Upanishads

Listen to a lecture that places the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads within their historical and religious context. Each Upanishad links with one of the four Vedas - Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva - the ancient Sanskrit chants that delineated human emplacement within the powers of the universe. Learn how these powerful mantras, such as the Gayatri Mantra, created a feeling of connection with the cosmos.

Listen to a lecture about the horse sacrifice as found in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. Understand why every twelve years the kings of India used the horse sacrifice to expand their territory while recognizing the indissoluble link between the human body, the horse, and the universe at large.

Listen to a lecture describing how Yajnavalkya instructed the King Janaka regarding the wisdom that all is Brahman. Hear how Yajnavalkya also teaches about the state of the waking self among the senses, the state of dream, the state of deep sleep, and transcendence of the world. Finally, understand how all things are for the sake of the Self (atman).

Listen to teachings about the Self from the Chandogya Upanishad. First, hear how Uddalaka teaches his son Svetaketu about the nature of the Self through the cutting of a fig seed and the melting of salt in water. Next, hear how Prajapati teaches Indra about the nature of the body, mind, state beyond waking and dreaming, and, finally, the unseen seer, unheard hearer, and un-understood understander.Tat tvam asi.

Listen to the story of Satyakama from the Chandogya Upanishad, whose name means "desirous of truth." Learn how after departing from his mother and finding his learned guru, Haridrumata Govinda, Satyakama learns sixteen great truths during his time spent in nature and eventually becomes a great teacher himself.

Listen to a lecture that conceptualizes the world in threes. Learn how past, present, and future; tamas, rajas, and sattva; knower, knowing, and that which is known all form sacred triads for organizing and understanding your emplacement within the world. Bhur includes the lower realms of earth and water. Bhuvah includes the lighter elements of fire and air. Sva carries consciousness into the heavenly realms of higher awareness.

Listen to a story and learn how an enduring early narrative hinges on the willingness of a father to sacrifice his son. Seeing his father making offerings sparingly, Naciketas asks his father to sacrifice him. Naciketas then travels to the gateway of death and encounters Yama. Yama grants Naciketas three boons, ultimately resulting in teachings on how to live life in a state of intimacy with death.

Listen to a lecture and learn how the Svetasvatara instructs us to meditate: sit up straight, control the breath, yoke the senses with the mind, and move into yoga. Prakrti and the metaphor of the two birds, as well as the path of devotion (bhakti), find expression. In the Maitri, find the Gayatri Mantra, sixfold yoga and deep wisdom on samsara, as well as the power of Om.

Listen to the story of Rama, who as a young prince was asked to defend a hermitage from attacks by vandals. This request plunges him into a state of deep introspection. How does he respond? Where does he seek help? He knows he can find true happiness by renouncing attachments to the world and following the yogi lifestyle. His father has his own ways to help his son find equanimity.

A lecture about the sage Vasistha who teaches Rama that there is no such thing as fate and that human effort and endeavor alone have efficacy. Learn how only through will and exertion can any goal be achieved. You must make the change within your own life for the words of a sage to be effective. Set your intention and set a practice to become what you most admire.

Lavana rules a prosperous kingdom. A jester casts a spell and Lavana finds himself transported to a destitute, dusty desert village. He endures tremendous hardship. Upon his death, he reawakens into his original kingdom. He then travels to the desert village and is recognized by people who knew him as a mysterious visitor. He learns the lessons of compassion by living with the poor and awakens his heart. He finds his freedom through this experience.

Listen to a story about two brothers who live with their parents by the Ganges. After their parents pass away from old age, the older brother, Punya, tends to the funeral ceremonies and recovers from grief. The younger brother, Pavana, remains inconsolable. Punya urges Pavana to see life and death as inevitable, offering beautiful descriptions of their parents' past lives as many different animals, insects, and humans. Pavana gains insight and happiness.

Listen to a lecture about the sevenfold yoga of the Yogavasistha. Yoga begins when one turns away from worldly concerns, leading to deep thinking, non-attachment, seeing the world as if it were a dream, moving into a non-dual state, returning to the world in a state of liberation, and then finally making a conscious exit from the body at the time of death.

Listen to a lecture describing how the Yogavasistha describes the state of freedom. Learn how freedom from ego enables you to move in the company of the wise and the foolish with ease, able to assist in the uplift of the world. Vasistha taught two kinds of freedom. One, to feel states of bliss through meditation, leaving the body. Second, feeling freedom in the body and stability while engaging in the world.

Listen to a lecture and learn how Vasistha tells the story of his liberation. He describes encountering the goddess in a variety of forms, dancing before Siva in a cave above the Ganges in the Himalayas. He meditates upon all five elements in his body: solidity of earth, fluidity of water, warmth of fire, movement of the wind, and the vast expanse of space. Through this exercise he finds peace and freedom.