For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

Tonight on Buddha Pūrnimā,  by way of celebration, we did a talk on Tantrik Buddhism: specifically, the worship of Chinnamastā/Chinnamunda in the Vajrayāna context. (I'll upload this talk soonest!) But before we plunged into that topic, I was moved to say a few general things about the Buddha and his legacy and how that applies to us in this day and age who are studying and practicing the up-until-now very esoteric traditions of Śakta Tantra or Goddess Tantra.You see: both the Buddha and Vivekananda felt that what was kept secret and made available to only the elite few needed to be made publicly available as the common property of every man, woman, (person) and child and they both made it their mission to do just that. Just like that,  great saints and mystics like Āgamavagīsha, Ramprasad, Rāja Deva Nanda Singh, Ramakrishna and countless others have mainstreamed Kālī (to borrow a phrase from Ācharya Timalsinaji) so that what was once enjoyed by only a few can now. be cherished and worshipped by many! I am so, so delighted to be part of that process with all of you! May this be an offering to the Buddha, the embodiment of compassion. May this be an offerings to all beings who are turning towards awakening, who are awakening And who are awakened! Jai Mā!Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 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/7028380815Our hatha yoga class is Wednesdays at 11am PST via this same link also.For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Today is Chinnamastā Jayanti and last week we had Bagalāmukhī Jayanti.Since both of these are fierce and very esoteric forms of Kālī, I thought I would take this occasion to discuss some of the "darker" aspects of our Tantrik heritage since both of these deities, as well as many of the other Daśamahāvidyās are associated with magical practices of um, let's say, a less than savory nature according to the views of some more right-leaning practitioners. And Bagalā Devī especially has a strong association to cults that practice black magic with the purpose of binding, stunning and confounding enemies.What's all that about?In this talk, I want to make a case for why we should accept those aspects of our tradition but also strongly suggest a more devotional reading of these mantras and these forms of the Goddess. We do this by discussing Bagalāmukhī's dhyāna-ślokas (her meditation mantras), her origin story as per some śakta upa-puranas, the practices associated to her cult of worship and most importantly a story from the life of Sārada Devī where she actually manifested her Bagalā aspect to smite Harish, a devotee who had gone crazy because of his wife's black magic! This lecture is part of a series on the daśamahāvidyās which you can watch hereLater today, Mā willing, I'll upload a lecture called "The Dark Side of Tantra" exploring this idea more fully but here is my first swipe at it! Jai Mā! Jai Pītāmbara-Devī Ki Jai!Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMIf you'd like to support us, you can do so here:https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jaimakaliSupport the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

The day that we gave this lecture was an exceedingly important day: Akshaya Tritiya! Because the sun and moon are in very exalted positions and because of the association of this day to a series of auspicious events in Puranic Hinduism (the day Mā Ganga came down into the earth from the heavens, the day Vyāsa began dictating the Mahābhārata to Ganesh, the day Yudishthira received his unlimited food bowl, the day that Parvati appeared as Annapurna to feed everyone among other things), today is typically regarded as a great day to  buy gold, begin new projects, embark on new ventures and most importantly, do spiritual practice. Whatever is started on this day while endure for a long time, if not forever and whatever spiritual practices are performed go extra hard and have a bigger impact in our lives. The TLDR of this is: it's max XP day, kula. But also what's especially important for us is that this day was also Mātangī Jayanti. So to honour the occasion, we decided to say a few things about Nīla Sarasvatī/Mātangī and the Daśamahavidyās as a whole as our humble prayer to the goddess in her auspicious Candāla form!Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Today is an exceedingly important day: Akshaya Tritiya! Because the sun and moon are in very exalted positions and because of the association of this day to a series of auspicious events in Puranic Hinduism (the day Mā Ganga came down into the earth from the heavens, the day Vyāsa began dictating the Mahābhārata to Ganesh, the day Yudishthira received his unlimited food bowl, the day that Parvati appeared as Annapurna to feed everyone among other things), today is typically regarded as a great day to  buy gold, begin new projects, embark on new ventures and most importantly, do spiritual practice. Whatever is started on this day while endure for a long time, if not forever and whatever spiritual practices are performed go extra hard and have a bigger impact in our lives. The TLDR of this is: it's max XP day, kula. Have at it!But also what's especially important for us is that today is Mātangi Jayanti. In this video, we say a few things about Akshaya Tritiya, about Mātangi and also about the Paramārthasāra of Abhinava Gupta with specific reference to Swami Vivekananda and also Swami Lakshman Joo whose Jayanti (birthday) it was yesterday. Today (May 10th 2024) at 3pm PST we're having a special Akshaya Tritiya puja on zoom followed by a Maha Mritunjaya and Candi recitation. We'll probably have the zoom room open form 3-7pm PST so feel free to drop in any time. After the puja and chanting, with whatever time we have remaining, we'll have a satsangh about Mātangi and the daśamahāvidyās, the ten forms of Devī. Here's the link:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

In this special satsangh, we host our mentor and dear friend Pujya Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati of the Kali Mandir, the foremost authority here on the West Coast and perhaps in the world on all things Kali, Tantra and Puja. Some years ago, I asked Pujya Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati at the Kali Mandir in Laguna a beach: “why is it that some people say worshipping Kālī is dangerous?” He said in his characteristic warmth and humor something to the effect of: “worshipping Kali is like mac and cheese. I love Mac and cheese. But if some people eat it, they’ll die!” We laughed for a little while and then he proceeded to carefully point out the differences between a Bhakti practice and a properly Tantrik one in approaching Mā. I tell you this story to give you some sense of what kind of teacher Swami Bhajanandaji is: indescribably profound and yet simple, grounded, direct and honest; seriously funny; academically rigorous yet supremely practical…ah how rare is such a person in this world! Most importantly, he is an expert ritualist and so is uniquely able to transmit the Tantras from within the tradition.And now we have the wonderful good fortune of grilling him with questions! Hearing from him is an opportunity that no sincere student of our āgamas would ever want to miss! In a world where the principle Goddesses of the Tantras like Kālī and Tripura Sundarī have moved into a broader devotional context and have attracted a wider audience who for the most part are befuddled by the twilight language of the primary texts, confounded by misinformation and mischief on the internet and bored by the dry academic speculations of secondary sources who take the philosophies out of their original ritual context, Swamis Bhajananandaji and Ambikanandaji and Usha Devī’s Kali Mandir are guiding lights of inestimable value. Usha Devī and Swamis Bhajanandaji and Ambikanandaji have been our teachers and dear friends for years now and if ever I have imparted to you any cool Tantrik secrets, I probably got it from them!Check out their work at the Kali Mandir, a temple of the awakened Kali here:https://www.kalimandir.org/Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Today on this auspicious Friday (Fridays are very sacred to Tripura Devī) I'd like to offer you who are the embodiment of Devī these reflections on Lalitā and the Lalitā Sahasranāma. We gave this talk on a Friday on Lalitā Jayanti earlier this year as a sort of preamble before our Paramārthasāra lecture. May it inspire you to chant the thousand names of Beauty and Power Personified! Jai Tripura Devī Ki Jai! Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM00:00:00 Opening Invocations00:01:54 Auspicious Days in Hinduism: Full Moons and New Moons and Ashtamis 00:06:20 Who is Lalitā? (An aside on the different schools of Devī Tantra) 00:11:40 The Thousand Names of Lalitā (Sahasranāma) 00:16:00 Lalitā in the context of Kaula Trika Tantrism (Kundalinī) 00:22:24 Lalitā Origin Story (Bandhāsura's Slaying)00:28:00 Why Lust is Helpful in Spiritual Life 00:30:50 Who are Devas and Asuras (Gods and Demons) Really?Support the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

On the auspicious occasion of Hanuman Jayanti today, we say a few words about Tapasvī Rāja from a Tantrik point of view. Since Hanuman, the Son of the Wind, is Prāna embodied, we say a few words about the Five Faced Hanuman with regards to the five types of prāna. Then, we talk about siddhis, yogic powers and how Hanuman embodies the proper use and place of siddhis in genuine spiritual life. Most of all, we discuss our ideal of Bhakti: devotion from a place of strength and fullness and not from a place of fear or lack which Hanuman exemplifies perfectly. Here we make a few notes as to how one might attain this state of perfected Bhakti. The most interesting part of this talk to me though is the comparison we make between Hanuman and Swami Vivekanandaji. We close it all of with a rendition of Tulsi Das' Hanuman Chaleesa by our beloved Satyaji.  Jai Mahavīraji ki Jai! Support the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Why does God look like a lion riding woman with ten arms holding various weapons slaying a buffalo demon on the field of battle?Why does God look like a ash besmeared yogi on the tiger-skin mat telling his beads in the highest reaches of the Himālayas?Why does look like a flute playing mischievous boy who steals the hearts of cowherd-girls?Or does God "look" like anything at all?Some schools of Indian philosophy insist that God is formless and impersonal (Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism etc.) and others that God is a person but is formless (Abrahamic faiths etc.) and yet others that God has a form and a particular form at that (Most forms of Vaishnavism, some forms of Shaivism and Shaktism etc.).Ramakrishna's position with regards to these is most radical: he insists that God is all of the above and so much more besides!At any rate, in this lecture I try to make a case for God with form. Since God is both formless and with form, it might be better for us, given our mind's predilection for form, to work with the latter! Those of you who are committed to the formless (which is also perfect and valid!), give me a chance to convince you! This lecture happened around the Fall Navaratri last year, I think!Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Chaitra Navaratri (the Spring Goddess Festival) is about to come up in only a few days! To usher in these coming 9 nights of the Goddess, I wanted to upload this throwback to the Fall Goddess Festival last year when we had a wonderful discussion on the intersection between art and spirituality, and specifically, on the role of aesthetics (poetry, music, dance, theatre, sculpture, visual art etc.) in the very refined and rich world of Tantrik spirituality. When I was cleaning out. my hard drives I came upon this lecture and couldn't believe that I hadn't uploaded it yet! But I suppose Mā was saving it for the Spring and for Chaitra Navaratri! In any case, here you go! May Mā illumine us. Support the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

One of the central questions we ask in spiritual life is, "what about sexuality?" On one side of the spectrum you have world-negative traditions (which seem to be in the majority in classical times and whose effects can still be felt today) which reject sexuality wholesale and on the other side of that same spectrum you have world-affirming traditions that often get abused as a license for hedonism, mitigating greatly their spiritual value. This second type seems to be on the rise in todays consumerist culture (no surprise there: sex sells!) and this often gets linked to Tantra. So then:Is Tantra really about sex? Like not at all? Not even a little bit?Well, the answer is both yes and no. The answer is very nuanced. And in this discussion, Mā willing, I hope to explore that nuance in several ways. This discussion will take us into the heart of Vedic culture, into the Upanishads, into the Candi, into the Tantras and into the traditions around the Goddess and so I felt like it would be a perfect lecture of this auspicious second day of Navarātri!Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMSupport the showLectures 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/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM