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 […]
Soul Fire
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 […]
Freedom Found in Yogic Rituals
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 […]
Kavi: The Vision of Vibration and Light
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 […]
Re-Mystifying Rishi: The Seer of Light
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 […]
Manorama: What Almonds and Sanskrit Have in Common
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. […]
Sanskrit: Elite Language or Language of the Heart?
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 […]
Manorama: Knowledge in the Bhagavad Gita
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? […]
Manorama: The Universe Beyond the Mind
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 […]
Manorama: Feel the Luminous Inner Self
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 […]
