[Advaita-l] How to begin studying Advaita Vedanta : post 1 of 3

[Anbu sivam2]

The sages of India had left behind their teachings on Advaita VEdantha in
Sanskrit.  If you would like to learn it in any other language you depend on
a translation that is limited by the language in which it was translated
(for example English) and by the bias of the translater.  Nevertheless the
rudiments of it can be got through any language.

Also I like Michael's experiencial theory! Just as we can talk and talk
about sleep but can instantly know of it by going into it, samaadhi should
be practiced too.  Some who have done the practice in previous janma get
into samadhi instantly.

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 11:04 PM, chetan nagaraja <write2chetan at gmail.com>wrote:

>  Dear All,
>         Is learning sanskrit necessary, for understanding Advaita. Is it
> really necessary to know english to understand physics. Have not the
> Japanese invented quite a lot of technology with Japanese itself. Even
> Acharya Shanakara's "Bhaja Govindam" indicates  the false value of
> language . To know Advaita is different and to Expereince Advaita is
> different. And finally it does not mean one cannot experience Advaita
> without first knowing  it. True knowledge  comes through experience. Hence
> I
> request the enlightneed ones on this list  to explain to people like us who
> find sankrit difficult , the method to experience Advaita.
> My humble pranams,
> Chetan
> On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 4:41 AM, yajvan <yajvan at san.rr.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > hariḥ oṁ
> > ~~~~~~
> >
> >
> > Regarding the study  advaita vedānta , let me offer a point of view for
> > your kind consideration.
> > Let me also avoid long posts - so I  will do this in 3 installments.
> > Post 1 :  An opinion  why this advaita vedānta is relevant
> > Post 2:   catúr-liṅga  ( 4 marks) of advaita vedānta
> > Post 3:  a brief conclusion
> >
> > For all posts, I look to be corrected and/or look to additional insights
> on
> > all matters.
> > I consider myself a śiṣya of this body of knowledge and take no special
> > authority
> > On the wisdom offered - it is on other great shoulders we stand.
> >
> >
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> >
> > POST 1 of 3
> >
> > We know advaita अद्वैत means the following: a=not + dvaita = duality ,
> > duplicity , dualism
> > Also - advitīya = without a second , sole , unique, matchless ( as in
> > couple) from a + dvitīya a=not + dvitīya= second, couple, accompanied by,
> > companion
> >
> > So , why such a big deal over this? What helps us better understand the
> > value of this notion of this advitīya ?
> >
> > IMHO there are many reasons and I hope the members of this forum will
> > continue to offer their views based upon the śāstra-s, yet one salient
> point
> > for me comes from the bṛhadaraṇyaka upaniṣad - puruṣavidha-brāhmaṇa, 2nd
> > śloka. It simply says the following:
> > Any time there is a sense of 2, fear arises i.e. dvitiyad vai bhayam
> > bhavati - Fear is born of duality.
> > dvitiyad or dvitīya द्वितीय - 2nd or two , couple,
> > bhayam or bhaya भय - fear , alarm dread apprehension
> > ( rooted in bhī to fear for , be anxious about )
> > vai an emphasis and affirmation , generally placed after a word
> > and laying stress on it (it is usually translatable by 'indeed' ,
> > 'truly' , 'certainly' )
> > bhavati or bhava भव arising or produced from , being in
> > The implications of this truth is profound... we can talk of this if
> there
> > is interest.
> >
> > praṇām
> >
> > End of Post 1.
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org [mailto:
> > advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org] On Behalf Of Jaldhar H.
> Vyas
> > Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2010 1:05 PM
> > To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> > Subject: [Advaita-l] How to begin studying Advaita Vedanta
> >
> > Re: [Advaita-l] New members
> > On Mon, 11 Jan 2010, Michael Shepherd wrote:
> >
> > > Jaldhar
> > >
> > > In the absence of an index for this site -- though new members could
> > > pursue much through the existing system -- what would be you personal
> > > recommendations for study of Advaita Vedanta other than the obvious --
> > > to find the apppropriate guru, or just to read Adi Shankara's chief
> > writings ?
> > > Any book or online info that stands out for you ?
> > >
> >
> > One should begin by getting atleast a little bit familiar with Sanskrit.
> > I freely admit that mastery of the subject is hard work but even basic
> > knowledge reaps great profits.  As we often see on the list, translations
> > can be inaccurate.  Even if the translator is diligent (and alas not all
> of
> > them are.) it can be hard to capture all of the nuances of a Vedantic
> > concept in another language.  If you know some some Sanskrit you will be
> > better able to assess the quality of a translation.  Probably the most
> > easily available book is "Teach Yourself Sanskrit" by Michael Coulson,
> > McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 978-0071468527
> >
> > You will also need a dictionary. I suggest V.S. Apte's "The Student's
> > Sanskrit-English Dictionary", Motilal Banarsidass, 81-208-0044-1
> >
> > To get a handle on the history of Advaita Vedanta (Including the
> > controversies that have recently preoccupied the list) I recommend "The
> > Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies", edited by Potter et al., It has two
> > volumes of interest, "Volume III: Advaita Vedanta Up to Samkara and His
> > Pupils" and "Volume XI: Advaita Vedanta from 800 to 1200".  (a third
> volume
> > is planned covering 1200 to the present.)  There is a bibliography volume
> > but a more uptodate bibliography is maintained online at
> > http://faculty.washington.edu/kpotter/xhome.htm
> >
> > For shastras, I have previously mentioned the 10 volume "Complete Works
> of
> > Shankaracharya" published by Samata Books (http://www.samatabooks.com/)
> as
> > being the canonical collection of Shankaracharya's works but it is
> Sanskrit
> > only. The most readily available and generally good quality translations
> are
> > those published by the Ramakrishna Mission.
> >
> > As for online resources, why www.advaita-vedanta.org of course!
> >
> >
> > These recommendations are for learning the "facts" of Advaita Vedanta.
> > But moksha comes from "experience" not facts alone.  For that one should
> > find a guru.  It is not something you can get from books or the Internet.
> >
> > --
> > Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> > _______________________________________________
> > Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> > http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
> >
> > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> >
> > For assistance, contact:
> > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> > http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
> >
> > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> >
> > For assistance, contact:
> > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Chetan
>
> "Existence is a festival, Celebrate it"
> Follow the divine song at http://twitter.com/BhagwathGita
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>