Every year on his birthday, as we gathered to honor Sri Swami Satchidananda, the tables would turn in the most profound way. Rather than our offerings of gratitude and celebration taking center stage, Gurudev would bless us with a birthday message brimming with wisdom...
This video features special guests Swami Sarvapriyananda (spiritual director, Vedanta Society of New York) and Michael James (a translator of Sri Ramana Tamil writings) as they discuss the essence of Advaita Vedanta and Sri Ramana's teachings. They also focus on how...
José Rafael Madureira, an Integral Yoga Brazil sangha member, produced this inspiring YouTube playlist containing his seven most favorite quotes from Swami Satchidananda. José kindly offered these in honor of the 110th birth anniversary of Sri Swamiji (December 22,...
In this enlightening episode of the Integral Yoga Podcast, hosted by Avi Gordon (director, Integral Yoga Teachers Association), Michelle Jacobi shares her captivating journey into the world of Yoga. Starting as a professional dancer in New York with a keen interest in...
"God knows your breaking point. You simply don't know your own strength." –Swami Satchidananda How many times have you been a safe container for those you care about? What did it look like? What did it feel like? Challenging oneself to be disciplined or to attain a...
When you watch the thoughts passing through your mind by being the witness rather than getting caught up in them, is this the same as what is meant by the expression, “Offering it up to God?” Yes, you can look at it in this way. One approach is what we can call the...
VedantaWorks recently released their third podcast series: The Raja Yoga classes of Swami Vivekananda. VedantaWorks is dedicated to the teachings of Vedanta, the basic philosophy of Hinduism as expressed through Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) was an...
The Cosmic Guru is the only Guru. All the rest is just comic. The real Guru is everywhere. Within, without. The Guru is above all the qualities, at the same time you see every kind of quality there. Sometimes the Guru is all sattvic, sometimes very rajasic, sometimes...
In Part 8 of this series, we explored how Ramaswamy (Swami Satchidananda’s birth name) delved deeply into his spiritual yearnings, engaging with sacred texts and absorbing the wisdom of saints. Another profound influence during this formative period was the life and...
In this inspiring contemplation, renowned Yoga teacher Erich Schiffman offers an embodiment practice. He gently guides us toward the recognition that we only exist because "The All, The One, the only Mind, Consciousness or Presence in existence anywhere is what is...
In this column, Rev. Dale Ann Gray offers reflections on the yamas and niyamas of the Yoga Sutras, incorporating insights from classical Nondual Yoga. In this article, she unpacks the first yama, ahimsa (non-violence, non-harming). In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,...
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...