Those who are reading my blog will know that I am following Swami Sarvapriyananda’s teachings. His lectures are being uploaded to YouTube on a regular basis. Just do a search. Link to my previous blog on Swamiji is below:
Swamiji makes a number of points in his videos. He is an advocate of Advaita Vedanta and claims that those who practice Advaita teachings will be neither tempted nor terrified by the world. This is something of much interest to me as I suffer from anxiety sometimes. I have never married and so the prospect of living alone and dying alone disturbs me from time to time.
The central teaching of Advaita according to Swamiji is: Brahma Satyam, Jagat Mithya, Jivo Brahmaiva Naparah. This is the highest ultimate declaration, the quintessential truth, declared by people of the supreme absolute experience. It means: Brahman alone is real, the world is unreal. Jiva is not other than Brahman.
I do not have the Advaita concepts clear enough in my mind to be able to explain them to you in a short blog. Just do a search on YouTube for Swami Sarvapriyananda Aparokshanubhuti. There are 44 videos uploaded by the Vedanta Society of New York which serve as an introduction to Advaita. Aparokshanubhuti is a text that was written by Sankaracharya himself and is an introductory text to the Shrutis.
Now you might not want to go through so many videos but if you truly want to benefit from spiritual teachings you have no other option but to watch them. The concepts of Sravana, Manana and Nidhidhyasana say that it is necessary to listen to the teachings (Sravana), reflect upon them (Manana) and also to meditate upon them and apply them in your life (Nidhidhyasana). Osho says in one of his books that it is necessary to drown yourself (or rather your thoughts) in the teachings. If you choose the practice of Jnana yoga then there is no other option.
The classic analogy that is used to illustrate these teachings is that of the rope that is mistaken to be a snake. You might be familiar with this analogy but the teaching is like this:
Suppose you are walking down the road in dim light and you see in front of you an object that you take to be a snake. In reality it is just a rope but because of the poor light you make an error. And because of that error you are frightened and fear for your life. That is similar to our being terrified by the world.
Another analogy that Swamiji uses is that of a large diamond that is being used as a paperweight. The owner of the diamond does not know the true nature and value of the diamond. He needs to gain knowledge about the value of what he already has. Similarly Advaita Vedanta teachings do nothing more than point out to you the true value and nature of what you have been, are and always will be. And you are one with Brahman.
Speaking from experience I can say that if you tell yourself that you are not the BMI (Body-Mind-Intellect) then you free yourself from a huge amount of nervous thinking and fruitless concern for yourself. You are then free of the clutches of the ego to some extent and are able to enjoy life in a carefree way.
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