Live Vedanta

Chinmaya Mission Niagara

A podcast on high thinking and happy living with Vivek Gupta.

  • 12 minutes 53 seconds
    ⛰️ Dedication Leads to Selfless Living | Essential Verse 7

    Chapter 3, Verse 9 of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita explores the theme of dedication, as Shri Krishna explains that our attitude in action matters just as much as our intention. By engaging in selfless and dedicated actions, we dissolve the ego and sense of separation, experiencing true freedom—while selfish actions only deepen our limitations. 

    ➡️ To maximize your experience of this season, we encourage you to request your FREE copy of the Essential Love eBook. Incorporating accessible translations and practical application, the eBook accompanies each episode with additional ways to learn, synthesize, and reflect on key insights.

    🎧 Listen to the last episode.

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    🙏🏽 Join us for 24 days of Healing with Hanuman

    11 December 2025, 11:00 am
  • 14 minutes
    🕊️ True Independence Comes From Within | Essential Verse 6

    The Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is a powerful roadmap -- and on this season, we're exploring its essential verses. On this episode, we explore Chapter 2, Verse 55. Here, Prince Arjuna asks about the experience of a still intellect, and Shri Krishna explains that it comes from fulfilling one's responsibilities with dedication. By renouncing all desires, the ego dissolves into the Spirit, leading to contentment, completeness, and the experience of Independent Joy.

    ➡️ To maximize your experience of this season, we encourage you to request your FREE copy of the Essential Love eBook. Incorporating accessible translations and practical application, the eBook accompanies each episode with additional ways to learn, synthesize, and reflect on key insights.

    🎧 Listen to the last episode.

    RESOURCES + LINKS

    ❤️ Get on our monthly newsletter for virtual courses + IRL opportunities 

    🌀 Follow us to infuse your Instagram feed with inspiration

    🧘🏾‍♀️ Join Meaningful Mornings and study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras LIVE

    2 December 2025, 11:00 am
  • 16 minutes 1 second
    😌 Being Present with Actions | Essential Verse 5

    On this season of Live Vedanta, we're distilling the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita into its 70 essential verses. In Essential Verse 5 -- from Chapter 2, Verse 47 -- Shri Krishna shifts from teaching about our Real Nature and the nature of change to explaining the importance of fulfilling our responsibilities. When our intention is focused solely on right action—not results or inaction—we cultivate quietude, purity, and freedom from restlessness, laziness, and inertia.

    ➡️ To maximize your experience of this season, we encourage you to request your FREE copy of the Essential Love eBook. Incorporating accessible translations and practical application, the eBook accompanies each episode with additional ways to learn, synthesize, and reflect on key insights.

    🎧 Listen to the last episode.

    RESOURCES + LINKS

    ❤️ Get on our monthly newsletter for virtual courses + IRL opportunities 

    🌀 Follow us to infuse your Instagram feed with inspiration

    🧘🏾‍♀️ Join Meaningful Mornings and study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras LIVE

    25 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 17 minutes 38 seconds
    🌈 Our Nature Is Joy | Essential Verse 4

    On this season of Live Vedanta, we're distilling the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita into its 70 essential verses. In Essential Verse 4 -- from Chapter 2, Verse 11 -- we learn that our True Nature is Joy. By detaching from the finite—whose transient nature causes grief—we overcome sadness, anxiety, and dejection. 

    ➡️ To maximize your experience of this season, we encourage you to request your FREE copy of the Essential Love eBook. Incorporating accessible translations and practical application, the eBook accompanies each episode with additional ways to learn, synthesize, and reflect on key insights.

    🎧 Listen to the last episode.

    RESOURCES + LINKS

    ❤️ Get on our monthly newsletter for virtual courses + IRL opportunities 

    🌀 Follow us to infuse your Instagram feed with inspiration

    💍 Explore Sacred Union: Ancient wisdom for modern couples

    18 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 27 minutes 14 seconds
    🤲🏽 Change Begins by Surrendering | Essential Verse 3

    On this season of Live Vedanta, we're distilling the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita into its 70 essential verses. In Essential Verse 3 (Chapter 2, Verse 7), we explore the theme of fearlessness as Arjuna, overwhelmed by the thought of war, turns to Divinity for clarity and guidance. When we admit that relying solely on intellect hasn’t shown us our purpose, we open ourselves to spiritual growth by becoming humble disciples.

    ➡️ To maximize your experience of this season, we encourage you to request your FREE copy of the Essential Love eBook. Incorporating accessible translations and practical application, the eBook accompanies each episode with additional ways to learn, synthesize, and reflect on key insights.

    🎧 Listen to the last episode.

    RESOURCES + LINKS

    ❤️ Get on our monthly newsletter for virtual courses + IRL opportunities 

    🌀 Follow us to infuse your Instagram feed with inspiration

    🧘🏾‍♀️ Join Meaningful Mornings and study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras LIVE

    11 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 10 minutes 54 seconds
    🌱 Face Fear by Choosing to Grow | Essential Verse 2

    Let's unlock our personal transformation through the second Essential Verse (Chapter 1, Verse 25). Prince Arjuna faces a powerful dilemma on the battlefield, torn between fighting against and alongside his own kith and kin. This teaching shows how life's challenges—especially in relationships—can be opportunities for self-development, growth, and rising above fear. On this season of Live Vedanta, we're distilling the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita into its 70 essential verses.

    ➡️ To maximize your experience of this season, we encourage you to request your FREE copy of the Essential Love eBook. Incorporating accessible translations and practical application, the eBook accompanies each episode with additional ways to learn, synthesize, and reflect on key insights.

    🎧 Listen to the last episode.

    RESOURCES + LINKS

    ❤️ Get on our monthly newsletter for virtual courses + IRL opportunities 

    🌀 Follow us to infuse your Instagram feed with inspiration

    🧘🏾‍♀️ Join Meaningful Mornings and study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras LIVE

    4 November 2025, 11:00 am
  • 12 minutes 16 seconds
    ⛓️‍💥 Freedom Through Responsibility | Essential Verse 1

    Imagine the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita distilled into its 70 essential verses. Let's unlock our personal transformation through the first Essential Verse (Chapter 1, Verse 1). This chapter centers on the theme of fear, which arises from selfishness and attachment. By fulfilling our responsibilities selflessly, we move from a sense of division toward Oneness with Infinity.

    ➡️ To maximize your experience of this season, we encourage you to request your FREE copy of the Essential Love eBook. Incorporating accessible translations and practical application, the eBook accompanies each episode with additional ways to learn, synthesize, and reflect on key insights.

    RESOURCES + LINKS

    ❤️ Get on our monthly newsletter for virtual courses + IRL opportunities 

    🌀 Follow us to infuse your Instagram feed with inspiration

    🧘🏾‍♀️ Join Meaningful Mornings and study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras LIVE

    28 October 2025, 10:00 am
  • 5 minutes 36 seconds
    Introducing Essential Love

    Imagine the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita distilled into its 70 essential verses. On this season of Live Vedanta, let's unlock our personal transformation through Essential Love. 

    ➡️ To maximize your experience of this season, we encourage you to request your FREE copy of the Essential Love eBook. Incorporating accessible translations and practical application, the eBook accompanies each episode with additional ways to learn, synthesize, and reflect on key insights.

    RESOURCES + LINKS

    ❤️ Get on our monthly newsletter for virtual courses + IRL opportunities 

    🌀 Follow us to infuse your Instagram feed with inspiration

    🧘🏾‍♀️ Join Meaningful Mornings and study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras LIVE

     

    21 October 2025, 10:00 am
  • 30 minutes 6 seconds
    A Back To School Series: Q&A with Vivekji for Parents, Students, All

    This is Part 4 of our 4-part Back to School Series on Live Vedanta. In this special episode, Akshaya sits down with Vivekji to answer real questions from both students and parents about navigating the transition to college life. From letting go with love as children leave for university, to choosing the right opportunities on campus, to staying true to one’s values amidst peer pressure - this conversation is filled with practical guidance and grounded wisdom. Vivekji also addresses questions around identity, change, navigating dating and keeping up a steady spiritual practice while adapting to new routines.

    Vivekji has spent nearly two decades guiding people on how to live with clarity, connection, and calm. From daily Meaningful Mornings sessions to speaking at several global organizations and interacting with young adults, his message is simple: Inspire-Love-Be.

    His dynamic talks reach audiences through a multiplicity of mediums. Live Vedanta, his podcast of over 250 episodes, has reached seekers in 157 countries with over 240,000 downloads since its introduction in 2018. Similarly, his talks on the Chinmaya Mission Niagara YouTube channel, with over 200,000 views, deliver insights on practical self-development for all demographics. Under Shri Vivek’s inclusive leadership, Chinmaya Mission Niagara has contributed more than $1 million USD to diverse local, regional, and global philanthropy efforts since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020.

    Edited by Akshaya Radhakrishnan.
    Follow Seeking Culture on Instagram: @chykculture

    14 October 2025, 10:00 am
  • 32 minutes 55 seconds
    A Back to School Series: A Meaningful Day In The Life

    This is Part 3 of our four-part back-to-school series on Live Vedanta. In this episode, recent college graduate Raj Sureka engages in a heartfelt conversation with Shashiji, a longtime Chinmaya Mission sevika and Vedanta teacher. They explore how students can practically incorporate Vedantik principles into everyday academic life—from navigating social and extracurricular commitments to cultivating stillness and discipline amidst chaos. The discussion is filled with personal stories, grounded reflections, and actionable wisdom for young seekers striving to live with purpose and inner balance.

    Shri Shashikala Dwarkanath, the person behind Chinmaya Mission Boston, one of New England’s largest spiritual centers, has played a vital role in the lives of thousands of people in the area. She was bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 by INDIA New England News, one of the nation’s largest print, online and video magazines covering the Indian and South Asian community.

    She is an accomplished doctor, an excellent mother, a very supporting spouse, a community leader and more intensely seeking the very purpose of life. She is one of the most complete human beings in our community, inspiring hundreds and thousands of young and grown up adults with her calming presence. She currently leads our Devis in our Chinmaya Niagara CommUnity.

    Edited by Arul Mehta.
    Follow Seeking Culture on Instagram @chykculture

    7 October 2025, 10:00 am
  • 37 minutes 1 second
    A Back To School Series: Facing Challenges In College

    This is Part 2 of our back-to-school series on Live Vedanta. For many, the transition to college can bring more freedoms, a unique opportunity to find one’s passions and to explore one’s career interest, but it can also be a challenging time for many. Here Juhi Kotwani will chat with Brni. Kritikaji, who shares her guidance on how to navigate and respond to the challenges of failure from the lens of Vedanta.

    Brahmacharini Kritika Chaitanya was born in Toronto, Canada. After studying International Development Studies and Philosophy at the University of Toronto and engaging in much social work and volunteerism, she joined the 2nd Residential Vedanta Course at Chinmaya Mission Trinidad and Tobago Ashram in 2013. After a year and a half of studying the highest knowledge and Sanskrit under the guidance of Pujya Swami Prakashanandaji, she has committed herself to serving Chinmaya Mission. She is currently posted in Trinidad, conducting public satsangas and classes for adults, seniors and young females, and assisting with Ashram activities and enterprises.

    Register to be a part of our Seeking Culture CommUnity for young adults.

    Edited by Raj Sureka.
    Follow Seeking Culture on Instagram

     

    30 September 2025, 10:00 am
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