We have been asked whether someone can get liberation using a simple mantra such as Baba Nam Kevalam, and what to do if you are not near one of our meditation centers.

Many years ago our Guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti answered the first part of the question directly He said that “In meditation there must always be the feeling that you want to serve Him. If this is the feeling, immediately the mind gets concentrated. If in meditation there is the culmination of service, everything will be achieved. Even through the preliminary lessons of meditation a spiritual aspirant can get salvation, but even one practicing higher meditation cannot attain it if there is no feeling of service.”

So, if your approach is correct you can get liberation with the simplest form of meditation. However, whenever possible it is also good to learn more advanced lessons of meditation because they will help you in your practice.

If you are not near a center, you can still request a visit from one of our traveling teachers. And if that doesn’t bring immediate results there is one more thing you can do. Make yourself “ready.” Practice whatever you can in the most sincere manner possible and cultivate your yearning for liberation. Again the words of the Guru are instructive. He said “when the vehement desire for liberation arises in a person, that person attains the Sadguru on the strength of that desire.”

This is similar to famous phrase “when the student is ready, the teacher appears.” So make yourself ready, prepare yourself, and before you know it you will be face to face with a spiritual teacher. You don’t have to travel anywhere!

We all begin our lives with a lot of hope for the future. In this game of life some people reach their goals and end up satisfied that they have made the best use of their existence on earth, and others die in frustration. The difference between success and failure is often in having proper information and guidance about what should be done and what should not be done.

So, what is the information and guidance that can make the difference between ultimate success and failure?

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By Dada Vedaprajinananda

A lot of people think that yoga is just a system of stretching exercises. However, yoga is in fact an all-out system of improving the human condition, turning an ordinary human being into an extraordinary human being. The foundation of yoga is good conduct. That is, we should live our life in way that puts us in harmony with our society and with our own inner self.

One of the principles of good conduct is known in Sanskrit as “Sayta.” There is no English synonym for Satya, but the yoga master Shrii Shrii Anandamurti has defined it as “proper action of mind and the right use of words with the spirit of welfare.” (more…)

by Dada Vedaprajinananda

(this another article in our Yama-Niyama series)

Many years back when I was just beginning the practice of yoga, someone came to me and asked how he could begin yoga. As I was not a teacher at that time, I recommended a popular book with yoga postures. My friend looked at me and in all seriousness said, “Where can I steal it.”

Well, you can’t begin your practice of yoga with an act of theft as good conduct is the base for all yoga practice. It is impossible to attain harmony with others and inner peace if you ignore the fundamental principles of morality. In yoga, as in many other traditions, non-stealing is an important element of proper living. Let’s take a look at Asteya (non-stealing) as seen by yoga. (more…)

When I was in California a few years ago I met one of my old college friends who is now a well known Zen teacher. Recently I had some email correspondence with him and also saw his page on Wikipedia, and his bio on the website of the foundation which he started.

After seeing all that he did and compared my own work to his, I began thinking, next to him “I’m nobody” and I kept thinking “I’m nobody” and again “I’m nobody”. Finally I was reminded of an old story:

Once there was a Rabbi who wanted to impress everyone with his humility and spiritual attainment. So one day he threw himself on the floor next to the altar, in front of the congregation, and began to wail “Lord, I’m nobody”, “I’m nobody”. He kept on, and then the congregation’s Cantor was so impressed that he also threw himself on the floor and started to say “Lord, I’m nobody.” Out in the hallway there was a janitor who heard the commotion and he peeked in to see what was happening. He became so inspired that he too, entered and threw himself on the floor and began saying “Lord, I’m nobody.”

When the Rabbi saw the janitor on the floor he became irritated and said to the Cantor, “And look who thinks he’s nobody!”

by Dada Vedaprajinananda

Recently I gave a meditation workshop in England and touched on the issue of non-attachment. Yoga philosophy tells us that we shouldn’t be morbidly attached to physical objects because they are transitory and perishable. If we can remember that our self-worth and being do not depend on these physical objects then we will be better off. (more…)

By Dada Vedaprajinananda

Someone who was practically unknown a few weeks ago has now become one of the most important political figures in the United States. That “someone” is of course Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, who is now the Republican candidate for vice president.  Palin’s candidacy has energized the Republican Party, especially heartening those on the right wing who adore her small-town lifestyle and social views, particularly her anti-abortion stand which is called “pro-life” in the U.S. But is Governor Palin truly pro-life, in the wider sense of the term. In my personal opinion, she fails to live up to this ideal. (more…)

I am just writing to let everybody know that my North American tour is moving along nicely.  On September 28 I visited the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. I was invited there to give a yoga workshop, but one of the scheduled bands failed to show up and I was given the opportunity to present a set of music. The event took place in an open amphitheater located in front of a beautiful lake.

Here is a photo from the festival:

I also visited meditators in Washington, Philadelphia and attended a yoga retreat in Plainfield, Massachusetts. This past weekend I presented a lecture on kundalini yoga at the Ananda Marga retreat in Asheville, NC. I am currently in Greensboro, North Carolina and a concert is scheduled for Thursday, October 23 (if you are in the area, please come!)

At the retreat in Massachusetts I held a music program for the children and did the same songs that I sing in Albania with the children of the Albanian Sunrise School.

In the last two weeks I have been to New Paltz (upstate NY), Ithaca, Asheville, NC, Greensboro, NC, and Atlanta, GA.  I am now back in New York City and getting ready for another adventure, but before I tell you about that. Here are some highlights from the last two weeks.

(The photo below is from the workshop-house concert in Atlanta )

Click the link to read about the tour: (more…)