[Advaita-l] Electronic Gurus

[smallpress]

 I try to find lectures on specific texts that I want to study. And the particular Guru I am in love with may not have one on that Text so Scout around to see who is lecturing on that. Also I prefer podcasts which i can download for my walks. If i can only find them on youtube i listen to them at home as i have very limited data plan.So my Guru for the Mandukya upanishad and Karika, 43 lectures on 1 hour each, was wit Swami Tattvamayananda on Apple podcast.  I have great respect for his knowledge and his method of unfolding the meaning of the text. I also like the way he breaks up the sandi In the text into prose form as I am also studying Sanskrit grammar and that was very useful for me as an exercise. He also lectures on the background around the work such as the Buddhist viewpoints that came to the fore then. He quotes Shankara from his bhashya. That is 43 hours of the swamiji in my ears! A lot of repetition that cannot be helped but that’s ok it reinforces what you have learned.  It is all in English.I am currently listening to Swami Omkarananda Tattva Bodha in Tamil. I love the way he quotes other Tamil texts that expresses the same tatvam in beautiful poetry. He is my Guru as well. This is on Youtube so I cannot listen to him on my walks. The podcast that is available I did not like so i am sticking to Omakaranada.No I dont feel any divided  loyalty, just gratitude that all this is available to me. I consider it Dakshinamuthy’s grace.Soma.
    On Wednesday, September 30, 2020, 07:31:03 PM EDT, Raj Nagaraj <rajn at deccanintl.com> wrote:  
 
 Well said, Soma.  However for me, I feel listening to different teachers, no matter how good they may be, may be confusing and even a bit of betrayal to my Guru.   Or perhaps I am not yet ready to listen to different Gurus.   I came across Swami Paramarthananda's Gita talks after being recommended by a close relative and found them to be amazing.  I now listen to his current Vivekachudamani lectures.  By listening to his lectures solely I feel connected to him and feel like I am his student and so feel I should stay with his lectures!  Would love to get feedback from other on this perspective.  Thanks.From: Advaita-l <advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> on behalf of smallpress via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2020 2:40 PM
To: A. Discussion Group for Advaita Vedanta <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Cc: smallpress <smallpress at ymail.com>
Subject: [Advaita-l] Electronic Gurus Within the Vedanta tradition much is made about finding the right guru, how the guru will find you, and how without a guru one cannot progress in one's spiritual evolution.
So what do you all think the proliferation of Vedanta lectures available on youtube and podcasts?
Personally i am very grateful for availability of lectures on Mandukya Karika, Tattva Bodha, Drig Drishya Viveka, and others. Mostly in English but I am also listening to one in Tamil. I check out the lectures to see if it meets MY needs and temperament before I commit to the whole series. 
So yes, I am qualifying my Gurus, by objective measures such as their knowledge and ability to explain. I like those that stay close to the text and also can elaborate around it drawing from other sources. Gives historical background. 
I have been to lecture in person at Chinmaya centers and was always put off by their references to corporate life or stereotypical roles played in domestic life as comedy breaks. My electronic Gurus are so much better, the kind of lecture I had always wished for but never got. This must a new generation of acharyas. 
Although I have never met them I respect their depth of knowledge and the way they propound. They ARE my gurus, I am grateful for having found them and that they have provided me this way of learning. And I am learning. I donate to their ashram/institution as a guru dakshina.
--Soma
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