Sacred Texts

Now at the last chapters of our Secret of the Yoga Sutra Book Club, Ishan Tigunait addresses the ultimate stages of our yoga practice. As we continue to unveil our core being and the intuitive wisdom pouring from it (prajna), our self-identity grows more and more expansive. Learn how rich, liberating, and deeply fulfilling the journey home can be. For key terms and self-study questions, download the PDF Study Guide. As you study, don’t forget to submit your questions to bookclub@yearlongmeditation.org. Ishan will be answering as many of them as possible in our capstone session. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr 8 mins

The practice of yoga is a life-long journey toward ultimate freedom and fulfillment. In Session 7 (sutras 1:37-1:44) of the Secret of the Yoga Sutra Book Club, Ishan Tigunait explains the progressive stages of spiritual absorption (samapatti). Learn how deeper dimensions of peace, clarity, and subtlety unfold as you persevere in your inner quest. To prepare for the next session, please read sutras 1:45–1:51 (and review sutras 1:17-1:18) in Pandit Tigunait’s The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada (for key terms and self-study questions, download the PDF Study Guide). As you study, don’t forget to submit your questions to bookclub@yearlongmeditation.org. Ishan will be answering as many of them as possible in our capstone session. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr 7 mins

The Yoga Sutra introduces the techniques for cultivating a peaceful, inward flow of awareness. In the study of sutra 1:36, Ishan Tigunait unpacks the method that is the culmination of all the other practices: entering the lotus of our spiritual heart. Learn about the core of your being—a space devoid of sorrow (vishoka) and full of light (jyotishmati)—and how you can gain access to it. To prepare for the next session, please read sutras 1:37–1:44 in Pandit Tigunait’s The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada (for key terms and self-study questions, download the PDF Study Guide). As you study, don’t forget to submit your questions to bookclub@yearlongmeditation.org. Ishan will be answering as many of them as possible in our capstone session. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr 18 mins

Meditation means transforming ourselves from the inside out and experiencing our most empowered, luminous self. But what happens when obstacles get in the way? In this Secret of the Yoga Sutra Book Club session (sutras 1:30–1:35), Ishan Tigunait explains what the Yoga Sutra calls the nine chitta vikshepa (distractors of the mind), and gives us practical guidance on what we can do to overcome them. Cultivating the four “yogic attitudes,” meditating on an awakened mantra, and practicing a special pranayama called pracchardana vidharana help us nullify our samskaras and transform negativity into clarity, joy, and connection with higher reality. To prepare for the next session, please read sutra 1:36 in Pandit Tigunait’s The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada (for key terms and self-study questions, download the PDF Study Guide). (Note that sutra 1:35 will be studied in greater depth in the context of 1:36, “The Lotus of the Heart: Our True Abode,” which is Session 6.) As you study, don’t forget to submit your questions to bookclub@yearlongmeditation.org. Ishan will be answering as many of them as possible in our capstone session. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr 13 mins

The sages tell us that Ishvara pranidhana—trustful surrender to higher reality—is a highly refined practice and the gateway to samadhi. In the study of Yoga Sutra 1:23–1:29 (the “Ishvara sutras”), Ishan Tigunait demystifies the concept of Ishvara. Listen to this lecture to discover how connecting ourselves to this all-pervading, omniscient field of awareness through mantra japa and related practices is the key to inner transformation. To prepare for the next session, please read sutras 1:30–1:35 in Pandit Tigunait’s The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada (for key terms and self-study questions, download the PDF Study Guide). (Note that sutra 1:35 will be studied in greater depth in the context of 1:36, “The Lotus of the Heart: Our True Abode,” which is Session 6.) As you study, don’t forget to submit your questions to bookclub@yearlongmeditation.org. Ishan will be answering as many of them as possible in our capstone session. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr 4 mins

Why is samadhi easier for some and harder for others? In Session 3 (sutras 1:17–1:22) of our Yoga Sutra Book Club, Ishan Tigunait demystifies the concept of samadhi (the summit and goal of yoga), recasting it in practice-oriented terms. Listen as Ishan explains concepts such as “lower” and “higher” samadhi, the stages of samadhi, and the relationship of abhyasa (practice) and vairagya (non-attachment) to samadhi. You’ll also learn about five ingredients you can cultivate that will help you evolve into a bhava pratyaya yogi, the kind of yogi for whom practice—and samadhi—seem effortless. These are the five principles for self-mastery. To prepare for Session 4, please read Sutras 1:23–1:29 (the “Ishvara sutras”) in Pandit Tigunait’s The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada (for key terms and self-study questions, download the PDF Study Guide). As you study, don’t forget to submit your questions to bookclub@yearlongmeditation.org. Ishan will be answering as many of them as possible in our capstone session. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr 13 mins

Yoga gives us a systematic path to gain self-mastery of our mind and experience the totality of who we are. But where do we start? As Ishan Tigunait explains in Session 2 (sutras 1:12–1:16) of the Yoga Sutra Book Club, the secret is a twofold method—abhyasa (effort-driven practice) and vairagya (non-attachment; decoloring our mind from past attachments and identities, so that our full potential can shine through). Ishan delves into the subtle nuances of these twin cornerstones of yoga and explains how their combined force, when refined, can lead us all the way to samadhi. To prepare for Session 3, please read sutras 1:17–1:22 in Pandit Tigunait’s The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada (for key terms and self-study questions, download the PDF Study Guide). As you study, don’t forget to submit your questions to bookclub@yearlongmeditation.org. Ishan will be answering as many of them as possible in our capstone session. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr

Welcome to the Year Long Meditation Study Online Book Club! In Session 1 (sutras 1:1–1:11), Ishan Tiguanit introduces the concept of yoga as defined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. He describes the building blocks of our mind, and leads us through an exploration of what makes a yogi’s mind different from a non-yogi’s mind. Yoga tells us that our mind is intrinsically self-luminous and filled with joy, and yet we often find ourselves consumed by anger, sadness, fear, and negativity. How can we reclaim our pristine mind and experience samadhi? We’ll explore this theme together in the course of our study. To prepare for Session 2, please read sutras 1:12–1:16 in Pandit Tigunait’s The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada (for key terms and self-study questions, download the PDF Study Guide). As you study, don’t forget to submit your questions to bookclub@yearlongmeditation.org. Ishan will be answering as many of them as possible in our capstone session. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr 5 mins

The path of the Upanishads (the commentaries on the great Vedas) is the path of perfection. The central message of the Upanishads is atma-jnana—“know yourself at every level.” When we turn the mind inward, we will discover a fountain of infinite knowledge that will set us free. This lecture was inspired by and recorded during the auspicious occasion of the 2001 Maha Kumbha Mela, on the bank of the Ganga at Himalayan Institute Allahabad. As Pandit Tigunait explains, this world is a great teacher, and the Upanishads are a practical guidebook to the world. These scriptures tell us how to be healthy and happy; how to use the objects of the world and our achievements wisely; and, ultimately, how to create a bridge between our outer and inner worlds so we can find true fulfillment on every level. Listen to “The Spirit of the Upanishads,” and discover the mysteries of atma shakti—the force that helps us unfold our true inner potential and blossom as a human being, so we can experience life in all its richness. Format: .mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr, 14 mins

“Life begins with fire. Life maintains its existence through fire. And ultimately, life merges into fire. The purpose of life is to know the fire. What is this fire? Inner strength, light, enthusiasm, indomitable will. So wake up; get up! Gather the fire that resides in you.” —Pandit Rajmani Tigunait Thousands of years ago, self-realized masters compiled their direct experiences and inner wisdom in the form of the Vedas. The Vedas are a universal blueprint for how to find the purpose of life, no matter what culture or time period we live in. These scriptures tell us how to identify with the fire, empowering us to live a life of harmony and happiness, and to be a light to ourselves and others. In this lecture, recorded during the auspicious occasion of the 2001 Maha Kumbha Mela, on the bank of the Ganga at Himalayan Institute Allahabad, Pandit Tigunait explores the mystery of fire, the core principle of the Vedas. As Panditji explains, everything—from the grandest stars to the tiniest speck of dust—is infused with fire. The radiant, boundless energy that is at the core of our being, and that enables us to accomplish whatever we choose, is also fire. As the Vedas tell us, by meditating on the living fire and realizing our infinite potential, we attain the highest truth. When we connect with the fire within and enthusiastically direct our effort toward achieving our goal, then all obstacles vanish, and nothing in the world can stand in our way. We become the creator of our destiny. Listen, and learn the secret of fire! Format: mp3 audio file with download Length: 1 hr, 4 mins