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Shivaratri Reflections
This year, Shivaratri is February 26, 2025. As part of my seva with Amrita Virtual Academy, I was part of the team building the “Celebrating Shivaratri” collection, a series of practices and talks from the AVA Membership which help still the mind and connect students...
My Experience of the One-Day Mantra Japa Retreat with Swami Atmananda
One of the most popular retreats in Amrita Virtual Academy is the Mantra Japa retreat with Swami Atmananda Puri. Several students have given glowing reviews after participation. In this blogpost we will go deeper into a mix of three students' experiences, put into one...
The Ganjira in My Life
In December 2022, I began taking music instrument classes from Amrita Virtual Academy, starting with the ganjira. In February 2024, I also started learning kaimani. Both classes have had a strong impact on my life, my path and my sadhana. They have given...
Pongal Festival – It’s Meaning and Significance
Pongal is celebrated the day on which the sun begins to move northwards is called ‘Makar Shankranti’. In Tamil Nadu this festival is called the Pongal or Thai Pongal. The period is referred to as Uttarayanam and is considered auspicious. Pongal is a four-day...
Easy Ways to Compost In Urban Environments
Many people living in cities, apartment complexes, or housing communities with little or no yard space think that composting is not possible or practical. However, I will demonstrate that composting is possible in even the smallest city apartment. Mother Nature...
Gardening Effectively in Times of Drought
Extreme climate conditions have become the norm. They are no longer a thing of the past. As our planet continues to change and warm, we commonly see more droughts, flooding and extremes in temperature. Here in California, we are facing another summer of extreme...
Bread Seva: being part of the solution
Download the "How To Get Started" Guide to learn how you can collect and distribute thousands of shopping carts full of food, for free! How To Get Started Guide
Jeans and the Future of our World
How do we take our used clothes and contribute to sustaining the future of our planet? The answer to this question is evolving in inspiring and powerful ways, from our own (often overcrowded) closets to the massive production lines of the fashion industry. Let’s start...
Serving Nature Through Civic Engagement
Being involved in civic engagement was NOT my plan. As a matter of fact, I despised anything to do with politics as I had deemed the entire institution corrupt and highly unspiritual. For decades I sat on the sidelines while indulging my ego in jaded cynicism....
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