The Bhagavad Gita: Transforming Character, Conduct and Consciousness

Without question, these are the times that try the soul. Certainly each of us must deal with occasional traumas like illness, the loss of loved ones and financial reverses, but recently all of us have been bombarded by an onslaught of momentous circumstances. Consider the crises we’ve lived through in recent years: the shock and heartbreak of 9/11, the Iraq War, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, Darfur, Katrina, terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the unending insanity of the Middle East, and the Great Recession of 2008.

The weight of any one of these situations might feel overwhelming; their cumulative effect could well be traumatic. […]

Hidden Benefits of Stress and Pain

Swiss psychologist Carl Jung observed that, “There is no coming to consciousness without pain.” Jung’s insight may initially offend or cause us woe, but it accurately reflects a truth stated in every spiritual tradition. In this world, the seed must be split in order for the plant to sprout, and the decomposing hull of the seed inevitably fertilizes new growth.

To understand why pain and stress are such powerful catalysts in our evolutionary journey toward Self-realization, remember the Law of Karma: every thought, word and deed is followed by a consequence, and each consequence leads either toward unbounded happiness and freedom […]

Finding Yoga Science in Higher Jihad

Television host Chris Matthews and a distinguished panel of experts were debating the efficacy of America’s global war on terror. The commentators were Katty Kay of the BBC, Dan Rather, former CBS News anchor, Andrea Mitchell of NBC News and Lawrence Wright of The New Yorker. Matthews asked this provocative question: “Imagine you are having coffee with a group of young men and women in their 20s and 30s in a Cairo cafe. Is there any way to change that conversation from ‘Screw the United States’ to ‘I want to go to Michigan State and get an engineering degree’?”

The panel […]

Finding The Right Balance

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As children, Jenness and I often watched Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town” television show on Sunday nights. Among the performers we saw over the years, one old-time vaudevillian, named Erich Brenn, always held our attention, and we’ve thought about him often in relation to yoga science.

This performer had a rather simple act. Before him stood three long banquet tables. Secured to the tables were upright wooden dowels, each measuring about three feet in height. The performer proceeded to balance a spinning dinner plate atop one of the […]

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