Live Vedanta

Before we begin our next season, we're exploring your stories of transition through the lens of Vedanta. Welcome to Sea Change, a mini-series on the experiences that have transformed us. In this first episode, we're talking to Lavanya about a moment in her life that demanded taking a pause. Want to reflect on a transition in your life through the lens of Vedanta? Leave us a voice message at https:...

We're producing a short series on transitions of all kinds... and we need your help! Share your story of a meaningful transition in your life through the lens of Vedanta at https://www.speakpipe.com/livevedanta . Stories can be anonymous, if needed, and shared over one or two voice messages. For those on the journey of self-development, Chinmaya Mission Niagara provides a community forum to listen...

In this Freedom Talk, originally published in 2022, we ask the questions: What does Sanatana Dharma tell us about women’s rights? What do you do if your parents do not accept or agree with your dreams and aspirations? FREEDOM TALKS are our bite-sized episodes with Vivekji featuring questions from seekers across the world. Want to join Meaningful Mornings? Learn more. For those on the journey of se...

FREEDOM TALKS are our bite-sized episodes with Vivekji featuring questions from seekers across the world.  In today's episode, we ask the questions: How to deal with expectations from close ones? How to balance time, resources, and effort between serving while focusing on self-development? What is the significance of eclipses, especially during pregnancy? For those on the journey of self-developme...

Welcome to the last episode of Season 6! We feel restricted by life, tangled and wrapped up in the cobwebs of circumstances outside, and the chaos of mental noise inside. But do we realize that we can unlearn our limits by simply disidentifying from what we’re not? Are we prioritizing what’s external and ephemeral, or what’s closest, our own Spirit (atman)? Are we tuning into what’s small and not...

Our minds have normalized a level of turbulence, of juggling all of life’s uncomfortable circumstances without ever really understanding them. But what are we focusing all our energy on: the changing, or the Changeless? Are we tuned into the noise in our lives, or the Silence that supports (om) them all? Are we stuck in the quicksand of worrying about our experiences, or are we living intentionall...

It's so easy to get wrapped up in the external battle of life. The expectations we have can rob us from becoming fearless (abhaya). We want to control life as much as we can because we think it will make us happy, when really being an observer (saksi) would really help us take control of our internal self. This internal feeling of joy can only come when one can surrender (saranagati). On this seas...

All of us want to be happy and we do whatever it takes to feel joyous. The problem is we think we can create happiness so we end up going on an emotional roller coaster. This roller coaster can slow down when we increase our inquiry (vichara) and decrease projection. The more we inquire the more we realize the relative is not the absolute which cultivates oneness (advaita) and leads to meditation...

Most of us are following life’s default script -- wake, eat, work, sleep, repeat. But is this working? We receive lots of advice (upadesha) from those we respect on how to be great, but are we actually following? The greatest revelations (mahavakya) of visionaries are accessible to us, but do we trust in them? There are so many opportunities for receiving inspiration (shravana), for reflection (ma...

Life is a trek through a dark forest. It takes lots of endurance (titiksha) to keep up the energy despite all the discomforts and pinpricks. It takes loads of faith (shraddha) to hold onto what you know is ahead, but can’t yet see. It takes boatloads of absorption (samadhana) to stay focused on the path without succumbing to imaginary fears. And it takes tons of desire, need, yearning (mumukshutva...

We're revisiting another Freedom Talk, one of our bite-sized episodes with Vivekji featuring questions from seekers across the world. In this episode, we ask the questions: What is the difference in reflection and inquiry? What is the difference between contemplation and inquiry? How should a seeker transition from one keystone to the next in their journey of self-development? For those on the jou...

In this next mini episode from our series of Freedom Talks, we ask the questions: How should we handle people who always misinterpret our actions in a negative connotation even though we have good intentions? What to do when we are taken advantage of by others? Can we align our goals with our guide? And if yes, how? How can an introvert handle the expectations of family and friends? Is bhakti a pa...

 Many of us probably have probably at some point felt we have/had a  reactive personality, we felt distracted, or dull. How can one develop a calmness of body (dama), quietude of mind (sama), and understanding (uparama) so that one can have a more balanced inner world? On this season of Live Vedanta, entitled Stairway to Serenity , we'll be exploring 100 words at the heart of our self-development....

We all feel we can create joy but that only leads to disappointment. When we have guidance in our lives we realize that joy cannot be created. How can one go from acting (karma), to depending (bhakti), to having insight (jnana), to prioritizing (viveka) to independence (vairagya)? How does one step lead to the next on this journey to joy? On this season of Live Vedanta, entitled Stairway to Sereni...

Our mind is like a river -- sometimes it’s dashing and splashing with a never-ending flow of uncontrollable tides, and other times it’s calm and serene, slowly passing by like a lazy river. How do we tame this mind, so that we can use it for our own Higher purpose, rather than be controlled by its instinctive, impulsive, lightning-fast strikes? How can we best use the teachings (mantra) of the Scr...

 In life we have many ups and downs. Why do we feel moments of happiness and other times moments of sadness or anger? What can we do to always have this feeling of completeness no matter the situation? In this episode Vivekji talks about how our sense of individuality (jiva) leads to attachment or incompleteness and how this cycle continues because of our relationship with the multiverse (jagat) a...

Everything and everyone around us are made up of matter (prakriti) but do we depend on these things or people to make us feel complete (purusha)? When we know all is changing and existence is the only constant, then why do we ever feel anything but joy? On this season of Live Vedanta, entitled Stairway to Serenity , we'll be exploring 100 words at the heart of our self-development. The more we und...

We often find ourselves feeling weighed down by changing circumstances and unending responsibilities -- but are our ropes really external, or internal? When we look inwards at our own temperament (guna), do we find ourselves tired and complaining in laziness (tamas), anxious about results in selfishness (rajas), or living with vision and inner harmony (sattva)? Only when we analyze our self-made b...

Like Neo in The Matrix , has something always felt wrong about the world? Why is everyone looking for a permanent happiness in impermanent places, and then after it doesn’t last, wondering what they’re still missing? Why do we project (vikshepa) happiness onto every new food, vacation, and position, rather than remember where happiness always was? Why do we give into the illusion (maya) that an In...

Why does it feel like there is so much separation in the world? Is it because we are always competing with each other? What is deeper than our form (rupa) and personalities (varna)? How are we all so different, yet the exact same? On this season of Live Vedanta, entitled Stairway to Serenity , we'll be exploring 100 words at the heart of our self-development. The more we understand these words, th...

We may sometimes wonder why we are the way we are. Why do we do the things we do? Our actions are caused by our thoughts (vrtti) and those thoughts come from our print (vasanas), which is who we are because of our past actions. But how can we change the core of who we are? What tools (upadhi) can we use to reach our higher purpose? On this season of Live Vedanta, entitled Stairway to Serenity , we...

Like weary travelers endlessly stumbling after illusions of water in the burning desert, we spend most of our lives running after one inner demand after another. When does the chase end? Are we carrying boulders of emotional baggage in our memory (chitta), or are we learning from the past to move on? Do we allow the leech that is the Ego (ahankara) to drain us with endless agitations, or do we obs...

When using our gadgets in our daily lives, there’s one thing we never forget to do: plug them in. Well, what are we plugged into? Do we feel drained, and out of battery? Are we investing in a more efficient input (prana), to live deeper than it? Are we allowing the mind (manah) to interpret the world, or are we directing it within? Do we find the intellect (buddhi) constantly instructing and plann...

What does it truly mean to feel fortunate (bhagya)? What are some ways we can get to this feeling of serenity? Vivekji teaches us one way to invest in feeling fortunate is to know that all is temporary. Realizing that even the body (deha) is an equipment we have to help us uncover our true nature. On this season of Live Vedanta, entitled Stairway to Serenity , we'll be exploring 100 words at the h...

When dealing with uncomfortable situations, many of us try to escape from mental pain (dukha nivrtti), such as stress, anxiety, fear, etc. We try escaping by engaging in activities that we think will bring us joy. But what is a practical and permanent way to face those uncomfortable situations? How can we go from trying to escape discomfort to striving for peace (sukha prapti)? On this season of L...