Reflections

Dignity

You are divine. Live up to it! Our frustration with our imperfections stems from our inherent perfection, and not from our supposed sinful nature...

A Real Sadhu

Once an old sadhu died and went to the abode of death. Yamaraj, the Lord of Death, told him, “You have lived a divine life, so now please enter heaven.” The sadhu said...

Everything Is Sadhana

God is arranging everything for us right now, this very moment. We’re being set up. We’re being spoon-fed situations. Every moment...

We are told, and we feel it to be true, that we need to purify our minds and control our senses. But we must remember that love is the goal. It is only through love that we can purify our minds and control the senses...

Making Sense of Our Sadhana

We sometimes get confused about what we are supposed to do in our spiritual life. We have ideas about what actions are spiritual and what actions are worldly. This causes...

Voices of Sky

Living in a community of devotees and fellow aspirants is invaluable and precious, but not without its inherent dangers. I think a spiritual community should...

The Mystic

What is a mystic? Someone who wants God before all other things. Not the God defined by religion, but the God of the heart, shining as the soul of all beings. Beliefs...

Brahmacharya

Brahmacharya means divine conduct—controlling lust by practicing celibacy when single and remaining faithful in marriage. Do not selfishly use the bodies of others nor misuse your own body through promiscuous behavior. There is a powerful divine energy within the body...

A Deeper Japa

Ma Kali’s name is Kali Herself, the Supreme Goddess, the divine Shakti that animates our lives and transforms us though Her love (kripa). But behind Her dynamic...

Divine Remembrance

God’s name purifies the heart and mind, awakening love and longing for the Divine. The Divine Name can be sweetly rotating in your mind at all times, even amidst worldly duties.

River of Bliss

Spiritual aspiration, hunger for God, is the most important blessing one can have. Spiritual hunger leads to sincere sadhana, and sincere sadhana leads to a progressive spiritual life. By regular repetition...

Building Bridges

When Lord Rama saw that the stones the monkeys threw into the water floated, he secretly dropped one into the sea to see what would happen. But his stone sank to the bottom...

Freedom From the Tyrant

Everything is an opportunity to see our attachment and to let go. When you feel the ego’s hand gripping your throat, say the Mother’s name and let go. Your letting go is the ego’s letting go...

Recognize Your Goodness

You must recognize your goodness in your desire to be good. This desire to become a better person comes from the fact that we are all pure goodness in our essential nature...

The True Yogi

In this age of consumerism and commercialism kirtan has become performance, teachings and techniques are marketed as product and devotees are seen as customers. Now everything is...

Modern Disappointment

It is hard to deal with the disappointment that accompanies our expectations of sincere reciprocation. The loss of family cohesion and interpersonal connections seems to be symptomatic of the age...

Secret Lust Behind True Devotion

There is something inside of us that both intuits the Infinite as well as longs for It. There is a throb within us that can never be satisfied living and dying within the...

Tightrope

You are a child of the rishis and heir to their inheritance. But spiritual life is not always easy. It is a tightrope act, the balance between tapasya and natural expression. At times...

Very Simple

Spiritual life is actually very simple: purify your body and mind by the yamas and niyamas, purify your heart by meditation on God’s all-beautiful name, and...