← Mistakes

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Bodhinatha Speaks At Murugan Temple, August, 2009

A Brief Except from Satguru Bodhinathaswami's talk in the Murugan Temple, Maryland, during the annual Nalluran festival: goal of karma is to learn from our mistakes and improve our behaviour ...
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Mistakes Are Part of The Spiritual Path

Hinduism proclaims that all of mankind is good, that the whole world is one family; that all souls emanate from God and evolve into oneness with God. Each soul starts ...
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May 2016 Pubdesk Video

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami reads his editorial from the July/August/September 2016 edition of Hinduism Today magazine. "It is easy to talk high philosophy in Hinduism, 'man is God,' 'we are divine,' it is easy to say profound things...however to put these principles into practice to the extent that we really are a more spiritual person, that is the challenge. And that, is what we will explore here." Bodhinatha considers 5 ways the attitude of a dancer is similar to an individual ...
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Finding Affectionate Detachment

Bodhinatha describes the various kinds of negative attachment and methods by which to free ourselves from attachments to negative experiences in the past. Moving from negative attachment to "unaffectionate detachment" to ...
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The Magic of the High EE

Sometimes we don't hear the high "ee" sound. Gurudeva says it is only there when the subconscious mind is free of problems, conflict and unresolved issues. We know they are ...
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Mistakes are not problems

Cybertalk: Gurudeva said, "Problems are not problems. A problem is a repetition of the past that needs to be adjusted." It means that when we make a mistake, we think that we shouldn't have done what we did; it would be better if it didn't happen. ...
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To err is human...

To err is human, to make a mistake only once is divine. Go beyond feeling bad about making a mistake and find out why and prevent it from happening next ...
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Moksha, Realizing God

There is a misconception that one day we are experiencing zero percent God, then the next moment we are experiencing 100 percent God. Enlightenment doesn't just happen in an instant. ...
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Ahimsa in Speech (Part 1)

Ahimsa is a central principle in Hinduism. Let us take a look at the words we use in joking and teasing. These words are hurting. How do we know? Gurudeva ...
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Ahimsa in Speech (Part 2)

Ahimsa is a central principle in Hinduism. Let us take a look at the words we use in joking and teasing. These words are hurting. How do we know? Gurudeva ...
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Yamas and Niyamas part 2 Foundation

Today many people interested in a spiritual path say "Forget the basics, let's just start with the end of the path." Of course this approach doesn't work very well because they don't have a foundation. Gurudeva said that the yamas and ...
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Satya, or Truthfulness

Bodhinatha talks about the second yama, truthfulness, satya, with regard to lying and betraying promises. Lying builds a layer of darkness in the subconscious that covers up the soul nature. ...
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Satya, or Truthfulness

Bodhinatha talks about the second yama, truthfulness, satya, with regard to lying and betraying promises. Lying builds a layer of darkness in the subconscious that covers up the soul nature. ...
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Controlling Anger part 1

In part one of a talk on anger, Bodhinatha speaks of the various levels of difficulty people have with this instinctive state of consciousness. Gurudeva gave some very useful suggestions ...
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Controlling Anger part 2

In part two of his talk on anger, Bodhinatha refers back to a trip Gurudeva made to Malaysia in June 2000. Before Gurudeva left he was thinking positively about the ...
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Anger and Meditation part 1

Bodhinatha talks today on how important smooth interpersonal relationships are to the meditator. If our relationships with others are in poor shape, they will come up from our subconscious mind ...
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Anger (Sneaky) part 2

In part one of a more detailed talk on anger, Bodhinatha shares with us the effectiveness of some advice he recently gave to someone about the effect of angry episodes ...
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Anger (Cold Shoulder) part 3

In part two of this second talk on anger, Bodhinatha goes into the second rung on the ladder of anger, "the cold shoulder." He summarizes the first two rungs by discussing the ...
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Non-stealing or Non-coveting Part 1

Bodhinatha continues today with the yamas, the Vedic restraints, with number three, nonstealing, neither stealing, nor coveting nor entering into debt. Though the grossest form of asteya, stealing other people's ...
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Non-stealing or Non-coveting Part 2

Bodhinatha talks today on not coveting, an aspect of the yama asteya, nonstealing. Gurudeva described it as owning something mentally and emotionally without actually owning it physically. This easily leads ...
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Non-stealing or Non-coveting Part 3

Bodhinatha discusses how to harness desire and conquering the tendency to steal or covet by doing its opposite, giving, which is the niyama of dana. Giving brings true happiness, as ...
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Vows (Parampara) part 3 of 4

Part 3 of 4Bodhinatha continues his talk on vratas, vows, with the parampara vrata, vowing loyalty to one's lineage and not studying the teachings of other lineages. This powerful vrata ...
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Karma Management Day 1 Part 2

2002 Kauai Innersearch/Guru Purnima Day 1, Part 2Bodhinatha discusses some common misconceptions about the law of karma and balances them out with a few very clarifying correct concepts. ...
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Karma Management Day 2, Part 1

2002 Kauai Innersearch Day 2, Part 1 Bodhinatha adds a few more common misconceptions to his list of common false concepts about the law of karma, including attributing our karma ...
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Karma Management Day 2, Part 2

2002 Kauai Innersearch Day 2, Part 2 Bodhinatha discusses three correct concepts about karmathat it is a universal system in place which works automatically, that it is divine, created by ...
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Karma Management Day 2, Part 3

2002 Kauai Innersearch Day 2, Part 3 Bodhinatha reviews the first two principles of Karma Management and proceeds with number 3, "forgive the offender" and number 4, "consider the consequences." The first three principles ...
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Karma Management Day 3, Part 1

Kauai Innersearch Day 3, Part 1Bodhinatha begins this day's talk with a joke about monism, then reads from a Transcendental Meditation (TM) brochure on how to fix your karma by ...
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Karma Management Day 3, Part 3

2002 Kauai Innersearch Day 3, Part 3 Bodhinatha unveils the 5th principle of Karma Management, "create no new negative karmas." This involves making a promise to ourselves, a vrata of a sort. To fulfill ...
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Learning from Mistakes

Everybody makes mistakes, but only the spiritually inclined can turn them into knowledge and progress. Here's how. ...
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Jivana Ritau Focuses

Bodhinatha speaks a bit about the Jivana Ritau and its focus on looking at areas we are weak in and trying to upgrade. The yamas and niyamas are the ideals ...
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Bodhinatha's Travels to Mauritius part 3

Bodhinatha continues his narrative of his visit to Asia (part 4), ending in Malaysia and Singapore. There was a grand booksigning at the Kandaswami Temple, inspiring coordination with our youth ...
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Malaysia-Singapore Visit Report Part 3

Bodhinatha continues his report on his visit to Malaysia and Singapore (part 3). Bodhinatha attended a large Hindu Renaissance event, where he noticed how abstract and complicated Hinduism can be ...
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False Concepts About the Spiritual Path

As is true in many areas of life, there are more false concepts about something than true concepts, and this is certainly true regarding the spiritual path. Here Bodhinatha speaks ...
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Don't Get Stuck in the Mud

One reaction many face in life is the feeling of being unworthy and wanting to give up in our spiritual efforts. This feeling of despair can make a person feel ...
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Positive Attitudes for Positive Spiritual Progress

Bodhinatha reads sloka 2 of Dancing with Siva - "Where am I going? What is my path?" The Hindu spiritual path can be described in three simple ways - becoming a better person, learning from our experiences, ...
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Yama 5 - Kshama, Patience

Yama number 5 - kshama, patience. The youth group in Malaysia is focusing on the yamas and niyamas as the basics for successful temple worship. There are many opportunities to ...
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Improving Our Behavior with the Help of the Guru Part 5

Part 5 of 7 - Continuing Bodhinatha's first Guru Purnima class on the role of the guru and his task of helping us improve our behavior, Bodhinatha tells us that ...
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Becoming a More Spiritual Person Part 2

Part 2 of 3 - Bodhinatha continues his second class during Guru Purnima, talking about becoming a more spiritual person and how we can do that through learning from our ...
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Becoming a More Spiritual Person Part 3

Part 3 of 3 - Bodhinatha continues his second class during Guru Purnima, talking more about not making the same mistake twice. Using the yamas and niyamas as a reference ...
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Niyama 9 - Japa, Recitation

Bodhinatha speaks on the niyama of japa, the many dimensions of the sacred science of chanting a mantra, a holy syllable, word or sentence again and again. Often japa is ...
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Yama 4 - Brahmacharya

Bodhinatha spoke on the yama of brahmacharya, purity and chastity, today. He described it as the harnessing of the instincts, including sexual desire, stressing the value of remaining celibate until ...
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Overview of Upcoming Ganesha Chaturthi Trip

Bodhinatha offers everyone in the temple an overview of his coming trip to California, Mauritius, Malaysia and Singapore. Click below to listen. Real Audio --- | --- MP3 (Quicktime or ...
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Putting Gurudeva's Teachings to the Best Use, Part 3

Bodhinatha continues his Gurudeva mahasamadhi observances class with this part on ashtanga yoga, which is the teaching of our Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara. When you go to study yoga somewhere ...
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Jnana. Self Correcting Awareness.

Iccha , Kriya and Jnana Shakti: the pattern of life. We can always use more of the power of wisdom, Jnana Shakti. The power of desire, Iccha Shakti. If it ...
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Sadhana Path of Change

Follow Gurudeva's teachings in a serious way; take up a daily vigil, sandhya vandana, worshiping at the change of days (sunrise and sunset). It takes time to change and master ...
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Handling Life's Experiences

The three gunas: brightness (satya,) activity (rajas), inertia (tamas). Each soul needs a certain amount of experience before it is ready to transcend the world through achieving liberation. How many ...
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Not Getting Upset, Viewing Reaction from Higher Faculties

A measure of how serious we are in making spiritual progress is that we've learned the lesson from experience. Develop the ability to watch the mind think, understand the patterns ...
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Muruga, The God of Yoga and the Spiritual Path, Part 3

Part 3 of 3. Finally in his talk on Lord Murugan and the spiritual path, Bodhinatha took the topic of desire leading to action leading to wisdom into learning from ...
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All Knowing is Within You: The Immortal Body of the Soul

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami reads this chapter from his book Merging with Siva ...
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The Human Aura: Psychic Sight's Use and Misuse

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami reads this chapter from his book Merging with Siva ...
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Consistency, Continuity, Learning from Mistakes

Nalif: The continuity of vibration from one shumnuhm or puja to another. Regret from making a mistake is the greatest obstacle to intuiting the lesson from an experience. The essence ...
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Men and Women Are Not the Same: Mutual Appreciation

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami reads this chapter from his book Merging with Siva ...
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Kundalini

A cyberspace question from San Diego from someone wondering about the kunadlini and whether it can go up the wrong channel. Gurudeva warns individuals not to practice japa, meditation or ...
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Using drugs for spiritual unfoldment

A cybercadet from Australia wonders what he can do about his 15 year old son that uses drugs for spiritual awakening. Gurudeva warns that there is a consequence to every ...
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Crystal Sivalingam, Lottery - good money or bad money

Gurudeva talks about the 700 pound crystal Sivalingam that will be enshrined in the San Marga Iraivan Temple. A cyberspace devotee from Texas asks if running a lottery is gambling ...
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Gossiping, Easiest way to enlightenment

A cybercadet from Texas asks about backbitting and gossip and wonders what to do when at family events that is all that takes place. Gurudeva gives his permission to her ...
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Drugs as a spiritual stimulant. Kumbha Mela. Spiritual unfoldment and college.

A cyber cadet wonders if it is ok to take certain kinds of drugs to help with one's spiritual journey. A cyber cadet asks if going to a prestigious college ...
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Law of Karma

A cyber cadet from Luxemburg asks Gurudeva a question on karma. Gurudeva says that karma is action. Gurudeva also says that karma can be mitigated and he goes on to ...
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Gurudeva Interviewed by Loni Petranek, Part IV

This is a radio interview conducted by Loni Petranek with Gurudeva. The interview gives an overview of Gurudeva's worldwide mission. In the fourth part today Loni asks Gurudeva to share ...
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Gurudeva Interviewed by Loni Petranek, Part V

This is a radio interview conducted by Loni Petranek with Gurudeva. The interview gives an overview of Gurudeva's worldwide mission. In the fifth part today Gurudeva shares with Loni about ...
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Gurudeva Interviewed by Loni Petranek Part 14

This is a radio interview conducted by Loni Petranek with Gurudeva. The interview gives an overview of Gurudeva's worldwide mission. In the fourteenth and final part today Loni and Gurudeva ...
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Hindu New Year Part 2

In the second and last part of Gurudeva's New Year talk he urges temple trustees around the world to help eradicate backbiting and other low minded things from the community ...
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Diplomacy, Discriminating Speech

Gurudeva talks about diplomacy, keeping the pranas flowing in a positive way by being careful about what to share with others, also knowing what areas are best not to be ...
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Ending the cycle of karma

A cyberspace devotee from Bowie, Maryland, asks about the cycle of karma, how karma seems to be an unending chain of related events. Gurudeva explains the inner nature of karma, ...
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Let Go of Attachments, Part 2

Achieve the maximum possibilities we can attain in this life inwardly and outwardly. Attachments, regrets about the past, clinging to people and possessions, burden us and prevent us from moving ...
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Importance of Associations; Hinduism In the Technological Era

The inner nature of every person is divine. We need a balance in recognizing the inner divinity but discriminating as to the outer relationship. We learn from own mistakes but ...
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Karma Management Seminar Part 2

Karma Management Seminar day 2 given to pilgrims and devotees at the 9th Annual Mahasamadhi Celebration preliminary to the presentation in Malaysia with questions and answers. ...
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Affirm Your Divinity

Seeing our shortcomings it's hard to think of ourselves as divine beings. Avoiding that series of memories we don't meditate. Overcoming that involves better understanding, learning from experience, improving our ...