“Even if you spend a minute in peace, that will not go to waste. Don’t think, Oh, what can I do to help the world? I’m only one person. You may not realize the power in sitting for even a minute or two in peaceful meditation every day. So remember that.”–Swami Satchidananda
A questioner asks: Swamiji, what about Gurus like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa? We read that he touched his disciple Swami Vivekananda and Vivekananda had a spiritual experience. Was Vivekananda just opening up something from within himself or did Sri Ramakrishna really transmit something?
Swami Satchidananda replies: Yes, he did transmit something. But if you read further in the same story, Vivekanandaji could not retain the experience. MORE
A special Guru Poornima sharing: Sri Gurudev Swami Satchidananda came to the West in 1966. His presence was magnetic. He attracted people from all walks of life, from diverse backgrounds and faiths, with different temperaments, interests and capacities. The unifying factor amidst all the diversity was his love for everyone and everything. His love for us was reciprocated by our love for him, and this blossomed into love for one another. That is how the Integral Yoga sangha was born. MORE
In the early-1970s, devotees of Swami Satchidananda gathered to chant Sri Guru Gita, a sacred devotional and instructional text on the spiritual benefits of the Guru-disciple relationship, which also illuminates the Guru-tattva (Guru principle). Musician Wayne Vishnu Hunt composed the music for this archival recording and an annual Guru Poornima tradition began. Sri Guru Gita can be chanted daily and we hope you enjoy this rendition offered by Integral Yoga Gibraltar.
Independence implies a freedom from being controlled or unduly influenced by an outside source. Spiritual independence suggests the freedom to live in harmony with the spiritual truth at the heart of our being. It implies freedom from depending on any outside source for our happiness, which becomes more and more possible as we begin to experience the profound and unchanging peace within. Most of us experience daily ups and downs as the situations and events in our lives unfold. MORE
A few times a year anxiety sends my mind into a death spiral. I wake in the middle of the night with my stomach clenched like an angry fist. Thoughts race from zero to catastrophe and I am convinced that social interactions will only result in total alienation. By the time I get to the meditation cushion my thoughts have run the equivalent of the Boston Marathon. Without the clarifying observation generated by meditation I will spend the day in overwhelm...MORE
In this short guided meditation, Shantanand Saraswati's words are brought to life with Rupert Spira's reading in this beautiful visual poem created by Jonas Urvakis. Shantanand Saraswati was an Indian spiritual teacher who held the role of Shankaracharya in a matha monastery of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. The poem touches on the highest teaching of the tradition which is that everything and everyone is made from one peaceful, eternal being.
Join Integral Yoga for our annual Guru Poornima festivities from July 9 – 10th to celebrate the life and teachings of Sri Gurudev Swami Satchidananda and to honor the Light of Truth of all faiths. Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville will host an in-person and livestreamed weekend of programs. The full schedule is available here. Please check with other centers for details of their programming. Happy Guru Poornima!
