Integral Yoga News
Questions & Answers on Mantra and Meditation
Question: What is the difference between meditating on something like a mantra and meditating on nothing at all, that is, on no particular mantra, thought or phrase? Will there be different results? Swami Satchidananda: No. But you have to teach me, how to meditate on...
The Name of God
The mystic sound OM is the word expressive of God. It is God’s name. We have to give a name to God, but it is rather difficult to find a suitable name for that nameless, formless, omnipresent and omniscient One. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali say, “Tasya vachaka...
Mantra Meditation
I am often asked, “What should I meditate upon?” The simplest thing is to repeat a mantra (a mystic sound). It is a very sound method. It is really simple, but at the same time, very powerful. It could be OM or AMEN or HARI OM or OM SHANTI—any mantra you like. If you...
Listening to the Sound Within
Nada Yoga is the Yoga of sound and it includes practices using sound formulas and mantras. Mantra repetition itself is a Nada Yoga practice. Through repeating the mantra, you gradually develop that sound vibration within. After practicing for a long time, you will be...
Bhakti Yoga: The Path of Love & Devotion
The word “bhakti” means devotion. Bhaktas are devotees whose goal is to attach themselves completely to God, or the Beloved. Our entire nature is based on such love. We are attached to so many things. From early childhood, we learn to cling to someone or...
Integrating the Yoga Pathways of Meditation & Devotion
Our whole experience of life is based on the stories we tell ourselves about what occurs. These stories begin with our mind’s interpretation of what it perceives. Swami Vivekananda describes this like an oyster making a pearl. A parasite gets inside the shell, and...
Questions & Answers with Swami Satchidananda: Kirtan and Bhakti Yoga
Question: Can you please talk a little bit about chanting, the path of Bhakti Yoga, and developing oneness with God. Swami Satchidananda: Bhakti means heart. That’s what God wants. Being in the head alone is egoistic; the head is a hard nut to crack. Chanting...
Attuning to Grace
I once visited a home where there was a young baby. I was talking to the family and the mother was busy somewhere in the kitchen. The baby was playing with its toys. After a while, the baby cried a little and started putting things in its mouth, thinking that by...
Hatha Yoga and Asanas
Hatha Yoga relates to the restraint of breath (pranayama), asanas, bandhas and mudras. “Ha” and “tha” mean the union of the sun and the moon, union of prana and apana vayus. “Hatha” means any tenacious practice till the object or end is achieved. Hatha Yoga is...
The Purpose of Hatha Yoga
We are not our bodies. But unfortunately without the body we cannot do anything. Whatever good or bad you want to do, you need a body. You want to taste something, you need the tongue. You need to hear something, you need the ear. You want to touch something, you need...