Upanishads and the Gita

[Guest guest]

Dear Shri Henry,

pranams

 

it is not that long ago that I found myself in a similar situation as

you: I had read one of Dennis Waites books, entered this group and

felt quite overwhelmed by all those new concepts, words, names etc. I

would like to share, how I have found my way, maybe this is of help to

you. Basically I decided to just stay with it, cultivate some patience

and go step by step. In the beginning I thought that I would never be

able to find my way through all this but by following only those posts

I could relate to, exploring websites mentioned in the list or by

Dennis and by lots and lots of reading, I now feel quite comfortable.

Its like, I have learned to swim instead of gasping for air and

struggling not to drown.

If you live in the US you are fortunate because there are

opportunities to join a class. I live in Germany so I had to refer to

books and online teaching. For both of us I guess the same difficulty

arose: how to be sure that the teaching I follow is really advaitin?

I can encourage you: In the beginning it looks much more complicated

than it actually is. Just persevere!

I hope that I do not violate any rules of the group by mentioning some

names with who you will definitely be on the safe side: teachings of

Swami Chinmayananda, of Swami Dayananda and of Swami Paramarthananda.

Swami Paramarthanandas introduction to Vedanta on

http://www.vedantavidyarthisangha.org/ was of invaluable help to me

and the best foundation for learning I can imagine.

 

Om Shanti

Sitara

[Guest guest]

advaitin , " Sitara " <smitali17 wrote:

>

 

>

and

> felt quite overwhelmed by all those new concepts, words, names etc.

 

Namaste,

 

It is also absolutely critical that members seek explanations

promptly for 'confusing' terms etc., as the meanings can be different

depending on the context in which they are used (as illustrated by

Sri Sastriji's references to the word 'vij~nAna').

 

If members feel shy about asking questions in the forum, they

can send inquiries to the moderators.

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

[Guest guest]

advaitin , " Sunder Hattangadi " <sunderh wrote:

>

> It is also absolutely critical that members seek explanations

> promptly for 'confusing' terms etc., as the meanings can be different

> depending on the context in which they are used (as illustrated by

> Sri Sastriji's references to the word 'vij~nAna').

>

> If members feel shy about asking questions in the forum, they

> can send inquiries to the moderators.

>

 

 

I heard this insightfull statement recently regarding asking questions

by students (Don't know the source).

 

The only stupid questions are the ones we will keep unasked.

 

M.

[Guest guest]

Sadanandaji,On one of our online classes last night, Swamiji made a statement that reminds me of this. She said that one of the reasons a Guru is so essential is that the Guru acts as a reflection of one self, but with a Guru, the Guru already knows you are complete and whole and will not lead you in circles, as can happen when you attempt to study Vedanta alone. In light of your comment, this makes even MORE sense to me today, since the Guru will not act as a thief policing itself, since the truth is already known to the Guru.Thank you for your wise comments.Harih OMEd>>>you are zeroing on the fundamental problem - the ego. Ego wants to

eliminate ego! - Ego will survive in that elimination process - If the

thief himself is assigned police to catch the thief - where will it

end. Only way to eliminate the ego is to enquire about it. False guy

cannot stand an enquiry since it is false. Any other solution will only

give credence to the false and make the false the real. Advaita Vedanta

centers on this - you are not that what you think - since any thought

is finite and you the one who is conscious of the thought, egotistical

or otherwise. The very inquiry should lead you that which is beyond

inquiry.All the best.

 

Hari Om!

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