The 64 Auspicious Names of the Great God, Shiva The Maheshwara Murtham is a list of 64 names that describe the attributes of Shiva, the yogic archetypal God. Shiva is the expression of healthy, spiritual male energy. Rather than simply translating the names, I have conveyed the meaning of the names in couplet form in […]
Maheshwara Murtham Read More »
The Brahmajñānāvalīmālā, “The Garland of Waves of Divine Consciousness,” is a text composed by Shankara, perhaps the foremost exponent of the non-dual vision of the yoga tradition. This writing exemplifies jnana yoga, the yoga of wisdom. It highlights the unity of all beings, and the divine consciousness that resides in all, and permeates all. Translated
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From Spring, 2019 issue of Light of Consciousness My yoga guru, Baba Hari Dass, died about a month ago, at the age of 95. Curiously, it doesn’t feel like much has changed. I am sad about his passing, of course, and that I’ll never get to see him again in this world. I feel him
A simple farmer lived his entire life troubled by a seeming lack of wealth. He convinced himself that all his problems would cease, and he would be happy, if only he had money. The next life he was born as a king, with all of the court’s gold at his disposal. Alas, happiness was not
On Maha Shivaratri, “The Great Night of Shiva,” yogis stay awake all night chanting in order to invoke and evoke divine compassion. We have honored Shivaratri for 25 years at our Kailash Ashram in Vermont. One time, several years ago, around 3:00 am, I hit my wall. I was tired, tired, tired. I no longer
The Nature of Karma Karma is a term that has entered the modern vocabulary but is frequently misunderstood as a simplistic, mechanical law of cause and effect. Many presentations of karma make it sound as though it operates in a manner similar to the classic billiard balls example used to explain Newtonian physics. There, ball
Ram (rhymes with “mom”) is a classic mantra. Mantra means that which nurtures the mind. Mind, in this context, is the activity of the individual consciousness. When the mind wanders, its tendency is toward negativity and fear. Then the natural, spontaneous flow of conscious energy becomes contracted, and the individual feels himself an isolated being
Ram Upanishad (Excerpted from an upcoming book) Read More »
A guy goes to a psychiatrist to help him deal with some emotional problems. The doctor shows the patient several Rorschach prints, splotches of ink with no discernible form, designed to help reveal the workings of a person’s mind. After being shown the first blot and asked what he sees, the man replies, “I see
“Discipline Isn’t Enough” Read More »
The king called the yogi to his court and asked for a blessing. The yogi said, “What have I to do with blessings? I teach people how to end their own suffering so they can bless themselves. Regardless, since you asked, here is my blessing: May your father die, then may you die, and then
“No One, Someone, Everyone” Read More »
It was easy to be friends with Jack and Kathy. Just married, they had recently moved to Vermont, along with their two playful dogs. They were healthy and young, strong, meditators, and worked with people with developmental disabilities They were all-around good folks and fine neighbors. Their future looked bright and sunny. Just before Christmas,
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