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How to Control Thoughts and Stop Vasanas?

In this short video, Swami Ramanacharana Tirtha answers this question. Sri Swamiji is an Acharya of Vedānta sampradāya. His discourses and writings are filled with the power of Atmajñāna and the fragrance of bhakti and one gets an intimation of one’s spiritual essence...

Ahimsa As a Gift

Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word that translates as “without injury” or “nonviolence” in English. It’s a principle in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist philosophy that involves causing the least amount of harm possible to all beings. It’s the first ethical principle given as a...

Practice and Non-Attachment:  A Two Pronged Approach to Liberation

If you want to see well through a window, you have to clean both sides. Practice (abhyasa) and non-attachment (vairagya) work much the same way. They are the complimentary practices given in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras as a means to quiet the movement of thought in the...

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Making Peace with Desires

Making Peace with Desires

How to let go of or make peace with a desire in the mind? Try to stay away from the object. Then the thought will slowly die away because the thought is not being fulfilled; the desire is not being fulfilled. Even though the desire comes in, when you don’t give it the...

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Helpful Hints for the Practice of Yama and Niyama

Helpful Hints for the Practice of Yama and Niyama

The first two limbs of Raja Yoga are called yama and niyama. They consist of five precepts each and constitute the ethical foundation of Yoga. Sri Swami Satchidananda said: “All spiritual life should be based on these principles. They are the foundation stones without...

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Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Ahimsa

Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Ahimsa

In this monthly series on the Yamas and Niyamas, Swami Karunananda offers wisdom and reflections on applying these foundational principles of Yoga in daily life. Sutra 2.35: In the presence of one firmly established in non-violence, all hostilities cease.  —from The...

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Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Satya

Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Satya

In this monthly series on the Yamas and Niyamas, Swami Karunananda offers wisdom and reflections on applying these foundational principles of Yoga in daily life. This month's teaching is on Satya, truthfulness. Sutra 2.36: To one established in truthfulness, actions...

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Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Asteya

Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Asteya

In this monthly series on the Yamas and Niyamas, Swami Karunananda offers wisdom and reflections on applying these foundational principles of Yoga in daily life. This month's focus is on Asteya, non-stealing. Sutra 2.37: To one established in non-stealing, all wealth...

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Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Brahmacharya

Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Brahmacharya

In this monthly series on the Yamas and Niyamas, Swami Karunananda offers wisdom and reflections on applying these foundational principles of Yoga in daily life. This month's focus is on Brahmacharya, moderation. Sutra 2.38: By one established in continence, vigor is...

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Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Saucha

Raja Yoga Teaching of the Month: Saucha

In this monthly series on the Yamas and Niyamas, senior Integral Yoga teachers offer wisdom and reflections on applying these foundational principles of Yoga in daily life from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This month's focus is on Saucha, purity. FROM THE HOLY BIBLE:...

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A Practical Guide for Life

A Practical Guide for Life

The teachings of Raja Yoga are a golden key to unlock all health, happiness, peace, and joy. Everyone, everything, in the creation wants to be happy. If you put a plant in the shade, its leaves will turn toward the sun, because the plant wants to be happy. Place a...

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The Yamas and Niyamas

The Yamas and Niyamas

Deborah Adele says that the yamas and niyamas (the ethical precepts that are the first two foundational limbs in Patanjali’s eight-limbed system of classical Yoga) offer us tools to help us stay centered in the midst of the ups and downs of life. She’s written a book...

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The Yamas and Niyamas: Aparigraha (Non-Greed)

The Yamas and Niyamas: Aparigraha (Non-Greed)

If you’ve ever taken a class with Swami Karunananda, you know that she is a Raja Yoga master teacher and a fantastic storyteller. That’s why we couldn’t miss the opportunity to share the transcript of her talk on one of the five yamas: aparigrapha (non-greed). Swami...

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