Swamiji explains the practical side of Vedanta in daily life. He says that our duty is constantly changing: for example, a man is a husband to his wife one moment, a son to his parents in another, then a father to his children, and then a friend to his buddies, etc etc. So we need to perform these with utmost dedication and care. Like dressing ourselves differently for different occasions of life. Bhagavan always stresses this side of spirituality actually. That we are always projecting ourselves onto this world anyways, and we should remain aware of who and where in each situation, and act accordingly. A lot of suffering in this world comes from failing to do so! (Viewers are encouraged to read the classical book Karma Yoga by Swami Vivekananda.) In general, when we hear spiritual teachings, we have to learn them properly. And it takes time and practice for these teachings to become fully integrated into our lives and make practical sense. Swamiji recounts how Bhagavan taught ...

Swami Nirgunananda narrates the full story of the Buddha and Angulimala in a very touching and relatable way. (Youtube viewers: watch Swamiji’s related talk: “The World is Made of Projections; The Way Out is Through Love”.) Angulimala was a Brahmin at first, highest caste of society, but for some reason his village people rejected and caste him out. He was forced to live alone, and soon became estranged. At first he was verbally outraged but then, after receiving no sympathy, Angulimala began to dwell on revenge, and eventually it escalated to physical aggression. Angulimala began to murder the villagers passing by his forest dweeling and add their finger to his rosary. (Anguli = finger; mala = garland, rosary). This way he killed many people, and everyone was terrified of him. Angulimala assumed a ferocious face that reflected his inner thoughts and how people treated him. One day, Lord Buddha was passing by the forest where Angulimala dwelled, and casting aside warnings from v...

What is spirituality?  It is a technique, an attitude with which to look at the world. In general life , people take the world to be real, then drawing on their intellect and past experiences, project onto others labels of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ How we think of others, that sends them the message (e.g. through our posture, facial expressions, tone of voice), and automatically, the other person reacts to that assuming that very role. Thus, confirming our original belief, no matter how erroneous it was! But in spirituality, we teach that persons are neither good nor bad. Everybody has done some good and some bad deeds in their lives, but it is not who they are.  Hence it is better to project good qualities onto others instead. What will happen, most of the time, is that, in response, the other person will automatically reflect the same good quality back at you. Think of smiling sincerely at a person passing your way, they automatically smile back, and soften their guar...

Swamiji discusses the most important holiday of Guru Purnima.  Whereever you find yourself in the world, you can celebrate it alone, in private.   On this day, the disciple meditates on their relationship with his/her guru. Guru is everything - my mother, my father, sister, brother, friend, the guru everything to me! We dedicate this day to this relationship. This holiday stems back to the day of birth of Sage Vyasa. He was the sage who put in writing all the Vedas. Note: t he day is celebrated on the full moon day (Purnima) in the Hindu month of Ashadha (June–July). In 2018 it falls on July 27th. Biography of Swami Nirgunananda

Swami Nirgunananda explains that Vedanta is taught to seekers who are serious about realizing the Self. And as long as seekers have doubts about the path, we do not teach from the scriptures. We first address and resolve the doubts. The intellect must be sanctified through spiritual practice, and satisfied through inquiry and discussion with realized teachers/guru . "You are Brahman, you are the Supreme Conscioussness , you are not just a human being." First this is understood merely through intellect. But with practice and exploration, the intellect begins to consider this as a possibility. The path becomes more open, and eventually realization happens, and this is discovered to be a fact. Bhagavan generally imparts knowledge in two ways: 1. That you are the consciousness, the Brahman, not a human being. 2. The characteristics of a spiritual person, and how to live in this world. After realization, no need to explain anything. You understand everything. Then teacher...