2024
Swami Tyagananda
Detachment (Vairāgya)

Discernment helps us distinguish the right from the wrong, the good from the bad, the healthy from the unhealthy. When it is time to choose, we instinctively choose to attach ourselves to whatever makes us happy and detach from whatever makes us unhappy. Thus detachment is a natural follow-up to discernment. What does this mean to my life as a spiritual seeker?

Detachment (Vairāgya)
2023
Swami Tyagananda
The Art of Dying

Among all the uncertainties of life, there is only one thing absolutely certain—and that is, we will die one day. We plan for many things that may or may not happen. Do we have a plan for our eventual death? A death without any preparation can be a disaster. With preparation and planning, it becomes an art, which transforms the inevitable into an opportunity to be wise and free.

The Art of Dying
2023
Swami Tyagananda
Satsang and Antar Yoga

What is the thinking behind calling the Vedanta Society’s Sunday programs “Satsang” and “Antar Yoga”? What do these terms mean—and how are they related to spiritual life, and to our personal spiritual practice?

Satsang and Antar Yoga
2023
Swami Tyagananda
Judge Not ...

We all have insufficient information about others (sadly, often even about ourselves) to be able to judge accurately what kind of people they are—even more importantly, what kind of people they will be in the months and years ahead.

Judge Not ...
2022
Swami Tyagananda
The Last Day

None of us remembers the first day after we were born. Some of us may have a little idea from the photos and videos of that day. But what about the last day, the day before I die? Do I have any control over it? Is there something I can do to have a perfect last day of my life?

The Last Day

Meditation

Hearing the Mantra

Hearing the Mantra

We hear sounds and voices throughout the day. They come from outside as well as from inside. If we cannot control them, the ability to hear can get overwhelmed and leave us exhausted. What chance do we have, then, to hear the mantra clearly, as we are expected to do in the practice of Japa? How can I make Japa an activity that I will look forward to everyday?