FAQ on Advaitin - Monthly Restatement

October 2, 1998

Greetings Advaitins:

Advaitin List has just completed one month of its existence at the

Onelist mail server. This list was started by few intereted Advaitins

using a temporary server for about 3 weeks. Currently, this list

receives an average of 12 messages per day. Currently, we have 53

members and over 40 percent of them have contributed with questions and

thoughts.

I want to thank each one of you (on behalf of you) for your thoughtful

postings and gracious replies. Let us determine to keep the spirit of

sharing our knowledge and caring for others.

Regards,

--

Ram Chandran

Burke, VA

Frequently Asked Questions Related to Advaitin and ONElist.

How do I to Advaitin?

If you have Internet access, the procedure is very simple.

Go to URL: HTTP://www./viewarchive.cgi?listname=advaitin

Click <Subscribe to the List>

Provide your Email address and a password for future access and follow

the directions.

If you don't have Internet access, then send an email to the list owner:

Ram Chandran, chandran indicating your interest.

What is the Scope of Advaitin?

Advaitin is a philosophical discussion Forum to study the

relationship between the individual soul, Atman and the universal soul,

Brahman with the appearance of the World. The Forum will synthesize

the fundamental ideas of Vedanta (philosophical thoughts) in the

Upanishads. Members will focus their viewpoints to recognize the true

meaning, profundity, richness and beauty of Sankara's non-dual

philosophy. According to Sankara, the saint philosopher from India, God

is infinitely higher and is also infinitely nearer. He is nearer to us

than our hands and feet. He is the Soul of all souls. He is neither the

body, the senses, the mind, the ego nor the intellect. He is "I," the

ever-present witness to all experiences. He is Atman and the Brahman and

is the only Reality.

Sankara's Advaita Philosophy blends Karma and Maya with a logical

exposition of the idea of non-dualism. The doctrine of Karma asserts the

influence of past to the present. The idea Maya represents the

illusionary power which falsifies the appearance of the universe as the

Namarupa (various names and forms.) According to Sankara, Brahman, the

infinite consciousness, is the sole reality. Sankara establishes the

essential identity between Atman and Brahman. His Guru Gaudapada

unconsciously influenced Sankara with the tenets of Buddhist philosophy.

On the other hand, Sankara's philosophical works show that he was

clearly against the Buddhist thought. The scope of this Forum consists

of pre-Sankara, post-Sankara and contemporary Advaita (Indian and

non-Indian) that envelopes a broader spectrum of philosophical systems

of non-duality. Interpretations can expand beyond Indian culture and

philosophy and discussions will also include personal experiences.

This list is truly dedicated to Sankara and Vedavyasa and other sages

and saints of East and West who have contributed to non-dual

philosophy. The primary purpose of this list is to facilitate

meaningful discussions in a friendly and pleasant atmosphere. This list

will restrict the discussions to non-dual philosophies that fall within

the framework of Sankara's Advaita Vedanta. The members of this list

do recognize that "self-realization" is a personal experience and

consequently personal spiritual experiences are more than welcome.

What is the responsibility of the members?

This is a spiritual forum and discussants should avoid writing

objectionable materials such as personal attacks, sexual Tantra

practices, etc. Most of us do not tolerate abusive personal attacks by

any discussant and the list owner may forced to ask the offender with

repeated offences to leave the list. We want the discussants to show

respect to saints and sages from all traditions. Majority of the members

of Advaitin List wants to keep this forum free from unnecessary

regulations and restrictions. New members shall provide a brief

background information about their interest in non-dual philosophy to

the list members.

What is an Advaitin mailing list?

Advaitin Mailing list is an electronic Spiritual Forum to permit people

who believe in Advaita to exchange their viewpoints in a friendly

atmosphere. The mailing address is: advaitin .

Does it cost anything to to Advaitin mailing list?

ONElist is a FREE service and the web-site is free and Advaitin mailing

list wants to remain as a free service to the world community.

What is ONElist's policy on SPAM?

ONElist has taken several measures to discourage spam, or unsolicited

commercial email. Part of the registration process involves responding

to an email message that ONElist sends out. This is to ensure that every

list r is using a valid email address and be held accountable

if they spam. Only rs to a list may send email to the list. All

archived messages on the ONElist web site have had the sending email

addresses removed. This is to eliminate address harvesting.

Why did I never receive the confirmation email?

The most common cause of this is an incorrect email address.

Why did I not receiving email anymore?

The first thing to do is to check the list archives to see if there are

messages that you have not received. It could be that no one has sent

any email to the lists lately.

Why did my email to the advaitin list bounce back?

This could be for several reasons. Most probably, the email from an

email address is not the same as the one you provided when you

registered and the email is ignored. This feature is to prevent

spamming.

What are the characteristics of Advaitin mailing list?

Advaitin is presently an unmoderated and unrestricted list. A moderated

mailing list is a list that requires the list owner to approve all email

before they are sent to the list. A restricted mailing list is a list

that requires the list owner to approve all subscription requests to the

list. Advaitin will permit members to send announcements that are

relevant and pertain to the List objectives. Advaitin wants to remain

unmoderated and unrestricted and expects full cooperation from the

members to preserve this tradition.

Reference URL: HTTP://www./viewarchive.cgi?listname=advaitin

Suggested Maturity Level: For People Over 17, non-restricted & non

moderated.

Public Archives:

HTTP://www./viewarchive.cgi?listname=advaitin

Goal: Discussion of Sankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy to focus on

the true meaning, profundity, richness and beauty of non-duality

between mind and matter.

What does the list owner do?

Overall, the list owner is responsible for keeping the list interesting

and on-topic. The list owner is also responsible for promoting the

mailing list. If the mailing list is moderated, the list owner must

approve all email before they are sent to the list. If the mailing list

is a restricted list, the list owner must approve all rs before

they can to the mailing list. If the mailing list is an

announcement list, then the list owner is the only person who can send

email to the mailing list.

Can the list owner add people to list without their permission?

No! The List Owner uses two features: (1) Invite Users Feature and (2)

Add Users Feature. The Invite Users Feature sends out an email to people

telling them how to to the list. The Add Users Feature

s people to the list. If the people being d have never

registered with ONElist before, they are sent a confirmation email to

validate the subscription.

How do I un-?

To un- from any lists you are on, or to change your

subscription from normal to digest mode and back, click on the User

Center link on the menu bar on the left. To access the User Center

screen, type in your email address and password and click the 'login'

button. Options to change your email address or password, to which your

subscription from normal to digest mode and back, or to un- are

all available on the User Center screen.

Ok, I've d to a list, now how to I send email to it?

To send email to the list you've d to, send to the address

advaitin ,

Are there any limits on the number of messages sent by a r to

Advaitin?

ONElist has no restrictions on the number of messages sent to a list.

Is it possible for me to change the displayed name with all my email?

ONElist just uses the name that you sent with the email. So to change

this, change the configuration of your email package.

What is the No Mail, option about? What is the Digest option about?

The No Mail and Digest options are available according to the need of

the members. No Mail option is useful if you are going on vacation and

don't want email to pile up while you are gone. The digest option is

useful if you don't want to fill your mailboxes with email. By

clicking on the Set Digest link in the User Center, you will receive

mail delivery in a digest (mails in group). By clicking on the Set No

Mail link in the User Center, you will turn off mail delivery for that

list. Mail will not be saved while you are not receiving email. If you

have Internet access, you should be able to set these options

interactively. Otherwise send an email to the list owner: Ram Chandran

at: chandran

Can I view the Advaitin List Archieves?

Yes!

Go to Web Site: HTTP://www./viewarchive.cgi?listname=advaitin

Now you can view all the messages from the current list in the order of

their postings (Date & Time).

Digest 0 dated Wed Sep 3 00:35:37 1998 contains the following

messages:

1. Re: Independent existence of the world.