Bhakti Yoga: Devotion, Love, and Service with Vijeth Kumar

0:00 Hey there, before we get started on this week's episode, I would love to ask for your support by reviewing this podcast. We want to share yoga with as many people as possible and this free resource, this podcast is one of the ways that we can do that. And the best way that you can help support us is by giving us a review.

0:16 So if you go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify or whatever podcast platform you use, Scroll down until you find that star review and then give us some love. Thank you so much and let's get started with this week's episode. Hello and welcome back to the Going Pro Yoga Podcast.

0:33 Today's episode is a continuation from last week where we had Vijeth Kumar come to the podcast and speak about Yogi mindset. And now for this week, we're continuing that episode. We actually split it into two. It was a long conversation, so we split it into two.

0:50 So if you're look listening to this one for the first time, go back one. Go back one to tune into the first part of the Yogi mindset, where in this episode we're actually going to be continuing the conversation and talking more about integration of the Niyamas and the Yamas.

1:08 So yogic philosophy, because when learning yoga philosophy, while it is fascinating and interesting, it's also somewhat overwhelming at the same time for some to be able to understand how to actually use and to interpret this information of what the Niyamas and the Yamas teach us to live a more yogic lifestyle, more peaceful lifestyle, more blissful lifestyle, or a stress less lifestyle.

1:36 So again, Vijeth has been graciously able to simplify the teachings of what he's learned from his teachers and his experience. And he also brings in a lot of the lessons that he learned from his grandparents, bhakti yogis for love and devotion. So really excited to continue this conversation. Without further ado, let's dive back in to the conversation with Vijeth Kumar.

1:58 Welcome to the Going Pro Yoga podcast. If you love yoga as much as I do, then this podcast is for you. We talk all things yoga related for teachers in order to supplement and complement and even support after a 200 hour yoga teacher training.

2:16 Or if you've never done a training before, this podcast is all about just learning more about yoga in an authentic way. Together with Paul Tioto and Byron de Marseille, we put together this podcast to provide you with a free resource to learn more about yoga. Whether you want to share yoga or teach yoga or just practice yoga.

2:33 This podcast is talking all things yoga related and we're trying to talk from the teacher's perspective and also the student's perspective to make sure we get a full 360° angle on what yoga is all about and how it's evolved in the modern world. Welcome to our podcast.

2:47 I'm going to throw you off a little bit here because I know you're, I know you're going to answer the question in a different way, but if you had to say, what is your? Favorite favorite? I think I have both have helped me a lot in my practice, but neemas are my favorite.

3:08 Yeah. What's your favorite? Is there a particular one? Yes, it is Ishwara Pranidhana. It is the act of devotion. That is something that I grew up with watching my grandparents, parents deeply immersed in bhakti Marga. So even through the practice, to ultimately find the same experience is something very profound for me. It's like teaches you how to do surrendered action, where every act is done in such a way that your energy in the being is felt.

4:09 It is moving towards the hardcore to the heart scent. So Bhakti Yogi is a Yogi who I don't know how to say this. You you can correct what I say, but it's it's devotion. Yeah, it's love and devotion. As a bhakti Yogi, you're there.

4:32 That's what would be my translation, I suppose. But what would you say? I will say that Bhakti Yogi is the one who has deep trust in the divine. Bhakti Yogi is the one who can recognize the divine everywhere and the whole Indian tradition is about being in bhakti.

5:05 When we do namaste, it simply says that I clearly see myself in you. Whatever that is keeping me alive is the same energy which is keeping you alive. So it is like a constant reminder that you are not separate from the cosmos, you are it.

5:36 So Bhakthi helps us to experience that oneness. All the separation dissolves and bhakti is also feeling that the only relationship that you have is with the Divine Mother, cosmic energy. So everything is her reflection, her expression. So you are in that state of pure love and the more you are in that cosmic love, the more is being overflowed from your being.

6:22 That's why Bhakti Yogi is always in ecstatic state. They sing, they dance. So that is the rasa of the bhakti celebration. So the Ishwar Pranidhan has say the best way to practice yoga is to celebrate your life. I could see why that's your favorite.

6:48 That's great. And I remember something that you said before that really landed with me and I'm just going to say it and I'm sure you you can probably say more about it. I don't even know if it was on the last podcast or not, but I've heard, I've heard you talk so many times in trainings that I just was something that landed with me one time. And it's talking about the act of devotion and how what you're devoted to is somewhat irrelevant. It's more of the ACT or the the

7:19 feeling of the devotion or the act of devoting yourself to something, regardless if it's this table or if it's Ganesha or if it's Allah or Jesus, right? It's just the devotion, the act of it being more the power or the essence of it.

7:43 Yeah, it is more about how you do it than what you do. It's to do things with love, to make it very simple. It is mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita and other Yogi scriptures that you go into the world not to extract happiness.

8:15 You go into the world because you want to share your happiness. So you're doing everything because you're full of love and happiness. You're not doing things because you want to extract something out of what you are doing. So whenever there is this yarning to have more, we are not in our center because in love we do not rule yourself in love. Doing the service gives you the greatest joy because you have so much love happening in you, over pouring from you. You just want to share it.

9:11 It is a human tendency. So act of surrender is this that you only recognize this divine nature of love in you and you know that love is not something that I have to go and get it somewhere. It is my nature. I will never lose it and I will never go empty.

9:41 And you keep giving and giving and giving. You are pouring everything that you have, but simultaneously you notice you constantly receiving as well. So when you do something with the bhakti, it becomes prayer. It is a way of conveying your gratitude.

10:13 So then every act becomes an offering and every act becomes the expression of love, expression of creativity. You make it sound so simple. The behaviour, the reminder, the offering of love or happiness sorts. Yeah, the extracting or or receiving part is I think generally the focus. Or it can be the focus for a lot of people and not realising that the outward energy has a, a, a by product or a, a result of having an inward like a returning or like a receiving at the same time versus focusing on

11:12 the receiving with doesn't always work. And it's kind of like where people get blocked. I would say it's focusing on the, on the want and the take versus the being of service or the outward share. And it makes me think of things like abundance.

11:29 I don't know how how aware you are of the conversations that people have about abundance, but the mindset of abundance is to the more you give, the more you will receive. And usually this isn't used in the context of money, of course, because people are thinking about money.

11:46 I need money to live and especially, you know, inflation and all these things like living in this material world, money is a very important thing. So how do I move from being scarcity mindset where especially if I have a lineage or not even a lineage, but a family who grew up in a time where there was war and you know, anything that you can take for survival was like, it's kind of you just hold on to everything you have. So that's scarcity mindset.

12:17 So taking, taking wanting for survival. And then, you know, a lot of us now, I would say in the, the newer generations, a lot of that coming from baby boomers and before. So newer generations are now trying to heal from or let go of some of these, call them samskaras. That was received from our our parents and our grandparents related to needing to take and, and, and collect and hold on to as opposed to giving and letting go, which results in that return action of receiving at the same

12:54 time. I don't know if this is making any sense, but to me it's very much just trying to relate it back to the challenges that people face with some of these concepts, yeah. Yeah, it is a great question and great comment as well. So the first thing we need to understand is when we start to meditate, in the beginning, we need a lot of effort, right? The mind is racing, you're getting easily distracted, but you're consistent in your practice. You do every day, and suddenly

13:47 one day you're not really expecting anything to happen in your practice. But you had a very profound awakening. You explored something within you which was never being felt, and it has remained with you throughout the day. And from here on, the practice doesn't need any effort, because now you trust in the process you are in, because you know that you had a glimpse.

14:32 So the moment there is glimpse of what is your inner potential, what is your true nature, even for a microsecond everything shifts in you. Now, even without your own concern, your eyes wants to look within, wants to close.

14:56 Whenever there is moment where you are not doing anything, you are not even setting up time for your meditation practice, you feel like you are never coming out of the practice. It keeps taking you back. So the ego cannot let it go at the very beginning, resists so much because it makes takes your energy outward, says what you are looking for exists somewhere outside of you. And that is the reason we all come into yoga, so that we have these tools, have this moment to

15:35 see that how abundant you are, you don't like anything, but it is not realized, hence the confusion for most of us. Very nice not realising the abundance that already exists and not necessarily needing to to get more. It's it's already there so giving out the abundance only increases the abundance within. Definitely yes.

16:06 That's it. OK, it's a different way of for me visualizing or the perspective of it compared to what I hear and what people say about abundance. Just give your money away and more money will come in or you know, the more love you give, the more love you'll receive.

16:26 So harder to digest I guess for some people. But then I also think of things like how people who are more they are very focused on giving, you know, they give their time, their energy, their love, their, you know, you could even call them people pleasers, right? And then often times they, the result or the consequence for them often can be fatigue or they're, you know, they're, it's like the quote of another quote, but the saying of like their cup is they're giving from an empty

17:00 cup because they're not, they're not being filled fulfilled. So do you have any thoughts about that? Yes, a great question. Again, it is human tendency that we want the assurance of the other and deep inside our heart we have the intention to be there for who is in need of us that we cannot tend to ignore. And when you are in the path of service, especially to be a yoga teacher is a great responsibility, right? That you are holding space for people who are releasing their karmic ties.

18:02 And when you are going into that space, if you enter there as Michael is a problem because Michael also has set of problems. He was working on it as Vijayeth. I have my own challenges. I am working on it. And when you go there and you hold space, then what happens is you feel very limited.

18:32 You feel very trained because you have to console the one who is in front of you and also console yourself, right? But if you can step aside and say that I go and I pray, let something guide me, let something fill me up with so much energy. And if you do that act with devotion, you will notice your energy level will continue to stay up because something in life cosmically designed that eventually made you as a yoga teacher and placed you in front

19:19 of people who were looking for spiritual growth. Even though you might feel that you have studied yoga and become a teacher, but to be in that place is a blessing. There is something working through you. Why did you had the desire to be a teacher, that to be of yoga, Why you want to help people? So there is a divine guidance flowing through us, the divine energy flowing through us.

19:54 And once you're connected to that, then you're not feeling tired, exhausted to hold space for anyone. So that is why it is when I see gurujis that I studied with, they all had this kind of unconditional love, right? You are in the in their class and you say my neck is hurting.

20:27 They come to you, start massaging your neck, release it straight away. The teachers. The teachers really. Yeah. And you say I am hungry. They bring you the food they are giving you already. Such a precious knowledge, so much growth is happening. And at the same time, they are constantly looking out ways to serve you.

20:49 And that is something that each one of us have it when we have so much love. Of course, body will feel tired, but your energy level continue to stay up. You do not feel drained because you are connected to that cosmic energy. So if I am not feeling in this way, it is also not a big mistake.

21:14 It is just that you need to have a balance, give space and time, and that gentleness that you are offering to the people around you in your practice when you meditate. And this shift is going to happen sooner when the meditation starts to continue to exist in you.

21:34 That state of awareness. Now energy level is always high. A Yogi is so centered that he doesn't need to sleep. He is in a meditative state. We all need sleep because we get tired, exhausted by evening. We leave in a stressful state, that's why sleep is essential. But if you need live in a meditative state or if you meditate more.

22:04 I have heard people who have attended Vipassana meditation when they practice for 8 hours 9 hours, they notice they cannot sleep longer in the night. So your energy level is directly related to your state of mind. So if the mind is overused, you feel tired. If body is overused, you will feel tired. There is a balance.

22:34 So you keep the practice and you always make sure that you also take care of yourself in your practice so that you can serve better. There is this misconception also that you always have to take care of yourself. self-care has become a very important thing in the modern world.

23:04 But sometimes it is hard to decide whether you are taking care of the self or yourself centric. So to constantly to be in balance is yoga. Neither you go into that extreme where you feel that you are drained or you don't go to that extreme where you don't care for others at all. You are always obsessed with your own state of mind, Peace of Mind and you are always on guard. So it is somewhere between where you have the balance and eventually with the grace you

23:46 will continue. If your intention is to serve, you will continue to find more energy in you. So in simple terms I hear, or at least for my brain maybe some other brains is to be open, but to also have boundaries at the same time. So open with.

24:11 As long as you need boundaries. As long yeah, I was thinking you're going to say something like that because if, if because you said a lot of beautiful things about just like, you know, the stress in the body, which is what requires us to to heal or rejuvenate or to sleep and rest.

24:29 But if, you know, getting to this point or this this stage, or at least the goal is to move towards that direction of less stress. I I think everyone can relate to that, right? Less stress and more bliss, if you will. So that openness that over time, you say it eventually like not needing boundaries, but like I think for most people, they do need boundaries, right?

24:56 Especially for those that give, give, give and always say yes. And they want to, they want to please and they want to live up to expectations and they want to, you know, you also said very subtly like do these things and get this validation back at the same time, which all this stuff is not really centered from just giving or being of service wholly.

25:19 And that being somewhat draining and exhausting. And so therefore some boundaries, I suppose, whether it be just for personal time, for self-care is something that a lot of people actually struggle with just by itself is creating their own boundaries because they're so open.

25:34 But their openness is also focused on self-centered things like the way that they think about me or the way that they see me or, oh, they're, they're not going to like me because I, I, they wanted this of me and I didn't do that thing.

25:52 So I didn't live up to the expectations. So there's disappointment there. So I'm just thinking all of these, this is all just stress. It's just all different types of stress, right. So it's, it's, it's say it's fun. It's kind of fun for me.

26:07 But it's interesting to, to, to like, just take apart like what is, you know, the human, modern human mind, like has a lot of these things to, to process. And when we, when I talk to you and I hear the way that you simplify some of these concepts, that's so beautiful. But then I just think of the person that's that struggles with like, well, how do I do that? Like, what do I do?

26:31 Like, how do I, how do I let go of these things? And how do I, you know, not be as stressful? And how do I not, you know, give fully without also, you know, receiving. And I think I know what you're going to say, but it's to just to keep practice, like just keep practicing and just keep going. And then slowly things will change and shift. Eventually there will be a new.

26:54 There will be a creative and. Another important thing to understand is through practice, you're not going to be totally free of these things that is bothering you. It will still exist because it is the part of your being.

27:14 But what you can do with the practice is when it arises, you can laugh about it. People actually take so much of stress. They do certain practices and they think that they are going to completely let go of this emotion or a pain that they hold on to or if it is a trauma, but it will all be in US. But through the practice what happens is you don't get influenced by it anymore.

27:51 It just sits there as a factual memory, as information. This has happened. So if we are hoping that I will do yoga for some years and then one day I will not have any anger, that person will be disappointed because still we will see the anger in us. But you will have the ability not to react to this emotion. So we are not really here to get rid of anything. We are here to celebrate everything, all emotions. Accept and celebrate.

28:33 I think of like I'm always thinking of lines of nervous, like the nervous system. I have this visual and if you've, if you've studied with me, you know what I'm talking about when I, when I would talk about the Poly vagal theory where it's like arousal or stimulation levels.

28:50 You know, when your arousal or stimulation or stress or adrenaline goes high, you know that that could eventually lead to imbalance anxiety. Or if your stimulation is low, your arousal is low. That can also be out of balance, which would result in more of like depressive or uninspired or unmotivated type symptoms. So having your energy or your excitement level be balanced somewhere in the middle.

29:18 And I think we talked about this the other day actually, you and I about trying to maintain that level. You, you know, call it reaction, but to me it's the nervous system. Does the nervous system spike in moments of exhilarated excitement or anxiety or drop versus trying to maintain this, this kind of wave?

29:43 And if I think of like an example of like an ocean or surfing and stuff like that, like there's always waves. The waves don't go away, right? So the waves, though, exist. But can we, can we calm the waves down so that they're not Whitecaps, so they're not peaking so intensely, which makes the ocean seem stressful? The ocean has got so much energy. It's moving all over the place.

30:06 It's almost chaotic versus like the waves are never gonna go away. They're always gonna be there. But sometimes there's smaller waves. So what I'm, I don't know if this is making any sense, but in, in my brain, I'm thinking of like the practice allows us to turn the large waves into smaller waves over time, but the waves are always going to be there.

30:25 That's the way that my brain is visualising it, right? So even when moments, it's like, you know, and it could take however long it takes, it takes how long it needs to until it gets to a point. But the waves are always underneath the surface. There's always certain energy that can bump up or bump down, but it's maintaining A relatively middle ground or balance.

30:49 If you can see me on the video, I'm kind of like doing a little fish thing, but basically not too high, not too low, but somewhere in the middle. Yeah, that's. Yoga. Yeah, that's yoga. Just as simple as that. The waves of an ocean.

31:04 I mean, we are the drops, aren't we? Just the drop. So this has been really interesting and and we kind of just went from one thing to the next, but we're really just talking about the these lifestyles of, of the Niyamas in this case, particularly the the one that's was your favorite. I can't even know how to pronounce it. Niyamas.

31:26 No, no, that your favorite Niyama. Ishwara Pranidana. Yeah, that one. Ishwa Prada diya nama. Ishwara. Ishwara. Prani, Prani Dana. Dana, Yeah, OK, you. Got it. Yeah, I got it. I passed. OK, good. So I know that you have a retreat in Laos, which is in Southeast Asia just north of Thailand, where in Laos it's. Nam Khan.

32:00 Nam. Nam Han. Nam Han. So you have a retreat. That's OK You have a retreat there that you're doing with Anand, Is that right? Yeah. With your wife. Yeah. And so tell me a little bit about it because it's about learning more about the niyamas. Yeah.

32:17 It is, yeah. Usually with my own practice and teaching, I've come to this point where I understand that each one of us, when we learn about Miss and EMS, like you said, that we want to integrate that into our life. So in this retreat I am focusing more on giving tools, how they can work on integrating this EMS into the daily life, how to do the surrendered action in every moment of our life.

33:03 And also give them yogic practices. Because when you study classical texts on Hathi yoga, they give you specific practices to let you know what exactly means our choice to cleanse. When you do the kriyas in the Hathi Yoga Pradeepika, they talk about shat kriyas through which you can actually see that how by bringing up the purity of the body of removing the excess leshma impurity from the body changes the state of mind. So you witness it when you do

33:46 these practices and you understand sowchav that is mentioned in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. So this retreat is an opportunity to experience why Nehemiah are so profound, how that it can bring such a sudden shift in the way we live, how it can purify our perception and also at the same time it is to be connected with the nature.

34:24 Most of the learning happens when you are available to the nature around you. So in this retreat it is kind of bringing the yogic wisdom and staying connected with the nature. And also particularly Laos is a place where Buddhism is widely practiced.

34:48 So you live in atmosphere where meditation is happening around you. So that is a conducive atmosphere at the same time. And EMS is all about how you can be available so that you can help yourself eventually through the practices. You are using practices only as excuse. Ultimately who is going to help you is yourself. It is just an excuse.

35:19 You spend time doing something, but you get to heal yourself, you get to help yourself, you get to guide yourself. And these five days is an opportunity even for me to go into that aspect where I can get to learn more about myself and deepen my practice. What is it?

35:45 What is the retreat? It's happening from May 23rd to 29th. May 23rd to May 29th. OK, We're going to put this in the show notes for people to find if you're interested. Yeah, to go to go to Laos. Maybe you're travelling around right now and you're like, oh, what are we going to do? Where are we going to go?

36:05 I want to do something different. Maybe I want to study more philosophy. Maybe. And maybe we've never been to Laos. Maybe you want to spend more time in nature, find more peace, or just integrate some of the teachings that you've learned in one of your trainings.

36:19 It's the most importantly, the yogic retreats that happens in India is so different nowadays. The retreat is being thought of. You go and relax and rejuvenate, come back new. This is a very traditional type of retreat where you go to have more tools to help yourself. So it is more like to really see that spiritual growth, to put all the energy that you have committed to see more gifts in you, right?

37:02 So when you go there, it becomes more like a sadhana, spiritual sadhana than a retreat. And justice, in case someone doesn't know what a sadhana is. How would you describe that? Sadhana is wholeheartedly with devotion. You practice. Practice.

37:24 You practice until practice becomes you. That is the attitude of a sadhaka, that the perfection comes in practice where the effort becomes effortless. There is no need to put effort anymore to keep your spine erect. There is no more effort to breathe deeply. So you reach to that state of effortlessness and but Sadhaka has to put lot of effort in the beginning to experience effortlessness.

38:07 Great. Yeah. Little bit at the time. One day at a time. Yeah, one moment at a time if possible. That sounds great. I would actually love to go on that retreat if I wasn't teaching so much in May. I think I'm teaching in eight trainings in May, which is, which is crazy. I know I'm going to be giving a lot, so that also means I'm going to be receiving a lot if I'm in the right place with my mindset.

38:37 So this is actually a great precursor for me to prepare myself for that month. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Vijeth. It's always beautiful to have you on. I know this is the second time. Well, this will be the third because we'll probably split this episode into two for the audience. This will be the third time you'll be on. But yeah, it's, it's a pleasure to have you into be so grateful to learn from what your teachers in your life experience and your grandparents have taught you

39:18 because it comes through to me very, very wholeheartedly, very true, very authentic. And I think that's really valuable, especially because in this podcast, authenticity is like our #1 value in casual. The other one, if you haven't figured that out, we're very casual for the most part.

39:42 And then also trying to keep things simple in the for the modern world, the modern mind, the modern body. So that even though yoga, this practice that's been around for many, many years, you know it can help to. Allow us to understand how we can evolve as well, even with, you know, the times and the things, the different stresses, the different things that are going on in the world, while they're different, they're also still somewhat the same.

40:14 So it's nice to have conversations like this to kind of evolve some of these concepts, right? Especially with so many people who are studying yoga now, it seems more so in the last, you know, since like 2 decades ago, at least in the Western world. I should, I can't speak for India, of course. Right.

40:33 So bringing that and allowing that to spread to different people is just, I think it's such a blessing. So I'm just basically saying a lot of words to say thank you again. So I really appreciate you. Yeah. And I'd love to have you back as always. And I'm sure our audience would as well. Do you have any final thoughts, final words that you like to share with our audience before we let them go? I want to convey my gratitude to you also. Always when we come together, we

41:06 end up talking so deep about the subject and it's a great reminder for me to be in your presence. Also to always contemplate on the subject. And always you take me to places and ask me the right questions actually, which are very helpful.

41:26 And I really love sharing this, my guru's teaching and also offering it in such a way that each one of us feels that it is the most simple thing to do. You don't need to be a great aesthetic to do the practice of yoga, just principle.

41:46 If you understand the principle of yoga, you don't need to change a thing about your life. And still you can be very devoted practitioner of yoga. So making it more simple is is the way to progress in the path. And I am very happy to share my practice and my experience and my guru's teaching whenever I can. That's what my guru said.

42:23 Keep serving. The more you serve, the more you get equipped with better wisdom. And then you have more to share. Yeah. And it just continues. That's like the giving and the receiving. Yes. Yeah. It's the perfect accumulation of today's or this these podcast episodes. Thank you.

42:48 I feel very enlightened. Even though it is like 9:00 at night right now, it doesn't feel like it. I feel actually quite energized. I feel very alive. So yeah, thank you everyone for tuning in and listening. Thank you. Yeah, it's always, it's always great to to just have you talking about these things.

43:07 So I'm excited for the next time, but I'll also be patient and wait and also just having conversations. I love spending time with you, so I'll say that. Thank you again, everyone. If you have any questions, you can reach out to us at podcast@goingproyoga.com.

43:23 We'll also put maybe Instagram. This is the best way We'll put Instagram. We'll suggest Instagram there if you'd like to connect. And then maybe some information about the retreat as well, which is in May 2020, third to the 20.

43:36 9th. To the 29th in Laos to learn more about integrating the Niyamas in your life, which is yeah, sounds extremely exciting. All right, thank you so much the death. Thank you everyone and we'll speak to you next week. Take care.

43:54 All right before you go, let me just tell you about the going proyoga.com platform. So right now you can go to goingproyoga.com and check it out for free for seven days, where you can actually learn more about yoga in the ways of alignment, queuing, sequencing, yoga anatomy.

44:09 So that if you've done a 200 hour teacher training and you want to continue to learn, practice and grow, this latform is definitely for you. So I definitely suggest checking it outgoingroyogacom right now. You can try it out for free for seven days.