Advaita

“Arise, awake, stop not till the goal is reached.” ― Swami Vivekananda

“The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.” ― Swami Vivekananda

“I shall go to the mosque of the Mohammedan; I shall enter the Christian church and kneel before the crucifix; I shall enter the Buddhist temple, where I shall take refuge in Buddha and his Law. I shall go into the forest and sit down in meditation with the Hindu, who is trying to see the Light which enters the heart of everyone. Not only shall I do all these, but I shall keep my heart open to all that may come in the future....

Mystic Advaita and Non-Mystic Advaita The case Some estimated Swamis gave high importance to the Yogic practices which culminates in Samadhi; The Rishis of India that had the first revelations of the Vedas did acquire this Knowledge by Mystical Means: The concept of the teacher or the Guru is presented in Dakshinamurthy. Lord Shiva took this form in order to satisfy the thirst of knowledge of the Rishis who were created by Lord Brahma....

Mystic Advaita and Non-Mystic Advaita The case Some estimated Swamis gave high importance to the Yogic practices which culminates in Samadhi; The Rishis of India that had the first revelations of the Vedas did acquire this Knowledge by Mystical Means: The concept of the teacher or the Guru is presented in Dakshinamurthy. Lord Shiva took this form in order to satisfy the thirst of knowledge of the Rishis who were created by Lord Brahma....

“Quotations there have been, in superabundance. But what original commentary can you supply, from the uniqueness of your particular life? What holy text have you absorbed and made your own? In what ways have these timeless truths renovated your nature? Are you content to be a hollow victrola, mechanically repeating the words of other men?” Sri Yukteswar Giri

Devi Suktam Mantra | Devīsūktam | Aṃbhṛnīsūktam Hymn Chanted देवीसूक्तं अथवा वागाम्भृणीसूक्तं ऋग्वेदान्तर्गतम् ऋषिः वागाम्भृणी, देवता वागाम्भृणी, छन्दः १, ३, ७, ८ विराट्त्रिष्टुप्, २ पादनिचृज्जगती, ४, ५ त्रिष्टुप्, ६ निचृत्त्रिष्टुप्, स्वरः १, ३-८ धैवतः, ३ निषादः ॥ अथ देवीसूक्तम् ॥ ॐ अ॒हं रु॒द्रेभि॒र्वसु॑भिश्चराम्य॒हमा᳚दि॒त्यैरु॒त वि॒श्वदे᳚वैः । अ॒हं मि॒त्रावरु॑णो॒भा बि॑भर्म्य॒हमि᳚न्द्रा॒ग्नी अ॒हम॒श्विनो॒भा ॥ १॥ अ॒हं सोम॑माह॒नसं᳚ बिभर्म्य॒हं त्वष्टा᳚रमु॒त पू॒षणं॒ भगम्᳚ । अ॒हं द॑धामि॒ द्रवि॑णं ह॒विष्म॑ते सुप्रा॒व्ये॒ ए॒ ३॒॑ यज॑मानाय सुन्व॒ते ॥ २॥ अ॒हं राष्ट्री᳚ सं॒गम॑नी॒ वसू᳚नां चिकि॒तुषी᳚ प्रथ॒मा य॒ज्ञिया᳚नाम् । तां मा᳚ दे॒वा व्य॑दधुः पुरु॒त्रा भूरि॑स्थात्रां॒ भूर्या᳚ वे॒शयन्᳚तीम् ॥ ३॥ मया॒ सोऽअन्न॑मत्ति॒ यो वि॒पश्य॑ति॒ यः प्राणि॑ति॒ य ईं᳚ श‍ृ॒णोत्यु॒क्तम् । अ॒म॒न्तवो॒मान्त उप॑क्षियन्ति श्रु॒धिश्रु॑त श्रद्धि॒वं ते᳚ वदामि ॥ ४॥ अ॒हमे॒व स्व॒यमि॒दं व॑दामि॒ जुष्टं᳚ दे॒वेभि॑रु॒त मानु॑षेभिः । यं का॒मये॒ तं त॑मु॒ग्रं कृ॑णोमि॒ तं ब्र॒ह्माणं॒ तमृषिं॒ तं सु॑मे॒धाम् ॥ ५॥ अ॒हं रु॒द्राय॒ धनु॒रात॑नोमि ब्रह्म॒द्विषे॒ शर॑वे॒हन्त॒ वा उ॑ । अ॒हं जना᳚य स॒मदं᳚ कृणोम्य॒हं द्यावा᳚पृथि॒वी आवि॑वेश ॥ ६॥ अ॒हं सु॑वे पि॒तर॑मस्य मू॒र्धन् मम॒ योनि॑र॒प्स्व (अ॒) १॒॑न्तः स॑मु॒द्रे । ततो॒ विति॑ष्ठे॒ भुव॒नानु॒ विश्वो॒ तामूं द्यां व॒र्ष्मणोप॑स्पृशामि ॥ ७॥ अ॒हमे॒व वात॑ऽइव॒ प्रवा᳚म्या॒रभ॑माणा॒ भुव॑नानि॒ विश्वा᳚ । प॒रो दि॒वा प॒रए॒ना पृ॑थि॒व्यै ताव॑ती महि॒ना सम्ब॑भूव ॥ ८॥ ॐ शान्तिः॒ शान्तिः॒ शान्तिः॑ ॥ ॥ अथ स्वररहितदेवीसूक्तम् ॥ ॐ अहं रुद्रेभिर्वसुभिश्चराम्यहमादित्यैरुत विश्वदेवैः । अहं मित्रावरुणोभा बिभर्म्यहमिन्द्राग्नी अहमश्विनोभा ॥ १॥ अहं सोममाहनसं बिभर्म्यहं त्वष्टारमुत पूषणं भगम् । अहं दधामि द्रविणं हविष्मते सुप्राव्ये ए ३ यजमानाय सुन्वते ॥ २॥ अहं राष्ट्री संगमनी वसूनां चिकितुषी प्रथमा यज्ञियानाम् । तां मा देवा व्यदधुः पुरुत्रा भूरिस्थात्रां भूर्या वेशयन्तीम् ॥ ३॥ मया सोऽअन्नमत्ति यो विपश्यति यः प्राणिति य ईं श‍ृणोत्युक्तम् । अमन्तवोमान्त उपक्षियन्ति श्रुधिश्रुत श्रद्धिवं ते वदामि ॥ ४॥ अहमेव स्वयमिदं वदामि जुष्टं देवेभिरुत मानुषेभिः । यं कामये तं तमुग्रं कृणोमि तं ब्रह्माणं तमृषिं तं सुमेधाम् ॥ ५॥ अहं रुद्राय धनुरातनोमि ब्रह्मद्विषे शरवेहन्त वा उ । अहं जनाय समदं कृणोम्यहं द्यावापृथिवी आविवेश ॥ ६॥ अहं सुवे पितरमस्य मूर्धन् मम योनिरप्स्व अन्तः समुद्रे । ततो वितिष्ठे भुवनानु विश्वो तामूं द्यां वर्ष्मणोपस्पृशामि ॥ ७॥ अहमेव वातऽइव प्रवाम्यारभमाणा भुवनानि विश्वा । परो दिवा परएना पृथिव्यै तावती महिना सम्बभूव ॥ ८॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ Readable Roman ri’shih’ vaagaambhri’nee, devataa vaagaambhri’nee, chhandah’ 1, 3, 7, 8 viraat’trisht’up, 2 paadanichri’jjagatee, 4, 5 trisht’up, 6 nichri’ttrisht’up, svarah’ 1, 3-8 dhaivatah’, 3 nishaadah'...

They died, I still am He died, I still am She died, I still am I died, I still am I am still Rumi’s Poem

An interesting question may arise when studying Vedanta: is Advaita only a mental process? I tried to analyse the question and give some references from Ramana Maharshi and Ashtavakra Gita, post is inspired by Swami Sarvapriyananda and his talks. I made a small post that should give a clear overview of this question that many people may actually have. You can find it here: Is Advaita a mental process? Hope you will enjoy!...

Q: Is Advaita a mental process? Does Advaita mean tricking the mind into believing that we are not the mind? - Advaita Vedanta Q&A Introduction A: An interesting question may arise when studying Vedanta: I am reading the words, I am trying to understand these words, I finally got the meaning. Where does all of this happen? It’s very simple, it all happens in the mind. So, is it correct to say that Advaita is merely a mental process?...

Happy Shankara Jayanti! “Like the appearance of silver in mother of pearl, the world seems real until the Self, the underlying reality, is realized” Om.

Deep sleep and consciousness Q: “Is there consciousness in deep sleep?” According to Advaita Vedanta A: Most of the times one of the question that pops up in the mind of people that follow Advaita Vedanta is if consciousness is actually present while we sleep. Advaita Vedanta gives straight away the answer: “Yes.” The objection But most people will objectify: “It’s not possible! We don’t experience anything in deep sleep. No images, no sounds, no thoughts, nothing!...

Q&A Section A new page on Advaita Vedanta Q&A has been added, this week we talk about a very complex topic that arises from this question: Q: “According to Advaita all is Brahman, so why should one worship Shri Krishna and do Puja?” This question is very important and clarifies a doubt many people actually have when it comes to talk about a personal form of God or impersonal, Saguna and Nirguna Brahman....

Q: “According to Advaita all is Brahman, so why should one worship Shri Krishna and do Puja? Isn’t that also Maya?” Introduction A: This question needs some clarification starting from a pure philosophical view. The concept of “worship” cannot be put on the same level of Advaita, they are on two different planes of reality. Advaita considers Brahman to be the only reality, everything else is just illusory or relative....

“If you are seeking liberation, my son, shun the objects of the senses like poison. Practise tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment and truthfulness like nectar.” Ashṭāvakra Gita