AUTHENTIC TRAINING TO STRENGTHEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF SANSKRIT, YOGA & LUMINOUS SOUL TEACHINGS
Sound is powerful – it has effect. Listen to a harsh tone and watch your body recoil, hear the upbeat sounds of African music and notice how you feel enlivened and joyful, listen to the steady sounds of the ocean waves and find your heart and breathing becoming steady and soothed. Sanskrit mantras profoundly affect […]
Connection with love leads to seva. Seva is the seventh Pillar in the Luminous Soul Method. It is the pillar that follows after Bhakti, devotion. To engage Seva after Bhakti is a natural progression. The more you connect with your sense of love and devotion the more you will see those around you as part of your very […]
In part 1 of the Luminous Soul Seva Series, I spoke about how you can engage seva in a variety of short ways. I shared how you can work with this Luminous Soul Pillar of seva in your daily life through quick connects or medium connects. But what about when you feel called to perform seva in a more substantial […]
In the Luminous Soul Method, Seva is the seventh pillar and is a Sanskrit word which means selfless service. As a practice, seva nourishes and supports both the receiver, as well as the one making the offering. Seva creates a healing channel of energy. Here’s how to use your Luminous Soul Practice to make these connections every day: […]
Yoga Sutra Series Adhmimatra Powerful Effort in Yoga Practice with Manorama In the context of reviewing what is needed for the yogic practice to have full fruition. We were looking at Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 1.21 and 1.22. PYS 1.21 Tīvra-Samvegānām Āsannah The full fruition of Samadhi in the yogic practice is nearest to those whose […]
The root energies for the Mahā Bhūtas are subtle energies known as the Tanmātras. The second tanmātra to be aware of is Sparsha (spelled Sparśa). Sparśa Tanmātra is the primordial unmanifested form of touch. Sparśa is connected with the essential element, Vāyu, Air. Touch and air are inter-connected and as such the associated organ of the skin […]
What is Śabda? Śabda means sound, word or vibration. Śabda is a tanmātra, a subtle element. Tanmātras are themselves the essence of potential. Śabda is the essential vibration that exists underneath manifested sound as well as the manifested sound itself. Śabda is said to be eternal. The eternal aspect of Śabda is called sphotam, which […]
Question: Dear Manorama, Recently, a student asked me the difference between an Invocation to Lord Patanjali and a mantra like the Gayatri Mantra. Can you explain this to me? Love, Śivā Manorama: What a lovely question. Ok let’s start with understanding a few pieces first: What is an invocation verse? An invocation verse is a […]
So, what is a tanmātra? A tanmātra is a subtle element, which is itself the essence of potential. There exist five sense perceptions. For example, seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. There are five tanmātras (śabda, rasa, gandha, rūpa, sparśa), which connect with these five sense perceptions and sense organs. The tanmātras blend together to […]
Discipline as a Structure for Freedom As I mentioned in my previous blog Freedom Found in Yogic Rituals, as a child, I had an intense thirst for soul understanding. As destiny would have it, at 13 years of age, I was to meet a great Yogi named Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, who was at that time […]
Soul Inquiry When I was young I was introduced to the concept of the soul. I was told, “The soul is the most sacred part of you. It is the essence of the Self within.” When I naturally became curious to learn more about the topic, I was often met with confusion on the part […]
In classical Sanskrit, the word “kavi” generally translates as poet. However, during the Vedik period, kavi held a more mystical significance. In the Vedas, a kavi is referred to as the seer of vibration and light. Seeing Vibration What does it mean to see vibration? Students interested in learning about yoga begin their journey hearing this […]
The word “Rishi” means seer or sage. Rishis are those beings who have perfected their understanding and vision of all things spiritual through intense tapas, or yogic practice. Rishis are considered to be channels for the intelligent spiritual light to pass through them from the Gods. When the Rishi focuses on a particular deity, that […]
As a young kid, I knew nothing about almonds except, of course, that I liked eating them. My grandma always had a dish laid out on her coffee table with a mix of shelled nuts. I recall enjoying the action of cracking the nuts and popping them into my mouth each time we visited her. […]
The Largess Over the past 20 years of teaching Sanskrit, I have discovered two distinct ways that people engage the language. Either people study Sanskrit and become more arrogant as a result or they connect more with their heart. The etymology of the word Sanskrit itself hints at its largess and these two ways of […]
Yoganonymous chatted with Manorama about what it means to be a “knower of the field,” a phrase that appears in Chapter 8 of Bhagavad Gita. Q: It is mentioned in Chapter 8 of the Bhagavad Gita that one wants to become a knower of the field. Firstly, what is the field in the Bhagavad Gita? […]
In the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 69, Shri Krishna instructs Arjuna by telling him: What is the night for ordinary beings, the yogi is awake to and conversely what the yogi is awake to, the worldly minded beings experience that as the night. So what is the night, in yoga? The night signifies ignorance […]
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna teaches Arjuna to stand in his dharma as the greatest warrior. Arjuna’s fight is our fight. It is an inner battle, and on a yogic level it is the struggle for greater self-knowledge that we all must walk through. Just like Arjuna, the student of yoga, must struggle to know […]
Good Sanskrit Pronunciation vs Chanting from Your Heart Questioner: Dear Manorama, We met in January 2015, for a Sanskrit workshop. I am teaching an “introduction to yoga” class in which I talk about mudras and mantras. I have two people who were afraid to chant mantra because they were told it is dangerous if you […]
My Rebellion When I was a teenager, I’m sure my parents would tell you that I took rebellious to a whole new level. I was the classic youngest of three children and I bucked the system every chance I got. I thought a lot about freedom and in those days I felt my freedom in […]
