Tag: yoga
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The Shining Mirror of Consciousness
A post by Michael McCann (Spandan). In his Mathnavi, Jalal-al-Din Rumi offers this allegorical reflection on two distinct paths to spiritual fulfilment. ‘There arose a contention between the Greeks and the Chinese in the art of painting and picturing. The Chinese said: “‘We are the better artists”. The Greeks said: “The superiority in power and…
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Introduction to Ashtanga Yoga (the Eightfold Path) and Yama and Niyama
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali give eight steps on the path of exploring Yoga most deeply. The first two steps are often described as ‘rules of conduct’ for the practitioner.Another in the series of 2004 discourses from Mandala Yoga Ashram in Wales, by the Founder Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati. Raja Yoga, the Eightfold Path. Swami Nishchalananda…
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The Fear of Death
The fear of death arises from the fact that we live as individual egos. And in our individual life, we live in Time, a place of beginnings, and therefore endings. Another in the series of 2004 discourses from Mandala Yoga Ashram in Wales, by the Founder Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati. ‘Why do we fear death?’ Firstly,…
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The Nature of Mind
Is the Mind simply the ‘Ghost in the Box’, a neurological shadow, or is there more to it than that?Another in the series of 2004 discourses from Mandala Yoga Ashram in Wales, by the Founder Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati. ‘What is the nature of the Mind?’ ‘The Ghost in the Box’Swamiji suggests this as the standard…
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Nada Yoga, and the Present Moment.
A question and answer session at Mandala Yoga Ashram in 2004 on the subjects of Nada Yoga, then, living in the moment and the acceptance that it brings. ‘What is difference between Shabd (Shabda) Yoga and Nada Yoga?’ Swamiji explains that they are essentially the same. Shabdha Brahman means Total Intelligence, manifesting as the Word,…
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Yoga and Religion
A guided Meditation on Spaciousness, followed by a Discourse on Yoga and Religion, together with an Explanation of Spaciousness. We start with a guided meditation, getting in touch with the feeling of ‘Spaciousness’. Practice in this is most useful not only in our sitting practice, but in moments through our day, to tune in to…
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The Granthis, episode 4
The fourth and final episode in the series of talks and guided reflections, given by Swami Nishchalananda in 2002 in Paris, France, on the three Granthis, or ‘Knots’. They are a paradigm in classical Yoga; a way of understanding areas which are a natural part of human existence but also represent places where we may…
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The Granthis, episode 3
Third in the series of talks and guided reflections, given by Swami Nishchalananda in 2002 in Paris, France, on the three Granthis, or ‘Knots’. They are a paradigm in classical Yoga; a way of understanding areas which are a natural part of human existence but also represent places where we may be blocked in the…
Swami Nishchalananda 