Episode 60
58 mins
Swami Shantananda - Unitary Consciousness and the Grassroots of Yoga Australia
Swami Shantananda AKA Mataji (Mother) was the second president of Yoga Australia, back when it was known as the Yoga Teachers Association and she was known as Jani Baker.
This episode is the second of our collaboration with Yoga Australia, and it contains some great insight into the early days of the organisation and its grassroots nature.
In this episode, we learn how Jani Baker struggled with her catholic upbringing, and how she dealt with depression as a young adult. We learn how she discovered meditation and yoga and came to teach them. We also hear how she became involved in the Yoga Teacher's Association and her motivations for doing so.
We also discuss her writings on the yoga sutras, philosophy and her personal practice of Kashmiri Shaivism.
Links:
Swami Shantananda's blog: http://www.swamishantananda.com.au/
Notes from Mataji: https://podcast.flowartists.com/news/notes-swami-shantananda/
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flowartistspodcast
Highlights
Click on a timecode to play from that time in the recording.
2:40 Swami Shantananda gives the origins of her name after Rane messes it up!5:00 On the significance of being named as a Swami
6:26 Swamis Shantananda talks about her background growing up as Janet Baker.
8:44 Was Janet’s discovery of meditation a turning point?
11:24 How Janet was introduced to meditation through a yoga class.
13:34 What lead to Mataji becoming a yoga teacher?
14:40 Who were Mataji’s key teachers?
18:10 How did Mataji become involved in the Yoga Teacher’s association?
22:16 What are the most important functions of an association like Yoga Australia?
23:50 Midroll - support us on Patreon
24:49 Did the Yoga Teacher’s Association function as a type of employment agency?
26:44 We look up Yoga Australia’s mission
29:26 Why did Mataji become the president of The Yoga Teacher’s Association?
30:32 How did the yoga landscape evolve in Mataji’s time?
36:34 On The Yoga Sutras
40:30 Asmita and ahamkara
42:13 Does Mataji write as a way of solidifying her thoughts on philosophy, or is it in response to something someone may have asked her?
48:22 Where does Mataji see Yoga Australia heading in the next 10-20 years?
54:24 What is the core essence of Swami Shantananda’s teaching?
56:30 Outro - next week’s episode
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