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If you go to any musical gathering in India, you will see that the playing of Harmonium sounds completely different from what most people have been exposed to in the west. Naturally, to learn anything from a foreign culture takes more effort, more dedication, more time - but one should commit to that process if one would like to learn any art or instrument. Commitment and lots of patience has always been the number one element when learning music from India, and Harmonium, just as any other instrument from India, is not an exception; as it will also follow the roots of music from India.For music to be harmonic, it is essential that the body and the soul of what is being presented meet. For this to happen, one key element is to learn from a reliable source, from someone who has been trained and is capable of representing that culture decently. Because some people in the west don't know what is the original sound of Indian music and Harmonium itself, they believe what they see as being presented... but many then go to India and they're shocked to see how it all sounds completely different! It is not their fault, but for their own benefit, there should be a capability to discern between what is genuine and what not. That happens in all fields. Then, it's up to the practitioner what he/she wants to choose. An unforgivable sin is when people start teaching Harmonium wrongly - this is cultural appropriation and cultural distortion; in this case, with an instrument. www.manishvyas.com/harmonium

Many times it is believed that meditation is just about relaxing the body and the mind. Although this may be a consequence, it is not the purpose of meditation. Meditation is inquiring about the true nature of the self, dropping ideas and acquired beliefs and ideologies. And an earnest retreat for this purpose should provide the space, energy and content necessary for this to manifest. In the same way, the participant should step into a retreat with the right attitude. When we go to a retreat seeking a space for one's own growth and self discovery, one should always try to ask the question, "Why am I here. What is the intention to be in this place during these days." The intention should be clear, to not waste our time and energy in the wrong direction.After having had almost 30 years experience in this field, joining true wise ones from India in their retreats, Manish talks about this and gives some clues about how to make the most out of it. "When you go to a retreat, you want to do something which is not part of the day to day life. It's a conscious process of getting out of the routine and the day to day habits."One can move towards meditation by discovering what is lacking in our inner life, where is the void... and that can be discovered by moving-IN, not by moving-OUT. And that is what a meditation retreat is helpful for, it focuses on moving inwards, on introspection, and on seeing the inner world.manishvyas.com

Meditation is not about 'doing something.' Yes, we can work on meditation techniques in order to arrive to a more meditative state. The technique will help the cleansing of the mind, the cleansing of the psyche. But at some point the technique has to be dropped, and the real meditation has to manifest. That is, in real life.So even when someone tells me, "i practice a lot of meditation," one can immediately see by the person's reflection if it remains just in the meditation technique, or if the meditation is reflected in his or her life. Meditation must be a reflection, otherwise it's just 'passing time.'One requires proper guidance, proper practice and proper understanding in the journey of seeking, in order for this journey to bring the right fruit. A light is needed in the path, to go towards the right direction. Meditation or Dhyāna, as we call it in India, is one of the words most misunderstood in the west, because mostly people refer to it as an activity, and not as a state. Furthermore, meditation is simple, it's not about philosophies and serious things... remaining conscious and acting with awareness as opposed to forgetfulness is meditation. As my Master says, "the mystical is the most practical."

Interview / Entrevista with Mantra FM 91.9, during the transmission of EL PORTAL. Where we talked about the science of mantra, how to use it, what is the best approach to mantra practice, what is the reality of mantra music, and other information that is very useful to any people who are not from India and would like to learn more about the true science and practice of Mantra.With Spanish translation / con traducción al español.

Learning music, and many other forms of arts in India is quite a different experience and requires a whole different approach and mindset than in the western learning path. I used to travel from Pune to Mumbai for hours in the slow and crowded trains to take my music lessons regularly, just because i knew the value of my teacher. And I would just get the direct attention of the teacher for about ten minutes each class... and I was very happy with that ! In six years, maybe the teacher told me two times, "good Manish!" and that was also perfectly fine. Nothing else was expected.  There were no expectations of any kind... just absorbing as much as possible the learning, under the proper guidance.In India a lot is learnt by just being in the atmosphere of the Guru, the music Guru in this case. And it's not even a thought to give a certificate, as what is important is the understanding, not to hang a paper on the wall.Another drawback in the process of learning that I have noticed in the west, is that everyone (adults) is in a hurry to perform or to share what they've learned publicly. This hinders the learning. One should not be in a hurry to start teaching. Let it be your truth before, otherwise it will be shared un-riped, hindering also the learning process of others. One important point frequently misunderstood, is that one should not be in the idea of "helping others"  - help yourself, grow yourself, focus on yourself, until you master yourself. Help can only happen when something is mature and integrated inside.Through inspirational stories and anecdotes this subject is addressed and explained for all of those who come from other cultures and would be interested in learning traditions from India. Knowing how this learning approach works, can help to take the right decision, whether this is a path for one to undertake or not.PODCAST link in website: www.manishvyas.com/podcast 

"The right music can smoothen the journey of a seeker without too much effort. If the person is available, if the person is not resisting, if the person is in a flow with an open heart, the right music can take the listener to a completely different dimension, effortlessly."Listen to this truly interesting conversation between Martin Frischknecht, chief editor of Spuren Switzerland and Manish Vyas about Manish's ongoing work, his new album and the earnest approach to the public presentation of sacred music from India.Link album Mantra: www.manishvyas.com/mantra Interview with video, Youtube link: https://youtu.be/ekHS3du5kgE

Most yoga-practitioners and asana teachers in the west use the word Yogi, as if a yogi would be an asana (exercise) practitioner with great flexibility and contortion skills. It is the nature of the ego to acquire more and more identities — and spiritual identities are just one more kind of them, "that i am a meditator, that i am a great yogi, that i am spiritual, that i am holy. . ." probably the spiritual being the worse kind of identity to bust the ego with, because many enter the game of "holier than thou" which is nothing more than the biggest self delusion. Beyond the games of the ego that always tries to 'be' or 'become' something or another, since the times when Yoga has started spreading from India to other cultures, the word Yogi has not been understood rightly and as a consequence it is highly misused. I think part of this misunderstanding lays in the fact that many people have not yet understood that Yoga is not exercise. The true yogis are wise ones, who many times never practiced poses except sukhasana, but who are stable in the inner world, who have achieved the state of non duality, beyond any identifications. And this is the true Yoga.Website link: podcast | Manish Vyas 

India is probably one of the richest sources of spirituality as well as a source of inspiration for spiritual growth in the path of any seeker. The core of spirituality from India is to be able to find the natural state, the true state of being, free from all acquired knowledge and outer conditionings. That is why the masters call it practical spirituality, as opposed to static philosophies and religions, which remain in the circumference but maybe don't reach the true knowledge through self experiencing, which is in the end what will lead us to the real. This is only possible by working on us, and not by reading books or attending talks and seminars.Here Manish talks about spirituality from India, how it is seen and understood. And why sometimes what is shared in the west is not a reflection of what this bottomless world truly is.

One cannot "do" yoga or meditation, one can "be" in a state of yoga or meditation. If meditation is not bringing awareness into our day-to-day life, then there is no point to it. Meditation does not ‘end’ after that hour and then we can go back to our unconscious pattern in our life. Meditation is not an activity - it is a journey of growing into awareness, it is a journey of raising our consciousness, which needs to be applied in our day to day life.This podcast if from an online course given via Yoga La Source Luxembourg.Video: https://youtu.be/lonWze1NS4E 

Sanskrit has the capacity to express the inexpressible and that's how they came up with the word "Advait." Based on one of the mantras he composed, Shivswarupoham, Manish explains the meaning of the mantra and how it is deeply rooted to the ancient wisdom from India and all its manifestations. Shivoham, Shivoham, Shivswarupoham is an expression of the nature of consciousness in the best way it can be expressed in words, using the language of Sanskrit. A quick exploration of this wonderful sutra with Manish and his music in the background.Music from CD Mantra: manishvyas.com/mantraAlso on video : https://youtu.be/ob0xdxYKZws

A mantra practitioner should have a clear understanding of how mantra practice works and what to expect, and what not to expect. Actually mantra practice should never have expectation, but instead faith.  The right attitude is to do the practice of the mantra with faith and with all the possible devotion, and not expect any outcome. The outcome is up to Existence (or God) —not up to us. That is why the first thing that a mantrin should understand is that the right attitude is that of trust and patience, or as Jesus said, the "thy will be done" attitude.

Mantras don't need music. The actual tradition of mantra chanting in India is not really elaborately musically based. So when one composes a mantra, and tries to put it to the music, it is a very responsible job, because the melody, the composition needs to bring and enhance the essence of a mantra — and that's where the element of Indian music comes in.