The art of becoming Shiva with 77 Shiva Sutras Can we become Shiva with the help of Shiva Sutras? What does it mean to become Shiva? Is Shiva a person? What is Shiva Tattva? These are some questions that were going through my mind after listening to a video on the Shiva by the Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Watch the video below. Shiva is considered to be the coolest of God’s in the Hindu religion. Tattoo shops are filled with designs of the trishul and damru. People from all age groups regardless of their gender have…

Origins of Durga Chalisa Yes, you read the title correct. Durga Chalisa is a powerful prayer dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Durga Devi. The Durga Chalisa is a relatively unknown prayer while the Hanuman Chalisa is famous in every Indian household. The origin of this powerful 40 verses is still unknown; however, some devotees claim that either Sage Markandeya or Sage Devidasa wrote this. Sage Markandeya is revered for the Powerful Devi Mahatmyam also famously known as the Durga Saptashati. Sage Devidasa has written quite a few sanskrit poems on Shiva and Shakti. Who is Maa Durga? Durga Devi was…

The one and only Ashtavakra Gita. What if you could choose only one book out of a 1000 to understand spiritual secrets only a select few would know? What if there exists a ‘Gita’ that doesn’t confuse you and just gives a straightforward answer to all your spiritual questions and doubts? What if I told you that there is a ‘Gita’ that is so potent that it will wake you up from the sleep of ignorance once and for all?  Does a book of that caliber exist? According to me, if you can read only one book on Hindu Philosophy,…

Recently my mother was browsing for some information related to her favorite book Bhagavad Gita on an online video platform and the major chunk of search results were titled ‘Podcasts’. This led to her asking me “Nived, What is a podcast?” It’s a straightforward question. Seems like everyone has a podcast these days. Now chances are high that this is not something new to you. You might be a regular podcast listener/viewer. Whatever the medium may be—audio or video—one thing is for sure: podcast culture has been growing rapidly in our country over the past few years. The topics range…