The pinnacle of the journey for any meditator is to become an Initiator of Vedic Meditation.  Not only does it give you the tools and opportunity to teach the technique to others, but it also gives a quantum boost to your own evolution.  The opportunity to spend 12 weeks in the birthplace of our technique, absorbing Vedic wisdom from Thom and other course leaders, and the chance to develop lifelong bonds with new friends and colleagues from far and wide is unequaled. In this bonus episode, Thom extends an invitation to join him in January for our 2025 round of Initiator Training ..read more

This episode of The Vedic Worldview explains the significance of Guru Purnima, which falls on this weekend, July 20-21. Vedic meditators are invited to join Guru Purnima celebrations with Thom and other Vedic Meditation Initiators around the world over the course of the weekend. If you'd like to join these celebrations, please visit thomknoles.com/guru-purnima for details of events near you. The Vedic calendar is full of days of celebration, but one of the most revered of these celebrations is Guru Purnima. It’s a day where we honor all the teachers, and the teachings in our life, the lesson ..read more

In this episode, we're celebrating the student-guru relationship, and the role it has in our evolution. Each year we celebrate this relationship, and the all the teachers and teachings in our life, with Guru Purnima. Vedic meditators are invited to join Guru Purnima celebrations with Thom and other Vedic Meditation Initiators around the world during the weekend of July 20-21, 2024. If you'd like to join these celebrations, please visit thomknoles.com/guru-purnima for details of events near you.  The word Guru is very much misunderstood outside of India. Parodies often show the Guru as be ..read more

The pain a mother experiences when giving birth is an experience that only a mother could know. Though it’s often overplayed in movies and on television, it’s a sacred experience that brings extremes of emotion into play. In this episode, Thom leans heavily on the experience of midwives and mothers, and shares how the Vedic perspective on pain can be applied to the process of labor and childbirth.  He also shares why Vedic Meditation is not recommended during the process of childbirth. Whether you plan on giving birth or not, this is an episode we can all learn from and apply to other ..read more

As Vedic meditators, we have the distinct advantage of knowing that evolution is the only thing ever happening. So, if this is the case, do we ever need to make things right?  Aren’t they right already? In this episode, Thom reminds us that we aren’t just pawns in some cosmic storyline that’s out of our control and that we aren’t just here to witness the story as it unfolds. In fact, as Vedic meditators, we have an additional responsibility to not just perceive when things need to be put right, but to step up and do what’s needed to maintain the evolutionary storyline. Episode Highlig ..read more

Spiritual principles can sometimes seem straightforward when we hear them, but when we put them into practice, we might find them difficult to uphold. This is especially the case when the principles have been misunderstood or misinterpreted. In this episode, Thom tackles some misconceptions about “charm,” wealth, and vegetarianism in answer to some listener questions. These are important principles to understand correctly so we can transcend old ways of thinking and get closer to achieving the 200% of life that Thom often refers to. Episode Highlights: [00:45] Q - Is it evolutionary to move ..read more

As humans, we often draw conclusions based on observations. However, these observations can frequently lead us down the wrong path.  Take, for instance, the assumption that wisdom or enlightenment demands an austere or stoic life. This belief stems from centuries of observing monastics and ascetics, who have traditionally been custodians of wisdom. This can lead people to think either, a) that they must lead an austere life to become enlightened, or b) that enlightenment is out of reach for them because they can’t imagine themselves leading an austere life.  Thom sets the record s ..read more

Sacrificing the comforts of life is often seen as part of the “spiritual path,” so it might seem unusual to hear from a Vedic master that, “You deserve the best.” Yet this is one of the key teachings of Swami Bramhananda Saraswati, Thom’s master’s master, also referred to as Guru Deva. In this episode, Thom clarifies the meaning and intent of Guru Deva’s quote, reconciling the notion of deserving the best with the “pervasive guilt” that often holds us back from claiming or accepting the best. It’s an episode you deserve to listen to… Episode Highlights:[00:45] Your Birthright [02:38] In the ..read more

What’s the distinction between mind, intellect and ego? And what are their functions? Unlike many modern psychological approaches, the Vedic worldview honors and celebrates the role of all three.  While they may not always function perfectly – like the 'mistaken intellect' often discussed by Thom – each of these elements plays a specific and essential role in our evolution. Thom explains in this episode, that rather than putting our efforts into “getting rid of the ego,” we’re best served by enlisting our ego as a cooperative component in our quest for enlightenment. Ironically, it’s al ..read more

When most people think of abundance or self-sufficiency, they think of cash and assets, having the wealth to do what they want when they want it. In fact, for many people, it’s a driving goal to become “financially independent” so as to have more choices in their lives. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi took an alternative approach, demonstrating that true freedom and true abundance actually require us to surrender our sense of choice and to simply follow the call of Nature. Through this approach, he was able to accomplish more in half a lifetime, than most of us would accomplish many lifetimes over, al ..read more