Advaita Vedanta by Arsha Bodha Center

[SkyGuardian]

I recently came across these amazing teachings and wanted to share with the community here:

Swami Tadatmananda is a American turned Hindu Swami. Swamiji has immense knowledge and love for the Indian culture and Hinduism. In fact, he has written a book known as “Roar of the Ganges” where it’s a journey of his life as a American computer engineer and how he discovers the rich culture of India and ends up a Hindu sannyasi and teacher of Vedanta. This book is an immersive experience in that you feel like a fellow companion to his story and end up learning Vedanta in the process!

For those that would like to start or know about Advaita Vedanta and a in-depth history watch this:

Please note that Advaita Vedanta is loosely translated to "Non-duality" and that there are tons of different teachers and schools in this field however, in regards to the material presented in this post has the following backstory:

According to a Puranic story, Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Dakshinamurti to teach the first four rishis, Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, and Sanatkumara. They received the wisdom of the Vedas and passed it down to other rishis, including Rishi Vyasa, the compiler of the four Vedas, the author of the great epic, Mahabharata in which the Bhagavad Gita is found, and the author of all eighteen Maha Puranas. That wisdom was eventually spread throughout India by many great teachers, and one of the greatest was Sri Shankaracharya. Shankara taught that wisdom to his disciples, Sureshvara, Padmapada, Totaka and Hastamalaka who, in turn, passed it on to their disciples. In this way, that sacred non-dual wisdom was passed down from generation to generation until it reached our modern generation of teachers, including Swami Tadatmananda's guru, Swami Dayananda, who was taught and initiated by Swami Chimayananda and later taught by Swami Tarananda. Swami Chinmayananda himself was initiated by Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and later taught by Swami Tapovan.

I personally also recommend Swami Tadatmananda’s Question and Answers series that answer many misconceptions about Hinduism and a broad range of other questions asked in regards to Hinduism. I’ve linked the playlist below.

For anyone that is actually looking to embark on a complete thorough study into your true inner nature as unlimited, unchanging consciousness I recommend Advaita Vedanta offered by Arsha Bodha Center. They have made a curated a syllabus to lead you into discovering this truth that was passed from the Ancient Rishis to the founder of the current lineage Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Arsha Vidya) to Swami Tadatmananda (Arsha Bodha).

https://arshabodha.org/teachings/

Here is a interactive video presentation on how to use the syllabus linked above.

If one really wants to know the Bhagavad Gita in-depth then I highly recommend watching the playlist attached below. This series is a complete course on the Bhagavad Gita and is extremely thorough such that Swamiji goes verse by verse with the explanation of verses and it’s correct meaning based on the context. He also gives real live scenarios to address various problems people face and use the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to help you face such problems all the while learning Vedanta in the process. Lastly, it also addresses some common mistranslation/misinterpretation that some seem to have when proper Sanskrit is not understood.

Lastly, here are some videos that were done extremely well and are worth a watch:

Finding God Without Faith – A Personal Reflection – Based on Advaita Vedanta

Swami Tadatmananda's journey from being "allergic to religion" to a contemplative life of prayer, scriptural study, and meditation. God or Ishvara is a reality that can be clearly known through Vedantic teachings and your own power of reasoning.

Truth is ONE. Why so much Divisiveness? Advaita vs. Vishishta Advaita vs. Dvaita

For centuries, followers of Shankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva have argued stridently about the nature of absolute, universal reality - brahman. This divisiveness might possibly be harmful to sincere spiritual seekers. What can be done to resolve these differences? Vedanta is based on the teachings of the ancient rishis, teachings found in the last section of the ancient Vedic scriptures, Upanishads. It’s also based on the Bhagavad Gita and the highly analytical text, Brahma sutras. Shankara strictly interpreted each of those scriptures according to the principle of advaita, non-duality. Ramanuja interpreted each of them according to the principles of vishishta advaita, qualified nondualism. And Madhva interpreted each of them according to the principles of dvaita, duality. Other interpretations of those scriptures include:

Amrita - Nectar of Immortality - According to Advaita Vedanta

This double meaning allows the word amrita to be used, not to indicate a divine potion, but in a metaphoric sense. In the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, there's a wonderful metaphor that's based on the nectar of flowers and the bees that seek it. In Sanskrit, a common word for bee is bhramara, which literally means one who roams or wanders. Like bees wander from flower to flower seeking nectar, so too, spiritual seekers wander from guru to guru seeking liberation, seeking to free themselves from the cycle of birth and death, seeking immortality.

Edited June 8, 2023 by SkyGuardian
Formatting Mistake

[SkyGuardian]

@Leo Gura What do you think of these teachings?

[WeCome1]

[SkyGuardian]

Another fantastic video that I highly recommend:

 

[Evan Gill]

His ashram is only about 45 mins away from me. Haven’t gotten a chance to go yet.

[SkyGuardian]

@Evan Gill I attend every weekend, I highly recommend it! Have you heard of this place previously?

[Evan Gill]

1 hour ago, SkyGuardian said:

@Evan Gill I attend every weekend, I highly recommend it! Have you heard of this place previously?

Yes i have. I came across his YouTube channel and was very surprised to see that it was located in NJ. Was under the assumption it was in India haha

[SkyGuardian]

@Evan Gill Well I highly recommend it is amazing.

Guided Meditation: every Saturday, 10 am

Uddhava Gita: every Saturday, 11 am
      Video will be uploaded shortly after class.
      This class and all prior classes can be viewed here
      Audio recordings and printable texts available on our website here

Vedanta Class: Shankaracharya’s Upadesha Sahasri, every Sunday, 10am
      Video will be uploaded Tuesday evening.
      This class and all prior classes can be viewed here
      Audio recordings and printable texts available on our website here

Satsang (informal Q&A): every Sunday, 11 am
      Satsang Live stream on YouTube

Outdoor Satsang (informal Q&A): every Sunday, 6 pm
 

Edited June 20, 2024 by SkyGuardian

[Evan Gill]

1 hour ago, SkyGuardian said:

@Evan Gill Well I highly recommend it is amazing.

Guided Meditation: every Saturday, 10 am

Uddhava Gita: every Saturday, 11 am
      Video will be uploaded shortly after class.
      This class and all prior classes can be viewed here
      Audio recordings and printable texts available on our website here

Vedanta Class: Shankaracharya’s Upadesha Sahasri, every Sunday, 10am
      Video will be uploaded Tuesday evening.
      This class and all prior classes can be viewed here
      Audio recordings and printable texts available on our website here

Satsang (informal Q&A): every Sunday, 11 am
      Satsang video will be uploaded shortly after class here

Outdoor Satsang (informal Q&A): every Sunday, 6 pm
      Satsang video will be uploaded shortly after class here

 

thank you, I will check this out