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Yoga Asanas: The 3rd Stage of Yoga
Yoga asanas… are they as painful as they sometimes look? ... And why do we have to do them anyway? My first introduction to Yoga asanas came as a child, back in the 1970s. At that time there was a popular American television show called “That’s Incredible”… a...
Hatha Yoga: Path to Self-Realization
Hatha Yoga is the physical aspect of the path to Self-Realization. The body is the vehicle which carries the Self on its journey through time and space. It is the temple wherein dwells the Divine. The body is not an obstacle or stumbling block in the spiritual life,...
The Benefits of Hatha Yoga
If you wish to eliminate the toxins that have already found room in the body, then Hatha Yoga can help. The Yoga postures and breathing techniques purify the physical body. Even if you have developed some bad habits, by practicing Hatha Yoga you will lose all the...
The Story Behind the Bhagavad Gita
In this article, Sri Swami Satchidananda gives us an overview of the "backstory" that sets the stage for one of Yoga's great, foundational texts—the Bhagavad Gita. My Master, Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, said this about the greatness of the Gita: "The Gita expounds...
The Living Gita: Chapter 2 on Steady Wisdom
Sri Swami Satchidananda often quoted from Chapter Two of the Bhagavad Gita in his talks around the globe. He emphasized the importance of the slokas (verses) 54-72 because he said that if we are on a spiritual path, we should have some sense of where we are headed. He...
What Does the Bhagavad Gita Really Have to Offer?
The Bhagavad-gita is not just another religious text; nor is it merely a Hindu scripture. Rather, it provides “applied spiritual technologies,” or systematic procedures by which anyone, of any religious faith, can advance toward the ultimate goal of life. In other...
The Living Gita: Chapter 1
In this article, you can read the first chapter (The Despondency of Arjuna) of the Bhagavad Gita from Sri Swami Satchidananda's book, The Living Gita. Sri Swamiji makes the entire Bhagavad Gita so accessible to the modern reader. The Despondency of Arjuna The first...
Lessons from the Gita: Don’t Eat the Fruit
There is a great joy in giving—in sharing and caring—and not expecting anything in return. That’s what we learn from the Bhagavad Gita. You are born to serve, but not to look for the fruits of that service. Offer the fruit to everybody. That is what is meant by the...
Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita
The ancient Indian scriptures are known collectively as the Vedas. The Bhagavad Gita comes from the Vedas. But what are the Vedas? The root vid means knowledge. According to the Hindus, the Vedas are holy scriptures. Any scripture that talks about the truth is a Veda....
The Yoga of Devotion
Sri Swami Satchidananda recommended that his students memorize these twenty slokas in Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita. These slokas explain the essence of Bhakti Yoga, one of the main branches of Integral Yoga. He said, “This twelfth chapter is really important. It...