Yogi Speaks

The term "Mantra" is being used very loosely these days. People often say, what is your success mantra? Tell me what your mantra is. It is often implied as if it is some secret formula to do something in a shortcut manner. Well, let us discuss what it is and how does it compare to Stillness. The term "mantra" comes from "man" and "tra." "man" means mind and "tra" means tool. So mantra can be referred to as a tool of the mind. Mantra has absolutely no meaning in itself, it is the sound enhancement of a particular subtle vibration. Now even the quantum physicists are declaring that this whole universe in made up of subtle vibrations of energy. We, yogis, refer to this universe as "Naada Brahmn." The term "Naada" means sound and "Brahmn" means God. So this creation is very subtle amalgamation of vibrations and those vibrations have their own sounds, so this whole amalgamation of sounds is referred to...

Sex is one of the most basic human activities and it is regarded as one of the biggest taboos all over the world, especially in eastern countries. What is regarded as "sex?" It is a meeting of two individuals who come closer to the maximum point and penetrate into each others' deep energies, as Osho describes it beautifully. On the physical level, it comes from a deeply rooted desire to reproduce, on a mental level it is the greatest pleasure that the current state of mind can imagine in most people. But the problem comes in terms of the spiritual levels. Religions and many spiritual masters have been criticizing sexual activities for ages. It is regarded as a sin in many cultures, although those people who regard it as sin resulted from sexual intercourse in the first place.  So why is there so much resistance towards sex when sex is the basis of reproduction for all species? Why is there a great conflict when it can be the act of making love to your partner?  Let's ...

What is renunciation? Its literal meaning is a formal rejection of beliefs, lifestyles, and/or course of action. In religious and spiritual terms, it means renouncing all material lifestyles, relationships, and living life as a renunciate monk. It is very popular in India. It is said that one who has renounced this material world has come on the path to God.  A renunciate or a "sanyasi" as we call it in India, basically means he/she renunciates all the desires for himself/herself. All their course of action would be either for the attainment of Enlightenment or for the betterment of society or any other selfless motive. So they move out of the material world. They refrain from working for personal gain, or from living with family, or from having any sensual pleasures, from living an ordinary lifestyle.  All this is done just to direct their life energies towards the higher goal, Self - Realization.   Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi says, " Sannyasa is only the renunciation o...

An Emotion is an inner experience which consists of a sensation complimented with a thought to which the body reacts in a certain way, and this way it shapes our human experience. Isn't it so? Observe right now, are you feeling any emotion? Then you'll be aware of a subtle feeling sensation. What is causing that? Then you'll be aware of the thought pattern which is most probably influenced by any outside situation. And then see how is your body reacting to that? Then you'll understand how these are determining your course of action moment to moment. Don't just read, start to observe, start to be aware of the inside. Then only you'll understand. Or my words would just come and go, you'll gain absolutely nothing at all from reading this. Just observe yourself and see how it all is happening.  "Emotions or sensations are natural, healthy, normal. But when thought takes over, all the mischief begins." ~ J. Krishnamurti Then question yourself where do e...

I got initiated into Kriya Yog by Yog~Martand Yogiraj Siddhanath Himself on September 22, 2019. He is the realized kriya master and the direct disciple of Mahavatar Babaji. He gave us Pranpat where He breathes through our breath and makes it much more longer and deeper than we can ever do by ourselves, Shaktipat when He initiates us to do the Kriya and Shivapat when He bestows forms of samadhi upon us for our quicker spiritual upliftment.  Satgurunath reveals that the immortal Mahavatar Babaji is the Shiv Gorakshnath Babaji, who is regarded as the manifestation of Shiva Himself. He is the great founder of the Nath tradition. He has been bestowing yogic practices on humanity since ages for the spiritual evolution of the mankind. He is one of the manifestations of the divine master (Satguru) forms of Shiva just like Adinath, Adiyogi and Dakshinamurthi.  Kriya Yoga is the combination of Raj Yoga and Hatth Yoga practices. It leads to the perfect balance of the Ida (left energy pat...

What is happiness and sorrow to me? What is day and night to me? What is pain and pleasure to me? What is heaven and hell to me? What is virtue and sin to me? What is soul and skin to me? What is desire and fulfillment to me? What is movement and stillness to me? All is in me and I’m in all, and beyond...

Who am I? The question has become very famous now, thanks to Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi who, with His grace, is helping masses to go within and find the true ultimate Self (Yes, I replaced "their true ultimate Self" to "the true ultimate Self). So when I read these teachings of Bhagwan Ramana, Bhagwan Buddha, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Shri Ashtavakra and all the masters who primarily prescribe the path of Jnana or Gyan Yoga which translates to the Wisdom Yoga, one of the four main types of Yoga, I am pushed to become aware of the mind and analyze how it all works. So all my literary work is mostly based on my analysis and my little experiences and understanding of the within.  When for the first time I started meditating and I went into a meditative state, what I experienced was pure silence within. For a few moments, there were no thoughts at all, it was pure silence and pure peace and it was so so beautiful. But after a few moments, my karma bounced back and pulled me back to...

In Advaita Vedanta, which is known as the non-dual system of the religion, it is said that there is only one Self (Atman) and that is all-pervasive, that is the Supreme Self (Brahmn) and that is the Ultimate Reality. Rest all are the mere 5 sensory experiences happening in the Self and the Self is beyond all the experiences, but being aware of it all, unaffected by any of it. It is everywhere yet its location is nowhere at the same time which means it is beyond space-time continuum. It is the same Self having different experiences through whole universe at once. It is all a divine play(Leela). Duality exists because the Consciousness is locked up in this mind-body matrix which is called the great illusion (Maya) and when it is freed, it starts to perceive the Ultimate Reality, the Oneness of All there is and there is not. Whereas, Buddhists say there is no Self. There is nothing at the core of it, it is all emptiness (Shunya). What is there are mere sensations, perceptions of the m...

Home, o dear home I've been searching for you from so long Where are you lost? Home, o dear home... I look around and see Nowhere to put my guards off and sleep, Where else can I go? Home, o dear home... Every act has been a transaction now Give and take is the lifestyle somehow Can't I just be and not think much at all? Home, o dear home... Silly heart trying to find it here and there It just can't conceive that the life has played It's still looking for the childhood norm Home, o dear home... When will it all be normal again? When will I have somewhere to go and remain? It can't be said as normal anymore Home, o dear home... Hope is the only hope there is in life I hope someday, it will all be alright Hope I get somewhere that'll keep me from the storms Home, o dear home... Where are you lost? Home, o dear home...

I often hear people especially in religions and spirituality talking about serving other people and I find myself thinking about it. Then I question myself, serving whom? A particular society or community? Who are these people who need to be served and why? Why am I concerned about serving others? If I am really concerned about them, are they still "others?" YES, read the previous line again.  This I feel is the whole point of doing selfless action for others(Karma Yoga). "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;"  When the service is performed because, on a deeper level, somewhere, you have realized that they are no "others" but your own people(I would restrain myself from using the term your own "Self" since I'm not enlightened yet;). Then whatever you do for them becomes sacred. When their joy becomes your joy, which further means that when you have crossed the boundaries of your worldly i...

Mythology, the "myths" particularly in religions and cultures. For the people with "average" or I would say "unexplored" intelligence, these are stories which they may believe or disbelieve. According to me believing or disbelieving, both are insane, both are useless, both will not get you anywhere, both are blunders of human minds for ages. Actually, as per my understanding, some of these stories (not all, depends upon the source and its authenticity), are encrypted with deep wisdom and can be decoded by the people with certain level of Intelligence.  Let's discuss one of the most famous stories when Shiva (a God described in Hindu Culture who mainly represents Consciousness) cuts down the head of His wife Parvati's (Goddess Shakti who stands for the Energy) son and then replaces it with an elephant-like head.  Once Parvati, being a woman, felt the desire for a child, but Her husband Shiva, was in deep meditation and He used to remain i...

Knowledge and Wisdom, both the terms sound the same to most people. Some may distinguish between the two, but may not have given enough thought to this. So let's go into it today. As per the general definition, knowledge means knowing of facts, truths, and principles. And Wisdom means, "knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action" as dictionary.com describes it. So where does the difference lie? Well, let's take an example from the religions. Religions teach people killing someone is a sin, stealing is a sin. Ok, the principles are told, now it's in people's knowledge. But what the shocking part in this example is that does a Messiah or Avatar has to come down from heaven and educate people about all these fundamental things? Why aren't these principles arising from people's own level of perception? And that is where I believe the whole difference between Knowledge and Wisdom lies. When the truths, the fundamental princ...

"Laughter is the best medicine," they said but at the same time when I laughed, they disapproved in a way. Recently I remember children playing at a public place, laughing and talking loudly as they do, and a random woman telling them to be silent while I was just smiling looking at the joy they were thriving in. Even children are not free to laugh I noticed instantly. Laughter has got so many proven benefits from lifting the mood to strengthening immunity. Stuck emotions get healed with laughter and a sense of pleasantness is achieved. You can even see laughter as a common practice included in Yoga these days. People are doing Humour therapies these days. Watching comedy shows is a favorite activity for everyone. Just google the benefits of laughter and you can be busy in reading those for the next 2 days. Personally, I love to joke and laugh freely most of the time. There was a time when I was called "Laughing Buddha" by some people. I ended up in a mess somehow ...

I opened my eyes after my meditation and became aware of the natural light falling on the objects all around me. The sunlight, clearly screaming joyfully that dawn has arrived. Now the other side of the planet is kept in the dark by the Divine. If you think about it, actually there is no day or night in cosmic reality, just this planet spinning around. It's our interpretation of the experience that gives names to various natural phenomena happening all around everywhere. What a phenomenon life is. What a phenomenon light is. It lifts my mood like nothing else. Recently, I remember visiting Downtown Toronto on a sunny day. I've been there before at night several times but it was my first-time visit on a bright sunny day and it all looked much more beautiful. It felt like the crowds were smiling, the traffic was dancing and the buildings were meditating all at the same time. It doesn't look the same at night at all. Of course, the night has its own glory but the day has its...

So here we are... After using social media for so long for various purposes I decided to start a blog where I can write about my perspectives, personality, preferences, experiences, in a bit more detail than I can write on twitter. Twitter is cool but I wanted to try something else as well. Something where I can expand it a bit further. So I've made this blog. The main purpose of this blog is to write whatever the hell I want and share it with Y'all. I have no idea where this would go, all I know is I have something to say, something to say which is significant not because I feel what I say is significant but because I believe this world needs some bold people who would say whatever is needed to be said, just the way they feel, clear and straightforward. And I think I can be that voice, my past is the evidence. So stepping into the future through the gates of the eternal present moment I start this new adventure of individuality, self-expression, and inspiration. I hope and p...