It would be easy to dismiss the question by saying: "Yes, after a prolonged period of intense austerities and meditation while I was living in Swarg Ashram, during which I had the darshan of a number of maharishis and their blessings, the Lord appeared before me in...
Understanding Enlightenment and Awakening For many, the terms enlightenment and awakening evoke the promise of extraordinary experiences. Referring to a concept that has intrigued and captivated truth seekers throughout history, these terms are often associated with...
Someone asked me the question: “I feel selfish and troubled all the time. Why is it so hard to feel peaceful all the time if it’s my true nature?” Well, that question cannot be answered with words but can be realized. How? By knowing the Knower, being the Be-er. Now,...
A meditation teacher of mine once quoted a Burmese teacher as saying “When everything that can go is gone, what’s left is the truth.” That sentence resonated with me. I heard it maybe 20 years ago and I still reference it and repeat it a lot. And I think that’s...
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...
There is nothing more powerful than the human mind. The mind has a tremendous capacity, so it can be trained to do anything. We can see this in the mental accomplishments or siddhis. If your thought force is strong enough, just by simply looking at an ordinary piece...
Obstacles along the spiritual path are necessary to test your strength. If everything is easy, we would probably lose interest in doing anything. Something that is worthwhile and beautiful should not be attained too easily. The more you work for something, the more...
In this video, Deepak Chopra, MD talks with Yoga scholar/practitioner Christopher Hareesh Wallis about the 1,000 year-old tradition of Nondual Saiva Tantra. Dr. Wallis is asked to explain the essence of mantra and yantra, considered "pre-modern technologies," which...
Ram Dass and Eckhart Tolle are two remarkable teachers who had never shared a stage prior to this 2011 conversation in Maui, Hawaii. These two luminaries engaged in an open conversation about spiritual awakening and the transformation of consciousness. The program was...
Equanimity is Yoga. To know yourself, to see yourself and others clearly, you should have neutrality—complete neutral vision. The scriptures ask us to know ourselves. Check yourself or weigh yourself. The first thing many do in the morning is to step on the scale,...
What is love? Unfortunately, the word “love” is very much misused. When we see our own Self in others and wish that they would experience the very same happiness, the same joy that we have toward ourselves, then you are experiencing true love. This kind of love is not...
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...
Your real partner is your soul. You are married to your soul, your spirit, or the God within. When you really have that spiritual awakening, your recognize that your first responsibility is to yourself—to know your Self. Everything and everybody is there to help you...
In the Yoga Sutras, we learn that the practice of Yoga is aimed at addressing the fluctuations or disturbances in the mind (chitta vritti) so we may experience our natural state of peace and joy. Some misunderstand this and think "Yoga chitta vritti" means Yoga is the...
Question: If the Self is already realized and if it is already Divine, why do we need the experience of enlightenment to know this? Swami Satchidananda: Who said the Self is already realized and already Divine? Do you know positively? If you know this positively, you...
Yes. If you want it, you are seeking from outside. When you know you are already enlightened, you won’t seek. So seeking something means you have forgotten yourself. You have to realize yourself, not seek yourself. That is Self-realization. You realize who you are,...