When it comes to the study and practice of Advaita Vedanta or Non-Duality, mere intellectual reasoning will not do. It is not enough to simply understand these grand truths from this most subtle of traditions. One must live according to them; one must claim the radical freedom and ecstasy that is the direct consequence of moulding one’s life according to this Truth! And for that, a systematic and reverential study of source material is of utmost importance. One can listen to lectures on the internet and consult secondary sources as much as one likes. But it is not until one has an actual scripture, an actual primary source, in hand that one can make progress. And so to take up our study of the Upanishads proper, the source of all Vedantic wisdom and repository of the highest universal spiritual truths, we first consult a Prakarana Ghranta (primer or introductory text) of great subtlety and important: The Aparokshanubhuti of Shankaracharya. This is one of my favourite texts of all time in the Advaita Vedanta tradition because in it is lucid argumentation and water-tight reasoning proving that you are not a body or a mind, you are tranquil, still, Eternal Awareness ever-free! In this text is 15 practices to integrate and embody that idea! In this text is also twists and turns, cutting humour and profound insights…ah what more can I say? Let the text speak for itself!
This class is the first of a lecture series offering a verse by verse close study of the Aparokshabhuti. We will meet for our live lecture on Q&A on zoom every Friday at 6pm PST. Here is the link:
Class recordings and Q&A recordings will be uploaded on Patreon weekly, typically on Saturdays at the Dharma tier: https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish
