For the Love of Yoga with Nish the Fish

Nishanth Selvalingam

The world of Yoga is wide and varied. In this podcast, yogi Nish the Fish shares the deeper dimensions of Yoga, Vedanta and Tantra, asking the big questions: why do we practice? What is meditation? What is the purpose of a human life? What is Beauty? What is Death? Nishanth Selvalingam studied various South Asian philosophies with his Shaivite grandfather in an ashram in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and moved to Los Angeles to study philosophy, teach yoga and play guitar in a rock band. Join him and special guests as they explore Yoga, in all its splendours. For more episodes and instruction, and to support this humble offering of the heart, visit me on Patreon: patreon.com/yogawithnish

  1. Holy Mother & Vāmācāra, The Left Hand Path

    DEC 19

    Holy Mother & Vāmācāra, The Left Hand Path

    Recently, we've been having some fascinating discussions around Sārada Devī = Jaggadhātri = Ṣoḍaśī in order to understand the deep mystery of the pūjā that Śrī Rāmakrsna performed to Her on the Phalahārinī Kālī Pūjā new moon! Because the worship of the woman's body is considered to be the culminating practice in the Kaula mārga (as per its characterization in Abhinavagupta's Chapter 29 from Tantrāloka), we reflected a little bit on the Kaula (I.e left hand path) elements in Thakur and Holy Mother, especially with reference to elements in Her dhyāna mantra from last week's How To Meditate on the Tāntrik Goddess | Śrī Sāradā Devī Dhyāna Mantra lecture. In this class, we explore Holy Mother's avatarahood (to make the exciting claim that we have our female Avatāra in Her) and also the significance of this Shodaśī-pūjā, aforementioned. We continue to point out some Kaula or Vāmā mārga elements in Holy Mother's life and teaching! You'll find all our talks on Holy Mother over the years in this playlist.  Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

    4h 55m
  2. What is Vāmācāra, the Left Hand Path of Tantra?

    DEC 18

    What is Vāmācāra, the Left Hand Path of Tantra?

    When we don't have honest and open discussions, with close scriptural and lineage citation when it comes to the more esoteric dimensions of our tradition and heritage as śaivas, it allows for so much superstition! Now, many are under the impression that Vāmāchāra is nothing more than hedonism masquerading as spiritual practice! What Vāmāchāra is or isn't is surely not up to any one lineage to define but at the very least we can say: it is surely a lot more than just offering transgressive items like meat and wine! In this video, I argue that Vāmācāra/Kaulācāra is about bhāva, an inner disposition of fearlessness and intensity of devotion! While its true that almost all of our talks are given from a Kaula point of view anyway such that a playlist would be superfluous here, I thought it might still be helpful to have some of the more specific, focused and directed lectures on the more left leaning ideas and practices of our tradition all in one place for you! So here is a playlist for all our Vāmāchāracontent !  Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

    1h 44m
  3. How To Meditate on the Tāntrik Goddess | Śrī Sāradā Devī Dhyāna Mantra

    DEC 17

    How To Meditate on the Tāntrik Goddess | Śrī Sāradā Devī Dhyāna Mantra

    In this exceedingly beautiful discussion we did last week as an offering to Holy Mother for Her Jayanti, he say a few things about how Tāntrik meditation and practice works in general (with reference to some of its unique, aesthetically rich features) and then based on this understanding, we translate and unpack the dhyāna-mantra, meditation/visualization mantra of Holy Mother Sārada Devī and in so doing, we explore many very esoteric Tāntrik concepts encoded in the verses of this hymn! The mantras are reproduced below and all our talks on Holy Mother over the years are in this playlist.  dhyānam oṁ dhyāyeccittasarojasthāṁ sukhāsīnāṁ kṛpāmayīm।  prasannavadanāṁ devīṁ dvibhūjāṁ sthiralocanām॥ālulāyitakeśārdhavakṣaḥsthalavimaṇḍitām।  śvetavastrāvṛtārdhāṅgāṁ hemālaṅkārabhūṣitām॥  svakroḍanyastahastāṁ ca jñānabhaktipradāyinīm।  śubhrāṁ jyotirmayīṁ jīvapāpasantāpahāriṇīm॥  rāmakṛṣṇagataprāṇāṁ tannāmaśravaṇapriyām। tadbhāvarañjitākārāṁ jaganmātṛsvarūpiṇīm॥ jānakīrādhikārūpadhāriṇīṁ sarvamaṅgalām। cinmayīṁ varadāṁ nityāṁ sāradāṁ mokṣadāyinīm॥ snehamayīṁ śivāṁ śāntāṁ bhuktimuktipradāyinīm। sarvajīvatrāṇakartrīṁ sāradāṁ jñānadāyinīm॥ One should meditate on She who abides in the lotus of the mind, sitting easefully, filled with compassion and with a serene face, the two armed Goddess with steady eyes, Her long flowing hair adorning half Her bosom with half Her body clothed in white garments, adorned with golden ornaments, Her hands placed in Her own lap and bestowing knowledge and devotion, She is radiant light, the Destroyer of ignorance and suffering in human beings, whose every breath flows to Ramakrishna, who delights in the hearing of His name, Her form saturated with the ecstatic mood of absorption in Him, She is the Mother of the whole world! She is all-auspicious One who becomes Rādhā and Sītā, She is the Eternal Sārada, Sarasvatī, the giver of boons and liberation!  Full of love, auspicious and peaceful, She is Sāradā, the bestower of enjoyment, knowledge and liberation, the protector of all beings! dhyāyed hṛdambuje devīṁ taruṇāruṇavigrahām। varābhayakarāṁ śāntāṁ smitotphullamukhāmbujām॥ sthalapadmapratīkāśa-pādāmbhoja-suśobhanām। śuklāmbaradharāṁ dhīrāṁ lajjāpaṭavibhūṣitām॥ prasannāṁ dharmakāmārthamokṣadāṁ viśvamaṅgalām। svanāthavāmabhāgasthāṁ bhaktānugrahakāriṇīm॥ One should meditate upon the Goddess in the lotus of the heart. She has a youthful, red form, her hands showing the boon-giving and fear removal gestures. She is peaceful and upon her lotus-like face blooms a smile! Her feet are like radiant lotus flowers upon the earth, clad in white garments, steady, She is adorned with the veil of mystery! She is gracious and grants the four goals of life: dharma, pleasure, wealth and liberation! She is embodied as this auspicious universe (She is the auspiciousness in all things auspicious), seated to the left of Her lord (established in the yoni), bestowing grace upon devotees!  gāyatrī –  oṁ hrīṁ sāradāyai vidmahe viśvajananyai dhīmahi tanno mātā pracodayāt oṁ। Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

    1h 46m
  4. How To Kill Kālī | The Three Sacrifices of Tāntrik Sādhana

    DEC 15

    How To Kill Kālī | The Three Sacrifices of Tāntrik Sādhana

    One of the distinctive features of Kālī pūjā is animal sacrifice. But you know, this is only practice for a much greater sacrifice: the killing of the paśu, that is, one's own sense of limited self.  Notice how Sri Ramakrishna used the same sword that is reserved for the goat sacrifice to offer Mā Kālī his own head (the best form of Nara Bali, human sacrifice) and also how later in his sādhana, he used a subtle, internal sword to cut even his beloved Kālī in half, to discover Her formless aspect?  This krama (process) of killing the literal, external animal, then killing the "paśu" (the animal within) and then finally even killing Mā as the "other" or "object of devotion" (in order to recognize Her as the Self) are the three stages of Tāntrik sādhana that I hope to explore with you a little bit in this talk. You see, to become Śiva you must first kill Brahmā as per the foundational Puranic story of the beheading of Brahmā and the transformation of Śiva into Bhairava, the Kāpālika par excellence. This narrative arc is the age old process of going beyond religion to spirituality, from externalized institutions to the interiority of genuine mysticism. Its at its core a story about transcending the rules and regulations (and above all, externally and societally informed purity codes of the Vedācāra all of which at one point can be spirituality productive but eventually become obstacles to intimacy, to true interiorization.  And to get to Mā you have to then kill Śiva! Otherwise, on what corpse will Mā dance?  We gave this talk a day or two after the Śyāma-Kālī pūjā and clearly we're in some kind of bhåva because this might be one of our more controversial, yet most honest and if I may say so, most inspired  discussions we've had in a while:  Khadganāthāya namah!  Śīghram! Śīgrham! Kuru Kuru Svāhā! Mā, idam māmsa ca raktam! Mā, esha sa-pradīpa śirsha!  Rudhirapriye, Balipriye,  Grhna imam! Grhna imam!  Prasīda, prasĩda! Siddhi me bhavatu, Devī  Tvat prasādān, Vameśvarī! Salutations to the performer of the animal sacrifice! Quickly! Quickly! Do it, quickly! May it be an offering! O Mā, here is some meat! Here is some blood! Here is the severed head with the burning lamp! O You who are fond of blood and sacrifice, Come! Come and take this and be pleased, Mother! Grant us power and perfection, O Goddess of the Left,  By Your grace alone is anything possible.  Mā Lead us from religion to spirituality From externalized institutions to the interiority of genuine mysticism  From purity to power From morality to freedom  From the periphery to the centre! Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

    2h 34m
  5. Sārada Devī  = Jaggadhātri = Ṣoḍaśī

    DEC 12

    Sārada Devī = Jaggadhātri = Ṣoḍaśī

    On the 8th day of the waning moon in the Vedic calendar month of Mrgaśirsha, we celebrate the birth anniversary of Holy Mother Sārada Devī. This an exceedingly auspicious a day for our lineage especially if not also for all worshippers of the Divine Mother everywhere in every lineage. It is a special day for everyone, actually, because today, we celebrate the "avatarahood" of the Divine Mother Herself! In 2023, we gave the talk The Tantra of Holy Mother Sarada Devi exploring Holy Mother's central teaching, "don't find fault with others/no one is a stranger to you/the world is your very own": we tried our best there to point out the non-dual teaching embedded in this seemingly innocuous, but actually theologically dense, teaching. Then, we asked Who is Holy Mother Sārada Devī? in 2024. With the disclaimer that स्वरूपं त्वदीयं न विन्दन्ति देवाः, "even the gods do not understand her true nature", we tried to sketch out a brief biography of this mysterious avatāra of Mā. Also, I thought it would be helpful to contemplate Holy Mother both as the ideal student as well as the Guru in Sārada Devī as Tantrik Guru. In this talk we encounter her emphasis on japa, that is, the recitation of the holy name as the centerpiece of spiritual practice. This year, I thought we'd do something a little more esoteric: let's explore the link between Holy Mother and various forms of the Tāntrik Goddess, with a special emphasis on the red-hued Jaggadhātī (who is very likely Holy Mother's ishta besides Ramakrishna and certainly her kula-devī, family deity) and the red-hued Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī (or Ṣoḍaśī). We also make a few etymological claims also about Her name and about Sāradā as the patron deity of Kashmir and also Adi Shankara's Śrī Vidyā stronghold in the south: Sringeri Math. You'll find all of our talks on Holy Mother all in one place here. Today is also the Feast Day of the Lady of Guadalupe! Last year, we gave a lecture called Kālī = The Lady of Guadalupecomparing the two! It is to this day one of my favorite talks ever!  But ultimately, what can we say about She who becomes the very words we use to praise Her? Who can praise Her here? By Her power Brahma, Vishnu and I have taken our embodied forms! Who then can truly praise You, You who are prior to all of us? And yet, futile though it may be, here is our attempt to try to fit the ocean of your limitless Being into the teacup of our limited understanding! May all these clumsy words be like so many hibiscus flowers placed one by one at Your lotus feet in worship!  Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

    2h 8m
  6. What is Mā Kālī's Vibe? | Distinctive Features of Kālī Pūjā

    NOV 30

    What is Mā Kālī's Vibe? | Distinctive Features of Kālī Pūjā

    I'm just so thrilled about all the new Kālī content we've been putting out this past month, in the days leading up to Śyåma Kālī Pūjā, and the weeks after: First, in How To Get Possesed By Kālī we carefully explained what it is to be a paśu or anu, a discreet unit of consciousness (i.e an embodied soul or jīva) and then carefully pointed out why the ānavopaya is so suited for most of us, despite our pretense at high-flying non-dual philosophies! The ānavopaya assumes duality, individuality and the separate, external existence of God that can be invoked, evoked and experienced in the vigraha (image). We discussed how the goal of ānavopaya is a kind of immersion in the Goddess through worship and other techniques that can very well be understood as a kind of "possession" (aveśa) experience. Then, having explained all of that, we presented you with How To Get Started With Kālī Worship and also Who Is Kali? | & A Ritual to Invoke Her to kickstart your practice and for more seasoned practitioners, we even went over a A Left Hand Path Ritual for Kālī having given some nuance and context for it in Introducing The Left Hand Worship of Kālī And for whatever reason if you're somehow not convinced about the power and importance of ritual worship in your spiritual life (because you're attached to some notion of non-duality or something, for instance), we make a case for it in The Essence of Tantra | & Why You Should Learn Pūjā. I think it's neat also that you can watch a demo of the whole pūjā (in an albeit abbreviated form) in Śyāmā Kālī Pūjā 2025. Of course, lectures like How To Say Grounded & Reasonable In Kālī Pūjā and The Two Extremes of Kālī Worshipadd further theoretical nuance to the very practice-oriented, anavopaya-esque discussions aforementioned and I am particularly fond of this year's Hallowe'en special Vampires, Kali and Christ | A Hallowe'en Special which was about yoginīs and what not but also touched upon some pretty deep themes regarding free will vs determinism ("my" will vs. "God's" will that is and if they can even be distinguished!). Anyway, in this class, I point out some distinctive features in Kālī pūjā like the ghost worship, jackal worship, cremation ground sacrifices, the transgressive offerings and animal/human sacrifice that give this pūjā and the Deity to whom it is offered its unique flavor!  Jai Śrī Rādha-Rānī Ki Jai! Support the show Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and again at Friday 11am PST Use this link and I will see you there: https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815 For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

    1h 56m
4.9
out of 5
63 Ratings

About

The world of Yoga is wide and varied. In this podcast, yogi Nish the Fish shares the deeper dimensions of Yoga, Vedanta and Tantra, asking the big questions: why do we practice? What is meditation? What is the purpose of a human life? What is Beauty? What is Death? Nishanth Selvalingam studied various South Asian philosophies with his Shaivite grandfather in an ashram in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and moved to Los Angeles to study philosophy, teach yoga and play guitar in a rock band. Join him and special guests as they explore Yoga, in all its splendours. For more episodes and instruction, and to support this humble offering of the heart, visit me on Patreon: patreon.com/yogawithnish

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