For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

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Japa and Ritual Worship as a Non-Dual Practice Mar 07, 2025

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In this next installment of our How To Do Tantrik Ritual series, we look at three very important moments in Tantrik ritual worship (namely, bhūta-śuddhi, nyāsa and gandhādi pūjā) that all serve to reinforce the idea of Advaita, non-duality in the context of worship.

Over and over we affirm that the One being worshipped and the One worshipping as well as the very tools and items of the worship themselves are all One and the Same Reality: Consciousness-Bliss, Shiva.

As such, we discuss how pūjā (ritual worship) and japa (mantra recitation) can act as powerful sādhanas (spiritual techniques) for truly realizing non-duality beyond mere intellectual concepts.

We also talk a little bit about the importance of the sacred pilgrimage places known as śākta pīthas, and how these might be mapped unto the body in the process of nyāsa. Excitingly, we compare the rather similar mythological structures of the "Dismemberment of Osiris" episode in the Egyptian pantheon to the "Dismember of Sati" incident in the Purānas to make a point about sacred geography and the Immanence of God, following from last week's discussion on Nyāsa as a Sacred Pilgrimage Practice!

A truly exciting discussion! Thank you all for coming!
Jai Mā!

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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:
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

Reflections on Milarepa for Tibetan New Year Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

On Tibetan New Year, the Friday just after Shiva Ratri, we spent some time practicing non-dual meditation (practice with us here) using the Nirvana Shatakam as a "guided meditation" tool. We sandwich some postural yoga practice to rest, recover and energize after our physical exertions over the course of the week in between two non-dual meditations, using the 6 verses of the text.

Then, right after that, in honor of the great yogi Milarepa, and Tibetan Tantrik tradition, we launch into a discussion on Milarepa featuring Kavindraji who is a lineage holder of the Kagyu, the tradition Milarepa founded. By learning about Milarepa, we can learn about the Tantrik world of magic and liberation, guru and disciple and ultimate freedom.

One day, we will double back to offer a more complete biography and commentary on this greatest of Yogis, Mila of the Cotton Cloth (repa) and about his householder Gurus, Marpa and Dakmema. For now, we offer this light introduction based on Lobsang P Lhalungpa's wonderful book: "The Life of Milarepa".

PS: Here is our playlist on all things Shiva!

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

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Why Did We Fast and Stay Up All Night for Shiva Ratri? + Shiva Puja Walkthrough Mar 03, 2025

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On the very auspicious day of Shiva Ratri this year, we got together on zoom in the morning to say a few things about the "art of tapasya", that is, the art of austerities in the name of spirituality. If done too excessively, the body and mind are weakened. But if not done at all, the body and mind are similarly weakened! Compassionate and artful tapasya is the doorway to strength and self-control, which is a pre-requisite in many cases for not only meditation, but devotion. After all, if the self doesn't even belong to you, how can you surrender it to God?

After our discussion of tapasya, we then take up the topic of "How To Perform Shiva Puja", along the lines of this video. We do a little walk-through of the puja together to prepare for the evening's festivities.

Jai Bhole!

PS: Here is our playlist on all things Shiva!

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What is Shiva Smoking? Feb 25, 2025

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Shiva Ratri is a night of ecstasy and joy. But what is the nature of Lord Shiva's intoxication and how can we get a toke?
Happy Shiva Ratri, fam. I love you more than can I say. May all be intoxicated!

PS: Here is our playlist on all things Shiva!

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What To Do On Shiva Ratri Feb 20, 2025

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It's that time of the year again! Many might be asking:
1. what is Shiva Ratri?
2. When is Shiva Ratri? And most importantly:
3. What should I do to celebrate/ why would I even want to celebrate Shiva Ratri?
To answer these questions, we plunge into a discussion of the five modes of Tantra: puja, japa, homa, yoga and vrata, making a case for why vrata is so important and for viewing it as an act of spontaneous freedom.
The TLDR of all this is: you are already Shiva. There is nothing you need to do to be "More" Shiva and nothing you can do to be "Less" Shiva. As such, nobody can tell you what to do or what not to do on any night much less on Shiva Ratri! May all be absorbed in Shiva!

PS: Here is our playlist on all things Shiva!

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How To Prepare for Shiva Ratri, the Great Night of Shiva Feb 19, 2025

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Next week is Shiva Ratri, which is among the biggest (if not THE biggest) events in our community! This is a night when we really plunge into Shiva with the whole of our being, fasting all day, staying up all night, signing, dancing ecstatically, performing ritual worship and above all, meditating and opening up to the totality of all things! However, "one does not simply walk into Mordor." Just like climbing a mountain or wading into icy water, just like courting a lover or practicing Hatha Yoga, we must ease into Shiva Ratri, gradually and skillfully. As such, in this short little discourse, we say a few things about "how to Shiva Ratri" and how to use the week ahead to prepare yourself body, mind and spirit for this complete immersion into Shiva!
I cannot contain my excitement! Jai Bhole!
PS: Here is our playlist on all things Shiva!

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Realizing Non-Duality Through Music Feb 18, 2025

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Earlier this year on Swami Vivekananda's birthday we decided to do three back to back lectures focusing on different aspects of the Swami's teaching: the innate divinity of the soul, the oneness of all existence and the harmony of all religions.

We start with the idea of one-ness, Advaita which is so wonderfully expressed in Shankara's song "The Six Stanzas on Nirvana" (which you can find the Sanskrit lyrics for here) which Swami Vivekananda himself was very fond of and which he himself translated into English.
As such, in this first of three lectures we sing and contemplate the Six Stanzas on Nirvana using Swamiji's translation (which you can read here) making a case for why music is such an important method for practicing and realizing Advaita, Non-Duality!

For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799
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

Hit Me Up x

Support the show

The 12 Secret Kālīs | & The Most Closely Guarded Secret in Tantra Feb 11, 2025

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This might be the most closely guarded secret teaching in non-dual Tantra!
First, we discuss some of the non-dual, "left" leaning traditions within Tantrik Shaivism with an emphasis on the Kaula marga and its profound liturgy and philosophy.
Then, we introduce the "formless Kali who is pure Void", the "point in Shiva which even Shiva cannot objectify" and the 12 Kalis that are the threefold expressions of the Four Goddess of the Trika!
Lots of exciting Non-Dual Tantrik material! Let's have at it!
Here are a list of the secret Kali's presented in the lecture:

aparā (prameya)

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

parāparā (pramāna)

Saṃhārakālī = reabsorbs the object
Mṛtyukālī = and contemplates "svabhava": my very nature is to reabsorb!
Rudrakālī = perceives a subtle impression left over from perception + also Pure Consciousness
Mārtaṇḍakālī = reabsorbs the solar-mandala of 12 faculties into the "Lord of the Circle" (ego)

parā (paramātr)

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!

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How Jnāna, Philosophy Leads to Bhakti, Love | Swami Vivekananda, Bhakti Yoga Feb 06, 2025

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One of my favorite classes in the series so far! We've been reading from Swami Vivekananda's Bhakti Yoga at our Friday evening Bhakti satsanghs and together exploring some of the most refined concepts at the uppermost reaches of the devotional tradition known as Parā Bhakti, Supreme Love. In this talk, we reconcile the idea that Jñāna Yoga, the Way of Philosophy and Bhakti Yoga, the Way of Devotion or somehow incompatible or categorically distinct, as is the commonly held assumption. We also show how Jñāna, Philosophy can lead to ecstatic love and vice verse proving that these two paths are not different but are rather aspects of one Reality: God or Pure Consciousness.

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How To Actually Change The World? Feb 04, 2025

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This year, Swami Vivekananda's birthday happened to fall on a Monday, a day sacred to Shiva which also happened to MLK day here in the United States! Of course the two figures, Swami Vivekananda and MLK are both quite similar in a few ways. In his talk on loving your enemies, MLK is famous for having said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” In exactly the same vein, Swami Vivekananda tells us how we can go about creating actually change in the world along spiritually enlightened lines in his masterpiece address "My Plan of Campaign" delivered in Madras upon his return to India after his triumphant sojourn in the West.

In this video, we read out the transcript for this mighty and earth-shattering talk (which is full of Swami Vivekananda calling out those forces which have opposed his mission) and make a few comments here and there.

This is the third in a series of three back to back lectures we gave on behalf of Swami Vivekananda Jayanti this year, the two other being Realizing Non-Duality Through Music | Adi Shankara's Nirvana Shatakam and How Do Tantrik Rituals Work? which explore Swami Vivekananda's core teachings on Advaita and the Innate Divinity of the Soul respectively.

Jai Swamiji!

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