Renunciation or vairagya is an absolute necessity for spiritual progress in a seeker’s quest for the Absolute Truth. It is impossible for an aspirant to progress on the spiritual path without developing this quality. Vairagya ignites the yearning for obtaining liberation in a seeker and allows the extroverted mind to go within.

Vairagya in the spiritual world is a mental state associated with developing a total dispassion or detachment towards materialistic/sensual enjoyments. It arises when the seeker realizes that everything in this life is impermanent, illusionary and bound to cause misery.

Real renunciation occurs when one gives up the sense of “I” or egoism and realizes their true identity. The veil of duality is lifted and one recognizes that the supreme bliss we are searching for is right within us!

Throughout this world we see people running after money and luxuries. Even after they obtain them they are still unhappy! Then, what is real wealth?

As Gurumaa says real wealth in our lives is the spiritual practices we perform and the knowledge we obtain in the company of self-realized masters.

In the company of great masters we realize that the happiness we are searching for through worldly pleasures is temporary! Permanent joy and peace can only be obtained if we surrender and meditate upon the Lord who lives in our very own hearts!

Lord Shiva is personified as the destroyer or transformer in the Hindu trinity of gods known as Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (also known as Shiva).

The abstract form of Shiva is depicted by a Shiva linga, while the statues which represent him depict him in the form of a beautiful yogi who is adorned with snakes, ashes and tiger skin, and always immersed in deep meditation.

The Sanskrit word Shiva means “the auspicious one” or one who is eternally pure and not affected by the three gunas (qualities) of nature. While there are many hymns and mantras dedicated to Lord Shiva, Om Namah Shivaya is one of the most well-known mantras in Shaivism.

Om Namah Shivaya is also known as the Panchakshara mantra (five syllable mantra excluding Om), or great redeeming mantra. The mantra means “I bow to Shiva, the supreme reality and pure consciousness that exists in all”.

These five sacred syllables correspond to the five elements from which the human body is formed. Na is associated with the earth element, ma to the water element, shi to fire, va to air and ya to the ether element.

As we repeat this powerful mantra each syllable purifies its specific element. Ultimately it allows the body and mind become pure, allowing one to obtain full benefits in their spiritual practices.

This mantra has no restrictions and can be chanted by anyone at any time in their life. It has the power to free one from any type of sins and break the bondages of the mind.

As the mind is purified and freed from its ignorance, one experiences the true wisdom: Shiva, the supreme bliss is nowhere but within us!

In this part Gurumaa elucidates the true nature of the mind. She explains that it is the nature of the mind to look outside at different objects, jump from one thought to another, and desire worldly objects.

This is the state of every mind that has not been disciplined through spiritual practices, and as a result it becomes dull and lethargic and filled with impurities.

The scriptures of India say that the mind is your best friend, but can also be your worst enemy. If the mind is trained and purified it allows you to experience your own inner Self.

A good mind is the most important possession one can have. Without this possession it is impossible to realize your true Self. Therefore the sages of India always emphasized valuing and respecting the mind.

However, if one continues to remain under its control they become slaves of their own minds.

So, what is the mind? As Gurumaa says the mind has no shape or form, and is really nothing but emptiness! The scriptures also say that the mind is nothing but a contracted form of the universal consciousness.

It is the nature of the consciousness to create, and just as it has created this outer world it continues to create infinite universes inside our minds. As a result the mind is always creating and dissolving worlds of thoughts, fantasies, and all kinds of dreams.

Therefore the mind is uncontrollable because it is nothing but the pure energy of this universal consciousness!

The great philosophers and sages of India composed many great works which discuss how the mind can be stilled and purified. They developed practices such as yoga, pranayama and meditation which cleanse the mind, and ultimately allow one to experience their own nature, or the paramatma that exists within! As the mind turns within, it merges with the pure Self, and becomes the Self!

We assume that fulfilling our desires will make us happy, but they really don’t! One wish only leads to another, and ultimately we realize we are not finding the happiness that we are always searching for.

How can we experience this true happiness? Gurumaa says the only way we will truly become happy is by discovering our own true nature!

If we can eat vegetables, why can’t we eat non-veg?

This is a never-ending debate which I have stopped having with my friends who guzzle animal fat, birds and eggs every day. Have you also faced the same problem?

Staunch meat-eaters swear that plants and fruit have equal sentiments as animals, so it is as much a crime to eat vegetarian food as it is to eat non-vegetarian food.

Gurumaa explodes this myth by saying that the consciousness of animals is much more developed as compared to the vegetable and fruit kingdom.

If you watch cocks being carried to the slaughterhouse, you can see the fear manifest in them. This fear is transferred to us when we eat the slaughtered cock.

Another argument in favor of vegetarianism is that trees keep on giving fruit in spite of plucking them off. In one field, after the harvest is over, another series of grains or plants can be grown. But once you kill an animal or a bird, its life is gone forever.

Gurumaa says that she eats everything except ‘that which walks, flies or swims’.

Research has shown that preparing animals for slaughter requires them to be fed extensively and is much more expensive than growing plants or fruit. The animal feed industry is one of the largest in the United States.

Meat production leads to increase in carbon dioxide and methane gas in the atmosphere, which is the one of leading causes of global warming.

There is an increased risk of suffering from breast cancer for women who eat meat, as compared to vegetarian women. For men, those who suffer more heart attacks are meat-eaters as compared to vegetarian men.

Convinced? Then, how many friends did you convert to vegetarianism?

If you experience trembling and uneasiness in legs while doing yoga nidra, know it that your mind, body and nervous system are weak. You also need to strengthen your immune and nervous system.

So how do you do this? Listen to Gurumaa telling us how we can conquer the weaknesses inherent in our system and become healthy, strong and wise!

Practicing yoga nidra everyday enables us to explore the boundaries between the various states of consciousness. Our willpower increases because we make a resolve each day, which does not change.

We are able to study the thoughts arising in our subconscious, accept the positive ones and reject the negative ones. Yoga nidra teaches us how to relax. Stillness enables us to become aware of our inner being, one of the main purposes of meditation.

To maintain stillness in yoga nidra, practice of yoga and pranayam are necessary to make the body receptive to this transformational healing. So, are you a fan of this wonderful combination of yoga, pranayama and yoga nidra? Then, you are well on the way to becoming healthy, spiritually wealthy, strong and wise.

At times a seeker may not be able to understand his own experiences and may start worrying. Due to lack of complete knowledge and understanding, true love and happiness just eludes him/her.

To be able to truly soak in the love and bathe in the showers of true bliss, one needs the help of an enlightened master who can guide and lead his disciple to attain that true state of being.

One such seeker who had been practicing kumbhak on his own after reading it in the Bhagwad Geeta – the sacred Hindu script, came to Anandmurti Gurumaa seeking clarifications. He was doing everything correctly yet somewhere that fulfillment, contentment and calmness was missing.

In this video you can hear the enlightened master Anandmurti Gurumaa compassionately explaining the essence of Kumbhak and Pranayam. This is essentially the art of practicing restraint of prana or breath.

Gurumaa emphasizes on the need for correct interpretation of what is written in the scriptures. Regarding the practice of Kumbhak she says that it cannot be practiced in a rush.

A seeker needs to first prepare himself by purifying his body both physically and mentally. One should have been practicing Yoga asana regularly for at least two years.

Before one attempts Kumbhak one should have been regularly practicing ‘Anulom Vilom Pranayam’ (the technique of breathing from one nostril and releasing from the other and then breathing from the same and releasing from the other forming a pattern of conscious breathing), ‘Nadishodhan’ (breathing technique where one needs to hold breath after each inhalation and exhalation) and ‘Kapalbhati’ (where breath is thrown out with a force).

When one is well versed with these techniques of Pranayam, slowly and gradually one can attempt kumbhak – the art of restrained breath. One must not simply try it, but instead it should be learnt from a teacher and initially practiced under guidance.

One should not play with ‘prana’. It is like a scorpion that can kill. Any practice which is not done with a right understanding can be dangerous. To prepare one self, one needs to do ‘Yoga Asana, Surya Namaskar’ and do pranayama for at least an hour a day and then with the blessings of the master go on to practice Kumbhak and seek the benefits of restrained breathing.

Every thought is consumption of energy and due to the continuous bombardment of thoughts in the mind; most people have forgotten what it is like being in a relaxed state of mind.

Purity and calmness which were the inherent nature of the real ‘You’, then seem to be a state that can only be achieved through meditation.

Because of the clutter in the mind that we have accumulated by seeking happiness outside (when it was within all this while), one gets perturbed and anxious when one begins to experience the power of energy that lays imbedded deep within each one of us.

Only an enlightened master can help a seeker then understand what goes on in the mind and body. In this video the enlightened master Anandmurti Gurumaa compassionately explains and removes all fears from the mind of a seeker.

Gurumaa explains that when a seeker is able to enter deep into the meditative state a lot of energy is generated and when all this pent up energy is released one may feel vibrations in the body or feel the heat, it is natural. These are the fruits of meditation.

One needs to only keep in mind not to get attached to those experiences, because it may not be the same all the time. So just enjoy it for as long as it lasts and live in the bliss of calmness that follows.

A young seeker who was brave enough to admit her follies and accept the negative attributes of her character asked Gurumaa what she should do. How she could change herself?

To which Gurumaa replied that though it was a good thought but before one goes ahead with seeking changes, one needs to understand what is it that needs to change and why.

First one needs to understand the negativities and bad habits of one’s own personality and then see how in the first place were they imbibed. What is it that lies at the root of those negative thoughts or attributes?

No true change can be brought about without truly delving within and introspecting about the extent of attachments and desires. It is best to accept what lies within first and then try to change.

Rather than bringing about a superficial change and fooling one’s own self it is better to accept yourself as you are and work gradually upon yourself to bring about a true and everlasting change with understanding. It is better to be a true human being rather than be a false hero.

When one accepts and understands the feeling of greed, anger, frustration, hatred, and desires of sexual expectations, then one needs to look for reasons of what causes it all.

Until one finds out the reasons that give rise to these negative feelings how can one find solutions? The job of finding the reason, each one needs to do on their own and then seek help to find solutions under the guidance of a master.

The reason one is not able to polish the positive attributes of ones own personality could be, because he\she is away from God or maybe, because the connection with the inner conscience has become weak or because one is not doing any ‘sadhana’ (meditation or Prayer).

It is also important to realize that the negativity or being away from the truth harms the person him\herself the most.

With this new realization start introspecting within and then seek the blessings of the master to bring about positive changes in your personality.

A seeker who is a devout devotee of Lord Krishna asked Anandmurti Gurumaa about the truth of these illusions that he saw. Gurumaa then explained how the mind sees what it really wants to.

The illusions are not real, they are a result of one’s own thoughts. At a deeper level of consciousness and with high level of concentration, the mind begins to create shapes which then seem very close to reality.

The mind then cocoons itself and does not let any other thought dilute the image. Then if the mind wishes it can bring to life those illusions. If the thought is about Radha Krishna, then the mind creates images of their form which the person can then dance and sing along with.

But it is indeed just a thought – A fragment of one’s own imagination. Just like this world too is an illusion. All that one can see with open eyes is a result of thoughts generated in the mind and images that the mind thus creates.

Due to consistent thinking and involvement with things that are around us, the world appears to be real. This does not alter the truth that the world is illusionary and unreal. The world is just as we see it. If one changes one’s thought process everything around too begins to change and appear different.

Gurumaa then says that the images of lord Krishna and Radha must be bringing lot of joy and happiness to the seeker but he needs to always remember that they are not real. They are creations of his own thoughts. But consciously one can continue to enjoy that bliss for some time.

If those images help the mind to remain focused, to be able to concentrate and not let the mind wander into waste full thoughts. It should be used as a tool to achieve a higher level of consciousness of the mind aware fully.

Live life blissfully, being aware and conscious all the time.

Just as there are many spiritual texts available to help seekers in pursuit of spirituality, there is plenty of information that misguides people.

A seeker asked the realized master – Anandmurti Gurumaa if it was really essential for a seeker to practice meditation in the presence of a master all the time. His worry got generated after he read some text promoting this, saying that the energy generated while meditating could make a person insane if not monitored!

In this video, Gurumaa replies calmly negating his fears. She says that there is absolutely no danger to a person practicing meditation alone.

It is not always possible to be in the presence of your master while practicing meditation due to the limitations of the physical form. The master cannot be present at all places where the disciples are.

Each seeker’s journey is unique and individual, which cannot be bound by the presence of the master’s physical form.

The master guides and showers blessings on the disciples, energizing them, but the journey has to be made by the individual only.

An individual who practices meditation is able to win over his mind. His mind is always calm. How then can he be in danger of becoming insane while practicing meditation?

Meditation empowers a person to deal with all phases in life. It enables a person to be able to handle the highs and lows of life, with a sense of detachment. One learns how to be a ‘sakshi’ (the observer) with the practice of meditation.

Gurumaa further adds that any time is a good time to practice meditation. Even midnight is appropriate, provided the body is not very exhausted or physically tired.

In fact midnight is a good time to meditate provided one is not sleepy, because there is no outside disturbance at that time. No phones are to be answered, no possibility of someone knocking at the door, no household chores to be done.

Any time of the day is a good time to meditate, so free yourself from the bondages of time and place, and make the most of whatever time you have to undertake this journey inwards.