When you say THERE IS SUFFERING, you make it real. Stop giving it a name and just be with it. James: I haven’t had...
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
Inquirer: I know the physical world doesn’t stand by itself. I understand it just fine. I know there is no we in terms of...
German: Thank you so much for further deepening and clarification!What a beautiful satsang! “Without a personal relationship with God, which should be your primary...
All the problems we have in life, if we do not have Self-knowledge, stem from the belief that our identity is dependent on our...
Dopededicated to my best friend Johnny Bondage You will havesurvived againalive and kickingto the end when a couplet bysay AlexanderPope makes a snake aropeyou...
Vedanta offers the complete teaching on realizing what our true nature is as the nondual Self, or Consciousness. In order for Self-knowledge to obtain,...
This sentence reveals a certain confusion. Illusions definitely exist or you wouldn’t use the word. We don’t have words for things that don’t exist,...
Inquirer: When will you truly be able to say, “I’ve made it”? Isvara: The answer is “As soon as I start working on myself!”...
Thanks, Jim. I’m trying to check in. Sorry if my questions are annoying. I do pretty good with this the last 20 years...
Inquirer: Surely you see that one’s perception of reality determines whether one experiences freedom or love. For example, if I am outside in my...
Creation is a combination of consciousness and matter. This is why “people” who are produced by the creative principle are not sure if they...
German: “Very attached to our dysfunctional persona” that is so true! and that attachment is hardwired. But it’s to be loved as well, right?...
Q: Essentially, there is only consciousness, right? I was listening to a YT talk by Rupert Spira in which he asked the audience if...
When will you truly be able to say, “I’ve made it.” The answer is “As soon as I start working on myself!” How does...
Have you ever wondered why you are dissatisfied with yourself and the world? Because you don’t have your dream house, didn’t get the raise...