Aarti SamaniMental health research, academic, Founder of yoga of Immortals & compassion unites, author, speaker

The Deeper Essence of Yoga || Acharya Ishan Shivanand on Spiritual Evolution || Podcast (Ep-1)

Name: The Deeper Essence of Yoga || Acharya Ishan Shivanand on Spiritual Evolution || Podcast (Ep-1)
Uploaded: 2025-10-31T03:53:20+00:00
Duration: 1 min 55 s
Channel: Aarti Samani
Description: In this podcast excerpt, the host (Speaker A) raises the problem that most people are attracted to Zen or meditation but never commit to deep, monastic…

31 Oct 2025 · 2 min

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1:55

In this podcast excerpt, the host (Speaker A) raises the problem that most people are attracted to Zen or meditation but never commit to deep, monastic practice, asking how to make the benefits of Zen accessible to those who cannot take extended retreats. Speaker B responds by advocating cultural promotion of peace and Zen philosophy, especially among young people. He argues that introducing meditation early, before the brain’s reward pathways are dominated by dopamine‑driven habits (screens, instant gratification), can embed values of kindness, compassion, and inner peace. He emphasizes that Zen is not merely a set of physical practices (like yoga) but a comprehensive philosophy that shapes how one reacts to life situations, a nuance often missed in Western adoption where only the physical aspect is taken. The dialogue underscores the need for early exposure, cultural framing, and teaching the underlying philosophy to make Zen relevant for the broader public.

Chapters

Most people, as I said, come to Zen and they leave, and some people stay and they get deeply involved, and that's wonderful. But most people would never go to a monastery. Most people will not spend days and weeks and months immersed in meditation, in spiritual retreats. How do we give those people experiences that they can really use and benefit from if they're not going to take the deep dives that you and I have taken.
I think even culturally we should promote peace and Zen philosophies as an aspiration for the young men and the young people.
Yeah, yeah.
And if we show this, that yes, you know, the person who is at peace with themselves is the gentleman a person who's in a state of kindness and compassion, then I think we can really motivate. Because that is another thing that I experienced, that young people, how I was able to get them into meditation is start really young. Because that's something so simple and so overlooked. That implies on me that In the beginning, when the brain was being formed, when the neural pathways was being made, I was never exposed to going towards dopamine fixes. Yeah, or, you know, screens or all those things like that came eventually in life and I came out. But my ways had been set in such a way that I knew what gave me peace, what comforted me, and what those those set of values and principles were, like you said, the theology of the whole practice. Zen is not just the action. Zen is also the thinking.
Yeah.
It is also the philosophy of life. Zen is how we react to situations. And what you precisely say, that in the West, they just take the practice. They just take the yoga, but they don't take the philosophy.
Yeah.
The spirituality. That is so very important in the core of the whole thing. And if we can somehow bring it, you know, institutionalize it for the young people as a way of life, and it's, it's teaching young people swimming, running, walking, sports. If we can teach them these things, I think, oh yeah, that would really help the cultural