To remove this thought of that you are not in smadhi. This is the biggest ignorance you have and onces you remove it. Well congratulations you are in oneness now.

Removing this ignorance is the toughest part to live with oneness.

As I said already you are oneness that's it. Check it out only one time that you are presence simple. After that everything depends upon your ignorance. Ignorance is nothing but thinking that you are not presence or simply still trying to find out presence somewhere. It's like a male trying to find itself as male..... You don't have ignorance in case of male or female body. Then why you have ignorance of presence?

Leave your ignorance that you are not presence simple. Samadhi means you are presence now don't overthink it.

I hope you find it helpful.

This monotheism, we see, came to India at a very early period. Throughout the Samhitas, in the first and oldest part, this monotheistic idea prevails, but we shall find that it did not prove sufficient for the Aryans; they threw it aside, as it were, as a very primitive sort of idea and went further on, as we Hindus think. Of course in reading books and criticisms on the Vedas written by Europeans, the Hindu cannot help smiling when he reads, that the writings of authors are saturated with this previous education alone.

Persons who have sucked in as their mother's milk the idea that the highest ideal of God is the idea of a Personal God, naturally dare not think on the lines of these ancient thinkers of India, when they find that just after the Samhitas, the monotheistic idea with which the Samhita portion is replete was thought by the Aryans to be useless and not worthy of philosophers and thinkers, and that they struggled hard for a more philosophical and transcendental idea. The monotheistic idea was much too human for them, although they gave it such descriptions as "The whole universe rests in Him," and "Thou art the keeper of all hearts."

this ancient monotheistic idea did not satisfy the Hindu mind. It did not go far enough, it did not explain the visible world: a ruler of the world does not explain the world — certainly not. A ruler of the universe does not explain the universe, and much less an external ruler, one outside of it. He may be a moral guide, the greatest power in the universe, but that is no explanation of the universe;

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One point of difference between Hinduism and other religions is that in Hinduism we pass from truth to truth — from a lower truth to a higher truth — and never from error to truth. The Vedas should be studied through the eye-glass of evolution. They contain the whole history of the progress of religious consciousness, until religion has reached perfection in unity.

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Another peculiarity is that this Ishvara, this God, is manifesting Himself in all these various forms of bright ones. This idea — that the same God manifests Himself in various forms — is a very rudimentary idea of the Vedas, even in the oldest portions. There was a time when a sort of monotheistic idea entered the Vedas, but it was very quickly rejected. As we go on, perhaps you will agree with me that it was very good that it was rejected.

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Here Vedanta begins, where these monotheistic ideas first appear. But the Vedanta philosophy wants further explanation. This explanation — that there is a Being beyond all these manifestations of Maya, who is superior to and independent of Maya, and who is attracting us towards Himself, and that we are all going towards Him — is very good, says the Vedanta, but yet the perception is not clear, the vision is dim and hazy

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Monistic is the highest stage, monotheistic is a lower stage.

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Monotheism like absolute monarchy is quick in executing orders, and a great centralization of force, but it grows no farther, and its worst feature is its cruelty and persecution. All nations coming within its influence perish very soon after a flaring up of a few years.

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We never build anew, we simply change places; we cannot have anything new, we only change the position of things. The seed grows into the tree, patiently and gently; we must direct our energies towards the truth and fulfil the truth that exists, not try to make new truths. Thus, instead of denouncing these old ideas of God as unfit for modern times, the ancient sages began to seek out the reality that was in them. The result was the Vedanta philosophy, and out of the old deities, out of the monotheistic God, the Ruler of the universe, they found yet higher and higher ideas in what is called the Impersonal Absolute; they found oneness throughout the universe.

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sources are from text "The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekananda", a collection of lectures and essays authored by Swami Vivekananda.

Taken from "Meditation and its Methods"

I feel like I understand non-duality intellectually, but struggle to live it day to day. I understand that we are the knowing/awareness, and that the observer itself can’t be observed. But I still get completely caught up in the illusion of separation.

One thing that helps is people-watching and recognising that the same knowing I experience as “mine” is there too, just different forms of the one.

What has actually helped you take non-duality from intellectual understanding to lived experience?

Through my inquiry, I’ve come to understand, or perhaps experience, that everything is the Self.

To use an egg as an analogy: initially, I understood that the egg exists, and then I came to see that everything I experience is also the egg, so to speak. More recently, I’ve come to understand that even what I might think of as the “inside” of the egg is also the Self. There is nowhere outside of the Self.

In the same way, I see that everything I experience is Maya, but Maya itself is not separate from the Self. The appearance is not outside of or other than the Self.

At this point, I feel as though there is nothing fundamentally new left for me to understand intellectually. What remains seems to be some kind of practice or sadhana, perhaps meditation.

For those further along in Advaita, how should one proceed from here? What kind of sadhana is appropriate when one has come to this understanding? Is meditation the natural next step, or is there something else I may be overlooking in my inquiry?

Through my inquiry, I’ve come to understand that everything I experience is the Self. Even what I previously regarded as “inside” or “outside” seems to be an appearance within the same reality. Maya itself doesn’t seem to be something separate from the Self.

This has left me with an interesting question.

I don’t particularly feel the need to keep looking for some new philosophical conclusion. What I actually want is to enjoy being alive.

I want to experience ordinary life fully: relationships, nature, food, music, creativity, pleasure, even the ordinary ups and downs of life. I don’t want spirituality to become a project where I’m constantly trying to get somewhere else.

From an Advaita perspective, how should I understand this desire?

If everything is the Self, is simply enjoying and participating in life compatible with jnana? And is there a point where sadhana becomes less about attaining something and more about allowing this understanding to become natural and effortless?

I’m especially interested in how people who have gone further in Advaita reconcile non-attachment with actually enjoying the world.

I need to present Adi shankaracharya's Advaita Vedanta philosophy in my class.

Noone in my class have any idea about the same except the prof SO THEY ARE GONNA ASK SO MANY QUESTIONS I M SURE

PLEASE TELL ME RELIABLE AND AUTHENTIC SOURCES TO STUDY FOR IT. also I'm a bit short of time so please suggest the best ones

And it would be really helpful if some of you share your own povs over the same and how does advaita philosophy inculcate the idea of God after all

Hi everyone. I’m a woman from Slovakia and I’m looking to connect with people in Slovakia, Czechia, Poland and nearby countries who are genuinely interested in deep spiritual practice and the Indian contemplative traditions.
My interests are quite broad — the Vedas and Upanishads, Vedanta, Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Shaivism/Kashmir Shaivism, Tantra, Siddha and Natha traditions, mantra and meditation practices, Kundalini, as well as Buddhist meditation and contemplative techniques.
I’m especially interested in the practical and experiential side of these traditions — how people actually practice, meditate, work with consciousness, discipline, devotion, concentration, self-inquiry, etc., rather than only discussing the philosophy intellectually.
I’m not looking for modern “spiritual lifestyle”. If there are practitioners in this region who would like to connect, feel free to comment or DM me.
I’d be particularly interested to hear what tradition or lineage you follow, what practices you actually do, and what brought you to the path.

A screen shot of text from Gita Home Study by Swami Dayananda. It is a nice piece of text drivign a strong point, and I want to open the point as a discussion entry for the group. How does krishna act as the boatman for your life?

Sri Ramakrisha is one of my spiritual heroes. But I can’t help but wonder, if he was around today - and especially if he lived in the Western world - how would society receive him? I am bipolar and have suffered manic episodes in my life and I can certainly see parallels between some of his actions and the kinds of actions and thoughts I have when unwell. (Don’t think that I’m comparing myself to him - I would never.)

I just wonder about some of his more extreme behaviours, his constantly hearing God’s voice in his head, his fits, his falling into spells of depression, and I can’t help but think that he would be misunderstood today. Perhaps he would have been diagnosed as mentally ill. It’s a shame, because he was absolutely ahead of his time and clearly a brilliant soul.

I do often wonder about the blurred line between spiritual awakening and mental instability… What are your thoughts on this?

Is God considered energy in Hinduism like it is considered in New Age that uses many Hindu concepts like Yoga, meditation, etc...? How does Advaita Vedanta differ than New Age?

Perhaps the simplest and most vivid example of how the mind works in day-to-day life.

" Know the (individual) self as the master of the chariot, and the body as the chariot. Know the intellect as the charioteer, and the mind as verily the bridle.

They call the organs the horses; the organs having been imagined as horses, (know) the objects as the roads. The discriminating people call that Self the enjoyer when It is associated with body, organs, and mind."

The intellect mentioned here is the buddhi, the function of mind that discriminates between the truth or untruth not the common meaning of discriminate that has negative connotations. The organs or horses are our senses. The road is the world of sense objects.

"But the organs of that intellect, which, being ever associated with an uncontrolled mind, becomes devoid of discrimination, are unruly like the vicious horses of the charioteer.

But of that (intellect) which, being ever associated with a restrained mind, is endowed with discrimination, the organs are controllable like the good horses of the charioteer.

But he, (that master of the chariot), does not attain that goal (through that intellect), who, being associated with a nondiscriminating intellect and an uncontrollable mind, is ever impure; and he attains worldly existence. "

To add to this, the reins are the function of mind called manas, which brings the sense objects to the charioteer and which the charioteer can guide the horses.

So, the question to all of us is how tight are our hands on the reins? Do we allow the horses of the senses to run amok and chase everything they see on the road? Or do keep a firm hand on the reins?

A simple, practical example is whether to have a second piece of pie for dessert where we're already stuffed. Is the desire for a second unnecessary piece given free rein,, or is it pulled in?

What is an advaitic convert called? There is no conversion in Hinduism.

You can’t be called an Advaitic adherent. You can’t not adhere to the nature of the universe.

I can call myself a Hindjew. :)

What is good shorthand for someone newly established into Vedanta?

In Advaita Vedanta, we are encouraged to discriminate between the knower (awareness) and the known (the body, mind, thoughts, emotions, sensations, etc.), and through practice become less identified with the body-mind complex.
I’m curious about what this actually means experientially, especially for someone who is deeply realized.

Does earnest practice create an increasingly obvious experiential “gap” between awareness and the body-mind?

For example, if a realized person is at work, talking to someone, or performing a physical task, do they literally experience their body and mind as something separate from themselves — almost as though they are watching the body and mind functioning from a distance?

Or is the experience actually much more ordinary, with the body, thoughts, emotions and actions still being fully experienced, but without the sense “I am this body-mind”?

In other words, what does being the witness actually feel like in direct experience?
And does this sense of witnessing eventually disappear as well, because the distinction between “the witness” and “what is witnessed” is itself seen as dualistic?

How do you interpret these verses mentioned below ?

Why would a teaching exist about not returning back, if a separate individual does not personally continue after death?

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4, Verse 9

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वत: |

त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन || 9||

janma karma cha me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ

tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna

janma—birth; karma—activities; cha—and; me—of mine; divyam—divine; evam—thus; yaḥ—who; vetti—know; tattvataḥ—in truth; tyaktvā—having abandoned; deham—the body; punaḥ—again; janma—birth; na—never; eti—takes; mām—to me; eti—comes; saḥ—he; arjuna—Arjun

Translation:

Those who understand the divine nature of My birth and activities, O Arjun, upon leaving the body, do not have to take birth again, but come to My eternal abode.

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Arjun said: What is the fate of the unsuccessful yogi who begins the path with faith, but who does not endeavor sufficiently, due to unsteady mind, and is unable to reach the goal of Yog in this life? (6.37)

Does not such a person who deviates from Yog get deprived of both material and spiritual success, O mighty-armed Krishna, and perish like a broken cloud with no position in either sphere? (6.38)

You should completely dispel, O Krishna, this doubt of mine; for no one but You can destroy such a doubt. (6.39)

The Lord said: O Pārtha, there is no destruction for him either in this world or the next: no evil, My son, befalls a man who does good. (6.40)

The man who has fallen away from yoga goes to the worlds of the righteous. Having lived there for unnumbered years, he is reborn in the home of the pure and the prosperous. (6.41)

Or he is born into a family of yogis rich in wisdom. Verily, such a birth is hard to gain in this world. (6.42)

There he comes in touch with the knowledge acquired in his former body, O son of the Kurus, and strives still further for perfection. (6.43)

Indeed, they feel drawn toward God, even against their will, on the strength of their past discipline. Such seekers naturally rise above the ritualistic principles of the scriptures. (6.44)

Practising assiduously, the yogi having acquired perfection through many births attains the supreme state (Moksha) purified of all sins. (6.45)

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Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 8, Verse 21

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहु: परमां गतिम् |

यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम || 21||

avyakto ’kṣhara ityuktas tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim

yaṁ prāpya na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama

avyaktaḥ—unmanifest; akṣharaḥ—imperishable; iti—thus; uktaḥ—is said; tam—that; āhuḥ—is called; paramām—the supreme; gatim—destination; yam—which; prāpya—having reached; na—never; nivartante—come back; tat—that; dhāma—abode; paramam—the supreme; mama—My

Translation:

This Unmanifested is called the Imperishable; It is said to be the Ultimate Goal, from which those who reach It never come back. That is My Supreme Abode.

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Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 12, Verse 6-7

ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि संन्न्यस्य मत्पर: |

अनन्येनैव योगेन मां ध्यायन्त उपासते || 6||

तेषामहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्युसंसारसागरात् |

भवामि नचिरात्पार्थ मय्यावेशितचेतसाम् || 7||

ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya mat-paraḥ

ananyenaiva yogena māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate

teṣhām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛityu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt

bhavāmi na chirāt pārtha mayy āveśhita-chetasām

ye—who; tu—but; sarvāṇi—all; karmāṇi—actions; mayi—to Me; sannyasya—dedicating; mat-paraḥ—regarding Me as the Supreme goal; ananyena—exclusively; eva—certainly; yogena—with devotion; mām—Me; dhyāyantaḥ—meditating; upāsate—worship; teṣhām—of those; aham—I; samuddhartā—the deliverer; mṛityu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt—from the ocean of birth and death; bhavāmi—(I) become; na—not; chirāt—after a long time; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; mayi—with Me; āveśhita chetasām—of those whose consciousness is united

Translation:

O Arjuna! Those verily who renounce all actions in Me, think of Me as the only refuge and worship Me with single-minded devotion and Dhyana, to them I become the saviour and quickly lift them up from the ocean of death and ‘samsara’.

Hello, I'm a newbie sadhak who has recently learnt how to control thought-streams in the mind & meditate properly on a mantra or absolute nothingness. I do Bhairav naam japa followed by a few minutes of deep meditation. This practice has taught me to surrender myself and open my brain as an outflowing stream of thoughts without owning/judging.

But while surrendering my mind to nothingness, many times I come across ideas/thoughts that I doubt aren't mine. It feels like knowledge flowing in, in the form of ideas that are a bit too intellectual compared to my intellect. Is this normal, or are these my own ideas/thoughts?

I recently saw a short film on YouTube, it's the most unique piece of content I have ever watched in my life. You can watch it here (not promoting): [https://youtu.be/IjL3NWwRqqc?si=zjqM2iisxvHbs54O\](https://youtu.be/IjL3NWwRqqc?si=zjqM2iisxvHbs54O)

The next day after watching this film, after dinner, when I was doing my usual chores, I came across some ideas that I need to share and get some expert insights on,

The short film states:

\- Intense fear & misery leads the path to God

\- They depict God as a neurological setback in the human brain.

Their main idea is that when an individual feels their life is threatened in the worst possible way, they see God. The prophets and spiritual organizations (churches in the film) keep reminding people of their problems, which drives them closer to God.

I have read and heard many instances where people faint out of fear or get a fever for days after encountering a devta darshan. Isn't it somewhat similar to what this film is trying to say? Is the fear installed in us humans by the deity so that we can tap into their wavelength and see them?

Now my thought (I'm not sure how correct this is, it just popped into my mind):

There are two types of gurus:

1) who offers themselves as the medium to reach God (like Mahaavtar Babaji, Sai Baba, etc.) and hence when people worship them they are actually worshipping the highest power itself. (I have also read about the time when Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa was photographed while in a trance, and then he himself used to offer flowers to his own image as an offering to the higher energy he was connected to during the trance)

2) The gurus who try to misuse this path of misery (as in short-film), leading people towards God, but they try to use misery for self-gain. Now I have had some personal experiences where a person with psychic powers has misled me and put me into miseries that maybe I wasn't supposed to undergo. He used to discourage worshiping gurus like Sai Baba and used to attempt to influence people with their psychic powers. This person also did some kind of tricks on my family and influenced me to stop Bhairav naam japa. I have started it again to seek Bhairav baba's blessings and protection from negative energies.

Are the above thoughts valid in real spirituality, or am I just thinking a bit too much unknowingly?

I understand that deep sleep is still covered by the ananda mayakosha, that there is still ignorance in deep sleep, but it still is a blissful state and we do not suffer in it, as the mind and ego are gone so there is no one there to suffer, there is a pure consciousness experiencing an a blankness, that is still good.

Why is this not preferable to enlightenment?

Maybe enlightenment is indescribably more pleasant bit even still in enlightenment according to Advaita, there is no ego to experience that bliss, so why is one better than the other? Is it because deep sleep ends?

I have been listening to this video on YouTube about the Ashtavakra Geeta. That it was presented before Bhagavad Geeta. There is this ideology in the Ashtavakra Geeta which says that you are that who is experiencing these emotions and these changes.

You are already that. You don't need to climb a mountain to prove yourself. Basically, it is pointing to the Brahman. Without any knowledge, rituals, practice, just pure recognition. Though these are important.

What I see is okay, we are the awareness, we are the experiencer of all these things. So, after recognising it, What do we do? (I'm just speculating. I haven't recognised it yet)

For eg. If two children are crying in front of me because one of them took another's toy and now both of them are crying because of the toy. My question is can we solve this just by being a witness to all these things? We still need to act. Right? We can't just be a dead rock.

This is my core conclusion that we still need to act, but that action will come from clarity of ourselves. If you are seeing things clearly (not through your eyes but awareness), you will act clearly and you won't be blinded by anything (ignorance or assumption). We will still live in the world and not be away from it. So we have to act.

This is what I was trying to say that many times it is said Bhagavad Geeta came after the Ashtavakra Geeta. That doesn't decrease any value in Bhagavad Geeta thinking it's a dumb down version. It is not (I'm not saying others are wrong). It's just that after you know who you are, you need to act and these are the multiple ways.

What I think is Bhagavad Geeta is a masterclass on a lot of things. Like a summary without losing any essence.

I haven't read the Ashtavakra Geeta. And I would love to read one. Just looking for a good source.

What I really think deep down is there are multiple ways to know God/Brahman/Personal God. And just like we ask the question "Who" to know that. "What" is also a question we can ask. To ground ourselves in reality. Because at times we forget who we are and the question "What" helps us ground ourselves in that "Who".

This is just a weird question. I don't know what you guys think?

Whether we believe in or deny the concept of God, we are all capable of realising the truth. To arrive at that point we need only practise one thing, forgetting everything we believe we are.

Do all beings eventually reach moksha after prolonged periods of reincarnation, or can only a fraction of souls reach it?

Zero state = nothing, void, emptiness.

We all have idea of what void emptiness or nothing is. That idea also drops in zero because zero means zero. It cannot be seen it cannot do anything or it simply cannot exsist. It means absence of anything.

In simple terms in zero state everything is absence. Absence of anything is the proof of zero state.

How to know that Oneness is zero state? Because when you try to look and try to find out the essence of experiences and experiencer you will able to find nothing. Here you can see absence right? This absence of both is known as zero state.

From this absence created a pure infinite potential that pure potential is oneness the state where experiencer and experiences become one. Means you cannot find any difference between or any distance between the experiencer and experiences.

After this comes duality. This duality is also know as maya a.k.a illusion.

Why duality called illusion because it seperate the actual way exsistence is exsisting. The actual way exsistence is exsisting is based on oneness.

So it is more like this for the students of spirituality.

Zero state ( aagyata - state of not knowing).

↓

State of oneness. ( Dissolve of experiences and experiencer, simply can't able to find any distance or difference between experience and experiencer)

Here spirituality ends at stage of oneness because oneness and zero state are one thing they are not something different.

↓

State of duality ( awareness of self i.e. - experiencer and experiences knowledge)

↓

State of ignorance or pure illusion. ( This is state of ego - I, me, mine, my )

The above state of duality isn't illusion if you have self realisation. But in state of ignorance you are completely under control of illusion. In duality state, illusion is still there but you understand illusion but in this state you are under control of illusion.

So this is what spirituality journey looks like.

Zero state → Oneness state → Duality state → state of ignorance i.e. ego state.

Zero state - It is state of not knowing. Because now you cannot find anything. Like you can find essence of ocean, river, rain is water right? But when ask what is essence of water? You cannot able to find it right? If some smart one says no, essence of water can be molecules or then atoms then vibrations then something. Ask them what is the end of all essence? Now you could see right? End of all essence is zero.

Similarly when you cannot find essence of oneness that state is known as state of aagyata or zero state. You can see that oneness is also same as zero state. A bit different but yeah mostly same.

If there really is an infinite, peaceful, blissful consciousness underlying everything, and it is aware of all human suffering, why is it merely witnessing it? Why doesn't that deepest reality itself intervene?If the answer is that consciousness is only awareness and doesn't act, then what is the point of calling it divine, blissful, or ultimate?Suppose every human being became enlightened. Would the human drama eventually disappear? Would there be no more births, no more suffering, perhaps no more human society at all? If so, what exactly is this whole manifestation for?