Can God Be Blue?
Rathi Krishna dasa May 23rd, 2014
The following is a talk given by Dhanurdhara Swami at Yogamaya New York, on Friday, May 16, 2014, entitled “Can God Be Blue?”.
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Rathi Krishna dasa May 23rd, 2014
The following is a talk given by Dhanurdhara Swami at Yogamaya New York, on Friday, May 16, 2014, entitled “Can God Be Blue?”.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (36.5MB)
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Dhanurdhara Swami May 15th, 2014
Below is some of the interesting correspondence I have received after my seminar on humility at Yogamaya last month.
From Amanda:
Last Saturday morning at breakfast, I dropped this question on a friend… what do you think the difference is between humility and self-esteem? I wanted to share his answer not only because of its succinctness, but it takes it out of a spiritual context making it totally inclusive.
“A lack of self-esteem is thinking yourself lesser than others. Humility is to not see yourself greater than others.”
I’m not sure that a requisite for humility is a belief in something higher than one’s self, although I do think it is an important part of any spiritual path. I have met and know many “atheists” that are more genuinely humble than some I have crossed calling themselves “spiritual”.
Look forward to hearing what others have been chewing on about this the last week!
With love,
Amanda
My response:
The initial quandary that my seminar attempted to tackle was how to not be inhibited in spiritual pursuits that are founded in humility when often the feelings and expressions of a truly humble person parallel one with low self-esteem.
My conclusion was that the feelings and expressions of a person who sees people as better than themselves does not have to be just a result of psychological trauma (low self-esteem). They can also be an expression of a genuine spiritual experience, where one feels the majesty and love of God, an experience that makes one feel happily small and naturally invokes a mood of reverence and service towards others. As God is everywhere one tends to be humbled (less) before everything.
Sri Caitanya (my lineage) instructed his followers that the following was so important that one should wear it around ones neck:
One should chant the holy name in a humble state of mind
Think oneself lower than the straw in the street
More tolerant than a tree
Devoid of all sense of false prestige
And ready to offer all respect to others
In such a state of mind
One can chant constantly
So that’s how I reconcile the feelings of humble person that often parallel expression of low self-esteem.
I think what Amanda is pointing out is that there is another type of humility where one doesn’t necessarily feel less than others, but just not greater than others. If humility is a modest feeling of one insignificance then that is obviously a valid definition. What I was trying to discern is if there is a type of humility where one feels even lower than others that is not a product of low self-esteem. I think there is.
Humility is certainly not the property of those who believe in a deity.
I think an atheist with high moral values is connecting with something higher than themselves.
If they don’t accept absolute moral values can they be humble?
Rathi Krishna dasa May 12th, 2014
The following is a class entitled “The Power and Culture of Humility: Developing Self-confidence Through a Humble Heart” given at Yogamaya New York on April 18, 2014.
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Waves of Devotion May 21st, 2013
The Skill of Happiness
In the latest of Yogamaya New York’s Sat-Sanga series, Srila Dhanurdhara Swami gives a talk entitled “The Skill of Happiness.” In this talk Maharaja describes the importance of happiness in one’s life, what real happiness is, and how the path of bhakti facilitates true happiness.
The Skill of Happiness (Sunday, May 12, 2013 – Yogamaya New York)
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Waves of Devotion April 24th, 2013
On April 6, and April 7, 2013, Dhanurdhara Swami gave an extensive 12 hour seminar on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as part of Yogamaya’s teacher training in New York City.
Dhanurdhara Swami at Yogamaya (Photo by Lisa Bermudez)
You can find the recorded seminar here:
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Seminar at Yogamaya April 2013 Part 1
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Waves of Devotion April 22nd, 2013
Yoga Psychology at Down Dog Yoga
The following is a class Srila Dhanurdhara Swami recently gave on April 2, 2013, at Down Dog Yoga in Reading, Pennsylvania, entitled “Yoga Psychology,” based on the question “Is there therapy in the Vedas?” which Maharaja addressed in his essay of the same name.
Yoga Psychology at Down Dog Yoga
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Waves of Devotion April 13th, 2013
Dhanurdhara Swami discusses his recent lecture to a group of conservative Christians and the reception he received.
Dhanurdhara Swami and Graham on his farm.
A Talk in Middle America (Sunday, April 7, 2013)
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Waves of Devotion March 29th, 2013
The Yoga of Forgiveness
A must listen to, in this latest of Yogamaya New York’s Sat-Sanga series, Srila Dhanurdhara Swami gives a lively and enlightening talk on the Yoga of Forgiveness – how forgiveness is an integral part of one’s spiritual life. Maharaja relates forgiveness to the concepts of ahimsa, dharma, and karma as well as giving practical methods to explore forgiveness in our own lives.
The Yoga of Forgiveness (Sunday, March 24, 2013 – Yogamaya New York)
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Waves of Devotion March 8th, 2013
Compassion and the Symptom of the Soul
The following is a class Srila Dhanurdhara Swami recently gave in Christchurch, New Zealand, entitled “Compassion and the Symptom of the Soul,” based on a passage from the seventh canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, where Prahlada pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with his prayers.
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Waves of Devotion October 16th, 2012
Narada Bhakti Sutra
Sutra 5
yat prāpya na kiñcid vāñchati na śocati na dveṣṭi na ramate notsāhī bhavati
Achieving it, desire and regret, repulsion and attraction, such fervors are no more.
After describing in the previous verse that upon attaining Divine Love one is fully satisfied, Sri Narada now describes the result: “All fervors are no more.”
All passions are naturally caused by a sense of lacking within. And although we seek to fill that void with the passions of wealth, romance, and adoration, we remain unfulfilled because we have failed to realize what is our actual deficiency. Our real need is selfless love. Without it no one, even those at the height of power and opulence, can claim that their deepest yearnings have been fulfilled. On the other hand, if one is filled with selfless love, what more can anyone desire? That is the crux of Sri Narada’s message here in text five.