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Everything in Life is Good
“Everything in life is good because everything teaches you a lesson, gives you an experience to grow. Even the so‑called “bad” things give you an experience. This experience can be either pleasurable or painful. But remember, it's often the painful experiences from bad things that help you learn a lesson.
“God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.” —Sri Swami Satchidananda
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Question: How can I experience joy in life and love passionately if I am practicing non-attachment?
Swami Satchidananda: The best way to enjoy life, if you really want to enjoy life, is not to have any attachment to anything. Attachment never brings you permanent joy. It may begin with a little pleasure, but it ends up with more pain. Attachment can never, never, never bring you joy. The one who knows how to enjoy the world, is the one who is not attached to anything. But, if you want to learn the lessons, then get attached to something. Enjoy the pleasure in the beginning, and then face the pain later on. That’s how you learn to not to be attached. That’s the best way to learn. And don’t think that a person who lives in the spirit of non‑attachment, doesn’t enjoy anything, or that he or she simply sits like a sleepy person, doing nothing. In fact, when you don’t have any attachment, you can function even better. A karma yogi can do a better job than a karmi. Why? Because a karmi does something looking for the return. While working, he or she will always be watching the time. With attachment, you cannot function wholeheartedly. You are just doing business. MORE
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“The science of Kriya Yoga was revived in 1861 in a remote corner of the Himalayan Mountains in India,” says Brahmachari Shekhar. He offers some essential historical context, describing the enthralling episode that produced this renaissance. “It happened in a small cave where a great deathless master by the name of Mahavatar Babaji reunited with his disciple Lahiri Mahasaya and taught him the technique of Kriya Yoga. He continues, “In his Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansaji recounts this historic meeting in which Babaji said to Lahiri Mahasaya, ‘The millions who are encumbered by family ties and heavy worldly duties will take new heart from you, a householder like themselves….Even in the world, the yogi who faithfully discharges his responsibilities, without personal motive or attachment, treads the sure path of enlightenment’.” This promise was fulfilled when Lahiri Mahasaya transmitted the teachings to his disciple Swami Sri Yukteswar, who transmitted them to Paramahansa Yogananda whom he trained for 10 years, from 1910 to 1920, specifically with the dispensation to take Kriya Yoga to the West and to the world at large to help people attain Self-realization or God-realization. MORE
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In this deeply candid interview, Dr. Dean Ornish, reveals the secrets to diet, health and lasting fulfillment in these never-heard-before insights, including the source for his ideas and what he considers his inspiration—his teacher, Swami Satchidananda. Here's a sampling of what you'll hear: Dr. Ornish's origin story: How he planned to kill himself as a "failed" student, what changed his life, and how he came to talk openly about it. The definitive science of what causes more than 80% of the nation's chronic diseases. How eating a plant-based diet provides all the protein one needs. The cures to Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and many cancers. How his meditation fueled him to change medicine. And much more...
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Those of us in the northern hemisphere are experiencing the predominance of the fire element this summer. The physical heat of summer generally promotes growth and fruition (plants and trees), but many people are suffering from its intensity this year. On a subtler, spiritual level, there is an internal fire that promotes spiritual growth by burning off the psychic toxins that diminish our clarity and awareness of the truth. For this reason and season, we choose to practice the Yoga principle of Tapas. Tapas literally means to burn and is often translated either as austerity or acceptance of pain. This teaching implies that when we accept pain in any form, we can learn and grow in important ways, but let’s look at some examples to clarify what this means for us. There are many examples of the cleansing and healing effects of heat, like the use of saunas and hot compresses; even a fever is the body’s way of fighting infection. But physical pain that comes to us uninvited can be a very difficult teacher, showing us the limitations of the physical body as a dependable source of happiness. MORE
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While it was just announced that Woodstock 50 is officially cancelled, that cancellation refers only to the celebration that was being planned by Michael Lang, a co-founder of the 1969 festival. There are still plenty of 50th celebrations going on all over the globe! Most prominently is the August 16–18 weekend celebration at the location of the original festival: Bethel Woods. An amazing weekend of activities including live music, food trucks, craft vendors, art making, games, and more will take place at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which also houses the Woodstock Museum. Yogaville will be hosting a celebration the following weekend (the August 16th weekend is the annual observance of the anniversary of the Mahasamadhi of Sri Swami Satchidananda, who opened the 1969 festival.) Saturday, August 24th will feature a special commemorative evening satsang and on the 25th there will be live music, kirtan, karaoke, and more! For those unable to attend this or other celebrations, please enjoy our short film (includes archival footage) and information booklet about Swami Satchidananda: the Woodstock Guru, the road to Woodstock, and his legacy and a new book.
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The Buddha was sitting under a tree talking to his disciples when a man came and spat in his face. He wiped it off, and he asked the man, “What next? What do you want to say next?” The man was a little puzzled because he himself never expected that when you spit in someone’s face he should ask “What next?” He had no such experience in his past. He had insulted people and they had become angry and they had reacted. Or if they were cowards and weaklings, they had smiled, trying to bribe him. But the Buddha was like neither, he was not angry, nor in any way offended, nor in any way cowardly. But just matter-of-factly he said, “What next?” There was no reaction on his part. But Buddha’s disciples became angry, and they reacted. His closest disciple, Ananda, said, “This is too much. We cannot tolerate it. He has to be punished for it, otherwise everybody will start doing things like this!” Buddha said, “You keep silent. He has not offended me, but you are offending me. He is new, a stranger. He must have heard from people something about me, that this man is an atheist, a dangerous man who is throwing people off their track, a revolutionary, a corrupter. And he may have formed some idea, a notion of me. He has not spit on me, he has spit on his notion. MORE
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In this series of short talks, Swami Asokananda (Integral Yoga) shares his insights from years of study and contemplation on the great Indian scripture, the Bhagavad Gita. In part 13, Swami Asokananda gives commentary on verses 27–31 of Chapter 1. In these verses, we find Arjuna facing his opponents on the battlefield as he begins to describe a sense of deep distress arising. His description of how he feels would today be recognized as a panic attack. Asokanandaji goes on to discuss the esoteric teachings on subduing the ego that the battlefield represents.
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"Seen on my sunrise walk to Kailash this morning. It looks like someone (maybe a guest?) had a powerful weekend at Yogaville." ~Brianna Patten, Yogaville community member. This post was on Facebook and is filling up with likes, hearts, and a lot of "he saved me too" comments. Inspiring!
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Inspiring Meme of the Week
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