The Why & How of Food Offering
Food offering in the Vedic tradition is associated with Annapurna. “Annapurna, the goddess of food and nourishment, is an incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Parvati, the wife of Shiva. Annapurna is empowered with the ability to provide food to an unlimited amount of people. Temple art in India often depicts Lord Shiva with his begging […]
Raise Yourself by Yourself
Raise yourself by yourself do not defeat yourself by yourself It is the Self that gives respect to the self and it is the self that deceives the Self BhagavadGita, Dhyana Yoga, 6.5 When you raise yourself, yourself is the greatest friend of yourself; and, when you deceive yourself, yourself is the greatest enemy of […]
Culture of Tiruvannamalai
The town of Tiruvannamalai is a small town of about 150,000 residents primarily of the lower to middle income class. It has a culture from all religious backgrounds with the majority being Hindu, is conservative and honors the guest. Parts of daily life are religious celebrations at home, at small temples, and the big Shiva […]
Journey to the Source
The greatest adventure to be explored is the journey to the Source. Source is bliss, source is peace. Peace is freedom from the clutches of your mind. How does the Mind work? The mind creates pleasure and pain shafts connecting associated thoughts. Thoughts of joy and happiness create joyful, happy shafts. Thoughts of fear, anger […]
Climate at Tiruvannamalai, South India
In short, the climate is tropical dry; the district of Tiruvannamalai is a drought area especially during the summer. Temperatures rise during the summer months of March to June to an extreme heat similar to Arizona in the USA with 89 to 115 degrees F, 32 to 46 C. It’s hot! Some foreigners leave Tiru […]
Finding Gratitude
How different would life be if we approached every day with more gratitude in our hearts? I believe contentment in our lives comes from being grateful for what we have instead of focusing on what we are lacking or perceive we are lacking. The second Niyama, Santosha, asks us to find contentment, and experiencing gratitude is the […]
First Impressions of South India
Arunachalam! As an American I get this curious question by Indians and sometimes also by other foreigners. ”What made you interested in India?” Well, once upon a time I came across a German Meridian Travel Magazine with a picture of the Kumbha Mela, a religious festival in North India, on the cover. There were naked […]
Yoga Therapy and Mental Health
Yoga therapy for mental health… Mental health starts with knowing how the mind works. Once this is properly understood from an enlightened perspective (not from another unenlightened understanding) it becomes a fairly easy task everyone can handle once they are willing to embark on a journey of inner transformation. Unfortunately most of us are stricken […]
Let the Journey Begin
Why are people travelling from all over the world to spend some time visiting India or decide on living here? Though there are several reasons for it, it requires courage, a sense of adventure, and perhaps a bit of insanity. Let’s find out. • Many US-born second generation Indians explore their roots in their native […]
Meditation to Quiet your Inner Critic
Recently, I blogged about quieting your inner critic. It’s that little voice inside your head that tells you that you aren’t good enough, attractive enough or successful enough. Thankfully, we can use our Yogic tools and the 8 Limbs of Yoga to stop these false messages and enjoy the confidence we deserve. One of our strongest Yogic tools […]