Narendranath Datta to Swami Vivekananda: The Transformative Journey under the Mentorship of Ramakrishna Paramhansa
In “The Transformative Journey of Narendranath Datta: From Seeker to Swami Vivekananda”, we explore the life of one of India’s most influential spiritual leaders, and how the mentorship of Ramakrishna Paramhansa played a crucial role in shaping his path. As a young man in Calcutta, Narendranath Datta was drawn to the mysteries of spirituality and…
The Raja and the Swami: A Story of Rationality and Spirituality
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a Raja who was known for his intelligence and rationality. He was a man who believed in facts and figures, and scoffed at the idea of spirituality and religion. But, his beliefs were put to the test when he met a young monk named…
Bhakti Yoga 2: Philosophy of Ishvara – Swami Vivekananda
This is the 2nd chapter of the series on Bhakti Yoga by Swami Vivekananda. Bhakti Yoga is one of the key literary works by Swami Vivekananda, where he has discussed the path of devotion (bhakti) in detail. Who is Ishvara (god)? Janmadyasya yatah — “From whom is the birth, continuation, and dissolution of the universe,” — He is…
Bhakti Yoga 1: Prayer – Swami Vivekananda
This is the 1st chapter of the series on Bhakti Yoga by Swami Vivekananda. Bhakti Yoga is one of the key literary works by Swami Vivekananda, where he has discussed the path of devotion (bhakti) in detail “He is the Soul of the Universe; He is Immortal; His is the Rulership; He is the All-knowing,…
Independence – Swami Vivekananda
This is the last and final part of the series by Swami Vivekananda from his work – Raja Yoga. The work of Raja Yoga is essentially an explanation of the Yoga Sutras (aphorisms) by Patanjali. Most of the modern day Yoga in some form or the other originates from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. We’ve covered the…
Mystic Powers Of The Yogi – Swami Vivekananda
We have now come to the chapter in which the Mystic Powers of the Yogi have been described. This is the 3rd part of the Yoga Sutras (aphorisms) of Patanjali as explained by Swami Vivekananda. In the first two parts, Swami Vivekananda describes the spiritual uses of concentration. These are the first 51 sutras by…
Can The Soul Be Unhappy? Are You Free? – Swami Vivekananda
In Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda decodes Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and comments on the soul being unhappy and the soul being free in the 72nd & 73rd Sutra (aphorim). Swami Vivekananda Says, Then how does the soul appear to be happy or unhappy? By reflection. If a red flower is put near a piece of pure…
Why Build Places of Worship? – Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda in the book Raja Yoga is deciphering and explaining Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. While explaining these in the 70th Sutra (out of 195 Sutras), Swami Vivekananda has made a very important & interesting argument on places of worship and holy people. He also questions, why is it important to worship god (if at…
Can Meditation Help With Anger? – Swami Vivekananda
We’ve at some point all experienced anger and even rage. We might have also encountered people getting angry and seen them doing ghastly things in the heat of the moment. It can almost be undisputedly said that anger is not good for anyone. Swami Vivekananda in Raja Yoga while deciphering Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras has clearly…
Concentration: Its Practice – Swami Vivekananda
The practice of concentration is the second part in Swami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga and a continuation of the first part, which describes the spiritual uses of concentration. The first part has the first 51 sutras of Patanjali where the uses of concentration have been described. The second part discussed below has the next 55 sutras…
