The Swami Sarvapriyananda Thread

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

https://youtu.be/QgThz6H8kSE

Q&A session lead by Swami Sarvapriyananda as part of a spiritual retreat at the Vedanta Society of New York on April 7th, 2019. List of Questions with Timestamps:
0:00 - On Vedantic meditation.
9:20 - How to overcome the fear of unknown and revel in the silence.
19:36 - In Nirvanashatakam, bliss is first negated but then accepted. Which is it? Difference between Ananda and happiness.
28:47 - Do negative emotions persists after Enlightenment?
48:10 - Should we trust our own insights?
50:28 - How to combine Vedantic meditation with the practice of Mantra meditation.
58:20 - How can the universe come out of nothing? Does Advaita Vedanta recognize an Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God?
1:10:18 - Which meditation should we practice - Vedantic or Mantra?
1:11:32 - Is the presence of a life force (Prana) an illusion?

I want to focus on the first question and it's at the very heart of non-duality from an experiential perspective.

Attuning the subject to the Absolute. Indeed, and it's right here, right now in our everyday experience. Awareness of awareness.

Moving from the gross to the subtle to the causal. Sounds are arising and disappearing in awareness. Notice this awareness itself. This awareness itself cannot be objectified.

Once again, I must say that I love the index you provide to the various portions of the video lecture.

What particularly caught my attention was: "1:10:18 - Which meditation should we practice - Vedantic or Mantra?"

Swami's answer was in keeping with my own sense.

I was drawn to my particular mantra in a very unusual way. It was not surprisingly reinforced by my guru at initiation. In addition, at the Khumba Mela, it was reinforced emphatically one more time by a sage who appeared out of nowhere (Literally) and vanished just as mysteriously. I wouldn't change that mantra for anything.

It was a good answer by Swami.

This is a talk on the Kena Upanishad. The Divine Light within.

https://youtu.be/01fWVdfIUPs

Moreso than the Mandukya Upanishad the concept contained within the Kena Upanishad was something I stumbled upon through resting in awareness/do nothing meditation. It was later when I began an in-depth study of Advaita Vedanta the truths contained therein, and especially in these two Upanishads, was crystal clear and self-evident.

What I think is really helpful with the Kena Upanishad for anyone trying to understand the nature of consciousness is its concept can eventually be "known" (read experienced) by constantly examining one's own mundane experience and in real-time. For extra credit conduct the same experiment while deep in meditation. While I think perhaps the Mandukya Upanishad is more powerful it's also much more abstract, at least for me.

Why use "known" in quotes?

https://universaltheosophy.com/sacre...ena-upanishad/ (From the Swāmi Nikhilānanda translation)

The disciple said: I think I know Brahman.

The disciple said: I do not think I know It well, nor do I think I do not know It. He among us who knows the meaning of “Neither do I not know, nor do I know”—knows Brahman.

"I do not think I know It well" is from an intellectual perspective and "nor do I think I do not know It" is the experiential "knowing" I often mention.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

This is a talk on the Kena Upanishad. The Divine Light within.

https://youtu.be/01fWVdfIUPs

Moreso than the Mandukya Upanishad the concept contained within the Kena Upanishad was something I stumbled upon through resting in awareness/do nothing meditation. It was later when I began an in-depth study of Advaita Vedanta the truths contained therein, and especially in these two Upanishads, was crystal clear and self-evident.

What I think is really helpful with the Kena Upanishad for anyone trying to understand the nature of consciousness is its concept can eventually be "known" (read experienced) by constantly examining one's own mundane experience and in real-time. For extra credit conduct the same experiment while deep in meditation. While I think perhaps the Mandukya Upanishad is more powerful it's also much more abstract, at least for me.

Why use "known" in quotes?

https://universaltheosophy.com/sacre...ena-upanishad/ (From the Swāmi Nikhilānanda translation)

The disciple said: I think I know Brahman.

The disciple said: I do not think I know It well, nor do I think I do not know It. He among us who knows the meaning of “Neither do I not know, nor do I know”—knows Brahman.

"I do not think I know It well" is from an intellectual perspective and "nor do I think I do not know It" is the experiential "knowing" I often mention.

My practice of "conscious sleep"and knowing one's self in that manner was drawn from the Mandukya Upanishad and more finely tuned via other sources.

Shankaracharya reportedly said that, if one chose to study one and only one Upanishad, then it should be the Mandukya based not only on content but also on its brevity. (I believe that the Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of all the Upanishads.)

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

My practice of "conscious sleep"and knowing one's self in that manner was drawn from the Mandukya Upanishad and more finely tuned via other sources.

Shankaracharya reportedly said that, if one chose to study one and only one Upanishad, then it should be the Mandukya based not only on content but also on its brevity. (I believe that the Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of all the Upanishads.)

Yes it is. I think it's only 12 mantras/verses and it's powerful!

I just came to it and all the other texts (Upanishads, Gitas, etc...) after the fact and when I look back at what actually brought me to all this it was that experience described in the Kena Upanishad of not knowing but "knowing" It.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Yes it is. I think it's only 12 mantras/verses and it's powerful!

I just came to it and all the other texts (Upanishads, Gitas, etc...) after the fact and when I look back at what actually brought me to all this it was that experience described in the Kena Upanishad of not knowing but "knowing" It.

The Kena Upanishad is also illuminating as is the Isha Upanishad.

The Mandukya Upanishad , however, has been the Upanishad that most guided my practice.

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

The Kena Upanishad is also illuminating as is the Isha Upanishad.

The Mandukya Upanishad , however, has been the Upanishad that most guided my practice.

All three are quite enlightening, pardon the pun.

Prior to my experience I had no exposure to any Hindu texts. The closest I came to the philosophy was Peter Russell's long-form video titled "The Primacy of Consciousness" and he attacks it mostly from the scientific point of view until near the end when he quotes some mystics including this gem: "Earth, moon, stars and sun revolve inside me" ~ Baba Muktananda

So I muse on how I came to it and the best model is that presented in Kena, however since my experience was that of a waking lucid dream Mandukya provided enormous and profound insight for me.

By the way, here's Peter's video. It's quite good.

The Primacy of Consciousness - Peter Russell - Full Version https://youtu.be/-d4ugppcRUE?list=PL...XfywQvhBzzdrQA

Peter Russell proposes that mind is more fundamental than matter. He explores the problems science has explaining consciousness and argues that consciousness is not created by the brain, but is inherent in all beings.

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

All three are quite enlightening, pardon the pun.

Prior to my experience I had no exposure to any Hindu texts. The closest I came to the philosophy was Peter Russell's long-form video titled "The Primacy of Consciousness" and he attacks it mostly from the scientific point of view until near the end when he quotes some mystics including this gem: "Earth, moon, stars and sun revolve inside me" ~ Baba Muktananda

So I muse on how I came to it and the best model is that presented in Kena, however since my experience was that of a waking lucid dream Mandukya provided enormous and profound insight for me.

By the way, here's Peter's video. It's quite good.

The Primacy of Consciousness - Peter Russell - Full Version https://youtu.be/-d4ugppcRUE?list=PL...XfywQvhBzzdrQA

Peter Russell proposes that mind is more fundamental than matter. He explores the problems science has explaining consciousness and argues that consciousness is not created by the brain, but is inherent in all beings.

I find something very interesting in Peter's talk and it's when he gets into the nature of light. Not only does a photon have no mass, but from its perspective from emission to absorption it "travels" zero distance over zero time. Furthermore Planck's Constant is a unit of action - 0.0(a bunch more zeros!)026 erg.secs so again from its perspective it's an instantaneous exchange of action.

The first manifestation seems to be one of action, an exchange of action. Karma Yoga is the Yoga of Action. There's something very interesting about this at an intuitive level. This didn't occur to me until I gained a decent understanding of Karma Yoga. Is there a fundamental connection?

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Peter Russell proposes that mind is more fundamental than matter. He explores the problems science has explaining consciousness and argues that consciousness is not created by the brain, but is inherent in all beings.

That has been my understanding for some time !

[no1wakesup]

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

That has been my understanding for some time !

Consciousness is universal. Consciouness contracts and becomes awareness. This awareness, now subjective, fills with the content of conditioning and becomes the individual, the thinker, the "me".

Originally Posted by no1wakesup

Consciousness is universal. Consciouness contracts and becomes awareness. This awareness, now subjective, fills with the content of conditioning and becomes the individual, the thinker, the "me".

One way to think about it is mind is like a mirror and it "reflects" Consciousness. Swami Vivekananda equated spiritual practice to polishing the mirror. The more polished the mirror the better it "reflects" Consciousness, thereby more clearly illumining reality resulting in greater insight into its nature.

Another good analogy is that of the Sun, Moon and Earth. If the Sun is Consciousness, Moon is mind and Earth is objective reality the Moon's ability to illumine Earth at night is a function of its reflectivity. A more reflective Moon would better illumine Earth, revealing more of its surface features.