Yoga

Yoga, or the practice of union with the Divine, has been a part of me since 1994, when I met a devotee of Krishna at the University of Puerto Rico. Bhakti yoga, or the yoga of love and devotion to the Supreme Being, as espoused by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has had the strongest influence on my spiritual unfoldment.

I have also been influenced my Paramahamsa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, which I first read in 1994. More recently, I came across Scientific Healing Affirmations, and was blown away by the power and clarity of Paramahamsa Yogananda’s message.

In 2002, I became a certified yoga teacher (Yoga Siromani) at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp in Val Morin, Canada. I also practiced privately with the legendary Swami Buaji, and with Dharma Mittra. I have intermittently taught asanas and pranayama free of charge, but prefer to share the practice of bhakti yoga.

In 2006, as explained on the landing page, I became initiated in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of bhakti yoga. I’m known in those circles as Ananta Rama Dasa (or Anantaram das). During that trip, in addition to receiving the blessings of Srila Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaja, I also received the blessings of Srila Haridas Sen Babaji Maharaja (Dandabhanga sadhu) and the head pujari of the Jagannatha Temple in Puri. Moreover, I had the great fortune of meeting Pran Krishna Das Babaji Maharaja in Radha Kunda in 2014.

Here’s an article I wrote in May of 2008, explaining some philosophical issues pertaining to Vaishnavism. It’s more for the practitioner than for the casual reader.