Thinking about It

We all naturally seek the light for we find in it comfort, therefore this line of the mantra resonates with us "From darkness, lead us to light".   Darkness and light cannot coexist; where there is light, there no longer is darkness. Meditation is a process where we turn inwards, quieten the mind, and discover that the light is in fact within us. It shines from oneself to the world around us. With...

Embrace the meaning of the mantra: "Asto Ma Sadgamaya", lead us from untruth to truth. This line is the first of many that reflects upon the various layers of truth. Inviting you to notice the areas where you have neglected the truth, or have deviated from it, utilise this session to assess yourself on how established in truth you really are. This session is guiding us to let go of our untruths, a...

Shanti mantras are an ancient tradition that enables us to invoke peace into our lives.  All of the Shanti mantras are effective, but this series will contemplate, reflect, and meditate on the "Asto Ma Sadgamaya" mantra. Today's session captures an overview of the meaning of this mantra, as a mantra that invites transformation of our personalities and realities. The mantra is asking for a change w...

We live in a world of matter, a world made of particles, a world of vibrating energy. This same energy is embedded throughout our body, especially our minds. For our mind are made of thoughts, which are of words taking the form of inner sounds. The world is vibrating, our bodies are and minds are vibrating. Understanding this, the great Rishis have created sounds, called Mantras that mimic and cha...

A key to calmness. A step in the right direction towards peacefulness. Meditation. As part of the Chinmaya "How To" Challenge, the notion of meditation has been identified as the foundation of inner peace — for one needs to be serene within in order to feel a sense of stableness. Indulge into the 21-day guided meditation sessions, reflect on these mantras, and gain insight into the inner-workings...

We're trying a long form series of episodes for the next six weeks. Swamini Supriyananda talks about how our phones have become a crucial part of our lives and talks about its pros and cons from a spiritual and self help standpoint. She also tells us how we could beat the addictive nature of certain applications that aren't helpful or good for us. 

Satsang is the company of whom you keep. Satsang helps us grow in our spiritual paths. We all learn learn from copying. We learn from the people we look up to. Swamini Supriyananda gives us great examples of how satsang with our role models really helps us grow. We learn from watching great masters and following great examples. They inspire us and show us that perfection is possible.

Meditation is single pointed concentration. It gives us capability to change who we are. There is an upliftment of mind because we focus on the higher. When we get good at it, we can lift ourselves above our body, mind and intellect. We start to see things with depth and context. It helps us create understanding of ourselves which is what the spiritual journey is all about. 

The bhaja govindam in verse 27 gives us a to-do list. Chanting the Bhagavad Gita is the start to create interest in us trying to understand the Gita and the path to happiness.  It helps us resolve all of our internal battles, it's a guide for all our battles, emotions and life. It teaches us how to think. It makes us understand the effects of our actions. We may not always understand or remember i...

Hell is typically described as the terrible place where we are punished. In bhaja govindam, it says that we are in hell when we experience anger, desire, greed, and delusion. Renounce desire, anger, greed, and delusion and then we will experience bliss: our true nature.  Hell is something that takes us away from our true nature. It's something that takes us away from Soham.

Desire is quite a force. It makes us have a tunnel vision and make us overbearing. It transforms into anger, greed and delusion. When desire is obstructed, it becomes anger. In anger we can lose our perspective and ourselves. Quenching a desire can become greed. Greed can lead to delusion if its directed to relationships and money. They are all intertwined and create a web of thoughts that prevent...

We spend so much time making up and breaking up. We exhaust ourselves and we lose our peace. We get angry at one action and write off the whole person and relationship, often over something small and petty.  We can be so rash and impatient from time to time. Do not snap the stings of love and haste, it cannot be joined easily. How we response becomes who we are and who we want to be. 

We're all very similar to each other. Today's verse is about seeing oneness in all beings and things. The emotions we feel are the same. When we watch a movie or read a book, we identify with the characters because we're all going through the same things.    

A line questions many of us ask ourselves are where do we come from and why are we here. All of these questions lead us to the infinite truth. Sometimes, the answers to questions aren't directly visible and we need to apply logic to get the answers. 

Do you think God talks to you? It's one of the symptoms of someone diagnosed with psychosis is that they hear someone speaking to them and telling them what to do. The similarities between a man of enlightenment and someone with mental conditions is talked about in verse 22 of Bhaja Govindam.  The person of perfection is childlike in terms of their happiness. They are so spontaneous and uninhibite...

We come into this world with all the right tools to get moksha but we lose our way. Our determination dwindles and things become hopeless. In this state, we prey. It's extremely powerful, it opens our heart to receive the lord's grace. Holding onto a chant helps people get through extreme difficulties. When our hearts really yearn, we will get what we want. 

In verse 20 of Bhaja Govindam, we learn that we need to study the Bhagavad Gita and to workship Lord Krishnaso that we can gracefully accept death when it comes - we could possibly go beyond death.  Symbolically, the flow of the Ganga represents the flow of knowledge and devotion. To take a sip of that devotion is what we are urged to do. Workship is described in the Gita as to serve mankind. Serv...

Swamini Supriyananda talks about the importance of studying the Bhagawad Gita. Many of us may not have the dispassion to stay in the Himalayas the way swamis do. We don't need to anymore, technology has enabled this for us. The student of the Gita is for us. It was also taught in the battlefield - in the middle of an extremely stressful situation. Gurudev even called it the Arjuna disease. Repetit...

True bliss is experienced on the inside. The story of Lord Ram is a great example of how it didn't matter whether he was in his grand palace or during exile in the forest. We judge sages by their external traits such as their appearance and access to wealth but they don't judge themselves or us by that. They are firmly rooted in the infinite joy. When we judge, we forget to see inside and only see...

We all have desires; desires we seek to fulfill. The ratio between the number of desires we fulfill to the total number of desires we have can be a measurement of our happiness. Swamini Supriyananda explains how the solution to infinite happiness lies within the denominator (our total number of desires); and how reducing that number guides us to the idealistic state of dispassion.

We can make spiritual progress only by preparing and training our mind so that its ready to gain the knowledge. There are many techniques to prepare the mind. Swaminiji shares many examples of the same with us. It's important to remember that the techniques are the means to help us prepare the mind for knowledge. People get stuck in the means and forget the rest. Without getting the knowledge, dis...

As a follow up from the previous episode, now that we know that desires can really harm us and that we should get over them, we learn methods to get over our desires. One such method is to delay gratification. An extended version of delayed gratification is tapas. The problem with tapas in isolation is that our mind will try to fulfill the desire in another shape or form. A combination of tapas an...

Have we ever felt as if we have outgrown certain desires? What do we do about desires we have that are extremely bad for us? Swamini Supriyananda talks about the importance of acknowledging the desires we have and the importance of us letting go of them. 

It's not what's outside, but what's inside that counts. Our superficial desires sometimes make us false pretenders to seek glory; without necessarily working towards actually experiencing that glory. Listen to Swamini Supriyananda narrate a transformative tale of a thief to learn more about the path of renunciation.

Swamini Supriyananda narrates a story about seeking happiness from motives of desire and how this will lead to nothing. If we learn to release our cravings in the search for contentment, we will find it. Listen to this tale about an Old Monk's lesson to learn more.