Vedantham : ( 07/11/2012. )

II. SUPERIMPOSITION: 31. Such a Guru through his infinite grace instructs the pupil by the method of de-superimposition (Apavada) of the superimpositions (Adhyaropa) – as in such Sruti passages: “To that pupil who has approached him with due courtesy, whose mind has become perfectly calm, and who has control over his senses, the wise teacher should truly impart that Knowledge of Brahman through which he knows the Being, imperishable and real" (Mund. Up. I-2-13). 32. Adhyaropa is the superimposition of the unreal on the real, like the false perception of a snake in a rope which is not a snake.  33. Reality is Brahman which is without a second and is Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss. Unreality is Nescience and all other material objects. 34. However, ignorance is described as something positive though intangible, which cannot be described either as being or non-being, which is made of three qualities and is antagonistic to Knowledge. Its existence is est...

                                                 Swami Chinmayananda I -Preliminaries : 21. Uparati is the cessation of these external organs so restrained, from the pursuit of objects other than that; or it may mean the abandonment of the prescribed works according to scriptural injunctions. 22. Titiksha is the endurance of heat and cold and other pairs of opposites.  23. Samadhana is the constant concentration of the mind, thus restrained, on hearing etc., of the scriptural passages and other objects that are conducive to these.  24. Sraddha is the faith in the truths of Vedanta as taught by the Guru.  25. Mumukshutva is the yearning for spiritual freedom.  26. Such an aspirant is a qualified student; for it is said in the sruti passages, “quiet, subdued” (Br. Up. IV-4.23). It is further said, “This is always to be t...

11. Rites such as Chandrayana etc., which are instrumental in the expiation of sin, are Prayaschittas or penances. 12. Mental activities relating to the Saguna Brahman – such as are described in the Sandilya Vidya are Upasanas or devotions. 13. Of these, Nitya and other works mainly serve the purpose of purifying the mind; but the Upasanas chiefly aim at the concentration of the mind, as in such Sruti passages, “Brahmanas seek to know this Self by the study of the Vedas, by sacrifice” (Brihadaranyaka-IV-4-22); as well as in such Smriti passages, “they destroy sins by practising austerities” (Manu 12.104) 14. The secondary results of the Nitya and the Naimittika Karma and of the Upasanas are the attainment of the Pitruloka and the Satyaloka respectively; as in the Sruti passages, “By sacrifice the world of the Fathers, by knowledge (Upasana) the world of the Devas (is gained)"”(Br. Up.I.5.16) 15. The means to the attainment of Knowledge are: discrimination between ...

Preliminaries :   1. I take refuge in the Self, the Indivisible, the Existence-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute, beyond the reach of words and thought, and the substratum of all, for the attainment of my cherished desire.    2. Having worshipped the Guru who on account of his being free from the illusion of duality justifies the meaning of his name Advayananda, I undertake the task of expounding the essence of the Vedanta according to my light.    3. Vedanta is the evidence of the Upanishads, as well as the Sariraka Sutras (Brahma Sutras) and other books that help in the correct expounding of its meaning.    4. On account of its being a Prakarana treatise of Vedanta, the Anubandhas, preliminary questions of the latter, serve its purpose as well. Therefore they need not be discussed separately.    5. The preliminary questions of Vedanta are the determination of the competency of the student, the subject-matter, its connection with ...

Swami Vivekananda : "Vedantham"  Karma-Yogam : What is Karma-Yoga? The knowledge of the secret of work. We see that the whole universe is working. For what? For salvation, for liberty; from the atom to the highest being, working for the one end, liberty for the mind, for the body, for the spirit. All things are always trying to get freedom, flying away from bondage. The sun, the moon, the earth, the planets, all are trying to fly away from bondage. The centrifugal and the centripetal forces of nature are indeed typical of our universe. Instead of being knocked about in this universe, and after long delay and thrashing, getting to know things as they are, we learn from Karma-Yoga the secret of work, the method of work, the organising power of work. A vast mass of energy may be spent in vain if we do not know how to utilise it. Karma-Yoga makes a science of work; you learn by it how best to utilise all the workings of this world. Work is inevitable, it must be s...

Swami Vivekananda : "Vedantham"   1.1  On  Fanaticism :  In this excerpt, Swami Vivekananda focuses, amicably and with humor, on the reformer’s single-minded zeal and points out that it is a distortion of "selfless activity." Included in the Complete Works (5: 242-45) as "Notes from Lectures and Discourse," this was originally published in the London edition (no longer available) of Vivekananda’s Karma Yoga. The book was compiled from the transcripts of class talks Swamiji gave in New York in December 1895 and January 1896. Kinds of Fanaticism There are fanatics of various kinds. Some people are wine fanatics and cigar fanatics. Some think that if men gave up smoking cigars, the world would arrive at the millennium. Women are generally amongst these fanatics. There was a young lady here one day, in this class. She was one of a number of ladies in Chicago who have built a house where they take in the working people and give them music...