For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

Latest Episodes:

Kashmir Shaivism and the Vijnana Vedanta of Sri Ramakrishna | Swami Medhananda Puri Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

To what extent do the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna embody or even exceed the vast and oceanic philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, that is, to be precise, the Tantrik exegetical writings of various Shaiva masters in the Kashmir Valley between 900-1050 AD who for the most part seem to have embodied similar mystic experiences and articulated similar philosophies to the ones we find in the Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, or the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna?
Many scholars have argued that Sri Ramakrishna's position (for instance, regarding the inseparable nature of Brahman and It's Shakti, that is, It's power to create, maintain and dissolve a seemingly manifold world while embodying Itself as that very world) departs from the traditional schools of Vedanta and perhaps comes closest to the Prakasha-Vimarsha/ Shiva-Shakti model of Kashmiri Shaivism as articulated by Abinava Gupta, Kshemaraja and others.
But while there are glaring similarities here, there are also some key differences. To highlight some of these nuances, we have Swami Medhananda of the Ramakrishna Order walk us through his take on Sri Ramakrishna's position, which he articulates beautifully in his book, "Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality" as "Vijnana Vedanta". We then contrast that view with Kashmiri Shaivism, at least according to my understanding of it.
In the course of this conversation, our commitment was to stay as close to the source literature as we could and offer ample citation for viewers to come to their own conclusions on these matters. You are all invited reason along with us as part of a greater exploration into the deeply exciting world of spirituality!
May all of this be an offering.
Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST. There's Q&A from 8-10pm PST right after.
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815
To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

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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

Thanksgiving Dinner as Spiritual Practice Nov 24, 2022

Show notes

I believe it was Ram Das who said: "if you think you are so enlightened, try spending a week with your parents!"
Getting together with family is an opportunity many people in the world do not get to enjoy. Nonetheless, time with parents, children, siblings etc. can be grating in its own way! As many have discovered over the holidays, there is something about family that can push certain buttons and revive certain patterns. Especially for spiritual aspirants who are keenly aware of this kind of backsliding, family get togethers can be tricky territory! Why is that we can all become like adolescents around the dinner table, quick to forsake all of our spiritual training?
In the first part of this lecture, we try to diagnose this situation to make the case that attachment is what makes time with family uniquely challenging. Then, we present 5 ways of looking at the world that can hopefully turn family dinners into beautiful, meaningful affairs, even when (or especially when) there's drama!
00:00:01 Why Are Having We Having This Discussion?
00:07:38 Why Do Parents/Siblings/Children Push our Buttons
00:11:27 An Aside on Work vs Play
00:16:18 An Aside on Scam Accounts
00:17:54 Work Like The Elves, Not Like Sauron!
00:22:37 Is Your Spirituality A Reaction To Your Parents?
00:27:01 Your Kids Are Not Your Kids
00:30:00 Forgiveness = Forebearance
00:36:15 Thanksgiving Dinner Is Not Even Real (Why Waking is Unreal and Dreaming)
00:47:00 Everyone At The Dinner Table Is YOU
00:52:26 How Do You Set Boundaries if Everyone is You? + Why You Shouldn't Try To "Fix" Your Parents
00:57:48 What If You DO Get Triggered At Dinner?
01:01:59 Closing Chant
01:03:22 Announcements
Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST. There's Q&A from 8-10pm PST right after.
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
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

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Lord Bhairava and the Yoga of Fear | Halloween Special Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

Bhairava in Indian spiritual iconography is often depicted as somewhat of a marginal figure who lives far beyond the pale of society. He dwells in the cremation grounds, wearing nothing but ash, garlanded in skulls and snakes. His companions, much like him, are outcastes: a black dog that nobody wants, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, banshees and of course, a flock of yogis who are his devout disciples.
Naturally, he is the perfect figure to discuss in our Halloween Special! After all, Bhairava is not just a mythological bad boy: his name is also synonymous with the highest non-dual teachings of Tantrik Shaivism and stands for no less than Sat-Chid-Ananda Shiva, Consciouss-Bliss Absolute which is already your very own essence nature beyond body-mind-ego!
There is so much we can discuss here but today we decided to focus on the "fear" aspect embodied by Bhairava. We take up Kshemaraja's invocatory verse from his commentary on the Tantrik masterpiece, Vijnana-Bhairava Tantra to see why Bhairava is the "fear of remaining in the dream-state", the one whose roar is the death of death and the one who is the master of the flock of yogis desiring Moksha, liberation. Essentially, we ask the question: "what role does fear play in spiritual life?"
00:00:00 Who is Lord Bhairava? + Lecture Outline
00:03:12 Mā Kāli's Gayatri Mantra
00:08:50 Kshemaraja's Invocation of Lord Bhairava
00:22:06 Opening Invocation: Aghora Mantra
00:24:27 Why This World Is So Terrifying
00:31:05 Why Suicide is Not An Escape
00:38:06 Why The Net Total Evil in the World Is The Same Always
00:40:03 The Fanatics of the New Age
00:42:19 Why Fear Is The Start of Genuine Spirituality
00:47:09 How To Deal With The Suffering in the World
00:51:40 Why Spirituality Cannot Be About Physical and Mental Longevity
00:55:36 Why You Need To Meditate NOW. Like, RIGHT NOW. Go. Seriously.
01:01:25 The Hidden Meaning of Cremation Ground Rituals in Tantra
01:12:44 Becoming Bhairava
01:15:26 Yogi Ghost Stories
01:27:10 Utpala Deva's Graveyard Dance
Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST. There's Q&A from 8-10pm PST right after.
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
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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The Goddess of the Tantras | Navaratri Special Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

On the auspicious occasion of Navaratri, we launch into an exploration of Shakti, the Divine Goddess of the Tantras.
By Her grace I hope to share with you some deep insights from Ramprasad, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda regarding the worship of Ma and its important in spiritual life.
I am going to take an approach that is entirely like Ramanuja in that I will attempt to show, by Her grace, how we can use Jnana, Raja and Karma Yoga to attain to Bhakti Yoga, the highest.
Faith and devotion. These alone are everything. But do they come easily and naturally? Hardly! We'll discuss Bhakti for those to whom Bhakti does not come naturally. It does not come naturally to anyone and those who say they they have it might only be making pretences! Who can truly Love the way a devotee loves?! May tonight’s lecture address that directly!
We’ll discuss how the Motherhood of God offers a unique opportunity to deepen Bhakti.
All this is Her play.
"Mother! Mother!
My boat is sinking, here in the ocean of this world;
Fiercely the hurricane of delusion rages on every side!
Clumsy is my helmsman, the mind;
Stubborn my six oarsmen, the passions;
Into a pitiless wind I sailed my boat and now
It is sinking!
Split is the rudder of devotion;
Tattered is the sail of faith;
Into my boat the waters are pouring in!
Tell me, what shall I do?
For with my failing eyes, alas!
Nothing but darkness do I see.
Here in the waves I will swim, O Mother
And cling to the raft of thy name!"
- Swami Nikhilananda's translation of Ramprasad.
This is the follow up discussion: How To Connect to Ma Kali
https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-to-connect-q-72564494?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator
00:00:00 The Most Fascinating Icon of India
00:03:00 What Today's Lecture Is About
00:05:58 Swami Vivekananda's Early Experiences of Ma Kali
00:22:25 Swami Vivekananda's Endorsement of Mother Worship
00:34:13 Introducing Prakriti: The 24 Cosmic Principles
00:47:49 Purusha: The Pure Spirit
00:50:20 Shiva-Shakti
00:52:24 Why Does Prakriti Create?
00:55:12 Moksha and the Movies: The Aesthetic Theory of Shaivism
00:59:18 The Two Gifts of Ma Prakriti: Bhoga and Yoga
01:08:21 Prakriti as Maha Mayi as Mother
01:15:25 How Do I Get Bhakti: Love for God?
01:19:44 Why Does Ma Kali Look So Terrifying?
01:21:22 Sri Ramakrishna on How To Realise God (Hint: Worship Mother!)
01:28:27 Ramprasad's Poems on Kali
01:37:46 Closing Poem

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Renunciation, The Secret of Happiness Aug 30, 2022

Show notes

Today's lecture is about Renunciation, the ultimate ideal of Indian philosophy and the secret to happiness in life. You will learn the Four Principles of Non-Duality (Advaita Vedanta) which are:
1. Upadhi : mistaking yourself to be something you are not as the cause of suffering)
2. Sakshi : developing the Witness to create more intimacy with experiences in life)
3. Adishtana : recognising Awareness as the ground and substance of the world to awaken agape, all-encompassing love)
4. Viverta : recognising the world as an appearance in Awareness and thereby recognizing your own innate purity and invulnerability. This creates a tremendous fearlessness because you know whatever the scenes of the movie, you, the movie screen, will remain unchanged/untarnished/unharmed.)
Even the mere intellectual understanding of these Four Principles can radically alter one's life to make room for more spaciousness, peace and joy.
However once you go beyond an intellectual understanding to truly internalize and manifest these principles in life, you will awaken to fearlessness, perfect compassion, perfect non-attachment and unspeakable bliss that is your birthright
The philosophers of ancient India certainly saw the quest to understand (and master) the natural world as valuable however much more interesting to them was the quest to understand the "inner" world, the psychological landscape of what it means to be human. As early as 2000bce, the philosophers of India dared to ask "what is the secret to happiness? How can a human being come to live in a meaningful and purposeful way in a world of impermanence such as ours? Is there more to life than the fleeting pleasures of the body and ego?"
And over the millenia, we have developed subtle and profound (and most importantly, effectual) systems describing what a human life is for. The ultimate teaching, the essence of all this inquiry is...
(drumroll please)
RENUNCIATION!
Renounce the world and you will come to enjoy it in a way you could never have expected!
OM Shantih Shantih Shantih
These lectures happen Live every Monday at 7pm PST. It is open to the public. 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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The Ideals of Spiritual Life and What To Do When We Fall Short Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

Why do we such high ideals in spiritual life? What is renunciation and why is it important for genuine spirituality? Once we understand why these ideals are the way they are, we will naturally take up and attempt to live according to them.
Naturally, we will also fall short time and time again. The temptation here might be to drag the ideal down to make excuses for our weakness. Or conversely, our tendency might be to be overly critical of ourselves for failing and thus render our spiritual practice wholly unsustainable. What then are we to do?
This class first establishes what ideals exactly are valuable in spiritual life by studying the teachings of Jesus next to the Buddha. We read a little from a transcribed talk from Swami Ashokananda. Then, we offer some suggestions about how to deal with falling short of these ideals with reference to the standing balancing poses of Hatha Yoga as a metaphor.
I hope this talk will be some encouragement to you as you endeavour to live a genuinely spiritual life, a life lived insight of the Highest.
After this little talk, we all go into a Hatha Yoga class called "The Spiritual Ideal", to apply some of these ideas in real-time. You can follow along with that class here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/spiritual-ideal-70669024?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator
OM Tat Sat

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Shravan and the Ecstasy of Lord Shiva Jul 27, 2022

Show notes

In this mini-episode, we say a few words about the Vedic calendar month of Shravan and what makes it so auspicious for the study and practice of Non-Duality. Then, we ask the question: "why is Lord Shiva so blissful all the time?" The answer reveals a lot about the context in which live our hatha yoga and meditation practice.
For more classes like this, visit our lecture library here: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish
OM Namah Shivay!

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Tantrik Non-Duality vs Classical Non-Duality | Q&A Jul 26, 2022

Show notes

Here is a wonderful Q&A discussion comparing Classical Non-Duality with Tantrik Non-Duality to show that despite what pandits might say, they are actually ultimately one and the same and perfectly complementary!
00:01:06 What Is It To Be a Human Being? Does Buddhism/Advaita Invalidate My Personhood? Yes. All Religion Does! Here's Why!
00:12:14 Kashmiri Shaivism and "Playing the Character of Me"
00:14:20 Tantrik Non-Duality vs Classical Non-Duality: Iccha-Shakti, the Role of Desire in God
00:19:18 The Role of Creativity in Enlightenment
00:23:35 Why Is There Suffering in The World? The Tantrik Response to the Problem of Evil
00:28:55 How Is One Thing Different From Another In Tantrik Non-Duality? 00:30:00 Non-Dual Worship in Tantra and Abinava Gupta's "Devi Stotra", Hymn to the Goddess
00:34:11 Advaita Vedanta, Prasangika Madhyamika Buddhism and Tantrik Non-Duality Are The Same and Complementary and Why I Don't Teach Tantra To The Public
00:36:25 The Dangers of Tantra and Kali Worship and some Precautions 00:41:55 Some Resources To Study Tantra
00:53:17 Live Lectures Throughout the Week
00:55:00 How To Set Up Boundaries If You Are Not The Body?
01:02:53 How Are Things Different If Awareness Is One? What Is A Jiva, Individual?
01:09:27 The Erotic Metaphors of Tantra and the Role of Embodiment
01:22:30 Does Tantra Contradict Classical Non-Duality? They are actually the same! Here's why.
01:32:11 How Does Reincarnation Work? And the End of the Mahabharatha 01:41:06 The Role of Renunciation in Spiritual Life
01:47:11 "Walking Each Other Home?" and the Story of Sukadeva
01:55:30 Discernment in Tantra vs in Classical Vedanta (The Doctrine of the 7 Perceivers in Shaivism)
02:07:20 Should I Be A Monk? Householders vs Renunciants and the 4 Ashramas
02:30:30 Does The Brain Produce Consciousness? Or Does Consciousness Produce The Brain? How Do You Know Spirituality Isn't Just Chemicals?

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Why Aren't You Enlightened Yet? | Q&A Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

In one of our most productive Q&A sessions of all time (in my opinion, at least!) we ask the central question: "why aren't you enlightened yet?" "why have you not seen with clarity that you are Awareness, ever free?" "what is keeping your from claiming with conviction your essential nature as the Self, which is even now the case?"
00:00:00 Introduction: Why Aren't You Enlightened Yet?
00:00:30 Awareness vs Mind: Does Awareness Change? It Seems To!
00:08:45 The Role of Discernment/Intellect in Spiritual Life (And It's Limits)
00:14:30 After Enlightenment, What Do You Do?
00:34:00 How Does Jnana, Knowledge support Bhakti, Devotion and Raja Yoga, Meditation?
00:59:16 What Is Samadhi?
01:08:53 Brett's Success! + How Mantras Mysteriously Work To Liberate Us
01:23:00 Spiritual Health vs Physical Health: Does Spirituality Mean The Body-Mind Will Always Be Healthy? + The "Sin" Narrative In The New Age
01:56:35 Channelising the Power of the Avatar
02:03:13 How To Maintain Spirituality in the Midst of Busy-ness and Overwhelm
02:14:00 The Joy of Monday Night Sangha/ Celebrating Our Community!
02:17:08 Does Enlightenment Go Away? and Flow States vs Meditation
02:26:10 Closing Prayer

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What Is A Guru? Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

Who (or what) is a Guru? Today we talk about the role of a Guru in our spiritual life as the living embodiment of scripture, as an initiator or empowerer of mantras, as a "broadcaster of reality" and as a living example of the full possibilities of a human life.
What qualifies the Guru to be a Guru? And when/how does one find one's Guru in this life? Must the Guru have a body?
All this and more in today's class!
This lecture is from our program "Journey Into Tantra"! It is an 18 part, college-level lecture series in audio and video featuring ~44 hours of content with Q&A + a guided meditation. The idea was to create an interactive learning environment in which these ancient and transformative teachings come to life! I'm very excited to share that with you! You can pick up a copy here!
https://nishthefish.gumroad.com/l/journeyintotantra
A Poem to my Guru:
Better than a hundred ministers who preach
Are the lessons that Silence can teach.
A mountain’s instruction unceasing
Is better than the pastor’s wheezing!
And yet how many among us who yearn
For God’s vision can profitably learn
From the Sphinx-like silence inscrutable?
How many are truly able
To draw from the rock it’s sacred teaching
In a way that is stable and far reaching?
A precious few, I say, a precious few!
And even among them there is need too
Of a living emissary between Spirit and matter
Otherwise we remain enmeshed in the latter!
But whence forth comes the one who can teach like the mountain?
Who is truly fit to serve as God’s fountain?
of unfaltering Grace and Wisdom unstinting
To be a holy jewel, glimmering and glinting?
A previous few, I saw, a previous few!
But this I can guarantee to you:
If you are sincere in your search
And if you practice some,
Then to you this true Teacher will come.
A teacher who is strong and infallibly pure.
Of this my friend, you can be sure!
God is drawn to the devotee
Who is pure at Heart
God years for such a one –
She cannot keep apart!
To the one who has no thought
For pleasure or for money
God is drawn like a bee to honey.
After all, the Guru is God in a mortal frame.
The Guru is God’s first name.
Like lightning flashing in the dark of the storm
The Guru is Silence clothed in form.
The Guru is a tree with roots reaching deep.
The Guru is the Witness in dreamless sleep.
The key to meditation
Is the Guru’s face.
The key to liberation
Is the Guru’s grace.
Oh, my friend, haven’t you heard?
The key to your freedom
Is the Guru’s word.
So he who hath ears, please listen well
To what Nishanth has to tell:
The Guru is God in a mortal frame.
The Guru is God’s first name.

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