Inspired by my book “Philosophy on the Mat – An Essential Guide for Yoga Teachers,” this article delves into the evolution and significance of yoga philosophy in contemporary contexts. It traces yoga from its spiritual origins to its modern applicati
Gerry Lopez is one of the most influential surfers and surfboard shapers of all time. Known as "Mr. Pipeline"—for his mastery of the huge waves that form large, hollow, thick curls of water that surfers can tube ride—Lopez is an entrepreneur, a family man, a movie...
Rev. Jaganath, Integral Yoga Minister and Raja Yoga master teacher, has spent a lifetime delving into the deepest layers of meaning in Patanjali’s words within the Yoga Sutras. Our series continues with sutra 2.29. In several prior sutras, Patanjali explained how...
This shloka is a Shanti mantra from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Ishavasya Upanishad. This is an innocuous looking verse: one noun, two pronouns, three verbs and a participle for emphasis. Yet, someone once said: “Let all the Upanishads disappear from the face of the...
The goal of Yoga is to realize the Divinity within. This can be explained in different ways. A devotee will say, “I want to know God. I want to commune with God.” The jnani will say, “Tat Tvam Asi. I am That. I want to know this Truth—this Self or Cosmic...
To learn from a spiritual teacher, more than anything else, you need faith in God: “God, I really want to experience the Truth. Put me in good hands. Present a good teacher to me.“ Then, when you meet them, feel—not through the head, but through the heart. And if you...
All major mystical traditions have recognized that there is a paradox at the heart of the journey of return to Origin. Put simply, this is that we are already what we seek, and that what we are looking for on the Path with such an intensity of striving and passion and...
The ego should either become nothing or everything. When it comes to the ego, I don’t believe in the proverb that says that something is better than nothing. You should either become nothing or become everything, but not something. Nothing is better than something. We...
The kleshas are Yoga’s framework for understanding the discord between our desires and our lived experience. Deborah Adele’s new book, The Kleshas: Exploring the Elusiveness of Happiness, lays open the insight and wisdom of the sage Patanjali, as described in the Yoga...
In her most recent album, The Eternal Nature of the Soul, Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, yogi and musical artist NIKUNJA sings the slokas of chapter 2 in English. The album, awash with inspirational orchestration accompanying NIKUNJA's ethereal voice, may be streamed and...
The Chinese sage, Chuang-Tzu, once had a dream in which he was a butterfly. When he woke up, he didn’t know for sure if before, he had been a man dreaming he was a butterfly, or if now, he was a butterfly dreaming he was a man. Likewise, we are all caught in a dream...
What is Yoga? In simple words: to remain with ease and peace. You might wonder what that ease is. I am talking about that ease, which you disturbed and then called yourself dis‑eased. Even to become a diseased person you should have had ease before, is it not so? If...
I know it sounds hard, but we must remember that when we go through, or see, suffering it is not the Immortal Self that suffers. Who is the sufferer then? It is the mind that goes through all the changes—the little ego, guided by vasanas, wrong thinking, and...
The celebrated book, Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda, is credited with changing the lives of tech genius Steve Jobs, musicians George Harrison and Elvis Presley, wellness guru Andrew Weill and actress Mariel Hemmingway, among many others. It also...
Most of you will probably recognize the following prayer by St. Francis of Assisi. As you read it, let the words enter your heart. Take a moment to reflect on how you could apply it both outwardly to others and inwardly toward yourself. Prayer of Saint Francis of...
The question that scientists ask is how matter becomes conscious. The new idea is that everything has a “degree” of Consciousness. It’s called panpsychism. The conclusion of this way of thinking is that the universe is conscious. And this is considered to be...