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Hinduism 101 | Swami Tyagananda

Feb 7, 2022 1h 5m 19 insights
<p>One of the most consistent requests we get from listeners is to explore non-Buddhist forms of meditation. That's what we're going to do with this episode. Our guest is Swami Tyagananda, who has been a Hindu monk since 1976, and is now the Hindu chaplain both at MIT and Harvard.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>This conversation explores: the basics of Hinduism, including its history, and its approach to prayer and meditation; letting go; karma; rebirth (and how and why to escape it); the deep connections between the Buddhist and Hindu traditions; Swami Tyagananda's contention that all prayers are answered; and a recipe for reducing stress and anxiety. Swami Tyagananda also shares his thoughts about how to deal with our sense of not-enoughness or incompleteness and he provides a new way of thinking about the trickiest of all Buddhist concepts: <em>annata</em>, or the idea that the self is an illusion.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/swami-tyagananda-416</a></p> <p><br /></p>
Actionable Insights

1. Cultivate Authenticity

Strive for an authentic life, as it is absolutely necessary to reach enlightenment and people who are not authentic can never become enlightened.

2. Harmonize Thoughts, Words, Actions

To reduce stress and anxiety, make your thoughts, words, and actions as close to each other as possible, bringing them into harmony.

3. Practice Deep Decluttering

Eliminate unnecessary material possessions, thoughts, and ideas to feel freer and become happier, as simplicity leads to greater happiness.

4. Let Go of Unnecessary Baggage

Let go of unnecessary baggage so that you can focus your time and energy on what is essential and important in your life.

5. Replace Lesser with Higher Ideals

Letting go of old or less significant things becomes easier when you acquire something better, higher, or more meaningful to replace them.

6. Focus on the Immutable Self

Direct your attention more and more on the non-perishable, immutable essence of your existence (the ‘self’ or Atman), as everything else will eventually perish.

7. Take Responsibility for Life

Accept responsibility for what is happening in your life, as this empowers you to control your own future rather than blaming external forces.

8. Help Those in Need

If you see someone suffering, the right thing to do is to help them, as ignoring suffering stores bad karma for yourself.

9. Act Selflessly for Purity

Help others completely selflessly, without self-interest, to purify your heart and gain a clarity of perception for making right choices.

10. Address Suffering Directly

Instead of dwelling on past causes, focus on finding a way to get out of present suffering by identifying and removing its cause.

11. Wake Up from Existence’s Dream

Escape the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara) by ‘waking up’ from the dream of limited, mortal existence to realize its illusory nature.

12. Cultivate Simplicity

Become simple yourself by letting go of unnecessary baggage to regain simplicity, which is essential to perceive and communicate with the simple, infinite divine reality.

13. Practice Prayer with Faith

Engage in prayer with faith, believing that God can provide what you ask for, as this strengthens faith and naturally leads to gratitude.

14. Express Gratitude Through Worship

Express gratitude to the divine through worship, which often takes the form of giving offerings like incense, flowers, fruits, and food.

15. Use Thinking to Lead Meditation

While thinking is not meditation, one-pointed thinking can lead to it; when thinking becomes focused to the exclusion of everything else, thinking stops and seeing begins.

16. Dive Deep Within Mind

Learn to dive deep within your mind to reach a place of complete stillness, moving beyond superficial thoughts and disturbances.

17. Be Open to All Wisdom

Embrace and utilize any practice or way of thinking that resonates with you, regardless of its label (Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, etc.), as truth can come from any direction.

18. Look Beyond Concepts

Do not get hung up on concepts, but use them as tools to point towards reality, then let them go to experience the truth beyond words.

19. Serve Without Demanding Change

Offer a helping hand to others where they are, without asking or making them change, allowing any transformation to occur internally and spontaneously.