Vedic arts

Recently I went to India and was so amazed and bowled over by the lovely people, amazing food, amazing customer service, and how much better everything was. I had the best time. However, I did notice that some people-especially younger people there are so Westernized, and pursuing "things". Better phone, great house, lovely car--that seems to be the mantra. So I thought wow that's a great topic to discuss. How do we become happy and live our best life? Indian and Indian Vedic scriptures can teach the entire world about the pursuit of happiness. How do we become happy--Vedic perspective. ...

Meditation is not just breathing. Its not just being present. Its not just mindfulness. Its not just relaxing. Its SO MUCH more than that. Manasika meditation is when you go to divine or holy places, mentally. We will understand the difference between all these and more. If you are new to meditation, I will lead you a mock meditation on bread. How to make bread. Then, we will take the principles of that mock meditation and go to Himalayas where river Ganga is running full steam ahead and will invoke her. Enjoy,

Water is a conduit. It can be empowered the power of air, water, fire, mantra- intention. We can leave a covered glass jar of water in and it becomes agneya--filled with heat of water and will be good to warm us and for digestion. Water can be left out in a covered glass jar in the moonlight-and it will become cooling for the body and will calm the mind. In fact, this is how we make Sun Tea or moon tea. Physically water not only nourishes us but cleanses us -good hygiene but also energertically. Urine, sweat and lymphatic fluid--are a cleansing action of water. In women, the menstrual blood is cleansing not just the unfertilized cell, and lining but all the stress we have accumulated over the month--that is sticking to our body and tissues--it is all being let out--by blood-which is a manifestation of water and fire. Each body of water has a spirit guide--when we contaminate the ocean, river or water, we overfish-there are karmic consequences for the whole society. This podcast generally dives into all that and more.....

Did you know that hell also has a judicial branch and legislative branch running for the beings who broke the rules of the universe? Technically it's not hell--its a system of realms with 28 hellish planets. When such persons die, they are taken by the police/constable of the chief court system that has authority over our planet Earth. The soul is taken to the court in the hellish realm/planet where the defense and criminal lawyer team is presided over by Citragupta and his team of millions. The justice-dharmaraj Yamaraja is the head of the court system and his staff/children are legislators and keep records. There are scary beings-sometimes hired from asuras- to do the dirty work of giving punishments in these hellish planets/realms

What goes in must go out. A conversation about your poop, fart, sweat, pee--all are on the table when you go to visit an Ayurveda Practitioner. Even the menstrual blood -is not off the table. I also talk about mala (waste) of the mind that we never address. We collect stuff people--stuff that sticks to our body--stuff that comes from our mind and our stress. A short and sweet podcast about how to tackle this--Ayurvedic perspective from Essential Guide to Ayurveda Part 1. Art generated by Bing Image Generator.

There are many dimensions and different planetery systems according to Vedas. All have their own healing systems. How did Ayurveda-the healing system arrive from higher Planets (grahas) to earth. There are many origin stories. What kind of medicine is practiced in Heaven (svarga loka)--who is the surgeon general in heavenly planets above us? All this and more--taken from Purvakhanda, Bhava Prakasha Chapter 1 by Monica B Groover.

Disclaimer-This is a spiritual podcast from a Vedic perspective and this podcast is simply informational only. Ayurveda is simply a complimentary healing modality not meant to cure, heal or diagnose anyone and Ayurvedic Medicine is not recognized by FDA.

Note- Photo was generated by Bing Image AI.

What is the Rudra Principle? What is anger? Where does it start? Why do WE become angry in the first place. How does anger travel. Who is the diety of anger. A vedic perspective on anger and explanation of the diety of Rudra. Monica Groover, the author of Ayurveda and the Feminine and Essential Guide to Ayurveda talks to Pandit Atul Krishna Das-co founder of Narayana Ayurveda and Yoga Academy in Austin Texas. Pandit Atul spend years in an ashram in India and has been a student of Vedic literature, Puranas for 45 years.

If we randomly repeat a word--Giba giba tiba miba--is that a chant? When a child repeats a word, is that a chant? When sports fans chant the name of their team in an event--and whole stadium erupts-is that a chant? What is a vedic chant? Why are there rules to chanting? How should we begin chanting. How should we end up a chant session. Lets demystify chanting in this podcast with Pandit Atul Krishna Das and Manjulali Dasi.

Déjà vu is a phenomenon where we may feel, "Hey, I feel this has happened before. Or, I have seen this before. This seems so familiar that its creepy". The term "déjà vu" comes from the French language and means "already seen."

What does it mean from a VEDIC perspective? It is mystical.

Obviously, not all Déjà vu experiences are mystical or universe trying to give you a message, but they can be. It can be intuition, pre-cognition, or simply impressions from a past life--from our reincarnation. Learn about this in our short and sweet podcast on Déjà vu by Manjulali

How many of us have seen ghosts, believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a paranormal experience? How does someone become a ghost? What are the mechanics of becoming a ghost from a Vedic Perspective? According to Vedic literature or Hinduism, why, what and when does someone become a ghost and for how long? Is the appearance of sightings of ghosts different in different countries?

DISCLAIMER: The information in this Podcast is spiritual and Vedic in nature. It is based on Vedas, and principles of Hinduism. This is a spiritual lifecoaching podcast.

Think of karma as line of credit from an issuing bank—except here the issuing bank is higher grahas/planets—and it is an exhaustive source. We also have a negativeline of credit. In this podcast, we will talk about modern mainstream meaning of karma vs philosophical meaning of karma. We will talk about three types of karma mentioned in Jaiva Dharma and Bhagavad Gita. How can we get rid of this bad karma--some ideas will be shared.

If you are a gardener, healer or a spiritualist, or a student of any Vedic arts like Ayurveda or Jyotish-the MOON -Chandra is very important to you. If you tend to live on mental platform, moon is important to you. If you tend to be anxious or stressed, moon cycles are important to you. Listen to this short and sweet podcast to learn why.

This is a podcast on Vedic (spiritual) aspect of mind or manas. Why do we find so hard to let go of things--whether its a relationship, or things that we have gotten attached to. Why do we strive for more and more. What is the mind from a vedic perspective. What is an imbalanced manas (mind) spiritually, logically and vedically. 

What are chakras? How can we use chakra meditation to balance our daily life--spiritually and to increase focus, concentration and mental energy? 

There are three parts to this podcast. Part 1 is introduction to chakras. Part 2 is a short description of 7 chakras and its corresponding elements (space, are, fire, water, earth). Part three is the guided meditation.

If you want --skip directly to part 3 for the guided meditation to ground yourself.

Disclaimer:  These podcasts are aimed at spiritual coaching. Any and all information in the podcast is not meant to replace your doctor's advise or treat, cure, prevent, or help any disorders.  

Five levels of Awareness

Have you ever tried to incorporate a new healthier or better habit in your life-whether for fitness, mind, or diet. I want to not have sodas, or I will excercise more, I will not get drunk--or not smoke. The list is endless. From philosophical perspective, habits are samskaras. Samskaras are deep impressions in our mind, that have been imprinted in our mind, consciousness. This is a class discussion with Ayurveda Counselor Students. We talk about how we tried to form new habits, what worked and what didnt. 

Yogis call it Prana. Ayurvedic Professionals call it Vayu, Prana, or Vata. Other Asian modalities call it the Qi, Chi and in English we just say Vitality.
If there is one thing that is common between Yoga, Ayurveda and other modalities--it is the breathing-a system of slow breathing that supports us  in a myriad of ways both mental and physical. Here's an introduction lecture by well known yogini from Germany-Anuraddha. 

Who are we? Are we really defined by our external trappings? Why are we suffering? Why is mother nature super-mad at us? Listen to Monica Groover, Ayurvedic Practitioner and Spiritual Healer talk about our mind, body, spirit, karma and how to reduce this suffering. 

Lets learn how to chant properly. How to chant an invocation? What is an invocation or a mangalacharana? Why, when, where? A mangalacharana invocation sung to Sri Ganesha. You will hear singing and chanting of Om, first verse of sri bhagavata purana, ashtanga hrdyam as well. Follow along. 

We have all heard of Zodiac Signs. Their myth. Their stories. Now, listen to the importance and use of zodiac signs and hora from the perspective of Jyotish-vedic astrology. Class 2 of 4 by Pandit Atul Krishna Das. 

A quick overview of Jyotish-Vedic Astrology by Pandit Atul Krishna as part of Jyotish Series. Part 1 of 4. 2021. Learn about the importance of Jyotish, karma and its implication and impact, the qualifications of jyotishi or a vedic astrologer. How is astronomy interwoven into jyotish. You will hear about lunar calenders. 

The origin story of Ayurveda has all the ingredients of a  Superhero blockbuster-with demons (asuras) and devas (angels). A mountain many times the size of mount Everest, and a snake so large that it could be wrapped around it (Vasuki). The avatar of the giant turtle incarnation called Kurma, one of the ten incarnations of Sri Bhagavan Vishnu appearing and super superpowers exhibited by Sri Vishnu and Shiva (drinking of an entire ocean of poison). Pandit Atul Krishna talks about Ayurveda, how Brahma passed this knowledge to a whole brigade of devas and eventually it reached earth. And, he also talks about the advent of deity of Ayurveda Sri Dhanavantari, who appeared at the end of the churning of the ocean. Enjoy!

In our Jyotish series, this is jyotish class #5 by Pandit Atul Krishna. 

Bhagavad Gita-by Atul

Where did yoga originate? What is the meaning of yoga? What do the ancient texts of yoga-like Shandilya Upanishad or gheranda Samhita or Bhagavad Gita say about the eight limbs or classifications of the yoga process? 

Listen to actual class audio from Narayana Ayurveda and Yoga Academy where we discuss the eight limbs of yoga as given in different ancient Sanskrit texts.

I have coined a new word. Dravyology.  What is Dravyology-It is the study of Ayurvedic Herbs, therapeutic minerals and substances. In Ayurveda, our herbs and therapeutic herbal medicines are called Dravya. Ayurveda uses minerals, rocks, resins, plants, animal products like ghee and honey etc in its herbs. It also uses energy like the energy of sun or moon, energy of the wind to empower herbs. Lets understand Dravyology and difference between Ayurvedic and Western herbalist. 

There is so much information about Ayurveda on the Internet, not all of it is authentic. Where does it come from? From ancient books. Today, we will talk about one of these ancient texts and sing some verses from it. Ayurvedic Practitioners learn to sing verses from Ashtanga Hrdyam in order to memorize the concepts. Lets hear the story and the foundation principles of Ayurveda as mentioned in Asthanga Hrdyam along with English translation.  We are singing it in the same style as Vishnu Sahasranamam. 

Grahas means to grasp. In Jyotish, we call the planets or stars Grahas. Why? What are these grahas? Some say they are a manifestation of Sri Visnu? How? Where is it written? And, last but not the least--what is this lunar nodes of Rahu and Ketu in Jyotish? This is a Q and A session with Pandit Atul, the Vedic astrologer or Jyotishi. 

We have all watched martial arts movies--and learned about Yin/Yang symbol. Did you know both in Tao philosophy-Yin/Yang and Vedic Philosophy divine co-exists as both male and female at the same time?

Let's delve a little deeper into that. 

The power or energy of divine is called Shakti. Pandit Atul talks about this "shakti" aspect of divine focusing on Sri Radha, on the appearance day-Radhashtami. 

Pandit Atul talks about how to heal ourselves spiritually and how to overcome all the disturbances in this dark age of Kali. So, what is this kali? Time is divided into a circle of Yugas or periods. The first yuga is Satayuga-filled with dharma. We are currently in the dark age of Kali according to Vedic literature, which is evident by the erosion of dharma, righteousness, and daily disturbances in our lives. 

How can we overcome this? How do the ancient Vedic texts like Srimad Bhagavatam written by Sage Veda Vyasa advice us to do in this age of Kali-how do we stay above the muck. How do we go high, when they go low?

Dr Aparna Dandekar gives the background story of Mahabharata why did Krishna speak the Bhagavad Gita? Why is it important to Yoga practitioners? 

Hear the story of the appearance of Shri Krishna on the occasion of Janamashtami by Pandit Atul Krishna.

In Ayurveda, health begins from a balanced agni? Our mental and physical bodies are dependent on a balanced agni according to ancient Ayurvedic texts.  Now, you are thinking what is this agni-shagni? Here is a quick introduction to agni in Ayurveda. 

Ayurveda and women's health. Cultural differences that support women's health in eastern countries. 

What effect does food have on our minds? What is the role of consciousness in cooking? What is meditative cooking? How does our consciousness help us in meditative cooking? Using a simple mundane task as cooking dinner can be meditation-what-you must be joking? No, hear Pandit Atul talk about cooking as a meditation. 

The sounds of Devanagari-script of the devatas or angels.  Even listening to this ancient language sounds gives mental and spiritual benefit. Sanskrit and Hindi are written using the Devanagari script.  Pandit Atul teaching westerners how to sound out letters, vowels, and consonants. This is a 1-hour session. 

This episode talks about chapter of Bhagavad Gita that describes- different types of entities with daivika (angelic), asurika (demonic), or vampiric (energy-sucking) qualities.  Did you know that even Ayurveda talks about these qualities as kaya- different types of mind-body types? 

What if some of these people with such qualities become a leader, a king, or a president of a country? What effect will that have on the people, and, citizens of the country? What does the Hindu Holy book-Bhagavad Gita say about this? 

An interesting conversation about the current political climate, without naming names with pandit Atul Krishna and Manjulali.