For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

To what extent do the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna embody or even exceed the vast and oceanic philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, that is, to be precise, the Tantrik exegetical writings of various Shaiva masters in the Kashmir Valley between 900-1050 AD who for the most part seem to have embodied similar mystic experiences and articulated similar philosophies to the ones we find in the Sri Sr...

I believe it was Ram Das who said: "if you think you are so enlightened, try spending a week with your parents!" Getting together with family is an opportunity many people in the world do not get to enjoy. Nonetheless, time with parents, children, siblings etc. can be grating in its own way! As many have discovered over the holidays, there is something about family that can push certain...

Bhairava in Indian spiritual iconography is often depicted as somewhat of a marginal figure who lives far beyond the pale of society. He dwells in the cremation grounds, wearing nothing but ash, garlanded in skulls and snakes. His companions, much like him, are outcastes: a black dog that nobody wants, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, banshees and of course, a flock of yogis who are his devout disciples....

 On the auspicious occasion of Navaratri, we launch into an exploration of Shakti, the Divine Goddess of the Tantras. By Her grace I hope to share with you some deep insights from Ramprasad, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda regarding the worship of Ma and its important in spiritual life. I am going to take an approach that is entirely like Ramanuja in that I will attempt to show, by Her grace, how we c...

Today's lecture is about Renunciation, the ultimate ideal of Indian philosophy and the secret to happiness in life. You will learn the Four Principles of Non-Duality ( Advaita Vedanta ) which are: 1. Upadhi : mistaking yourself to be something you are not as the cause of suffering) 2. Sakshi : developing the Witness to create more intimacy with experiences in life) 3. Adishtana : recognising...

Why do we such high ideals in spiritual life? What is renunciation and why is it important for genuine spirituality? Once we understand why these ideals are the way they are, we will naturally take up and attempt to live according to them.  Naturally, we will also  fall short time and time again. The temptation here might be to drag the ideal down to make excuses for our weakness. Or conversely, o...

In this mini-episode, we say a few words about the Vedic calendar month of Shravan and what makes it so auspicious for the study and practice of Non-Duality. Then, we ask the question: "why is Lord Shiva so blissful all the time?" The answer reveals a lot about the context in which live our hatha yoga and meditation practice.  For more classes like this, visit our lecture library here: h...

Here is a wonderful Q&A discussion comparing Classical Non-Duality with Tantrik Non-Duality to show that despite what pandits might say, they are actually ultimately one and the same and perfectly complementary! 00:01:06 What Is It To Be a Human Being? Does Buddhism/Advaita Invalidate My Personhood? Yes. All Religion Does! Here's Why! 00:12:14 Kashmiri Shaivism and "Playing the Chara...

In one of our most productive Q&A sessions of all time (in my opinion, at least!) we ask the central question: "why aren't you enlightened yet?" "why have you not seen with clarity that you are Awareness, ever free?" "what is keeping your from claiming with conviction your essential nature as the Self, which is even now the case?" 00:00:00 Introduction: Why A...

Who (or what) is a Guru? Today we talk about the role of a Guru in our spiritual life as the living embodiment of scripture, as an initiator or empowerer of mantras, as a "broadcaster of reality" and as a living example of the full possibilities of a human life.  What qualifies the Guru to be a Guru? And when/how does one find one's Guru in this life? Must the Guru have a body? All...

What is it that turns someone away from the shallow, fleeting pleasures of the world and towards genuine spiritual life? Obviously, it is grace. Abinava Gupta, in his masterwork, Tantraloka takes up the very nuanced work of articulating the science of Grace: how did this Grace come about and who is "worthy" of receiving it? Are there practices you can do to invite this grace? And where d...

Who or what is Kali? In what form does Shakti create this Universe? And how can I (a) interact with that and (b) BECOME that? In perhaps one of our deepest discussions yet, we explore the ultimate nature of Reality: the mantric body of Shiva, i.e Shakti. Everything that you see around you is a mantra, a subtly vibrating phoneme that gives rise to thought structures in the mind which in turn produc...

In 10th CE Kashmir, there were a slew of Tantrik masters who wrote brilliant commentaries on principal texts in Tantra and in so doing developed a wholly unique, thrilling and sophisticated approach to spirituality. These masters wrote within the tradition of Shaivism, the spiritual philosophy centered around Shiva as the principal divinity. Naturally then, their approach came to be called "K...

In this Buddha Purnima special, we celebrate the birth, death and enlightenment of one of the world's greatest spiritual teachers, Gautama the Buddha by having a Q&A discussion on various themes in Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and spiritual life in general.  00:01:16 Is Buddha's Enlightenment and Sri Ramakrishna's Enlightenment the same? 00:07:46 Nagarjuna's "Nirva...

When you surrender your life to the Divine Inspiration arising from deep within you, then, you no longer live your life. Your life lives you. In this sangha Q&A discussion, we interview celebrity author and sister-disciple, Lissa Coffey (Parama) to talk about: Why don't we do the things we know we want to do? What is holding us back? And what will happen when we surrender our life to our...

On May 1st this year, the Ramakrishna Mission turns 125 since Swami Vivekananda established it in 1897, in Balaram Bose's house in Calcutta. As an offering to my Guru, I say a few words about the central theme of this mission that to me represents the Highest Ideal of Spiritual Life: service to our brothers and sisters, not out of the delusion that we can "help" them or that they ar...

When people talk about freedom, they usually speak about the freedom to be a slave to their own impulses. The million year tyrant of our biology has kept us entangled in its own survival and reproduction motives, using us as pawns in a much larger game that we cannot win. Every now and then we wake up to this reality and ask if there are other motives by which we might live our lives, motives more...

Theodicy or "The Problem of Evil" is as follows: if God is omnipotent (all-powerful) AND omnibenevolent (all good), why is there suffering/evil in the world?  Either this means God is not powerful enough to stop evil even if She wanted to OR it means God could stop it but won't and as such is not all "good" by human standards. Today, we explore some ideas from Advaita Veda...

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction, access to our lecture library, and to support this work, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish LIVE lectures happen every Monday at 7pm PST on Zoom. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord he...

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction, access to our lecture library, and to support this work, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish LIVE lectures happen every Monday at 7pm PST on Zoom. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord he...

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction, access to our lecture library, and to support this work, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish LIVE lectures happen every Monday at 7pm PST on Zoom. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord he...

In what might be one of our most philosophically rigorous discussions yet, we explore the four main orientations to life: Scientific Materialism, Dualistic Religion, Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta (Non-Duality). In this "compare and contrast" style lecture, we attempt to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of each school of thought with the view that they are all incredible paths appropria...

Happy Valentine's Day! Have you ever wondered: why are some relationships more fulfilling than others? What can we do to improve our romantic relationships? Do romantic relationships even have a place in spiritual life? And how is a relationship, which requires two things to relate to one another, compatible with Advaita Vedanta (Non-Duality) that posits only one thing? In this lecture we ans...

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish These lectures happen Live every Monday at 7pm PST. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.g...

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish These lectures happen Live every Monday at 7pm PST. It is open to the public. Use this link and I will see you there:  https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord....