Yoga Wisdom with Acharya das Acharya das
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- Religion & Spirituality
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Become happier, more peaceful and fulfilled through Yoga Wisdom. Gain a new look at life through a more spiritual lens. Acharya Das has taught yoga wisdom to appreciative audiences for over 40 years. He has an uncommonly deep understanding of yoga philosophy and practices, conveying that message in a clear and simple way while encouraging everyone to develop a daily meditation practice.
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#238 We Know We Have a Soul - But what is it?
Many people think they possess a soul – we refer to “my soul.” But if that’s the case, then who are you (the one possessing the soul) and what exactly is the soul?
One dictionary definition is – “The spiritual part of a person that some people believe continues to exist in some form after their body has died, or the part of a person that is not physical and experiences deep feelings and emotions.”
This of course is speculative and lacks the clarity offered by Yogic wisdom. The ancient Sanskrit word for what people refer to as the ‘soul’ is very revealing. It is “ātma” which literally means the ‘self’. In this understanding you do not have a soul, you are the soul. -
#237 Can I do it? vs. Should I do it?
An internet safety organization in the UK warns that school children are using AI image generators to create indecent fake images of classmates. Another article was headlined - Kids who use social media are more prone to making dangerous decisions. It was about a study of 1.4 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 from 1997 to 2022 and found that frequent or daily social media usage increased the probability of alcohol consumption by 48 percent, drug use by 28 percent, and tobacco use by 85 percent, compared to those who used social media infrequently or not on a daily basis.
While many will rightly say “We need more safeguards!”, this overlooks the glaring failure in modern society to appreciate the great need for a personal moral compass. It is about external controls vs internal controls, or Can I do it? vs. Should I do it? -
#236 Material energy and Spiritual energy – what’s the difference?
This is one of the talks from my recent visit to the USA – it is in Austin, Texas.
Many people do not have a very clear concept of what is material and what is spiritual which is the subject I was asked to speak on at an Austin Kirtan event. -
#235 To Guard One’s Heart
The inspiration for this talk was something I heard on a short piece of a podcast of Joe Rogan talking to Oliver Anthony (Chris Lunsford) who came out with the recent viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
Answering a question from Joe Rogan about what inspires him, Oliver quoted the following from the Bible:
Proverbs 4:23-26
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Guarding our heart is critically important. As they used to say in the early days of computer programming, “Garbage in – garbage out!”
We have both a higher and a lower nature. We need to curb our lower nature and cultivate our higher nature. This means consciously choosing what it is that we will hold to be valuable, what we will treasure. There is another incredibly wise quote I saw when I was looking up the Bible quote above.
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The need for guidelines in life that produce outcomes that are objectively in my interest – my eternal well-being – is all important.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” -
#234 Celebrating Lord Krishna - Janmastami
The Vedas teach that there is a higher Transcendent Reality, a Higher Truth, an Absolute Truth.
According to Vedic wisdom there is one unique living being amongst a vast ocean of conscious and eternal beings.
This one Supreme Soul is known by many, many different Names.
We are all connected to the Supreme Soul. There is an eternal bond of kinship, of love between all living beings and the Supreme Being. In the spiritual reality, we are all connected because we are all parts and parcels of that Supreme Soul.
We’re not speaking here of the limited idea that there is a Hindu god or a Christian god, a Buddhist god or a Muslim god.
There is only one Transcendent Reality, one Absolute Truth.
That Supreme Truth is also referred to as the Supreme Soul and as the Supreme Original Cause of all Causes.
The Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā states:
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
He who is the origin of all, who has no other origin and He who is the prime cause of all causes. He is known as Govinda and He has a beautiful and eternal blissful spiritual form. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead also known as Kṛṣṇa. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1
The transcendental sound Kṛṣṇa means the “All-Attractive”.
When we speak of Krishna, we are speaking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Cause of All Causes, the Original Person.
The day that Lord Krishna appeared upon this Earth over 5,000 years ago in His original transcendental form is known as Janmastami – and is celebrated by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
When we speak of Krishna, we are not speaking of a foreign person. We’re not speaking about somebody with whom we don’t already have a relationship.
The original Cause of all Causes appears in this material dimension in His transcendental form, making it possible for us to meditate upon Him and hear His transcendental instructions on how we can come back to Him, reunite with Him.
This world is not the home of the spiritual being. It is a temporary place that we are residing in. Spiritual life means to return to our true home to the eternal spiritual dimension with the Supreme Soul.
What is Krishna’s relationship with us and our relationship with Krishna?
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, “I am the goal, I am the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation. I am the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed. I am the seed giving father of all living beings.”
Our eternal desire for that perfect love is a spiritual desire that cannot be completely fulfilled in this limited world with limited material personalities.
Pure love for Krishna resides eternally within the hearts of all living beings, it is simply covered. No one can give us this love. Spiritual love is already there, it is part of our very being.
That pure spiritual love that is already there within the depth of our heart of hearts, is awakened or uncovered by our immersion in the beautiful, transcendental sounds, the Holy Names of Krishna.
Thinking of Krishna, meditating upon the beautiful form of Krishna, chanting His sweet names, purifies the heart and mind so that this love is awakened.
Simply take shelter in His holy names, sing His names, rest in His name and you will actually know the spiritual happiness and inner peace that you have been looking for, for your whole life.
Take Krishna into your heart and embrace Him. Embrace His holy name. He is not different than His name. When you embrace the Holy Name of Krishna, you are embracing Krishna. When you welcome the Holy Name of Krishna into your heart, you are welcoming Krishna into your heart.
If you want Krishna, if you want love for Krishna, if you want to be connected with Krishna, if you want to be free from the emptiness that comes from being separated from Krishna -
#233 Judging a Book by its Cover
We have just celebrated the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King. One of his most famous addresses was the “I have a dream” speech where he stated:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Reading some current commentaries, we see how if this phrase is quoted by a “white” person then it is considered racist. What has the world come to?
From a spiritual perspective, this is incredibly ignorant. It seems we have entered an age when the old maxim “don’t judge a book by its cover” has now been replaced by “you must judge a book by its cover.”
Such ideas will not bring peacefulness and happiness but result in “othering” people, sowing division and hate and causing pain and suffering.
The spiritual perspective to be cultivated when dealing with all others is laid out in the following ancient texts:
He is a perfect yogī who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! Bhagavan-gita 6.32
He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me. Bg 12.15
“The Supreme Soul is very satisfied with the transcendentalist when they greet other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship and equality.” - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.11.13
"The duty of one seeking enlightenment is to culture the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Lord, Hari, is pleased with those who are forgiving. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.15.40
Customer Reviews
Highly recommend!
Acarya Das is well versed in yoga philosophy. I eagerly seek out new as well as older episodes for wisdom and inspiration. I highly recommend for anyone on the spiritual path
What the world needs!
These talks are precisely what the world needs right now! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to listen to these gems🙏🏾
awesome!
Thank you very much!
Haribol Namaste 🙏