Independence implies a freedom from being controlled or unduly influenced by an outside source. Spiritual independence suggests the freedom to live in harmony with the spiritual truth at the heart of our being. It implies freedom from depending on any outside source...
One fine spring morning I stood on the deck as the sun crested the trees. Tucked into the raised beds, cabbages, and leaf lettuce glittered with dew. As if on cue a Mourning Dove landed on the topmost barn gable. I half expected a butterfly to land on my shoulder and...
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...
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...
Observing how Yoga has changed the world, I cannot help but wonder how the world has changed Yoga. As the plethora of Yoga studios and communities formed, they focused mainly on serving the physical body. The calling was great; strengthen and balance the body—that is...
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...
New from Integral Yoga Publications: The Be-Attitudes In this new book, Swami Satchidananda unpacks each of the Beatitudes from the "Sermon on the Mount" from a yogic perspective. With a foreword by Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB, this new addition to the "Peter Max...
Retaining what we’ve learned about the yamas, we now train our attention on the niyamas which occur in sutra 2.32. When prefixed to a noun “ni” can be a negation. It also means “down, back, in, into, within.” Thus, niyama is traditionally rendered “observances”...
Many of us live in a culture that resists a quiet inward orientation. Our senses are constantly lured outward with flashy images, sound bites and all manner of entertainment, expressly designed to capture and keep our attention. It’s intoxicating and another example...
God created this world with the good intention of making all living beings lead a happy and peaceful life. All living beings seem to have the same intention. We don’t see any living being who doesn’t want to be happy. People work hard to have a long life of good...
Have you ever seen your own face? No. What you see in a mirror is not your face. It’s a reflection. If, to your great surprise, your face looks horrible and distorted in the mirror, do you jump up and run to the hospital? No, you get another mirror. You know that the...
We’ve come to the final yama (in the five yamas of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali) and the last occurrence of Patanjali’s “via negativa” approach. Aparigraha, commonly referred to as “non-grasping,” is composed of graha (seizing) with two prefixes attached: a (not) and...
As we celebrate Black History Month in the U.S., and reflect on the actual meaning of Valentine’s Day, let us be inspired to answer the call to serve those in need. Saint Valentine’s life is just one enduring example of selfless service. Roses and chocolates aside,...
What do you want to create? If your goal is to be useful to humanity, then it’s a creative goal. In fact, simply by thinking, we’re always creating something. But, our creation, our goal, should be useful to people. With that type of goal, you can do anything you...
There’s no doubt that Patanjali intended brahmacarya (brahmacharya) to mean “celibacy.” He wrote for and to young men who were monks in training. Let’s break the word down just a bit. Brahma means God, specifically the God of creation. And it also is a shortened form...
Here is my radical proposition: All attempts at growth motivated by disguised self-hatred ultimately fail, and often cause harm. Being “good enough” is only a thought, a mental construct. Nobody can be “good enough,” because that’s just a thought. If we imagine some...