Bhagavad-Gita and Advaita – Q. 329
Q: How would it be possible to deal with our common Bhagavad Gita in terms of Advaita Vedanta? A (Ramesam): Please appreciate that Bhagavad-Gita is not the primary or basic text for Advaita. Though...
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Incomplete Enlightenment – Q.333
Q: As I understand, the sense of “I” (distinguished from the ultimate I/Self) is the source of “ignorance”. “Ignorance” leads to “the fear”, which inspires us to attempt to find “enlightenment”. The...
View ArticleROLE OF “REPETITION” — 2
ROLE OF “REPETITION” IN SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION, PRACTICE AND UNDERSTANDING — 2 This is an alternative viewpoint regarding the role of “Repetition” in understanding the core message of advaita. As it...
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upadesha sAhasrI – part 15
Part 15 of the serialization of the presentation (compiled by R. B. Athreya from the lectures given by Swami Paramarthananda) of upadesha sAhasrI. This is the prakaraNa grantha which is agreed by...
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Thoughts on Seeking and Seekers III (adhikaris)
Shravana for Western Students Shravana is the first phase on the path of knowledge in the tradition. Preparation is all about becoming eligible to do shravaNa – listening to the scriptures. This is...
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Q. 359 – Some potential practices
Q: As a long-time Krishnamurti fan, I often “practice” awareness (mindfulness): when a thought arises I watch it live out its life and disappear; when I sip coffee I am aware of the feel of it, the...
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Knowledge and the Fruit of Knowledge
Following on from the l-o-n-g discussion we had on this topic under the thread ‘akhaNDAkAra vRRitti – The End of Suffering‘, I have written what was intended to be the commentary on kArikA 3.40 in my...
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Knowledge, Action and Liberation
Most readers will be aware of the Brahmasutras – the third ‘leg’ of the prasthAna traya (the threefold set of scriptures that constitute the authority for Advaita – and some will even have read them!...
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Knowledge, Action and Liberation – AV
When Ed Witten, the legendary genius Physicist of Princeton, proposed his theory integrating the four or five disparate string theories during the mid-nineties, he called it the M-theory. He did not...
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Q.381 – Knowledge, belief and experience
Note: This discussion follows on from the last question on ‘Finding a Teacher’ (apart from the introductory paragraphs). Many seekers think that the essence of enlightenment is ‘experience’; that they...
View ArticleQ.408 Ramana’s ‘Who am I?’
Q: I would like to ask a question about the practice of Sri Ramana’s teachings and in particular the way of carrying out the self-enquiry ‘who am I?’ According to what I’ve seen so far regarding...
View ArticleQ. 433 Seeking ‘nondual experiences’
Q: For the better part of four decades, I was on the hunt for spiritual experiences that would ‘expand my consciousness.’ I now realize and understand that only Self-Knowledge can provide lasting...
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Vedanta the Solution – Part 57
VEDĀNTA the solution to our fundamental problem by D. Venugopal Part 57 explains why the prescribed qualifications cannot be bypassed and begins a detailed explanation of the process of shravaNa,...
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Vedanta the Solution – Part 58
VEDĀNTA the solution to our fundamental problem by D. Venugopal Part 58 continues the detailed explanation of the process of shravaNa, manana and nididhyASana. There is a complete Contents List, to...
View Articlepratibandha-s – part 3 of 10
Read Part 2 nididhyAsana nididhyAsana is recommended to remove any mental impediments that remain. This may consist of any activity that serves to consolidate the knowledge and fully assimilate the...
View Articlepratibandha-s – part 4 of 10
Read Part 3 j~nAna phalam Here is the sequence of events that I believe represents the traditional understanding: A would-be seeker practices sAdhana chatuShTaya sampatti for a length of time in order...
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‘Not Two’ – a Critical Review
On the face of it, this is a well-written and readable book, ideally suited for a new seeker. E.g. the sections on ‘The Illusory Nature of the Separate Self’ and ‘Knowledge Dispels Ignorance’ are...
View ArticleQ.496 Karma and subtle body
Q: 1. If upon the death of a jivan-mukta person, the subtle body dissolves and the person does not have go through the cycle of birth and death, this would imply that my sole motivation for attaining...
View ArticleQ.504 – Covid and Enlightenment
Q: According to Advaita, God is ONE, and manifestations are many. The term ‘God’ is also called ‘Consciousness/Awareness’. It is a fundamental principle that there is nothing beyond Consciousness;...
View ArticleQ.507 – Mumukshutva
Q: In your ‘Book of One’, in the section ‘Process of realization’ is written “And if enlightenment has still not dawned, go back to the listening stage and repeat as necessary!“. I understand that...
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