Karma Yoga: Yoga of Action

Karma Yoga: Yoga of Action

The Himalayas are indeed a crown and spread their victory flag in the sky. The Indian Ocean, in the south, acts as though it washes the feet of the emperor. In between, a thriving sun of culture has been shining for thousands of years over the waves of the Ganga and...

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Recognizing a Satguru

Recognizing a Satguru

To know a Satguru you should know how a Satguru would be. That’s what Arjuna asked of Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita: “How am I to know a person of steady wisdom (sthitaprajna)?” Arjuna then asked Sri Krishna to describe how such a person would walk, how they would...

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Gurus and Spiritual Experiences

Gurus and Spiritual Experiences

A questioner asks: Swamiji, what about Gurus like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa? We read that he touched his disciple Swami Vivekananda and Vivekananda had a spiritual experience. Was Vivekananda just opening up something from within himself or did Sri Ramakrishna...

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Pianist Serenades Rescued Elephants

Pianist Serenades Rescued Elephants

Paul Barton is a pianist from Yorkshire, England who traded the dales and concert halls for the jungles of Thailand, where he performs for elephants rescued from captivity, some blind and handicapped, at a sanctuary in Thailand. This story and short video is so...

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The Science of Sound

The Science of Sound

In any Sanskrit mantra, one of the letters will be a sound that is considered a “seed” sound or a bija. The various bijas each have a different effect on our bodies and minds, and even on plant life. Mantra Shastra, is the science of sound. In Yoga, we have the...

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Seeking Something like Faith

Seeking Something like Faith

The howl of a nor’easter blew against my house and rattled the windows. A rifle-like crack, roaring whoosh, and an earth-shaking thud shocked me fully awake. I assumed another tree had fallen. Finally, night gave way to grey dawn and I huddled around my coffee mug in...

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Living a Liberated Life

Living a Liberated Life

To understand a jivanmukta you have to become a jivanmukta. Jivanmukta means one who is alive and liberated. There is still karma but probably not their own karma. They perform actions for the sake of others. That’s also a karma. They are liberated souls, but not...

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