Traditions
Lama Rod is a Buddhist spiritual teacher and queer social justice activist.
Two short conversations on bhakti with yoga teacher Mary and Shakta-tantra teacher Kavitha Chinnaiyan
Shambhavi is a “sannyasi householder” and Tantrik teacher.
Two short conversations on bhakti with kirtan artist Nina Rao and yoga philosopher Hari-kirtana das.
Jagar comes from the Sanskrit root, jāgṛ, which means “to go on burning, to be awake, to be watchful and to awaken.” It refers to the first state of consciousness described in the Māṇḍukya Upaniṣad—waking (jāgrat). It’s distinguished from the two other states of the conscious mind—dreaming and deep sleep—by the quality of consciousness experienced.
A yantra is a meditative ritual device used in South Asian Tantric traditions. It is a blueprint of energy of a specific field of consciousness. Although yantras are sometimes described as representing a deity, each yantra is more than a symbol. A yantra is a literal matrix of divine consciousness.
Māyā: the very name conveys a sense of mystery. Cognate with the English word magic, māyā does, indeed, refer to something magical. Like magic, māyā involves the diversion of our attention from the real to the unreal, or from reality to the appearance of reality.
