Yoga Wisdom with Acharya das

Adam Curtis, the writer, and producer of the BBC documentary series – The Century of the Self said his film was “the story of the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.”   Modern society, with the aid of social media, promotes the ideas of “self-importance” over “self-sacrifice for t...

This is the 1st part of a series called “My Life’s Compass” that deals with the need to have clear guiding principles in life. It begins with a profound statement by a leading environmental scientist:    “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems....

This is the third in a series of four talks titled “The Mind, Mindfulness, & Me”.   There are many external forces that affect my mind and emotions.  We may be aware of some of them, like peer pressure, social media, advertising, societal pressures, etc..   However, the Vedas speak about three powerful, yet invisible, subtle energies which act on all beings.  They are known...

This is the fourth and final talk in a series titled “The Mind, Mindfulness, & Me”.   Here we examine the spiritual paradigm which should be foundational to how we live in and interact with the world.     You are an eternal spiritual being, the seer, the inhabitant of the body.  Your presence makes it so that your body exhibits symptoms of life.  When you leave th...

This is the second in a series of four talks titled “The Mind, Mindfulness, & Me”.   Some good advice for us all is that in a heightened state of emotions, whether negative or so-called positive emotions, one should not speak, one should not make decisions, and one should not act, as it will invariably produce difficulty or suffering for myself and for others.   This is where mindful...

This is a series of four talks titled “The Mind, Mindfulness, & Me”.   If you want to live a life where you can experience peace, joy, and fulfillment, then there is an urgent need to be more in control of your mind and emotions.  If you are the servant of your mind and its’ innumerable desires, and make decisions based upon waves of emotion that can sweep over the mind, you will fun...

People who make New Year resolution have the optimistic outlook that ‘I can be happier, life can be better’ and ‘I can do better in my life’.  This is a good thing to have this attitude and there is an underlying great spiritual truth to this way of thinking.  In this talk we explore the subject.

I received an interesting question about whether meditation could be considered a form of self-love?   In this talk, we examine the meaning of “self” and the word “love” and what the ancient yogis taught in this regard.  The concept of self-love is a modern creation that tries to bundle up all forms of good mental and physical health practices as being self-love. Merchants have also leve...

A number of people have asked me about navigating disinformation online, and particularly on social media.   The brilliant documentary “The Social Dilemma” which was released very recently, points out how a Google search on a specific subject by 2 people (who may be friends even), and while even standing next to each other, can result in different views/perspectives being served in the search...

I was asked to speak about what a yogi’s perspective of Jesus Christ would be.  I have done my best to answer this question honestly and from the Vedic perspective.   Some of the Bible verses I used in the talk from the King James Version, are listed here:   [Mat 6:24 ] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one...

On this night we were observing the celebration of Diwali, known around the world as the Festival of Light.  But many people, even in India, are unaware of the historical roots of Diwali as a very sacred festival with very deep spiritual meaning.  So I attempted to shed a little light on the subject.   Mahamantra Kirtan - "What a Beautiful Name It Is" cover.

Betrayal can be experienced in many different situations and on many levels.  But it is always painful. In seeking to deal with the pain, I can try to do this on the mental level, or on the spiritual level.     The foundational precept of real spiritual thinking is the recognition that I am an eternal spiritual being residing in a temporary material covering.  My desire fo...

I was asked whether compassion was integral to spiritual life? We must understand that real spiritual awakening means to know ‘myself’, meaning my true spiritual essence and not the temporary body and mind I am occupying and using then this will simultaneously grant the vision to see all others as spiritual beings like myself.  The Bhagavad-gita states:   He is a perfect yogī who, b...

Last week’s talk on attachment and renunciation was focused on a very specific type of misuse of these noble spiritual ideals, where someone seeks to take advantage of another person. After posting this talk I received a number of inquiries related to the broader understanding of these two principles, attachment and renunciation, and their meaning and application in a broader spiritual context. So...

Attachment and renunciation are subjects interwoven with most spiritual paths.  However, they can also be used as and excuse for bad (non-spiritual) behavior.  I was asked to address the following question:   “Oftentimes I see the “spiritual” idea of detachment used as an excuse to run away from responsibilities, abandon relationships ( all types), or to emotionally disengage in neg...

After the talk two weeks ago, where I read out a few questions I received, I was asked to go a bit further on the two questions which I had not covered: “Why did a perfect God create flawed beings?” and “Why are humans allowed to make wrong choices?”    The questions fundamentally are asking whether we have free will and if we do why? Isn’t that a mistake for God to grant free will and t...

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Continuing with the Ethics, Morals & Spirituality series – I was asked to continue the last talk “Is God Dead?”   I attempt to specifically address the last two questions from last week – “Does God really exist and how can we know that?” and “If God does exist, can we know who He (or She) is or must He/She remain a mystery?” I also addressed three other questions that were raised:  1...

Continuing with the Ethics, Morals & Spirituality series – I received the following question: It seems more and more people no longer believe in God even as the source of ‘all good’. Some people say that the concept of ‘God’ was a creation of primitive man to try to explain things they didn’t understand. They say that now we have evolved, we no longer need to hold onto these ‘irrational belief...

I was asked to address the apparent inconsistency between trying to live in humility, as it is prescribed for any aspirant on a true spiritual path, and the need to be assertive in order to protect the vulnerable and innocent who may be in our care.  How do we manage this?

Continuing with the Ethics, Morals, and Spirituality Series, I attempt to answer this very interesting question which was sent to me:   “A lot of people think that ‘no one’ can know the whole truth and therefore we can’t receive the truth from another person. They conclude that we are all just fallible creatures and therefore ‘I’m on my own, and that it’s up to me to find my own way, and mudd...

Throughout history and in most countries of the world, we will find that the codes of morality and ethics adopted by most societies, are derived in part or whole from the world’s religious traditions.   With the change of time and the rise of secularism, the tendency has been to gradually abandon these values and to adopt more “modern” social values reflecting the changes that societies are a...

This talk is part of a series called Ethics Morals & Spirituality in response to a few questions I received about marijuana legalization and euthanasia which are being put to a referendum here in New Zealand. Although euthanasia is a very sensitive subject we none-the-less look at the subject, not from the point of making any judgment of whether it is right or wrong, but rather, from the persp...

In this talk, we address just the issue of drug usage (specifically marijuana) from a spiritual perspective. That perspective is best framed by the question “will this lead me to the realization of my true spiritual identity and being or will it contribute/reinforce the illusion that the body (and mind) is who “I” truly am?”    These two outcomes produce radically different experiences a...

This is a look at what drives hate.  From a spiritual perspective it starts with the wrong idea that “I” am material, that the body that I am occupying and the mind I am using is who I am.  Big mistake! Then the notion that I will become permanently happy by fulling the endless desires of my body and mind.   This sets me up to then conclude that I “love” the objects (including peopl...