Yoga Wisdom with Acharya das

This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".

This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".

This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".

This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".

This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".

This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".

 Most people today are oblivious to who controls their minds or to what degree they are controlled. We discuss how the use of psychology to manipulate the masses became commonplace in the 20th Century. Sigmund Freud's nephew Edward Bernays showed American corporations for the first time, how they could make people want things they didn't need, by linking mass-produced goods to their unconscio...

A new series where we explore the all-important subject of: 1. who is actually in control of and is directing my life; and 2. why that is important. We will be taking an in-depth look at how the science of mind-control was developed by the advertising industry and further developed and exponentially enhanced by Big Tech to take control of your mind and desires, so as to exploit you financially. Wi...

This is the final video of a 3-part series called "Finding Myself" – The fundamentals of enlightenment.   In the attempt to come to know who I really am (self-realization), it is necessary to answer three questions:  1) What is my essence?  2) What is my position? - meaning where do I fit in the big picture, and 3) What is my natural function?   Everyone wonders if they have so...

This is the 2nd of a 3 part series called "Finding Myself" – The fundamentals of enlightenment.   In the attempt to come to know who I really am (self-realization), it is necessary to answer three questions:  1) What is my essence?  2) What is my position? - meaning where do I fit in the big picture, and 3) What is my natural function?   Since time immemorial people have strugg...

This is the 1st of a 3 part series called "Finding Myself" – The fundamentals of enlightenment.   In the attempt to come to know who I really am (self-realization), it is necessary to answer three questions:  1) What is my essence?  2) What is my position? - meaning where do I fit in the big picture, and 3) What is my natural function?   In this talk, we explore how "you" are a...

In this final talk in the series, we continue the exploration of the famous mantra: asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya Oh Lord, lead me from illusion into the eternal reality.  Lead me from darkness into the light. Lead me from the realm of death into the nectar of immortality. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28   We have previously examined the two sets of o...

In this talk we continue the exploration of the famous mantra: asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya Oh Lord, lead me from illusion into the eternal reality.  Lead me from darkness into the light. Lead me from the realm of death into the nectar of immortality. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28    Last week we examined sat/asat – eternal truth as opposed to...

In this talk we begin by exploring of a very well-known Upaniṣad-ic mantra.   Auṁ  asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya Auṁ śānti śānti śāntiḥ   Oh Lord, lead me from illusion into the eternal reality.  Lead me from darkness into the light. Lead me from the realm of death into the nectar of immortality. Let there be the peace of spiritual enlightenm...

What lies at the very heart of war?  The great sages saw the cause as being a spiritual ailment. There are often symptoms of, personal ambition of a leader/leaders which often manifests as a quest for power/wealth; and the “Them and US” mentality which is a breeding ground for a lack of empathy or even hated of others.   The sages have stated that there cannot be peace without inner peac...

I was asked by some people to address this question after they read about an interview with Pope Francis where he was asked why he thought God would allow children to suffer. The Pope said, "I have no explanation for that.”   Many people jump on the honesty of the Pope to bash religion or to disrespect him, but I ask people to please not do that. This is a very serious and important subject w...

How is it that all living beings in the material world are bewildered by the powerful illusion that the body is the self? The Vedas explain that there is a pervasive and powerful, yet invisible, illusory energy named Māyā.  This is a bit esoteric for many people but it is a very important subject.   We mention an ancient story of a warrior prince who was questioned by a mystical being an...

It is often proposed these days that building one’s Self-esteem is the panacea for many issues plaguing our lives. But this can be an oversimplification of deeper issues and there can be many “weaknesses” is such a proposal. We need to question the validity of this idea, at least to how it is often promoted. We live in a time when more attention is paid to people’s “mental health” than at any time...

In this talk we will explore an extremely important topic for anyone who wants to understand yoga and self-realization.    The subject is a bit esoteric and may be difficult for some to grasp as it deals with something that is completely beyond the very limited modern scientific view of what constitutes a person.  The Vedas teach that there is a “real” identity/me and a “false” iden...

I was asked what the yogic view of Christmas is.  Firstly, Christmas is (like it or not), the remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ.  Everything else (the tree, the gift-giving, the partying) was added later.   The yoga system does not mention what is thought of today as ‘religions’.  But it recognized eternal and universal spiritual truth/principles, which may be reflected...

Someone sent me a meme, it was a picture of the top of Mt. Everest with the caption “Every dead body on Mount Everest was once a highly motivated person. So….maybe calm down!”   We live in an age that demands “BIG reactions” to almost everything. Where being ‘highly motivated’ is meant to be a good quality. But we don’t often deeply consider “Motivated by what?” and “To do what?”   We di...

The wide use of the social media mechanism of “leave a comment below” in all it’s different forms, including Twitter, has significantly contributed to the current breakdown of social etiquette and damaged communication between people. Poisoning the well of social discourse has contributed to the serious loss of peace of mind and the erosion of happiness of much of the population at large.   A...

Last week’s talk “Nature is not Spiritual” had some people objecting to that truth and insisting that ultimately nature is an energy of Krishna and so is spiritual and that it's all “one”.     So, I thought I need to address these points as they are very important.  Some of the verses I quote are as follows:   ‘Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false e...

I was asked about whether Nature is ‘spiritual’ and about Nature’s ‘spiritual influence’.  The reality is that Nature is not spiritual, it is in essence material since it is comprised of matter or the material energy. However, it can contribute to a sense of peacefulness in us and serve as a catalyst to arouse an interest in things that are spiritual.   In this talk we explore the subjec...

‘Woke’-ness references the attempt to address perceived or real racial & gender inequality. But it is a political ideology of creating divisions and undertaking action based on temporary bodily labels/identities.    From the spiritual perspective, the temporary bodily identities are false identities, and reinforcing these temporary and false identities can never be considered ‘well-i...