It was 1995, and I had just arrived at St. John’s University in New York, fresh from a summer spent at a Hindu monastery. I was on a spiritual quest—a journey sparked, in part, by post-traumatic symptoms I had only just begun to name. Perhaps they were gifts in...
When tracing the spiritual roots of Sri Swami Satchidananda’s extraordinary life and mission, one finds a constellation of saints, Siddhars, and sages who shaped his vision. Among these was a yogi of remarkable attainment and discipline: Sri Swami Sivananda...
It's hard to trust that any words of wisdom are dependable until you experience their truth in your own life. So, when as a child I first came upon Jesus' words, “Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you; ask and it will be given to you,” I...
As the world celebrates the 90th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in July 2025, we pause to offer our deepest gratitude and reverence for a life that has become a beacon of compassion, wisdom, and spiritual courage. For nine decades, His Holiness has...
In the last two installments of this series, we explored the profound presence of the Divine Mother Bhuvaneshvari—She who is the sovereign of the worlds—and how her sacred mantra and yantra became a mystical foundation within the Integral Yoga tradition. Though rarely...
Pope Francis — born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires in 1936 to Italian immigrant parents — made history as the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to ascend to the papacy in the Church’s two-millennia-long tradition. Upon his election, he chose the name...
Hosted by the Integral Yoga Ministry and inspired by the annual "Swami & Rabbi" programs with Swami Satchidananda and Rabbi Joseph Gelberman, now Swami Ramananda, a senior monastic student of Swami Satchidananda, and Rabbi David Igber, a senior student of Reb...
Everyone seeks happiness, but happiness seems never to be stable. Something always happens to disturb our happiness. Religions were born to show a path to happiness that never dies. The mystical aspect of most faiths are particularly focused on this quest. Integral...
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...
It was always the dream and vision of Integral Yoga founder Sri Swami Satchidananda, that interfaith understanding would become a major pathway toward world peace and harmony. He created the Light Of Truth Universal Shrine to demonstrate the principles of interfaith...
If we want to make all our days holy days we should think of the inspiring thoughts of the great sages and saints. Otherwise, when we celebrate this holiday season, it will be just once a year fun. Instead, let us utilize the season to reaffirm that we wish to lead...
Wayne Teasdale (1945-2004) was a lay monk who combined the traditions of Christianity and Hinduism in the way of the Christian sannyasa. In The Mystic Heart (1999), he presented a bold and imaginative picture of the dawn of a new age of interspirituality when people...
In this latest episode of the Integral Yoga Podcast, Avi Gordon (director of Integral Yoga Teachers Association) and Rabbi Rami Shapiro discuss freedom of belief, tribalism, silence, gratitude, changing the world without antagonism, and the divine feminine. Rabbi Rami...
A Benedictine monk for the last 66 years, Brother David Steindl-Rast and Swami Satchidananda were close spiritual friends and brothers as interfaith activists and pioneers. An internationally-recognized practitioner of gratitude and founder of gratefulness.org,...
In this essay, Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB, reflects on how we make ourselves whole by making each other whole. He explores the classic teaching story “Ten Oxherding Pictures” from the Zen Buddhist tradition. Wholeness has intrigued me ever since we boys built...
In this video, Avi Gordon (director of the Integral Yoga Teachers Association) interviews Swami Jyotirmayananda, who was initiated as a sannyasin (monastic) in 1986. She has served at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville in various capacities, including designing and...