Swami Sankarananda explains that everything is within us. The greatest treasure of life that everybody searches for, namely happiness, is within us, and nowhere else. And this treasure is called God. God is infinite peace, infinite bliss and infinitive knowledge. God doesn’t dwell somewhere in the sky watching over us and judging our actions as good or bad. This is a fable. It is we who first know whether we did something right or wrong. Our heart tells us right away. So Vedanta gives this knowledge of the Inner Self, the inner world. It redirects our mind to go back within instead of going out (the opposite of how the mind normally travels). Going into our Self, there we find the actual peace, the actual knowledge, the actual happiness. You cannot find things externally, they are not in the scriptures, churches, temples or mosques. It is in the realization of these things that matters. It resides within us. The biggest temple on earth is our own body, because that is where God res...

Tejomoyee Ma narrates a charming story from ancient India about a devout man who held a grand worship ceremony in his house, but then as the reception was winding down, a drunk person barged in and trashed the whole place. The man went into terrible grief, complaining how God could let this happen. Then the Lord appeared and chastised the man: "You have enjoyed so much peace, love and devotion throughout the day, but for just five minutes at the end you could not tolerate this one drunk man? I put up with him day in and day out!" The moral of the story is acceptance. We need to learn to accept all things that come our away. We apply the labels of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ to things and events purely based on our egoic desires. That which fulfills our desires - we label as “good”, and that which is contrary to them or is hurtful - we label as “bad”.  But situations vary, and what one person deems as "good" may appear as "bad" to another. It is subjective, based on...

Tejomoyee Ma says we should do a reality check on our identity when feeling overwhelmed with problems. It's so easy to get lost in grandiose ideas like: "I have a big business" or "I have a large family", or self denigrate oneself with ideas: "I am creating many problems for others," "How will I get this done and survive the situation?" But who are we really in this outside world? A mere speck compared to the large scale of the universe. Zoom out of your problems and you will see how tiny and insignificant your correction situation is. Behold this entire creation, the vastness of God; and the egoic idea of your current situation will naturally correct itself. Then joy will flow into you, loosening you from the problems' grip. "Think yourself that you are Brahman, and you are one with everything. Don't make your identity big from the outside, but think you are unlimited from inside." Biography of Tejomoyee Ma

Swami Sankarananda speaks about the existence of two worlds: 1. External world - What we see, feel and deal with in daily life. The outside objects, people, ideas, and pursuits. 2. Internal World - Something people only feel and discover at times, when for example a loved one dies, then all of a sudden we realize we feel sad inside. Then we begin to question whether the external world was all that real to begin with. But as time rolls on, we forget and move on with our lives until another shock in the future stops us. People are constantly running, we are always busy from morning to night. This run began ever since we learned to discriminate between what is good and what was better. Then we began to run after the better. But what is the goal? What do we really want?  Is it a profession? A livelihood? That cannot be it, because we need the livelihood to live, not live to get the livelihood. Actually we all want to enjoy, to be happy. But when we enter into the external world, ...

Swami Probbudhanda explains that Oneness is what allows us to love one another because we see ourselves in all and all in ourselves. The One who resides within is the same. Swamiji also cites Sri Sri Bhagavan: that the problem in the world today is not nuclear bombs, aids or cancer but a deficit of love in people’s hearts. This video was recorded on Swami's visit to Brazil in August 2018. Biography of Swami Probuddhananda

Swami Prahladananda explains that the great spiritual masters like Sri Sri Bhagavan do not insist on any particular spiritual path for their students. They fuse all the paths together - be it the path of devotion (bhakti yoga), the path of action (karma yoga), the path of knowledge (jnana yoga), or the path of yoga and meditation (raja yoga). The great masters try to bring their students to the light in a way that is best suited for the students. In IVS, Bhagavan teaches meditation, selfless service, discrimination, and devotion. An aspirant will find everything they need. Even musician devotees get to use their musical talents as a spiritual sadhana. The great thing about realization, Swami Prahladananda explains, is that when an aspirant attains it, no matter what path they originally took to get there, they will automatically come to know about all the other paths. They will get the knowledge about all of them. It all comes together at the end. Biography of Swami Prahladananda...

Raja Yoga, also called ashtanga yoga, has as its goal the attainment of liberation (moksha) through samadhi. In ancient ancient India, there was no such concept of liberation. It was a brahmanical religion with people striving to get to heaven. Then a rishi named Kapil Muni came and brought Sankhya Yoga to the people that contained the concept of liberation. After Kapil Muni, came the saint Patanjali. He codified the path to liberation through the path of Raja Yoga and called it Ashtanga Yoga because it was divided into eight-limbs, or parts. Raja Yoga is a path of self-control. It aims to bring the mind back in by meditating on the truth. But such self-control in meditation is not possible in the beginning, therefore Raja Yoga outlines eight steps to prepare the yogi for this. They are: (1) Yama (Self control), (2) Niyama (discipline), (3) Asana (postures), (4) Pranayama (controlling the breath and vital energies), (5) Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), (6) Dharana (concentrat...

Swami Sankarananda says that God is inexpressible and indescribable. “He is the expression of infinite love.” We all have love in us, of one sort or another. But it is not the same as divine love. How to recognize divine love? It can be felt when we cry for God, it can be felt when our mind is being transformed by the power of God. Transformation of the mind is the most important but hardest task. Because we cannot control our own thoughts, we cannot transform them ourselves. But Bhagavan has that power which can exert influence over our mind, our thoughts and our tendencies. Merely by His words, wish, or touch, the meanest of the mean can become a wise and holy person. The divinity is already within us, we are all potentially divine. But Bhagavan can ignite that divinity within us, and begin the process of transformation. This video was recorded during swami’s visit to devotees in Barcelona, Spain in 2012. Biography of Swami Sankarananda

Tejomoyee Ma says people should be grateful for the pain and hurt that comes their way from worldly relationships. For these experiences give rise to detachment, and detachment is necessary to discover and realize the Self, Atman, or God. Relationships in the world are all conditional to one degree or another. People typically seek relationships because they need something in return, and once they don't get it or no longer need it, they lose interest in the other person. This break in attachment causes great heartache and misery. However, from a spiritual standpoint, this is good because it helps the person realize the impermanence of the world and get detached from it. Tejomoyee Ma explains that the more attached we are to other people, the further away we actually are from the Truth, the Self, or God. And the less attached we are to worldly people and things, the closer we are to the Truth. So Bhagavan explained that being hurt in the world will actually help you go towards t...

Tejomoyee Ma discusses the three phases of spiritual practice that purify the mind and help attain to the Supreme. 1. Shravan - the process of hearing about spiritual things. The teachings need to penetrate our being, we must let them into our heart and mind. How? By listening with apt attention. By connecting our mind to the 5 senses. Otherwise if we are distracted when listening then it won’t go into our hearts at all. 2. Manan - the process of contemplating on the subject. After we have heard the spiritual talk, the information must take time to be assimilated into our mind, to settle in and be made sense of. Hence we contemplate after about what was said and how it makes sense to us. In the beginning we may need to exert some intention to turn this wheel of the mind but then our mind will automatically begin to dwell and contemplate on the subjects because we will see their manifestations in our daily life. 3. Nididhyasana - Letting the new spiritual thoughts run through our mi...

Tejomoyee Ma discusses how people are given certain roles to play in life. These roles changes constantly, and people have to adjust accordingly. When things are going well, we are happy, but as soon as the sequence changes and situation turns against our wishes, people become miserable, longing for the happiness they had before, and desiring to end the current situation. But the roles are given by the director - God. If we understand this then we won’t take it so seriously. When director says to cry - you cry, when director says to smile - you smile. Accept it as it comes. Actors accept the roles that come from the director. So people should accept the roles coming from God. If we understand this, then life becomes easy. No need to be so serious. People always ask for bigger and better roles. Bhagavan related a story from his younger theater days when one of the young boys in his play wanted a bigger and better role. Bhagavan agreed. But then the boy died on his way home, neve...

Swami Sankarananda explains that people identify themselves with all kinds of beliefs about the world since childhood. This upbringing ingrains subconscious thought patterns into people’s minds that make them imagine their own versions of reality, and then act accordingly seeing difference and strife everywhere. To counteract this, we should teach children spirituality starting from a young age. Swami Sankarananda gives several great examples of this in the talk. The second example is particularly interesting. A man was walking with his donkeys through a forest when it began to get dark and he had to take shelter for the night. A forest monk dwelling nearby let the man stay in his cottage for the night. The man settled in but needed to tie his donkeys so they wouldn’t run away at night. But they had no rope. So the monk advised the man to act like he is tying the donkeys, i.e. to imitate what he does every day. It worked, the donkeys all stayed in one place thinking they were tie...

Every religion stands on the basis of realization. In Vedanta, this is the direct realization of God or the supreme Self. The lineage of Vedanta goes back to the sages in the ancient Upanishads, the brahmarishis . They first realized the Truth, and only then taught others. Not as an intellectual exercise or philosophical discussion, but an actual realization of Reality. Each successive disciple also realized it, and it got passed down in this way through generations , ultimately to Sri Sri Bhagavan today, and now to us. Vedanta proclaims the Oneness of our individual Self with the universal Self, the cosmic consciousness (otherwise referred to as Brahman, Atman, Jesus, Allah, Hashem, Krishna, etc.) This is a fact, a reality. But we have to realize it to know it. How? We need to hear about it again and again to counteract our lifelong learning and identification with only the individual self (especially in today’s modern culture). This video was recorded from Swami Sankarananda...

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...

Swami Probuddhananda asks why is the human mind is so restless and so impatient? Because it is always looking for something, it is looking for peace and love. But we do not get this from the world, do we? Who is there that does? Such people are called the sages. We do not need to go away to the hermitages of India though to attain their state. We just need to learn to think like them. Ask yourself sincerely what you actually need and where to look for it. Swamiji says that he went to his guru, Sri Sri Bhagavan for this, and Bhagavan showed him that all peace and knowledge comes from within. All lies within you. This video was recorded at a lecture Swami Probuddhananda delivered at New York University, in April 2012. Biography of Swami Probbudhananda

A rare footage of Sri Sri Bhagavan inspiring a devotee to attain the state where they no longer feel separate from Him. This is not an intellectual exercise, Bhagavan says but a heart experience. Know the guru to be all, as God, and know that you are one with Him. Otherwise you will continue to feel disturbance of separation.

Sri Sri Bhagavan narrates the early part of the Buddha's spiritual life, who upon coming out of His sheltered palace, for the first time saw the worldly realities of old age, illness and death. What made the Buddha different was that He wanted to find a way to overcome these sorrows, to put an end to them. Bhagavan explains that "Buddha" or "Bodha" means total knowledge. Bhagavan draws a comparison to our contemporary life, including His own, pointing out that these struggles are very much present in our lives today as well. We should become aware of them, and their inevitability; try not to shun them, but face them .

Bhagavan talks about why the great masters come to earth. The enlightened beings always say “Know Thy Self”, “Know the Truth”, obtain Knowledge. They are not saying go get money in the world. But what is knowledge? It is the way things actually are, not just how they appear. The masters have been sharing knowledge with us for our benefit. They want to help us become more perfect, get more peace. Bhagavan gives the example of the Buddha. He is loved by all people of the world. Why? Because of the love and knowledge he gave to all beings, including animals. Similarly, with International Vedanta Society , all the work we are doing are for the people. The people in turn should understand that the world is not just for them, but for all beings, including the animals.