Shatkarma is the Main Work of Yoga Towards Moksha

Shatkarma (षटकर्म), also known as Shatkriya, is a set of Hatha yoga body purifications to prepare for the main work of yoga towards moksha (liberation). These…

Anapanasati Sutta is an Initial Focus for Meditation

The Anapanasati Sutta (अनापानसति सुत्त) or Anapanasati Sutra (अनापानस्मृति सूत्र), “Breath-Mindfulness Discourse,” Majjhima Nikaya 118, is a discourse that details the Buddha’s instruction…

Anapanasati Meditation Focuses on the Breath to Develop Mindfulness

Anapanasati meditation (अनापानसती ध्यान), meaning “mindfulness of breathing”. Anāpāna refers to inhalation and exhalation), Sati means mindfulness, and meditation means Dhyana, which is paying attention to the…

Maitri and Metta Refers to Benevolence Towards all Beings

Maitri (मैत्री) or Metta (मेटा) means benevolence, loving-kindness, friendliness, amity, goodwill, and active interest in others. It is the first of the four sublime states…

Anatman Challenges the Belief in a Permanent, Unchanging Self

Anatman (अनात्मन) in Sanskrit means “which is different from atman” or “non-self”. In Hinduism, the former definition is found in some…

Sahaja Yoga Awakens and Balances the Kundalini Energy

Sahaja Yoga (सहज योग) is a religion founded in 1970 by Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011). She is known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (trans:…

Adi Shankara is the First Creator of Auspiciousness

Adi Shankara (आदि शङ्कर), also called Adi Shankaracharya (आदि शङ्कराचार्य) was an Indian Vedic scholar and teacher (acharya) of Advaita Vedanta. He is seen as…

Kaivalya Can Grant Liberation Within This Life

Kaivalya (कैवल्य) is the ultimate goal of Aṣṭanga yoga and means “solitude”, “detachment” or “isolation”, a vrddhi-derivation from kevala “alone, isolated”. It…

Vairagya Frees From Constant Cycle Of Desire

Vairagya (वैराग्य) is a Sanskrit term used in Hinduism as well as Eastern philosophy that roughly translates as dispassion, detachment, or renunciation.…

Samadhi Practice for Bliss, Liberation, and Enlightenment

Samadhi (समाधि), in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In the yogic traditions and the Buddhist commentarial tradition on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and…