Bhagavan Das is an American yogi who lived for six years in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in the 1960s and became a trailblazer in the early kirtan movement in America. He introduced Richard Alpert (who later became Ram Dass) to his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba and the rest...
Traditionally there are five separate Yogas. Each, like a spoke of a wheel, leads to the hub, to oneness or union with the Divine. Hatha, the way of the body; Raja, the way of the mind; Karma, the way of service; and Bhakti, the way of the heart. “Some people think...
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...
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...
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...
Sample from the Spring 2005 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine An Interview with Wah! by Laura Sevika Douglass Wah! has been immersed in the healing tradition of music since her teens. Her travels throughout the US, India and Africa have lead to a weaving of devotion in...
Sample from the Winter 2008 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine An Interview with David L. Haberman, Ph.D. Dr. David Haberman is an expert in Indic studies, and he credits Sri Gurudev as being one of the inspirations for his fascination with India. Even though Dr....
God wants proof that you are totally surrendering yourself. Tests will come. If you fail the tests, then your surrender is not complete. If your surrender is complete, no matter what test comes, you will pass it. Once you pass the tests, you don't have to worry about...
The sincerity in seeking comes only when you know that you have a limited capacity. It's only when you say, “I can't do it anymore, please help me,” that the help comes. You then link yourself with an unlimited capacity. Sometimes God acts like a hard-hearted person....
The great sage of the Himalayas and founder of the Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, Sri Swami Sivananda, gives a beautiful overview of all aspects of Bhakti Yoga. The term Bhakti comes from the root Bhaj, which means “to be attached to God.” Bhajan, worship, Bhakti,...