Most of the Tantric images show some form of erotic representation, where the yoni (vagina) of the goddess (female energy principle) is touching or interacting with the lingam- phallus of the god (male energy principle).

Such depiction can seem very “blasphemous” to the traditional pundits, but when viewed from the perspective of tantric symbolism, it makes perfect sense. 
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In tantric traditions, yoni represents the primordial female principle of creation and the phallus (lingam) symbolizes the primordial male principle of creation. 

Because of this the union of the male and the female (as indicated in a sexual intercourse) is considered as the true yoga (union) of Shiva and Shakti, the male and the female principle. This is not the crude or casual sex which simply leads to procreation of a progeny.

​The tantric union is meant to be done with proper protocol and guidance and when done correctly, allows both the individuals- the male and the female, to go beyond the limitations of their own individual limited form (of a male or a female) and rise higher to merge into the formless. 

When a male and female unite in a tantric union, they start to rise their individual energies into higher planes of existence… finally merging with the divine!!

In this world of duality- everything is ultimately represented by the male & female principle- the anima and the animus. As these two core principles start to merge into one another, they slowly start to lose their ‘individual- existence’ which is part of the ‘duality’ to become ‘singular’- the Divine.

This rise in energy, ascension, is seen as the rise of the Kundalini energy which rises from its state of lying dormant at the base of the spine, thru the various chakras to ultimately reach the highest chakra- 7th chakra of Sahasrara to take the individual (male or female) beyond the duality of all kinds of this material existence, to merge into the singular presence of the Divine God-head (supreme cosmic energy-form).
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This also explains why in Tantra, the Gods and Goddesses are typically depicted with erotic imagery. They are merely form representations of an energy-union, which will lead them into the formless- singular essence.

​#tantra #eroticimagery #tantricsex #sexintantra #eroticism #shiva #shakti #anima #animus #cosmicunion #supremegodhead #ascension #tantric #yoga #divineunion #holysex #vedic #hindu #buddhism #oneness #buddhisttantra #tantrayana #tantras

Birds chirping happily- that is a sound which brings joy to our ears and hearts- at any time of the day. But there is something special about waking up to the sound of birds singing happily at the crack of dawn.
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Where folks like us are concerned, i.e. those of us who live in bigger cities, we need to get up extremely early (almost before the crack of dawn)- to catch the birds singing. 

As traffic starts and people begin to crowd the streets with their morning commute, their noise seems to dwarf the sounds of birds and of the morning nature!!

If you live in a place where you are able to enjoy the sound of birds, first thing in the morning- then well, you are very blessed. It can be a source of immense joy and happiness.

But irrespective of where you live, do make sure that you are take some time out each morning, to enjoy the birds singing and the first few minutes of your new day.
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Most of us tend to rush thru our mornings- already worrying about the day ahead- even as we are trying to wake up our brains!! 

Instead- if you take a little breather in the morning, take some time out to welcome the day as one that is filled with immense potential… for amazing possibilities, then you will not only get to wake up properly, get some time to regroup yourself… but also, get some time to set a purposeful intension for the day ahead. The grandeur of the cosmos will help you to see your connection with all of creation.

This will help you visualize your accomplishment for the day and eventually increase your overall performance and productivity.
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So, maybe grab a cup of tea or coffee and relax on the patio and greet the new morning. Feel the fresh breeze and the first rays of sun on your face… and wake up to a day- full of new possibilities…

​#artofhappiness #simpletips #tipforhappiness #happiness #joy #joyofliving #joiedevivre #joyfulliving #happy #newdaynewpossibilities #dawnofnewday #welcomeeachday #connectingwithcosmos #ascension #consciousliving #Journeytoneness #oneness #spiritualawareness 

A Guru guides us, supports us, helps us, and ultimately nurtures us- at our deepest level of soul essence, so we can fearlessly walk our spiritual path and reach higher dimensions of ascension.

This Guru- does not have to be just one person- as we progress on our journey, our Gurus can vary- but one thing is for sure that ultimately, it is the guru who shows us the path and provides us the confidence to walk it!!

In fact, in the ancient Vedic scriptures it is said that without a Guru, one cannot attain true knowledge and wisdom. 
Of course, during Vedic times, that worked fine- as people revered the wise and the Divine. 

But, in today’s day and age, where most people who claim to be spiritual Gurus and leaders are merely repeating ancient texts and are looking to fill their coffers- in the name of getting tax-free charity/donations or by selling expensive (supposedly life-transforming) courses!!
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I am not saying that ALL spiritual leaders out there are ‘fraud’ and ‘bogus’. But one does need to acknowledge that spending time in the presence of many of these self-claimed spiritual gurus, surely also carries a very hefty price-tag!

In such scenarios, what is a new spiritual aspirant to do?? After all, they can choose to self-teach themselves- BUT who will be their guide, their Guru??

Here, the ancient scriptures come to our rescue. It is said that if someone is not able to find or obtain a proper Guru for any reason what-so-ever, then such a person can take refuge in Lord Dakshinamurthy. 

Lord Dakshinamurthy is one of the forms of Lord Shiva.  If you are not very familiar with Lord Shiva, then do check out the helpful reference videos I have provided at the end.

Now coming back to taking refuge in Lord Dakshinamurthy and considering him our Divine Guide & Guru… We can think of Lord Dakshinamurthy as our Guru, our spiritual Guide… and start our spiritual practice- our journey to rise our spiritual vibrations, reach higher states of ascension by consciously living life with spiritual wisdom and deeper awareness. 

But keep in mind that any relationship (including that between a Guru-disciple) is a two-way street. There needs to be deep communication, not just by us earnestly asking our questions and seeking answers- but by truly being willing to listen to the Guru’s answer. 

So, when we consider Lord Dakshinamurthy as our Guru, then we need to build that loving Guru-Disciple relationship with him.
 
If we have any question or need clarification on some point and so on- then we can ask him our questions and queries during our sadhana-prayers. Similarly, we need to ensure that we spend some time each day (or atleast once every couple of days or so) in quite meditation, listening to the divine guidance and then proceeding on our spiritual path with complete faith and devotion.

After all, we all are the disciples of the Divine and when you cannot find a human Guru or feel concerned about them being ensnared in their own karmas, greed and so on- then seek refuge in Lord Dakshinamurthy.

You do not need to worry about any caste, creed, religion, or other restrictions- the ONLY requirement is that you approach Lord Dakshinamurthy will the serious willingness of a true spiritual seeker, a real spiritual aspirant.

​#gurupurnima #divineguru #spiritualguru #jupiter #vedicarchetype #teacher #guidance #spiritualguide #guide #guru #vedicdivinearchetype #dakshinamurthy #lordshiva #shiva #adiyogi #firstteacher #firstguru #ascension #spirituallessons #spiritualawareness #ourjourney #lifepath #spiritualpath #sadhana #TheWay

We humans are very peculiar in our approach to our life and the life-situation. When we do something that seems to give good results, we like to claim that it is “I” who did such and such task.

​But by the same token when something we do does not give us our desired result we try to find someone else to blame… this could be other people around you- family, friends, coworkers, even ex-friends, old bosses… any ‘scape goat’ we can find to point the blame to… and of course if we still are not able to find anything- then we blame the government, our destiny, even God and so on…

But we need to remember that, every single thing that happens in our life, happens because of us- if your karma did not need for you to experience it, then quite simply you would not!! Ultimately, we are responsible for all that happens to us, around us. 
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Now this could be at a conscious level or it could be happening at an unconscious level- which will then come across as ‘destiny’. Either ways, we are ultimately responsible. 

After all, there are all kinds of situation happening each day all over the world. Many good and many more terrible things happen each day- but they happen outside of our frame of reference. Why? Because it is not meant to be part of our experience.

Does that mean I believe in a ‘fated destiny’ and do not believe in free-will. Not at all. In fact if there was no free will then what would be the point of karma!! 

In the west, people think of karma as the feedback or what is manifested. Karma means action- there are various ways in which karma can be performed and if you have not checked out those articles then please do so…

When a karma is repeated over time then it becomes a samskara, which is a type of memory. 

As we know when we continuously perform a certain action, we develop a type of memory which helps us to perform that action without any conscious intervention. This is the reason athletes or musicians’ practice so much. They keep rehearsing, practicing, performing that same action so many times- where it ultimately becomes their muscle memory.

​Then during the championships or in a concert hall in the presence of huge crowds and when they are under tremendous pressure, even though their minds can feel a bit perturbed, once they are actually performing the action- it could be the game or playing music;  they seem to be doing it in a ‘zone’.

​Their muscle memory takes over and they conduct a flawless performance! 

This can be muscle memory, genetic memory and so on.

So what happens is that when you perform a karma, i.e. an action, the first time around you do it with a conscious intent- because you want to create a certain outcome. But then, when you keep doing it, then it becomes a habit and then you keep doing it even when you do not want that outcome or that behavior is very detrimental to you!!

Now we know that every action has its own outcome. Even simple actions have their outcome, for e.g. if you eat good nutritious food you will feel energized and by the same token if you eat bad food then you will have an upset stomach. 

So if now you were to look at this complete scenario then you will see that karma creates outcome and over time it becomes memory- where things just seem to ‘happen’ i.e. you just seem to do things without any conscious intension or involvement. 

Bringing this to the concept of ‘fated destiny’ and ‘freewill’; you will see that karma is your free will and samskaras which is the memory, becomes the fated destiny!! 

You have a choice in how you perform any action- with consciousness or without consciousness, with love or without love and so on.

​When you perform the same action over time, it will become ‘karmic memory’ and then things will seem to happen (without your involvement- though, you are still the do-er, as it is your memory), making it seem like a destined event.

So, always keep in mind- that in a way, you do choose your destiny by your choice of action- i.e. Karma.

Because of this, if you do not like the “destined” outcome that is in store for you, then work on addressing and resolving the associated samskaras (memories) as well as make wise, helpful choices around what kind of action (karma) you will perform… how you will perform it and so on…

​#destinyvsfreewill #destiny #freewill #fate #karma #samskara #karmicclearing #spiritualregression 

Today, I bumped into this wonderful couple who have recently moved here to Canada from the US. Both are young and are looking for a job. So, given the current economic conditions, they are trying to obtain additional skills and competencies. Which is great- both of them seem very bright and promising and I am sure, sooner or later, they will find something that they enjoy…
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But, as I was reflecting on our conversation, what stuck with me is how people tend to think about their career in ‘set’ and ‘conditioned’ ways. For e.g. most folks complete their University education and start looking for a job. If they feel that their skills are not adequate, then they look at ways in which they can attain more skills. Now, I do realize that jobs are an important part of an economic cycle.

But, before we proceed ahead- how many of you really understand an economic cycle. In case, you are wondering, then check out this video by Ray Dalio. He manages one of the largest Hedge Funds in the world. He is not only smart and rich; but he is also someone who appreciates the benefits of transcendental meditation (very rare to find in the Financial world) and explains how incorporating such practice has helped him to get better at his work and more effective within his life in general. To learn more, you can check out his other videos (on his YouTube channel).

Living is something we do. It is the quality of our life. To a large extent, it may seem like what we do, our career, how much money we make, how much people respect us in our field all contribute to the quality of lifestyle we live. And yes, there is much truth to it. BUT, all of it is still just a part of our overall living-experience. 

I will strongly suggest you re-read that statement above… 

You my friend are more than any of these individual things!! You are more than even the sum total of all these things!! What work you do; how much you earn and so on are important- but even more important is to know “what you would like to do”!! Forget your education, past work experience, financial responsibilities and so on… forget all that… What if, somehow magically, it would all get taken care of, if you were to do something you love… truly enjoy… then, in that case, what would you like to do?? What work choices would you make?? Would you still do what you have been doing all along, then great- but if not, then what would be different?

Let’s take an extreme example to drive home this point. Let’s say- you think thru and say, I do not have any hobbies per se. I am good at a few sports, but that is more for fun, I cannot really get into premium league or anything like that. I love to watch TV and it seems like I am very good with guessing story-endings. I am quite good at predicting how most of the mystery-stories end (or who the culprit is and so on). Sooo… how can I earn money watching TV. Who will pay me for it??
 
Well- one “out of the box thinking” idea would be to start a YouTube channel where you bring together an audience who are watching the same shows as you. You put forward your ideas on how you feel a particular story would take turns and get your audience involved to figure it out with you- like a collective engagement. This is ofcourse just an idea… a possible solution… if you decide to go that route, then you will need to develop this idea further.

See what I mean?? I am not saying that every one who loves to watch TV or watch mystery shows should do this. What I hope this example shows you is that even with something very typical like watching TV shows, one can think of innovative ways to monetize and earn a livelihood. 
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Does this mean you can quit your job tomorrow or say good-bye to your nasty boss just yet?? Not at all… even to transform your idea into a fruitful situation which can earn you decent amount of money (atleast enough to pay all your bills); you will need to develop new skills (in the example above, it will be video scrip-writing, editing and so on), time to build an engaged audience and so on. 

The key here is not to rush and quit your job. In fact, this is not about your job at all. This is about you reducing your financial dependency on other people’s decisions (like your boss firing you in the name of downsizing). This is also about you doing what you truly love and ultimately doing something that brings you deep joy and satisfaction.

Something to think about as we approach the holidays, which also means we are nearing the end of another year… moving towards 2020… will there be a recession/not?? Who knows… but one thing is for certain, this long bull run cannot go on for ever and whenever it turns low and the markets dip and companies start to fire people; are you going to be someone who is not as worried, because you took precautions beforehand and have a good side-gig going? Or are you going to freak out when it happens to you (or worrying that it may happen any time)- feeling blindsided and living in fear?? 

As always- it is our choice. Our life is our choice. Our life is not some obscure outcome, pre-determined by ‘fate’. It is the result of our actions- the ones we take and also the ones we don’t, as doing nothing can also be an action with its own consequences.

Special Note: Please keep in mind that I am providing the above idea merely as an example. Business rules and laws, including fair copyright usage laws keep changing. Whatever idea you come up with for yourself, do make sure that you get proper legal counselling for your needs.

​#career #finance #recession2020 #raydalio #financiallysecure #outofboxthinking #sidegig #doingwhatyoulove #consciousliving #earninglivelihood  #makingmoney #earningincome #economiccycle

We tend to think of fortune as a wheel. We also tend to think of time as a wheel. The reason being, we are all very familiar with the cyclical nature of time and aware of its ups and downs. But, what we do not realize is that though various part of the wheel goes up or down as the wheel moves, the center of the wheel is always stationary.

​It moves from one place to the other- BUT does not experience the “up-s and down-s” and does not feel the turbulence that the rest of the wheel experiences.

Though negative turbulence seems to create imbalance, strongly positive situations can also many a times make us feel imbalanced.

Have you noticed how winning an award or praise can make you re-live that in your memory and then ‘puff you up” with pride. And while you are feeling prideful, your attention gets diverted and instead of focusing on the task that brought you recognition in the first place, you tend to overlook some crucial aspect and then fall from grace!

Center yourself and live your life from this center. The word meditation comes from ‘medi’ which means center.  When we live life from our center, we are constantly in meditation- even while being fully active and conducting various tasks.

This is what Yoga is all about.

​It is not just simply twisting and turning your body into impossible shapes but to center yourself in such a way that you can be doing the most mundane or profound thing in your life, but you feel centered and while you are conducting your day as a “living meditation”, you feel truly alive and connected not just with your surrounding but with all of nature and all of life itself. 

Then you experience Yoga. Yoga is not about doing something, it is about a way of being- being in union. Unison with all and everything.

#meditation #consciousliving   #centeringyourself    #guidance #spirituallesson #selfdevelopment #journeytooneness  #yoga  #RegainingourPower   #EmpoweringOneself   #ChangeisInevitable #walkingthepath #power #lifelesson #wheeloffortune #findstrength #findpower

​We all want our wishes to come true.   Most of us simply wish and there are those among us who take it a step further and work towards making their wish a reality.   

A wise person once said that” Success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration". Though in mundane terms it is correct- we could be "lucky" and knowledgeable, but still the karya i.e. karma or action needs to be done. But is manifesting our highest ambitions and wishes really that difficult or is it a simple science?

It is quite simple-   when we are in tune with our inner core being, we are also in tune with the divine and then all our actions stem forth easily and effortlessly.

It seems like when this happens our wishes also seem to manifest effortlessly. Since what could be smarter than having the very Divine steer your wishes and your actions!

​As Arjuna said in the Gita, “aap mere rath ke hi nahi, meri atma ke bhi saarthi ho jaiye”- which means, “Please steer not just my chariot but also my soul”.

​#MakeDreamsComeTrue   #ManifestingyourWishes   #MaitreyiParadigm #manifestation #lifejourney #visualization #lawofattraction #divinehelp #spiritualawareness #journeytooneness #oneness #creativevizualization #creation #manifestyourdestiny #manifestyourwishes #consciousliving

Life is not merely about being alive- i.e. biologically have life in you!

​True living is much beyond that- it is the exuberance with which we experience each moment.  Where every moment is   truly "alive with its vibrancy"! 

This is not about the giddy whirlwind of immense activities or some mystic experience of an intense meditation practice- this is simply experiencing the profoundness of everyday living.

Experiencing the unreality of our reality or simply put- the divineness of the mundane. 

​Such a living needs courage- it is not for faint of the heart. Since true courage requires trust and surrender- stepping out when you are not even sure if there is going to be ground beneath your feet!

​#ThoughtsbyMaitreyi   #MaitreyiParadigm   #LivingLifetoTheFull #ArtofHappiness #ConsciousLiving #OurPathOurJourney #Courage #wisdom #livingwithzest #spiritualawareness #spirituallessons #journeytooneness #lifejourney #oneness

A moment in life where you experience the entire infinity.

​After that you and the infinity seem one and every moment in the present seem that perfect point within the infinity and it seems to also contain all it's experience.

Is this the experience of living in the present moment?

Is this what living in the "now" feels like- Like I am here and still no-where, that I am here and everywhere. That I am "here"- just that; nothing else- neither "no-where" nor "everywhere". What a feeling! What a state of being!

It feels like the wave of a quantum flux collapsed into the joy and peace of a calm and serene line.

Like the clouds of doubt clear away to reveal a bright and beautiful sky... and I could see the fce of God. My own self reflected back to me by the Mirror of Consciousness; cosmic consciousness. 

- Maitreyi's journal entry from Aug 03, 2008

#spiritualjourney #consciousness #experiencingoneness #journeytooneness #spirituallessons #spiritualawareness #consciousliving #yoga  #journaling #ascension