans is the essence of the teaching; it purifies the mind and creates a satsa ga. One must participate fully, … read more »
The Most Beautiful Moment
This gathering expresses gratitude for spiritual nourishment received.The present moment of provided sustenance signifies freedom, but worldly duties resume. This time together is a harvest of divine mercy, which must be carefully held within the inner vessel of one's practice. Disciples from across … read more »
Swamiji's afternoon satsang from Strilky, 15th of July 2010
The human being is composed of five sheaths, from the gross physical body to the subtle causal body of desires.The physical Annamaya Kośa requires healthy nourishment. The energy body, Prāṇamaya Kośa, is the vital force binding all layers together; when it departs, life ceases. The mental body, Manomaya Kośa, is unstable emotion, connected to greed, … read more »
Vegetarian kitchen in praxis (part 3)
Health is founded on home, nourishment, and aligning with natural cycles.Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Every illness is connected to the psyche. Food supports healing, but the root spiritual cause must be addressed. Nature offers daily and yearly cycles with … read more »
Vegetarian kitchen in praxis (part 2)
Approach vegetarian cooking with freedom, focusing on flavor and digestibility.Food should be a pleasurable experience for everyone. Anxious adherence to many rules leads to joyless meals, which hinders proper digestion. True spiritual maturity is not indifference to food; the body savors taste, and enjoyment aids … read more »
Yoga teachers program
A guided practice for the seventh level of yoga, focusing on relaxation, specific postures, and breath control.Begin with deep relaxation, systematically directing awareness to each body part while lying down to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. The practice then proceeds through a series of postures starting from a seated position. Key exercises … read more »
Vegetarian kitchen in praxis (part 1)
Vegetarianism is presented as the optimal path for health, mental performance, and planetary survival.Animal foods lack protective antioxidants and amplify environmental toxins. Cooking meat creates harmful free radicals. Dairy consumption correlates with higher osteoporosis rates, a calcium paradox. Scientific consensus now confirms plant proteins are sufficiently digestible, even for … read more »
The Path of Knowledge and the Grace of the Guru
The path integrates knowledge, health, and grace.Prāṇa and health are practical gateways. Āyurveda originates from the Vedas, meaning knowledge, and is the knowledge of life and health. Its root principle is that the first happiness is a healthy body. Sukha and duḥkha … read more »
Children's Yoga and a Story of Balance
Yoga practice cultivates balance and harmony for body, mind, and spirit.Begin by sitting with a straight spine. Assume the bliss posture, focusing on the three-part breath. Practice gentle rocking and spinal rotations to prepare the body. The work demands focus, integrating movement with breath. Balancing postures … read more »
Evening satsang from Strilky
Oṁ is the essence of all creation and the core of spiritual practice.The entire universe is Oṁ, encompassing all that was, is, will be, and transcends time. This truth is revealed in sacred texts and realized through meditation. The Ātmā, or Self, has four aspects corresponding to states … read more »
Lecture by Sadhvi Parvatiji
The sixteen samskāras are scientific rites of passage that purify and guide life's journey.These rituals create profound impressions, steering the mind toward liberation and ensuring healthy, sattvic future generations. Neglecting them leads to societal degeneration. Most ceremonies occur in childhood, requiring a knowledgeable priest and uniting the family and … read more »
Yoga Teachers Program
A guided afternoon yoga practice integrates relaxation, postures, and breath control to harmonize body and mind.Begin with systematic relaxation, feeling and releasing each body part from the feet to the face while observing the natural breath. Proceed through gentle movements and postures like spinal twists and Trikoṇāsana, maintaining awareness and relaxation. … read more »
The Puruṣottama Yoga: The Path to the Supreme Self
The world is an ever-changing tree to be cut with non-attachment.The individual soul enters with senses and mind; only the pure realize the divine essence within. God is present as light in the sun, moon, and fire, as sustaining energy in all beings and vegetation, and … read more »
Yoga for Kids (1/2)
A children's yoga practice for relaxation, using stories and playful techniques.The session begins with attunement through chanting and breath awareness. A guided visualization follows, imagining a beetle moving with the wind, then finding rest, teaching that calm can be found even when troubled. Physical practice involves … read more »
Yoga in Daily Life - exercise program
A guided practice of deep relaxation, mindful movement, and breath awareness.Begin by systematically releasing tension from the feet to the face with each exhale. Practice creating and releasing tension in individual limbs, then the whole body, to feel the contrast. Move with slow, deliberate stretches, coordinating … read more »
The Puruṣottama Chapter: The World as a Tree and the Path Beyond
The fifteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā describes the path to liberation using the symbol of an inverted tree.This aśvattha tree represents the ever-changing world, its roots above in the divine and its branches below. The leaves are the eternal Vedic teachings. One must cut this firmly rooted tree with the strong axe of … read more »
Yoga Teacher Program
Advanced yoga practice integrates physical postures, breath control, and deep relaxation to recharge the system.Begin with Ānandāsana, focusing attention on each body part without physical movement to relax and recharge the cells. Follow with gentle torsion exercises and sequences like Kaṭhūpraṇām to warm and stretch the body. Perform isometric holds … read more »
Yoga for Stress Management
Stress is a mental symptom requiring management on every level.The body's stress response is positive, providing energy for fight or flight via adrenaline and cortisol. Modern life traps us in situations where we can neither fight nor flee, causing harmful accumulation. Daily practice breaks down … read more »
Yoga in Daily Life - excercise program
A morning yoga practice integrating movement, breath, and awareness.Begin by lying down, releasing tension systematically from the feet to the head through conscious exhalation. Practice alternating tension and relaxation in the limbs, cultivating awareness of the contrast. Move through deliberate stretches for each side … read more »
Morning lecture about Yoga in Daily Life,
Yoga in daily life is the path from separation to wholeness.Yoga is absolute eternal completeness. The universe and our existence within it are Viyoga, separation from that completeness. In separation, there is restlessness, hunger, and suffering. We search for completeness through transient things, which only brings … read more »
Time according to Vedas and Puranas II part
The Vedic concept of time describes vast, cyclical ages presided over by Manus, with our current age beginning after a great flood.Time is measured in divine years, where one divine year equals 360 human years. The cycle consists of four Yugas, each representing a decline in dharma and human virtue. These ages are also reflected within the … read more »
Practising fifth level of Yoga in Daily Life System
A guided practice of relaxation, gentle movement, and breath awareness.Sit comfortably with a straight back. Relax inwardly, drawing attention into the body. Begin with conscious diaphragmatic breathing. Systematically relax each part of the body from the feet to the head. Perceive the body as one … read more »
Children Programme from Strilky
A children's yoga practice integrates movement, breath, and imagination to develop the body and calm the mind.The session begins by attuning to the practice with breath and sound. Simple postures are introduced through imaginative journeys and animal metaphors, guiding the body from activity to stillness. The practice cultivates awareness of posture, coordination, … read more »
Human Nerve System and Yoga practicing
The nervous system is the central controller of the body.We often focus only on the passive movement apparatus of bones and muscles. A controlling system is required to direct how and what to move. The nervous system governs the movement apparatus, inner organs, and endocrine … read more »
Practising third level of Yoga in Daily Life System
A guided practice integrating āsana, prāṇāyāma, and relaxation begins with breath awareness and gentle movement.Settle the body and deepen the breath to receive prāṇa. Coordinate movement with inhalation and exhalation, maintaining inner attention. Practice stretches, Pāvanamuktāsana, and Vajrāsana with focus on spinal alignment. Perform inverted postures like Viparīta Karaṇī Mudrā … read more »
Lecture about Vegetarianism
Nourishment is understood through the dimensions of quantity and quality.Quantity involves macronutrients—carbohydrates, proteins, and fats—which provide energy and structure. Quality involves micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, which are essential for health. In Western civilization, the primary issue is excessive quantity, leading to major causes … read more »
Evening lecture by Sadhvi Shantiji, 6th of July
Life is brief, and attachment binds the soul across lifetimes.A farmer repeatedly postpones spiritual liberation for worldly family duties. After death, he is reborn as a calf, then an ox, a dog, and a cobra, each time bound by the same attachments. His master, a … read more »
Yoga in Daily Life program
The play of prāṇa and the path of the sannyāsī are the reality of spiritual life.Prāṇa is the divine energy manifest as thunder, lightning, and the life force within. Enlightenment reveals this inner lightning, yet living in the world continues to generate karma through simple acts like drinking milk. This karma … read more »
The Radiance of Supreme Consciousness
The body's vitality depends on prāṇa and a strong apāna śakti for internal cleansing.Rain cleans the air and generates fresh prāṇa, vital for the five senses, especially the skin. A proper diet with spices like turmeric and capsicum, not harmful chilies, supports circulation and health. Pure water is essential. … read more »
Prana, apana and vyana, Strilky
Prāṇa is the source of life, originating from the divine.This energy is channeled through the body's 72,000 nāḍīs. Specific prāṇāyāma techniques purify and balance this vital force. Nāḍī Śodhana harmonizes the mind and intellect by alternating breath through the lunar and solar channels. Subsequent practices … read more »
The Science of Prāṇa and the Guṇas
Prāṇa is the cosmic energy manifesting as physical strength, mental willpower, and vitality.This pure energy is filtered through the three guṇas upon entering the body. Sattva Guṇa represents purity and balance. Rajas Guṇa drives activity and creativity but also manifests as destructive anger and jealousy. Tamas Guṇa enables … read more »
Evening satsang from Strilky
The highest duty is non-violence, or Ahiṃsā.This principle is foundational across all religions and scriptures. The classical yoga path is structured through eight limbs, beginning with ethical restraints and observances. These ten principles guide conduct to cease generating negative karma. Perfecting truthfulness … read more »
The Parrot’s Counsel: A Dialogue Between Ātmā and Mind
Listen to the counsel of the two parrots, an allegory for the soul and mind.The world is unreal; only devotion is true. The mind flutters, consuming the poisonous fruits of desire and pride, which appear sweet but bring bitterness. These desires are a mirage, leading to exhaustion like a thirsty … read more »
Prāṇa Sañcalana Kriyā: Directing the Life Force
Prāṇa Sañcalana Kriyā directs the life force through the body.Practice begins with the yogic breath, inhaling into the abdomen then chest and exhaling from chest then abdomen. Maintain a relaxed, natural flow. Lie with the back flat, knees bent or straight. Concentrate on the navel … read more »
The Roots of Dharma and the Nature of Prāṇa
The root of dharma is mercy, and the root of sin is ego.Prāṇa is life itself, not merely oxygen, air, or breath. It is the vital energy present in all beings and the five elements. Mercy, or Dayā, is the foundation of all righteousness and is an expression … read more »
Evening satsang from Strilky
Yoga originates from the universal resonance of consciousness.The authentic system is based on ancient scriptures. The author of yoga is Śiva, who manifested from the cosmic light. This primal tendency is the resonance Oṁ, which harmonizes and holds the universe together. It is … read more »
Yoga for the knees
Foundations for healthy knees, hips, and feet begin with correct standing alignment.The body's weight must be distributed across three points on each foot: the base of the big toe, the base of the fifth toe, and the outer edge of the heel. Grounding these points aligns the … read more »
A Week's End at the Ashram: From Source to Practice
Water flows from a source, and we must seek pure spiritual nourishment.Mental pollution is the greatest pollution. Connection to the divine source through the Guru Paramparā provides light and purification. One must carry this wisdom forward. The world may not change, but the self can be changed. … read more »
A Final Blessing and a Story of the Seed
The seed of spiritual practice must be cultivated, not stored.A master gave two men a single soybean to safeguard. One locked it away, preserving it untouched. The other planted it, nurturing and multiplying the harvest each season. When the master returned, the stored seed was … read more »
Yoga for a Healthy Spine: Stability and Flexibility in Daily Life
Yoga trains spinal stability and flexibility for daily movement.A common error is bending the spine instead of the hips when leaning forward. Practice stabilizing the back to move from the hips, as in picking up objects. Begin with a straight spine, visualizing length from … read more »
Yoga for a Healthy Spine: Addressing Lumbar and Thoracic Issues
Addressing common spinal issues begins with posture.Hyperlordosis often stems from the chest leaning back, forcing the head and pelvis forward, compressing the lumbar spine. Correct this by aligning head, chest, and pelvis and activating the abdominal muscles. The ilio-sacral joint requires minimal … read more »