For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

I want to discuss whether or not there are any real dangers to studying and practicing tantra. And if so, what are the risks?

This seems like a somewhat preliminary conversation and we’ve approached the topic before from a few different angles over the years but tonight I want to go in with some much finer brush strokes regarding Abhinava Gupta’s analysis on “Mala” in chapter 4 of Tantrasāra/tantraloka with reference to the non dual Shakta reframe from the opening verses of the Mahartha Manjari that prove to you in the immediacy of your experience here and now that you are perfectly safe. 

All our more left leaning radical stuff in this playlist:
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1862374

Hit Me Up x

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

Sometime back we released Mania, Feminism & Tantra in American Culture | My Statement Re: Allegations a sort of statement re: the first wave of internet cancellation controversy to just candidly offer our thoughts on some of the things that we are being accused of. Now in the second iteration of internet witch hunt, things have developed in some pretty amusing ways warranting another press release, as it were. I had fun, indulging in some whimsy, and chaos in my response.

Hit Me Up x

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

Somewhat of a sequel to our discussions Where do Kāpālikas Come From? | Tantra as a Dravidian Tradition & Are We Aghoris? | Kapālikās & Tāntrikas of the Deccan & South India, in this talk we explore the often antagonistic and comedic characterization of Kāpālikas or early Śaiva Tantriks in Sanskrit literature and drama, to supplement the historical descriptions we encountered last time. 
Jai Mahākāla!

Hit Me Up x

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 week we did something very exciting in out Left Hand Path Rituals & Worship of the Consort class where we shared mantras and instructions for rituals that are typically hard to find because of the censure around vāmācāra (the so-called "left hand path") but to properly explain the theology, soteriology and purpose of these rituals we plunged into this fascinating discussion about the Kāpālika Vrāta, and the spiritual benefit of societal disdain/misunderstanding which is as current today as it was in the time of our ancestors. But more importantly, we discuss the role of bliss, ānanda in the context of śaiva pūjā (worship) and sādhana (spiritual practice)! The ritual manual from last week is in the description of this video: Left Hand Path Rituals & Worship of the Consort

Hit Me Up x

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

Every Gaṇeśa Chathurthi (the fourth day of the waxing moon in the month of bhadrapada) we celebrate Gaṇeśa by giving a special talk. In the past few years we've discussed The Tāntrik Gaṇeśa (2024), Who is Gaṇeśa? (2025) and also How To Worship Gaṇeśa (2025) approaching the topic from a few different angles. But this year I wanted to do something more ambitious and direct, something we've never done before. And as such, we gave one of my favorite talks of all time discussing a teaching that I feel in my heart if properly received (and it is certainly a very nuanced and subtle reflection on icchā-śakti & svatantrya-śakti, the absolute power of choice and freedom that inheres in Consciousness, in You in every moment inviolably) will allow you overcome any obstacles anywhere any time: sarva-vighnan-nāśānam siddhi. 

Hit Me Up x

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

On Kali Jayanti/Krishna Janmāshtamī last week, we were especially inspired and we gave a talk called What Form of Kali Do I Worship? | Ādyā Kālī vs. Kṛṣṇa and still buzzing from that, we plunged right into Are We Aghoris? | Kapālikās & Tāntrikas of the Deccan & South India where we looked at some historical Sanskrit literature to contextualize just what tradition we're part a of and just what it is we're doing here, especially given all the ambiguity around the internet's conception of "aghoris". 

In this talk, along the same lines as the previous two, we continue to flesh out the historical context to ground our understanding and practice of Tantra, this time making the claim that its easy to misunderstand our tradition if its seen through a Mogul, British apologetic (i.e Brahmo Samāj) or even "Hindu", lens. I argue for Tantra as a heterodox tradition like Buddhism and Jainism and at the same time argue for a broader understanding of the word Hinduism that includes not just Buddhism, Jainism, Cārvāka etc.(traditions that emerged in the subcontinent but are typically excluded) but also Islam, Christianity, Judaism and even Art and Science as all viable paths of Hinduism. I try to the center the Deccan and South India, as well as South East Asia, Nepal, Tibet and Central Asia as important Tāntrik locations. A pretty deep discussion I thought! Enjoy!

Hit Me Up x

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

On Kali Jayanti, we gave one of my favorite talks ever called What Form of Kali Do I Worship? | Ādyā Kālī vs. Kṛṣṇaand buzzing from the inspiration of that one, we rolled into into our Friday morning satsangh with this wonderful introduction to literary depictions of early śaivas (i.e Kāpālikas) in some classical Sanskrit and non Sanskrit historical sources to establish ourselves in a historical context that is often missed when discussing Tantra & Aghoris & whatnot. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!
Here's a playlist of all our material on śaivism in all its phases and here's one for our vāmācāra classes. 

Hit Me Up x

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

Every time Krishna Janmāshtamī/ Kali Jayanti (the 8th day waning moon of the holy month of Shiva, śrāvana) I find that I am especially inspired. It is no insignificant thing that Kālī & Krishna share the same "birthday"! Last year, we gave a talk on the subject called Krishna = Kali and I still think it's one of the best talks we've given, like, ever. Last night, similarly inspired, we went even further into the issue by asking: what is my Ishta, chosen ideal actually? What does our lineage understand Kālĩ to be in our highest theological conception? And as such, what does the worship of this form of Kālī actually look like in our day to day (or rather, night to night) Tāntrik practice. Essentially, in this talk I discuss my favorite form of Kālī, the sarvākāra nirākara, the formless Void which shines as all forms.

Our central thesis is as follows:

Premā svarupā iti şaktih:
God is not love; rather, love itself in all of its forms is God.
You cannot love Shakti because she is not the lover nor the beloved but the relational act of loving itself.
So Kali is not Kali!
Kali, I.e Ādyā is Love in and of itself in all of its forms.
Our Ishta (Chosen Ideal/Main Deity) as such is not Kali understood as God; our Ishta by whatever mantra we approach Her, is God understood as Love in all of its forms.
As such, my final claim:
Krishna is the greatest expression of that Love Herself.
There is no such thing as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Materialism or any ism.
There is no conflict anywhere.
Krishna, Radha, Christ, Ramakrishna are Avatāra because they are the greatest historical experience we’ve had of the most intense love, that love which is not for God but IS GOD.

Hit Me Up x

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

By now it's probably quite obvious that our spiritual community is like the Protestant church you grew up in. Although all of our content on the internet is listed as "adult-content", often I have overestimated the maturity of our audience because I am only just now starting to understand how deep seated our preconceptions can be regarding hierarchies of power and institutions of authority, what to say about these things in the spiritual world. The thing is: we tend to always look outside ourselves for answers and more often, we tend to hold everyone and everything responsible for choices that we fear to own up to ourselves. But in the world of Vāmācāra/Kaula-mārga, the so-called "left hand path" of Tantra, there is no substitute for real discernment, grit and maturity. It really isn't for everybody because we're all of us different and so we'll all need different things to make spiritual progress/we'll all find different things spiritually nourishing.

But how will we know if it's for us?

To help with discernment and to provide a "CAUTION:HOT" disclaimer for our stuff, we put together a little playlist called Community Safety + Guidelines to help audiences get the most of our community starting with Dream Initiation | & Are We A Legitimate Tāntrik Lineage? where we ask some serious questions about lineage authority and then in How To Practice Tantra & Guru Yoga Responsibly we laid out the traditional safeguards for interacting with spiritual teachers and their communities and in Can You Learn Tantra From Books | & Am I A Tāntrik Guru? we lay out our principles and commitments as a community so you can know what to expect and what to watch out for. 

In this next installment, Who Should You Learn Tantra From? we offer some very important disclaimers regarding risk appetite and bhāva (spiritual predisposition) not only to carefully explain the bhāva of our community but more importantly to make the case that everyone is valid, each according to their own disposition. There is room for us all!

Hit Me Up x

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

Because it was the close of the eclipse portal with the lunar eclipse on śrāvana pūrnimā (pisces full moon) tonight, we were all in a reflective and contemplative mood and so in this talk, we discuss some of the tensions, paradoxes and contradictions inherent in the transmission of Tantra throughout the ages with the early sadhus in the Vedic era to the Śaiva Siddhantins to Ramakrishna to Vivekananda and to us in the modern context, before plunging into some practices from the Kāmakalā-Vilāsa & the japa krama from our vāmācāra paddhathi. Here is a playlist of all our lectures on Tantra over the years. 

Hit Me Up x

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