For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Recently, we've been having some fascinating discussions around Sārada Devī = Jaggadhātri = Ṣoḍaśī in order to understand the deep mystery of the pūjā that Śrī Rāmakrsna performed to Her on the Phalahārinī Kālī Pūjā new moon!

Because the worship of the woman's body is considered to be the culminating practice in the Kaula mārga (as per its characterization in Abhinavagupta's Chapter 29 from Tantrāloka), we reflected a little bit on the Kaula (I.e left hand path) elements in Thakur and Holy Mother, especially with reference to elements in Her dhyāna mantra from last week's How To Meditate on the Tāntrik Goddess | Śrī Sāradā Devī Dhyāna Mantra lecture.

In this class, we explore Holy Mother's avatarahood (to make the exciting claim that we have our female Avatāra in Her) and also the significance of this Shodaśī-pūjā, aforementioned. We continue to point out some Kaula or Vāmā mārga elements in Holy Mother's life and teaching!

You'll find all our talks on Holy Mother over the years in this playlist. 

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Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST 
Use this link and I will see you there:
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When we don't have honest and open discussions, with close scriptural and lineage citation when it comes to the more esoteric dimensions of our tradition and heritage as śaivas, it allows for so much superstition! Now, many are under the impression that Vāmāchāra is nothing more than hedonism masquerading as spiritual practice! What Vāmāchāra is or isn't is surely not up to any one lineage to define but at the very least we can say: it is surely a lot more than just offering transgressive items like meat and wine! In this video, I argue that Vāmācāra/Kaulācāra is about bhāva, an inner disposition of fearlessness and intensity of devotion!

While its true that almost all of our talks are given from a Kaula point of view anyway such that a playlist would be superfluous here, I thought it might still be helpful to have some of the more specific, focused and directed lectures on the more left leaning ideas and practices of our tradition all in one place for you! So here is a playlist for all our Vāmāchāracontent ! 

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Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST 
Use this link and I will see you there:
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One of my favorite lectures of all time. We inquire into some "scary" themes in spiritual life like the potential difference between my will and God's will, as it is understood across various traditions with an emphasis on the life-affirming, immanence-oriented and desire-positive view of the Goddess traditions. We make a few remarks about why vampires as such a good metaphor for Tantrik spirituality and point out how the theme of vampirism appears in our tradition in the form Dākinīs and Yoginīs, Mā's fierce fanged, bloodthirsty attendants! We discuss Dākinī pūjā towards the end. 

Support the show

Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am 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

After we did our series of lectures on Caitanya and the acintya bhedābedha philosophy of Bengal school of Vaishnavism last year, we did this "bonus talk" comparing Caitanya's philosophy and practice of Bhakti to that of Śrī Nāradamuni (as we see in the Nārada Bhakti Sūtra) and also to that of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. 

It's very good to do this kind of comparative work because then we can appreciate the special features that make each tradition special while recognizing the underlying spirituality unity in which all traditions are established! Also in prevents us from becoming dogmatic or "one-sided" in our approach! 

May we all attain to mental and emotional flexibility/dexterity that our spirituality may shine forth with ever-new freshness!

Jai Gaur! Jai Nitai! Jai Nārada! Jai Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa Deva Ki Jai!

Support the show

Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am 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:
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To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

After our lecture on The 12 Secret Kālīs | & The Most Closely Guarded Secret in Tantra where we introduced the powers of non-dual consciousness which flow in a 12-step sequence (which we argued was one of the subtlest teachings of Tantrik non-duality if not THE subtlest teachings), many were asking: "how do we invoke the 12 Kālīs, worship them, relate to them and incorporate them into our day-to-day sādhanā?" In this talk, we introduce one of the two Krama Stotrams and introduce Abhinava Gupta's "wheel of fire meditation" from Tantrasāra Chapter 4, which he received from his Krama guru, Bhūtirāja. 

The 12 Kalis

Prameyam (aparā): KNOWN OBJECT
Sṛṣṭikālī = manifesting an object internally, she then 
Raktakālī (bahirmkuhī) = becomes passionate towards that object 
Sthitināśakālī = wishes to reabsorb it and starts to internalize it 
Yamakālī = manifests and dissolves a "vighna" (obstacle) to re-absorption 

Pramānā (parāpara): ACT OF KNOWING 
Saṃhārakālī = reabsorbs the object 
Mṛtyukālī = and contemplates "svabhava": my very nature is to reabsorb! (i.e savors the experience just had) 
Rudrakālī = perceives a subtle impression left over from perception + also Pure Consciousness and then devours the subtle impression
Mārtaṇḍakālī = reabsorbs the solar-mandala of 12 faculties into the "Lord of the Circle" (ego) 

Pramātr (parā): KNOWER 
Paramārkakālī = reabsorbs the Lord of the Circle (ego) 
Kālāgnirudrakālī = reabsorbs the separation of one purusha (individual knowing subject) from another (mayīya-mala) 
Mahākālakālī = reabsorbs the Universal Subject (Shiva) into full expansion 
Mahābhairavacaṇḍograghorakālī = reabsorbs even that fully expanded ground into...what? void unspeakable! (or rather: articulates transcendence as immanence!) 

Here are just the first 5 verses of the Krama Stotram:

Kaulārṇavānanda-ghanormi-rūpām unmeṣa-meṣobhaya-bhājam antaḥ |
nilīyate nīla-kulālaye yā tāṃ ṣṛṣtikālīṃ satataṃ namāmi || 1 ||

I always praise that Kālī of Emission, who blooms and recedes like a wave of bliss in the ocean of the Kaula! 

mahā-vinodārpita-mātṛ-cakra- vīrendrakā-sṛg-rasa-pāna-saktām |
raktīkṛtāṃ ca pralayātyaye tāṃ  namāmi viśvākṛti-rakta-kālīm || 2 ||

I always praise that Passionate Kālī who manifests this world and who savours the world during a pause in dissolution, she who happily drinks the nectarean blood offered to the circle of Mothers by heroes (Tantrik adepts)! 

vāji-dvaya-svīkṛta-vāta-cakra- prakrānta-saṅghaṭṭa-gamāgama-sthām |
śucir yayāstaṃ gamitorciṣā tāṃ  śāntāṃ namāmi sthiti-nāśa-kālīm || 3 ||

I salute that peaceful one, The Kali Who Destroys Stasis, who is there in the coming and going of the breath and the perfect union of breath which is set in motion by the Wheel of Wind (life-force), who dissolves all notions of purity! 

sarvārtha-saṅkarṣaṇa-saṃyamasya  yamasya yantur jagato yamāya |
vapur mahāgrāsa-vilāsa-rāgāt  saṅkarṣayantīṃ praṇamāmi kālīm || 4 ||

I prostrate before that Kali who out of desire for the play of great devouring and controlling the world dissolves Yama the controller, who controls the destruction of things! 

unmanyanant

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Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST 
Use this link and I will see you there:
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Having explored the philosophy and life of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, and having outlined Bhakti in practice as part of last year's Gaur Purnima (Chaitanya Jayanti) celebration, we now turn to some more specialized themes in our study of Tantrik Vaishnavism beginning with some dhyāna mantras (meditation and visualization techniques) for Krishna and Rādhā Rāni! 

Here is some of what we shared in the talk:

“I meditate on the golden hued Gauranga whose beautiful hair is bound by a string of pearls whose moonlike face beams a gentle smile his body is smeared with sandalwood and other fragrant pastes and a beautiful cloth who is garlanded and ornamented in a divine way. Asborbed in dancing, he delights in rasa (the sweetness of devotion/chanting the name). He shines brighter than the Cupid (kandarpa-veśojvallam) and is attended to by His devotees.” 
 
 Brahma Samhita:

A great hexagonal yantra in which the Kāma-bīja is the diamond peg in the center, accompanied by Rādha and Krishna surrounded by the Krishna mantra, the 18 syllabled Gopāla mantra and then the Kāma gāyatrī surrounded by the ashta-manjaris and beyond the petals the abode of the sakis…
 “evambhūta yoga-pīthe srī srī rādhā-krshnau smaret”

...”mīlitam bhāti mudritam” it blooms and contracts through the desire of rādhā-krishna-līla-rasa (the bliss of the union of Rādhā and Krishna) 
 
 dhyayed vrndāvane ramye
 gopa-gobhir alankrte 
 kadamba pādapacchāye
 yamuna jala śitale

rādhaya sahitam krshnam 
 vamśī vādana tat param 
 tribhanga lalitam devam 
 bhaktānugraha kārakam 
 
 “Krishna plays in the cool waters of the Yamuna, rests in the shade of the Kadamba tree in Vrndāvan. He is surrounded by cows and milkmen/milkmaids and is with Srī Rādha. He stands playfully with three bends and plays the flute, blessing us with the gift of devotion! 

 From svayambhuvāgama: 
 
 Kāmadevāya vidmahe 
 pushpa-bānāya dhīmahi 

Tan no’nanga pracodayāt 
 
 From Gaurī Tantra

“I mediate on Rādhā who is shining red (sphurad-aruna) with a smiling lotus mouth, dressed in crimson, the border of her cloth is her veil, from the braids in her hair a lotus flower dangles, and with her thumb and forefinger she offers a tambulam into the mouth of Sri Krishna. She has beautiful long ears and eyes and she is filled with honey, the sweetest in all the three worlds!” 
 
 Śrī-rādhikayai vidmahe 
 prema-rūpāyai dhīmahi 
 tanno rādha pracodayāt 

Here is our playlist on all things Tantrik Vaishnavism! 

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 lectu

Support the show

Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am 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

Having explored the philosophy and lift of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, the incarnation of Rādhā and Krsna in one body, it is now time to turn to something very important: the practices! In this class, we do a quick overview of the various aspects of Bhakti sādhanā, the Path of Devotion. 

Incidentally, we happened to do this class around this time last year in Lafayette in Caitanya Devī and Sumeru-ji's house, just around the time they were moving in! How wonderful to have returned to their beautiful abode earlier this year for our Spring retreat/ Guhyeśvarī Kālī installation ceremony! 

Thank you for hosting us all, you two, and for being such powerful example of true Bhakti! 

Jai Gaur! Jai Nitai! Jai Radhakrshna! 

Here is our playlist on all things Tantrik Vaishnavism! 

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

Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am 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

This is the story of perhaps one the greatest lovers of God who ever lived, in whom was manifest both Krishna and Radha and the intense love them bound them together!

We gave this lecture in San Francisco last year during Gauranga Purnima (Holi), exactly a year now to the day as part of a three part series of Sri Chaitanya's life, philosophy and practice. 

This is the first of three! I'm about to let loose a slew of Tantrik Vaishnava content to celebrate this very auspicious full moon commemorating this ecstatic lover of God in whom was both Krishna and Rādhā! I'll put them all in this playlist called Tantrik Vaishnavism: https://www.patreon.com/collection/1384235

Here is our playlist on all things Tantrik Vaishnavism! 

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

Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am 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

Last year on the auspicious occasion of Gauranga Purnima, the full moon celebrating the birthday of Sri Chaitanya (Gauranga), the most ecstatic lover of God who perhaps ever lived next to Sri Ramakrishna, we gave a series of three talks on the life, philosophy and practice of this great devotee.

This is the first of three exploring the philosophical foundation for the Vaishnava Bhakti school known as acintya bhedābheda, Unthinkable Diversity-in-Non-Diversity!

The second lecture in the series was about the life of Sri Chaitanya here and the third is about Bhakti in practice! 

I'm about to let loose a slew of Tantrik Vaishnava content to celebrate this very auspicious full moon commemorating this ecstatic lover of God in whom was both Krishna and Rādhā! I'll put them all in this playlist called 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

Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am 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

Tomorrow is a very special day: we are celebrating the full moon commemorating the birthday of one the world's most ecstatic lover's of God, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is considered to be an incarnation of Krishna and Radha in one single body. 

The celebration of Holi where we pelt each other with bright, colored powders naturally signifies the fervor and celebration of devotion and the rich and diverse hues of God and the Life Divine! 

In this video, we say a few things about Holi and about Chaitanya, I let you in a little on our plans for celebrating tomorrow together on zoom and then I introduce you a very interesting Shaiva take on Holi which is especially celebrating in Kashi, the City of Shiva: "Masan Holy", cremation ground Holi where we use ash from the funeral pyre instead of colored powder!

Jai Gaur Nitai! 

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

Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am 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