What is God? | Revealing the Lost Knowledge of the Eternal Universe
In this episode of Enlightenment Today, I will explain what God is from the perspective of the Eastern spiritual traditions. This secret knowledge answers what the nature of our universe is and how we ought to think about the ultimate reality itself. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Taoism’s 4 Levels of Leadership
In this podcast, we will explain Taoism’s four levels of leadership. This is the seventeenth episode of the 81 Meditations of the Tao Te Ching, a series where we explore each chapter of the Tao Te Ching. We will dissect chapter seventeen of the Tao Te Ching to give you ultimate clarity on the meaning of this chapter. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Tibetan Buddhism’s Pessimistic View of the Future
In this episode of Enlightenment Today, I will explain Tibetan Buddhism’s pessimistic view of the future. Over a decade ago, I was engrossed in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in northern India. One of the main topics that constantly came up with the monks in the sangha was an inquiry into whether or not humanity has gone beyond the point of no return. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Nobody Wants You to Be Free
In this episode of Enlightenment Today, I will explain why ultimately nobody wants you to be truly free. Freedom is our inalienable right and we are supposed to protect it and realize it on all levels from the social to the spiritual. But there are always forces trying to take it away from you, no matter whether it is your government or the people you hold dear. Freedom worries those who seek to control you and when it comes spiritual freedom, anyone and everyone will do their best to impede your ultimate release from the bondage of life. Why? Find out! NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Where Science RELUCTANTLY Agrees with Spirituality
In this episode of Enlightenment Today, I will explain where science reluctantly agrees with spirituality. This unified understanding of the nature of reality is made between quantum mechanics and the ancient Hindu text of the Upanishads. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
The Friendship First Philosophy to Save the World from Conflict
In this podcast, we will explain the friendship first philosophy in the East. Avoiding arguments and debate is another hallmark of Eastern thought that a lot of Westerners find hard to comprehend. In the West, we are almost encouraged to debate so we can come to a conclusion on a matter. This way of thinking is incorrectly believed to be universal. Westerners often think that the way they think is the same for everyone else. This is a clumsy way of viewing the world. Both East and West cognitively evolved differently which influenced their social structures, philosophies, religions, language, and basic world view. In the West, debate was a natural byproduct of analytical thinking and individualism. While in the East, avoiding debate based on the foundation of friendship first was a natural byproduct of holistic thinking and collectivism. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Ramana Maharshi’s Who Am I Question Answered and Redefined
In this episode of Enlightenment Today, I will answer and redefine Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s famous question, who am I? This age-old question was translated into English through a Western lens, which has shrouded the inquiry in misinterpretation and misunderstanding. What was Bhagavan truly asking us to realize? Find out! NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
The 4 Stages of Enlightened Consciousness
In this podcast, we will explain the four stages of consciousness a spiritual aspirant encounters as they go deeper in their practice. We will explore sutras 41-51 which is the fifth episode of the 196 Meditations of the Yoga Sutras, a series where we explore each sutra. We will dissect the sutras 41-51 to give you ultimate clarity on the meaning of these sutras. This series is extremely important for those interested in the nature of consciousness and spiritual liberation. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Taoism and Hinduism’s Ego Dissolving Teaching – Is this Really Your Life?
In this fifth episode of the Dissolving the Ego Series, I will explore whether or not this is really your life based on the teachings of Taoism and Hinduism. This is a new series exploring the socialization process we all unknowingly endure, transforming us from our original nature to the false ego. The intent of this series is to go deeper into the spiritual process we all embark upon from who we were to who we have become onto our return to our true nature. NOTE: This site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. The pages on this website may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of maintaining this site.
Honoring Thich Nhat Hanh: The Buddha of the Modern World
Honoring Thich Nhat Hanh: The Buddha of the Modern World I knew this day was coming, but I never wanted it to come. For the sheer selfish reason that a world with Thich Nhat Hanh in it is a lot better than one without him in it. In 2014, when I heard the news of his brain hemorrhage, I was deeply saddened and I couldn’t digest the thought of his eventual passing at that time. But when I heard the news of Thich Nhat Hanh’s passing, I was sad, but then my sadness quickly transformed into joy. My joy stemmed from having the opportunity to live in a world where a Buddha like Thay (an affectionate name for Thich Nhat Hanh, meaning master) lived and for what he has left behind for humanity. When the great Advaita Vedanta sage of the 20th century, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was dying, one disciple was grief stricken with the idea of his passing. But Bhagavan said, “Where can I go?” This sentiment is the crux of nondual philosophy. There is no birth or death, but instead, as Thay taught, birth and death are just a revolving doorway of beginning-less time. Just like Bhagavan, considering Advaita Vedanta and Zen Buddhism are both nondual philosophies, Thay addressed his inevitable death in his book At Home in the World: This body of mine will disintegrate, but my actions will continue me… If you think I am only this body, then you have not truly seen me. When you look at my friends, you see my continuation. When you see someone walking with mindfulness and compassion, you know he is my continuation. I don’t see why we have to say “I will die,” because I can already see myself in you, in other people, and in future generations. Even when the cloud is not there, it continues as snow or rain. It is impossible for the cloud to die. It can become rain or ice, but it cannot become nothing. The cloud does not need to have a soul in order to continue. There’s no beginning and no end. I will never die. There will be a dissolution of this body, but that does not mean my death. I will continue, always. This nondual knowledge of the intrinsic oneness of the world Thay lived by until his last breath. Zen Buddhism is built on such knowledge and this informed Nhat Hanh’s steadfast practice of mindfulness, inspiring millions around the world to engage themselves in meditation. What could be more important than meditation in a world that constantly divides itself into artificial camps of opposition? With his help, the hypnosis of separation was revealed as nothing more than a dream to those who actively engage in mindfulness and remain in the ever-present eternal moment that is the heart of Zen. However, Zen is much more than mindfulness and remaining in the here and now. Thay was a prolific author, writing more than 100 books, which have been translated into 35 languages. As an author myself, I know writing over 100 books is something not many individuals could achieve. This was the unspoken genius of Nhat Hanh. The teachings of Zen just flowed through him, bringing more peace to the world with every word written. His books range from simple teachings on mindfulness to scholarly works on Zen practice and the deeper wisdom of the tradition. One of my personal favorites is a lesser-known book called Silence. This book helped my own practice and reinforced the importance of silence in a world full of noise. Thay really taught me the art of peace in a world completely distracted from the nature of reality. Many of us find ourselves in the same predicament as Shakespeare’s Hamlet; we live in a world devoid of moral values but we still have personal integrity, and it is up to us to never lose those principles. Thay is the perfect embodiment of Hamlet. All that he had to deal with in his life, from being exiled by his home country of Vietnam to the ongoing injustice that plagues the soul of humanity, Thay remained peaceful with a smile on his face. The confused and often violent world did not infect his soul. He continued to be a beacon of light in a world that easily succumbs to darkness. The great news is he will remain a beacon of light for humanity, even though his body has died. A core teaching shared by all schools of Buddhism is Pratītyasamutpāda, commonly translated as dependent origination or dependent arising. Pratītyasamutpāda is the understanding that nothing spontaneously exists all on its own. Everything in the phenomenal world, including both physical and mental, has many contributing factors and conditions of causation. The basic principle, then, is that all things arise in dependence upon other things, which is an interdependent co-arising or inter-being, a term coined by Thich Nhat Hanh. This should bring great warmth to our hearts because in the interconnectivity of life, we all live on through the hearts and minds of those we leave behind. Though, in reality, we haven’t really gone anywhere; only the body has returned to the Earth. The soul continues on and is woven into the fabric of life. Thay, then, is still here. His body died, but his presence remains. You can feel it in the movement of the clouds, the falling leaves on a beautiful autumn day, a smiling face, and so on. I can feel his presence here. Can you? This is why my sadness quickly turned to joy and I could never have had that realization or understanding without the life and teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. I remember when Thay was explaining his love for Buddhism. It is not a complex story, but rather a very simple one. He was walking one day and saw an