500 years ago a great saint in Bengal popularized the singing of God’s name as a way to reach spiritual fulfillment.  His name was Caetanya Mahaprabhu. Ever since that time this divine chanting (kirtan, or kiirtan) has been a huge part of devotional or bhakti yoga.

Here is a video of some inspired kiirtan at the recent winter retreat held near Austin, Texas

I just finished a full-moon fasting day and was very happy that I had prepared for it.  How does one prepare for a fasting day?

There are two factors. First you have to prepare yourself mentally.  The day before you should determine that “tomorrow I am going to fast.”  This may sound silly, but it is not.  If you wake up in the morning and then have to decide whether you are going to fast, then you may start to fast but after a while you will find a hundred reasons why you should eat.  However, if the night before, you have already decided, then you will wake up with the idea firmly in your mind that you will be fasting.  Your body will cooperate too, and you will have less of an urge to eat.

Experienced fasters find that their body somehow kicks into “fasting mode” and they just do not feel hungry the day of the fast.

This mental preparation can only bear fruit if the person also makes physical preparation for a fast, and this is the second major factor.  In order not to be hungry the day of the fast, one must eat adequately the day before. Adequately does not mean to overate but simply to eat your regular amount of food. It is also important to take enough liquids the day before the fast, especially if you are going to be doing a dry-fast.

I have found that the best food to take on the evening before a fast is a vegetable soup.  It fills you up and provides plenty of liquids.  The worst foods to eat (in my experience) before a fast are sweet and starchy.

So, prepare yourself mentally and physically and then do a one day fast.  Do it regularly on the eleventh day of the lunar cycle (11 days after the full or new moons) and you will find it a great way to maintain your physical health and mental balance.

I am about to go to Austin, Texas where we are having a huge Winter Retreat. The retreat will feature yoga class, chanting, meditation, classes and workshops, cultural programs and lots of good company and vibrations.  If you are interested in attending visit http://www.tantricfutures.org

I am in Poland at the beautiful Ananda Marga center near Jelenia Gora. It is a 46 hectare organic farm. We are enjoying a yoga conference.

My next stop in Denmark for another conference and then to Stockholm for a concert. Here is a poster for the concert.

I have been on two tours of the South East states in recent months. In between those tours I have been in NYC, where I am currently based. In New York I am working very hard on a new CD and hope to have it ready in the month of July.  I was not able to send out a newsletter in recent months due to some technical problems but will have one out soon. One more piece of news is that another vegetarian podcast is featuring my song “I Don’t Eat Meat” on their site.  Visit www.meatfreeradio.com to listen to it and to enjoy the podcasts. They are going to interview me on a podcast this summer. More is coming later.

by Dada Vedaprajinananda

Sometime back I read an anecdote concerning Bill and Hillary Clinton. It seems that one time, many years ago, Hillary dragged Bill to a yoga class. Bill remarked that he was the only man in the class. In many countries, that is the way it is, with women being the primary enthusiasts at yoga classes. One of the main reasons for this may be that yoga is seen as a way to lose weight and become more beautiful. Let’s take a look at this and see what role yoga has to play in making someone look beautiful. Continue Reading

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

(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. Continue Reading

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.” Continue Reading

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!