Devi Mandir

Temple of Divine Mother

Current Class by Swami Satyananda SaraswatiIn this eclectic collection of video clips, you will find Swamiji at his thoughtful best, providing answers to viewers' questions with the right blend of insight and gentle humor.

There are also stories from the puranas, and Swamiji masterfully weaves the magic, retelling these with his own brand of wisdom.

 

Shankachuda and Tulsi

~~OM~~ Here is a story about the demon king, Shankachuda, and Tulsi. Shankachuda was cursed in his previous life by Radha, to be reborn as an asura. Upon turning of age, he ventured to Pushkar. Here he would perform extreme purifying austerities, and eventually gain the favor of Brahma. Granting him the boon of invincibility, so […]

Story of Brahma Calling Yoga Nidra

~~OM~~ And now remember that Brahma was sitting in the lotus in Vishnu’s navel. Vishnu was asleep. And Too much and Too little said, “Hey, that looks like a nice place to sit. Get off of that lotus.” And Brahma said, “Hey, This is my lotus, I’m the creator of existence, give me a break!” […]

Story of Markandeya Muni

~~OM~~ “As the son of Mrikanda, Markandeya, found imperishable life, may we be reunited with life and blessed with a hundred autumns.” Remember the story of Mrikanda Rishi? He was an old ascetic doing tapasya for many years. He called upon Shiva, and finally Shiva gave him darshan. Shiva said, “What do you want?” And […]

Story of Gautam Muni and Ahalya Devi

~~OM~~ So remember the story of Ahalya – Indra looked down from heaven and saw, Ahalya, who was the wife of Gautam Muni, who’s the most beautiful of all the women, and suddenly he desired to enjoy with her. And he watched for some time. And one morning early in the morning when the Rishi […]

Why Ring the Bell During Worship?

Q: Why does the Shanti mantra bring so much noise both inside and outside? Like ringing a bell during the Shanti mantra. A: You know, Dilip, the bell is despised by all ashuras! They can’t stand the noise! In fact, I want to make such a racket that I can’t even hear the ashuras calling […]

Story of How Ravana Kidnapped Sita

~~OM~~ So remember when Ravana wanted to steal away Sita – He had Marich assume the form of a golden deer and walked the deer to the ashram. Sita said, “Ram look at that golden deer, I’ve never seen anything like that, please get that deer for me.” And Ram said, “I think this looks […]

The Power of Purification

~~OM~~ Q: The pure and impure reside in all objects. This sounds more like an acceptance of qualities of impurity. Why purify ourselves in sadhana instead of accepting the impure within us? A: The recognition of purity and impurity as inherent in all objects is the understanding and acceptance of Supreme Divinity made manifest. However […]

Story of Gautam Muni and the Pot

~~OM~~ I’m going to tell you a story about a time where there was a great drought in all of India. Everyone was wanting for water. Except for Gautam Muni. Gautam Muni was worshipping Gayatri Devi and he had established a pot. And every day he would chant the mantras, and while every day the […]

Story of Gajendra Moksha

Gajendra, the king of the elephants, was caught by a crocodile. And he fought and fought with this crocodile until he saw that the crocodile was getting stronger and he was getting weaker. This crocodile was pulling him under the water, so that the king of elephants was powerless to defend himself any longer. All […]