Awakening to Inner Peace and Freedom: A Conversation with Swami Nityananda

Will: [00:00:00] Welcome to another episode of the Skeptic Minimizations. I'm Will and I'm Karen and today we are thrilled and I put three exclamation marks there in my script, so you know, I really mean it. We're thrilled to welcome Swami Nityananda to the show. Now I bet you're wondering just why we are so excited.

Well, it just so happens that she's dedicated her life and her career to helping humans live in joy and freedom, which are both qualities that we fully support. Absolutely. If you had any questions. Now she's spoken to audiences in 10 countries and she's been. featured speaker on NPR, Radio Ireland, and bunches of other platforms.

And she was consecrated as a Swami by Swami Shankarananda in 2014. I prayed to God and just butcher that name. Just rolled right off your tongue. I mean, I, and I said it meant like five, six times preparing for the show. Anyway, she's a spiritual teacher and spiritual leader at Awake. Yoga meditation, a meditation community located in [00:01:00] Baltimore that reaches listeners in many, many geographical areas.

Her meditations help audiences feel calm and exuberant and live their fullest lives, strengthening self awareness relationships, abundance, and wellbeing on every level. And I can't wait to share her with you now, as we give a very warm welcome to Swami Nityananda. Welcome to the show.

Swami: It's amazing to be with you. Thank you for such warmth and style and kindness. You all both exude style and kindness.

Karen & Will: Wow. Oh, thank

Will: you. Wow. It feels like we're in good company then. You better fooled. Shh. I was saying that it feels we're in good company because that's exactly how what the pre talk that we do before we start recording, that's what we felt from you as well. So I think this would be nice. It feels like a nice warm blanket that we're wrapped in right now.

Swami: I agree. I'm meeting you for the first time, but it feels like friends.

Karen & Will: Yes. Yes.

Will: Perfect. Okay. So let's just get right to it since we've already talked about what you do and who you are. The nitty gritty of this [00:02:00] conversation, I think is going to be all about spiritual awakenings and on your website and in the pre work that I do when I'm getting ready to interview you, we put out.

A call for questions from a lot of different people out in our audience and we got a bunch of questions that we're going to ask you. Hopefully we can get to them. So the very first question that was asked was something that's on your website and that is about awakeness. Can you share with us what your description of awakeness is?

Swami: Yes, with joy. And one of the basic premises of the way that we share the yogic teachings we share meditation and we share the teachings of yoga philosophy. And these are teachings that help us connect with our own true nature. So awakeness is our own true nature. Awakeness is with all of us. It's like you all are, you share it through your curiosity and your joy and your sense of humor and your fun and your aliveness and the way that you love this exploration that you're embarking on in your podcast.

But for listeners, [00:03:00] it's for everyone to identify. There is like a flow of excitement, a flow of joy, a flow of light and awareness, and it's you. Like that is you and your true nature. And so one of the things that yogic teachings help us realize is we're never separate from it. It's with us always. And the yogis actually say, then what we're doing is we're letting go of anything that blocks our full awareness of that, that blocks our full expression of that, but it's already here.

It's already with us.

Karen: Oh, wow. So it's like that instant when you wake up in the morning and you're like, yeah, before you remember, Oh, I gotta go to work. You're helping to be able to block that. Oh, I got to go to work feeling out and keep with the, it's a new day.

Will: Well, I think I would take it a little step further instead of doing that.

Oh, I gotta go to work. It'd be like. Okay. I embrace the challenge of going to work because it's part of our experience. I know. I was just trying to get that initial feel. Yeah. No, I'm trying to make myself feel like I'm really smart because Swami is about to say, yes, I'm correct.[00:04:00]

Swami: What about yes to both of you? So, so

Karen: are no wrong answers.

Swami: no, I mean, it is like when you wake up before you realize, oh, I'm awareness in this particular body in this particular day, there is just that moment of pure awareness. And I think that's what you were talking about initially. And then there is also the awareness of, oh, I get to flow that energy into whatever the tasks are today.

But to do that with a feeling of joy and willingness makes it much more fun.

Will: So the yogic tradition is I would say probably most associated with With Indian cultures, right? So, what does it mean exactly to be named a Swami?

Swami: My teacher was named Swami Shankarananda. You did a good job

Will: Uh, I was close. I didn't quite get it, but thank you.

Karen & Will: [00:05:00] Wow.

Swami: India in 1928.

And Swami Premananda was invited here by Yogananda. Swami Yogananda Paramahansa, who first came to this country in 1920. And so Swami Yogananda at the time invited Swami Pramananda to the Washington DC area to start a meditation community there. And then many years later, my teacher met his teacher. was eventually consecrated as a Swami.

I met my teacher in 2010, and he consecrated me as a Swami in 2014. So one is consecrated, one is trained, one is taught to be a Swami directly by a Swami. And so there is a sort of lineage energy. and a lineage, uh, tradition. Some of the things are written down and then some are imparted, like directly from the teacher to the student.

And so there are these sacred teachings like the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita. I saw you mentioned the Bhagavad Gita in, on [00:06:00] your website as well. But there's also this living tradition. And so it's an incredible gift to come into contact, like when I met my teacher, it's like meeting sunshine in the form of a human.

And so it's just so much fun when you come into contact with a teacher who's living the teachings of that realization of the awakeness that each of us is always.

Karen: you right now are just so just joyful and you're just like shooting out this peace and loving. Are you always like that? Is that part of being a Swami? Like, does you get consecrated and then this is just who you become?

Swami: So I would say, I mean, this is the true nature of each of us. Honestly, like in our true nature, if you let go, one of the things that the yogis say is if you let go, I was giving a meditation talk yesterday, so I can give a very specific example of my teacher. So in 2014, he was, In physical duress, he was ill in his final days in embodiment, but the [00:07:00] teachings that I was sharing from him, he said, even in the midst of pain, even in the midst of distraction, even in the midst of non preferred human conditions, it is possible to live in bliss.

And so to be able to live in bliss means that we have to honestly acknowledge the physical body is experiencing this. And I'm going to choose bliss because it's here too. And isn't it more fun to disengage from identifying with the physical distress and identify with this current that is already right here?

He also was very honest and he acknowledged that it takes practice. And he said, it takes a good deal of practice. And one smart, one starts with the small things first, he said. And so you sort of little by little develop the ability to continually remain in contact with the reality the bliss that each of us is.

So each of us has that unchanging, always present. It's not subject to external [00:08:00] conditions. It's always there. And so what the yogis say is if we're willing to detach and disidentify with the passing things, like the Pleasures as well as the displeasure. Frankly, then what we gain is that unchanging joy and that un unwavering peace, and that each of us can do this in daily life.

Will: there it is the law of non attachment, right? That's the whole, the huge, I mean, Vedas upon Vedas upon non attachment in the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. It's all over there. forgive me, but

Karen: you have a look of longing in your

Will: eyes. Well, I want to have so badly, but right in our modern day culture, it is really hard.

So, unless there's a pill I can take to maybe go, I'm bliss out, right? I've, I meditate every day. I try to think good. Thoughts. I put out gifts on social media to get myself some positive reinforcement. I do everything I can. And when the [00:09:00] next person like cuts me off in traffic, I'm like, it's all gone.

It's not attachment, not attachment. How does someone actually go about, I know you'd mentioned practice, but Holy smoke,

Karen & Will: Swami.

Swami: to that question which you're asking is ask. The, the student in the Bhagavad Gita says this is as hard to control as the wind. What are you asking me to do? You're asking me to control the wind. But with practice and non attachment, it actually is the case. The other thing that I would say, so keep your sense of humor, which you all both have, which is perfect.

Keep your sense of humor, but there's also just this question of like, what's more important? Is it more important for me to be in this current of peace continually and choosing like this awareness of The so it's like the meditative energy that you mentioned It does actually flow with you into traffic and what happens [00:10:00] it does

Karen & Will: He sees

Karen: it flow by him.

Will: For me, the minute I open my eyes, I'm like, Oh, I'm nice and Damn it! There we go again. It might be out the window, and I've heard it say that really it's supposed to be about what you take from the meditation, not the meditation itself, but I'm finding much more peace inside the meditation than anything anywhere outside the meditation.

Swami: Sure.

Karen: So Swami, you said start small. Can you give us an example of what that means? Like how small is small? What can we'll work

Karen & Will: with?

Swami: intention to connect with the peace that I feel in meditation, and then to invite that peace to flow into the rest of my day.

And so even just the intention, and you were mentioning that it's possible to Wake up and feel that moment of peace. And so flow the moment of peace through [00:11:00] your day. Like visualize, I've got this to do in the morning. I've got this to do midday. I've got this to do in the evening.

And then visualize that there's a current of peace that flows through your day. It's almost like pre paving this pathway of peace through your day. And then you get to choose throughout the day. Am I going to remain in this river of peace? We're like going to step outside of this river of peace. And the other thing that I would just say is that devotion really helps.

And so if you think about whatever you love just deeply and purely, so it's not necessarily even a person, place, or thing, but it's that current of pure love. that the people that you love in innocence, the ones that just make you smile for no reason at all, and you find them just cheerful and lovely to encounter, that current of pure love.

is actually you. That is the energy of your own heart. And to be able to feel the energy of your [00:12:00] own heart animating you as you drive your car through traffic, you're like then continually in this, I don't want to use the word bubble because you're open to life fully and freely. You're living in open hearted Courage and awareness right in the midst of daily life, like right in the midst of tasks and work and relationships and human questions and experiences, as I hope that story about my teacher made clear, like this is something that you do in a physical body, no matter what the condition of the physical body is.

And so this is just What's more important, and how much fun can I have, like, flowing this energy of pure love, pure devotion, pure light, pure peace into my life? And you two can be practice partners for each other on this. You can just, like, flow peace to each other.

Will: Yeah, interesting, because a lot of things that you're saying remind me of my Reiki teachings, right? [00:13:00] You sometimes when someone is not in a good space, actually sending them energy helps them to to soften, I guess, for lack of a better word. Now, it makes someone think about when you're that open, right?

When you are because they've also, they also say a lot of times when you don't feel that joy, that love towards one another, you are cutting off the energy and the best thing is to open up and send energy and receive energy from those around you. But if you're that wide open, any danger in, I mean, I have a very thin skin.

Someone looks at me sideways, I start crying. So how can you protect, how can you protect yourself from. Every day life if you're opening to everything out there,

Swami: That's a really honest question as well. Thank you for your spiritual courage and

Will: I'm

Swami: I would say just No, it's, spiritual courage and honesty is required for forward movement on the path. And I would [00:14:00] actually say that for most humans, I would think that there's almost like steps. that there is a step where when you're first becoming aware of how interconnected we all are, and let's just say like you walk into a post office or you're standing in line at a big box store and the line is like stretching 60 people back or however as it sometimes does.

And there's just like a lot of, crowd energy, and some people might be not cheerful. And if you are noticing, Oh, I'm starting to engage with this not cheerful energy, and there's a lot of it here in this room, then to connect with the peace in your heart, and then to visualize that the peace in your heart actually expands until it fills your entire body.

And then it goes out beyond you into your energy field. And then you're still open hearted. But you're sort of like surrounding yourself with this current of peace. And so there's no defensiveness, there's no protectiveness. But that would be one way to do it. Eventually, it becomes so that [00:15:00] you are aware that the energy underlying everything is pure light.

And so, you've probably seen parents, like, you see parents, third kids in a meltdown, and the parent is, like, unfailingly patient and kind and wise and good humored because it's love that looks past this temporary tantrum the child is having and sees, like, My angel whom I love is there deeper than this temporary tantrum.

And so, like, the yogis just eventually establish themselves in the awareness of that light. That the truth of our being, whether we're feeling it or not, is actually that light. And so, say the other driver cuts you off in traffic, that's their unawareness. But you don't need to react to their unawareness.

You can instead take a breath, take a step back, and then choose. How would I like to respond?

Karen: It sounds like part of it might also be when you're just getting started on this path, managing your expectations. Because just like, just because you're out there opening [00:16:00] up your heart and wanting to feel the energy, the light and the love, doesn't mean that other people are doing the same thing.

So when you get those negative vibes, you have to realize, okay, that's all right. You know, that's them.

Swami: Absolutely, and eventually what happens is you become established in this higher frequency energy, and that will actually shift the energy in a room. So eventually you'll walk into that post office, and if that post office is filled with a line of cranky people, you can be so steady. in that calm that it will shift the energy in the room.

That's a teaching from Thich Nhat Hanh. He was talking about people who had to flee in boats and he said it only takes one calm person to save the boat. So the one calm person can help transmit that energy of calm simply by being steadily established in that calm. But I also would agree, I think it is important to just be patient, be careful, be kind, and almost Practice energy [00:17:00] hygiene.

So the same way that you brush your teeth before you go to sleep at night, if you visualize that there's a shower of white gold light sweeping through you from the crown of your head down to the bottom of your feet and just any stress. It melts away. The same that you can stand under a shower and just allow that water to wash you fresh and clean.

Visualize that this shower of white gold light can melt away. Like, if you had a unpleasant conversation or you witnessed something that you would have preferred not to witness, to allow yourself just to refresh. Each of us has this ability to reset our own energy. So to claim that and to enjoy that.

Karen & Will: Gotcha. I like that. I like that

Karen: shower. Cause you can visual, I mean, you can just picture it when you're saying it. I love that. Yeah.

Will: Mommy we talked about how to maintain our.

I guess peace like a better word in the post office or wherever some other folks might not be quite as peaceful, I assume that that is one can actually think about that's a way for us [00:18:00] to help us practice even deeper to get better at feeling. Would you say grounded or. One, I mean, I guess it's lots of different words for the same thing, right?

Swami: I mean, when I think when a person feels grounded, you have a center of calm, you have a sense of focus, you have a sense of stability and balance and poise. So that works.

Will: Hmm. there's something that I read on your site that talks about how unconditional love and kindness will always triumph. If that is true, and I hope, and I truly believe that, but I want to get your perspective on it. You were seeing an awful lot of things happening in the world right now that look to be the complete opposite.

of love and kindness triumphing. So how can we look at that and live life with that thought moving forward when we see all kinds of negative, uh, you know, the bullies are winning kind of[00:19:00]

Swami: So I would answer this question in a couple of ways. At the deepest level, love and light always triumph. And so the eternal reality is that love and light always triumph. We are here in time and space, and all humans are here in time and space, creating and playing. We're making choices. Our thoughts have creative potency.

The words that we speak, the actions that we take, help create what we encounter as reality in time and space for ourselves and for others. So I have the freedom, as a beautiful, powerful creator, to Every human is a beautiful, powerful creator. They have the freedom to create peace, kindness, unconditional love, or also to create something other than peace, kindness, and unconditional love.

If I choose to flow that energy of peace, kindness, and unconditional love into time and space, [00:20:00] that will come back to me. Not necessarily from a one to one correspondence, so the yogis say, like, it's not conditional. It's not, I do this for you, and then I expect this from you, but I'm moving in this flow of love and kindness, and so love and kindness will radiate back to me because it's what I'm sending forth.

It's also true, if I'm a person who's choosing to indulge in, let's just say, like, anger or frustration or impatience, then I'm amplifying the effects of that. in time and space. What I am circulating is going to multiply. It's going to be amplified in my experience. So everyone who is creating pain for others is actually creating pain for themselves.

It is the laws of energy. They will meet the effects that they create. And Deeper than that, even, at their core is the light that they are not remembering [00:21:00] when they create pain for others and for themselves. And so in the long run, like I can give a very specific example, the yogic teachings give a lot of examples of people who fight the light.

And are termed demons in the yogic tradition. My teacher's interpretation of that is it's negativity. And it's whatever we have to transform within ourselves that keeps us from the full expression of light and kindness and unconditional love. The demons will fight the divine. And at the very last moment, the divine will kill the demons.

And the demon will remember, I am of. The light to thank you for liberating me and helping me remember that I too am love. And so that demon is in a state of torment [00:22:00] because they are not remembering. They are fighting the divine instead of loving the divine. And they're creating torment. And at the end, even That has the opportunity to return to the light and to return to self remembrance.

So for every human, if a listener is looking out upon the world and is feeling a lot of distress because there are humans who are clearly choosing to create distress for themselves and for others right now,

Karen & Will: heal

Swami: humans will feel the effects of what they create. For each of us, We get to decide what would I love to energize.

Karen & Will: be

Swami: if I'm living through a time when there is an experience of war in the world, how can I create peace within myself? The peace that I would love to see in the world must be created first within myself. When I am in that energy of [00:23:00] peace, peace then will inform the way that I speak, the way that I write, the way that I act in my relationships and in the world.

As I change my heart, And my mind and my life so that I live this energy of peace. Peace becomes established in my life and world as I live in that current of peace. Other humans have the opportunity to remember that too is their true nature. That true is their true name and their true identity as well.

And a wave of peace comes. It comes from within. As we make peace within ourselves, we have the ability to share peace into the world. And this is why I'm saying open hearted spiritual courage and honesty is required. Because each of us must turn within and say, Am I being peace? within myself because it is only if I am being peace within myself that I can help [00:24:00] usher peace forth into time and space.

And so each of us, every time we choose peace, like say that you're having a conversation with a loved one or you're at work or you're talking to a client or you're a CEO and you're talking to your board, whoever it is, whatever the context is, if you are flowing that energy of peace from your heart, And it's your pure nature that's always with you.

That will transform your conversations, it will transform your work, it will transform your life, it will transform your world. And that is when we truly become able to be fully of service. When we're living from within in that energy of peace, living from within whatever we would love to help make visible in time and space.

The alternative is to fight. what we don't want. And so the Buddha said, darkness cannot cast out darkness, only light does. [00:25:00] Hatred cannot cast out hatred, only love does. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom we're honoring today, said the same thing, almost the same exact words. And it's as each human lives that energy of light and lives that energy of peace, lives that energy of unconditional love, that's when the world transforms.

It transforms because we ourselves have transformed first from within. And it is also true that a wave of light is here. It is ushering forth from within the hearts of each of us, all the listeners who have this curiosity, this exploration, this brightness, this joy, this desire and intention to positively transform, to make a difference, to live the fullness of your heart's purpose.

That. Makes a difference. And that's part of you could think of it as almost like the frequency of [00:26:00] light is increasing and that's showing us the old energy patterns. So you actually can see all of this as part of an increasing frequency of light showing us these are the old energy patterns. Would you like to engage them or would you love to create more peace and more joy and more freedom?

Will: Do you, there is a lot to unpack right there. Holy smoke. First of all we need to hang out.

Swami: I would love to!

Will: We need to hang out because my God, I could just sit here. I mean, literally I was just like, Oh, and I realized, Oh my God, I'm hosting a show. Wake up. This is not just listening to a lecture. Right? No, this was, I mean, amazing. Um, everything you're saying. Lovely, and oh my gosh, that's exactly what I need to hear, and so I'm getting from what you said that, as long as we are, this is what I understand, as long as we are, um, [00:27:00] liked and loved inside ourselves, and send that out. Words, we are going to, the light in us is going to overcome the, those that the demons, the darkness that's out there at the very end.

So we have hope ahead of us basically. Yeah.

Swami: Always there's hope. And yeah, I mean, I should, I should let you talk more. I was going to dive in with

Will: No, no, no, no. It's wonderful. I think I want to, I want to pull that piece out and actually just put it in, listen to it right before I go to bed and listen to what the first thing I do when I wake up because it was, it's so inspiring to, to hear. Those words specifically is exactly what I need at that point in time.

It really

Karen: is. But I have a question. So it does, it sounds wonderful and, something that, we can do in our everyday life and just try to, draw on that love and that light, but I can see what you're, I understand what you're saying about people. Not choosing the love and they're, they're causing pain.

So [00:28:00] yes, they would have to really make that decision to, to change all of that. But what about, what would you say to someone who is maybe a victim of someone who is being that way? Like how, they're trying, but they're in an abusive relationship or whatever. Like how do you make them understand?

I'm like what would you say to them? I don't even know how to ask the question.

Swami: No, I mean, it's a very, very legitimate question. So, first of all, for anyone who is in an abusive situation now, there is hope and there is help. And when you are ready, safely leave. And I say that having read advice from people who have been in abusive relationships. And they say it's deeply important to create steps forward for yourself.

There is hope for you. You can find a way forward. You do not need to stay there. And when you have an inner readiness, change that situation. You are worth it. The light in you is absolutely beautiful. It's precious. It is not [00:29:00] diminished by any pain that you are experiencing or have experienced in the past.

So this is, I can give you a really specific example. When I give spiritual conferences or meditation conferences, very often people will talk about trauma that they have experienced in the past, and there can be incredible deep healings and deep releases. As they meditate, as they come into contact with the truth of the light within their own heart, they often come to a recognition that is something like this, like I'm putting into words what of course goes beyond words, but let's say That I recently spoke to a person who had had a painful experience in relation to her dad when she was a kid.

She actually didn't give details, and I didn't ask, but so this can be like universally for any listener who had a painful experience with a parent. in their childhood, and she actually described it as a traumatic experience that still [00:30:00] continues to reverberate into her relationships today, and she's ready to heal.

She wants to let the pain go. One of the things that my teacher advised was, keep the wisdom, keep whatever you have learned, and be willing to let go of the pain. So there Is a reason like from the perspective of our souls, something our soul was learning in that situation that can help us in the rest of our lives.

If you look at it that way. So frequently, like a person who experienced something challenging in their childhood might now be working as a counselor or a therapist or a doctor or an attorney or in some sort of healing modality that helps others transform That same pain that they were able to transform as well.

So nothing is ever, what's the right way to put this? There's always light that is with us, even in the midst of the most painful experiences. [00:31:00] And when we come into contact with that truth of our being and we look. back at the painful human experiences which are there for every single human who has ever been in embodiment.

The painful human experiences are there. You can see as you look back from the standpoint of the light that you are, the light was actually with you the whole way through and the light is actually with you now, in the now. is where healing can occur. In the now, everything that you need for healing, it's right there.

And then, of course, you'll be guided to, if there are wonderful steps forward for counseling or whatever support you need to support you externally, that will come. But it comes when you realize In the now, my light is beautiful. My light is precious. My light is undiminished. No matter what it is that I have experienced, I can choose right now to create a life that I really, really love.

Keeping the wisdom, letting go the pain. The [00:32:00] other thing that is the truth is like, let's use the example of The woman who experienced trauma in relation to her dad when she was a kid. Her dad is in the non physical. He's left the body. He's passed. As we say, he, when he passed. would have directly encountered the results that he created for her.

So he would have directly felt the pain that she created in relation to that trauma. And that would have been part of his soul's journey to come into realization that was the result. Of whatever that unskillful behavior was that I engaged in when I forgot the light in me and I unintentionally passed that on in ignorance, not knowing to my young child.

And my young child is actually now still feeling the effects of that as an adult. And so all of that is true and the light in the dad [00:33:00] is deeper. than the unskillful behavior. The unconditional love in the dad is also deeper than the unskillful behavior. On the other side of this, when you're steady in the light within you, what happens is you realize, I can open my heart and I can accept the love.

that was deeper than the pain that came through that experience. And so that is my understanding of forgiveness. You're giving yourself so much love and you're connecting with the light that you are always. You're keeping the wisdom. There's no denial. There's no repression. There's no, whatever the right way to put this is, like you're not fighting against it.

You're honestly looking at it. This is back to the spiritual honesty and the open hearted courage, being willing to look at it, but also willing to transform it. Willing to say, I'm not going to stay in that pain. The light in me is so beautiful. How much fun can we have? Like, let's, let's create some fun, [00:34:00] let's create some laughter and some joy.

And so it is incredibly beautiful and precious to see in the work that I do. There are so many humans who live in this very courageous, very open hearted way. Who say. I'm willing to keep the wisdom and let go the pain. And that is what makes us able continually, independent of what happens in time and space, to experience that energy of joy and that energy of freedom.

Will: You said a mouthful. And a half. Holy crap. All right. Not to beat a dead horse. I don't care. And do you have a question? Do you have a follow up? Okay. So asking. Yes. That's a perfect word for it. The light will always at the end. And to your point, you mentioned Martin Luther King a little while ago and to your to your credit, to your point, sorry, we are taping today is Martin Luther King [00:35:00] day we're honoring his memory today the day that we're taping.

So let's take him for an example. He was the embodiment of love and light and kindness and advocating for humankind and others and all that kind of stuff. And yet. He came to a tragic end. How can you say that that was the light winning out over the dark?

Swami: So if I may Go back to Gandhi before I talk with you about Dr. King, just because there, there's almost like a lineage of inspiration that moves from Gandhi to Howard Thurman, who was one of Dr. King's teachers and mentors to Dr. King. And so this commitment to nonviolence transmitted from Gandhi.

It inspired Howard Thurman, and then in turn inspired Dr. King as well. And Dr. King, of course, found inspiration for the commitment to nonviolence [00:36:00] from within the teachings of Jesus also. So, One of the things that I've recently been reflecting upon is a teaching from a yogi in India who was talking about Gandhi who also dedicated his life to non violence and to positive, peaceful transformation and whose life ended violently.

And the way that the story has always come down to me, and this is some of those teachings that are transmitted orally. I've never seen it written, but my teacher always said that in his final moments, Gandhi's final words were, I forgive you. And so he was living in that energy of forgiveness. And the name of Ram was also on his lips.

So Ram is the name of incarnation of joy and bliss in the yogic tradition. And so even at the moment of violent death, Gandhi was in [00:37:00] that energy of light. He was in the energy of love. He was in the energy of forgiveness. And one of the things that this yogi that I was encountering in books was talking about was that Gandhi had to have chosen it on a soul level.

There had to have been a sense that on a soul level, the way that I put it, his tour of service was complete. that he had accomplished what he came to accomplish. He had done what he came to do in the realm of time and space. One of the things that the yogis do say is that I'm not inviting anyone to be reckless, so don't be reckless.

If it's not your time to leave, you really won't leave, right? So the yogis

Will: Right. Don't try this at home.

Swami: I'm not asking you to be reckless,

Will: These are trained professionals. Do not try this at home.

Swami: do not. But one of the things that the yogis say is, really and truly, we can live with [00:38:00] more fearlessness than we do. And again, please be aware. Pay attention. Drive carefully.

Will: So then how do you connect it? So I'm assuming that that you would say the same thing then for Dr. King, that it was it was the same thought process there, correct?

Swami: Well, so, from a soul's perspective, and I first want to just acknowledge, from a human perspective, it's always impossible to understand. From a human perspective, you look at it, and there's like, like there are people whose 12 year old kid dies, from a human perspective, that's impossible to understand.

And from a human perspective, the heartbreak of that will be with you forever, for the rest of your life. There's always going to be a before and an after for an experience like that. And I definitely have talked to parents for whom that happened. Their hearts continue opening, and they continue Living, they continue opening even more to unconditional love, even after that.

So it is possible[00:39:00] from the perspective of the soul, the soul has a tour of service. That's my phrasing for it. And so when the tour of service is complete, we get to exit the body. We don't die. That is completely clear. So we don't need to be afraid of exiting the body. And it's also true that we are to be here fully.

to fully enjoy, to fully live, to fully love every single moment of our time being here in the body. So stay here if you are here in the body, but also fear not. Truly allow yourself with awareness, please keep the awareness, and I'm not telling anyone to be reckless, but truly allow yourself to live. And truly allow yourself to love and enjoy every single moment of your life.

Will: Yes, Karen, truly allow yourself to live and love. [00:40:00] I'm actually telling him, I saying that to myself, right. Using you as a scapegoat. Cause I don't want to face the fact that I need to hear these messages. So, okay. And that does go right in line with some of the studies I've done with Upanishads, a whole deal where it is the, we shouldn't be so concerned about winning.

in the way that humanity says that we should be winning, but rather are we winning inside? Are we where we winning spiritually? And the way we win spiritually is to be at peace with ourselves and how we have lived our lives.

Swami: Right? And I mean, the joy that you two share, like, that's a win. Right? And so, almost like, you could think of it as like, any success, and may you enjoy massive success, but any success that you enjoy is like a byproduct of that. Like, it's a byproduct of the joy that you two share. Like, you both have so much fun.

You both have so much style. And so like the success flows from that, right? Like it's a byproduct. It's not that you're [00:41:00] chasing the success. It's that you are being fully you. And so of course, like whatever is a match for you energetically, like it comes to you and that's true for everyone. that the laws of energy work.

Will: I love that. And you are so right. We do have lots of joy together. We do have a lot of fun together. And I think that's why we do the show. 'cause , we couldn't do it. I couldn't do it without Karen. I tried it for a while. It, it was terrible. So it was not terrible. Karen came on board and it was per, I mean, not, we just laugh a lot.

Everything changes. We do laugh a lot more, which is great. Um, alright. I do want to turn our attention a little bit more now towards like meditation and things like that because I know that that's where you, the awake yoga meditation group that you are the spiritual leader for a, you're in Baltimore physically, that's, uh.

That's a an incredible place to do something like this first and foremost, but second you can be seen and heard and people can actually experience your messages, not just [00:42:00] by your podcast that we haven't had even a chance to talk about here, but you also wrote a book. And then also people can actually join the community of awake yoga meditation, correct?

Like from everywhere, anywhere people can join and be part of it.

Swami: Absolutely. I mean, so no membership required. You just hop on zoom and you're into our live meditation. So we have live meditations on Sundays and Tuesdays and Fridays. Everyone's welcome. Long time meditators, also completely new meditators. Everyone's welcome. And we do have like a whole range.

So people from all backgrounds, all walks of life, all nationalities, all traditions, it's a very warm and welcoming community. And Everyone is welcome. It's so much fun to meditate with other humans who love the light and who are living these teachings of truth.

Will: Sounds wonderful. It does. And you are going to see us there for sure. But, but how, when someone like some people who are listening to the show right now might be a little nervous because they don't know what to expect. So what, when you say a [00:43:00] meditation, like meditate together, what can someone expect?

Do you go and you just like Ohm all day long or the chance, are they just a silent meditation? What kind of meditations do you guys do?

Swami: So, on a Sunday, I can use that as an example there will be about 25 minutes where I talk about things like we're talking about right now, and it's also really fun. It's like very inspiring. I love humor, so that's one reason why it's so fun to talk with you both. And So right, like always keep your sense of humor and not that kind of flows into the meditation talks as well.

But it's also really practical examples. Like, how do you do this when you're in a human body, you have human emotions, you have human relationships, like, how do you do this? How do you live these teachings of light and truth and kindness? And so it's also really fun to have a practice. community. So you get to see like all these other humans from all backgrounds, all professions, all walks of life.

They're also practicing these teachings of truth as well. So there's like a big boost of joy and connection and spiritual energy that you get. And there's like 25 [00:44:00] minutes of talking. We open with about 20 minutes of silent meditation. If you have an existing practice, you can dive right into that. But I also give guidance and entry points at the beginning.

So if you want, you can dive into those as well. And so it's just super fun. We share teachings as well on social media. So if anyone's on Instagram or on TikTok or on YouTube, you're very welcome to enjoy.

Will: Yes, we will now talking about that meditation group and all that kind of stuff and we touched a little bit on Thich Nhat Hanh a little while ago Thich Nhat Hanh said that meditating in the community is a miracle. What does he mean by that

Swami: So, you know what you were just talking about, Will? You said like you have so much fun with Karen, like you amplify each other's energy for the podcast. Meditating and community is like that. You amplify each other's positive energy. You amplify joy. And so if you can just imagine like [00:45:00] joy, exponentially amplified, that's what it is meditating in community.

And it's just such a gift.

Will: Can you can you come over?

Swami: Where are you all?

Will: I need you to come over because I need your energy around me all the time. This is amazing. So I got to give a shout out our buddy Chris who is in your lineage when he found out we were interviewing you was so excited and just couldn't stand himself. He was texting me telling me, Oh my gosh, it's like she, he's, he said so many wonderful things about you that I'm not going to lie.

The bar was set pretty high, but. What I can tell you, Chris, buddy, thank you. Yeah, you were absolutely right. You are a miracle Swami. I, that's probably the best way to put it. So thank you so much for coming on the show. If there's one thing that you want to make sure that our audience absolutely gets before we go, what would that be?

Swami: I think one of the primary things is trust the light that is within you. So the light in every human, it is there. [00:46:00] And what we're invited to do is to turn to our own heart, our own true heart, and be willing to connect with that light continually. Be willing to flow in the energy of that light in our daily life.

And what happens is there's almost like a current of joy. It's a pure joy, and it's a lasting joy, it's a healthy joy, but there's a current of joy that will magnetically draw you to what's next. And this is true from the books that you're guided to read, it's true from the foods that you're guided to eat.

It's true from the next choices that you're guided to make in any area of your life. There's almost like this magnetic flow of light and joy and aliveness. And so the more that we live in that magnetic flow of light and joy and aliveness, there's just this dynamic, creative, generous, kind, curious, wise, wonderful.

It's a life filled of, with [00:47:00] laughter, it's a life filled with friendship, it's a life filled with love. And, and thanks to you both. Blessings to Chris. Thanks to all the listeners as well, because you both exemplify that. It's really, really beautiful. I appreciate the dynamic exchange that you all exemplify.

Karen: I don't think we've ever been in an interview where at the end, my face is sore from smiling so much, but you are just making me smile so much. Just, Oh, just being around you virtually, even, I can't even imagine what it would be like if we, got together for tea, it would be

Will: wonderful. Thus, my invitation, I

Swami: I would love to have tea with you. I would love to have tea.

Will: All right. Well, we are going to lay in your social media links the website links directly in our show notes. So if you want to connect with Swami Nithyananda, you can always go to skepticmanphysician. com. But for those that are just listening in right now, Swami, what's the best way for someone to get ahold of you?

Perfect.

Swami: So awake yoga meditation.org is our website, and you'll find links to our [00:48:00] meditations. We have E-course, we have books, we have a blog, we have podcast, we have social media teachings. Anyone who wants to reach me, I'm at swami@awakeyogameditation.org.

Will: We're going to put that in the links for sure, in the show notes for sure. Really quick question because it just occurred to me. So those of, for those that want to join the community, you want to be part of the meditations, all that kind of stuff. Can, do they expect, is this a religious ceremony, a religious organization, or is this, not?

Swami: It's a spiritual community. So we have people from all faith traditions. And then we also have people who would describe themselves as spiritual rather than religious. Yeah, but we have people from African American churches, people from Catholic churches, Buddhists, Hindus, people who would just say I'm into oneness.

I love nature. I don't really consider myself religious. Yeah,

Will: Great. So you don't have to convert or anything like that to

join, right? This is not, this is perfect. So this is more like the

Swami: makes you more you, [00:49:00] whoever you are. Meditation makes you more you.

Will: right. Right. One truth, many paths, all that kind of stuff. Right. So yes, thank you for coming on. Thank you for making us feel good this past however long it's been. Thank you for doing what you're doing for mankind, for humanity.

Thank you. Ooh, boy, do we need that these days. So, but most of all thank you for saying yes to coming over. We're really excited to have you.

Swami: It's a joy to talk with you. Thank you both.

Will: And a huge thank you to you. If you know someone who would benefit from hearing the message we're sharing on the show, do them and us a favor and share the show with them.

It will help get the word out about us and it might just change someone's life for the better. Well, that's all for now, but we'll see you on the next episode of The Skeptic Metaphysician. Until then, take care.