[Advaita-l] Chakilam Venkatesh - Controversy???

[Swagata Chowdhury]

Dear,
None of us are discussing Advaita Vedanta or the criticisms made by the Sri
Vaishnavas. It is actually about Chikram, who appears to be using
fabricated sūtras. If that is truly the case, it is actually quite shameful.

On Fri, 7 Nov 2025, 11:03 am Vikram Jagannathan via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaskaram Sangeerth ji,
>
> I am not personally familiar with Shri Venkatesh Chakkilam and therefore
> cannot comment on his association with various organizations.
>
> If there are genuine doubts regarding the references he has quoted, it
> would be best to seek clarification directly from him. I am sure there are
> appropriate means to contact him for such clarifications. Without doing so,
> drawing conclusions about his intent or approach would be premature.
>
> While the Advaita–Visishtadvaita debate has a long and rich history, the
> clear misunderstandings of Advaita Siddhanta evident in the critic’s
> statements (some of which I have already pointed out) significantly weaken
> the credibility of his criticisms. Consequently, his claims of “inaccurate
> references” too appear questionable in both accuracy and validity and do
> not inspire confidence. I do not have the inclination to watch the other
> videos.
>
> In simple terms, with all due respect to the critic, I personally find his
> grasp of Advaita Siddhanta insufficiently grounded to support such
> criticisms. Without correct knowledge and comprehension, any criticism
> becomes a futile exercise.
>
> prostrations,
> Vikram
>
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM Sangeerth P <psangeerthgenius at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Namaste ji
> > Thank you for your clarification. But can you please tell about this
> > Chakilam guy? Is he really from Aham Brahmasmi? And he is citing sutras
> > which does not exists at all. Wont this be bringing the reputation of
> Aham
> > Brahmasmi foundation to streets? Refuting Advaita or Vishishtadvaita has
> > been done for 100 of years wherein one paksha will say you did not
> > understand the opponents paksha. But the errors which Chakkilam ji is
> > pointing to does not go in hand with Advaita acharyas themselves right?
> > Because those kinds of sutras or vishnu purana sloka does not exists is
> > what Vishwas ji is pointing to. How do we understand this fact?
> >
> >
> > Regards
> > Sangeerth P
> > 8608658009
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Nov 7, 2025 at 5:18 AM Vikram Jagannathan via Advaita-l <
> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >
> >> Namaskaram Sangeerth ji & Swagata ji,
> >>
> >> The critic (Youtube id: Vishvas Vasuki) seems to belong to
> Visishtadvaita
> >> Sri-Vaishnava sampradayam (non-Advaitin). I would take his criticisms of
> >> Advaita (and Advaitin) with a bucket-load of salt and instead reach out
> to
> >> an Advaita acharya to clarify the Advaita position.
> >>
> >> Unless you have already done so; prior to getting the clarification (or
> >> confirmation) from an Advaita acharya, it is strongly recommended to
> >> refrain from denigrating (such as "bringing the pedestal of Sringeri to
> >> streets") an Advaita scholar.
> >>
> >> Below is my personal opinion:
> >>
> >> I just listened to 1 video (
> >> https://youtu.be/LIX8SNz-Pl8?si=OWDGfv3ddKeC2TRD)
> >> and to me this is the critic's clear misunderstanding,
> mischaracterization
> >> and misrepresentation of Advaita.
> >>
> >> Atman in paramarthika sense is indeed absolutely changeless and
> unmoving.
> >> In vyavaharika, due to adhyasa with sukshma and karana shariras, the
> >> perceived jivatma transmigrates. This is a clear Advaita stance and the
> >> critic has failed to understand the siddhanta prior to criticizing
> >> Advaita.
> >> The two shlokas from SBG refer to these distinct perspectives. 2.24 is
> >> clearly paramarthika whereas 8.24 is vyavaharika. The critic is
> confusing
> >> the two perspectives.
> >>
> >> At the 8:54 minute mark the critic says that "some Shankarans (implying
> >> Advitins) make Bhagavan Shri Krishna to be an insane person"! Kindly
> point
> >> to an Advaita acharya or Advaita granta where Bhagavan is said to be so!
> >>
> >> At the 12:18 minute mark the critic says that "Sankaracharya twisted
> Veda
> >> Vyasa's views very clearly".
> >>
> >> At the 15:30 minute mark, there is an attempt by the critic to state
> >> Advaita siddhanta as taught by Swami Sankaracharya. The attempt is an
> >> inaccurate, misrepresentation of Advaita siddhanta.
> >>
> >> One's own misunderstanding of Advaita should not be mischaracterized as
> a
> >> flaw in the siddhanta. Neither does restating one's own sampradhayam
> >> perspective imply inaccuracy of Advaita bhashya.
> >> *To me, the criticism is baseless, biased and flawed; It doesn't warrant
> >> listening to any other of the critic's videos.*
> >>
> >> If there are questions on quotations / references, that can (and should)
> >> be
> >> taken up individually & specifically with the teacher directly.
> >>
> >> *Note: I have not listened to Shri Venkatesh Chakkilam's discourses and
> >> hence, notwithstanding accuracy of his Advaita teaching, my opinion is
> >> limited to the criticism in the aforementioned video.*
> >>
> >> prostrations,
> >> Vikram
> >>
> >>
> >> On Thu, Nov 6, 2025 at 9:49 AM Swagata Chowdhury via Advaita-l <
> >> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >>
> >> > I do not believe he is actually associated with *Aham Brahmāsmi*.
> >> However,
> >> > that organization tends to invite people rather freely—much like
> Indica.
> >> > Indica has, on multiple occasions, invited certain fraudulent
> >> individuals
> >> > to their programs. Later, some scholars sent them an email, they
> >> confirmed
> >> > that they would no longer invite him.
> >> >
> >> > In my opinion, it is preferable to invite only those with a genuine
> >> > Sanskrit background—whether academic or traditional. And if someone is
> >> from
> >> > a different field, they should at least have strong recommendations
> from
> >> > respected Sanskrit scholars.
> >> >
> >> > swagata
> >> >
> >> > On Thu, 6 Nov 2025, 1:16 pm Sangeerth P via Advaita-l, <
> >> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > > Namaskaram
> >> > >
> >> > > What is this happening with this Chakillam Venkatesh? Is he really
> >> from
> >> > > ahambrahmasmi team? He is bringing the pedestal of Sringeri to
> >> streets I
> >> > > feel by citing sutras which are no where found and slokas from
> Vishnu
> >> > > puranam no where found.
> >> > >
> >> > > Gita-2-17
> >> > > https://youtu.be/LIX8SNz-Pl8?si=cRqz1Ofo8yaxZ0G1
> >> > >
> >> > > Gita-2-24
> >> > > https://youtu.be/tXpUd-mYzNs?si=GWR-UwiQ1ehwIgCa
> >> > >
> >> > > His arrogance
> >> > > https://youtu.be/hjdiTt9ikaI?si=hVOEGldf4bwG8WiD
> >> > >
> >> > >
> >> > > Regards
> >> > > Sangeerth P
> >> > > 8608658009
> >> > > _______________________________________________
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