As a lifelong student of foundational Hindu texts, practitioner of Shaiva Tantra in the Shaiva Siddhanta lineage, and recent entrant into the Ramakrishna lineage by his guru, Swami Sarvadevananda Puri, Nish Selvalingam shares an authentic, firsthand approach to the actual Sanskrit texts of the Tantrik scriptural tradition to expose Western audiences to the profoundly positive and transformative philosophies and practices that this tradition offers. Despite misconceptions, most of what we know and love about modern postural yoga comes from Tantra, and it's only through interpretation of the real Sanskrit texts that we can set the record straight and experience a totally new way of seeing ourselves, others, and the world around us – an experience that seeks to free us from suffering and guide toward our highest fulfillment.
Cost is $55, 15% off for Unlimited Members
Nishanth Selvalingam spent the first few years of his life learning yoga philosophy in his grandfather’s ashram in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he grew up. A devoted Saivite Tantrika, Nishanth’s grandfather, worked tirelessly to plant the seeds of reverence in his young heart. Years later, while visiting Sai Baba in India, Nish experienced singing kirtan with the other devotees. He couldn’t really tell you what happened except that he felt the awakening of an appetite for religious philosophy. That day, he went to the ashram bookshop, purchased a commentary on the Gita and devoured it promptly.
The seed that his grandfather had planted flowered into a deep love for philosophy that has stayed with him since. He returned to the Upanishads and Vedas with a renewed curiosity, which only doubled when he took up the study of scriptures from other religions. Eventually, he found his way to Los Angeles, California, to study Philosophy at UCLA, where he continued to find parallels between Plato and Patanjali, Aquinas and Shankaracharya. He coached college debate at UCLA and developed a love for teaching. Nish now spends his time playing guitar in rock bands, coaching middle school debates, and teaching yoga. His calling is to share the philosophical traditions that were handed to him by his teachers because he believes with all his heart that for the practice of yoga to blossom into the fruits of Liberation and Joy, there must be a strong grounding in the philosophical frameworks out of which those practices emerged. Read more about Nish >>