Guest guest Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Dear Friends, I have previewed two interesting books at Google Book and would be grateful if anyone could comment on following book(s). The books are: Method Of The Vedanta - A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition by Sri Swami Satchidanandendra and translated by Dr. A. J. Alston and The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. Thanks! Yours in Bhagavan -- Bengt Frost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 advaitin , " bengt.frost " <bengtfrost wrote: > > Dear Friends, > > I have previewed two interesting books at Google Book and would > be grateful if anyone could comment on following book(s). > > The books are: > Method Of The Vedanta - A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition > by Sri Swami Satchidanandendra and translated by Dr. A. J. Alston > > and > > The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, > Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. > > Thanks! > > Yours in Bhagavan > -- Bengt Frost Dear Bengt, I haven't read either of the two books which you mention, and I don't know anything about the first one. Michael Comans is a disciple of my own teacher's guru, Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Michael teaches Vedanta in Sydney, Australia and is also known as Vasudevacharya. http://srivasudevacharya.org/ I met Michael when I visited Sydney last spring, and I would say that his understanding of Vedanta is very good (as is the understanding of Swamiji's other teachers). So, I would definitely recommend anything he has written as authentic and authoritative. All the best, Durga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Namaste, I have read only one of the books that you have asked about. > The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, > Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. http://www.amazon.com/Method-Early-Advaita-Vedanta-Gaudapada/dp/8120817222 I have read this book and I wholly recommend it. It is seemingly easy at places but perhaps the easiness is deceptive. The arguments which Michael Comans makes are very powerful and the terms he introduces are very precise, which is not surprising considering that he is a student of Swami Dayananda. Many of the clarifications he gives are enlightening and very much applicable to the " avidya controversy " . I completely agree with Dennis-ji's amazon review for the book, when he says the following: " ... It does seem that, as soon as you look in greater detail into something that you thought you understood, you discover that there is much more to it than you had thought and perhaps you didn't understand it properly after all.... " On a similar note, can anyone point to any location where can someone find Doherty's thesis? I have read the following paper (and can pass it to anyone interested, please send me an email), but want to see what is in her thesis that is not already covered in the paper. http://www.springerlink.com/content/n46p4g760q053765/ praNAms to all Advaitins, Ramakrishna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 advaitin , " Durga " <durgaji108 wrote: > > advaitin , " bengt.frost " <bengtfrost@> wrote: > > > > Dear Friends, > > > > I have previewed two interesting books at Google Book and would > > be grateful if anyone could comment on following book(s). > > > > The books are: > > Method Of The Vedanta - A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition > > by Sri Swami Satchidanandendra and translated by Dr. A. J. Alston > > > > and > > > > The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, > > Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. > > > > Thanks! > > > > Yours in Bhagavan > > -- Bengt Frost > > Dear Bengt, > > I haven't read either of the two books which > you mention, and I don't know anything > about the first one. > > Michael Comans is a disciple of my own teacher's > guru, Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Michael teaches > Vedanta in Sydney, Australia and is also known > as Vasudevacharya. > > http://srivasudevacharya.org/ > > I met Michael when I visited Sydney last spring, > and I would say that his understanding of Vedanta > is very good (as is the understanding of Swamiji's > other teachers). > > So, I would definitely recommend anything he has > written as authentic and authoritative. > > All the best, > Durga > Dear Durga, Sri Vasudevacharya (formally Dr. Michael Comans) book " Method Of The Vedanta .... " looks promising and have also received great ratings. Additionally Sri Vasudevacharya " holds regular classes on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and Sanskrit in Sydney and Melbourne. " Impressive. Dhanyavaadaha Yours in Bhagavan -- Bengt Frost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Dear Ramakrishna, Sri Vasudevacharya (formally Dr. Michael Comans) explanations of Advaita concepts, doctrines and interpretations of texts in his book seems very clarifying and are hopefully not " deceptive " . No doubt about it - this book looks very promising... Dhanyavaadaha Yours in Bhagavan -- Bengt Frost advaitin , " Ramakrishna Upadrasta " <uramakrishna wrote: > > Namaste, > > I have read only one of the books that you have asked about. > > > The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, > > Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. > > http://www.amazon.com/Method-Early-Advaita-Vedanta-Gaudapada/dp/8120817222 > > I have read this book and I wholly recommend it. It is seemingly easy at > places but perhaps the easiness is deceptive. The arguments which Michael > Comans makes are very powerful and the terms he introduces are very precise, > which is not surprising considering that he is a student of Swami Dayananda. > > Many of the clarifications he gives are enlightening and very much > applicable to the " avidya controversy " . I completely agree with Dennis-ji's > amazon review for the book, when he says the following: " ... It does seem > that, as soon as you look in greater detail into something that you thought > you understood, you discover that there is much more to it than you had > thought and perhaps you didn't understand it properly after all.... " > > On a similar note, can anyone point to any location where can someone find > Doherty's thesis? I have read the following paper (and can pass it to anyone > interested, please send me an email), but want to see what is in her thesis > that is not already covered in the paper. > > http://www.springerlink.com/content/n46p4g760q053765/ > > praNAms to all Advaitins, > Ramakrishna > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Dear Bengt, There are a number of scholars on this list including Krishnamurthy-ji, Sada-ji, Sastri-ji, Shyam-ji, and others who have written easy to follow short articles on Advaita Vedanta for us. As an example, here is one by Sastri-ji which is very useful for non scholars like me. introduction-to-advaita-vedanta-by-sri-sn-sastri Best wishes with your search Namaste and love Harsha advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf Of bengt.frost Sunday, April 05, 2009 6:28 PM advaitin Re: The Method of Advaita Vedanta Dear Ramakrishna, Sri Vasudevacharya (formally Dr. Michael Comans) explanations of Advaita concepts, doctrines and interpretations of texts in his book seems very clarifying and are hopefully not " deceptive " . No doubt about it - this book looks very promising... Dhanyavaadaha Yours in Bhagavan -- Bengt Frost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 advaitin , " bengt.frost " <bengtfrost wrote: > > advaitin , " Durga " <durgaji108@> wrote: > > > > advaitin , " bengt.frost " <bengtfrost@> wrote: > > > > > > Dear Friends, > > > > > > I have previewed two interesting books at Google Book and would > > > be grateful if anyone could comment on following book(s). > > > > > > The books are: > > > Method Of The Vedanta - A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition > > > by Sri Swami Satchidanandendra and translated by Dr. A. J. Alston > > > > > > and > > > > > > The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, > > > Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. > > > > > > Thanks! > > > > > > Yours in Bhagavan > > > -- Bengt Frost Namaste, Bengt,,,if you are interested in enlightenment as opposed to gaining knowledge then take this advice... Buy..'Be as you are' the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, by David Godman..Arkana books. Read it ten times...and then see if you need to learn anything else....really....Then try and penetrate the concept Ajativada for meaning..........Cheers Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Dear Bengt-ji, See http://www.advaita.org.uk/reading/read_philosophical.htm#comans for my review of the second (excellent). The former is more of a reference work than for reading and I have to confess that I haven’t read it as such. It is very large for a start and deals with the same topics as dealt with by different generations of teachers. Alston is an excellent translator and consequently it is fairly readable (for such an academic work). Its purpose, as I understand it, is to show that the only correct method of presenting the teaching is according to the original understanding of Shankara, as this is understood by Swami Satchidanandendra. If this is a topic that interests you, then it is probably essential reading! Best wishes, Dennis advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf Of bengt.frost Sunday, April 05, 2009 8:23 PM advaitin The Method of Advaita Vedanta Dear Friends, I have previewed two interesting books at Google Book and would be grateful if anyone could comment on following book(s). The books are: Method Of The Vedanta - A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition by Sri Swami Satchidanandendra and translated by Dr. A. J. Alston and The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Namaste Sri Dennis-ji, Thank you for your reply! I am still reading and 'thinking in' your excellent book " Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita " . Also will __continue__ to contemplate on this book in the " future " . Read your review of " The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, Suresvara and Padmapada " by Michael Comans. This review together with other recommendations, my own investigation and Sri Vasudevacharya (formally Dr. Michael Comans) __traditional__ view of Advaita Vedanta make this book very interesting. Dhanyavaadaha Yours in Bhagavan -- Bengt Frost advaitin , " Dennis Waite " <dwaite wrote: > > Dear Bengt-ji, > > See http://www.advaita.org.uk/reading/read_philosophical.htm#comans for my > review of the second (excellent). > > The former is more of a reference work than for reading and I have to > confess that I haven't read it as such. It is very large for a start and > deals with the same topics as dealt with by different generations of > teachers. Alston is an excellent translator and consequently it is fairly > readable (for such an academic work). Its purpose, as I understand it, is to > show that the only correct method of presenting the teaching is according to > the original understanding of Shankara, as this is understood by Swami > Satchidanandendra. If this is a topic that interests you, then it is > probably essential reading! > > Best wishes, > > Dennis > > > > advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf > Of bengt.frost > Sunday, April 05, 2009 8:23 PM > advaitin > The Method of Advaita Vedanta > > > > Dear Friends, > > I have previewed two interesting books at Google Book and would > be grateful if anyone could comment on following book(s). > > The books are: > Method Of The Vedanta - A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition > by Sri Swami Satchidanandendra and translated by Dr. A. J. Alston > > and > > The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, > Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 The former is more of a reference work than for reading and I have to confess that I haven’t read it as such. It is very large for a start and deals with the same topics as dealt with by different generations of teachers. Alston is an excellent translator and consequently it is fairly readable (for such an academic work). Its purpose, as I understand it, is to show that the only correct method of presenting the teaching is according to the original understanding of Shankara, as this is understood by Swami Satchidanandendra.praNAmsHare krishnaI dont think there is any specific need here to say Sri SSS has written his works as per his understanding of shankara..Ofcourse anyone who writes on shankara & his works will obviously do that from his/her understanding only...PanchapAdika has been written by padmapAda *as per* his understanding of shankara, vAchaspati mishra has written bhAmati *as per* his understanding of shankara etc. But unlike others, while sharing 'his' understanding of shankar Sri SSS would invariably give appropriate references from shankara's prasthAna trayi bhAshya. Since the style of writing is polemical in this particular book, 'The Method of Vedanta' (original in Sanskrit 'vedantaprakriya pratyabhigna') is not advisable for beginners. But the introduction to this work by Sri SSS in English is really worth reading for those who have genuine interest in knowing their mUlAchArya's teaching/intention & later deviations from the source text by other Acharya-s. Sri SSS has also written number of books in Kannada, English & Sanskrit for the benefit of beginners in vedanta. Some good English books are : (a) Essays on Vedanta, (b)Upanishadic Approach to Reality, © Intuition of Reality, (d) Salient Features of Shankara Vedanta(e) Science of Being(f) Minor Works of Shankara(g) Shankara's Clarification of Certain Vedantic ConceptsHari Hari Hari Bol!!!bhaskar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 See http://www.advaita.org.uk/reading/read_philosophical.htm#comans for my review of the second (excellent). praNAms Hare Krishna Just for the information, the author, Michel Comans has also written an article on the authorship of viveka chudaamaNi, which is traditionally believed as one of the genuine prakaraNa grantha of Sri Shankara bhagavatpAda. He fervidly argues here, this prakaraNa grantha would definitely not be the work of Adi shankara, who has penned his commentaries on prasthAna traya. Apart from this, he has also written & argues on the indispensability of experience of nirvikalpa samAdhi ( a trance like state where mind would be inert & body would be stand still) to gain Atma jnAna in advaita vedanta..He argues that these type of mystic experiences would not be necessary to attain the ultimate knowledge of Atman....Whereas some traditional advaita Acharya-s hold the view that the experience of nirvikalpa samAdhi is 'the must' to have the knowledge of brahman on 1:1 basis :-)) Both these articles are available on the net...but I am not able to provide the link... Hari Hari Hari Bol!!! bhaskar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 advaitin , " Tony OClery " <aoclery wrote: > > advaitin , " bengt.frost " <bengtfrost@> wrote: > > > > advaitin , " Durga " <durgaji108@> wrote: > > > > > > advaitin , " bengt.frost " <bengtfrost@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Dear Friends, > > > > > > > > I have previewed two interesting books at Google Book and would > > > > be grateful if anyone could comment on following book(s). > > > > > > > > The books are: > > > > Method Of The Vedanta - A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition > > > > by Sri Swami Satchidanandendra and translated by Dr. A. J. Alston > > > > > > > > and > > > > > > > > The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, > > > > Suresvara and Padmapada by Michael Comans. > > > > > > > > Thanks! > > > > > > > > Yours in Bhagavan > > > > -- Bengt Frost > Namaste, > > Bengt,,,if you are interested in enlightenment as opposed to gaining knowledge then take this advice... > > Buy..'Be as you are' the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, by David Godman..Arkana books. Read it ten times...and then see if you need to learn anything else....really....Then try and penetrate the concept Ajativada for meaning..........Cheers Tony. > Namaste, Master Ramana's teachings and direct-path 'style' is always enlightening. Dhanyavaadaha Yours in Bhagavan -- Bengt Frost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Dear bhaskar, It really pained me to see that authorship of Vivekachudamani is being challenged. We have the opinions endorsed by the paramapujya acharya of Sringeri Sarada Pitha Shri Chandrasekhara Bharati Swamigal. Actually, Sringeri Pitha has the entire list of prakarana granthas authored by Acharya Sankara which is based on valid pramana. Veda says *yato vAcho nivartante aprApya manasa saha*. Reality is that state which is unreachable by Speech and Mind. Regs, sriram advaitin , Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr wrote: > > > See http://www.advaita.org.uk/reading/read_philosophical.htm#comans for my > review of the second (excellent). > > > praNAms > > > Hare Krishna > > > Just for the information, the author, Michel Comans has also written an > article on the authorship of viveka chudaamaNi, which is traditionally > believed as one of the genuine prakaraNa grantha of Sri Shankara > bhagavatpAda. He fervidly argues here, this prakaraNa grantha would > definitely not be the work of Adi shankara, who has penned his commentaries > on prasthAna traya. > > > Apart from this, he has also written & argues on the indispensability of > experience of nirvikalpa samAdhi ( a trance like state where mind would be > inert & body would be stand still) to gain Atma jnAna in advaita > vedanta..He argues that these type of mystic experiences would not be > necessary to attain the ultimate knowledge of Atman....Whereas some > traditional advaita Acharya-s hold the view that the experience of > nirvikalpa samAdhi is 'the must' to have the knowledge of brahman on 1:1 > basis :-)) > > > Both these articles are available on the net...but I am not able to provide > the link... > > > Hari Hari Hari Bol!!! > > > bhaskar > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Dear Bhaskar-ji, I certainly did not imply any disrespect to Sri SSS by indicating that the books was ‘as per his understanding of Shankara’. I merely did so because I know that some specifically disagree with that understanding. Personally, I would not wish to enter into such discussions and admire Sri SSS highly. Best wishes, Dennis advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf Of Bhaskar YR Tuesday, April 07, 2009 5:41 AM advaitin RE: The Method of Advaita Vedanta <<I dont think there is any specific need here to say Sri SSS has written his works as per his understanding of shankara..Ofcourse anyone who writes on shankara & his works will obviously do that from his/her understanding only.>> .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 The samAdhi article is at - http://www.realization.org/page/doc2/doc200.html. Dennis advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf Of Bhaskar YR Tuesday, April 07, 2009 7:09 AM advaitin RE: The Method of Advaita Vedanta <<Just for the information, the author, Michel Comans has also written an article on the authorship of viveka chudaamaNi, which is traditionally believed as one of the genuine prakaraNa grantha of Sri Shankara bhagavatpAda. He fervidly argues here, this prakaraNa grantha would definitely not be the work of Adi shankara, who has penned his commentaries on prasthAna traya. Apart from this, he has also written & argues on the indispensability of experience of nirvikalpa samAdhi ( a trance like state where mind would be inert & body would be stand still) to gain Atma jnAna in advaita vedanta..He argues that these type of mystic experiences would not be necessary to attain the ultimate knowledge of Atman....Whereas some traditional advaita Acharya-s hold the view that the experience of nirvikalpa samAdhi is 'the must' to have the knowledge of brahman on 1:1 basis :-)) Both these articles are available on the net...but I am not able to provide the link... >> .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Namaste, Interesting(read it before). Dhanyavaadaha Some interesting qoutes from mentioned document at http://www.realization.org/page/doc2/doc200.html Sankara's view is that liberation is nothing but being Brahman, and that is one's inherent condition, although it is obscured by ignorance. Sankara: He says, " ... the sruti rejects the view that there is another means for liberation apart from the knowledge of the oneness of the Self which is revealed in the Veda. " As is well known, Sankara considers that knowledge alone, the insight concerning the truth of things, is what liberates. To this end he places great emphasis upon words, specifically the words of the Upanisads, as providing the necessary and even the sufficient means to engender this liberating knowledge. Sankara repeatedly emphasizes the importance of the role of the teacher (guru/acarya) and the sacred texts (sastra) in the matter of liberation. Dr. Michael Comans(now Sri Vasudevacharya): The modern Vedantin, on the other hand, has overlooked, possibly unknowingly, the importance which sacred language and instruction held in the classical Vedanta as a means of knowledge (pramana) and has had to compensate for this by increasing the importance of yogic samadhi which is then put forward to be the necessary and sufficient condition for liberation. Yours in Bhagavan -- Bengt Frost advaitin , " Dennis Waite " <dwaite wrote: > > The samAdhi article is at - > http://www.realization.org/page/doc2/doc200.html. > > > > Dennis > > > > advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf > Of Bhaskar YR > Tuesday, April 07, 2009 7:09 AM > advaitin > RE: The Method of Advaita Vedanta > > > > <<Just for the information, the author, Michel Comans has also written an > article on the authorship of viveka chudaamaNi, which is traditionally > believed as one of the genuine prakaraNa grantha of Sri Shankara > bhagavatpAda. He fervidly argues here, this prakaraNa grantha would > definitely not be the work of Adi shankara, who has penned his commentaries > on prasthAna traya. > > Apart from this, he has also written & argues on the indispensability of > experience of nirvikalpa samAdhi ( a trance like state where mind would be > inert & body would be stand still) to gain Atma jnAna in advaita vedanta..He > argues that these type of mystic experiences would not be necessary to > attain the ultimate knowledge of Atman....Whereas some traditional advaita > Acharya-s hold the view that the experience of nirvikalpa samAdhi is 'the > must' to have the knowledge of brahman on 1:1 basis :-)) > > Both these articles are available on the net...but I am not able to provide > the link... >> > > . > > > <http://geo./serv?s=97359714/grpId=15939/grpspId=1705075991/msgId=4 > 4517/stime=1239084609/nc1=1/nc2=2/nc3=3> > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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