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Advaitin List - An Electronic Discussion Group on Advaita Philosophy

 

Advaitin List Objectives

========================

Advaitin Mailing list is an electronic Spiritual Forum to exchange viewpoints

focusing on Shankara's Advaita Philosophy. Advaita is based on the ancient Vedic

Scriptures, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahmasutras. According

to

Shankara, Brahman, the infinite consciousness, is the sole reality. Shankara

establishes the essential identity between Atman and Brahman. In the ultimate

analysis, Advaita Vedanta holds that all that exists is only Brahman. The

plurality of

living and nonliving beings of the entire universe is indeed nothing but

Brahman.

The ignorance of this astonishingly simple truth leads to the misery. The

individual

Atman is also ultimately not different from Brahman, and realization of this

important doctrine is Salvation (Moksha.) A number of national and international

institutions have drawn inspiration from this philosophy which include Shankara

Maths, Ramanashramam, Vivekananda Foundation, Aurobindo Ashram, Sivananda

Ashram, Ramakrishna Mission, Satyasai Baba Center, Chinmaya Mission, Vedanta

Mission, Sachidananda Ashram, Arshavidya Gurukulam, Society of Abidance in

Truth, Advaita Fellowship, Self Realization Fellowship, Universal Spirituality,

Krishnamurti Foundation, etc.

 

The Internet contains an ocean of literature on Hindu Scriptures and Vedanta

Philosophy and the list welcomes discussions and postings that can bring new

insights. The list moderators want to assure the members that the list has no

intention to curtail any serious discussions on spiritual subjects that have

close

resemblance to Advaita Vedanta. The list encourages a wide range of discussion

topics focusing on Shankara, pre-Shankara and post-Shankara Advaita Philosophy.

The list moderators want to acknowledge the fact that Advaita Philosophy can't

be

studied in isolation and consequently will support spiritual discussions related

to

Vaishnavam, Shivam, Buddihsm, Jainism and others. However such discussions

should help members to get better insights on Advaita Philosophy. Discussions

can

go beyond Indian culture and philosophy and the discussants are welcome to post

their personal experiences. The moderators will not hesitate to exercise their

right to

curtail discussions when they drift away from the primary focus.

 

This list is truly dedicated to Vedavyasa, Shankara, Ramana Maharishi,

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and other sages and saints of East and West who have

dedicated their life time on nondual philosophy. The list intents to facilitate

meaningful discussions in a friendly and pleasant atmosphere with several key

goals:

To understand the nature of Ultimate Reality and to find the relationships

between

all the entities

To comprehend self-realization transform that realization into actions that are

good

for human society

To describe such realizations and actions using simple but crisp language

understood by most humans.

To motivate the beginners in philosophy and help them to understand and

appreciate the message of Scriptures.

To help members to develop an attitude to appreciate that every human being is

good in his/her own way.

 

Guidelines related to members and postings

1. Though the primary emphasis focuses on Advaita Vedanta of Saint

Shankaracharya, members have full freedom to express broader aspects of nondual

philosophies, activities and news related to Institutions that support Vedanta

Philosophy.

2. The list facilitates courteous exchange of viewpoints from members with

different background. Eastern and Western thoughts on nonduality are explored in

greater detail. Members can exchange their views on Yogas (Karma, Bhakti, Jnana

and also Raja and Kundalini), book reviews, and quotations both from East and

West on Spirituality.

3. The list moderators request members not to use this list to sell commercial

products but they are encouraged to use this forum to exchange information on

books, tapes, lectures, cultural programs and URL addresses on spiritual topics.

4. The list moderators encourage new members to send a short paragraph of self

introduction if and when they feel comfortable. Please understand such

introduction

can greatly help the fellow list members to get acquaintance with the new

members.

5. At present members can post only messages in text format (ASCII) and mails

with attachments will be deleted by mailing list provider. Please understand

this

arrangement will guarantee protection from computer virus infection!

6. At present, members have full freedom to post messages without interference

from list moderators. However, the list expects discussants to engage in

friendly

discussions focusing on the subject matter. The moderators request members to

avoid personal attacks and remarks demeaning religions, religious leaders,

individuals or groups. Members who violate will be subject to moderation and

repeated violations will force the moderators to ban the violator from posting

to the

list.

 

List Archives are available at two sites:

Archives at eScribe.com

URL: http://www.eScribe.com/culture/advaitin/

The latest postings are visible and the rest of over 4000 are invisible. Use

the

search window and type for example <shankara>. Then all postings with the

thread

with the key word <shankara> are listed. If you want to collect articles by

month,

then use the following two step procedure:

Step 1: Type for example <Nov 99>

In Step 2, search <Nov 99> in the body of the message.

All messages will be listed on the screen fifty at a time.

 

Archives at Onelist.com

URL: /archives/advaitin/

Digests 0 to 430 (as of 15 Dec 1999)are listed and they are organized by date

and

the latest is 430 corresponds to 15th December 99.

==================

 

Ram Chandran

Gummuluru Murthy

Madhava K. Turumella

Kuntimaddi Sadananda

Frank Maiello

Greg Goode

Comoderators of Advaitin