Yoga Wisdom with Acharya das

Is Envy Stealing Your Happiness? | Do you feel dissatisfied when you compare your life to other people’s lives? Instagram feeds are famously full of the shiny, happy pictures of other people’s perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect life... and not to mention their perfectly executed yoga poses in exotic locations. When we compare ourselves to people with more money, fame, beauty, talent, personali...

How to End Racism and Bigotry | One of the most divisive issues facing the world today is bigotry and racism. Race riots, shootings, bullying and discrimination are becoming increasingly common. What does the wisdom of yoga have to teach us about the things that divide us? Are we destined to be forever divided by race, ethnicity, religion, etc. or can we end racism and bigotry and bring about peac...

Be a Force for Good  |  It’s easy to lose hope for the future when all you see in the news is conflict, violence, anger, fear and suffering. Instead of feeling helpless, learn how you can become someone who can bring about positive change and be a force for good. With knowledge and wisdom, all of us can help to make the world a better, more compassionate place. Becoming a Force for Good...

From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma   Most people have at least a passing understanding of the concept of karma. The idea that what you do to others will come back to you may have encouraged you to modify your behaviour with the idea of attracting more good karma than bad karma. But did you know that even "good karma" has a serious down...

From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious   In the world today, many people have rejected religious dogma and organized belief systems.  Yet we find ourselves with a God-shaped hole in our hearts and a longing for connection with something or someone greater than ourselves.  In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna...

From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness   What are you afraid of?  We have so many fears, large and small. Fear of the dark, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of loss, fear of death.  The crippling shadow of fear follows us through life, sometimes lurking at the edge of our consciousness, sometimes completely overwhelm...

From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny   What is my destiny? Is it controlled by the stars? Is it divinely ordained? Or is it simply an arbitrary course of events? Furthermore, is destiny set in stone; a fixed series of events that are inevitable and unchangeable, or do we play a role in determining our future and can we change our desti...

From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom   We read about freedom, dream of freedom, hope for freedom, we may even fight for freedom but do we understand what freedom really is? Why is it that even when we free ourselves from one form of oppression, we simultaneously entrap ourselves in another layer of bondage? Can we ever actually be free...

From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 3. Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness   Everyone naturally desires happiness. To be happy is part of our intrinsic nature, yet it seems that we cannot have happiness without distress. We regularly experience that there is no pleasure without pain. Any happiness that comes our way also seems fleeting, dissolving like mist as we grasp i...

From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom   We read about freedom, dream of freedom, hope for freedom, we may even fight for freedom but do we understand what freedom really is? Why is it that even when we free ourselves from one form of oppression, we simultaneously entrap ourselves in another layer of bondage? Can we ever actually be free...

From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita  1: Bhagavad-Gita on Peace  We long for peace: peace in the world, peace in our community and peace in our family. We have often heard that "peace begins with me" but how do we embody the peace that we seek?    In the Bhagavad Gita,  Krishna speaks directly about the need for peace, declaring that there is...

In the fourth and final part of this series, Acharya das delves into the topic of God. In particular, he addresses the question, “Is there a God or Absolute Truth?” From the ancient Vedas and the yoga perspective, he explains the three experiences of God realization, namely Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan, and describes the experience and consciousness that result from these different types of sp...

In this third part of the series, Acharya Das discusses the topic of enlightenment. He explains that the foundation of enlightenment and self-realization is to understand that a person is not their material body or mind—that they are a spiritual being. This understanding, that a person is not matter, but is the spiritual occupant of the body, can be life changing in how a person determines their p...

Spirituality is the topic of the second part of the series. Spirituality is broadly defined as including “a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves”—typically involving a search for the meaning in life. But many people loosely use the term “spiritual” in ways that detract from the true meaning of spirituality and what it is to “be spiritual”. Acharya das clearly explains the meaning...

In the first part of the series, Acharya Das discusses the topic of yoga. Rather than just the limited understanding as being a system of physical postures and breathing, Yoga is best understood as a broader spiritual system, of spiritual endeavor aimed at self-realization and God-realization . He clears up common misconceptions of what yoga is, describes the ultimate goal of yoga, and explain the...

What does it really mean to be spiritual? Is Yoga the same as spirituality? What is self-realization? What is enlightenment? Are there degrees of enlightenment? How is enlightenment experienced? Is there an Absolute Truth or God for the yogi? What is God-realization? And how is it experienced? Hear the authentic and traditional guiding light of Patanjali and the ancient masters in an enlightening...