Traditional Non-Duality (Advaita Vedanta): Where Do I Start?

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:06.373
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Bearded Mystic podcast, and I'm your host, rahul N Singh.

00:00:06.373 --> 00:00:11.692
Thank you for taking out the time today to either watch or listen to this podcast episode.

00:00:11.692 --> 00:00:21.135
So today I wanted to talk about you know where do I start if I am a follower of non-duality?

00:00:21.135 --> 00:00:28.033
Now, mind you, this is coming from the perspective of traditional non-duality.

00:00:28.033 --> 00:00:38.134
So, advaita Vedanta, and if we had to think about where do I begin, what's the best way to start?

00:00:38.134 --> 00:00:42.987
How can I truly understand Vedanta?

00:00:42.987 --> 00:01:00.728
So what we're going to be doing now and then is reading from Vedanta Sara, which is a text by Satyanandaji, and we will go over that.

00:01:00.728 --> 00:01:17.668
The whole point is that, as we're doing these daily kind of spontaneous discussions, reading from Vedanta Saro may be helpful for those that are beginning on this journey, so we'll title those as Vedanta Saro sessions.

00:01:17.668 --> 00:01:24.549
It's something that Swami Sarvabriyananda Ji recommends and obviously, whatever Swami Ji recommends, we take it very seriously.

00:01:24.549 --> 00:01:42.131
But it's one of those foundational texts which gives you a list of definitions, and so, with those definitions, you can rightfully understand what this spiritual foundation that's required for Advaita Vedanta.

00:01:42.131 --> 00:01:45.295
It's all there, basically, for you to take in.

00:01:45.295 --> 00:01:53.191
Now, what I also suggest is so, once we've read that.

00:01:53.191 --> 00:02:00.370
That means that we'll probably go into like a daily little kind of session into reading the Upanishads or something like that.

00:02:00.370 --> 00:02:05.510
So yeah, this is something spontaneously I'm thinking about.

00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:14.012
So you know, sometimes there's days when I probably don't have much to talk about and those are perfect for those occasions.

00:02:14.012 --> 00:02:21.169
But we can go into going through the process.

00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:23.552
For traditional Advaita is okay.

00:02:23.552 --> 00:02:25.014
You read a foundational text.

00:02:25.014 --> 00:02:26.246
This is something I recommend.

00:02:26.246 --> 00:02:30.311
But what we should start off with is the Upanishads.

00:02:30.311 --> 00:02:37.951
So the Upanishads will tell us exactly the knowledge of Brahman very directly.

00:02:37.951 --> 00:02:42.549
It's the core philosophy and this is required reading.

00:02:42.549 --> 00:03:00.670
Now I've been thinking about how we can do this, because I would love for us to read the Upanishads, but with the commentary of Adi Shankaraji, so we can understand it together and go through it together like a proper study.

00:03:00.670 --> 00:03:16.241
So what they do recommend is first to start with the Upanishads, obviously with the commentary of Adi Shankaracharya, because that is where the foundation of Advaita Vedanta is formulated.

00:03:16.862 --> 00:03:39.213
Then you go to the Brahma Sutras, or known as Vedanta Sutras, and they kind of they're aphorisms, they're little sutras, they're little sayings and they're very terse and it's not for everyone to understand.

00:03:39.213 --> 00:03:47.585
So that's where you kind of need the guidance of a commentary, and so that's where you can need the guidance of a commentary.

00:03:47.585 --> 00:03:53.473
So it's really important that that is also read, like the Brahma Sutra is read with the commentary.

00:03:53.473 --> 00:03:57.723
Then you have the Bhagavad Gita.

00:03:57.723 --> 00:04:16.115
Now the Bhagavad Gita is basically so if the Brahma Sutra is basically addressing, so Shravana so you're listening is the Upanishads, manana, which is the kind of the contemplation, reflecting and doubts and doing all that type of work, making sure there's logic.

00:04:16.115 --> 00:04:23.985
That's where the Brahma Sutras come in, with the commentary of Adi Shankaracharya, and then comes the practical aspect.

00:04:23.985 --> 00:04:41.435
The nididhyasana aspect, which you could say of the practical application of the teachings of the Upanishads, is in the Bhagavad Gita, and that also should be read with the commentary of Adi Shankaracharya.

00:04:41.677 --> 00:04:48.346
Now, the good thing is that all of those books with the commentaries are available on Amazon.

00:04:48.346 --> 00:04:55.168
So if you search Swami Gambiranandaji, he has eight of those Upanishads.

00:04:55.168 --> 00:05:12.427
He translates at least eight of them, and then I think also Chandogya Upanishad, which is not in there, but you can get that as a PDF, and the Bhradiyarayanika Upanishad.

00:05:12.427 --> 00:05:19.702
That is done by Swami Madhavanandaji, I think so.

00:05:19.702 --> 00:05:36.009
So so those are the Upanishads, but Brahma Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita you can get that on Kindle as well, or Amazon or any other.

00:05:36.009 --> 00:05:41.117
It's on Google Play as well, so you can get it there.

00:05:41.117 --> 00:05:52.269
Those are very important things to read, in my opinion, and they help you to understand the richness that Advaita Vedanta comes from.

00:05:52.370 --> 00:05:56.338
It's not just simply really knowing that you're it, I mean that's you know.

00:05:56.338 --> 00:06:11.105
Anyone can tell why that is and how that comes about, and describing the practical application of that.

00:06:11.105 --> 00:06:12.809
That's really important.

00:06:12.809 --> 00:06:22.247
You see, nobody can go into a psychotic breakdown if they've gone through the foundational work first.

00:06:22.247 --> 00:06:53.115
So, for example, the first sutra of the Brahman Sutra is, you know, now, therefore, an inquiry into Brahman, and what's interesting there is you don't need to be told what it says there in that very beginning is that you kind of dealt with the, uh, kind of the there's a, there's a, there's six, there's four guidelines.

00:06:53.115 --> 00:06:56.824
Uh, that you're meant to have those four characteristics.

00:06:56.863 --> 00:06:59.257
We've spoken about them before as well.

00:06:59.257 --> 00:07:04.245
Uh, so you know, do you have control of the mind?

00:07:04.245 --> 00:07:04.987
Have you?

00:07:04.987 --> 00:07:06.949
Do you have control over your desires?

00:07:06.949 --> 00:07:09.038
Do you have forbearance?

00:07:09.038 --> 00:07:10.060
Do you?

00:07:10.060 --> 00:07:11.963
Are you seeking liberation?

00:07:11.963 --> 00:07:15.189
Can you withdraw your senses within?

00:07:15.189 --> 00:07:17.259
Can you withdraw your mind within?

00:07:17.259 --> 00:07:19.803
Can you just simply observe?

00:07:19.803 --> 00:07:31.264
Uh, yeah, these little things, you know, when an emotion comes up, are you able to, like, stop an action from forming from that emotional, uh turbulence that's created?

00:07:31.264 --> 00:07:40.526
If those things aren't addressed prior to realization, they will come up after realization.

00:07:40.526 --> 00:07:51.747
And when they come up after realization, what you don't realize is that the truth hasn't entered deeply into your being.

00:07:51.747 --> 00:08:02.699
So here, and this is very important to understand, and this is why Advaita Vedanta is such an incredible philosophy.

00:08:02.699 --> 00:08:11.045
So, or Vedanta in general, you have the causal body, the Garana Shriya.

00:08:11.045 --> 00:08:14.629
We've spoken about this previously, but even more so.

00:08:14.629 --> 00:08:20.773
That is that's where avidya still functions.

00:08:22.836 --> 00:08:31.430
Ignorance, the individual ignorance, not ignorance as in you don't know facts, not that type of ignorance, the ignorance of your true nature or the not knowledge of your true nature.

00:08:31.430 --> 00:08:36.765
Now, that is known as Anadi beginningless.

00:08:36.765 --> 00:08:46.437
So what happens is when you have somebody who tells you what the direct truth is without you doing the required work to do so.

00:08:46.437 --> 00:08:50.650
So where you're not a seeker one, you're not going to appreciate the teaching as much.

00:08:50.650 --> 00:08:58.798
And even if you do, it's just the surface level, it's not going to go deep into the Ikaar and Ashuriga, it's not going to actually address the Avidya.

00:08:58.798 --> 00:09:05.830
So the Vidya, the knowledge in order to transcend the vidya, will not do much.

00:09:05.830 --> 00:09:19.227
So, because that ignorance is also beginningless, you can feel like, oh yeah, I've gained something, but actually all you've got is this kind of void of ignorance that you've not dealt with.

00:09:20.375 --> 00:09:30.480
And what the vidya does, what the Brahma vidya does, what the knowledge of brahman does, this brahma jnana that we talk about, what that does?

00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:36.399
It deals with the vidya, with the ignorance that you have, and says you know what?

00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:43.600
This is not real, this is a veil upon the truth, and my course goes into this.

00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.967
My course has a special section on just Avidya.

00:09:46.967 --> 00:09:56.226
It's a whole week where we go into Avidya and the whole point is to bring it out, to remove it completely.

00:09:56.226 --> 00:10:00.546
So you know that each week that I have in the course is literally a progression.

00:10:00.546 --> 00:10:02.399
You have to progress.

00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:07.059
If you don't, I would say you just stay on the current week until you've addressed those things.

00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:10.596
And the very first lesson that we talk about is suffering.

00:10:10.596 --> 00:10:14.403
Very first week is based on suffering.

00:10:14.403 --> 00:10:18.636
So the whole point is that all these things have to be addressed.

00:10:19.457 --> 00:10:21.423
And so where do you start?

00:10:21.423 --> 00:10:26.602
Like I said, said the Upanishads, then the Brahma Sutras, then the Bhagavad Gita.

00:10:26.602 --> 00:10:28.561
Now a lot of people read the Bhagavad Gita.

00:10:28.561 --> 00:10:45.885
It's all good, you can start with the Bhagavad Gita, but to truly understand the depth that Sri Krishna talks about, you need to know the Upanishads and therefore, to know the Upanishads, to understand them fully, you need the Brahma Sutra.

00:10:45.885 --> 00:10:55.647
So you need all three of them and therefore, after you've dealt with those doubts and delusions that the Brahma Sutra addresses, then you can practically apply it.

00:10:55.647 --> 00:10:56.674
It becomes a lot easier.

00:10:56.674 --> 00:11:06.910
So the Bhagavad Gita makes a lot more sense, because a lot of people can view the Bhagavad Gita as a dualistic text, all because they've not checked the other two.

00:11:06.910 --> 00:11:09.360
All because of that.

00:11:10.582 --> 00:11:18.423
And the other aspect is the reason why we would look at Vedanta Sara beforehand is because we need to know the definition.

00:11:18.423 --> 00:11:25.360
So when you go into the Upanishads it becomes a familiar, you know, kind of playing field for you.

00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:31.600
So I would say check out Swami Savabhrinandaji's Vedanta Sara lectures.

00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:35.283
They're not, they're going to be, they're much better than what I'm going to share with you.

00:11:35.283 --> 00:11:46.187
He is a great teacher of Vedanta and um, his, his explanations and his way of teaching is just beautiful.

00:11:46.187 --> 00:11:51.702
And I would always say check him out, check his work, um.

00:11:52.124 --> 00:12:16.129
But yes, I would just probably give you a more quick, concise version and less kind of formal, but make sure that you understand that the groundwork is necessary and don't don't try to jump too far.

00:12:16.129 --> 00:12:22.701
You know, someone had written, actually, a comment in my on one of my videos today.

00:12:22.701 --> 00:12:30.921
I saw it today and it was about how no foundation is necessary, because this is we are it.

00:12:30.921 --> 00:12:44.524
I mean I can't say that person is wrong from the ultimate perspective, but even from the ultimate perspective he'll be like, yeah, the foundation was necessary for you.

00:12:44.524 --> 00:12:48.940
For example, you know.

00:12:48.980 --> 00:13:06.696
So my son's going through physical therapy because he's delayed in walking right now and the biggest concern was well, even if we get him from sitting to walking, he will struggle to get up.

00:13:06.696 --> 00:13:16.035
So we need him to crawl, because that would be an easier step for him to then get up to walk, so he can get to his knees and walk.

00:13:16.035 --> 00:13:26.706
So that path cannot be that, that step cannot be.

00:13:26.706 --> 00:13:32.432
You can't, you can't forget the steps that you took to walk, basically.

00:13:32.432 --> 00:13:37.908
So everything has a process.

00:13:37.908 --> 00:13:54.923
So if you are truly understanding of Vedanta, of the truth, then you know that these, or if you know the power of the realization, then you know that one has to fully understand the groundwork.

00:13:54.923 --> 00:14:18.528
So that's my little spiel, but let me know your thoughts, let me see if you disagree, like comment and subscribe and rate and review, share this and, most of all, if you have any questions, let me know and join my Discord community and we can definitely chat more there.

00:14:18.528 --> 00:14:22.325
Okay, thank you, take care, namaste.

Traditional Non-Duality (Advaita Vedanta): Where Do I Start?

Follow:

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes

Thoughts on The Bhagavad Gita Episodes

Wisdom of the Mystics Episodes

General Spirituality Episodes

Advaita Vedanta Episodes

Guided Meditation Episodes

Conversations with The Bearded Mystic Episodes

Thoughts on The Upanishads Episodes

Direct and Unfiltered Episodes

Browse episodes by category

New to The Bearded Mystic Podcast?