On Swami Sarvapriyananda

I have taken Diksha from Ramakrishna Math. Which means that I have been accepted as a disciple.

One of the best teachers from the RK Mission order is Swami Sarvapriyananda. A lot of you may already be knowing about him. This blog is an introduction to those of you who have not heard about him.

Swamiji mostly teaches Advaita Vedanta. I will be listing the links to some of his videos at the end of this blog. He also has a lecture series on the Bhagavad Gita and videos on Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga as well. 

Here is a short video biography of the Swami.

Here is the main takeaway I have got from listening to his teachings. It is summarized in one sentence uttered by Bhagwan Ramakrishna:

Tie the knowledge of Advaita (non-dualism) to the end of your cloth and go wherever you like.

This quote is generally regarded as meaning that you must first master the basic principles of Advaita Vedanta.  After that you will find that it (Advaita knowledge) helps you in whichever spiritual practice you are engaged in.

And I have found this to be true.

The basic concept that I borrowed from Advaita was of regarding the mind and the body as not me or mine. Mostly it is the mind that I am concerned with. Being a very introverted person I am mostly caught up in my own thoughts. If I regard the mind as not me or mine however I find that I am in a better position to let go of whatever is bothering me mentally. I am able to stop obsessing about my thoughts.

While meditating also the same holds good. I am able to let go of thoughts that would earlier have distracted me and taken me away from attention to the breath.

Also as a result of being able to let go I am much more stable mentally and emotionally that I was earlier.

To be fair some Buddhist teachers also tell us to not regard the mind as me or mine. But Swami Sarvapriyananda was able to explain this concept in a way that resonated with me. I was able to grasp the importance of it finally.

So I can say this about the Swami – in his teachings he emphasizes which concepts are important and which are not. He is also able to entertain and inspire. And that is the X factor. Nothing great was ever achieved without inspiration. If your teacher inspires you that is reason enough for you to stick to him even if his teachings don’t differ from those of others.

As Thomas Edison said goes: Genius is 1% inspiration 99% perspiration.

Without the 1% nothing can be achieved. It is essential.

So here are some important links to various lecture series conducted by the Swami:

This is the most basic level series of lectures (Drg Drishya Vivek). It is not Advaita but is a necessary introduction to it.

This series of lectures is an introduction to Advaita (Aparokshanubhuti). It is more advanced that the earlier series.

And this is on the Bhagavad Gita.

That should be more than enough to get you started. There are more advanced teachings also but for a beginner this is more than enough material to last you for a few years.

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