Ayurveda & Spirituality with Alakananda Ma

Before a society can be considered well-ordered, creative, and consonant with human dignity, it must be based on truth…Human society…demands that men be guided by justice, respect the rights of others and do their duty. It demands, too, that they be animated by such love as will make them feel the needs of others as their own, and induce them to share their goods with others, and to strive in the...

Cicero says, friendship is agreement in things human and divine, with good will and charity. But there are many circumstances where we do need to be friends with people we disagree with. As society becomes more polarized, friendship with those we disagree with becomes ever more pertinent to consider.   Different levels of friendship: General Acquaintances, neighbours, congregation members, ac...

Om. There was a man of the Garga family called Proud Bālāki, who was a speaker. He said to Ajātaśatru, the King of Kashi, ‘I will tell you about Brahman.’ Ajātaśatru said, ‘For this proposal I give you a thousand cows. People indeed rush saying, “Janaka, Janaka.” I too have some of his qualities.’ Today we learn about the caste system and the tension between scholarly and practical knowledge. How...

Throughout an individual's lifetime, each dosha has its time of predominance. Kapha governs childhood; pitta, maturity; and vata, old age. Thus, during the latter years of life, there is a tendency towards vata imbalances, such as memory loss, disorientation, paranoia, tremors, rigidity, cracked and quaking voice and stooped spine. The condition known to Western medicine as Alzheimer's disease con...

So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imita...

Friendship is that virtue by which spirits are bound by ties of love and sweetness and out of many are made one. St Aelred, Spiritual Friendship St Aelred, a twelfth Century English monk, offers us extraordinary teachings on creating spiritual friendship. Alakananda Ma has journeyed with these teachings since discovering them fifty years ago, and shares her unique insights. Learn how you can creat...

In the beginning, this (universe) was but the self of a human form. He reflected and found nothing else but himself. He first uttered, ‘I am he.’ Therefore he was called aham . Hence, to this day, when a person is addressed, he first says, ‘It is I,’ and then says the other name that he may have. Because before all this he burnt all evils, therefore he is called puruṣa —the Person. Brihadaranayaka...

All of us want to live a long life, but the longevity we picture for ourselves is one of robust health, vitality and continued independence. We do not picture ourselves languishing in a nursing home or needing help for the most basic activities of daily living. Yet 15% of adults over sixty-five (not counting nursing home residents) do suffer from frailty syndrome, rising to 33% and beyond in the o...

“The best way to invite friendship is to become your own best friend.” Learn how to befriend your own mind and overcome self-hatred using simple and effective methods. The breath—your dearest friend Befriending your own mind Loving-kindness for yourself Self-empathy Making Friends with Yourself If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more e...

“During the process of ethnic cleansing and genocide, destruction of foodways is an important feature. We may think of the slaughter of the bison that formed a key aspect of the genocide of Native Americans, as well as the uprooting of olive trees in occupied Palestine. Let’s look at cultural erasure by assimilation  and cultural appropriation through the lens of humus—or should we say, humus...

Prajapati once said: ‘The Self is free from sin, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, and free from hunger and thirst. It is the cause of desire for Truth and for commitment to Truth. This Self has to be sought for and thoroughly known. The person who has sought for and known the Self attains all worlds and all desires’. Both the gods and the demons came to know from people what P...

I make a resolve that I will not go gaming. So my friends depart and leave me behind. But as soon as the brown nuts are rattled and thrown, to meet them I run, like an amorous girl. Rig Veda, Dyuta Sukta, tr. HH Wilson Gambling is a hot topic in Colorado, with two bills coming before the State Senate to limit internet gaming, yet compulsive gambling is an age-old problem. What are the symptoms of...

Trump’s Gaza fantasy fuses necropolitics with venture capital. Flatten a place, declare it “free,” and auction it to the highest bidder. This is the Network State in its most ghoulish incarnation: a tech-fascist casino built atop genocide and displacement. Gil Duran in Tech Policy Press What is Palantir? Why is it dangerous? Who is Peter Theil, Palantir’s billionaire co-founder? Learn about: Theil...

Out of the fullness of thy heart invite sorrow, and the joy thereof shall be in abundance. Sorrow shall bring forth love eternal, sorrow shall unfold the weaving of Life, sorrow shall give the strength of loneliness, sorrow shall open the closed doors of thy heart, sorrow shall conquer the spaces of eternity. J Krishnamurti Whether you are experiencing grief yourself or wanting to know how to supp...

Om. This body is the city of brahman, Within it is an abode in the shape of a lotus, the heart, and within that there is a small space. One must search within this space and earnestly desire to know what is there. Chandogya Upanishad 8, 1 Explore the ultimate mysticism in this section of Chandogya Upanishad, as Alakananda Ma unfolds the teachings on the nature of the Self and the space in the hear...

What is panchakarma? Learn about:      Ayurveda—more than wellness     Pacification and purification   What is pacification?    What is purification?    If you book an abhyanga or shirodhara at a spa, is it panchakarma?    If an Ayurvedic practitioner tells you to get an abhyanga or shirodhara, is it panchakarma?  &nbs...

“ The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink ” George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four Is the Board of Peace a properly-constituted Board? Does it have the rig...

This past week, members of the military reported being told by commanders that Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.” Let’s look together at what the beliefs are that underpin statements such as this. We’ll uncover End times beliefs Christian Zionism Dispensationalism What is meant by Armageddon What is the Armageddon lobby...

True, I have learnt much, but I know only the word meaning. I do not know the Self. Sir, I have heard from great persons like you that only those who know the Self are able to overcome sorrow. I am suffering from sorrow. Please take me across the ocean of sorrow.’ Sanatkumāra then said to Nārada, ‘Everything you have learnt so far is just words’. Chandogya Upanishad Narada Muni was the Renaissance...

Learn about rheumatoid arthritis, gout and osteoarthritis. How does Ayurveda see arthritis? How does the Ayurvedic approach contrast with that of Western Medicine? How can Ayurveda help you with your arthritis? Ayurveda for Arthritis If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and s...

How has the spiritual teacher expressed during the last two thousand years? What is the new face of the spiritual guide in the emerging paradigm? How has spiritual guidance evolved down the ages? How can you recognize a sadguru? What about false gurus? How will spiritual guidance look in the age of liberty, equality and fraternity Spritual Guidance in the Age of Aquarius If you enjoyed this episod...

“Some of the key stories the Epstein files reveal are areas that have been my specialist interest for years. The Kremlin. Silicon Valley. MAGA and the European far right. Israeli intelligence. And there, slap bang in the middle of it is a man who I’d never wanted to pay any attention to, Jeffrey Epstein. Not only are they all connected. Epstein connects them.” Carole Cadwalladr  What are some...

“One purpose of creative ritual was to experience the connection to “the other” as well as a deeper connection to oneself. That’s why ancient people would say: that ritual made me more aware of how I’m connected to life, to the earth, to the spirits, to the song of creation, and made me more aware of who I am inside, at the level of my own being. What we’ve lost is partly the sense that we are eac...

" Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself ." - Hermann Hesse For thirty years, Alandi Ashram’s Healing Room has been a place of peace and healing, bringing comfort and upliftment to those who attend the clinic. Learn how to create your own healing sanctuary just as Alakananda Ma and Sadananda created the Healing Room. Creating a Healing...

That which is the subtle essence is the Self of the whole world. It is the True, it is the Self. Thou art That, Svetaketu. Let’s continue our exploration of Chandogya Upanishad as we hear about Śvetaketu’s science experiments, simple yet profound ways his father brings him to experience the nature of the Self. Chandogya Upanishad 2 Tat Tvam Asi If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5...