The word Upanishad means to sit in proximity to. Upanishad is a Sanskrit word that derives from the elements upa + ni + sad. Upa + ni = proximity or…

The Durga Devi Puja was my teacher, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati’s, favorite festival. He often ate very light during the festival and would remain absorbed in deep contemplation. Each morning he,…

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….

I’ll never forget the time I taught a visiting Sanskrit scholar from India about Christmas. He visited for a month, which happened to be December. Since the festivities were beginning,…

What is a healthy parent? I define it as a protective force, a guide, a support, a place of profound unconditional love and nurturance. Not all people have experienced this…

There is a term that gets used when you learn Sanskrit it is called ‘The Sanskrit Tradition.’ When I first heard it, it caught me and I thought “Hmmm ‘The…

“Kalidasa is the Shakespeare of Sanskrit poetry.” This is the quote often repeated about the great kavi, Kalidasa. He is the author of numerous Sanskrit works including two epic poems:…

Chant Mantras Over Your Meal & The Elegant Art of Vegetable Picking I knew nothing about cooking. I grew up in the 1970’s where the main dishes in our house…

Question: Dear Manorama, Can you help me with the word mala? How it is used, as well as what does it mean when I hear the three malas, impurities? Thank…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…