Writings

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Sixteen years of essays: commentary on the texts, notes from practice, the science alongside the sacred, and the ordinary life all of it has to work inside. Start with a subject, or read the most recent below.

A home altar on a wooden sideboard, framed images and small deity murtis lit by oil lamps

I’ve always seen myself as a relatively undisciplined person, someone who could wrangle myself into structure for a while only...

Snow-lit Himalayan peaks above a valley still in shadow at dawn

Tantra Illuminated’s Hareesh welcomed Dr. Kavitha Chinnaiyan on a recent podcast to share her journey from growing up in a...

A moon in a pale sky above snow peaks, forested slopes falling away below

A few months ago, I was cleaning some old files and came across a personal statement I had written when...

A single stalk of grass against a hazy orange sunrise

In the Resplendent Rhythm Immersion, Kavithaji taught about the cycles of Yugas, or ages. Everything arises from nothing and eventually...

A galvanised metal bucket with water streaming out of holes all around its base

Constant energy leakage is an important reason for not making “progress” in our spiritual quest. We do so much to...

A Durgā idol in gold and red, her many arms spread wide, flanked by smaller deities

The Devī Mahātmyam is, in my opinion, the most beautifully apt allegory of the spiritual path. When we progress along...

The Svatantra saṅgha together at a glacial lake below the Garhwal peaks

In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, my mom died. I started writing this less...

A hand lowering a flame to light a row of small oil lamps in the dark

In 2018 my dad passed away, and it was an incredible loss. We had a very special bond, and I...

Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa standing together beneath a flowering tree beside a river

Rādhā! “Who can resist a love story, especially one as luscious as that of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa? Source texts that...

A white line drawing of Gaṇeśa on a deep red ground

(Adapted from The Sublime Art of Pūjā course) Many of us worship Gaṇapati every day, so why is Caturthī such...

A ring of sixteen portraits of the Nitya Devīs on deep purple, titled Resplendent Rhythm, the Moonlit Orbit of Self-Discovery

The Nitya Devis are alive in you at every moment. The sequence of the NItya Devis from the new moon,...

A goddess in red seated on a golden throne with her weapons, painted by Saundaryāmbikā

Among the many tales of Kṛṣṇa is that of his 16,000 wives. According to various Puraṇās, the 16,000 women were...