YOGABHARATI

Love - Prema and Devotion - Bhakti are kept at opposite poles in many spiritual circles. By denying love (Prema), one will be denying Bhakti as well. Bhakti is the fulfilment of Prema. For an in-depth understanding of Prema and to understand the intense practice of Bhakti, we need to understand the importance of Bhava [roughly translated as emotions] in our day-to-day life. In addition, to show how Bhakta transcends even the Divine or God, understanding the story and the character of Radha become very important. To most, the exalted experience of Prema is the Dasa and the Priya (lover). We have in Ramayana a very important character called Anjaneya or Hanumantha representing Dasa and in Shrimad Bhagavatam, the character of Radha represents the Bhava of a loved one. One thing common to both these characters is that their stay with their masters is for a short period of time. In the whole story of Ramayana, in Rama’s 14-year-long journey through the forest, the advent of hanuman is only ...

Essence and Spirit of Vande Mataram on this Amrit Mahotsav     YOGA BHARATI team joins the whole Punya Bhoomi Bharat (as referred by Swami Vivekananda when he returned to India after his first global visit) in celebrating the Amrit mahotsav, the 75th Independence which is being observed within the country and beyond by all the lovers of this nation across the globe. Bharat is not just a nation like others which have a concept of proper governance, infrastructure, education, economic power, defence capacities, etc. These are very important for a country to be strong, self-sufficient and project itself in the world around as a confident nation. Bharat is much more than that. Right from the time immemorial, this is conceived more as a culture, as a civilisation. I see this land called Bharat as the Mother of all civilisations . It is more than respect and dignity but to see the divinity. From the times of Ramayana or much before that, to the leaders of this nation in the presen...

Interactive session with Shri. X (name disclosed to protect privacy), Cancer survivor and Consultant & Motivational speaker Shri. X is a prostate cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2014, which had affected one of his kidneys and lungs. He travelled from the US to Pune, India and immediately was wheeled into the operation theatre to remove the tumor. Due to a complication in the surgery, doctors did not start with Chemotherapy right away and decided to wait for a month before beginning any treatment. Post surgery, doctors gave him a deadline of only 3 months. During this time he decided to go to the US to be with his children. He was in the US for 5 months, reading a lot about this “Cancer” as a disorder (he prefers to call it that) and about mind management. On returning to India, he decided to go to Prashanti Kutiram, SVYASA campus, Bangalore, a holistic therapeutic centre where yoga, ayurveda and naturopathy is beautifully integrated. He was not keen for che...

प्राणस्पन्दो निरुध्यते - PrAnaspando Nirudhyate  Introduction  दिवि भमौ ू तथाssकाशेबहिरन्तश्च मेविभःु  योविभात्यवभासात्मा तस्मैसर्वात्मनेनमः ||   Salutations to him who is all pervading, who shines as the light of perception illuminating the earth, sky, space, the inner self and the outer world and who manifests as all that exists.  The text of Yoga Vasishta is attributed to Sage Valmiki (real author unknown), and consists of around 32000 Shlokas or 64000 lines of poetic grandeur. The whole narration is in the form of a dialogue between Sage Vasishta and Shri Rama. It is explained in the form of stories, stories within stories, to impress upon the reader to validate the deeper significance a seeker (mumukshu) has to engage in, to approach the problems confronting him. This has been condensed further to Laghu Yoga vasishta containing about 6000 verses and translated into many languages. The main theme centers around the root cause of Shri Rama’s despondency when ...