For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

In what might be one of our most philosophically rigorous discussions yet, we explore the four main orientations to life: Scientific Materialism, Dualistic Religion, Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta (Non-Duality). In this "compare and contrast" style lecture, we attempt to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of each school of thought with the view that they are all incredible paths appropriate for different times suiting different dispositions. 
“Truth is One, though sages call it differently. (Rig Veda 1:164:46)
And, sometimes it is only through studying the context in which a school of thought emerges and through studying its opposition, that we can truly come to understand it.   

Chapter Markers:
00:00:00 Introduction: How Does Indian Philosophy Work?
00:04:30 Meet The Players On The Stage: The Four Streams of Thought
00:09:50 What is "Advaita Vedanta" (Hindu Non-Duality)?
00:19:03 History of Scientific Materialism (Charvaka)
00:27:00 Galen's "Hard Problem of Matter" and Chalmer's "Hard Problem of Consciousness"
00:31:07 Promissory Materialism and the Benefits of Science 
00:35:30 The Drawbacks of Scientific Materialism 
00:47:37 The Mystics of Science
00:52:00 Dualistic Religion: What is God? 
00:57:00 The Benefits of Dualistic Religion
01:06:00 Dualistic Hinduism: Shaivism vs Vaishnavism 
01:08:53 The Drawbacks of Dualistic Religion: "The Problem of Evil" (Theodicy) 01:17:11 Another Drawback of Dualistic Religion: "Time Based Liberation can END"  01:19:29 Buddhism
01:27:35 Madhyamika Buddhism of Nagarjuna: "Samsara = Nirvana" 
01:35:35 The Logical Problem of Buddhism
01:38:20 The Advaitic Solution
01:46:33 How To Deal With The Evil in the World? (Political Action)
01:50:00 How To Cultivate Unconditional Love 
01:54:45 Is This A Dream? (An Experiment to Show Non-Duality)
02:02:30 What Happens After Non-Dual Awakening?

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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:
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For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
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Happy Valentine's Day!
Have you ever wondered: why are some relationships more fulfilling than others?
What can we do to improve our romantic relationships?
Do romantic relationships even have a place in spiritual life? And how is a relationship, which requires two things to relate to one another, compatible with Advaita Vedanta (Non-Duality) that posits only one thing?
In this lecture we answer all these questions as well as explore a few models of conscious relationships in Indian spirituality.

May this be an offering to Laxmi, Goddess of Beauty and Abundance!

OM SHREEM LAXMIYAI DEVYAI NAMAHA  ||

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction, access to our lecture library, and to support this work, visit me at:
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LIVE lectures happen every Monday at 7pm PST on Zoom. It is open to the public. 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

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

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

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

To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Today is Swami Vivekananda's (Swamiji's) birthday.
This year, because we follow the Vedic moon calendar, the auspicious date is the 25th of January. By the Gregorian Calendar the great hero was born on the 12th of January 1863.
He gave his first address to the West at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago on the 11th of September 1893, opening with the prophetic words: "my sisters and brothers of America..."

We are all here together because of his work. He is the great Messenger of the Spiritual Heritage of India, the torch bearer and representative par excellence of the ancient tradition of Yoga, the forerunner of Vedanta here in the West.
And so with immense delight I offer to you now this  lecture celebrating Vivekananda's life and legacy.
Of course,
One lecture is not enough to achieve even the faintest sketch of this cyclonic life lived according to the highest of spiritual ideals. In this lecture, we scratch the surface of Vivekananda's core message: work as worship. We analyse the highest ideal of Karma Yoga as an expression of the paths of Bhakti (devotion), Jnana (knowledge) and Raja (meditation).
The idea in this lecture, if God permits, is to convey a sense of how we may turn every action in our life into a spiritual practice, even the most mundane ones. How can we truly serve those around us?

"May I be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries, so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls. For my own part I will be incarnated two hundred times, if that is necessary to do what I have undertaken amongst my people.''

-Swamiji

May these words be as so many offerings of flowers at your feet.
May each and every breath of ours be given for the service of humanity!

Jai Swamiji Maharaj-ji Ki Jay!

00:00:00 Introduction: The Vedantic Humanism of Swami Vivekananda
00:05:31 Worldly Duties vs Spiritual Practice: Resolving the Dilemma
00:19:11 Perfection in Karma Yoga as defined by Swamiji
00:21:17 Paramahansa Ramakrishna, Avatar of the Modern Age
00:34:29 How Swamiji Learned This Profound Secret of Work as Worship
00:37:23 How Can The Absolute Be Both Transcendent AND Immanent?
00:54:00 Why Does This Realization Bring Joy? (Ananda)
00:59:40 You = The Absolute. But How? (Atma-Anatma Viveka)
01:09:19 The Insight of Buddha, Shankara and Vivekananda: A Call To Spirituality!
01:22:36 The Core Idea: Work as Worship
01:29:00 Harmonizing The Four Yogas: Bhakti, Raja, Jnana and Karma
01:31:00 Swamiji's Opening Address at the Parliament of World Religions in 1893

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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

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

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

To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Mere belief is not enough. For the spiritual life to be meaningful, one must experience directly for oneself the Truth of the scripture and manifest in their lives the highest ideals of spiritual life. Before we take our deep dive into the four gospels of Christianity with a Vedantic lens, we clarify a few concepts:
Soul = Sakshi/Pramataa/Atman = Witness
Good vs Bad = not moral claims but claims about fulfilment and happiness 
Apathea = a divine dispassion for worldly life 
Agape = an all-consuming unconditional love that turns the world into the Kingdom of Heaven 

OM Shantih Shantih Shantih

00:00:00 Walking the Talk and Defining "Communion"
00:07:15 Hypocrisy in the Church
00:10:50 "A Saint Who Is Sad is A Sad Saint"
00:13:04 Christianity is NOT about Moralizing! (Defining "Good" and "Bad")
00:18:33 Belief vs Experience 
00:29:16 Zoroastrianism and Christian Morality (With an aside on low vs high Christology)
00:57:07 What's Wrong With the "World"? (And the Definition of "Truth")
01:12:46 Lust and Greed are Antithetical to Christianity 
01:17:55 What Is A "Soul"?
01:25:45 True Love: The Love of the Soul
01:34:59 How To Overcome Lust and Greed and Live as a Soul (Practical Takeaways)

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:
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To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Christianity is not about blind belief.
Christianity is about Direct Personal Experience of the Divine.
In this lecture we explore the secret teachings of Christian mysticism by investigating some of the non-dual teaching of the greatest Non-Dual Master of all time: Yeshua the Christ!
There are many misconceptions about what Christianity is and isn't. Tonight, we try to cut through the dogma and noise of the "brood of vipers" to penetrate into the vital, living Heart of this most powerful spiritual tradition.
May this be an offering to all the saints!

00:00:00 Why Do We Study Spiritual Philosophy? (Knowledge vs Wisdom)
00:06:06 Yeshua the Christ and Paul the Apostle
00:10:00 Swami Vivekananda carried two books with him: The Bhagavad Gita and...
00:13:00 "The Imitation of Christ" and Universal Spiritual Truths
00:16:50 The Sadhu and the Scorpion
00:22:00 Genuine Spirituality is about Experience, not Dogma (Stories of Saints)
00:34:00 The Desert Fathers and the Mysticism of Christianity (Orthodoxy)
00:41:00 Prayer is Meditation, Meditation is Prayer + The Lord's Prayer (Japa)
00:48:54 The Brood of Vipers: How Christianity Has Been Misrepresented (Belief vs Faith)
00:57:40 The Christ Force: A Feeling State, A Mode of Being (Accessible to One and All)
01:07:26 The Mystery of the Trinity: Platonism, Neoplatonism and "The Word"
01:13:20 How does "Truth set us free"?
01:20:00 The Jnana-Yoga of Jesus ("Deny Thyself" = Neti Neti)
01:34:17 The Raja-Yoga of Jesus ("If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be filled with light")
01:42:47 The Bhakti-Yoga of Jesus ("Love thy God with all thy might!")
01:51:10 The Karma-Yoga of Jesus (The Curing of the Leper)
01:53:41 Jesus Supports All Religions (Religion vs Spirituality)
01:59:00 Closing Prayer by Nish
02:00:56 Closing Prayer in Latin by Maddz

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

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

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

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

What is life for? What does it mean to live a fulfilling life as a human being? The answer to that question depends a great deal on the question, "what is it to BE a human being?"/"who am I?"
Today we talk about finding and ultimately, following your Dharma (your life's purpose) as a way to overcome lust and greed as well as a preparation for Moksha (liberation). We discuss the meaning of a human life with an inquiry into the Purushartha, the 4 things worth having: Kaama (pleasure), Artha (wealth), Dharma (duty/personal purpose), Moksha (liberation). 
Then, we look at three central arguments from Advaita Vedanta to get an insight into who we really are!

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

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

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

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

In this talk, we explore the very heart of Indian spirituality: renunciation and service. We ask: what are the Vedas and the Upanishads and from what do the Vedas draw scriptural authority? The answers might surprise you! We conclude by examining the lives of India's greatest saint, the 19th CE Bengali master Sri Ramakrishna and his foremost disciple, Swami Vivekananda who first brought the message of India to the West. Today, let us celebrate this ancient lineage that lives on in you and me. Let us set our sights on the highest ideals expressed to us by the world's oldest living spiritual tradition. Let us resolve to live our lives starting today to the best of our ability in accordance with the lion's roar of these ennobling values!

OM Shantih Shantih Shantih

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

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

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

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

As a young person, we are surrounded by narratives about who we ought to be, what we ought to do, what we ought to own and what pleasures we ought to want in order to "make it" in the world.
Our elders hand down belief systems in the guise of wisdom and yet we see right through that hypocrisy! We find it odd to be accepting advice from people on "how to be happy" when those same people don't seem very functional or happy! It seems like the assumptions upon which our society is built are unsatisfactory ones and young people everywhere are restless for a new way to see themselves and the world around them.
More and more young people are turning to spiritual life. Why is that? 
Instead of the usual lectures I publish here on For The Love of Yoga, today, I decided to do something different in celebration of Diwali! 
Here is a conversation with my friend, Arman on the unique challenges that a young person today might encounter (i.e explaining to your parents that you DON'T want to be CEO of the world but instead want "enlightenment"...) and how to overcome them!

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

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

To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

OM Shantih Shantih Shantih

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:
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To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Happy Halloween!
Enjoy this Halloween special :)

The enlightened state is a state of complete fearlessness.
Prior to enlightenment, our lives are pervaded by a kind of restless anxiety. We want what we want because we are afraid of what might happen to us if we don't get it. As a result, we feel a contraction throughout our day to day experience. But imagine how relaxed, open and compassionate we would be if we manage to overcome that fear once and for all? Such a thing is possible!
Today, we explore what fear is and attempt to root it out on all levels of the being: the Intellect, the mind, the body/etheric body and most importantly, the heart.

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

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

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

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

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

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

To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

What does it mean to live a "spiritual life"? What does life look like when you commit yourself full time to finding and making manifest in every movement of life your own Divinity? 
Here are 7 tools to radically transform each moment of life into a moment of practice, into a moment of communion with the most high. 

OM Shantih Shantih Shantih 

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