Let’s clarify and understand what the word and concept of Rishi means rather than just settling for the gist.  We’ve all heard it said: Rishi means Seer.    But if…

Yeah, I’ve had my fair share of overwhelm in life. Haven’t you? Whether it was when I was looking at densely presented yogic shastras, layered Sanskrit grammar or some complexity…

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 9 verse 26 OM Patram Pushpam Phalam Toyam Yo Me Bhaktyā Prayacchati Tad Aham Bhaktyupahrtam Aśnāmi Prayatātmanah He who offers to Me with devotion a leaf, a…

Baba Bhagavan Das was the Sad Guru of my teacher, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati. When I travelled with my guru in the 1980’s and 90’s, whenever he spoke of his own…

When I first met Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, I remember being amazed at how beautiful his teachings were. At the time, I couldn’t believe anyone had a clue the way he…

Contrary to popular understanding, karma is not a cosmic retribution scale. Karma is not you messed up and now (whatever bad there is) is comin’ for you. Karma is a…

Luminous Soul Definitions 1. Ātmā Ātmā the Self, the Absolute Reality. Manorama’s Commentary: Atma is your highest Self. In the Atmabodha text, Shankaracharya lays out non-dualistic, Advaita Vedanta philosophy for…

Two months after I met my guru, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, I heard the Ātmabodha by Shankarācarya. I was in a car, with one of my teacher’s oldest students, George B….

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…

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…

My teacher, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati spoke often in his yogic lectures about what he called ‘the play between the point and the zero.’ He would draw a circle on the…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

I recently looked over some homework assignments from a class. The work that came in was lovely. In nearly all of the homework submissions, students talked about how they worked…

Prana means breath, life force, energy, and soul. But to truly understand prana requires that we make some clear distinctions. Prana: Sanskrit & Its Yogic Origins  The word prana derives…