Digital Social Hour
Why Spiritual Practices Can Transform Your Career | Swami Chidananda DSH #1386
Wed, 28 May 2025
🌟 Why Spiritual Practices Can Transform Your Career! 🌟 Tune in now to this powerful episode of the *Digital Social Hour* podcast with Sean Kelly as we welcome Swami, a monk who left a successful career on Wall Street to embrace a life of spirituality and service. 🙏 Discover how ancient wisdom, spiritual practices like yoga and meditation, and the pursuit of dharma (your true purpose) can not only transform your career but also bring deeper fulfillment to your life. 🌿✨ Swami shares life-changing insights on overcoming fear, breaking free from negative patterns (samskaras), and living a life of unconditional love. ❤️ He unpacks how spiritual practices like mantra chanting, breathwork, and selfless service (seva) can help you align with your higher self while thriving in a modern, fast-paced world. 🚀 Whether you’re seeking clarity, purpose, or a fresh perspective on success, this episode is packed with valuable insights you don’t want to miss. 🔥 Key takeaways: 1️⃣ Practice seva (selfless service) to transcend ego and give back. 2️⃣ Surround yourself with a spiritual community (sangha) to stay inspired. 3️⃣ Dedicate 10-15 minutes daily to a spiritual practice (sadhana) like meditation or mantra chanting. Don’t miss out on this inspiring conversation! Watch now and subscribe for more insider secrets. 📺 Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more eye-opening stories on the *Digital Social Hour* with Sean Kelly! 🚀✨ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:28 - What is Yoga 02:19 - Your Journey to Becoming a Monk 04:58 - Ultimate Purpose of Life 06:29 - Finding Your Purpose 07:19 - Fear and Enlightenment 07:58 - Samskaras: Subconscious Patterns 09:59 - Stop Wasting Time 10:53 - Overcoming Fear 13:30 - Plant-Based Diet 17:28 - Hanuman Symbolism 18:02 - Importance of Mantras 21:13 - Understanding Love 27:18 - Concept of Reincarnation 29:05 - Understanding Karma 32:05 - Freeing Yourself from Karma 35:34 - Understanding the Ego 39:04 - Role of a Guru 40:48 - Atma Kriya Yoga Explained 41:48 - Importance of Initiation 42:59 - Swami's Focus This Year 43:30 - Key Takeaways from Interview 45:10 - Outro APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [email protected] GUEST: Swami Chidananda https://www.instagram.com/swami_chidananda SPONSORS: KINSTA: https://kinsta.com/dsh NOTION: https://www.notion.com/dsh LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ The views and opinions expressed by guests on Digital Social Hour are solely those of the individuals appearing on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the host, Sean Kelly, or the Digital Social Hour team. While we encourage open and honest conversations, Sean Kelly is not legally responsible for any statements, claims, or opinions made by guests during the show. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and consult professionals for advice where appropriate. Content on this podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, financial, or professional advice. Digital Social Hour works with participants in sponsored media and stays compliant with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations regarding sponsored media. #ad #DigitalSocialHour #SeanKelly #Podcast #Spirituality #Yoga #Meditation #Mindfulness #CareerTransformation #Dharma #yogaethics #8limbsofyoga #selfimprovement #spiritualentrepreneur #kriyayoga #practicalspirituality #kriyayoga #spiritualgrowth #spiritualcoach #selfimprovement
Chapter 1: What is the purpose of yoga beyond physical practice?
Okay, guys, honored to have a monk on the podcast today. We got Swami coming in from Sedona from a yoga conference. Thanks for joining us today.
Thank you for having me.
Absolutely. How was the conference in Sedona?
Chapter 2: What led Swami Chidananda to leave Wall Street for a spiritual path?
It's very nice. I had the opportunity to speak about yoga philosophy. A lot of times yoga is looked upon just as like the physical elements of it, but there's a much deeper aspect of it too with the meditation and the philosophy. So to speak on that was very nice.
That is interesting because when I think of yoga, I think of stretching and, you know, physical, maybe some stress relief as well. But there's a mental component to it too.
Chapter 3: How can understanding fear lead to enlightenment?
Yeah, absolutely. So yoga is a whole system and yoga is literally defined as to come into union with your higher self.
Chapter 4: What are samskaras and how do they affect our lives?
Hmm.
And so the physical parts are only, I would say, 5% of it. Wow. But when the yogis came to the United States to share, they had to start somewhere. And so they started to speak about the physical elements. And hopefully they were saying, well, if you do that, then there might be a natural inquiry to know more about the breathing and the meditation and the philosophy.
Hmm.
And so that's kind of my dharma or duty is to help people to go deeper than just being on the mat.
I love that. The power of breathwork is interesting to me too.
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Chapter 5: How can a plant-based diet align with spiritual principles?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you look at it, breathwork, right? That's a new age thing, breathwork. Right. That term. But we were talking about in the Vedic tradition thousands of years ago. So the idea of breathing, controlling the breath, controls the mind.
And so a lot of things that science is even speaking about in these days are things that the Vedic tradition was putting into practice thousands and thousands of years.
You guys were ahead of your time, man. Seems like Western is just catching up to some of the ancient traditions, right? Yeah, exactly. You had an upbringing in India. You were there for a while.
Actually, no, I was born there. But when I was very little, my mother moved to the United States. And so I grew up in the States. And before I became a monk, I was working in Wall Street and finance and not so connected to the spiritual path. But through a series of events, I started to go deeper into the philosophy.
And then that led me down the journey of spirituality and then eventually becoming a monk.
Wow, a total 180. Yeah, 360. Yeah, 360, I guess. You didn't feel fulfilled when you were in Wall Street?
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Chapter 6: What is the significance of mantras in spiritual practice?
Yeah, I mean, I would say, you know, I always like to say there's a nice quote, you can win the rat race, but at the end of the day, you're still a rat. And it was this feeling of, well, I had material success, but paradoxically, I was not happier. Like I felt some joy, like, you know, you come to Vegas and you go to the casino, you have all of these things, and you feel some momentary happiness.
But then there's a deeper sort of feeling of what is the purpose of life? It can't be just to have a nice car, lots of money, nice clothes. There has to be something more. And so you reach that conclusion two ways. You either reach it when you go to the rock bottom, When you have nothing and you're like, okay, I need to, there's got to be something more.
Or you reach it when you're at the top, when you have everything and still you're like, there's got to be something. So either way, you're going to get to that place where you're going to have to turn inside. You're going to have to find some purpose. And so that was sort of the catalyst for me was just looking at my life and saying, what now? What is the real purpose?
Chapter 7: How does unconditional love relate to spirituality?
And then that led me on a journey.
And do you think purpose is an individual thing? Do you think each person has a different purpose?
Well, no, I would say the ultimate purpose of every human being is to know who they are. Because a lot of times when you don't know who you are, you identify with the limited self. And in that identification, there's fear. And I'm sure every single person listening to this has felt fear. And so when you feel fear, you can't make good decisions in your life.
Chapter 8: What role does selfless service play in spiritual development?
You either take a decision which is very quick, you take a decision that is trying to get some momentary pleasure, or you don't take a decision at all. So when you know yourself, when you know your eternal self, fear is gone. So that's the ultimate, we call it dharma or duty of every human being. Know who you are.
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And the best way to know who you are is to live a life of love. And when we say live a life of love, that means a life of service. Try everything that you can to be of service to others in whatever that you're doing. And if you're able to do that, then you can really say you're living a good human life. I love that. Because many people think to serve, I have to become a monk.
You don't have to be a monk. You can serve by maybe inspiring people through your podcast. You can serve by being successful in Wall Street and maybe using some of that to help others. So there's many, many ways to serve. But if you're not serving and your whole life is just based on consumption, I will bet you a lot that you will end up suffering. Wow.
So you don't experience any fear anymore because...
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