Marika:I read asatsangin which you mentioned the topic of shame. This was really interesting for me because there is a lot of shame in...

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

Steve:Dear Sundari, thank you so very much for the readings that you sent me. They helped tremendously! Sundari:You are welcome, Steve. Steve:I have this...
Inquirer:In theVivekachudamanifrom Spain 2014, James, talking about ignorance, says that thetamasicaspect of ignorance is the non-apprehension of myself as awareness. Therajasicaspect is the misapprehension...
Kevin:I have a question about renunciation. I still don’t understand fully how to exactly renounce fears and desires practically. Can you please explain to...
Riyad:Dear Sundari, I have a question after Vedanta came to me and confirmed so much and taught me even more… In short – life,...
Greg:Hi, Sundari. My deepest condolences, I hope you have been recovering well from your surgery. From what I have read you are writing a...
Non-Dual Love Is Who You Are “Non-dual love” as it relates to relationships is not a common term in the spiritual world. We have...
Nick:Hello, Sundari. When thekarma yogaattitude is in place, is it the case that all thejivais doing is acknowledging the changes and appearances that appear...
Hilary:Thanks for your reply, Sundari. A wrecking ball it is! I’d read what you wrote (and the poem too) when you published it, but...
Brandon:I just wanted to make this message an extension of the last. In asatsangwith you and Isaiah: Isaiah:If love were a feeling then I...
Marc:Hi, Sundari. I have two very practical questions, but first of all I’d like to let you know that since a day or ten...
Steve:I earnestly seek to be free of illusion/suffering, and will read more on your site in order to be guided in the right direction....
Allen:Existential dilemma: I would like to thank you for all your hard work answering people’s questions and their response through the ShiningWorld website. Anyway,...
Mike:Well, thisjivaknows that it’s just an actor in a play/movie, just a bunch of images flickering on and off incredibly quickly, which makes it...
Don:Greetings, Sundari. I was reading your November 2016satsangWhat Is Sleep and Why Is It So Important?,and you said this: “The subtle body, or microcosmic...