Episode 70: Taittirīrya Upanishad Part 2

Aum. The knower of Brahman reaches the Supreme. The one who knows Brahman as the real, as knowledge and as the infinite, placed in the secret place of the heart and in the highest heaven realizes all desires.

Taittirīrya Upanishad.

Follow the journey through the five koshas to the realization of the Supreme in this amazing text.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 69: A Lifetime of Breast Health

“A woman's breasts are a key part of her experience of herself. More than just mammary glands, a woman's breasts are also a secondary sexual characteristic, contributing to her beauty, attractiveness and self-esteem as well as to her sexual arousal. Yet with close to a quarter of a million new cases of breast cancer being diagnosed in America annually, a woman's breasts may also be perceived as a source of threat.”

Learn how to take care of your and your daughter’s breast health, from early childhood to the post-menopausal years

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 68: Sustenance Beyond the Supermarket

Today we’ll look at ways to create community, connection, local resilience and a deeper relationship to food sources by going beyond the supermarket.

How can you use the three Swahili priciples, umoja, ujima and ujamaa, to find new ways of relating to the food that sustains you?

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 67: Finding Peace in a Troubled World

   “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.” Reinhold Niebuhr

When war, violence, pollution and climate change threaten the tranquility of our lives, is there a way to live as beacons of peace in tumultuous times?

Learn how to use the Zen Peacemaker process to live in peace despite all that is going on. Alakananda Ma shares how she uses this as a daily practice.

• Not Knowing

• Bearing Witness

• Taking action

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 66: Chronic Illness Burnout

   Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Usually applied to work, it has been broadened to include other forms of stress. Chronic illness is extremely stressful as we try to meet the demands of everyday life and also manage  our condition.

Chronic illness burnout also affects those caring for people living with chronic or terminal illness.

Learn the warning signs of chronic illness burnout nd how it can affect your life.

Discover holistic ways to manage it.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 65: Taittiriya Upanishad Part 1

Here, in this bright space within the heart, is He, that Purusha, that Person, who is formed of thought, undying, full of light. ‘Om’ is Brahman. ‘Om’ is this all.

Taittiriya Upanishad

Join Alakananda Ma as she delves into the mysteries of Taittiriya Upanishad. We will explore the sacred utterances, the Vayuhrutis, and glimpse the space within the heart where Purusha, the supreme Person dwells.

  The brahman who is said to be so remote is here seen as so close to us. Brahman dwells in the heart.

The study and teaching of the sacred syllable is the most important of all duties.

Discover the proclamation “I am the shining treasure, wise, immortal, indestructible.”

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 64: Forever Fascism? Lessons from the novel Swastika Night

“They wanted to forget that there ever had been, in Europe, any other civilization at all. There was so much beauty they had not made, so many books they had not written, so many records of wars in which they had not fought, and so many ideas of human behavior which were anathema to them.” Katharine Burdekin, Swastika Night

Set in a stagnant male-dominated Fascist Empire seven hundred years into a dystopian future, Burdekin’s Swastika Night offers many insights into our world today. Women have undergone the Reduction and no longer live with men, they are mere soulless breeding stock kept in caged complexes.

Is a dystopian vision of a post-Enlightenment, post-history, anti-science, anti-reason, feudal world relevant to today and to what we see happening around us? Join Alakananda Ma as she shares the insights she has gleaned from ‘the greatest novel I had never heard of.’

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 63: Stories of Raghudas

“There are may siddhis that the yogis cultivate, but there is only one siddhi worth having—the power to take whatever comes.”

At this season, on the festival of Rishi Panchami, we honour the Mahasamadhi of Raghudas, the day he departed his body and became available to all of us from the spiritual worlds. Let’s take a few minutes to relish some stories of Raghudas, Alandi’s guru, as told by Sadananda.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 62: Getting off Benzodiazepines

Once presented as near-miraculous tranquilizers that were completely non-habituating and free of side effects, benzodiazepines have become a tenacious burden for many, who stuggle to do well on or off these medications.

Now, new guidance has been released for getting off benzodiazepines.

Let’s take a look at what benzodiazepines are, why you should get off them, what the related ‘z-drugs’ are, why getting off benzodiazepines can be difficult and dangerous, and what the most important tips and hacks are to get your life back after using this prescription.

Please share this podcast widely to help all the people caught in the benzodiazepine trap.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 61: Mandukya Upanishad

Aum! - This Imperishable Word is the whole of this phenomenal universe. Its explanation is as follows,  What has become,  what is becoming,  what will become,  - verily,  all of this is Aum. And what is beyond these three states of the world of time,  - that too,  verily,  is Aum. Mandukya Upanishad

What is the deeper mystery of Aum? What does each of the three letters mean? What is turiya, the Fourth State? Mandunkya Upanishad offers a succinct and powerful explanation of the sacred word. Join Alakananda Ma in exploring this beloved Upanishad.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 60: Finding Peace Amid Busyness

With the proliferation of cars, smart phones, email, and social media, our lives become increasingly busy and crowded. Is a life of peace and contemplation possible in the twenty first century?

Learn how to create peace through these simple steps:

●      Prioritize

●      Empty

●      Abandon

●      Contemplate

●      Embrace

●      Simply say when doubts arise “Not two”

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 59: Living with a rare disease

More than 300 million people worldwide, or 1 in 17, live with a rare disease. This means that rare diseases, while individually uncommon, collectively affect a significant portion of the global population. Learn about the many dismissive labels that can be given to patients with a rare disease, how Ayurveda sees rare diseases and how to move forward with your wellbeing when doctors discount your unexplained symptoms.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 58: Where do I belong? Reflections on Zionism, Antisemitism and Safety

In the aftermath of the Boulder arson attack, which Sadananda narrowly survived, let’s think about safety and belonging, Zionism, Antizionism and Antisemitism. Who belongs in Boulder? Who belongs in America? How do we find safety? Can we make common cause among marginalized groups?

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 57: Prashna Upanishad Part 5

But he who understands this aum to consist of three measures, should, with this Imperishable syllable, meditate on the Supreme Puruṣa alone, for thereby he would reach the tejas or the sun. As a snake becomes fully liberated from its old skin, thus he verily becomes liberated from all his sins.

Prashna Upanishad Ch 5

Today Ma concludes her discussion of Prashna Upanishad by reviewing what we have learnt so far and delving into the final two questions.

In the last century, the greatest minds in physics, the founders of modern physics, came together to usher in the Nuclear Age, changing the world forever. In the Upanishadic Era, the greatest minds of the time came together at the feet of Sage Pippalyada to discuss the nature of the universe and the way to realize ultimate truth. They too changed the world forever. By studying Upanishads with Ma, you are part of that timeless journey.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 56: What Is True Freedom?

As the Land of the Free prepares to celebrate Independence Day, let’s take a look at what true freedom really is.

Alakananda Ma delves into the manifestations of freedom in the Four Worlds of Kabbalah—the world of action, the relational world, the conceptual world and the spiritual world. What are our rights, our aspirations and the dangers we face of losing our hard-won freedom?

f you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 55: Making Peace with Loss and Grief

Whether it is a divorce, death of a loved one, a miscarriage or a missed career opportunity, all of us are faced with losses during our life journey.  Ma shares how we can become deepened and enriched rather than narrowed and embittered by loss.  

• Getting some basic awareness

• Learning how to practice self-compassion

• Transforming your grief

• Broadening it out

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 54: Summer Health

Summer combines two seasons described in Ayurveda, grishma, the hot season and varsha, the rainy season. Learn how to take care of yourself during the summer heat and the summer storms and downpours.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 53: Prashna Upanishad Part 4

“ What is it in a person that goes to sleep? What part of a person stays awake? Who is the god that sees the dreams? Whose is happiness?” Prashna Upanishad.

Explore Prashna Upanishad with Ma as she delves into the perennial wisdom.

• Learn more about the Five Pranas and the subtle body

• Explore the deep meaning of sleep and dreams

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 52: Bringing Peace to Our Children's Hearts

As Khalil Gibran says, “Your children are not your children, they are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you; you may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts; you may house their bodies, but not their souls. For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams; you may strive to be like them but seek not to make them like you for life goes not backwards nor tarries with yesterday.” So not taking what is not our own means that our children are not here to be who we think they should be.

Learn how to bring peace to your children’s hearts through the practice of the five yamas of the yoga path.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 51: Making Peace with Ancestors

“For most of human history and pre-history, we have worshipped, honoured, and relied upon our ancestors. It has only been from our ancestors that we have learnt how to live on this earth. 

It was from our ancestors that we learnt how to feed, house and take care of ourselves in a sustainable way upon our land. It was due to our ancestors that we were born into a network of social and relational connections; it was from them we learnt how to act in relation to all these different people our lives were linked with. It was thanks to our ancestors that we received a philosophy that situated us in a context; it was from our ancestors that we received the myths that endowed our lives with meaning.”

Ancient paths and traditions emphasize ancestor worship; today we prefer to carve an individual path in ways our ancestors could not have foreseen. Can we make peace with our ancestors and draw strength from them?

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.