For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
Nishanth Selvalingam
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What Is A Guru?
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
07/13/22 • 155 min
Who (or what) is a Guru? Today we talk about the role of a Guru in our spiritual life as the living embodiment of scripture, as an initiator or empowerer of mantras, as a "broadcaster of reality" and as a living example of the full possibilities of a human life.
What qualifies the Guru to be a Guru? And when/how does one find one's Guru in this life? Must the Guru have a body?
All this and more in today's class!
This lecture is from our program "Journey Into Tantra"! It is an 18 part, college-level lecture series in audio and video featuring ~44 hours of content with Q&A + a guided meditation. The idea was to create an interactive learning environment in which these ancient and transformative teachings come to life! I'm very excited to share that with you! You can pick up a copy here!
https://nishthefish.gumroad.com/l/journeyintotantra
A Poem to my Guru:
Better than a hundred ministers who preach
Are the lessons that Silence can teach.
A mountain’s instruction unceasing
Is better than the pastor’s wheezing!
And yet how many among us who yearn
For God’s vision can profitably learn
From the Sphinx-like silence inscrutable?
How many are truly able
To draw from the rock it’s sacred teaching
In a way that is stable and far reaching?
A precious few, I say, a precious few!
And even among them there is need too
Of a living emissary between Spirit and matter
Otherwise we remain enmeshed in the latter!
But whence forth comes the one who can teach like the mountain?
Who is truly fit to serve as God’s fountain?
of unfaltering Grace and Wisdom unstinting
To be a holy jewel, glimmering and glinting?
A previous few, I saw, a previous few!
But this I can guarantee to you:
If you are sincere in your search
And if you practice some,
Then to you this true Teacher will come.
A teacher who is strong and infallibly pure.
Of this my friend, you can be sure!
God is drawn to the devotee
Who is pure at Heart
God years for such a one –
She cannot keep apart!
To the one who has no thought
For pleasure or for money
God is drawn like a bee to honey.
After all, the Guru is God in a mortal frame.
The Guru is God’s first name.
Like lightning flashing in the dark of the storm
The Guru is Silence clothed in form.
The Guru is a tree with roots reaching deep.
The Guru is the Witness in dreamless sleep.
The key to meditation
Is the Guru’s face.
The key to liberation
Is the Guru’s grace.
Oh, my friend, haven’t you heard?
The key to your freedom
Is the Guru’s word.
So he who hath ears, please listen well
To what Nishanth has to tell:
The Guru is God in a mortal frame.
The Guru is God’s first name.
3 Listeners
The Dark Side of Tantra
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
05/28/24 • 88 min
One of my favorite things about the Tantrik tradition is how vast it is. On one hand, you have the most refined non-dual philosophy wedded to aesthetically heightened and exceedingly subtle systems of practice for the attainment of the highest liberation in life. And on the other hand, you have midnight ghastly rituals in cremation grounds to hex your enemies, take control of spirits, amass wealth and get people to fall in love with you...
Such range!
And my favorite thing about Tantra?: as Swami Vivekananda so boldly declared before a western audience in 1893, we regard the “highest absolutism as well as the lowest fetishism as both equally valid attempts at grasping the Ineffable.” My favorite thing is how very inclusive and accepting our tradition is to every form of spiritual practice from the so called “lowest” to the “highest”. Everyone is approaching the divine each in their own way according to their own understanding and predispositions. And so every approach is valid as just another way to reach and express the Ineffable Reality which is non other than non-dual Consciousness reposing in Her innate bliss endowed with the ecstatic powers of willing, knowing and doing, joyously projecting Herself outward into manifestation in each and every moment.
As the Tantrik master Prabodha once said: “There is nothing so high that I can conceive that you have not transcended nor is there anything so low that you have not permeated completely!”
So in the name of embracing both highest and lowest, in this lecture, we will be discussing “the dark side of Tantra”. Yep. Cremation ground rituals, spirit possession, fierce blood drinking goddesses etc.
Enjoy!
Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST. There's Q&A right after the lectures.
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815
Our hatha yoga class is Wednesdays at 11am PST and again at Friday 5pm PST via this same link also.
For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish
To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM
2 Listeners
Romantic Relationships as Spiritual Practice
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
11/13/20 • 56 min
What is Love? What is Romantic Love? And what role do these intimate relationships have to play in our spiritual lives? Today we discuss how our culture primes us to "fall" in love without ever teaching us how to BE in Love. We explore the common failings and disappointments in this domain of life and cap it off with a discussion of Bhakti Yoga and how to spiritualize our intimate relationships.
1 Listener
Why Aren't You Enlightened Yet? | Q&A
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
07/22/22 • 147 min
In one of our most productive Q&A sessions of all time (in my opinion, at least!) we ask the central question: "why aren't you enlightened yet?" "why have you not seen with clarity that you are Awareness, ever free?" "what is keeping your from claiming with conviction your essential nature as the Self, which is even now the case?"
00:00:00 Introduction: Why Aren't You Enlightened Yet?
00:00:30 Awareness vs Mind: Does Awareness Change? It Seems To!
00:08:45 The Role of Discernment/Intellect in Spiritual Life (And It's Limits)
00:14:30 After Enlightenment, What Do You Do?
00:34:00 How Does Jnana, Knowledge support Bhakti, Devotion and Raja Yoga, Meditation?
00:59:16 What Is Samadhi?
01:08:53 Brett's Success! + How Mantras Mysteriously Work To Liberate Us
01:23:00 Spiritual Health vs Physical Health: Does Spirituality Mean The Body-Mind Will Always Be Healthy? + The "Sin" Narrative In The New Age
01:56:35 Channelising the Power of the Avatar
02:03:13 How To Maintain Spirituality in the Midst of Busy-ness and Overwhelm
02:14:00 The Joy of Monday Night Sangha/ Celebrating Our Community!
02:17:08 Does Enlightenment Go Away? and Flow States vs Meditation
02:26:10 Closing Prayer
1 Listener
Bagalā and Black Magick in Tantra
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
05/21/24 • 38 min
Today is Chinnamastā Jayanti and last week we had Bagalāmukhī Jayanti.
Since both of these are fierce and very esoteric forms of Kālī, I thought I would take this occasion to discuss some of the "darker" aspects of our Tantrik heritage since both of these deities, as well as many of the other Daśamahāvidyās are associated with magical practices of um, let's say, a less than savory nature according to the views of some more right-leaning practitioners. And Bagalā Devī especially has a strong association to cults that practice black magic with the purpose of binding, stunning and confounding enemies.
What's all that about?
In this talk, I want to make a case for why we should accept those aspects of our tradition but also strongly suggest a more devotional reading of these mantras and these forms of the Goddess. We do this by discussing Bagalāmukhī's dhyāna-ślokas (her meditation mantras), her origin story as per some śakta upa-puranas, the practices associated to her cult of worship and most importantly a story from the life of Sārada Devī where she actually manifested her Bagalā aspect to smite Harish, a devotee who had gone crazy because of his wife's black magic! This lecture is part of a series on the daśamahāvidyās which you can watch here
Later today, Mā willing, I'll upload a lecture called "The Dark Side of Tantra" exploring this idea more fully but here is my first swipe at it!
Jai Mā! Jai Pītāmbara-Devī Ki Jai!
Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST. There's Q&A right after the lectures.
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815
For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish
To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM
If you'd like to support us, you can do so here:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jaimakali
1 Listener
Kālī and the 5 Levels of Void
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
05/30/24 • 95 min
Last week, to mark the auspicious occasion of Cinnamastā Jayanti and also the Thrice Blessed Day, Buddha Pūrnimā, we gave a few talks on Tantrik Buddhism with an especial focus on Goddess worship within the context of Vajrayāna deity-yoga.
We picked up the Cinnamunda Vajravārāhi Sādhanā, attributed to the mysterious Srī Matī (Laksmīnkarā Devī) who, like Cinnamunda herself, is said to have decapitated herself in act of yogic perfection (siddhi). This text (really, a paddathi or ritual manual) is featured in the Tengyur, a text in the Tibetan Buddhist commentarial tradition.
There we saw enough similarities between so called “Buddhist” Tantrik ritualism and the “Hindu/Śākta” form that we were able to make a few general and universal claims about the principles of Tantra in practice! You can watch that talk here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/104859531?utm_campaign=postshare_creator
Today I want to zoom out even more and discuss the philosophy as it evolves from the time of the Buddha to modern day Vajrayāna practices to make a comparison between Kali as she is described in the more radical śākta texts like Maharthamanjari, Mahanayaprakasha & Mahanirvanatantra and the concept of the Void in Buddhism!
Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST. There's Q&A right after the lectures.
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815
Our hatha yoga class is Wednesdays at 11am PST and again at Friday 5pm PST via this same link also.
For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish
To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM
1 Listener
Is Cinnamastā a Fierce Goddess?
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
05/27/24 • 88 min
To mark the auspicious occasion of Cinnamastā Jayanti which we celebrated earlier this week, here are a few words on the mysterious and profound Self-Decapatating Goddess, Vajravairochinī. May this be a prayer to Her and to you, who are the Goddess embodied!
Pratyālīddhāpadām sadaiva dadhātīm cinnam śirah:karttrkām
Digvastrām
svakabandhashonitasudhādhārām pibantīm mudā
Nagābaddhashīromanim trinayanām hrdyutpalālangkrtām
Ratyāsaktamanobhavopari drddhām
Dhyāyejjapāsannibhām
Whose left foot is stepping forward
Ever, always
Holding a severed head,
Naked
Whose severed head
Is joyfully drinking
The nectar of Her own blood
Streaming
Who has a gem
Bound by a serpent
on her head
Who has three eyes
Who’s heart is ornamented by a lotus
Who is firmly standing above
The mind attached to sensual delights of the world
One should meditate upon this Goddess
Who is red like a hibiscus!
Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST. There's Q&A right after the lectures.
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815
Our hatha yoga class is Wednesdays at 11am PST and again at Friday 5pm PST via this same link also.
For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish
To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM
1 Listener
Tantrik Non-Duality vs Classical Non-Duality | Q&A
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
07/26/22 • 199 min
Here is a wonderful Q&A discussion comparing Classical Non-Duality with Tantrik Non-Duality to show that despite what pandits might say, they are actually ultimately one and the same and perfectly complementary!
00:01:06 What Is It To Be a Human Being? Does Buddhism/Advaita Invalidate My Personhood? Yes. All Religion Does! Here's Why!
00:12:14 Kashmiri Shaivism and "Playing the Character of Me"
00:14:20 Tantrik Non-Duality vs Classical Non-Duality: Iccha-Shakti, the Role of Desire in God
00:19:18 The Role of Creativity in Enlightenment
00:23:35 Why Is There Suffering in The World? The Tantrik Response to the Problem of Evil
00:28:55 How Is One Thing Different From Another In Tantrik Non-Duality? 00:30:00 Non-Dual Worship in Tantra and Abinava Gupta's "Devi Stotra", Hymn to the Goddess
00:34:11 Advaita Vedanta, Prasangika Madhyamika Buddhism and Tantrik Non-Duality Are The Same and Complementary and Why I Don't Teach Tantra To The Public
00:36:25 The Dangers of Tantra and Kali Worship and some Precautions 00:41:55 Some Resources To Study Tantra
00:53:17 Live Lectures Throughout the Week
00:55:00 How To Set Up Boundaries If You Are Not The Body?
01:02:53 How Are Things Different If Awareness Is One? What Is A Jiva, Individual?
01:09:27 The Erotic Metaphors of Tantra and the Role of Embodiment
01:22:30 Does Tantra Contradict Classical Non-Duality? They are actually the same! Here's why.
01:32:11 How Does Reincarnation Work? And the End of the Mahabharatha 01:41:06 The Role of Renunciation in Spiritual Life
01:47:11 "Walking Each Other Home?" and the Story of Sukadeva
01:55:30 Discernment in Tantra vs in Classical Vedanta (The Doctrine of the 7 Perceivers in Shaivism)
02:07:20 Should I Be A Monk? Householders vs Renunciants and the 4 Ashramas
02:30:30 Does The Brain Produce Consciousness? Or Does Consciousness Produce The Brain? How Do You Know Spirituality Isn't Just Chemicals?
1 Listener
How To Become A Bhairavi, A Tantrik Adept
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
12/14/24 • 92 min
On this auspicious Mrgaśīrsha Pūrnimā (full moon) to which is ascribed Bhairavi Jayanti, Annapurna Jayanti and also Dattatreya Jayanti, we decide to say a few words about just who Mā Bhairavi might be. She is one of the most mysterious of the mahāvidyās (the ten terrifying forms of Mā). In this video, referring to the meditation mantra below, I make the case that Bhairavi is a euhemerized Tantrik adept! We of course discuss Bhairavi Brāhmani, Sri Ramakrishna's Tantrik guru and we spend the first half of the talk discussing what makes Tantra, Tantra in order to clearly indicate the path upon which we ourselves must trod to become a Bhairavi/Bhairava!
उद्यद्भानुसहस्रकान्तिमरुणक्षौमां शिरोमालिकां
रक्तालिप्तपयोधरां जपवटीं विद्यामभीतिं वरम् ।
हस्ताब्जैदधतीं त्रिनेत्रविलसद्रक्तारविन्दश्रियं
देवीं बद्धहिमांशुरक्तमुकुटां वन्दे समन्दस्मिताम् ॥
udyad-bhānu-sahasra-kāntim-aruṇa-kṣaumāṃ śiro-mālikāṃ
raktā-lipta-payodharāṃ japa-vaṭīṃ vidyām-abhītiṃ varam .
hastābjaidadhatīṃ trinetra-vilasad-raktāravinda-śriyaṃ
devīṃ baddha-himāṃśu-rakta-mukuṭāṃ vande samandasmitām
Radiant like the splendour of a thousand suns, clad in red garments, garlanded in heads
Breasts smeared with blood, holding a rosary and a book, assuring fearlessness and granting boons
With her lotus like hands, Her third eye shining with the beauty of blood-red lotus flowers,
She is the Goddess who wears a red crown in which is tucked the moon- I worship Her who is smiling gently!
For more detailed instructions for how to perform Kālī pūjā, watch this playlist: https://www.patreon.com/collection/233799
Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815
For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish
To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM
1 Listener
How To Be In The World As a Spiritual Aspirant | Cārya Pada (Tantrik Code of Conduct)
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish
01/01/24 • 92 min
As you know, a tantra is often divided into four parts:
1. jñāna-pada, the philosophical transmission,
2. Yoga-pada, the section of esoteric practices like meditation and mantra repetition
3. Kriyā-pada, the manual for pūjā or ritualistic worship
4. Cārya-pada, the section on how to live your life in the world as a practitioner!
Having discussed the first three parts quite extensively it’s now time to turn the next question: “how do we move about in this world as a genuine spiritual aspirant?”
How do we set up boundaries against those who might do us harm in a skillful and yogic way? How are we to make a living? Etc.
What I intend to do tonight is read to you from some sections of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna where the Master offers some very profound cārya-pada-esque instructions for how to be in the world as an aspirant, especially as householders with families and jobs without losing your spiritual momentum and depth of practice!
Here's what we derived:
The Master would say: bhakti shār: Bhakti, devotion, is the essence. The purpose of life is to cultivate love for the Divine. As such, for creating this kind of spiritual intoxication, the following is suggested:
Cārya-Pada (Code of Spiritual Conduct)/ The Ten Commandments of Ramakrishna:
1.Revere everyone, especially all women as the living embodiment of the Divine Mother.
2. Pray to God fervently and constantly with a yearning heart for faith, devotion, knowledge and renunciation.
3. Go into solitude often and think of God.
4. Do you duties but keep your mind on God (through repeating the mantra, chanting/singing God's glories etc. and above all by remembering that the person you are serving is none othert than God, i.e Karma Yoga in the Vivekananda sense.)
5. Love everyone intensely even as you renounce them fully knowing they belong not you but to God. (i.e live in the world like the maidservant in the rich man's house)
6. Practice discrimination. Ask: "did I get from this experience what I wanted? Did this really fulfill me?“ i.e "Education through Experience". The more you think of worldly things, the more you will be attached to them. Shake off impermanent objects from your mind by practicing discrimination.
7. Regularly spend time In holy company (sadhu sangha)
8. When dealing with the "tiger God" (worldly people), "bow from a distance". That is to say, have love and respect for them but do not have further dealings with them. Avoid their company as far as possible.
9. Remember the Mahut God: be practical in worldly dealings.
10. Don't be like the snake: you can hiss to set boundaries and protect yourself without injuring others.
Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST. There's Q&A right after the lectures.
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815
For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish
To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM
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FAQ
How many episodes does For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish have?
For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish currently has 274 episodes available.
What topics does For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish cover?
The podcast is about Health & Fitness, Alternative Health and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish?
The episode title 'What Is A Guru?' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish?
The average episode length on For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish is 90 minutes.
How often are episodes of For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish released?
Episodes of For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish are typically released every 3 days, 21 hours.
When was the first episode of For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish?
The first episode of For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish was released on Nov 13, 2020.
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