Lytt til For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

On behalf of this most auspicious occasion of Easter Sunday, celebrating the resurrection of Christ and the upsurge of spring-time energy in nature, we reflect a little bit on Christ as Solar Deity. Importantly, I wanted to compare the Christ's resurrection to the resurrection of Osiris in Egyptian mythology and how that might mirror not only the Tantrik understanding of Shakta Peethas (i.e the natural world as a metaphor for spiritual themes in the soul's journey) but also the reverence for the Sun that we see in Vedic and Saurya-Tantrik context! This lecture follows closely on the heels of the discussion had earlier this week on Why We Worship the Sun [https://www.patreon.com/posts/why-we-worship-126941842?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link] It is after all Easter Sun-day! Mainly though, we spend some time reflecting on the Christ's innovation on spiritiuality: that of learning to regard God as your very own, your intimate Master, Friend, Parent, Child and Lover.Christ expressly stressed the first three relationships with a strong emphasis on the third. In this class, using Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga book, we say a few words about "God as Divine Child" having already discussed "God as Master" and "God as Friend" in the How To be God's Friend [https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-to-be-gods-126672233?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link]and How To Be Powerful Like Hanuman [https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-to-be-like-126672744?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link]lectures respectively.  Jai Christ ji!  May this be an offering at the lotus feet of that great master, embodiment of purity and incarnation of love. May he arise in all our hearts today! May we all become Christ-like by his grace! Here is a playlis [https://www.patreon.com/collection/266520]t on all things Tantrik Christianity.  Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish]

Today is Good Friday and since the Christ is a solar deity in a sense (the "sun" of God moving through the 12 disciples who are the 12 zodiac signs), I thought it would be nice to discuss the worship of the Sun of the Vedic and Tantrik context. In this class, which is part of our How To Do Tantrik Puja Series, [https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799] we explore the sandhya vandana, the ancient practice of worshipping the sun with water at dawn/twilight and show how this ritual has been adapted into a Tantrik context. We discuss the significance of the sun as symbol for Brahman, the Unchanging Absolute of the Vedas, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. We also make a few points about the Tantrik cult of the sun known as the Saurya Marga! It was a fun class! Thank you all for coming. Next, we'll go into more detail about the "arghya-dānam", the offering to the Sun and Mā willing, we'll cover the dhyāna-mantras and offering mantras for the Sun worship section of our ritual manual.  oṁ namo vivasvate brahman bhāsvate viṣṇutejase।  jagatsavitre śucaye savitre karmadāyine॥  eṣo’rghyaḥ oṁ hrīṁ haṁsaḥ mārtaṇḍabhairavāya prakāśaśaktisahitāya oṁ śrīsūryāya svāhā।  "Salutations to Vivasvān, who is Brahman, the Absolute Reality, The Effulgent One (Consciousness) who is God's brilliance, the world-mover, the pure Sun who is the giver of all action we make you this offering, O Bhairava of the Setting Sun, you who are radiance (prakāśa) and self-reflection (vimarśa)! Salutations to Śrī Sūrya, the Sun!" oṁ raktāmbujāsanam aśeṣa-guṇaika-sindhuṁ bhānuṁ  samasta-jagatām-adhipaṁ bhajāmi  padma-dvayābhaya-varān dadhataṁ karābjaiḥ  māṇikya-mauli-maruṇa-aṅga-ruciṁ trinetram  OM seated on a red lotus, a single ocean of endless qualities the shining one, lord of all the world, I praise you, O three eyed one, Holding two lotuses and offering the gestures of fearlessness and boon-giving in your lotus like hands, Adorned with a ruby crown, your body glows red!  oṁ javākusumasaṅkāśaṁ kāśyapeyaṁ mahādyutim  dhvāntāriṁ sarvapāpaghnaṁ praṇato’smi divākaram  OM deep red like a hibiscus glower, the descendent of Kāśyapa, supremely radiant, the enemy of darkness and the destroy of all sin, I bow before you, the maker of the day!  oṁ namaḥ savitre jagadekacakṣuṣe jagatprasūtisthitināśahetave  trayīmayāya triguṇātmakāriṇe viriñcinārāyaṇaśaṅkarātmane  Salutations to Savitre, the single eye of the world, the non-dual witness of all things, the source of the world's creation, maintenaince and dissolution, the embodiment of the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, the maker of the three qualities of the Self, the very essence of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva! You'll find a complete playlist of lectures on Tantra in both theory and practice here [https://www.patreon.com/collection/428834]. Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST. Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM Jai Mā! Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish]

In the profound Trika text virūpākṣapañcāśikā, we learn: vimatipadamaṅga sarvaṃ mama caitanyamātmanaḥ śarīramidam | śūnyapadādīlāvadhi dṛśyatvāt piṇḍavat siddham || 2 || O dear one, all this from the void state to the play of the Divine including even that which is heretical (i.e impure), since it appears in Consciousness, is verily established as my own body for I myself am Consciousness! sampanno'smi kṛśo'smi snihyatkaraṇo'smi modamāno'smi | prāṇimi śūnyo'smīti ca ṣaṭsu padeṣvasmitā dṛṣṭā || 3 || “I am rich”, “I am feeble”, “I am affectionate”, “I am happy”, “I am living”, “I am the void”: the self is seen in these six states! From this we can understand that the "Self" is quite elastic! It can identify with possessions, with the body, with the thoughts and emotions in the mind, with the vitality or flow of energy and also with the void! Even saying "no-self" is a kind of self-identification! Notice: the objects, the physical body, the mental body, the energy body and the void body...these are all ways the Self can identify itself. But what exactly is the Self? It is Pure Consciousness, with the ability to expand outward or contract inward. The Self is essentially elastic in nature. Ego is not an illusory thing to be renounced with a Shakti, a power to be reclaimed and properly channelled.  This is a class in our Paramārthasāra series [https://www.patreon.com/collection/106196], commenting on Verse 32: देहप्राणविमर्शनधीज्ञाननभःप्रपञ्चयोगेन। आत्मानं वेष्टयते चित्रं जालेन जालकार इव॥३२॥ Dehaprāṇavimarśanadhījñānanabhaḥprapañcayogena| Ātmānaṁ veṣṭayate citraṁ jālena jālakāra iva ||32|| How strange is it that the Self wraps Itself up by considering itself to be the body, prāna, intellectual concepts, and even the universe of ideas regarding the Void, just like a silkworm! You'll find a complete playlist of lectures on Tantra in both theory and practice here [https://www.patreon.com/collection/428834]. Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST. Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM Jai Mā! Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish]

This is perhaps one of my favorite lectures yet and one of the most foundational. In this talk, we track the idea of the "self", the most immediate reality through various different schools of philosophy: first we sketch out scientific materialism (physicalism) and use the ancient ideas of Sāmkhya philosophy to refute it. Then, we refute Sāmkhya before moving on to sketch out the Buddhist idea of no-self. Having refuted the Buddhists, we then sketch out the Shaiva Siddhānta (Tantrik Dualism) view on the Self which we then develop into the non-dual Tantrik view of the One Consciousness in all beings as all beings. 00:00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI] Opening Invocations 00:00:47 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=47s] 5 Forms of the Self 00:08:24 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=504s] The Buddhist Idea of "No Self" 00:10:41 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=641s] The Vijñāna-Bhairava Tantra on the Self 00:15:30 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=930s] The Self in Sāmkhya vs the Self in Materialism 00:42:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=2520s] An Argument Against Sāmkhya: There is Only One Consciousness 00:52:38 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=3158s] The Buddhist Idea of No-Self 00:59:43 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=3583s] Refuting the Buddhist View of No-Self 01:05:30 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=3930s] The Self in Shaiva Siddhanta, Tantrik Dualism 01:19:45 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe39D7gXgI&t=4785s] The Non-Dual Tantrik Idea of the One Self You'll find a complete playlist of lectures on Tantra in both theory and practice here [https://www.patreon.com/collection/428834]. Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST. Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM Jai Mā! Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish]

Last year, on Hanuman Jayanti we gave the talk The Tantrik Hanuman [/posts/tantrik-hanuman-102933146] exploring some of the Tantrik aspects of this fierce rudra, Mahavīra! This year on Hanuman Jayanti, we decided to talk a little about what makes Hanuman so powerful!  First, we discuss the significance of Hanuman in our own lineage with a reference to Sri Ramakrishna's Hanuman sādhana and the parallels between Hanuman and Swami Vivekananda.  Then, we analyze the secret sauce, the special something that makes Hanuman so unstoppable powerful. Its the Krabby Patty secret formula.  Jai Hanuman Ji Ki Jai!  You'll find a complete playlist of lectures on Tantra in both theory and practice here [https://www.patreon.com/collection/428834]. And here is a playlist on Tantrik Vaishnavism [https://www.patreon.com/collection/1384235].  Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST. Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish]