What is a Cult?

The word “cult” is commonly used in modern English language in a way that is a departure from the original definition.  “Cult” used to refer to any identifiable group of people practicing a specific belief system, religion, set of customs, etc.  Now the word “cult” is used as a label for groups that the predominant [...]

The Structure of a Kula

(Dharmanidhi’s introductory note:  Our dear spiritual friend and advisor, Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari, has written this wonderful, concise article on kula from his Vaishnava lineage’s perspective.  His years of experience as a lineage representative are evident in his words.  And though some of the terminology used may differ from that of Kashmir Shaivism, the message [...]

The Definition of Adi-Yoga

Adi: primordial, source, first, original
Yoga: union, method, path
Adi-Yoga is a comprehensive system of Hatha Yoga. It is called “Adi,” which in Sanskrit means primordial or source, because it is Yoga in its original form as it was practiced and transmitted by the Himalayan masters of the tradition.
The Sanskrit word “Yoga” in Adi-Yoga has three meanings. [...]

Discovering Samsara

To some degree we are all able to feel tensions, aversions, and emotional-physical reactions to environments and situations, and in my first few years of meditation and sadhana these reactions were felt and experienced much as they had been before in my life. Our culture and role-models taught us that experiencing something that was pleasurable [...]

The Body is the Yajna – Connecting to the Sacred Fire of Our Body

This article is fruit of a specific inspiration by one of my teachers, Hart de Fouw.
Living and growing up in a society where ritual is not at the forefront of our experience, how can we relate to fire ritual in an embodied sense? The external act of offering items into the ritual fire, the yajna, [...]

Jyotisha – The Study of Light

By Bette Timm
Editorial assistance by Danielle Williams
All objects in nature are created in time, developed in time, and destroyed in time. With this understanding, we are able to highly value a scientific system that can measure the effects of time. Such a system was developed over 5000 years ago in India and continues to evolve; [...]

Book Review

A Goddess Among Us by Swami Mangalananda
Review by Kiranamayi Sarasvati
A Goddess Among Us tells about the life of the great saint Anandamayi Ma. I picked this book up because I am always searching for the opportunity to read about female practitioners and I always enjoy learning about the lives of great realized beings. I have [...]

Permaculture as Spiritual Practice

Caring for the earth. Caring for others. Sharing the surplus that you grow. These are the ethics of permaculture. Last fall, when Dharmanidhi explained that the new retreat center in Thailand would be created based on permaculture principles, I had no idea what that was. When he described the bounty of the food forests, and [...]

Urban Farming, Part I

Ward Teuton, City Farm Boy, from Vancouver, Canada, gave a presentation at The Light House (a sustainable building center in British Columbia, Canada) recently about his methods of Urban Farming. He farms 15 private gardens in Vancouver, offering landowners fresh produce from their own backyards, while in return he provides other families with local food, [...]

Practicing Permaculture in the Surburbs.

Practicing permaculture in surburbia is not as difficult as it seems. Having only completed the introductory course has opened up the possibilities in maintaining a sustainable lifestyle. I will share with you my experience since learning about permaculture.
I live in a small apartment with an adjoining balcony and growing a large amount of food is somewhat limited [...]