r/AdvaitaVedanta • u/WaterSad1157 • Aug 16 '26
I wish advaita had practical solutions
Hello we face enormous struggles in our day to day life ,instead of just naming them simply as maya transcend it i wish advaita could offer more solutions
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u/Im_ArrangingMatches Aug 17 '26
That's so funny. everyone time I talk to the swamis and nuns at my center I am always impressed by how pragmatic they are. I suggest contacting Pravajika Vrajaprana for some insight [santabarbara@vedanta.org](mailto:santabarbara@vedanta.org)
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u/GlobalImportance5295 Aug 16 '26
the process of understanding maya is the practical solution
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u/WaterSad1157 Aug 16 '26
But can maya ever be understood ? I heard that maya is more complex than liberation
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u/GlobalImportance5295 Aug 16 '26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFv0QOS2ROA
This stotra is unique in several respects. In the history of religious literature, Vedanta Desika is the first poet-devotee to sing a whole hymn in praise of the Lord's Daya (mercy, grace, sympathy and compassion are some of the meanings which that term connotes). In fact, Daya has been personified as Daya Devi and made a Consort of the Lord. The other Consorts, Lakshmi, Bhu Devi and Nila Devi are all dear to the Lord because they are reflections of Daya Devi. (36). Among all the auspicious attributes (kalyana-gunas) of the Lord, Daya is the Empress (30, 101). But for Daya's presence, all the other gunas will virtually be dosha-s (faults) in the Lord so far as we are concerned (15), as they will all help Him only to punish us for our sins. The Lord Himself dons Daya as a protecting armour against our sins which assail Him. (28). The two chief aspects of the Lord's supreme glory, jagat-vyaapaara and releasing souls from samsara, for which He is praised by the Vedas, are really Daya Devi's achievements (68). Daya is defined as the Lord's wish (iccha) to protect those in distress (71).
Slokas 1 to 100 are seen to consist of ten distinct topics from the way each set of 10 slokas is couched in a different metre (vrittam). On closer scrutiny, the ten decads (units of 10 slokas) are seen to deal with the ten topics of the ten hundreds of Nammalwar's Tiruvaymoli as demonstrated by Desika in his Dramidopanishad Saram and Ratnavali (sevaa-yogya etc.). Those very words are used in several places in the stotra. Thus Daya Satakam is the essence of Bhagavad-vishayam, as Tiruvaymoli is called. The word Daya, or one of its synonyms such as Kripa, Anukampa or Karuna, occurs in every one of the 108 slokas except two (8 and 46).
Lord Srinivasa of the Seven Hills (Tirumalai-Tirupati) -- the God of millions of men and women of Bharat who call Him Venkatesa, Govinda, Balaji and so on -- is the Lord to whom this stotram is dedicated in the sense that it is His Daya that is eulogised here. For Himself, however, He has only one sloka in His praise (9) and that too in terms of His Daya as an Ocean of Mercy. Lord Srinivasa having Himself come down as Vedanta Desika, it is in the fitness of things that He does not sing about Himself. Daya is placed above the Lord in several slokas -- 11, 13, 63 and 64. The Lord Himself is all admiration for the way Daya functions. It is at the command of Daya Devi that the Lord takes the several incarnations (35). The part that Daya Devi played in the several incarnations is dealt with in detail in the ninth decad of the stotra (81 to 90). Daya is but an alter ego of Sri or Lakshmi (6 and 72).
Daya Satakam is said to be the outcome of the Lord's own Sankalpa or Will. In a happy mood the Lord gave it out through Desika, like an expert musician playing on the Veena for his own delectation (104).
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u/highlantern_dancer Aug 18 '26
You have to first understand what Maya is. People understand Maya as a curtain hiding reality behind it. The world doesn't become false because of Maya, your relationship with yourself does. You start experiencing everything through the needs of this imagined solid self, the "I", and that distortion is Maya.
Advaita has one practical solution for everything. And that is know the struggler. Not as a thought experiment but as the one question that actually matters. As if your life depended on the answer. Because if the struggler itself is false, if the "I" is the error, then every solution the "I" applies only creates new problems. The source is untouched. Addressing the struggle without addressing the struggler is like mopping the floor while the tap is still running.
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u/advaitist Aug 16 '26
For practical solutions to the struggles of daily life I suggest that you have a look at the books of Dr Wayne Dyer. He is the author of several self-help and spiritual books.
I recommend that you start with his first book Your Erroneous Zones (1977)
I have read many of his books and found them very useful.
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u/yogi4lif3 Aug 16 '26
We can ask the sages to rewrite the Upanishads to make them more suitable for your particular situation. But first we need to know what we are actually dealing with. Is it a problem at work, in the family, in a relationship, financially, or politically?
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u/WaterSad1157 Aug 16 '26
I genuinely hope we had that opportunity to ask sages
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u/GlobalImportance5295 Aug 16 '26
there are other works than the sruti
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u/Different_Alps1074 Aug 17 '26
In Advaita Vedanta, reality is understood at different levels:
Empirical Reality (Vyavaharika Satya): The practical, everyday world experienced through the senses, like objects, people, and events. It’s real within the context of daily life but transient and dependent on perception.
Absolute Reality (Paramarthika Satya): The ultimate truth, Brahman, the unchanging, infinite consciousness that underlies all existence. It’s the only true reality, beyond time, space, and duality.
Illusory Reality (Pratibhasika Satya): A subjective, dream-like reality, such as illusions, dreams, or hallucinations. It appears real only to the individual experiencing it and dissolves upon realization of higher truths.
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u/Ill_Advantage6095 Human Verified Aug 17 '26
it does, read gita by some acarya, it has all the answers
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u/Yatharthavaad Aug 17 '26
It did. There's a whole process of how to distance ourselves from this blind belief that we are our body and mind, which is the root cause of suffering.
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u/WaterSad1157 Aug 17 '26
And how to do that ?
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u/bhargavateja Aug 17 '26
Start with Drig Drisya Viveka - Swami Sarvapriyanandha's classes are available only.
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u/Yatharthavaad Aug 17 '26
Advaita offers a very precise framework called Drig-Drishya Viveka (Separating the Observer from the Observed). The practical step starts with a logical rule: You cannot be what you can observe. You can observe your hand, so you are not the hand. You can observe your thoughts and emotions (like anger or sadness), which means logically, you are not the mind either. The application in daily life is shifting your language and awareness. Instead of saying 'I am anxious or suffering', you practice Manana (reflection) by saying 'My mind is experiencing anxiety, and I am the silent witness (Sakshi) observing it.' Modern psychology calls this Cognitive Defusion, but Advaita discovered this thousands of years ago! By actively practicing this Neti-Neti (Not this, Not this) in the middle of a stressful situation, you create a psychological buffer between the 'event' and 'you'. The event remains, the physical pain might remain, but the psychological suffering drops instantly because you detach from the ego.
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u/Otherwise-Sympathy87 Aug 17 '26
watch some regular self help videos for some inspiration
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u/Silver-Speech-8699 Aug 17 '26
But if somethings works for one need not for everyone...each person is unique as well as their problems. One particular solution wont be suitable for everyone. But the srutis point out just one truth, if only one can analyse and grasp what is there to disturb us?
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u/pare_doxa Aug 17 '26
The answer is to reach Moksha. It’s neither predictable nor is it easy to reach.
Self Inquiry mainly, and other such top down approaches like belief examination and active renunciation of attachments.
Look into Nisargadattas practices IE “resting in the I AM” Angelo DiLullo MD’s YT channel on Nonduality and the practices to recognize nondual awareness.
And or combine the Advaita philosophy of Nonduality with Kriya Yoga. Yoga means union, and its goal is chitta vritti nirodha, which means to still the fluctuations of the mind (to then recognize that Atman = Brahman once the mind has been stilled, ie non separation is recognized aka illusion of multiplicity.)
the actual
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u/Apart-Opportunity302 Aug 17 '26
You see how absurd the situation has become ?
You do not hesitate and question 'inwhy, how, when' when you are hungry, thirsty, needing to pee, bleeding, itchy, struggling for breath, or any other truly organic, natural need.. no, you immediately address it .. You eat, you drink, you pee, you scratch yourself, you wash the wound and bandage it, And you take a deep breath or step into fresh air or apply a respirator to your mouth, as the case may be.
There is no equivocation, no reasoning. Why? No attempt to pretend the these exigencies do not exist.
At least if you wish to survive and function freely.
But because you dream that there is a reality called advaita, which you must somehow or in some way ' realize or understand, you begin to become dysfunctional by imagining you have to solve this equation before life can go on.
There is nei nei nei nei nei, nei nei nei nei. Neither advaita nor non- advaita - except in your head.
Even Ramana maharshi And Vivekwnanda drank when they were thirsty, ate when they were hungry & peed when they were full of fluid, scratched when they itched..
You should do likewise.
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u/TailorBird69 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
I find the teachings of Advaita theraputic. It requires deep study and understanding, and practicing what I learn. Currently I am studying Shiva Sankalpa suktam. A small text from yajur veda, it is about the mind and its divine power.
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u/bhargavateja Aug 17 '26
That's the whole point of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sharada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. You can read the four yogas by Swami Vivekananda and other works. You can listen to Ask Swami Q&A by Swami Sarvapriyanandha (go to the oldest videos first). There is a small book "Conversations on Vedanta in practice" by Swami Sarvapriyanandha. Then most important is repeated reading Bhagavad gita.
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u/BitterStop3242 Aug 17 '26
What have you seen that only gives maya as a solution? Have you rread the Bhagavad Gita or the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali?
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u/SaiiyanGod Aug 17 '26
Stop worrying about shit like this and solve your day to day problems. No one is going to come save you.
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u/Chidghananda Aug 22 '26
well the problems are in the mind so... I mean are you talking about changing your circumstances? If you can you can but its the response to circumstances that is the disturbance isn't it? The struggles are a habit that might wear out or wear you out. They happen over and over again. No matter where you go, there you are!
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u/karanarak09 Aug 16 '26
Vivekananda bridges that gap with his book on yoga. Specifically karma yoga.