Sundari:Hello, Jonathan, I replied in detail to your inquiry regarding the aptly named “Blisslove,” and for some reason it did not save. I don’t...
Satsang is a compound Sanskrit word that means “keeping the company of the Self.” The Self, Awareness, is the true nature of everyone and one keeps company with it by continually meditating on it in many ways. One of the most effective methods involves discussing non-dual teachings with someone whose knowledge of his or her identity as Awareness is doubt-free, to get clarity with reference to Self inquiry. The satsangs posted here are answers to the questions of many people around the world who are interested in enlightenment and committed to Vedanta as their preferred means of Self knowledge.
Now that Vedanta is well known in Western spiritual circles, it has become commonplace for unqualified “teachers” to identify with it. A qualified teacher is called a mahatma, someone immersed in the Vedic tradition who has been taught the methodology by someone who has been properly taught in an unbroken chain of teachers, through Shankaracharya, back to the Upanishads, the source texts themselves. My teacher, Swami Chinmaya, seen here with his teacher, Swami Tapovan Maharaj, satisfies this qualification. I have not strayed from the tradition since my introduction to it in 1968 and teach traditional Vedanta, although not in the traditional monastic format.
Chinmaya Teaching in a Traditional Setting
Santoz:I have read a bit of Vedanta and have written my understanding of it based on what I have read. Please read it and...
Jim:Hello,Sundari, I just would like to express my deep gratitudeofthe work that you and James are doing in teaching Vedanta. I first came to...
Sarah:What is the difference between the mind and the intellect? Sundari:The mind is a complex object. It is a function of the subtle body...
Sandra:Thank you so much for your help with thesatya-mithyateaching. Please, can you explain the difference between Self-knowledge and object-knowledge? Sundari:To have the thought that...
Donald:consciousness needs no validation: double-edged sword, possibly; on one hand, it’s a profound statement, and on the other, delusional? It’s, as an example, a...
Francis:Hello, Sundari. It took a while to realize what you wrote to me. It must sink in and I must digest it before I...
Frank:Really? Thousands of hours of scripture and sitting staring at a wall just to know. I’m okay. I am eternally okay. It’s my nature....
Sundari:Hello, Don, good to hear from you; we too are always on holiday, and never on holiday! Don:I’ve been reflecting on the non-duality of...
Mike:Thank you for being present for me, Sundari. Sundari:You are most welcome, Mike. Mike:I was just checking my emails after putting downInquiry into Existence,to...
Thomas:If fear is merely generallytamas,then I wonder why it is not specificallytamas. Also, I wonder how fear can be generallytamaswhen James also says that...
Maria:And I have one other thing to ask you or rather to formulate aloud so that you could tell me if I understand it...
Bobby:Hi, Sundari. If you have the time, I would appreciate if you could respond, please, to my inquiry. I’m unclear whether James Swartz, from...
Henry:Thank you! That was very helpful. I think I have what I need. I think the time for renunciation is ripe. Otherwise it seems...
Nick:Basically, I have been a lifestylesannyasi,so I was a pretty “hard core” Vedantin, so to speak. I have done away with goodkarmafor some time;...