window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]           If you ask this question to a Hindu, probably he would flounder to give a straight simple answer. He could speak for hours about what Hinduism is all about but never define it precisely in unambiguous words. p { line-height: 115%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }a:visited { color: #800000; text-decoration: underline }a:link { color: #000080; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]     Neither the Advaitis nor the Dwaitis would accept this equation. Each side is biased by what their preceptors have said. And the debate goes on, about which is the right view. I think if we can see that both are same, many confusions would get resolved. But how do we do that within the framework of the Upanishads? p { line-height: 115%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }a:link { color: #000080; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]    This word Brahmacharya is probably the most misunderstood word. People somehow link it to ‘preserving sexual energy’, being celibate, transmuting the ‘sexual power’ etc. There is a long history behind all these notions and it is hard to see the light. p { line-height: 115%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }a:visited { color: #800000; text-decoration: underline }a:link { color: #000080; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]     As per the traditional belief, whatever truth one finds in the Upanishads is an attempt by the Upanishadic sages to explain their experience, that they had when they were in deep state of meditation. That is the realization they arrived at. It is a different matter whether they could describe their experience exactly as they went through it. But anyone who goes on their path, would surely experience the very same truth and it needs no further validation. What is this realization as per the Upanishads? p { line-height: 115%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }a:visited { color: #800000; text-decoration: underline }a:link { color: #000080; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]        The Bhagavad Gita has a complete chapter on meditation – chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga. This deals with how someone undertakes this path of realization or attainment of ultimate truth. It also explains what happens when someone reaches the culmination of this path and what is the ultimate truth that one realizes. p { line-height: 115%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }a:visited { color: #800000; text-decoration: underline }a:link { color: #000080; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   I am now on Quora. You can follow me on my Quora profile page  https://www.quora.com/profile/Dr-King-Swami-Satyapriya, or follow my space  https://drking.quora.com  and enjoy all interesting questions and answers. You can shoot your own questions if any.

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   Akka Mahadevi is on the final phase of her journey. She wants to make the impossible possible. Though without a body consciousness, she does have a body and that body has its own limitations. It wants to see the formless in some form. That is because it can only perceive forms. It does not understand abstract things. p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   In the previous episode, we saw how a young girl namely Mahadevi dared to take on the entire world. She did not care how the worldly people look at her. She discarded all identities, even the identity as a female! She went around naked without any hesitation or feeling of shame. p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links]     Before we get into this dreaming business, let us start this episode with a startling incident. It was an assembly of great saints, all of whom had experienced God in their own way. There were men and women who had gathered together to share their individual experiences with each other. They had also come for a serious discussion about how the society can be reformed. p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links]     We were discussing the story of one of most revered mediaeval saints of India, namely Goda. Goda is in love with God! And she has no hesitation to admit it openly. So, she sings expressing her love to God. She imagines herself to be one of the cowherd girls who lived with Krishna, when the God descended on earth in the human form of Krishna. p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   Probably a Christian or a Muslim may even shudder to think of such a thing. Romance with God?! Maybe it sounds blasphemous. But not in India among Hindus. There, it is perfectly alright to have a ‘love affair with God’. Well, only if you are a female. As a female devotee, it is perfectly all right to look upon God as your male companion, your beloved, your lover. p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]    Many modern Yoga teachers define Yoga as union. Union with what? Many definitions have been given. But the fact remains that most of us mean body exercises, when we say Yoga. It is about manipulation of the body, it is about fitness of the body, it is about ‘control’ of the body and its instincts. That is the domain of Hatayoga. So, what is this union about? Patanjali Yoga goes a step further. It talks about moving beyond the body and mind. It talks about the soul. And if at all you can use such a word, it talks about uniting with your real self, or attaining Kaivalya – a state where the soul is completely free. But is that the end? That is what we will be seeing in this episode.    p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   Con el tipo de popularidad que ha alcanzado el Yoga estos días, estoy segura de que habrás probado alguna "forma" de Yoga. Probablemente también te haya beneficiado. Pero si quieres saber más sobre lo que el yoga puede hacer y cómo funciona realmente, este episodio es para ti. Por favor sigue escuchando. p { line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }a:visited { color: #800000; text-decoration: underline }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   Just like our modern-day computers, our minds too have EPROMS with pre-stored instructions that enables us to boot strap, and go on with our lives. These instructions are essential for living. But they become a problem when they somehow get corrupted. Imagine how a computer would behave if its EPROM is corrupted. It just crashes 😉 That would also be our state, if we have a faulty mental EPROM. Before we talk about how the practice of Yoga helps in setting right a corrupted mental EPROM, let us face the fundamental question namely -    p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]  One goes through a long process of Yoga, following its 8 steps. And finally, he or she attains the state of Samadhi. Is that the end of the journey? What exactly happens at that final stage, in anticipation of which the Yogi had dedicated all his life, going through the arduous practice of Yoga? That is what we are going to discuss in this episode.   p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]     Upanishads always fascinated me. For those people who are not familiar, Upanishads are the philosophic parts of the ancient Indian Vedas. And Vedas are probably, the oldest available scriptures of the world. While most Indians view Upanishads with lot of reverence, many westerners, which include well known scientists and intellectuals, consider them as the peak of human intellectual endeavors. p { line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt }p.cjk { font-size: 12pt }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   Patanjali’s Yoga is centered around mind. But throughout the discussion about Yoga, Patanjali rarely describes this mind nor how it functions. The reason is that Patanjali assumes the model of the mind as put forth by Samkhya. So, it becomes necessary to know what Samkhya says about the mind in order to fully understand Yoga. In this episode, we will be doing exactly that. p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   It is amazing how ancient Indians were preoccupied with coming up with various theories about the mind. These theories were not aimed at understanding the mind, the way our modern neuroscience does. But they were driven by practical applications. One such theory of mind was Buddhist theory of mind as recorded in the Buddhist scripture, namely the Abhidamma Pitaka. Based on this theory, Buddhists developed various meditative practices. We will discuss this Buddhist theory of mind in this episode. p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   Whether mind is just the brain or is it something mysterious, has always been a point of debate. The more we understand our brain, more we will be closer to understanding the mind, as well as the limitations in our scientific methodology. For more than one reason, it seems that there is something more to the mind than just the brain. In this episode, we will see why it is necessary to keep an open mind before arriving at any conclusions. p { color: #00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-top: 0.28cm; margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Arial", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-US }p.cjk { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN }p.ctl { font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji"; font-size: 14pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-8HXGBD0CVC'); [Quick links] [Pause]   In the previous episode we stopped at ‘stages of samadhi with awareness’ and showed how all the steps of Yoga till that point can be completely explained in terms of neuroscience. That means, all that can be scientifically verified.But beyond that point, when one gets into the ‘stages of samadhi without awareness’, we have to leave behind science since our brain has no direct role in those stages.Does that mean that there is something even beyond brain? That is what I am going to discuss in this episode.